We mixed you up a short glossary of terms relevant to the UK-Ireland-Brexit problem. Enjoy!
The Irish terms:
The Troubles – a violent thirty-year conflict regarding the status of Northern Ireland. The conflict officially started with a civil rights march in Derry on 5th October 1968 and ended with the Good Friday Agreement on 10th April 1998. The nationalist minority wanted Northern Ireland to become part of the Republic, and the unionist majority wished it to remain part of the UK. The conflict resulted in more than 3,600 fatalities over the years, with over 50,000 severely injured or psychologically damaged.
The Good Friday agreement, or the Belfast agreement – a peace deal signed by the British and the Irish Prime Ministers in 1998, putting an end to a several-decade conflict in Northern Ireland. Although it was a breakthrough in the peace process, many more years were needed to leave the conflict in the past.
The Northern Ireland peace process – refers to all the efforts to mitigate the conflict started in the 60s, including the Anglo-Irish agreement signed by Margaret Thatcher and the Irish Prime Minister Garret FitzGerald in 1985, The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire in 1994, the Good Friday (or the Belfast) agreement in 1998 and the complete disposal of its weapons by the IRA in 2005.
The Brexit terms:
Hard Brexit means Britain would regain full control of its borders, would likely have to fall back on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules to trade with the European countries as it would lose access to the single market.
Soft Brexit – Britain would still have access to the EU single market and would remain part of the European Economic Area, like Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
In both cases, Britain will lose its MEPs and its European Commissioner and its seat in the European Council.
The EU terms:
EU Task Force – is in charge of planning and conducting the negotiations with the United Kingdom, taking into consideration all the strategic, operational, legal and financial consequences of the Brexit vote.
Guiding Principles on Ireland – guidelines established by the European Commission and the EU Task force. They request to bear in mind the unique circumstances and geographical situation of the island of Ireland in view of the Brexit negotiations. Whatever the outcome, the existing arrangements and agreements between the UK and Ireland must remain. The Brexit negotiations shall not hinder the Peace Process in any way.
EU customs Union – all goods travelling within the customs union are free from customs duties. The goods only need to have cleared customs in one country, then their movement in the union is unrestricted.


Math educator Tim Truitt shares how supporting teachers with quality instructional materials is key to addressing student learning gaps in the fall.
Like most schools across the country, my son’s middle school closed in March with uncertainty about when it will reopen. He spent the next eight weeks at home participating in a variety of remote learning tasks. Having spent a decade as a math teacher, I paid especially close attention to what kind of mathematics learning he was engaging in. Unfortunately, what I saw was not great. His school isn’t using a standards-aligned curriculum which resulted in teachers having few resources to support the transition to remote learning. My son’s math class essentially consisted of completing a handful of review problems a day followed by a few weeks of online math videos. None of the learning he did in the past two months of school consisted of new content.
I know my son’s experience was not exceptional. I know that across the country, millions of students faced a long pause in their learning—and thousands of students were doubly impacted because their districts lacked instructional materials that could have made a difference.
So where does that leave students? In a critical juncture between falling further behind or making up lost ground. The gap between when new instruction ended and when it will begin again is leading a large majority of teachers and students to grapple with unfinished learning come fall. Educators have the unprecedented task of addressing the challenges created by COVID-19 while at the same time focusing efforts on ensuring that all students actually have access to the mathematics education they deserve.
When I think about unfinished mathematics learning due to the pandemic, I think of the instructional impact on one of the most important principles of the standards: mathematical coherence.
Think of coherence as rungs on a ladder. In mathematics, skills and concepts students learn build on one another, and it is often impossible for students to master more advanced learning without being able to build on all content learned in previous years. In essence, if you remove too many rungs on the ladder, you’ll no longer be able to make it to the top. This means that even if instruction focuses on the major work of the grade, adheres to the mathematical practices, and meets the aspects of rigor, if it’s not coherent or doesn’t fit into the learning progressions, frankly, the instruction is sort of pointless.
What’s more, because of how mathematics standards are structured, there is very little repetition of individual concepts and skills. This means that unfinished learning is particularly dangerous in math where students might not have the opportunity to encounter specific concepts or skills once they pass from one grade level to the next—especially if teachers don’t know they have missed it. It does not take many days of missed learning to disrupt coherence and set students down a difficult path of perpetually playing catch up.
This loss already takes place each year, even without the additional burden of COVID-19. Teachers know every fall there will be students in their classrooms with unfinished learning and that these students are likely to struggle the most. Worse, low income and students of color are more likely than their white peers to have to overcome unfinished learning without the resources desperately needed to address the problem: access to grade-level, aligned materials, and high expectations from teachers. Too long have we accepted these realities as hard facts instead of making plans for how we can change the status quo.
The path forward to address unfinished learning is accelerated learning of grade-level content, not remediation. Accelerated learning refers to providing all students with rigorous, differentiated content that motivates students to engage with challenging, grade-level mathematics while also addressing diverse learning needs in order to efficiently close gaps in students’ knowledge. Doubling down on current strategies for catching students up will only widen opportunity and achievement gaps.
Districts and schools can begin the work by utilizing standards-aligned materials to identify the most critical prerequisite content knowledge students will need to access grade level content when they encounter it throughout the year. Aligned materials offer focused, coherent, rigorous content that adheres to the mathematical practices. While the challenge of unfinished learning will not be solved overnight, or even by Christmas, if you don’t set the goal and build a strategy around it, it won’t happen at all.
COVID-19 illuminated and exacerbated existing realities of unfinished learning and large gaps between students, but these are not new issues. Investing in quality materials will not only help solve immediate problems, it’s about advancing student learning and success for the long-term.
Let’s face it. The status quo will not solve our current challenges—frankly, it wasn’t getting the job done even before the COVID-19 crisis. Now is the time to seize this moment to take a different approach and give teachers the resources and supports to truly implement the standards. This is our opportunity to do better, to commit to not only tackling unfinished learning but to put in place a foundation that can ensure students thrive now and in the future. My son deserves that, and so does every single kid.


Background: Ethics can be predisposed by an individual’s values, education, social activities, professional activities, belief, and individual’s need. Objective: This study was designed to find out the dilemma in handling ethical issues at community pharmacy settings; to find out the frequency of ethical dilemma at community pharmacy settings; to find out the reasons why community pharmacists may compromise ethical values; to find out how frequent the community pharmacists are involved in ethical dilemma situations. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated self-administered questionnaire from March 2016 to December 2017. The participants were selected using a multi-stage cluster random sampling. Results: In this study, 1057 community pharmacists were approached to participate in this study. Out of this, 742 community pharmacists responded by completing the questionnaire. The response rate in this study is 70.19%. More than half of the issues given were measured as “difficult” and “very difficult” by the community pharmacists. The most common ethical dilemma was fear of breaking trustworthiness which strongly impacts the pharmacist–physician collaborations. ‘Carry out patient’s request’ ‘physician’s orders’ and ‘employer`s request’ were the reasons of community pharmacists compromising the ethical values. Conclusion: Community pharmacists are confronted with numerous ethical problems in their daily work. Most of the pharmacists face the ethical dilemma situations at least once a week in their pharmacies. Community pharmacists compromise on their values and ethical issues not only because of patient’s or physician’s request but also because of their employers’ intrusion.
Key words: Community pharmacy, Ethic, Decision-making, India, Pharmacy value.


Lyme Disease and what you need to know:
As tick season is fast approaching with warmer weather here is what you need to know about Lyme disease.
What is Lyme Disease?
Named for Old Lyme, Connecticut, where the first U.S. cases were recorded in 1975, Lyme disease is caused by Borellia spirochete bacteria. Borellia burgdorferi is the common North American agent. Lyme disease also occurs in Europe, Africa, Australia, and parts of Asia.
How is Lyme Disease Acquired?
In the U.S., the Borellia spirochete is transmitted through the bite of an infected “deer tick,” either Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis, or Western Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes pacificus. The bacterium requires birds, rodents, or insectivores like bats and shrews to complete its life cycle. Deer are incidental hosts, along with people.
Lyme disease presents a baffling array of symptoms, or none at all. Misdiagnosis is frequent, leading to severe illness later. Three stages of symptoms are possible:
- Three days to three weeks after a tick bite, an expanding “bull’s-eye” rash may ring the bite wound, but this can be absent. Aches, fatigue, chills, fever, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes can manifest.
- Weeks or months later, the rash may spread to other body parts. Severe headaches, inflammation of the brain or spine, abnormal heartbeat, Bell’s palsy, painful joint swelling, and depression may occur.
- In the long term, if untreated, Lyme disease results is arthritis of major joints. This may be misdiagnosed as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children. Fatigue, numbness in arms and legs, and loss of memory are rare.
Prevention and Treatment
Avoid forest edges, tall grass, and thickets where ticks lurk. Tuck the cuffs of your pants into your socks; and long-sleeved shirts, pale in color so ticks can be seen easily. For repellents the CDC recommends using formulas that contain 20 percent or more DEET or Picaridin on exposed skin and products containing Permethrin on clothing. A great DEET repellent is Ben’s® 100 or 30 products which provide 8 to 10 hours of protection. Natrapel® 20% Picaridin is a good choice if you are looking for repellent you can use on your skin and gear. Natrapel® has the maximum about of Picaridin and provides up to 12 hours of protection from biting mosquitos and bugs. For a Permethrin repellent us Ben’s® Clothing and Gear. Ben’s® Clothing and Gear contains 0.5% Permethrin to kill biting insects on contact. Apply to your clothing and gear before your trip for an extra level of protection against mosquitoes. Don’t forget to inspect yourself and family members for ticks after being outdoors. Ticks often embed where you can’t see them, like behind the ears and knees, and the back of your neck. Remove embedded ticks with tweezers, and see your doctor. Early diagnosis, followed by treatment with appropriate oral antibiotics, usually results in full recovery of infected patients.


The hydrological situation has been extremely mixed of late. June began with the Environment Agency responding to concerns from farmers about drought, but a week later, there was severe flooding in parts of central England where about a month’s worth of rain fell in one day. In this blog post, the latest in a series, we consider what may be in store for the rest of summer 2019 and beyond.
The exceptionally wet June
July has, so far, been a very dry month for most of England and Wales, with little appreciable rainfall across southern and eastern England. The summer weather has been particularly welcome given the very wet start to summer, which saw severe localised flooding in June.
Our recent Hydrological Summary shows that rainfall for June was notably above average across much of England & Wales, with large areas of central England and north Wales recording more than 200% of average. The majority of the rainfall fell between the 10th and 12th (in some places, around 250% of the June average fell over this period), with daily totals exceeding 80mm in several rain gauges in Kent and Lincolnshire on the 10th.
Left: June rainfall as percentage of long term average; Right: Rainfall totals (mm) for 10th-12th June
This period of intense rainfall led to severe flooding in Lincolnshire where the River Steeping burst its banks at Wainfleet on the 12th. Around 600 homes were evacuated and 130 properties were flooded with some people unable to return to their properties for up to 10 days. The RAF used ballast to repair the banks and the Environment Agency operated high-volume pumps to drain the water away. On the 11th in Kent, rail services were disrupted as tracks flooded, sink holes emerged on the M25 and there were some reports of property flooding. In Bristol, play at the Men’s Cricket World Cup was delayed. Later in June, thunderstorms and heavy rainfall on the 24th in Scotland and 25th in southern England resulted in flash flooding and transport disruption.
The wet June meant river flows were generally in the normal range or above, with some across Wales and central England registering more than two to four times the average. In contrast, flows in the slow-responding, groundwater dominated catchments in south-east England remained below normal, while groundwater levels fell and were, in general, below normal to notably low.
Left: June 2019 river flows; Right: June 2019 groundwater levels
Comparisons have been made between June 2019 and the summer floods of 2007 and 2012; certainly, in central England, June 2019 was the third wettest on record (from 1910) after those years. However, summer 2007 was a severely extreme episode associated with widespread flooding and 2012 saw numerous flooding episodes throughout the summer, while 2019 has so far seen more localised, albeit severe, flooding.
Furthermore, when the monthly mean flows are compared, we can see that new June record flows were established across eastern England in June 2007 and northern and western parts of the UK in June 2012. In 2019, although several catchments registered more than twice the June average, and the Weaver in Cheshire more than four times the June average, no new monthly mean flow records were established. However, peak river flows (the highest flow in the month) in June 2019 ranked highest ahead of 2012 on the Whiteadder (on the Scottish Borders), and ahead of 2007 on the Weaver and Severn.
Left: June 2007 river flows; Right: June 2012 river flows
What about the drought concerns?
Despite rain in June, concerns about drought remain as over the long-term, rainfall and river flow deficits can be seen in accumulations extending back to the summer of 2016.
The dryness of the last 12 months is shown on the UK Drought Portal. Even though there have been wetter interludes, and the focus of the dryness has varied in location around the country, much of the period since the summer of 2016 has seen below average rainfall.
UK drought portal showing the SPI-12 (rainfall averaged over the last 12 months) for the period July 2018–June 2019). The graph shows the SPI-12 time series for the highlighted catchment (Great Ouse)
Entering the summer, there were concerns for water resources pressure following the dry spring (particularly in southern and eastern areas) and low recharge over the winter. For the winter half-year (October–March), most areas received below average rainfall and a number of catchments recorded less than half the average river flow. This in itself came after the exceptionally arid summer of 2018.
Average river flows over the period since the early autumn were also very low across many southern and eastern catchments. The lack of rainfall and low river flows have been associated with wildfires, algal blooms and fish deaths.
The low groundwater levels, and associated low river flows, reflect not just the recent dry months but a lack of recovery over the winter half-year when aquifers are normally replenished.
In much of lowland England, this comes after two relatively dry winters (2016/2017 and 2017/2018) meaning the lack of recovery in one winter half-year was compounded the following year. The overall evolution of groundwater levels and river flows over the last few years show this markedly. In 2018, river flows and groundwater levels recovered to some extent as a result of a very wet spring in south-east England.
However, this year, the spring was dry, so the response of groundwater levels has been muted and we entered the summer from a below normal baseline. Despite flow responses from the heavy June rainfall, flows have since recommenced their seasonal recession in many catchments, and at the start of July flows were again in the normal range or below normal across much of England.
River flow and groundwater hydrographs showing data from January 2016 to June 2019
Soil Moisture Deficits (SMDs) have been above normal for the UK for much of the past 18 months and although soils in June were wetter than average, the drier, warmer weather that has followed into July is likely to mean that soils will have become drier.
The situation can also be tracked with CEH’s COSMOS-UK observatory. In many southern and eastern areas soil moisture levels mostly declined through the spring, and in many areas, soil moisture contents at the end of May were below average. Soil moisture responded to rainfall in June across the Midlands, but as drier conditions were established towards the end of June and start of July, soil moisture has begun to fall again.
Soil moisture content at the Waddesdon COSMOS-UK site
As noted in the National Drought Group statement in June, the dry soils caused some agricultural stress in eastern England where farmers had to start irrigating crops earlier in the growing season than normal. Pressures were also felt in north-east Scotland, where recent rainfall has been very welcome for agriculture.
Despite the wet June and some replenishment of farm reservoirs, concerns continue for the agricultural sector as crops and silage cuts depend on water over the summer. Although immediate concerns about abstraction restrictions in the spring will have been alleviated by the June rainfall, conditions over the remains of summer will determine whether restrictions are enforced.
The June rainfall topped up reservoir levels, which at the end of May were already relatively healthy. Stocks for England and Wales were near average for June, and were around average or above average for the time of year across the country, with the exception of south-west England where stocks at Roadford and Colliford were around 10% below average for June, the latter dropping relative to average.
What is the outlook for the summer of 2019 and beyond?
The latest Hydrological Outlook states that, despite the June rainfall, river flows and groundwater levels in eastern, southern and central England are likely to be normal to notably low through to the autumn, while in northern and western parts of the UK river flows are likely to be normal to above normal.
July Hydrological Outlook summary map
This is because although the meteorological forecast is very uncertain, summer rainfall does not usually have much influence on river flows and groundwater levels in south-east England (unless it is very exceptional, as in June). In the summer half year, evaporation is much higher so the amount of rainfall entering rivers and aquifers is reduced significantly.
The outlook therefore suggests a continuation of below normal river flows in the south-east and groundwater levels, which are unlikely to recover and which could decline further if the rest of summer is warm and dry, as it has been in early July. This implies a continuation of environmental stresses and pressure on abstractors, with potential impacts on agriculture in eastern England.
However, while the impacts on crop yields and the environment are likely to continue, the relatively healthy status of the majority of reservoirs mean major water restrictions, including hosepipe (or temporary use) bans over the summer are unlikely.
The longer-term picture is more difficult to assess, even short-term seasonal forecasting is extremely challenging. But what we do know is that the majority of major droughts in southern and eastern England have resulted from a succession of dry winters. Therefore, irrespective of what happens this summer, the autumn and winter will be critical for 2020 drought prospects, particularly in south-east England.
With contributions from Katie Muchan, Jamie Hannaford, Cath Sefton, Stephen Turner, Simon Parry, Nikos Mastrantonas and David Boorman


- 1) Soft and Hard Water
- 2) Types of Hardness of Water
- 3) Ways of Removing Hardness of Water
- 4) Removal of Permanent Hardness
- 5) Drawbacks of Hard Water
Soft and Hard Water
You have actually most likely heard the terms “hard water” and “soft water” You may wonder what determines the hardness or softness of the water and whether one kind of water is healthier or much safer to drink than the other.
Although water is generally crystal clear, it consists of minerals and chemicals. The concentration of specific minerals is what develops the “hardness” of water.
First of all, for your understanding here are discussed proper definitions of soft and hard water. And then the ways to get rid of hard water.
The water which is immaculate by chemicals is called soft water. Soft water produces a good lather with soap.
The rainwater while coming down absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere. The water blended with CO2, when passes through the beds of the soil, transforms insoluble carbonates of calcium and magnesium into soluble bicarbonates. It might also liquify chlorides and sulphates of calcium and magnesium. These salts make the water hard.
Hard water does not produce lather with soap.
Therefore, water dissolves many salts of divalent cations like Mg2+, Ca2+, and anions like Cl–, SO42-, HCO3– and CO32- for instance, plaster (CaSO4.2 H2O) and limestone (CaCO3). These salts make the water hard. Gypsum is moderately soluble in water, while limestone is insoluble in water. However, in the presence of CO2 small quantity of limestone is soluble in water according to the above chain reaction.
Types of Hardness of Water
Hardness is of 2 types:
- (i) Temporary hardness is because of the presence of bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium.
- (ii) Permanent hardness is because of the existence of sulphates and chlorides of calcium and magnesium.
Ways of Removing Hardness of Water
The elimination of Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions which are accountable for the hardness of water is called water softening.
Removal of temporary hardness
(a) By boiling
Temporary hardness of water can be easily eliminated by boiling the water. On boiling, calcium bicarbonate Ca (HCO3) 2 breaks down to produce insoluble calcium carbonate, which precipitates out of the water.
(b) Clark’s Method
A chemical technique to eliminate temporary hardness is by the addition of slaked lime Ca(OH)2. A calculated quantity of lime water is added to temporary hard water. Hence, once the magnesium and calcium ions precipitate out of the water, water becomes soft.
Removal of Permanent Hardness
Permanent hardness can just be removed by using chemicals. Calcium (Ca2+) and magnesium (Mg2+) can be eliminated of water as insoluble salts by adding washing soda (Na2CO3) or sodium zeolite.
By utilizing washing soda (Na2CO3)
The addition of washing soda can eliminate the calcium and magnesium ions as the insoluble calcium and magnesium carbonates, respectively.
By using Sodium Zeolite (an ion Exchanger)
Salt zeolite is a naturally occurring resin of salt aluminium silicate NaAl (SiO3)2, which can also be prepared synthetically. It is utilized for softening of water at domestic along with on industrial scale.
When water is gone through the resin, salt ions of the resin are exchanged with the unwanted
When the resin is fully used up it can be regenerated by flushing it with a concentrated amount of NaCl. The reverse procedure happens because of the high concentration of sodium ions.
Drawbacks of Hard Water
- (i) Hard water takes in a large amount of soap in washing functions.
- (ii) Drinking hard water causes stomach problems.
- (iii) Hard water is unfit for usage in steam engines, boilers and turbines because insoluble calcium and magnesium salts deposit inside. They are called scales. They are bad conductors of heat and hence more fuel is used. Insoluble calcium and magnesium sulphates not only minimize the efficiency of the engine but likewise cause the boiler to burst.


According to a study done in 2005 and published electronically in Human Reproduction, exposure to a chemical leeched from plastics may increase the risk of miscarriages, Tamara Mariea of Internal Balance reports. Tamara Mariea also notes that previous research suggests that exposure to various compounds that leech from plastics and penetrate into the food can interfere with the functioning of certain hormones and with reproduction. Tamara Mariea points out that eating utensils and plates frequently expose individuals to plastics that potentially contain dangerous toxins.
According to Tamara Mariea, while most parents are unaware of how damaging unseen chemicals can be to young children. Foods and beverages absorb chemicals known as phthalates from plastic packaging, and researchers have suggested that phthalates are a possible cause of hormonal and reproductive abnormalities. Tamara Mariea points to a study done in Puerto Rico where nearly 1% of girls were found to have premature breast development by the age of two. The study included girls that were drinking from plastic baby bottles. The study further concluded that more than two-thirds of girls with premature breast development had significant levels of this chemical in their blood, compared with only 3% of children with normal development. Tamara Mariea notes that some research indicates that this chemical, phalates, is a hormone-disrupting chemical.
Tamara Mariea feels that these chemicals are destroying lives and suggests that their use and impact had not been a historical trend until the 1960s. While Tamara Mariea acknowledges that her clinic, Internal Balance, may not have been needed fifty years ago, the world today is overwhelmed with countless synthetics that are contributing to illness. Tamara Mariea frequently informs clients about contaminates that do not necessarily come from big plants dumping chemicals into community water system; although, according to Tamara Mariea, this is a crisis as well. According to Tamara Mariea, it appears quite evident through her clinical observation over the last 9 years seen through physiological detoxification done at Internal Balance Inc., that it is more important to focus on your personal use of chemicals by addressing your life-environment and purchase choices, than to point the finger and blame industry for your bliss of ignorance.
Tamara Mariea directs Internal Balance patients to consider the molecules that don’t make good on the old “better living through chemistry” promise, appearing in everyday items like unbreakable baby bottles and big-screen TVs. Tamara Mariea suggests that these chemicals find their way out of these products, into the life-environment, and ultimately into living organisms. Tamara Mariea says that a recent biomonitoring survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found traces of 212 harmful chemicals in Americans—including toxic metals like arsenic and cadmium, pesticides, flame retardants, and even perchlorate (an ingredient in rocket fuel). “It’s not the environment that’s so contaminated,” points out Tamara Mariea, “it’s us.”
Tamara Mariea says that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the 34-year-old vehicle for federal chemical regulation, has generally failed in protecting citizens. The government is burdened with proving what chemicals are dangerous, while the chemical industry’s confidentiality privileges deny citizens and federal regulators critical information about how substances are made and what their effects on human beings are. Tamara Mariea suggests that consumers must make themselves aware of what they are ingesting and how it is affecting their bodies.
In the opinion of Tamara Mariea, the current system for government protection does not work. “We can’t permit this assault on our children’s health and our own health to continue,” states Tamara Mariea. Since 2000 when Tamara Mariea opened Internal Balance Inc., she has been concerned about the holistic health of her clients. Tamara Mariea has branched out into other synergistic disciplines such as environmental wellness, detoxification, physiology, and bioenergetics. Tamara Mariea may be reached at Internal Balance by calling 615-818-0074 or by email at firstname.lastname@example.org.
This article is for informational purposes only. Tamara Mariea is not a medical doctor and results reported may not necessarily occur in all individuals. Consult your doctor or pharmacist for health problems, supplement use, or any changes in prescribed medications.


The influence of in-stream structures on summer water temperatures via induced hyporheic exchange
Limnol. Oceanogr., 54(1), 2009, 355-367 | DOI: 10.4319/lo.2009.54.1.0355
ABSTRACT: Temperature is an important controlling factor for ecological functions. In-stream geomorphic structures affect stream thermal regimes by facilitating hyporheic exchange of water and heat between stream channels and underlying sediments. We varied the height of an experimental weir (representing debris dams, log dams, and boulder weirs) in a small stream during the summer and monitored the hydraulic and thermal response of surface and subsurface water using a three-dimensional sensor array. The presence of the structure altered stream temperature patterns, increasing thermal heterogeneity in surface water and shallow sediments by up to ~1.0ºC. We estimated heat conduction and weir-induced hyporheic heat advection across the streambed, and evaluated their response to key parameters. Conduction and advection were of similar magnitude and oscillated over the streams diel temperature cycle. Weir-induced hyporheic heat advection caused slight cooling of the surface stream (up to ~0.01ºC), and increased with weir height, but was considerably less important to the overall heat budget of the stream than was atmospheric heat exchange. Streambed hydraulic conductivity appears to be the overriding factor determining the magnitude of weir-induced hyporheic influence on surface water temperatures. We conclude that weir-type structures will induce ecologically significant surface and subsurface thermal heterogeneity in many stream settings, but that weir-induced hyporheic heat advection will have ecologically significant thermal effects on surface water only in coarse streambeds. Because these structures are common in natural streams and stream restoration projects, such thermal effects may be important on a landscape level.


When most people think about the causes of high blood pressure, they assume the most obvious culprits are going to be alcohol abuse, excessive stress, and consuming too much salt. While according to the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute in Chicago, those are legitimate causes, there are other things that are affecting 78 million adults in the United States. The following seven (7) surprising things that cause high blood pressure are not as easily recognized as stress, salt, and alcohol, but they should certainly be getting your attention.
1. Medications – One of the more surprising things that cause high blood pressure is something you are taking each day to actually heal the body. According to a study that was released by the Archives of Internal Medicine, over-the-counter and prescribed medications could be putting your blood pressure at severe risk. In a study that was conducted at the Mayo Clinic, people who are taking Tylenol each day are more likely to increase the likelihood of getting high blood pressure. The same goes for Advil, Motrin, and Aleve, taken on a daily basis increases your blood pressure and is having an overall negative impact on your health.
2. Too Much Sugar – Most people are aware of the fact that too much sugar can add inches to their waistline, they don’t realize however that the sugar can be the cause of high blood pressure. Many health professionals now believe that sugar is more dangerous to the body that salt, and they conclude that in order to treat patients suffering with high blood pressure they needed to reduce sugar in their diets. Fructose, the sugar added to processed drinks and foods appears to be the major player when it comes to developing hypertension. According to the American Heart Association, adults should not eat more than six teaspoons of sugar per day. To put that in perspective, one 16-ounce can of soda contains nine teaspoons of added sugar. Reduce consumption of fructose by limiting processed foods from the diet.


A study of coastal populations outside the capital cities has found a large number of people were missing from these communities when the 2011 Census data was collected.
A research team at The University of Adelaide, headed by leading demographer Professor Graeme Hugo, conducted the study for the National Sea Change Taskforce, which represents coastal councils.
Professor Hugo said the findings had important ramifications for coastal councils and their communities.
“Australia has one of the most mobile populations in the world,” he said. “This is a relatively recent trend in many developed countries which makes collecting data for the Census more difficult.”
“It is one of the reasons why there is such a discernible difference between the number of people in coastal communities in winter, when the Census is conducted, and at other times of the year when many people such as absentee property owners and tourists are present.
“In some coastal areas there is a big difference between these population peaks and the permanent population figures which are used to calculate the allocation of resources such as financial assistance grants.”
Professor Hugo said a survey of more than 2,100 non-resident property owners in coastal areas around Australia found that nearly 70% of their properties were not occupied on the night the 2011 census was conducted.
“If the Census was conducted in summer rather than winter a much larger percentage of these properties would be occupied and therefore we would get a totally different picture of the population numbers in coastal council areas,” he said.
The Mornington Peninsula Shire population, for example, would have increased by almost 26,000, Cairns Regional Council by 15,000, Shoalhaven City Council by nearly 12,000 and the City of Mandurah (WA) by more than 10,000.
Professor Hugo said a large percentage of non-resident property owners are baby boomers aged between 45 and 64 at the time of the survey who plan to move permanently to their coastal property.
“Some 60% of people who plan to move to their coastal property within the next two years are baby boomers”, he said. “The percentage of baby boomers planning to make the move between two and five years from now is even higher – 67%.”
Professor Hugo said the study had also analysed use of tourist accommodation, which identified large numbers of tourists staying in coastal areas in addition to the ‘missing’ people linked with properties owned by absentee ratepayers.
Cairns Regional Council, for example, had more than 13,000 tourists staying in the local area, while Shoalhaven City Council had more than 9,000. The local government areas of Busselton, East Gippsland, Eurobodalla and Mornington Peninsula each had more than 3,000 tourists in local accommodation.
“When you add the people ‘missing’ from the Census to the number of tourists staying in these communities you get some idea of the large number of people using local services and facilities who do not show up in the data on permanent population,” Professor Hugo said.
The final study findings will be made available within the next month. The findings will form part of a submission to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which is currently conducting a major review of the Census content and methodology. The findings will also help coastal councils better plan to meet future infrastructure and service needs of their communities.
The research project was commissioned by the National Sea Change Taskforce to develop and assess methodologies for counting temporary populations, other than permanent populations, in non-metro coastal council areas. This has involved investigating the extent to which existing data collections, including Census data, tourism data and information on properties owned by absentee ratepayers could be used to estimate the scale of temporary populations in these areas. The following local government areas participated as case study areas in the survey of non-resident property owners.
- City of Busselton (WA)
- Byron Shire Council (NSW)
- Cairns Regional Council (QLD)
- East Gippsland Shire Council (VIC)
- Eurobodalla Shire Council (NSW)
- City of Mandurah (WA)
- Mornington Peninsula Shire (VIC)
- Shoalhaven City Council (NSW)
- Surf Coast Shire Council (VIC)


Zoos Aren’t Victorian-era Throwbacks: They’re Important in Saving Species
While zoos began as 19th-century menageries, they’ve come a long way since then. They’re responsible for saving 10 iconic species worldwide. Without captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, there might be no Californian Condor or Przewalski’s Horse – the only truly wild horse – left in the wild.
Post by Alienor Chauvenet
Alienor Chauvenet is a Friend of The Conversation.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
CC BY-ND 4.0
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The National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra recently announced a new expansion that will double its size, with open range space for large animals like white rhinos and cheetahs.
As well as improving visitors’ experience, the expansion is touted as a way to improve the zoo’s breeding program for threatened animals. However, zoos have received plenty of criticism over their capacity to educate, conserve, or even keep animals alive.
But while zoos began as 19th-century menageries, they’ve come a long way since then. They’re responsible for saving 10 iconic species worldwide. Without captive breeding and reintroduction efforts, there might be no Californian Condor or Przewalski’s Horse – the only truly wild horse – left in the wild.
A meerkat at the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra. The Zoo has recently announced an expansion that will double its size. AAP Image/Stefan Postles
Australian zoos form part of a vital global network that keeps our most vulnerable species alive.
What is the role of zoos for conservation?
Although Canberra Zoo is relatively new compared with others in Australia – Melbourne zoo, for example, was opened in 1862 – it adds to a collection of conservation-orientated establishments.
In Australia, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, the Royal Melbourne Zoological Gardens, Adelaide Zoo and Perth Zoo are all members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). WAZA is an international organisation that aims to guide and support zoos in their conservation missions, including captive breeding, reintroductions into the wild, habitat restoration, and genetic management.
The critically endangered Corroboree frog has been reintroduced to the wild thanks to a breeding program shared between multiple Australian zoos. AAP Image/Taronga Zoo
From the perspective of nature conservation, zoos have two major roles: educating the public about the plight of our fauna, and contributing to species recovery in the wild.
Conservation education is deeply embedded in the values of many zoos, especially in Australia. The evidence for the link between zoo education and conservation outcomes is mixed, however zoos are, above anybody else, aimed at children. Evidence shows that after guided experiences in zoos children know more about nature and are more likely to have a positive attitude towards it. Importantly, this attitude is transferable to their parents.
Zoos contribute unique knowledge and research to support field conservation programs, and thus species recovery. In Australia, zoos are directly involved in monitoring of free-ranging native fauna and investigations into emerging diseases.
Without zoos many fundamental questions about a species’ biology could not be answered, and we would lack essential knowledge on animal handling, husbandry and care.
Through captive breeding, zoos can secure healthy animals that can be introduced to old or new habitats, or bolster existing wild populations. For example, a conservation manager at Taronga Zoo told me they’ve released more than 50,000 animals that were either bred on-site or rehabilitated in their wildlife hospitals (another important function of zoos).
Criticisms of captive breeding programs
The critics of captive breeding as a conservation strategy raise several concerns. Captive bred population can lose essential behavioural and cultural adaptations, as well as genetic diversity. Large predators – cats, bears and wolves – are more likely to be affected.
Some species, such as frogs, do well in captivity, breed fast, and are able to be released into nature with limited or no training. For others, there is usually a concerted effort to maintain wild behaviour.
There’s a higher chance of disease wiping out zoo populations due to animal proximity. In 2004 the largest tiger zoo in Thailand experienced an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu after 16 tigers were fed contaminated raw chicken; ultimately 147 tigers died or were put down.
However, despite these risks, research shows that reintroduction campaigns improve the prospects of endangered species, and zoos can play a crucial role in conservation. Zoos are continually improving their management of the genetics, behaviour and epidemiology of captive populations.
They are the last resort for species on the brink of extinction, such as the Orange-bellied Parrot or the Scimitar-horned Oryx, and for those facing a threat that we cannot stop yet, such as amphibians threatened by the deadly Chytrid fungus.
Orange-bellied parrots are ranked among the most endangered species on the planet – their survival depends on zoos. Chris Tzaros/AAP
Zoos need clear priorities
A cost-benefit approach can help zoos prioritise their actions. Taronga, for example, uses a prioritisation system to decide which projects to take on, with and without captive breeding. Their aim is to a foresee threats to wildlife and ecosystems and implement strategies that ensure sustainability.
Developing prioritisation systems relies on clearly defined objectives. Is there value in keeping a species in captivity indefinitely, perhaps focusing only on education? Is contributing to a wild population the end goal, requiring both education and active conservation?
Once this is defined, zoos can assess the benefit and costs of different actions, by asking sometimes difficult questions. Is a particular species declining in the wild? Can we secure a genetically diverse sample before it is too late? Will capturing animals impact the viability of the wild population? How likely is successful reintroduction? Can we provide enough space and stimulation for the animals, and how expensive are they to keep?
Decision science can help zoos navigate these many factors to identify the best species to target for active captive conservation. In Australia, some of the rapidly declining northern mammals, which currently do not have viable zoo populations, could be a good place to start.
Partnerships with governmental agencies, universities and other groups are essential to all of these activities. Zoos in Australia are experts at engaging with these groups to help answer and address wildlife issues.


The word ‘Terrorist’ is thrown around a lot lately and has been since the 1970s when modern military capabilities and intelligence units began to advance rapidly, driving guerrilla and resistance movements largely underground.
While some people take the view that any organization, be it a state military or local militia that impact negatively on civilians are ‘terrorists’, the official explanation of a terrorist goes like this:
“Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians), and are committed by non-government agencies.” – Wikipedia, Terrorism.
So the groups below are the U.S. State Department designated terrorist organizations. They are well-known terrorist groups, which have had huge effects on regions throughout the world including Europe, Asia, Africa and both North and South America. Their goal is to create fear in the public so that civilians of the targeted society will put pressure on their leaders to give in to the demands of the opposing organization.
Islam Organisations: Al Qaeda
Although there are several splinter groups of Al-qaida operating around the world, mostly in the middle-east and Africa, the all sing roughly from the same hymn sheet.
A religiously motivated body they aim to attack civilian populations of opposing countries in order to force their governments to withdraw from occupied Muslim lands or simply give into their demands. They rarely attack military or police installations and focus on general population, and are therefore designated terrorists.
Since 9-11 they are most commonly known for their aggression against NATO members (in particular the US, Britain, Germany and Spain) and also against communities in their home countries which support NATO operations.
However they also have several other campaigns such as in Nigeria where they wish to eradicate the Christan population from their various northern strongholds.
IRA and Their Various Splinter Groups
The Irish Republican Army is a name used by various terrorist groups, which has its roots in a group formed in the 1960s. They used the same name as an earlier guerrilla warfare organization, which fought the Irish War of Independence (1921-22). That war won independence for 80% of the island.
This namesake is largely viewed as a move to gain support. Here are a list of IRA splinter groups both past and present since the new 1960s formation.
–>Provisional IRA (PIRA) – 1965 to 2004. Used largely guerrilla warfare (snipers, direct RPG attacks, ambushes and IEDs). Signed the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement and decommissioned all weaponry by 2004. Ceased campaign in 1998.
–>Continuity IRA – Rejected Good Friday Agreement and split from PIRA. Membership is estimated at a few hundred. Uses terrorist tactics alone and does not fight in open, nor does it utilize guerrilla warfare.
–> Real IRA – Rejected Good Friday Agreement and formed in early 2000s after splitting from CIRA. Membership estimated at a few hundred but growing rapidly since economic downturn. Uses terrorist tactics alone and does not fight in open nor does it use guerrilla warfare.
The two splinter groups operate cross border (both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). They are politically motivated and wish to regain the other 20% of the island from Britain.
Their goals are extremely unlikely as they have no support from the Irish government and are infiltrated by Irish police and security agencies. Membership has risen rapidly due to discontent among young people because of the economic downturn, however resources are scarce due to constant sting operations and interception of weaponry shipments.
Car-bombs and shootings are still common in Northern Ireland. They operate largely in the Republic of Ireland (bomb factories and rural training camps) and launch attacks in the North.
While they target British security forces (Mostly police and army) in Northern Ireland and not the civilian population directly, their disregard for potential harm to civilians in their actions designates them as a terrorist organisation.
Palestinian Liberation Groups
There are several Palestinian groups designated as terrorist organizations by the State Department. These include the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestine Liberation Front.
While the groups can often differ on political aspirations and policies, conflict between themselves is minimal. Their main aim is to liberate Palestine from Israel.
Their ethos goes back thousands of years and is strongly ingrained in their members. Palestine, which is designated roughly as the area around the Mediterranean sea between Jordan and some of Israel, has been occupied repeatedly by several different invaders for hundreds of years.
Their main objection at present is Israel’s claim to their homeland and the expansion of Israeli settlers and construction into the West Bank.
While they operate with a fair amount of autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza due to the fact that Israeli army and police aren’t located there, they are severely oppressed and targeted as soon as they operate over the Israeli border.
They have been known to plant bombs in Israel, attack Israeli officials and recruit largely in Lebanese refugee camps. They have links with Hezbollah who are active in Gaza and Lebanon.
Their disregard for public safety, and their attacks on public buildings and gatherings designate them as a terrorist organisation.
FARC are the most widely known terrorist organization in Columbia and most experts estimate their membership at around the 15,000 mark. Their aim is to overthrow the Colombian government and help the poor by breaking down the class division imposed by the country’s wealthy.
They also oppose US intervention and forces in the country.
They receive funds mostly from the taxation of the country’s illegal international export of cocaine and donations from supporters.
They are designated as a terrorist organisation due to reckless attacks on security forces, which endanger the lives of civilians, as well as attacks on journalists and media outlets, kidnappings and bombings.
Another Colombian organization is the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia (UAC). They are an umbrella organization that oppose the actions of FARC. The main similarity between the two is that they both use cocaine exports for funding.
The UAC are also known to operate in conjunction (albeit unofficially) with the Colombian military in targeting FARC. They are designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU because of their extreme defense methods, which include kidnapping rival supporters, reckless attacks on FARC communities and bombings.
These are just some of the U.S. State Department designated terrorist organizations which have influenced recent history the most. For a complete list, check the U.S. State Department website.Originally published on TopSecretWriters.com


In our last post, we concluded that when soil is healthy, plants and microbes dwell in symbiosis which produces high concentrations of the nutrients both need to thrive. Well, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the same relationship exists between people and the microbes that live in our digestive tract.
Ironically, however, the human species seems hell-bent on destroying those microbes, or at least reducing their numbers. One fundamental law of nature is that biodiversity is good, but modern culture seems to be at war with biodiversity. Most industrial agriculture functions on the principle of anti-diversity: single crops grown from genetically homogenous seed in soil rendered sterile by industrial grade antibiotics. And industrial medicine seems to work on the cleanliness principle as well: in 2016, the number of antibiotic prescriptions written in America corresponded to five out of ever six people in the country, and nearly a third of those were demonstrably unnecessary. We believe that cleaner is better, even though that may not be true.
It’s becoming clear that fighting bacteria is both futile and wrong-headed. It’s futile because within any given person, non-human cells out-number human cells by a factor of 1.3, and the number of non-human species living within a single person is comparable to the number of individual people living in one large city. And it’s wrong-headed for the same reason it would be crazy for a city to attack its own population. Sure: some people in town are deadbeats who pee in the pool and shoplift candy bars, but that doesn’t mean you fumigate the village with mustard gas.
We’re learning, for example, that some nutrients that play crucial roles in human health are produced only by the non-human species living in our gut, including three amino acids required to make the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine. What’s more, many of those species appear to communicate with our human cells in ways that tell our DNA what kinds of proteins to manufacture. So in a real sense, the bacteria we’re fighting actually makes us who we are.
As Dr. Zack Bush says, we should stop thinking of bacteria as invaders and realize that this space is more theirs than ours. We should thank them for letting us stay.
One way to encourage that thought shift is to deliberately cultivate the growth of bacteria in our bodies, especially our digestive tracts, which do far more than process food. In our next post we’ll talk about things we’re doing on the farm to help bacteria grow inside us.


procedure varies to some extent, depending on the valve
Except in emergencies, it is advisable to shut the
engine down when troubles cause safety valve popping.
Clogged or partially obstructed exhaust ports may
also cause the cylinder safety valve to lift. This condition
will not occur often if proper planned maintenance
procedures are followed. If it does occur, the resulting
increase in cylinder pressure may be enough to cause
safety valve popping. Clogged exhaust ports will also
cause overheating of the engine, high exhaust
temperatures, and sluggish engine operation.
You can prevent clogged cylinder ports by removing
carbon deposits at prescribed intervals. Some engine
manufacturers make special tools for port cleaning.
Round wire brushes of the proper size are satisfactory
for this work You must be careful in cleaning cylinder
ports to prevent carbon from entering the cylinder-bar
the engine to such a position that the piston blocks the
SYMPTOMS OF ENGINE TROUBLE
In learning to recognize the symptoms that may help
locate the causes of engine trouble, you will find that
experience is the best teacher. Even though written
instructions are essential for efficient troubleshooting,
the information usually given serves only as a guide. It
is very difficult to describe the sensation that you should
feel when checking the temperature of a bearing by
hand; the specific color of exhaust smoke when pistons
and rings are worn excessively; and, for some engines,
the sound that you will hear if the crankshaft
counterweights come loose. You must actually work
with the equipment to associate a particular symptom
with a particular trouble. Written information, however,
can save you a great deal of time and eliminate much
unnecessary work. Written instructions will make
detection of troubles much easier in practical situations.
A symptom that indicates that trouble exists may be
in the form of an unusual noise or instrument indication,
smoke, or excessive consumption or contamination of
the lube oil, fuel, or water. Figure 3-43 is a general listing
of various trouble symptoms that you may encounter.
The unusual noises that may indicate that trouble
exists or is impending may be classified as pounding,
knocking, clicking, and rattling. Each type of noise must
be associated with certain engine parts or systems that
might be the source of trouble.
Pounding or hammering is a mechanical knock (not
to be confused with a fuel knock). It may be caused by
a loose, excessively worn, or broken engine part. Gen-
erally, troubles of this nature will require major repairs.
Detonation (knocking) is caused by the presence of
fuel or lubricating oil in the air charge of the cylinders
during the compression stroke. Excessive pressures
accompany detonation. If detonation is occurring in one
or more cylinders, stop the engine immediately to
prevent possible damage.
Clicking noises are generally associated with an
improperly functioning valve mechanism or timing
gear. If the cylinder or valve mechanism is the source of
metallic clicking, the trouble may be due to a loose valve
stem and guide, insufficient or excessive valve tappet
clearances, a loose cam follower or guide, broken valve
springs, or a valve that is stuck open. A clicking in the
timing gear usually indicates that there are some
damaged or broken gear teeth.
Rattling noises are generally due to vibration of
loose engine parts. However, an improperly functioning
vibration damper, a failed antifriction bearing, or a
gear-type pump operating without prime are also
possible sources of rattling noises.
When you hear a noise, first make sure it is a trouble
symptom. Each diesel engine has a characteristic noise
at any specific speed and load. The noise will change
with a change in speed or load. As an operator, you must
become familiar with the normal sounds of the engine.
Investigate all abnormal sounds promptly. Knocks that
indicate a trouble may be detected and located by special
instruments or by the use of a sounding bar, such as a
solid iron screwdriver or bar.
As an engine operator, you will probably rely more
on the instruments to warn you of impending troubles
than on all the other trouble symptoms combined.
Regardless of the type of instrument being used, the
indications are of no value if the instrument is
inaccurate. Be sure an instrument is accurate and
operating properly before you accept a low or high
reading. Test all instruments at specified intervals or
whenever you suspect them of being inaccurate.


Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (1833)
by Joseph L. Story
§ 143. In the same year, in which Carolina was divided , a project was formed for the settlement of a colony upon the unoccupied territory between the rivers Savannah and Altamaha.1 The object of the projectors was to strengthen the province of Carolina, to provide a maintenance for the suffering poor of the mother country, and to open an asylum for the persecuted protestants in Europe; and in common with all the other colonies to attempt the conversion and civilization of the natives.2 Upon application, George the Second granted a charter to the company, (consisting of Lord Percival and twenty others, among whom was the celebrated Oglethorpe,) and incorporated them by the name of the Trustees for establishing the Colony of Georgia in America.3 The charter conferred the usual powers of corporations in England, and authorized the trustees to hold any territories, jurisdictions, etc. in America for the better settling of a colony there. The affairs of the corporation were to be managed by the corporation, and by a common council of fifteen persons in the first place, nominated by the crown, and afterwards, as vacancies occurred, filled by the corporation. The number of common-council-men might, with the increase of the corporation, be increased to twenty-four. The charter further granted to the corporation seven undivided parts of all the territories lying in that part of South Carolina, which lies from the northern stream of a river, there called the Savannah, all along the sea-coast to the southward unto the southernmost stream of a certain other great river, called the Alatamaha, and westward from the heads of the said rivers respectively in direct lines to the South seas, to be held as of the manor of Hampton Court in Middlesex in free and common soccage and not in capite. It then erected all the territory into an independent province by the name of Georgia. It authorized the trustees for the term of twenty-one years to make laws for the province “not repugnant to the laws and statutes of England, subject to the approbation or disallowance of the crown, and after such approbation to be valid. The affairs of the corporation were ordinarily to be managed by the Common Council. It was farther declared, that all persons born in the province should enjoy all the privileges and immunities of natural born subjects in Great Britain. Liberty of conscience was allowed to all inhabitants in the worship of God, and a free exercise of religion to all persons, except Papists. The corporation were also authorized, for the term of twenty-one years, to erect courts of judicature for all civil and criminal causes, and to appoint a governor, judges, and other magistrates. The registration of all conveyances of the corporation was also provided for. . The governor was to take an oath to observe all the acts of parliament relating to trade and navigation, and to obey all royal instructions pursuant thereto. The governor of South Carolina was to have the chief command of the militia of the province; and goods were to be imported and exported without touching at any port in South Carolina. At the end of the twenty-one years the crown was to establish such form of government in the province, and such method of making laws therefor, as in its pleasure should be deemed meet; and all officers should be then appointed by the crown.
§ 144. Such is the substance of the charter, which was obviously intended for a temporary duration only; and the first measures adopted by the trustees, granting lands in tail male, to be held by a sort of military service, and introducing other restrictions, were not adapted to aid the original design, or foster the growth of the colony.4 It continued to languish, until at length the trustees, wearied with their own labours, and the complaints of the people, in June, 1751, surrendered the charter to the crown.5 Henceforward it was governed as a royal province, enjoying the same liberties and immunities as other royal provinces; and in process of time it began to flourish, and at the period of the American Revolution, it had attained considerable importance among the colonies.6
§ 145. In respect to its ante-revolutionary jurisprudence, a few remarks may suffice. The British common and statute law lay at the foundation.7 The same general system prevailed as in the Carolinas, from which it sprung. Intestate estates descended according to the course of the English law. The registration of conveyances was provided for, at once to secure titles, and to suppress frauds; and the general interests of religion, the rights of representation, of personal liberty, and of public justice, were protected by ample colonial regulations.
1. 1 Holmes’s Annals, 552; Marsh.Colonies, ch 9, p. 247; 2 Hewatt’s South Car. 15, 16; Stokes’s Hist. Colonies, 113.
2. 1 Holmes’s Annals, 552; 2 Hewatt’s South Car. 15, 16, 17.
3. Charters of N. A. Provinces, 4to. London, 1766.
4. Marshall’s Colon. ch. 9, p. 248, 249, 250; 2 Holmes’s Annals, 4-45. 2 Hewatt’s South Car. 41, 42, 43.
5. 2 Holmes’s Annals. 45.
6. Stokes’s Hist.of Colonies, 115, 119;2 Hewatt’s South Car. 145; 2 Holmes’s Annals, 45,117.
7. Stokes’s Hist.of Colon. 119, 136.


Posted May 30th, 2013 in Program
IISG staffers will join hundreds of scientists, environmentalists, and government representatives June 2-6 at the Conference on Great Lakes Research. Spread across each day of the conference, their presentations will cover vital work on Sea Grant education initiatives, new tools that help officials protect aquatic ecosystems in the Great Lakes region, and more.
Robin Goettel and Terri Hallesy will kick things off Tuesday morning with a close look at education strategies that improve Great Lakes literacy. Later in the session, Caitie McCoy will discuss a program piloted last year at two schools near the Grand Calumet River. The program was designed to teach students living in Areas of Concern about the science behind restoration projects. Attendees will also hear from Terri and others about Undo the Chemical Brew, a project that has collected 2.7 million unwanted pharmaceutical pills for safe disposal since 2010.
On Wednesday, members of the AIS outreach team will talk about resources they’ve developed to help water gardeners avoid invasive plants that are likely to spread in the Great Lakes. The resources are part of a larger effort to develop and implement risk assessment tools that can be used by resource managers and policy-makers to determine which commercially-sold aquatic species pose the greatest threat to the region.
IISG members will also be a part of several presentations on Wednesday and Thursday about environmental indicators communities can use to make sustainable land-use decisions. During the session, Brian Miller, Kristin TePas, and Marty Jaffe will introduce two web-based tools that help officials understand land use impacts on local aquatic environments and take steps towards securing the long-term health of the region’s natural resources.
The International Association for Great Lakes Research’s (IAGLR) 56th Annual Conference on Great Lakes Research is sponsored by IISG and Purdue University. To view the entire program, visit the conference website.


The idea started with the thought; "If a tornado can lift a house, it could also lift a heavy disc, making it into a flying disc". And I wondered if such a flying disc could fly more energy efficient then say a helicopter.
To wait for a tornado to pass by in the right direction, is… not very practical, ánd tornadoes tend to be dangerous. A tornado is a natural phenomena, part of a huge storm system. In order "fly by tornado", it is necessary to create an artificial tornado.
The core of a tornado is a vortex, which has less air pressure than the surrounding air, and with that on top of a disc; the disc will fly.
Call it "atmospheric thrust", because it is the normal air pressure of the surrounding air that is pushing the aircaft up.
Did you know that the atmospheric pressure is about 1 kgf per square cm? 1 squared meter is 10.000 square cm, thus 10.000 kgf. The core of a vortex that big, above a surface, with 20% less pressure in the core, will produce a force of 2000 kg, enough to lift a small craft.
My first step was to create a small vortex, and learn from that. After some time experimenting, we found there to be 3 essential ingredients; a flat surface on the bottom of the vortex, an air sucking hole in the surface above it and two steady flows of air traveling parallel to the center, from opposite directions.
There is one major obstacle with a straight vortex. The bottom surface of the vortex has a force which pushes up, and at the same time the top surface has an equal force, which pushes down. So together they counter act each other, producing 0 force.
A few years ago I thought of a solution to this problem. To curve a vortex 180º, like a rainbow, so that both ends would be come to rest on the same surface! Then both ends would produce a force in the same direction, thus making it possible to fly by tornado.
This however, seemed to good to be true. Is it even possible to curve a vortex? Thrust from a curved vortex would in theory work in a box, making it suitable for space propulsion. Time to start experimenting, and see what is possible and what is not.
The first success was in august 2010; a curved vortex machine! The vortex was curved, but very weak, and the machine was so big and heavy that we could not weigh the amount of thrust.
We almost completely rebuilt the curved vortex machine, and this version produced a result: a curved vortex with a core of about 1 cm in diameter, and 55 grams of thrust. We tested this second version on November 2nd 2010.
55 grams is a great result, but it doesn't prove the concept yet, because I'm not sure if the acceleration of all that air is in fact the real cause of the force.
The next step was to put the vortex machine into a box, making it a closed system. Then we could see if there still is a force to be measured. But because of all the turbulent air inside the box, the vortex did not form properly.
This is where I am right now, a beautiful curved vortex, which proved that both ends of a vortex can be on the same surface. But I am still unable to prove that a curved vortex can produce thrust.
It still seems to good to be true. Both a ballon and a boat prove that it is possible to fly or float in or on a fluid that is in a gravitational field, without accelerating mass in the opposite direction. But a curved vortex isn't a case of "lighter that air".
I'm pretty sure that I'm the first person to have created a curved vortex, especially with propulsion as the goal. It would be very helpful if you too could repeat this experiment, to prove if it is indeed possible or not. Please let me know if you manage to do so.
By the way; my progress is always slow because I'm almost completely paralyzed. I managed to get all the physical work done, step by step, with the help of many friends. So to my friends: thanks!


A brief comparison between the early January 1940 and 2019
Posting: January 10, 2019
Our previous posting was about the question: “Is there another ‘Beast from the East’? The Met-Office considered it as possibility on January 03. More than a week later there is none, even though some places in Russia are currently cold but in no way exceptional. At some places the temperature will be about 7°C below average. Small regions in Central Europe (Bavaria and Austria) have been trapped in snow, but although the air temperature conditions across Europe are far off wintry.
In the following compare a report on weather in the current week (italic green) and early January 1940, which until now are ignored, although from 11-21 January five all-time records occurred- See Figure 1.
A current weather report for the second week of 2019 reads as follows (Excerpt from weather.com, Jan.09):
Deadly winter weather has blasted Europe for another day, trapping hundreds of people in Alpine regions, whipping up high winds that caused flight delays and cancellations and raising the risks of more deadly avalanches.
Temperatures will fall widely across Europe over the next few days before rising again at the end of the week.
Colder air will be in circulation on Wednesday and Thursday in a northerly to north-easterly airflow due to the position of high pressure in the vicinity of the British Isles and low pressure over the South East Europe,
This colder air will move over warmer waters and bring further snow over central and South East Europe this week, the snow will be heavier and more persistent over the Alps as well as the mountains in Bulgaria.
What a difference to the weather conditions Europe experienced eight decades ago already in early in January 1940, as shown by an excerpt from [ http://www.seaclimate.com/c/c7/c7.html ]:
January 2, 1940; Esbjerg – soft or new ice, navigation not hindered, Danish light buoys were withdrawn over the next 10 days.
January 8, 1940: A record frost today covered Northern and Central Russia , with the thermometer at 31 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-35°C), and impeded normal activity. (NYT, Jan. 09, 1940).
January 13, 1940: Riga/Latvia; The most bitter cold wave of years, which sent temperatures in Baltic countries to as low as 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, ended abruptly today. The mercury rose rapidly to a few degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Parts of the Baltic have frozen over, and floating and pack ice are likely to interfere with shipping for some time (NYT, Jan 14, 1940).
January 14, 1940; Drift ice on river Scheldt reported to have torn buoys from their mooring. Simultaneously it was observed that “in these nine days conditions have deteriorated very rapidly and one sees the first real indication of somewhat abnormal conditions, most particular is the freezing of rivers Scheldt and Maas ” (Frankcom, 1940).
January 17, 1940; Ice reported in the North Sea off Jutland for the first time in many years, up to 2 miles from the coast. Fjord in Jutland frozen over. Ice three meters thick reported from western end of Limfjord. Minus 23°F reported during the night in Denmark
January 18, 1940; Helsinki : “Pitiless, deadly cold laid a glacial cover on Russian’s war machinery tonight… near Salla, above the Arctic Circle . Phenomenal 54-degrees-below-zero temperature (-48°C) restrained the Russian air forces… and apparently immobilized Russian ground forces, which have been attacking on the Karelian Isthmus (NYT, Jan 18 1940).
January 18, 1940: Temperatures of more than 50 degrees below zero Fahrenheit were reported from several points. At Nickby, northeast of Helsinki , a temperature of 58 degrees below zero was recorded – the coldest since 1878. It was 11 degrees below zero in Helsinki (NYT, Jan. 19, 1940).
January 20, 1940; “Thus they are able… to relieve men exhausted by a week of fighting in temperatures plunging to 60 degrees below zero” (NYT, January 21, 1940, p.23, left 1st column).
January 21, 1940: “The cold polar air remained stagnant over vast areas of Europe and North America . Result: Some of the coldest weather in half a century. In Moscow the temperature on January 17th dropped to 49 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-45°C), and in parts of Finland to 58 degrees below zero. Such temperatures can be measured only on alcohol thermometers, because mercury freezes solid at 38 degrees below zero” (NYT, January 21, 1940, Weekend in Review, Title: War in the Cold).
The events described and the data clearly indicate that random processes are eliminated there. Why was Northern and Central Europe so badly affected? Southern Europe, including Switzerland , however, was much less affected from the Arctic temperatures simply because they didn’t have naval warfare at their front door, ……
“The highs (over North Europe), however supported a uniform inflow of cold air from northern Russia and Siberia, but blocked the way for mild air currents from the Atlantic and southern latitudes.”
This statement confirms the ‘weather blocking’ situation which was man-made by stirring the regional seas.
Since 2015 a number of postings have dealt with January 1940, here an example:


Early Mars: Warm Enough to Melt Water?
February 14, 2003
Denver While some researchers believe that only asteroid collisions made Mars warm enough to have running rivers, a Penn State researcher believes the planet had to be continuously warmer to form Mars deep valleys, but he does not know how the planet warmed up.
Some recent research suggests that early Mars was cold most of the time and warmed up only when objects impacted the planet. The impacts would warm the atmosphere and melt water trapped in underground and surface ice, causing rivers to flow and cutting the valleys that rival Arizonas Grand Canyon.
I do not think this is right, said Dr. James F. Kasting, distinguished professor of geosciences and meteorology. I do not think there was enough time involved to form the types of features that we see on the Martian landscape.
Kasting believes that a greenhouse effect warmed the planet. However, he has calculated that a carbon dioxide and water greenhouse would not have warmed the planet above the freezing point of water. On Mars, before enough carbon dioxide accumulated in the atmosphere to warm things up, the carbon dioxide would condense into dry ice clouds and eventually there would be ice caps.
It does not seem possible to get above freezing with gaseous carbon dioxide and water, he told attendees at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science today (Feb. 14) in Denver.
Which is why some researchers think the planet was never warm. But, according to Kasting, features like Nanedi Vallis, which is a half-mile to over a mile wide in places and over a half mile deep, could not be made during the short time rivers would run after an impact.
The channel at the bottom of Nanedi Vallis is only about 100 feet across, says Kasting. It took millions of years of constant running water to carve the Grand Canyon. It would take a similar time on Mars.
One possible solution is that other greenhouse gases were in play in the Martian atmosphere. Methane would be a good candidate, but most sources of methane on Earth are biological. Todays sources of methane are methanogenic bacteria in ruminant animals and rice paddies, but in the pre-oxygen atmosphere of the past, methanobacteria could have lived in many places.
Hillary Justh, a graduate student in geosciences, ran a model of Mars with three atmospheres of carbon dioxide and a tenth of a percent of methane in the atmosphere, adds the Penn State researcher. Because 3.8 billion years ago the solar luminosity was only 75 percent of what it is today, the model returned an average temperature of minus 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
This by itself would not have been enough to allow widespread liquid water. However, the Martian surface could have received 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit additional warming from the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide ice clouds. This might have allowed at least the tropics to remain above freezing.
One problem with methane-producing bacteria is that the ones we know here on Earth, both from the fossil record and today, prefer warm environments.
Some geologic processes generate methane, but only in small amounts. These process require water and ultramafic rocks to form serpentine rocks with methane as a by-product. This process occurs at mid-ocean ridges on Earth and can also occur during asteroid collisions that excavate large amounts of mantle material.
We do not really know much about how plate tectonics works on Mars, and even if we did, it is doubtful that enough methane could be generated to create the necessary greenhouse, says Kasting. Mars probably did need a biological source of methane to form a planet-warming greenhouse.
Researchers think that Mars has a supply of water, which is required for all terrestrial life. They also think that volcanic activity on Mars produced a tenth of a percent or so of hydrogen and substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, the two compounds that methanobacteria on Earth need to produce methane. Evidence of these methanobacteria could be found in subsurface fossils or, the bacteria could still be there today.
What we need to do is go and take samples, said Kasting, a member of Penn States NASA-sponsored Astrobiology Research Center.
NASAs Mars Exploration Rover Mission, scheduled to launch later this year, will almost do that. Scheduled to have two fully capable robotic vehicles like the Sojourner, it will sample soils looking for signs of life. However, while the science objectives of the rover missions are to determine if water was present on Mars and whether there are conditions favorable to the preservation of evidence for ancient life, the mission will not return samples to Earth. The first NASA sample-return mission is scheduled for 2020 or later.


Cooking Class: Searing
Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2014
A fair number of meat, poultry and some seafood recipes call for you to sear the protein before further cooking. Searing is a direct-heat technique used most often in grilling, braising, roasting or sautéing in which the surface of food is cooked quickly at a high temperature in order to produce a sort of crust on its exterior. For the most part, the terms browning and blackening refer to this same technique. Typically after searing, food (particularly larger, thicker cuts or pieces) is cooked at a somewhat lower temperature to finish. In the case of grilling, food may be moved from a high/direct-heat portion of the grill to a cooler/indirect one. In braising, the caramelized crust adds flavor, color and generally enriches the liquid in which the food is cooked.
Some people suggest that searing "locks in moisture" or "seals in juices," but such widespread myths, though often repeated, are false. While many famous chemists, food scientists, chefs and authors have actively perpetuated these ideas over the last 160-plus years, searing has been legitimately demonstrated to produce greater loss of moisture versus cooking to the same internal temperature without searing beforehand. Experiments suggest that this initial exposure of protein to high heat destroys the cell walls on its exterior surface, causing the affected cells to lose the moisture trapped within. Regardless of whether food is seared first or not, it will continue to lose moisture throughout the cooking process.
Though it causes food to lose moisture, searing is still a vital cooking technique; it creates rich caramel flavor, enhances the appearance of food and provides textural dimension, increasing palatability. For many recipes, searing at the end of a cooking process may be just as effective in producing these effects.
- Let the protein stand at room temperature for a short while before cooking.
- If necessary, pat protein with paper towels to remove surface moisture.
- Ensure the pan or grill is very hot.
- If you're searing a lean cut, add oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Wait for the oil to shimmer and ripple, but do not allow it to smoke. Using vegetable or peanut oil will allow for a higher temperature, as they have a higher smoke point than olive oil or butter.
- Carefully place the food in the pan fat- or skin-side down.
- If your food sticks, your pan/oil/grill may not have been hot enough. Let it cook a little longer until it releases easily from the pan or grill.
- Sear all sides, even the ends of roasts and the sides of thick steaks and chops.
- If your food won't stay put, try using the side of the pan to stabilize it or hold it in place with long tongs, taking care to avoid splattering oil.


EmbryoScope® is a state-of-the-art incubation system that uses time-lapse technology to monitor the health and development of embryos, eliminating the need for human handling. By capturing detailed images, at frequent and regular intervals and from multiple vantages, the system provides embryologists with detailed information on the qualities of each embryo.
In conventional incubation, developing embryos are daily removed by embryologists for approximately one minute to assess their progress. This produces unavoidable changes in critical cultivation variables and exposes embryos to disruptive stresses that can hinder their development—embryos handled in such a fashion tend to develop about four to five hours slower over the course of cultivation. Moreover, under these practices, there is no visual record of development, and embryos are selected for transfer based only on their current status, without regard to their formative history.
With EmbryoScope®, from the moment of fertilisation to the moment of transfer, embryos remain undisturbed inside the incubator. They are allowed to develop, without interruption, in a stable environment, under conditions closely simulating those in the womb. A built-in camera takes detailed photos of each embryo, every 10 minutes, in 10 different focal planes, providing embryologists with illuminating data on each embryo and enabling them to choose the best one for transfer.
EmbryoScope® is capable of housing up to six patient culture dishes, each containing up to 12 embryos, for a potential total of 72 embryos. It is therefore recommended in cases where there is a larger number of embryos to culture, particularly when there are more than four to a couple.
Lastly, the system’s time-lapse technology benefits not only the lab, but the mother and father as well, gifting them with a visual record of their child’s development, from conception to transfer.


Why satellite images have different colors
In Virtually Hawaii, we show you a large number of images taken from aircraft and spacecraft that have unusual colors compared to the ones we can see with our eyes. Often, we are asked "why is one part of the image red and the other blue?". This is because we have chosen to use display three different wavelengths on our computer screen where the surface is highly reflective (bright) at these wavelengths. These colors are the result of using instruments that study different parts of the spectrum to the part that our eyes can see. While we do not want to give you a complete course in physics, we thought that you might like to have a bit of the background to these remote sensing images.
First, we need to know that a spacecraft (Landsat, SPOT, or the SIR-C radar) does not "see" in color. Every image is obtained in black and white at a precise wavelength (usually between 0.4 to 12.0 microns). These electronic cameras only collect information in black and white, but they can obtain many images at the same time in different parts of the spectrum.
If we look at the diagram below of the spectrum, we see several broad regions that include the ultraviolet (wavelengths between 0.3 - 0.4 microns), visible (0.4 to 0.7 microns), near-infrared (0.7 to 1.2 microns), the solar reflected infrared (1.2 to 3.2 microns), the mid-infrared (3.2 to 15 microns) and the far infrared (longer than 15.0 microns).
Notice that the vertical axis (called % transmission) shows where our atmosphere allows a lot of the Sun's rays to reach the ground. It is easy to see why our eyes work in the visible part of the spectrum, because it is here that almost 100% of the Sun's energy reaches the surface. In contrast, due to water vapor in the atmosphere, almost no energy (%0 transmission) reaches the ground at 1.4 and 1.9 microns.
Our images of Honolulu are all obtained in between 0.4 and 12.0 microns as a set of 12 individual black and white images. All 12 images are obtained at exactly the same time, and each is a computer image where we can assign an 8-bit binary number between 0 (black) and 255 (white). In this diagram, we show six of these images (or "bands"), along with the wavelength of the band. We show bands 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 just to cover the whole range, and to show that not all bands have the same wavelength range (the width of the color bar beneath the spectrum). See how Band 12 is very wide (about 4 microns) while band 4 is very narrow (about 0.05 microns).
Go on to Page 2 of this Remote Sensing Tutorial to see how we get the images back to Earth from the spacecraft.
Author: Pete Mouginis-Mark
Copyright by P. Mouginis-Mark
Curator: Lori Glaze


The on board steps are similar to the ones in Low Resolution Mode. Some parts of the hardware are commonly shared between both modes. However the pulses need to be transmitted with a PRF high enough so they remain coherent. The PRF value would depend on the satellite orbit and the transmission pattern.
After a burst of pulses is successfully transmitted and received, some corrections should be applied before packing the data and send it to the ground station for further processing.
The Block diagrams of the SIRAL altimeter is shown below.
In this case, both LRM, SAR and SARIn data is received and routed to the Processing Unit. There the LRM pulses are transformed into range domain and averaged. The SAR pulses would remain in time domain and the Fourier transformation will be performed by the ground processor.


Reliable data is needed to address crucial questions about environmental change, biodiversity loss and its implications for ecosystems and human well-being. The historical legacy of biological recording in the United Kingdom is unique and inspiring, resulting in vast sets of species observations (biological records) built up through the expertise of committed volunteers. But there is a need for a focused approach to the collation, management, dissemination and interpretation of these datasets.
The Biological Records Centre (BRC), established in 1964, provides a national focus in the UK for terrestrial and freshwater species recording. BRC works closely with the voluntary recording community, principally through support of national recording schemes and societies. Its scientific research role is central to much of UK conservation practice.
BRC is supported by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) within the Natural Environment Research Council and its work is a major component of the National Biodiversity Network.
- Working with more than 80 recording schemes and societies, BRC supports biological recording for a wide range of plant and animal groups.
- BRC helps the recording community to publish atlases, data and other online resources thus providing information essential for research, policy and conservation.
- It delivers innovative use of technology to harness the enthusiasm and knowledge of naturalists and to enable them to collate and analyse records.
- Scientists at BRC identify and analyse distribution trends derived from these large-scale, long-term datasets.
Recent BRC research includes climate change ecology, the impacts of air pollution, invasion biology, insect-plant interactions, red listing and indicators, and leads to improvements in the use of citizen science and new technology for recording.
Long-term support from BRC has helped establish more than 80 recording schemes and societies - no other region across the globe has such a wide taxonomic breadth of recording activity. The key outputs of this recording is detailed in the BRC's special anniversary booklet, Celebrating 50 years of the Biological Records Centre (2014).
Printed atlases published by BRC cover more than 10,000 species of plants and atlases. These atlases and their associated datasets have revealed major changes in species' ranges over the past 50 years and are being used to address a number of research questions.
Analyses of distribution data provided some of the first demonstrations of the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. Current projects using biological recording data include assessing the risks and opportunities faced by individual species during climatic changes and identifying refugia which may help promote the persistence of species.
BRC works with recording schemes, government agencies and partner organisations to derive quantitative trend estimates and other metrics for use in Red Listing and the development of biodiversity indicators to assess the 2020 ‘Aichi targets’.
In 2013, BRC’s innovative work on trends, modelling and indicator development made a substantial contribution to the State of Nature Report (trends for ~2400 species) and the Priority Species Indicator which tracks changes in the status of ~230 species of conservation concern.
50 years of BRC science
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)


Causes of Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD and ADHD)
Despite intensive research, the exact origins of ADD and ADHD have yet to
be determined. There are, however, several theories about the causes of Attention
Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Chemical Imbalance of Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters help the human brain to form thoughts, store and recall
information, and translate thoughts into physical actions. One of these neurotransmitters,
dopamine, is abnormally low in those who diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. Since
problems with memory and attentiveness are attributes of those with ADD and
ADHD, researchers believe that low dopamine levels may be responsible. Research
had indicated that in 60% of ADD and ADHD sufferers, the genes controlling
dopamine production are in some way abnormal .
Another neurotransmitter, Acetylcholine, has also been linked to Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Acetylcholine plays a key role in the
body by helping to control cognitive functions such as awareness, perception,
reasoning, judgment, memory and attention. Learn
more about Chemical Imbalance
Adult ADD / ADHD and Diet
Throughout the course of the last decade researchers have discovered that
diet, which is closely tied to neurotransmitter synthesis and other bodily
responses, may be an important factor in many of the symptoms associated
A growing collective of research shows that even a moderate adjustment to
diet, such as removing packaged and processed foods, sugary soft drinks and
excessive sweets can significantly decrease symptoms of ADHD, like hyperactivity
and the 'crash' that may often follow. It is thought that the highs
and the lows of consuming sugars can affect a the overall attentiveness,
or lack there of, in both adults and children.
In addition to creating a healthy diet of more natural foods, like fruits,
vegetables and complex carbohydrates, clinical research indicates that
supplementation of the adult diet with specific vitamins and minerals,
like the B-complex vitamins, zinc, and magnesium can further increase the
chances of improvement. Learn more about ADD/ADHD and Diet
Not all of those affected with ADD and/or ADHD have low levels of dopamine,
and this has lead researchers to theorize that varying brain structures may
have some effect on ADD and ADHD. The forebrain is the part of the brain
that controls thoughts, behavior, and emotions. It controls the ability to
reason, make decisions, and solve problems. A part of the forebrain, the
frontal lobe, is most involved with judgment, behavior, memory, and motivation.
Preliminary research into this theory has shown that a small percentage of
people with ADD or ADHD have forebrains about 10% smaller than those who
do not have ADD or ADHD.


What does it mean to be data literate in the world of “big data”? What should we be teaching students to better prepare them to participate in today’s workforce and society? What steps need to be taken to develop critical data literacy skills in schools? To seek answers to these questions, EDC’s Oceans of Data Institute (ODI) convened an expert panel of both data analysts and educators for a workshop on data literacy.
This report captures the takeaways from a 3-day workshop, Building Global Interest in Data Literacy: A Dialogue, held by ODI and IBM in October 2015, which brought big data analysts and education experts together to engage in a structured dialogue that produced new insights into the nature of data literacy in today’s big data society, envisioning what the data-literate person does, and delving into the meaning of analytical thinking and how we might teach this in K–16 classrooms.
Learn more about the workshop.


Looking at the pictures we then see that the behavior which results is always purely repetitive—though the period of repetition is different in different cases. And the basic reason for the repetitive behavior is that whenever the dot ends up in a particular position, it must always repeat whatever it did when it was last in that position.
But since there are only six possible positions in all, it is inevitable that after at most six steps the dot will always get to a position where it has been before. And this means that the behavior must repeat with a period of at most six steps.
The pictures below show more examples of the same setup, where now the number of possible positions is 10 and 11. In all cases, the behavior is repetitive, and the maximum repetition period is equal to the number of possible positions.
More examples of the type of system shown on the previous page, but now with 10 and 11 possible positions for the dot. The behavior always repeats itself in at most 10 or 11 steps. But the exact number of steps in each case depends on the prime factors of the numbers that define the system.


Hines, M. E. University of Alaska Anchorage, firstname.lastname@example.org
Kiene, R. E. University of South Alabama, Rkiene@jaguar1.usouthal.edu
CONTROLS ON EMISSIONS OF DIMETHYLSULFIDE FROM FRESHWATER WETLANDS
Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is produced and emitted from a variety of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In general, it is believed that marine environments, which are rich in S, are the primary emitters of gaseous DMS due to the degradation of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). However, DMS formation can be important in anoxic freshwaters. Fluxes of DMS were determined using a dynamic flow-through chamber system in a variety of aquatic and terrestrial environments. Direct measurements of DMS fluxes from wetlands, such as Sphagnum bogs and fens, revealed unusually high rates, especially in the most oligotrophic areas. Fluxes were highest from hummocks, in areas without terrestrial or stream influences, and in areas with low pH. Flooding of a wetland greatly decreased DMS emission despite increased CH4 and CO2 fluxes. Studies using slurries of wetland peats were conducted to investigate controls on DMS production, consumption and emission. Methylation of methane thiol was the primary source of DMS. DMSP was not a source of DMS. Inhibition studies and comparisons of various habitats demonstrated that the high flux of DMS in certain areas is due to the lack of any use of DMS by methanogenic bacteria.
Day: Friday, Feb. 5
Time: 10:45 - 11:00am
Location: Sweeney Center