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Active Learning Strategies Students learn more effectively and deeply when they are actively engaged in their learning. This week, we focus on strategies you can use to incorporate "active learning" into the classroom. This Week's Tips Active Learning Incorporates Active Discussion (Monday) Encourage active discussion among students. Communication among students allows them to take ownership of new ideas. Discussion groups bring a more dynamic element to the classroom while allowing students to develop their verbal skills. Keep groups on task by assigning a student to document what is discussed in each group. Consider including a participation component in their grade. Active Learning Involves Conceptual Understanding (Tuesday) Build conceptual and procedural understanding simultaneously. Help students see how and why a procedure works rather than simply learning a procedure by repetition. Have students write a paragraph or draw a picture to describe the concept behind the procedure. Consider assessing students on how they got an answer, in addition to the answer itself. Active Learning Requires Real World Connections (Wednesday) Connect learning to the real world. Students need to see why what they learn in school is important. A great way to do this is by connecting concepts to their world, whenever possible. For example, if you're studying physics or geometry, consider organizing an outing to a playground or amusement park to see abstract concepts in action. Background Knowledge Builds Active Learning (Thursday) Build on what students already know. Find out what your students already know about a new topic by conducting an open discussion. Use the discussion to dispel their misconceptions and generate interest in the topic. Begin by drawing a large circle on the blackboard. As students call out ideas, write those that fit the concept in the circle and those that don't outside of it. This way, students can begin to visualize the topic and remember which ideas are not related. Be an Active Listener at Conferences (Friday) Actively listen to the parents' concerns and comments. Remember that a conference should be an opportunity for a “free” exchange of information. Ask open-ended questions and guide parents through these questions to help them draw conclusions about a plan of action that will help the student. Listen closely, paraphrase their responses, and try to put yourself in the shoes of the parent or student. Consider what the parents are feeling to understand better how best to help the child succeed in the classroom.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/weeklytips.phtml/326

During the Holocaust in World War II more than six million Jews were murdered, many of them women and children. It was not only Jewish women who were captured, abused and killed. Gypsies, Polish women and women with disabilities were also persecuted and taken to concentration camps. Ravensbruck was a camp designed for women and children, with more than 132,000 held prisoner there .... During the Holocaust in World War II more than six million Jews were murdered, many of them women and children. It was not only Jewish women who were captured, abused and killed. Gypsies, Polish women and women with disabilities were also persecuted and taken to concentration camps. Ravensbruck was a camp designed for women and children, with more than 132,000 held prisoner there. Up to 92,000 died of starvation, exhaustion and illness or were executed. The persecution faced by women in the camps was horrific. They were forced to work until they dropped on the floor with exhaustion; some women were raped and if they got pregnant and either had an abortion or were left to give birth in inhuman conditions, often dying alongside their babies; others were beaten to death and starved; some women were used as subjects of illegal human experiments such as medication testing or different methods of transplantation, amputations and sterilization. In 1942, the Nazis opened a brothel at Ravensbruck and about 100 incarcerated women were "employed" there. Some of them volunteered because they were promised freedom in six months, although this did not happen. The best known voice from the Holocaust belonged to Anne Frank (1929-1945) who was born in Germany. Her family left the country and moved to Amsterdam in 1934. In 1942, the Netherlands was occupied by the German Nazis and Jewish families were hunted down. The Frank family spent two years hiding in a cramped space behind the walls of her father's office but in 1944 they were betrayed and sent to concentration camps. Anne and her sister died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen camp early in 1945. After the end of the war, her father — the only surviving member of the family returned to their home and found Anne's diary, The Diary of a Young Girl (1947), which she had kept from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944. The diary has become one of the most widely read books worldwide. Women played an important part in the different resistance organizations and movements. One of the most famous figures was Haika Grossman (1919-1996), a Polish Jew and an active Zionist from an early age. When she was 20, Grossman became the leader of the Jewish resistance Hashomer Hatzair. Despite the fact that she was offered a chance to escape to but she refused and stayed in Wilno (Vilnius, Lithuania). When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, she returned to her home town of Byalistok to reorganize the resistance movement. Grossman was one of the leaders of the Byalistok Ghetto Uprising. After the war, Grossman was awarded the highest Polish medal for bravery and later moved to Israel to become an important politician there until her death in 1996. Another influential woman in the Holocaust was Sophie Scholl (1921-1943). She was a German student who actively opposed the Nazi regime and the Third Reich. Scholl was a member of the non-violent intellectual resistance movement The White Rose. The movement consisted entirely of students at the University of Munich who issued anti-Hitler leaflets and papers. Scholl was convicted of high treason and executed. Hopes that The White Rose would begin a revolt against the Third Reich proved futile. The University of Munich sponsored large demonstrations against the underground group and the Gestapo managed to kill some of its members, while the rest dispersed. The entire Scholl family was sent to prison, except for the youngest son, Werner, who was sent back to the Eastern front. He was reported missing in action and in 1944 was announced dead. Scholl's story was filmed in 2005 under the title Sophie Scholl — The Last Days. Many women wrote memoirs reflecting their experiences in World War II, including Leonie Nelly Sachs (1891-1970), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1966. Sachs is perhaps best known for her poems and her first volume of poetry In den Wohnungen des Todes (In the Houses of Death) was published in 1947. It tells of the suffering, persecution, exile and death of many Jews. French writer Charlotte Delbo (1913-1985) is a survivor of the concentration camps and the author of Auschwitz and After (1970), which paints a haunting picture of the atrocities inflicted on her and others.

http://www.questia.com/library/religion/judaism/jewish-history/women-in-the-holocaust

Using Questioning Strategies to Stimulate Student Learning Elementary classroom comprehension strategies are continuously evolving and growing. Educators have become more concerned with higher-order thinking skills and multifaceted understanding in both fiction and expository pieces of text. Using "right there," "look deep," and "I wonder" questions can support teachers in guiding students to higher-order thinking and meaning making. "Right there" questions play an essential role in building a foundation for reader comprehension. To become literate individuals, students must be able to pinpoint significant facts in nonfiction pieces. With "right there" questions, teachers ask students to locate correct responses directly in the author’s text. For example, students should be able to identify facts culled from the text. From reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln, students should learn the answer to, "What year did Lincoln die?" In fiction pieces, "right there" questions support learners in identifying character details and story elements and following key plotlines. "Right there" questions are often found on multiple-choice quizzes and at the end of nonfiction chapters. Using "look deep" questions gives students the opportunity to formulate responses based on inferences about what is written in the text. For example, using the book Elmer, by David McKee, students could be asked to speculate on the cause behind Elmer’s desire to be elephant-colored. Students can surmise from the overall mood of the story that Elmer seeks to be like the others in his group. Because the author does not explicitly write this, students have a chance to create their own understanding of character motivation and the central concepts and messages of the text. Teachers can stimulate discussion among students as multiple answers surface and evolve. There are no correct or incorrect responses with "I wonder" questions. Students can freely explore their own thoughts. These types of questions often request students to respond to "what if" scenarios. Reading the book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett, children might wonder, "What if we went back to Chewandswallow?" Reading Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson, they might wonder, "What would I have named the fictional world?" The answers to "I wonder" questions do not lie within the words written in the books. Students must broaden their thinking. "I wonder" questions can serve as a springboard to further inquiry. Students could be asked to pen sequels to accompany the texts they have read or participate in student-led inquiry projects and investigations. Ownership of ideas is in students’ hands, which often leads to both greater understanding and increased engagement. Teachers can use these three types of questions with any piece of text, including book chapters, picture books, short stories, Web site content, and other "text" forms such as movies. The teacher should create a list of questions categorized by the questioning strategy, which allows students to clearly distinguish between the varying types of questioning and thought work. The list also serves as an effective tool for teachers in evaluating whether they are best utilizing all three varieties of questions. Using all three questioning strategies effectively can help teachers best address numerous levels of cognitive development. Students will be engaged in activities and thoughts that range from an introductory comprehension and recall level to a deeper, more advanced stage of processing and meaningful insight. Jill B. Van Hof is a former elementary school teacher with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Michigan State University. She is currently a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at Western Michigan University.

http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol4/418-van-hof.aspx

Rhinitis is inflammation of the mucous lining of the nose. Rhinitis is a nonspecific term that covers infections, allergies, and other disorders whose common feature is the location of their symptoms. In rhinitis, the mucous membranes become infected or irritated, producing a discharge, congestion, and swelling of the tissues. The most widespread form of infectious rhinitis, is the common cold. The common cold is the most frequent viral infection in the general population, causing more absenteeism from school or work than any other illness. Colds are self-limited, lasting about 3-10 days, although they are sometimes followed by a bacterial infection. Children are more susceptible than adults; teenage boys more susceptible than teenage girls; and adult women more susceptible than adult men. In the United States, colds are most frequent during the late fall and winter. Causes and symptoms Colds can be caused by as many as 200 different viruses. The viruses are transmitted by sneezing and coughing, by contact with soiled tissues or handkerchiefs, or by close contact with an infected person. Colds are easily spread in schools, offices, or any place where people live or work in groups. The incubation period ranges between 24 and 72 hours. The onset of a cold is usually sudden. The virus causes the lining of the nose to become inflamed and produce large quantities of thin, watery mucus. Children sometimes run a fever with a cold. The inflammation spreads from the nasal passages to the throat and upper airway, producing a dry cough, headache, and watery eyes. Some people develop muscle or joint aches and feel generally tired or weak. After several days, the nose becomes less inflamed and the watery discharge is replaced by a thick, sticky mucus. This change in the appearance of the nasal discharge helps to distinguish rhinitis caused by a viral infection from rhinitis caused by an allergy. Rebecca J. Frey, The Gale Group Inc., Gale, Detroit,

http://health.yahoo.net/galecontent/rhinitis-2

By Laura Nichol Steve Grasby on site at Buchanan Lake, Nunavut. The largest extinction event in earth's history occurred in the Permian period 252 million years ago, when 95 percent of all marine species and 70 percent of all species on land became extinct. It occurred 185 million years before – and was much worse than – the popularly known extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs. After the colossal devastation of the Permian age, earth's ecosystems were fundamentally altered, and life reverted to its earliest phase of simple microbial organisms. Many have thought the cause may have been a massive volcanic eruption in western Siberia, which took place at the same time as the extinction and is the largest eruption known. Researchers from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)'s Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and the University of Calgary have now discovered the first concrete evidence supporting this theory. Layers of coal fly ash – finely particulate air-borne ash – have been found in rock from the Canadian High Arctic dating back to the Permian period, suggesting that the Siberian volcano triggered massive explosions of coal rock that spewed toxic fly ash into the atmosphere. The Rocks Tell the Story Roxane Dery collecting samples of shale rock deposited right after the extinction event at Buchanan Lake. The evidence lies within 80 metres of black shale at Buchanan Lake, Nunavut. The researchers analyzed rock samples with specialized microscopes that make organic particles easy to detect. They found particles that looked identical to modern-day coal fly ash – a toxic byproduct of coal-burning power plants that is captured through filtration systems. Fly ash would also have been a byproduct of massive coal explosions during the Siberian volcanic eruption, when hot lava – still visible today in the form of rock basalts – burned areas with thick deposits of coal and organic matter. The power of the explosions would have pushed the ash far into the atmosphere, from which it would have settled at Buchanan Lake and elsewhere. Three separate layers of coal fly ash were found at Buchanan Lake, suggesting there were three distinctively massive explosive events. “Just like today, jet stream winds were westerly, so they would blow east across the globe,” explains Steve Grasby, a research scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. “These three enormous explosions were large enough to billow ash into the atmosphere 20 000 kilometres east around the earth, depositing them in what is now known as Arctic Canada”. Linking Coal Ash Deposits and the Extinction Under a specialized microscope, an organic particle from shale samples found at Buchanan Lake shows remarkable similarities to that of modern-day coal fly ash. The rapid and large-scale production of coal ash would have created several environmental conditions that could have contributed to the Permian extinction: Global warming: The rock record shows significant global warming during this time. Some propose that the combination of CO2 emissions from the volcanic eruption and the burning of massive amounts of coal led to a runaway greenhouse gas effect. This theory may partly explain why the oceans lost their oxygen and became anoxic, a phenomenon detrimental to marine organisms because the oceans become hotter and toxic hydrogen sulphide gas is formed. Ocean toxicity: The rock record also shows dramatic spikes of toxic metals found in fly ash at the time of the extinction. These metals would have had devastating consequences on marine ecosystems. Preventing photosynthesis: Deposits of coal ash in the ocean would have created a floating sludge that blocked out sunlight, which is essential for photosynthesis by marine plant life and for the functioning of broader marine ecosystems. Still, much remains unknown. “It's not clear what the ultimate driver was,” says Steve. “But it was likely the combination of multiple environmental changes occurring at the same time that led to the worst extinction in earth's history.” But although many details are unclear, the discovery of the coal ash deposits provides the first concrete evidence that the great Siberian volcanic eruption may have caused this significant event. To read about related articles, see Palaeontology For information on reproducing articles, please see our non commercial reproduction section.

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/science/story/3595

Square kilometre array Understanding the evolution of the Universe, galaxies and stars requires looking back in time as far as possible. But the radiation from distant objects is incredibly weak and its detection needs huge collecting areas. Increasing sensitivity provided by the collecting area will reveal new classes of cosmic objects, distant and nearby, which are too faint or too short-lived to have been detected so far. One of these huge telescopes is the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in the radio wavelength part of the electromagnetic spectrum, planned for a dual-site construction between 2017 and 2023 in Southern Africa and Australia/New Zealand. Radio waves carry signals from gas clouds emitted even before the formation of the first stars. The SKA will also constrain fundamental physics on gravitation and magnetism. It will conduct astro-biological observations, potentially including the detection of life elsewhere in the Universe via their radio signals. Radio waves provide a number of advantages: unlike optical waves, they are not absorbed by interstellar dust and they mostly do not suffer from distortions in the atmosphere, except for the shortest wavelengths of a few mm and below. The radio window for ground-based observations spans frequencies from about 10 MHz (30 m wavelength), below which the Earth's ionosphere blocks cosmic radio waves, to frequencies between 10 GHz (3 cm) and 1 THz (0.3 mm), depending on height above sea-level and water content of the troposphere. Radio waves emerge from objects widely different from the well-known sources of light. Observations at radio wavelengths led to the modern view of the Universe: discovery of the cosmic microwave background (CMB, see below), the first notion of non-thermal emission from charged particles in magnetic fields, discovery of quasars, pulsars, masers and extrasolar planets. Some of the most spectacular objects in the Universe are radio sources whose radiation is emitted from hot gas and charged particles around black holes (quasars) and in the magnetospheres around neutron stars (pulsars), remainders of supernova explosions. Cold gas in galaxies, invisible in the optical range, can be radio-bright when emitting in specific radio spectral lines. Radio waves tell us that the Universe does not only consist of stars, gas and dark matter, but is also permeated by superfast "cosmic ray" particles and magnetic fields which emit synchrotron emission over a wide (continuous) frequency range in the radio, while they escape detection in most other spectral ranges. Radio astronomy is another window to the Universe where known objects look different and new objects shine. The radio window allows us to look deep into space and hence deep into the past, and we can observe how the gas, fast particles and magnetic fields have developed over time. Scientists worldwide are extremely excited about the possibilities offered by the SKA. Key Science Projects The large investment in the SKA requires convincing justification. Apart from the expected technological spin-offs, five main science questions ("Key Science Projects") drive the SKA (see the SKA homepage and Further Reading below for details): - Probing the dark ages The SKA will use the emission of neutral hydrogen to observe the most distant objects in the Universe. The strongest line emission of hydrogen is in the radio range at a frequency of 1.4 GHz (21 cm wavelength) which corresponds to the energy difference of the hyperfine transition when the spin of the electron flips with respect to that of the proton. According to present-day cosmological models, the Universe became transparent about 380,000 years after the big bang (at a redshift of about 1100). The radiation released at that time is now prominent in the radio range as the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) (Durrer 2008), measured in great detail by NASA’s WMAP satellite and since 2009 by ESA’s PLANCK satellite . Matter (mostly hydrogen) remained neutral and smoothly distributed over the next billion years, called the dark ages, until the first stars and black holes formed, followed by the formation of galaxies. The energy output from the first energetic stars and the jets launched near young black holes (quasars) started to heat the neutral gas, forming bubbles of ionized gas as structure emerged. This is called the Epoch or Reionization (see Fan et al. 2006 for a review). The signatures from this exciting transition phase should still be observable with help of the radio line of hydrogen, though extremely redshifted by a factor of about 10 when arriving at our telescopes today (Fig. 1). The lowest SKA frequency will allow us to detect hydrogen at redshifts of up to 20, well into the dark ages, to search for the transition from a neutral to an ionized Universe, and hence provide a critical test of our present-day cosmological model. - Galaxy evolution, cosmology, and dark energy The expansion of the Universe is currently accelerating, a poorly understood phenomenon, for which a multitude of possible explanations have been proposed: Einstein's cosmological constant , a time-dependent energy called quintessence, topological defects, the effects of "other" Universes and many more. Since the correct answer is not known, physicists and astronomers named the phenomenon dark energy (see also Frieman et al. 2008 for a review). One important method of distinguishing between these various explanations is to compare the distribution of galaxies at different epochs in the evolution of the Universe to the distribution of matter at the time when the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB, see above) was formed, about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Small distortions ("ripples") in the distribution of matter, called baryon acoustic oscillations, should persist from the era of CMB formation until today. Tracking if and how these ripples change in size and spacing over cosmic time can then tell us if one of the existing models for dark energy is correct or if a new idea is needed. The SKA will use the hydrogen emission from galaxies to measure the properties of dark energy. The strongest line emission of hydrogen is in the radio range at a frequency of 1.4 GHz (21 cm wavelength), but redshifted to lower frequencies/longer wavelengths for distant galaxies. A deep all-sky SKA survey will detect hydrogen emission from galaxies out to redshifts of about 1.5, at a distance of about 9 billion light years, or at a time when the Universe was about 4.7 billion years old. The galaxy observations will be “sliced” in different redshift (time) intervals and hence reveal a comprehensive picture of the Universe's history. The same data set will give us unique new information about the evolution of galaxies. How the hydrogen gas was concentrated to form galaxies, how fast it was transformed into stars, and how much gas did galaxies acquire during their lifetime from intergalactic space and by merging with other galaxies? Present-day telescopes have difficulty in detecting intergalactic hydrogen clouds with no star formation activity and distant dwarf galaxies, but these sorts of radio sources will be easily detectable by the SKA. The hydrogen survey will simultaneously give us the synchrotron radiation intensity of all galaxies which is a measure of their star-formation rate and magnetic field strength. - Tests of General Relativity and detection of gravitational waves with pulsars and black holes The radio-astronomical discovery of pulsars and the indirect detection of gravitational waves from a pulsar-star binary system were rewarded with two Nobel prizes for physics. Pulsars are precise clocks and can be used for further experiments in fundamental physics and astrophysics. Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity has precisely predicted the outcome of every test experiment so far. However, no tests in the strong gravitational field around black holes have yet been made. The SKA will search for a radio pulsar orbiting around a black hole (Fig. 2), the remnants from the supernova explosions of two massive stars in a binary system, measure time delays in extremely curved space with much higher precision than with laboratory experiments and hence probe the limits of General Relativity (Lorimer & Kramer 2004). Regular high-precision observations with the SKA of a network of pulsars with periods of milliseconds opens the way to detect gravitational waves with wavelengths of many light years, as expected for example from two massive black holes orbiting each other with a period of a few years resulting from galaxy mergers in the early Universe. When such a gravitational wave passes by the Earth, the nearby space-time changes slightly at a frequency of a few nHz (about 1 oscillation per 30 years). The wave can be detected as apparent systematic delays and advances of the pulsar clocks in particular directions relative to the wave propagation on the sky. We expect that more than 20,000 new pulsars will be detected with the SKA, compared to about 2000 known today. Almost all pulsars in the Milky Way (Fig. 3) and several 100 bright pulsars in nearby galaxies will become observable. - Origin and evolution of cosmic magnetism Electromagnetism is one of the fundamental forces, but little is known about its role in the Universe. Large-scale electric fields induce electric currents and are unstable, whereas magnetic fields can exist over long times because, mysteriously, single magnetic charges (monopoles) are missing in the Universe. Data suggest that all interstellar and probably intergalactic space is permeated by magnetic fields, but these are extremely hard to observe. Radio waves provide two tools: synchrotron radiation emitted by cosmic-ray electrons spiraling around magnetic field lines with almost the speed of light, and Faraday rotation of the polarization plane when a polarized (synchrotron) radio wave passes through a medium with magnetic fields and thermal electrons. Both methods have been applied to reveal the large-scale magnetic fields in our Milky Way, nearby spiral galaxies (Fig. 4), and in galaxy clusters, which are probably amplified and maintained by dynamo action , but little is known about magnetic fields in the intergalactic medium (Wielebinski & Beck 2005). Furthermore, the origin and evolution of magnetic fields is still unknown. The first "seed" fields may originate in the very young Universe or may have been ejected from the first quasars, stars, or supernovae. The SKA will measure the Faraday rotation towards several tens of million polarized background sources (mostly quasars), allowing us to derive the magnetic field structures and strengths of the intervening objects, such as, the Milky Way, distant spiral galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and in intergalactic space. - The cradle of life The presence of life on other planets is a fundamental issue for astronomy and biology. The SKA will contribute to this question in several ways. Firstly, it will be able to detect the thermal radio emission from centimeter-sized "pebbles" in protoplanetary systems (Fig. 5) which are thought to be the first step in assembling Earth-like planets. The SKA will allow us to detect a protoplanet separated from the central star by spacings of order the Sun-Earth separation out to distances of about 3000 light years. Biomolecules are observable in the radio range, for example, "cold sugar" glycolaldehyde (CH2OHCHO) which has several lines between 13 and 22 GHz. Prebiotic chemistry - the formation of the molecular building blocks necessary for the creation of life - occurs in interstellar clouds long before that cloud collapses to form a new solar system with planets. Finally, the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) project (see Tarter 2001 for a review) will use the SKA to find hints of technological activities. Ionospheric radar experiments similar to those on Earth will be detectable out to several thousand light years, and Arecibo-type radar beams, like those that we use to map our neighbor planets in the solar system, out to as far as a few ten thousand light years. SETI will also search for such artificial signals superimposed onto natural signals from other objects. Core science drivers From the five Key Science Projects (see above) two major science goals have been identified that drive the technical specifications for the first phase (SKA1): - Origins: Understanding the history and role of neutral hydrogen in the Universe from the dark ages to the present-day - Fundamental Physics: Detecting and timing binary pulsars and spin-stable millisecond pulsars in order to test theories of gravity. Exploration of the Unknown While the experiments described above are exciting science, the history of science tells us that many of the greatest discoveries happen unexpectedly and reveal objects which are completely different from those which had been envisaged during the planning phase of a new-generation telescope. For example, the serendipitous discovery of pulsars was made with a low-frequency telescope at Cambridge/UK that had been designed to measure the effects of the ionized interplanetary medium on radio waves. The unique sensitivity of the SKA will certainly reveal new classes of cosmic objects which are totally beyond our present imagination. We are looking forward to such surprises. Similar to present-day radio interferometers, like the Very Large Array (USA), the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (Netherlands), the Australia Telescope Compact Array and the Allen Telescope Array (USA), the SKA will consist of many antennas which are spread over a large area. The resolving power is proportional to the frequency and to the largest baseline between the outermost antennas and hence is much higher than for single dish telescopes. The signals are combined in a central computer (correlator). While the radio images from present-day interferometric telescopes are generally produced offline at the observer's institute, the enormous data rates of the SKA will demand online image production with automatic software pipelines. With a collecting area of about one square kilometer, the SKA will be about ten times more sensitive than the largest single dish telescope (305 m diameter) at Arecibo (Puerto Rico) , and fifty times more sensitive than the currently most powerful interferometer, the Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA, at Socorro/USA) . The SKA will continuously cover most of the frequency range accessible from ground, from 50 MHz to 10 GHz (corresponding to wavelengths of 3 cm to 6 m) in the first and second phases, later to be extended to at least 25 GHz (1.2 cm). The third major improvement is the enormously wide field of view, ranging from at least 20 square degrees at 70 MHz to about 18 square degree at 1.4 GHz. The speed to survey a large part of the sky, particularly at the lower frequencies, will hence be ten thousand to a million times faster than what is possible today. The SKA central region will contain about 50% of the total collecting area and comprise (1) separate core stations of 5 km diameter each for the dish antennas and the two types of aperture arrays (Fig. 6), (2) the mid-region out to about 180 km radius from the core with dish and aperture array antennas aggregated into "stations" distributed on a spiral arm pattern, and (3) "remote" stations with about 20 dish antennas each out to distances of at least 3000 km and located on continuations of the spiral arm pattern. The overall extent of the array determines the angular resolution, which will be about 0.1 seconds of arc at 100 MHz and 0.001 seconds of arc at 10 GHz. To meet these ambitious specifications and keep the cost to a level the international community can support, planning and construction of the SKA requires many technological innovations such as light and low-cost antennas, detector arrays with a wide field of view, low-noise amplifiers, high-capacity data transfer, high-speed parallel-processing computers and high-capacity data storage units. The realization needs multifold innovative solutions which will soon find their way into general communication technology. The frequency range spanning more than two decades cannot be realized with one single antenna design, so this will be achieved with a combination of different types of antennas. Under investigation are the following designs for the low and mid-frequency ranges: 1. An aperture array of simple dipole antennas with wide spacings (a "sparse aperture array") for the low-frequency range (about 50-350 MHz) (Fig. 7). This is a software telescope with no moving parts, steered solely by electronic phase delays. It has a large field of view and can observe towards several directions simultaneously. 2. An array of several thousand parabolic dishes of 15 meters diameter each for the medium frequency range (about 350 MHz - 3 GHz), each equipped with wide-bandwidth single-pixel "feeds" (Fig. 8). The surface accuracy of these dishes will allow a later receiver upgrade to higher frequencies. As an "Advanced Instrumentation Programme" for the full SKA, two additional technologies for substantially enhancing the field of view in the 1-2 GHz range are under rapid development: aperture arrays for medium frequencies with dense spacings (Fig. 9) and phased-array feeds for the parabolic dishes (see below). The technologies for a wide field of view are currently less mature than the dishes and the low-frequency dipole array but have the promise of significant scientific benefit in further increasing the survey speed once they prove feasible and cost effective. The detailed design for low and mid frequencies will be ready until 2016. The development of technologies for the high-frequency band (about 3-25 GHz) will start in 2016. Technical developments around the world are being coordinated by the SKA Science and Engineering Committee and its executive arm, the SKA Project Office. The technical work itself is funded from national and regional sources, and is being carried out via a series of verification programs. The global coordination was supported by funds from the European Commission under a program called PrepSKA, the Preparatory Phase for SKA , whose primary goals were to provide a costed system design and an implementation plan for the telescope by 2012. A number of telescopes provide examples of low frequency arrays, such as the European LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) telescope, with its core in the Netherlands , the MWA (Murchison Widefield Array) in Australia , PAPER (Precision Array to Probe the Epoch of Reionization), also in Australia , and the LWA (Long Wavelength Array) in the USA . All these long wavelength telescopes are software telescopes steered by electronic phase delays ("phased aperture array"). The first LOFAR stations saw "first light" in 2007 in the frequency band 10-80 MHz and in 2009 in the frequency band 110-240 MHz (Fig. 10). Full operation of LOFAR with 40 Dutch and 9 stations in other European countries is expected in 2013. Examples of dishes with a single-pixel feed are operating already in the USA (Allen Telescope Array, ATA) and are under development in South Africa (MeerKAT) . The first 12 m prototype dish of the MeerKAT array was completed in 2009. Dense aperture arrays comprise up to millions of receiving elements in planar arrays on the ground which can be phased together to point in any direction on the sky. Due to the large reception pattern of the basic elements, the field of view can be up to 250 square degrees. Dense aperture arrays have been the subject of a European Commission-funded design study named SKA Design Study (SKADS) which has resulted in a prototype array of 140 square meters area (EMBRACE) . The technology of dense phased-array feeds (PAF) can also be adapted to the focal plane of parabolic dishes. Such a "radio camera" is composed of many elements (pixels) which are controlled and combined electronically. This allows the dishes to observe over a far wider field of view than when using a classical single-pixel feed. Prototypes of such wide-field cameras are presently constructed in Australia (ASKAP) , the Netherlands (APERTIF) and in Canada (AFAD) . The first of the 36 dish antennas (12 meter size) of ASKAP in Western Australia have already been equipped with PAF prototypes. To summarize the various international activities: ASKAP, MWA and MeerKAT are SKA Precursor telescopes and are located on the two candidate sites, Australia and South Africa, respectively. SKA Pathfinder telescopes develop technology or science projects related to the SKA, such as LOFAR, EMBRACE, APERTIF, ATA, LWA, the Arecibo dish and the EVLA dish array. SKA Design Studies include the SKA Design Study (SKADS, Europe), the SKA Program (Canada) and the Technology Development Project (TDP, USA). To obtain radio images, the data from all stations have to be transmitted to a central computer and processed online. Compared to LOFAR with a data rate of about 300 Gigabits per second and a central processing power of 27 Tflops, the SKA will produce much more data and need much more processing power - by a factor of at least one hundred. Following "Moore’s law" of increasing computing power, a processor with sufficient power should be available by the end of this decade. The energy consumption for the computers and cooling will be tens of MegaWatts. Timeline and site Construction of the SKA is planned to start in 2017. In the first phase (until 2020) about 10% of the SKA will be erected (SKA Phase 1, SKA1), with completion of construction (SKA Phase 2, SKA2) at the low and mid frequency bands by about 2025, followed by construction at the high band. The total costs of the SKA are 400 million € for SKA1 plus about 1,500 million € for SKA2 (estimate from 2007), to be shared among the countries of the worldwide collaboration. In 2011, the SKA Organisation was founded, with presently ten members (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and one associated member (India). On 25 May 2012, the Members of the SKA Organisation agreed on a dual site solution for the SKA with two candidate sites fulfilling the scientific and logistical requirements: Southern Africa, extending from South Africa, with a core in the Karoo desert, eastward to Madagascar and Mauritius and northward into the continent, and Australia, with the core in Western Australia. Building of SKA1 190 15-meter dishes of SKA1 will be built in South Africa, combined with the 64 MeerKAT dishes in South Africa and equipped with three single-pixel receivers for the frequency range 350-3050 MHz ("SKA_mid"). 60 15-meter dishes will be added to the 36 dishes of the ASKAP array in Australia and equipped with phased-array feeds for the frequency range 650-1670 MHz ("SKA_survey"). The low-frequency sparse aperture array of about 250,000 dipole antennas for the frequency range 50-350 MHz will be built in Australia ("SKA_low"). Further reading on the SKA The Square Kilometre Array, download from: http://www.skatelescope.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/SKA-Brochure_June2011_web_small.pdf C. Carilli and S. Rawlings: Science with the Square Kilometre Array, New Astronomy Reviews, vol. 48, Elsevier, Amsterdam (2004) P.E. Dewdney, P.J. Hall, R.T. Schilizzi and T.J.L.W. Lazio: The Square Kilometre Array, Proceedings of the IEEE, 97, 1482-1496 (2009) P. Hall: The SKA: an Engineering Perspective, Experimental Astronomy, vol. 17, Springer, Berlin (2005) J. Lazio, M. Kramer and B. Gaensler: Tuning in to the Universe, Sky & Telescope 7/2008, p.20 B.F. Burke, F. Graham-Smith: An Introduction to Radio Astronomy, 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press (2009) R. Durrer: The Cosmic Microwave Background, Cambridge University Press (2008) X. Fan, C.L. Carilli and B. Keating: Observational Constraints on Cosmic Reionization, Annual Reviews in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 44, 415-462 (2006) J.A. Frieman, M.S. Turner and D. Huterer: Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe, Annual Reviews in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 46, 385-432 (2008) D.R. Lorimer and M. Kramer: Handbook of Pulsar Astronomy, Cambridge University Press (2004) J. Tarter: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), Annual Reviews in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 39, 511-548 (2001) R. Wielebinski and R. Beck (eds.): Cosmic Magnetic Fields, Springer, Berlin (2005) T.L. Wilson, K. Rohlfs and S. Hüttemeister: Tools of Radio Astronomy, 5th ed., Springer, Berlin (2009)

http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Square_kilometre_array

Before looking at how a star collapses to become a black hole, let’s look at its life. Stars are formed inside vast clouds of gas and dust to drift together to form clumps called protostars. Each protostar shrinks until its center becomes so dense that nuclear reactions begin inside it, and it starts to shine. The Orion nebula, a huge cloud of gas and dust is lit by the light of nearby stars. Stars come in different sizes. The Sun is a pretty average star, which glows yellow. Larger stars glow blue or white because they are hotter, but they don’t shine for as long. Smaller stars glow Orange or red. They are cooler and last longer. After thousands of millions of years, the nuclear reactions in the sun will stop. Gravity will then squeeze the core, creating heat that will make the outer layers swell, swallowing Earth. The outer layers will drift into space, leaving a planet-sized star called a White dwarf.

http://handsonuniverse.blogspot.com/2009/12/life-of-star.html

When it comes to orbits, Johannes Kepler knew his stuff. He’s the one who in 1602 realized that planets orbit in ellipses rather than circles, which became the first of his Three Planetary Laws. But no one is perfect, and these were not his first attempts at describing the motions of the Heavens. In 1596 he published Mysterium Cosmographicum (The Mysteries of the Cosmos), in which he proposed the following model for the solar system: In this model, the six known planets were envisioned as traveling in circles, along the equators of six giant spheres. The six giant spheres were separated by the five platonic solids. Saturn and Jupiter were separated by a giant cube, and Jupiter and Mars by a giant tetrahedron. It’s harder to see the interior planets in the drawing above, so here’s a close up: Mars and Earth were separated by a giant dodecahedron, Earth and Venus by a giant icosahedron, and, finally, Venus and Mercury by a giant octahedron. And then, in center of all the orbits, was the Sun. Let’s see how accurate this model is. If you start with a giant platonic solid, like a cube, you can circumscribe a sphere on the outside and inscribe a sphere on the inside, and then compare the ratio of the radii of the two spheres. It turns out to be √3≈1.73. And lo, if you look at the average radius of Saturn’s orbit (9.021 Astronomical Units) and divide it by the average radius of Jupiter’s orbit (5.20336 AU), it rounds to 1.73. Let’s see how the other ratios match up: |Giant Polyhedron||Ratio of spheres in model||Ratio of Actual Planet Orbits| |Saturn to Jupiter||cube||1.73||1.73| |Jupiter to Mars||tetrahedron||3.00||3.42| |Mars to Earth||dodecahedron||1.26||1.52| |Earth to Venus||icosahedron||1.26||1.38| |Venus to Mercury||octahedron||1.73||1.87| Not too shabby! Plus, as a bonus, you can see that the cube and the octahedron, which are dual polyhedra, have the same ratios of the radii of the circumscribed and inscribed spheres (√3≈1.73); likewise, the dodecahedron and the icosahedron (which are also duals of each other) have the same ratio of the radii of circumscribed and inscribed sphere (≈1.26). And unlike the Titius-Bode law, the big gap between Jupiter and Mars didn’t really cause any problems since the tetrahedron fit nicely in there. But a few years later Kepler realized it was wrong, and Uranus’s discovery later would have sealed the deal in any case. Poor Kepler. But it’s still an impressive idea, and was deemed important enough even recently to put on a 2002 commemorative 10-Euro coin in Austria (designed by Thomas Pesendorfer). The planet data came from NASA; the data on the radii of circumscribed and inscribed spheres came from Wolfram MathWorld. It’s not clear if the coin is copyrighted or even copyrightable or not; it seems to fall under fair-use guidelines, however. You can find the coin at the Austrian Mint.

http://threesixty360.wordpress.com/tag/kepler/

Early Scottish History and the UnionScotland began to emerge in some recognisable form in the ninth century. Up until then the different parts of the country were ruled over by various tribes - Picts, Britons, Scots, Angles and latterly the Norse. Between 850 and 1050 a single kingdom and a single name for what had been distinctly separate peoples began to evolve. In the early 840s Kenneth mac Alpin succeeded to the Gaelic kingdom of Dalriada and a couple of years later he became the Pictish king. Although not the first to take this route to the Pictish throne he was the first to have descendants that maintained the link between the two kingdoms. The mac Alpins eventually become accepted as 'high kings' of Alba or Scotia, which covered a great part of modern day Scotland. The mac Alpin line ran almost unbroken until 1034 by which time the institution of King of Scotland had been consolidated. The eleventh and twelfth centuries saw the development of a 'hybrid kingdom', one part of which was governed by a mixture of a feudal government and Celtic custom. |The Articles of Union, which formed the basis of The Act of Union of 1707| The Act of Union of 1707 united the parliaments of England and Scotland. However, Scotland retained its own church, the Kirk, and a separate legal system. Scotland at this time was at a very weak point - there had been serious famines and an attempt to establish a Scottish colony in Central America, the Darien scheme, had failed costing many Scots large amounts of money. To sign up to the Act of Union was seen as a decision of the ruling classes. They had an interest in preserving trade with England and their decision was unpopular with the rest of the country. In the initial period after the union the economy suffered as Scotland fought to become competitive in the larger British market. However, in the long run Scotland benefited economically from the Union. The tobacco trade with the English colonies in North America turned Glasgow into a boom town and the stability which British troops provided in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion (Bonnie Prince Charlie failed in his attempt to take the British throne) allowed Edinburgh to expand beyond its unhealthy and protective huddle around the castle. Both cities became 'hotbeds of genius' during the Scottish Enlightenment which gathered pace as the eighteenth century progressed. After the failure of the final Jacobite rebellion, nationalism declined among the aristocracy, and Scots law moved towards increased political convergence with England. Scotland was now removed from the fear of war, both against England and internally. The idea of Scotland as 'North Britain' was popularised among the aristocracy and intelligentsia and Scottish men went forward to fully participate in the British Empire at all levels. The assimilation to the English franchise gave middle class Scots a better opportunity to make their voices heard at Westminster. For the next 50 years the dominant force in Scottish politics was the Liberal Party. The Liberals were faithfully returned at the polls even when both Ireland and Wales were developing powerful Home Rule parties. The Liberals were seen by the Scottish as a reliable enough vehicle for their home rule ambitions. By the end of the century there was significant momentum in the home rule movement. A Scottish Home Rule Association was founded in 1886. More importantly, by 1885 the Liberal leader, William Gladstone, had become converted to the idea of home rule. Between 1889 and 1914 Scottish home rule was debated 15 times in Parliament, including the introduction of four bills. In 1913 a Home Rule Bill passed its second reading. World War I then intervened and the idea was dropped but support for home rule had been on the wane in any case, as campaigning for it meant associating with the more outspoken Irish home rule activists. This alienated support within Scotland both for the Liberals and constitutional change. Nevertheless, a discrete administrative system was established for Scotland. The post of Secretary for Scotland was formed in 1885 supported by a Scottish Office. It became a cabinet position in 1926. In 1895 a Scottish Grand Committee was established with powers to discuss Scottish legislation and in 1948 the Standing Committee on Scottish Bills was given powers to consider bills relating to Scotland. In 1957 it was renamed the Scottish Grand Committee. Scotland | Wales | Home | Non-Devolution News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/devolution/scotland/briefing/history.shtml

DURING WORLD WAR II, Latin Americans of Japanese descent were victims of "extraordinary rendition" - even though the phrase hadn't been coined yet. Extraordinary rendition - the state-sanctioned abduction of a person for incarceration and interrogation in another country - was a practice honed to pernicious perfection by the Bush administration in the aftermath of 9/1 1 . But six decades earlier, in a little-known piece of history, Japanese Latin Americans were abducted by the US military with the acquiescence of local authorities in 13 Central and South American countries. They were never charged with any crime, nor told why they were taken. The US government claimed it was all done in the interest of national security. Those who were abducted - business leaders, teachers, journalists - were viewed as potential spies for Japan. They were also taken as fodder for possible hostage exchanges down the road. But unlike Japanese Americans, who have attained redress for their imprisonment during the war, Japanese Latin Americans are still struggling to achieve some measure of justice and closure through legislation currently winding its way through Congress. The experience of Japanese Peruvians was emblematic of other Japanese Latin Americans. Emigration from Japan to Peru began at the start of the 20th century. The US government's exclusion laws made Latin America a more inviting destination for Japanese sojourners who hoped to make a bundle in a new land and eventually make a prosperous return to the homeland. Japanese migration to Peru started in the spring of 1899 when the Sakura Maru docked at the port city of Callao. There were 790 Japanese men on the ship, ready to begin work as contract laborers. Within four years, the Japanese population in Peru had risen to 3,000. Other countries in Latin America saw similar rapid growth. But the prosperity and stability that the Japanese found in Peru and other Latin American countries was shaken dramatically in the aftermath of Japan's Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. As West Coast Japanese Americans were forced into concentration camps, thousands of Japanese Latin Americans were rounded up, taken from their home countries and placed in similar camps in the United States. "We were kidnapped, plain and simple," says Peruvian-born Hector Watanabe, 70, who was 4 when he and his family were placed in a camp in Crystal City, TX, for the duration of World War II. (Most Japanese Latin Americans were placed in three internment camps that were separate from the 10 camps where Japanese Americans were housed.) Although evidence does not suggest that the Japanese Latin Americans were tortured in the US camps, many of those who were interned tell stories of humiliation, terror and affronts to dignity, including being forced to remove all of their clothes upon arrival in the United States to be inspected for lice and showered with DDT, much like cattle. When the war was over, the US government told the Japanese Latin Americans they were "Illegal aliens" and would be deported "back" to Japan. Many were born in Latin America and didn't even speak Japanese; they spoke Spanish. What happened to the Japanese Latin Americans during World War Il was a harbinger of what was to come in the aftermath of the 9/1 1 attacks and the Bush administration's "war on terror," when secret government operatives kidnapped individuals suspected of having links to the terrorist attacks and whisked them away to a third country - such as Egypt or Saudi Arabia - for "interrogation" (critics of the program have referred to it as "outsourcing torture"). "Often, we've seen that the government's response to national security crisis is repression," constitutional law scholar Erwin Chemerinsky says. "What happened to the Latin American Japanese is not dissimilar to what's happening today with others perceived by the government to be threats to national security. It's a dangerous threat to the civil liberties of us all." Japanese Americans attained a belated degree of personal justice in 1988, when the Civil Liberties Act awarded them reparations and an official apology from the US government; Japanese Latin Americans have not had that kind of positive resolution. The government told them they were not covered by legislation, and thus not eligible for reparations, because they were "illegal aliens." Subsequent federal lawsuits did not succeed in providing closure for the Japanese Latin Americans, so they turned their attention to Washington, hoping a law could be enacted to do for them what the Civil Liberties Act did for Japanese American internees. US Sen. Daniel lnouye, D-Hl, and US Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, have authored bills to do just that. After eight years of failure during the Bush administration, they are now a bit more optimistic that their measure has a chance to become law, given the Obama administration's new attitude regarding homeland security. "The American public should know that as much as it was a monumental achievement of this country to have freedom prevail in World War II, at the same time there was pain and tragedy and a lack of justice in some situations," Becerra says. "I hope we can finally close the door on the chapter of this period in history. Luis Torres is a veteran journalist, writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. In this issue's Features section, LUIS TORRES reported on the redress efforts of Americans [Japanese Latin Americans] who were placed in detention camps in the United States during World War II. "What interested me was the parallel between how the US government reacted to December 7 and the way, many years later, it reacted to 9/11. The parallels are stark and disquieting." Torres recently retired as a general assignment reporter for the CBS radio station in Los Angeles and has written for several publications, including the Los Angeles Times. He also developed the public television documentary series Chicano! History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement and produced the first Los Lobos record "waaay back" in the late 1970s. The previous issue of Hyphen is available in its entirety for your perusing pleasure. Almost as good as having it right in your hands!

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/magazine/issue-18-action/japanese-latin-americans-await-justice

Assessment helps teachers monitor the effectiveness of their instruction for all children. Assessment identifies which children are falling behind in critical skills. Good practice requires the use of timely, reliable data to track student growth in order to guide instruction. By regularly assessing whether children are making adequate progress in learning to read, we know which children need more help and if their instructional plan is working for them. Analysis of assessment data directs appropriate interventions. Before administering assessments, the following questions should be considered to ensure that the assessment will be useful in making these decisions: The key types of Assessment are: - Why is the information being collected (to identify skills not yet mastered or to determine which students are not performing on grade level)? - What information is being collected (general performance or specific skill performance)? - When is the information being collected (frequency throughout the year; prior to, during or after instruction)? - How it is collected (individual or group administration)? - Which students' information is collected (all students or an identified group)? Please scroll down the page for descriptions of the types of assessment.

http://nysreads.org/assessment/default.aspx

This colossal head dates from 1200–900 B.C. Beginning next month on Feb. 19, the de Young will feature one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of Olmec culture ever presented to the public. Recognized as one of America's oldest civilizations, the Olmec were known for their ambitious artworks, most notably colossal heads carved from enormous boulders. Vessels, figures, ornamentations, and ritual masks reveal the story of the Olmec, which began around 1400 B.C. in south central Mexico. Jade, obsidian, magnetite, and other materials were manipulated into representations of animals, spirit beings and humans. They also depicted supernatural beings alongside naturalistic portrayals of objects found in daily life, the symbolism of both the sacred and secular. Stylized animals and spirit entities occupied the natural world simultaneously, reflecting religious meaning and personal history. The colossal heads are the most enterprising, distinctive and attractive remnants of the Olmec. Now widely considered to be representations of their leaders, these enormous heads were sometimes applied as parts of other monuments. Utilizing primitive tools, the Olmec were able to carve magnificent detailed faces, no two alike, out of basalt, an impossibly hard stone to manipulate. Weighing between 25 and 55 tons, these massive head sculptures, when finished, were moved dozens of miles and took hundreds of people months to move to their final destinations. Some heads were variously ravaged, buried and disinterred, displaced to new locations, or completely rebuilt. Mutilation had significance beyond common defacement and may have been attributed to invaders. Other historians speculate that the colossal heads were removed from thrones and recycled as freestanding art objects, the defacement having more to do with the symbolic removal of the previous ruler's power and authority. The Olmec were innovators of art and invention. The concept of zero as attributed to the Long Count calendar was used by many Mesoamerican cultures. Originally believed to have originated with the Mayans, the idea may have begun with the Olmec. Furthermore, the Olmec are thought to be one of the earliest practitioners of human sacrifice. They were also one of the first societies that played ball games. (Some of the colossal heads even depict leaders as ball players.) As the first Mesoamerican civilization, they were the precursors of other cultures. This exhibition represents a vast collection of the era comprised of loans from over 25 museums, some of the objects never before seen in the United States. Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico: Feb. 19 through May 18, 2011; de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive in Golden Gate Park, 415-750-3600, www.deyoung.org

http://www.northsidesf.com/jan11/ae_olmec.html

United States presidential election of 1824Article Free Pass United States presidential election of 1824, American presidential election held in 1824, in which John Quincy Adams was elected by the House of Representatives after Andrew Jackson won the most popular and electoral votes but failed to receive a majority. The demise of “King Caucus” Beginning in 1796, caucuses of the political parties’ congressional delegations met informally to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates, leaving the general public with no direct input. The subsequent demise in the 1810s of the Federalist Party, which failed even to nominate a presidential candidate in 1820, made nomination by the Democratic-Republican caucus tantamount to election as president. This early nomination system—dubbed “King Caucus” by its critics—evoked widespread resentment, even from some members of the Democratic-Republican caucus. In the election of 1820, during the period often termed the “Era of Good Feelings,” James Monroe ran unopposed, winning 231 of the 235 electoral votes (Adams received one, and three other votes were not recorded). By 1824 the King Caucus system had fallen into such disrepute that only one-fourth of the Democratic-Republican congressional delegation took part in the caucus, which nominated Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford of Georgia. (Crawford had only narrowly been defeated in the caucus by Monroe in 1816.) Crawford’s nomination seemed unusual, given that he had suffered a stroke in 1823 and that Adams and Jackson were more popular figures in the party. Jackson, a military hero from Tennessee, was nominated by the Tennessee state legislature in 1822 and was joined in the contest by Adams, from Massachusetts and an able secretary of state under Monroe, and Kentuckian Henry Clay, the speaker of the House of Representatives, who was viewed as the candidate of the West. John C. Calhoun of South Carolina abandoned a bid for the presidency, instead choosing to run as the vice presidential nominee for both Adams and Jackson. The 1824 election was the first in which a large majority of electors were chosen by voters rather than by appointment by state legislatures. Calling what ensued a “campaign” might be an overstatement, however, because the candidates did not actively campaign on their own behalf. Rather, advocates of the candidates mobilized to spread the word and turn out their base of supporters. When the votes were tallied, Jackson received more than 150,000 votes, while Adams finished second with some 108,000. Clay and Crawford were a distant third and fourth, respectively, in the popular vote. Jackson received 99 electoral votes, winning outright in Alabama, Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee while taking some electoral votes in Illinois (3), Louisiana (3), Maryland (7), and New York (1). Adams captured 84 electoral votes, running strongly in particular in New England; he won all the electoral votes of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, carried 26 of New York’s 36, and won a handful from Delaware (1), Illinois (1), Louisiana (2), and Maryland (3). With Crawford picking up 41 electoral votes and Clay 37, no candidate received a majority, however, and the House of Representatives would therefore choose among the top three leading candidates, as dictated by the Twelfth Amendment. Clay was thus eliminated from contention, but as speaker of the House he would play a large role in the ensuing election, in which each state would cast only one vote. Crawford’s illness precluded him from being a major factor, so the presidency was largely a battle between Adams and Jackson. Jackson staked his claim to the presidency by arguing that he had led both the popular and electoral vote tallies. But, while Jackson largely stayed out of negotiations with members of Congress, Adams actively sought their votes and even had a private meeting with Clay. In the event, on Feb. 9, 1825, Adams was elected president by the House of Representatives on the first ballot, winning 13 states to Jackson’s 7 and Crawford’s 4. Kentucky’s delegation, which had received direction from the state legislature to vote for Jackson, instead plumped for Adams, being swayed (as were some members in some other delegations) by Clay. Soon after Adams’s inauguration, Clay was appointed secretary of state, which led Jackson’s supporters to denounce an alleged deal between Adams and Clay as the “Corrupt Bargain.” Although Adams won in 1824, Jackson got his revenge in 1828 when he defeated Adams to capture the presidency. Results of the 1824 election The results of the 1824 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table. |presidential candidate||political party||electoral votes||popular votes| |John Quincy Adams||no distinct party designations||841||108,740| |William H. Crawford||41||40,856| |1As no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes, the decision was made by the House of Representatives. Sources: Electoral and popular vote totals based on data from the United States Office of the Federal Register and Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to U.S. Elections, 4th ed. (2001). What made you want to look up "United States presidential election of 1824"? Please share what surprised you most...

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1776345/United-States-presidential-election-of-1824

From Ohio History Central The Algonquians are a variety of groups of Native Americans who all speak languages closely related to one another. The Algonquian language family is one of the largest in America. Native Americans who spoke one of the many Algonquian languages have lived across eastern North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and from northern Canada to the Carolinas. The Algonquian native groups who lived in modern-day Ohio stayed mainly in small farming villages. Maize or corn was their most important crop. Some of the tribes who either lived in or near Ohio and belonged to the Algonquian Native American language family included the Shawnees, the Delawares, the Miamis, the Eel River natives, the Ottawas, the Wea natives, the Potawatomi natives, the Sauk natives, and the Piankashaw natives. Most Algonquian tribes allied themselves with the French until that country lost its North American colonies in the French and Indian War (1756-1763). Fearing white settlement of their lands, most of these people then sided with the English in the American Revolution and the War of 1812. By the 1840s, most Algonquian tribes had ceded their claims to the land east of the Mississippi River. - Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Algonquian_Indians?rec=572&nm=Algonquian-Indians

This section or page is incomplete. You can help by expanding it. Click edit at the top or side of the page. Then type your contribution, and click at the bottom. Editors will help with format and details. A square is a special rectangle, one in which all sides are the same length. Because a square is a kind of rectangle, it must have a right angle at each corner. So, all of the angles are "the same" (congruent, or matching), and all of the sides are congruent, too. When you multiply an integer times itself, the resulting product is called a perfect square or a square number, or just "a square." So 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, ... 100, 121, 144, ... 9801, ... are all square numbers.

http://thinkmath.edc.org/index.php/Square

Before 600 B.C. there was no monetary system in Greece, so they utilized the barter system. This was a system of trading goods and /or services for other goods and/or services. By 500 B.C., each city-state began minting their own coin. A merchant usually only took coins from their own city. Visitors had to find a moneychanger to exchange their coins. Typically a 5 or 6 percent fee was charged to exchange foreign currency to the local currency. Athens used a currency known as the drachma. Their currency was widely used because of the large trade network that they developed. Often an Athenian coin could be used in other Greek cities and not have to be exchanged for the local currency. The Athenian monetary system was set up in the following way: 6 obols = 1 drachma 100 drachma = 1 mina 600 minae = 1 talent (or the equivalent of 57 pounds of silver) A worker in Athens could earn about two drachmas a day. Sculptors and doctors were able to make up to six drachmas daily. An unskilled worker would make around half of a drachma for one day’s work. The typical costs of goods in ancient Greece: loaf of bread 1 obol lamb 8 drachmas gallon of olive oil 5 drachmas shoes 8 to 12 drachmas slaves 200 to 300 drachmas houses 400 to 1000 drachmas New Image Sections: Also New - Ancient Rome Web Resource Section Translate Link 101Continuous Translations for entire site Please see Pictures Galleries for Royalty Free images for Educational uses. Copyright © 2000-2013 All Rights Reserved History Source LLC. Contact Us: Suggest a Site - General Comments See Our New Photo Site HistoryPhoto101.com

http://www.historylink101.com/2/greece3/money.htm

Measurement, algebraic thinking Sunshine State Standards: - Spreadsheet program - Meter Sticks Students work in pairs - Have students help each other measure different body parts of your - Have the measure the height of the students. - Have both students enter their data into the same spreadsheet. - Then, have students make bar graphs that display their data. - Have students write a paragraph that explains the results of the data that was collected. - Then, have students write a paragraph that describes the relationship (or lack of one) between body part length and the length of the entire body. Students will use their data to support their conclusions. - Have students write a paragraph comparing their results to their partners results

http://fcit.usf.edu/FCAT5M/resource/lesplans/techbody.htm

Part of Unit: Abrasives Lesson Plan Overview / Details The lesson will cover the different types of sandpaper and their uses in woodworking - Hook and grouping - 5 Minutes - How it's made video on making of sandpaer - 10 Minutes - Power point on Sandpaper - 25 Minutes California Career and Technical Education Standards California Academic Content Standards (Reinforced) Objectives and Goals Student will be able to identify different types of sandpaper, the proper grit selection and how to sand for best finishing results The teacher needs to have the following pieces of sandpaper and sandpaper samples available. The larger variety of samples the better for the students to see. Wide belts from a surface sander if available, large belts from a stationary sander, small belts from hand belt sanders, small 5"-6" disks, large disks from stationary sanders. Drum sanders or spindle sander sleeves or any other sandpaper that is different from sheets goods. You want to be sure that students do not get the idea that sandpaper is in 9x12 only. Have sheets of sandpaper in the assorted grits 60, 80 120, 220. Emery paper, aluminum oxide, silicone carbide (wet dry paper) and garnet paper. On the back of the sheets write either words in large print, or phrases. Precut the piece into quarters and hand them out when they come in Activities in this Lesson - Sandpaper scavenger hunt - Hooks / Set When students walk in the room, hand each student a small piece of sand paper of different grits and different types. Full sheets will be cut into 4 pieces with a writing on the back. After they are seated have the students get up and move tables to group by sandpaper type. On the back of the full sheet write words or phrases that the students have to put together to be sure their group is the same type and grit of paper. They may not be able to tell exactly what they have but they will be able figure out that they have the same paper/grit. - How it's made video - Lecture Give the students a 1/2 sheet of paper with video questions on them for them to answer. Students in their groups will write all the names of the people with the same sandpaper, the type they got and the grit. Attached are the questions for the video, it can be copied to get 2 per page or have students copy the questions on their own paper before the video starts. This will also help them remember the questions by writing them down so they can listen for the answers while they are watching the video - Pre powerpoint - Lecture Have students check their papers, did they see their sandpaper in the video? Does it really matter what type you use or how rough it is? Sandpaper can make or break all of the hard work you have put in on your project to this point. Show students a piece of finished material that has been sanded on one side and left untouched on the other. Flip the board over and show the other side with finish on it to show how all the imperfections, scratches and glue marks do not just go away with magic, they need to be sanded. Part of the board will have been rough sanded in various stages to show the progression of grits. Sanding is the most important part of building a project. All of the hard work you do can be left to look horrible if you do not pepare the wood for final finish. This is only accomplished by sanding with the right sandpaper. - Power Point on Sandpaper - Lecture After students watch the video on how sand paper is made start the powerpoint. During the powerpoint you can start students out by looking at the sandpaper they have in their groups. Have them look at the piece they have to see that there are the 3 components that each piece is made up of. Backing material, adhesive and abrasive(cutting) material All pieces of sandpaper are made up of the same components - have as large a variety of sandpaper types. You should have large (bigger the better) small belts, large disks, and small disks, drums and spindles if available. Have a to show that sandpaper is not just for sanding but also as grip tape for boards. Sandpaper is all about grit. What is grit? Grit is how sandpaper is measured. Teacher needs to have a small rock that is about 1" square. This would represent 1 grit sand paper. Work through the sandpaper powerpoint and have students take notes. It is important to show students that no matter what the sanding is it will all be made of the the same basic components, each type has a specific use. - sandpaper.ppt [ Download ] Sandpaper powerpoint with detailed notes for the teacher on what information to give the students when presenting the lesson - Assessment Types: All projects completed will have a percentage of the grade dedicated to sanding. Students will be instructed that they may not proceed to the finishing process until the teacher has approved the final sanding. During the sanding process on the first project the instructor will be be sure to check projects in detail, looking for machine marks, tool marks and other imperfections. Students will be shown a series of pictures of tooling marks that can be removed ( machines marks, file marks, saw marks) and marks that can not be removed ( grain lines and knots) - Grading Rubric for all projects.docx [ Download ] null

http://www.cteonline.org/portal/default/Curriculum/Viewer/Curriculum?action=2&cmobjid=276478&view=viewer&refcmobjid=272422

Hey, how do I download it? This is a warmer, and there is nothing to download. It's just an idea for your lesson, not a worksheet. A good first-day activity is to, when introducing ourselves, give the meaning of our names (as well as the spelling and pronunciation as necessary). Many students will know their names’ meanings, and most people enjoy discussing their names. Those students who don’t know their names’ meaning may be inspired to find out by the next class. This is a valuable activity because it provides speaking and listening practice as students discuss their names. In addition, it provides extra processing time of each name, increasing the likelihood it will be remembered.

http://busyteacher.org/6400-what-do-our-names-mean.html

The cuckoos were named for the familiar calls of the Common Cuckoo, which are often used in cuckoo clocks. The majority of species occur in the tropics. Those found in temperate species are migratory, moving south for the winter. Most species live in forests, although some prefer more open habitats. The cuckoos have generally slender bodies and are of variable size. They have long tails and strong legs. Breeding / Nesting Cuckoos are known for being brood parasites - although not all species are. Some cuckoos species do lay their eggs in the nests of other species, often choosing nests with eggs that closely resemble their own. Often, the cuckoo egg hatches earlier than the host's chicks, and the larger cuckoo chick will usually either evict the eggs or young of their host parents. Interestingly, non-parasitic cuckos, lay white eggs; while those that are parasitic, lay colors that mach those of their hosts. They usually nest in trees or bushes; although the coucals lay their eggs in nests on the ground or in low shrubs. Most cuckoos feed on larger insects, caterpillars and other animal prey. The lizard-cuckoos found in the Caribbean have have specialized in taking lizards. The larger species may also take snakes, small rodents, and even other birds, which they kill with their strong bills. They calls are typically relatively simple - resembling whistles, flutes or hiccups The familiar call of the Common Cuckoo is often used in cuckoo clocks. Subfamily Cuculinae - Brood-parasitic cuckoos - Genus Eocuculus - fossil (Late Eocene of Teller County, USA) - Genus Clamator (4 species) - Genus Pachycoccyx - Thick-billed Cuckoo - Genus Cuculus - typical cuckoos (some 15 species) - Genus Cercococcyx - Long-tailed Cuckoos (3 species) - Genus Cacomantis (8 species) - Genus Chrysococcyx - bronze cuckoos (12 species) - Genus Rhamphomantis - Long-billed Cuckoo: The Long-billed Cuckoo is monotypic (a genus consisting of only one species) within the genus Rhamphomantis. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. - Genus Surniculus - drongo-cuckoos (2 species) - Genus Caliechthrus - The White-crowned Koel (Caliechthrus leucolophus) - Genus Microdynamis - Dwarf Koel - Genus Eudynamys - true koels (2-5 species, one extinct) - Genus Scythrops - Channel-billed Cuckoo - Subfamily Phaenicophaeinae - Malkohas and couas - Genus Phaenicophaeus - malkohas (12 species) - Genus Carpococcyx - Asian ground-cuckoos (3 species) - Genus Coua - couas (9 living species, 1 recently extinct) - Subfamily Coccyzinae - American cuckoos - Subfamily Neomorphinae - Typical ground-cuckoos - Subfamily Centropodinae - Coucals - Genus Centropus (some 30 species) - Subfamily Crotophaginae - Anis High Quality Species Photos, Videos and/or Articles Contributions are welcome! Click here to upload articles and images. Please Note: The images on this page are the sole property of the photographers (unless marked as Public Domain). Please contact the photographers directly with respect to any copyright or licensing questions. Thank you. The Avianweb strives to maintain accurate and up-to-date information; however, mistakes do happen. If you would like to correct or update any of the information, please send us an e-mail. THANK YOU!

http://www.avianweb.com/cuckoos.html

Children playing in the sea never tire of trying to catch the little fish that swim close to shore with their bare hands. The fish sense the danger and can escape by reaching accelerations of up to ten times the gravity acceleration within a fraction of a second. This unimaginable acceleration explains why it is virtually impossible to catch a fish with our bare hands, although they seem to be near and within our grasp. Millions of years of evolution have allowed the larval fish to develop an efficient escape mechanism: they bend their bodies into a ‘C’ shape before they flee away from their predators. Observations and experiments have speculated that this so-called C-start is an optimal design developed over millions of years of evolution. C-start hypothesis tested using a supercomputer Petros Koumoutsakos, a professor at the Computational Science & Engineering Laboratory at ETH Zurich, and two of his doctoral students, Mattia Gazzola and Wim Van Rees, have now provided the quantitative confirmation regarding the optimality this C-start hypothesis, which had been missing to date. They have also made further discoveries regarding the hydrodynamics involved in the process.

http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/News/110992-2012-05-02-escape-response-of-small-fish-tested-using-a-supercomputer.htm

Children need to be nurtured to fully develop their abilities to become real thinkers--to puzzle through problems, to see multiple ways of finding solutions, to gather and weigh evidence, and to apply and test scientific ideas. They need opportunities to experience the joy of discovery and develop scientific attitudes such as perseverance, risk taking, curiosity, and inventiveness. These skills of inquiry can ultimately equip children with the ability to function effectively as adults, both at work and in the everyday world. Inquiry is an approach to learning that involves a process of exploring the natural or material world, and that leads to asking questions, making discoveries, and rigorously testing those discoveries in the search for new understanding. Inquiry, as it relates to science education, should mirror as closely as possible the enterprise of doing real inquiry process is driven by one's own curiosity, wonder, interest, or passion to understand an observation or solve a problem. process begins when the learner notices something that intrigues, surprises, or stimulates a question--something that is new, or something that may not make sense in relationship to the learner's previous experience or current understanding. next step is to take action--through continued observing, raising questions, making predictions, testing hypotheses, and creating theories and conceptual models. learner must find his or her own pathway through this process. It is rarely a linear progression, but rather more of a back-and-forth, or cyclical, series of events. the process unfolds, more observations and questions emerge, giving occasion for deeper interaction with the phenomena--and greater potential for further development of understanding. the way, the inquirer collects and records data, makes representations of results and explanations, and draws upon other resources such as books, videos, and the expertise or insights of others. meaning from the experience requires reflection, conversations, comparisons of findings with others, interpretation of data and observations, and the application of new conceptions to other contexts. All of this serves to help the learner construct a new mental framework of the science education requires both learning scientific concepts and developing scientific thinking skills. Effective classrooms rely on many different ways of teaching science. This book is devoted to one approach, inquiry learning, which has proven to be a powerful tool in learning science and in keeping wonder and curiosity alive in the classroom.

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsf99148/intro.htm

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Earth's climate system is more sensitive to perturbations now than it was in the distant past, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. While the laughably rapid climate change portrayed in the soon-to-be-released movie The Day After Tomorrow remains safely in the realm of Hollywood fiction, the new findings do suggest a previously unrecognized role for tropical and subtropical regions in controlling the sensitivity of the climate to change. Christina Ravelo, an associate professor of ocean sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her coauthors at UCSC and Boise State University, Idaho, focused on the Pliocene epoch, from about 5 million to 1.8 million years ago, when the climate was significantly warmer than today, sea levels were higher, and polar ice sheets were smaller. During the late Pliocene, the climate shifted to the much cooler regime of the Pleistocene, characterized by episodes of extensive glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere. Our current climate happens to be a relatively warm period within this generally cool climate regime. Traditional explanations for the transition from the warm Pliocene to the cool Pleistocene have focused on single events--such as the uplifting of mountain ranges or separation of ocean basins--that may have altered global circulation patterns and tipped the climate system beyond some threshold, resulting in a new climatic regime. Ravelo's findings, however, point toward a gradual process in which shifts in major components of the climate system occurred at different times in different regions. "We found evidence of regional responses that can't be explained by a domino effect. The transition took about 2 million years, and there is no way one event could have led to that," Ravelo said. The researchers analyzed sediment cores from the ocean floor for evidence of climatic conditions during the Pliocene. The fossils of microscopic plankton preserved in the sediments hold records of ocean temperatures and seasonal variability. Even the extent of glaciation on land can be determined from oxygen isotope ratios in the calcite shells of marine plankton. When they compared climate trends at different latitudes, the researchers found that tropical conditions remained stable while a major shift took place at higher latitudes. The onset of significant glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere took place about 2.75 million years ago, accompanied by cooling in subtropical regions. Significant changes in the tropics were not seen until a million years later, when conditions in the tropics and subtropics switched to the patterns of ocean temperatures and atmospheric circulation that still persist today. With this transition to the modern mode of circulation in the tropics and subtropics, the global climate system seems to have become much more sensitive to small perturbations. For example, on short timescales, we see the dramatic swings in climate known as El Niņo and La Niņa, triggered by periodic changes in the equatorial waters of the Pacific. On longer timescales, the comings and goings of the glacial ice sheets over hundreds of thousands of years during the Pleistocene corrrelate with cyclical changes in solar heating of the planet related to cycles in Earth's orbit around the Sun. Climatologists refer to such effects as "solar forcing" of the climate. But during the Pliocene, the same cyclic changes in solar heating took place without corresponding swings in the global climate. "Small changes in the solar budget gave large climate responses during the Pleistocene, which we now think is related to conditions in tropical regions that create strong feedbacks between the ocean and the atmosphere," Ravelo said. "During the Pliocene, the system didn't respond very strongly to small perturbations, because there weren't these feedback mechanisms embedded in the atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns." The ultimate cause of the transition from Pliocene to Pleistocene climate regimes is still unknown. A likely candidate, however, is a gradual decline in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, Ravelo said. "The forcing must have been gradual, and different places went through this major transition in the climate at different times because of distinct regional responses to the global forcing," she said. The findings have implications for understanding modern climate change. The Pliocene is the most recent period in Earth's history with warmer temperatures than today and comparable concentrations of greenhouse gases, so it offers a tempting analogy for future climate change. But the Pliocene was a very different time in terms of circulation patterns and sensitivity to climate change, Ravelo said. "If we use that time period as an analogy for the future, we need to understand that we are looking at a climate system that is really quite different than today," she said. "And whatever happens in the future, if there are significant changes in the lower latitudes, that could have major effects on the global climate system." Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009 Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. If you talk to God, you are praying. If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. -- Thomas Szasz

http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2004-05/uoc--gsl051704.html

The history of America did not end with The Revolution, but so many events followed and these events kept the history going to this day. Some of these events included the immigration towards the west of the United States, the conflict and wars with indigenous tribes especially the red Indians who were very fierce and who never easily gave fighting to protect their land from foreign occupiers. There was also the building of the railway across the land. Then the American Civil War came. The American Civil War is one a war that will be remembered throughout the history of the United States of American due to what caused it, its progress and the fruits of its end. All these touched and influenced the Native American culture to a larger extent. Andrew Jackson and the Westward Movement From early 1800s many immigrants were from Europe more especially from England and France. Many of the immigrants were following the foot steps of their ancestors who had early run away from these countries because of persecution which had taken place. Many came to the United States after wars of revolutions like the French Revolution. The immigrants landed in the east coast of the United States. As the population soared in the East coast many opted to move to the central and westwards of the US. For instance, Daniel, (1990) says “about thirty immigrants landed in the United States in 1818”. As many moved towards the central of the US they faced many challenges and some resistance from the indigenous Indian communities who were fighting for their land. Thousands of the immigrants settled in the unoccupied Appalachian highlands which were very fertile for farming activities. Within this period the civil war broke out and it disrupted the immigration patterns even though many people had already settled in many lands apart from the west coast. “Out of war nations acquire additional territory if they are vicious and unfortunately the new land is exploited by a few” notes (Butler…78). The migration to the west was to decongest the east side of America, some wanted to adventure, some moved to look for larger lands for farming. Industries and the rail network also influence some to move to the west to find jobs. Andrew Jackson was elected President of The United States of America in the year 1832. This is the time when the migration to the west of the United States was at its but with great resistance form the Red Indians fighting viciously to secure their land. President Andrew Jackson signed an act that facilitated for the Indians to be moved from their ancestral lands including Mississippi. The president devoted most his time to talk about the policy that meant remove the Indians out of the way because by then commerce and industry were growing. He signed the policy and was committed to destroy the opposition of the Indians or destroy them. The president said, (Daniel…103) “Our conduct toward these people is deeply interesting in our national character.

http://www.americanpresidents.com/American%20Presidents%20List/RelatedToArticle/

Continuous, median, seismic mountain range on the ocean floor, running through the North and South Atlantic oceans, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific Ocean. A continuous, volcanically active mountain range extending through the North and South Atlantic Oceans, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the South Pacific Ocean. It is a broad, fractured swell with a central rift valley, and usually extremely rugged topography. It is 1-3 km in elevation, about 1500 km in width, and over 84,000 km in length. According to the theory of sea-floor spreading, new oceanic crust is created by volcanic eruptions at the mid-ocean ridge. mountain range that runs along the ocean bottom formed at the boundaries of oceanic plates. The base is in very deep water and the top may break through the ocean surface to form oceanic islands, such as the Western Azores. An underwater mountain ridge with volcanoes, formed where two tectonic plates move apart. A major elevated linear feature of the seafloor consisting of many small, slightly offset segments, with a total length of 200 to 20,000 km. A mid-ocean ridge occurs at a divergent plate boundary, a site where two plates are being pulled apart and new oceanic lithosphere is being created. A 2-km-high submarine mountain belt that forms along a divergent oceanic plate boundary. a boundary between plates where new lithospheric material is injected from below A nearly continuous undersea mountain chain that marks the location where tectonic plates (pieces of the lithosphere) are moving apart. Mid-ocean ridges are the locations of creation of new ocean crust. A huge underwater mountain range. A submarine mountain chain located along the divergent plate boundaries in the ocean. New oceanic crust forms as magma cools and solidifies at the ridge. A 50,000 km submarine mountain range along which oceanic plates are formed. ridge on the ocean floor where oceanic crust forms and from which it moves laterally in opposite directions. A type of tectonic plate boundary where two tectonic plates are moving apart (also called a "spreading center"). Volcanic activity creates a ridge at the boundary. A chain of undersea mountains in every ocean that circles the earth like the seam of a baseball for nearly 37,000 miles (59.545 km) and is the site of active seafloor spreading. The site where tectonic plates move apart and new oceanic crust is created. A continuous mountain range with a central valley, located on the ocean floor where two tectonic plates move away from each other allowing molten rock from the Earth's interior to move toward the surface. A mid-ocean ridge or mid-oceanic ridge is an underwater mountain range, formed by plate tectonics. This uplifting of the ocean floor occurs when convection currents rise in the mantle beneath the oceanic crust and create magma where two tectonic plates meet at a divergent boundary. The mid-ocean ridges of the world are connected and form a single global mid-oceanic ridge system that is part of every ocean, making the mid-oceanic ridge system the longest mountain range in the world, with a total length of about 60,000 km.

http://www.metaglossary.com/meanings/665610/

Gulf Islands National Park Reserve of Canada Anatomy of a Creek The Headwaters | The Wetlands | Brackish Water | The headwaters of a river are the small streams or wetlands that are its source . The headwaters combine to make larger streams. These in term, combine to become the river. Eventually, the lower course of the river (often wider and slower in velocity) will meet the ocean. This area where the river's fresh water and the ocean's salt water mix freely is called the estuary of the river. The Lyall Creek wetland © L. Sumi, Parks Canada / 2005 Wetlands are environments at the interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems and truly aquatic systems, making them different from each yet highly dependent on both. Because coastal wetlands absorb the force of strong winds and tides, they protect the adjoining terrestrial areas from storms, floods, and tidal damage. Similarly, wetlands found inland can moderate surface and groundwater flow providing more consistent moisture to surrounding ecosystems. Wetlands support a wide variety of wildlife and therefore the conservation of wetlands is of prime importance for the preservation of critical habitat for many species. An estuary is typically the tidal mouth of a river, and estuaries are often characterised by the deposition of suspended sediment. Sediment is the silt, mud, clay or small rocks deposited by a river or lake. As the water velocity slows, sediments fall out of the water column and are deposited on the bottom. In Lyall Creek, one of the problems that had to be addressed by the restoration effort was a disruption of sediment dynamics resulting in a buildup of sediment above the culvert and a deficit of sediment downstream of the culvert. Brackish water is sea water mixed with fresh water. In the Lyall Creek estuary, the brackish surface water covers a range of salinity . Diagram of a typical estuary © F.Binard, Parks Canada / 2006 It is characteristic of many brackish surface waters that their salinity can vary considerably over space and/or time. There is a tendency for freshwater (less dense) to float as a lens above the salt water (more dense) although currents, tides and surficial features can promote mixing as part of the dynamic relationship between the two waters. An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water which has a free connection with the open sea. In an estuary, sea water mixes with fresh water. The Saturna Island estuary © T. Golumbia, Parks Canada / 2005 The sand and mud banks and marshes are relied upon as habitat by, for example, wading birds. Estuaries are more likely to occur on submerged coasts, where the sea level has risen in relation to the land, as this process floods valleys to form rias and fjords. These can become estuaries if there is a significant river flowing into them. Background of Lyall Creek Restoring the Habitat of Lyall Creek Baseline Inventory and Monitoring

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/gulf/natcul/natcul5/d.aspx

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- In the days following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, methane-eating bacteria bloomed in the Gulf of Mexico, feasting on the methane that gushed, along with oil, from the damaged well. The sudden influx of microbes was a scientific curiosity: Prior to the oil spill, scientists had observed relatively few signs of methane-eating microbes in the area. Now researchers at MIT have discovered a bacterial gene that may explain this sudden influx of methane-eating bacteria. This gene enables bacteria to survive in extreme, oxygen-depleted environments, lying dormant until food — such as methane from an oil spill, and the oxygen needed to metabolize it — become available. The gene codes for a protein, named HpnR, that is responsible for producing bacterial lipids known as 3-methylhopanoids. The researchers say producing these lipids may better prepare nutrient-starved microbes to make a sudden appearance in nature when conditions are favorable, such as after the Deepwater Horizon accident. The lipid produced by the HpnR protein may also be used as a biomarker, or a signature in rock layers, to identify dramatic changes in oxygen levels over the course of geologic history. "The thing that interests us is that this could be a window into the geologic past," says MIT postdoc Paula Welander, who led the research. "In the geologic record, many millions of years ago, we see a number of mass extinction events where there is also evidence of oxygen depletion in the ocean. It's at these key events, and immediately afterward, where we also see increases in all these biomarkers as well as indicators of climate disturbance. It seems to be part of a syndrome of warming, ocean deoxygenation and biotic extinction. The ultimate causes are unknown." Welander and Roger Summons, a professor of Earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences, have published their results this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A sign in the rocks Earth's rocky layers hold remnants of life's evolution, from the very ancient traces of single-celled organisms to the recent fossils of vertebrates. One of the key biomarkers geologists have used to identify the earliest forms of life is a class of lipids called hopanoids, whose sturdy molecular structure has preserved them in sediment for billions of years. Hopanoids have also been identified in modern bacteria, and geologists studying the lipids in ancient rocks have used them as signs of the presence of similar bacteria billions of years ago. But Welander says hopanoids may be used to identify more than early life forms: The molecular fossils may be biomarkers for environmental phenomena — such as, for instance, periods of very low oxygen. To test her theory, Welander examined a modern strain of bacteria called Methylococcus capsulatus, a widely studied organism first isolated from an ancient Roman bathhouse in Bath, England. The organism, which also lives in oxygen-poor environments such as deep-sea vents and mud volcanoes, has been of interest to scientists for its ability to efficiently consume large quantities of methane — which could make it helpful in bioremediation and biofuel development. For Welander and Summons, M. capsulatus is especially interesting for its structure: The organism contains a type of hopanoid with a five-ring molecular structure that contains a C-3 methylation. Geologists have found that such methylations in the ring structure are particularly well-preserved in ancient rocks, even when the rest of the organism has since disappeared. Welander pored over the bacteria's genome and identified hpnR, the gene that codes for the protein HpnR, which is specifically associated with C-3 methylation. She devised a method to delete the gene, creating a mutant strain. Welander and Summons then grew cultures of this mutant strain, as well as cultures of wild, unaltered bacteria. The team exposed both strains to low levels of oxygen and high levels of methane over a two-week period to simulate an oxygen-poor environment. During the first week, there was little difference between the two groups, both of which consumed methane and grew at about the same rate. However, on day 14, the researchers observed the wild strain begin to outgrow the mutant bacteria. When Welander added the hpnR gene back into the mutant bacteria, she found they eventually bounced back to levels that matched the wild strain. Just getting by to survive What might explain the dramatic contrast in survival rates? To answer this, the team used electron microscopy to examine the cellular structures in both mutant and wild bacteria. They discovered a stark difference: While the wild type was filled with normal membranes and vacuoles, the mutant strain had none. The missing membranes, Welander says, are a clue to the lipid's function. She and Summons posit that the hpnR gene may preserve bacteria's cell membranes, which may reinforce the microbe in times of depleted nutrients. "You have these communities kind of just getting by, surviving on what they can," Welander says. "Then when they get a blast of oxygen or methane, they can pick up very quickly. They're really poised to take advantage of something like this." The results, Welander says, are especially exciting from a geological perspective. If 3-methylhopanoids do indeed allow bacteria to survive in times of low oxygen, then a spike of the related lipid in the rock record could indicate a dramatic decrease in oxygen in Earth's history, enabling geologists to better understand periods of mass extinctions or large ocean die-offs. "The original goal was [to] make this a better biomarker for geologists," Welander says. "It's very meticulous [work], but in the end we also want to make a broader impact, such as learning how microorganisms deal with hydrocarbons in the environment." This research was supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation. Written by Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/miot-ngm072512.php

Home | Writing | Reading | Social Studies | Math | Science LANGUAGE ARTS, LESSON III Run-Ons and Comma Splices Run-ons and comma splices are one of the most frequent sentence structure problems that occur on the GED. As opposed to fragments (discussed earlier), run-on sentences and comma splices attempt to combine too much information into a single sentence. A run-on sentence will contain more than one sentence within it that should either be separated into two different sentences or should be combined differently to make it grammatically correct. An example of a run-on sentence is below: The Spencer Davis Group consisted of members Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood, Pete York, and was an influential musical group in the early sixties they wrote the hit single 'Gimme Some Lovin'.' If you rely on the punctuation in the above sentence, it seems that there is only a single sentence in the example above. The first letter of the sentence begins with a capital letter, several of the words are separated by commas, and there is a period at the end of the sentence, all of which indicate that this is a complete sentence. In addition, the above example contains a Subject, Predicate, and a Complete Thought. However, the above example is a run-on sentence because it contains more than one sentence, and these sentences are not combined in the correct way. If a sentence contains two or more sentences that are combined without the appropriate punctuation or a conjunction, the resulting sentence is a run-on. Another similar sentence structure error often used in the GED is a comma splice. A comma splice is the result of two or more sentences that are combined with the use of a comma when another type of punctuation is actually necessary. If you were to only use a comma to try to correct the above run-on sentence, it would create a comma splice and would still be considered incorrect. The Spencer Davis Group consisted of members Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood and Pete York, and was an influential musical group in the early sixties, they wrote the hit single 'Gimme Some Lovin'.' The above correction is still grammatically wrong. If you are attempting to fix a run-on sentence with no connecting word and only one punctuation mark, you cannot use a comma. HOW TO FIX A COMMA SPLICE OR RUN-ON SENTENCE There are several different methods you can use to fix comma splices and run-on sentences. Two different simple punctuation marks alone will fix the problem: a period or a semicolon. Here is how to fix the above run-on sentence with a period: The Spencer Davis Group consisted of members Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood and Pete York, and was an influential musical group in the early sixties. They wrote the hit single 'Gimme Some Lovin.' The period is placed in between the two sentences. The only additional change that needs to be made is to capitalize the first letter of the second sentence. This is perhaps the easiest way to correct a run-on. Once you can recognize that there are two different complete sentences, you might as well make them that way. Just re-check that each sentence contains the three necessary components of a complete sentence: Subject, Predicate, and a Complete Thought. Another way to appropriately combine two sentences so that they will not become either a run-on or a comma splice is to use a semicolon. In this instance, you will not need to capitalize the beginning of the second clause since it is not an independent sentence. The Spencer Davis Group consisted of members Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis, Muff Winwood and Pete York, and was an influential musical group in the early sixties; they wrote the hit single 'Gimme Some Lovin.' Comma splices and run-ons can also be effectively revised through the use of connecting or joining words. The most common connecting word is and. There are also other words that can be used to connect independent clauses that were discussed earlier in the independent clause section of the lesson. These joining words can also be called coordinating conjunctions, and each word implies a specific meaning. A chart briefly detailing these meanings is listed below: COORDINATING CONJUNCTION MEANING ||used to add information ||used to provide an alternative or contrast ||this provides a reason ||used to show contrast ||used to discard alternatives The correct way to use a hyphen is when there is a compound adjective that is positioned directly in front of the noun that it modifies. The following is a list of examples in which hyphens are used correctly. Example 1: She was the most-liked girl in gym class. Example 2: The well-groomed dog came in first place at the show. Example 3: Jimmy Hendrix is often considered to be the best-known guitar player in the world. The following is a list of hyphens used incorrectly: Example 1: She likes the black-cat the best. Example 2: Doug likes to dance to music that people don't usually-like. Example 3: I hate the taste of peppers when they haven't been cooked-well. There are two major uses for semicolons that you should become familiar with in order to spot errors in both of the Language Arts Writing sections. You should be able to effectively utilize semicolons in your Essay section as well. Always keep in mind the four areas of criteria that you will be tested on. Semicolon errors could appear in any of these four sections (sentence structure, usage, mechanics, and organization.) If a semicolon is placed next to a transition word, such as “however,” it should always be placed in front of the word. An example follows: The cat lay comfortably next to the fireplace; however, she did not know that soon her fur would become too hot, and she would have to move to a cooler spot. If these clauses were separated by a period, the period would also be placed in front of the transition word “however,” thus creating two separate complete sentences. This option would look like this: The cat lay comfortably next to the fireplace. However, she did not know that soon her fur would become too hot, and she would have to move to a cooler spot. However, a semicolon is a perfectly correct option in this instance and is therefore sometimes referred to as a “weak period”, since it can join two clauses by replacing a period. This was discussed briefly above, but is an important point to repeat since this type of question is often used on the GED. A period is also often referred to as a “strong comma” since it can be used effectively to combine two independent clauses when a comma cannot. In order to see if a semicolon should be used in a sentence, simply replace it in your mind. If the two clauses of the sentence can act as sentences independent of one another, then the semicolon is in the correct place. Back: Lesson 2 | Next: Summary Signup! It's Free! | Language Arts | Reading | Social Studies | Math | Science

http://www.gedforfree.com/free-ged-course/language-arts/lesson-3.html

Since the sun shines more strongly on the equatorial regions, the air there would be heating to a greater extent than at the poles. This hot air would rise, creating an equatorial low pressure system. This low pressure system would draw in air from the mid-latitudes. Meanwhile, the air in the atmosphere would be spreading out towards the poles. This air would be cooling (due to lower pressure as it rises) and would eventually sink at the poles, creating a high pressure region there. Finally, this high pressure region would help push air back towards the Once started, this convection cell would continue on both sides of the equator. To explain cause of the "Tradewinds," Edmund Halley first postulated the existence of convection cells in the earth's atmosphere in 1686. In 1735, George Hadley extended Halley's explanation by adding the Coriolis effect (it didn't have that name at that time-- Gaspard de Coriolis later explained the mathematics behind the effect, and it has been named after him) which explained the easterly component of the tradewinds.

http://trampleasure.net/science/coriolis/single-cell.php

Bacteria and other microorganisms are known for their remarkable ability to become immune to nearly everything thrown at them, and now a new study provides us with some hints of how that's possible. Short of being cast into the Sun, in Earth's inner core, or in the deepest corners of space, bacteria can endure anywhere you can think of. They live happily in underwater frozen lakes, miles below the surface of Antarctica, or on the rim of volcanoes. Microbe colonies have also been found in the toxic environment around hydrothermal vents. But bacteria can also endure in space, where they are battered by cold, vacuum and radiation, as evidenced by new studies conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). Returning to Earth, the microorganisms prove to be extremely resilient to diseases, other infectious agents, and also to drugs we develop specifically to kill them. Now, a team of investigators at the Rice University , in the United States, used tools belonging to computational biology to figure our how the bacteria develop and use this ability to adapt. The influence that phenomena such as natural selection and evolution have on the entire process were also analyzed in fine detail, the team shows in the latest online issue of the esteemed scientific journal Physical Review Letters. “From a purely scientific perspective, this research is teaching us things we couldn't have imagined just a few years ago, but there's an applied interest in this work as well,” explains scientist Michael Deem. “It is believed, for instance, that the bacterial immune system uses a process akin to RNA interference to silence the disease genes it recognizes, and biotechnology companies may find it useful to develop this as a tool for silencing particular genes,” he goes on to say. Deem is the John W. Cox Professor in Biochemical and Genetic Engineering at Rice, and also a professor of physics and astronomy at the university. The work was largely focused on a section of bacterial genome that is known as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, or CRISPR for short. According to Deem and graduate student Jiankui He, it may be that this portion of the genome plays a critical part in the bacteria's immune responses. “Bacteria get attacked by viruses called phages, and the CRISPR contain genetic sequences from phages,” the team leader says. “The CRISPR system is both inheritable and programmable, meaning that some sequences may be there when the organism is first created, and new ones may also be added when new phages attack the organism during its life cycle,” Cox adds.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Determining-How-Bacteria-Become-Immune-to-Disease-156657.shtml

The native peoples had been ravaged for some time by disastrous epidemics sparing no tribe that came into contact with Europeans. Both the Iroquois and the Hurons were heavily afflicted. Apart from this scourge, however, the Iroquois had gained certain advantages over the Hurons. While most of the Iroquois rejected the missionaries, the Hurons ended up divided between those who became Christians under the influence of the Jesuits and those who remained loyal to their traditional beliefs. Furthermore, the Iroquois were very close to the Dutch in Fort Orange, with whom they traded, while the Hurons had to travel hundreds of kilometres to exchange their furs for French goods. Finally and most importantly from a military point of view, the Iroquois obtained firearms from the Dutch from approximately the year 1640, while the Hurons did not have any. Bolstered by all these advantages, the Iroquois felt that the time had come to implement their grand plan for the destruction of the Hurons, the allies of the French. Perhaps because there was a scent of menace in the air, a detachment of eight soldiers from the Trois-Rivières garrison and four from the Montreal garrison escorted a large convoy of canoes headed for Huron country. These twelve soldiers carried with them a small piece of artillery for the defence of the Sainte-Marie mission. The attack took place in the spring of 1649. More than 1,000 Iroquois warriors, armed to the teeth and outfitted with firearms, descended on Huronia. The final assault was under way after years of harassment. Several Huron villages, including the missions of Saint-Louis and Saint-Ignace, fell to the invaders. The losses were enormous. Only three of the 400 inhabitants of Teanaostaiae escaped with their lives, while the Iroquois lost only ten warriors. Other Hurons abandoned their villages, with no hope of returning, and scattered. Finally, the largest mission, that of Sainte-Marie, was abandoned, portending the end of Huronia. Its inhabitants, both French and Huron, took refuge on Christian Island, known as Gahoendoe in Amerindian. Here, in May 1649, with the help of able-bodied men, the few soldiers from the garrison transported the cannon that had arrived the previous year. They all applied themselves to constructing a little bastioned fort which they named Sainte-Marie II. However, famine struck the little colony of refugees during the winter of 1649-50, carrying off hundreds of Hurons. Finally, on June 10, 1650, after having buried not only their dead but also the cannon on the island, the approximately 300 surviving Hurons and the few remaining Frenchmen set out for Quebec, where they arrived on July 28. This was the end of Huronia, but not of the Hurons, for on October 15 of the same year, "the Hurons departed for war, " according to a note of the Jesuit superior in Quebec.

http://www.cmhg-phmc.gc.ca/cmh/page-38-eng.asp

Architecture & Mathematics Mathematics has been an integral part of architecture since the first constructed shelters. No structure could be thought of without considering even the most basic of mathematics. Some visionaries had the desire to explore the incorporation of mathematics into their architecture, such as the architects of the Giza pyramids. These three iconic structures remain an astonishing feat. The Giza pyramids were constructed from 2570 B.C.E. to 2500 B.C.E. The architects stretched the possibilities of their time by creating geometrical structures that are within inches of mathematical perfection. These structutes are more accurate than some buildings of the 21st century. Another great example of the presence of mathematics in architecture is the Pantheon in Rome. Dating back to 118 A.D., the Pantheon has become one of the most symbolic structures in the history of architecture. It has achieved this through the use of simple geometric shapes. Similar to the architects of the Giza pyramids, the architect of the Pantheon had the desire to push the boundaries and limitations of his time. This time the architect chose to use geometric shapes to form a symbolic temple. The use of the dome is symbolic of the heavenly sphere, creating a large open ceiling that is pierced with a circular opening, known as the oculus. The architect designed the Pantheon, so that theoretically a sphere would fit perfectly within the interior of the structure; in essence, designing the entire structure around the heavenly sphere.

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ande8399/architecture/2006/11/architecture_mathematics.html

Studying the bones and materials that are in owl pellets is a great way to learn more about the diet and behavior of owls. Owls dispose of the remains of their meals by coughing up a pellet containing the bones and fur of their prey. Our owl pellet kits provide the perfect "hands-on" scientific experience for the young biologist. Ages 8 and up. This kit includes: 3 Perfect Pellets (synthetic pellets containing a bird, a mole and a rodent skeleton), instructions, Owl Zoobook, 1 magnifying glass, 2 pairs of tweezers, and reproducible bone charts. Additional pellets sold separately. Download a Free Owl Pellet Bone Sorting Chart General: National Science Education Standard NS.K-4.3 and NS.5-8.3 Life Science. Content Standard C: The Characteristics of Organisms (K-4) Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. Organisms have basic needs. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their need can be met. Organisms and their Environments (K-4) All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants. Structure and Function in Living Systems (5-8) Living systems at all levels of organization demonstrate the complementary nature of structure and function. Important levels of organization for structure and function include cells, organs, tissues, organ systems, whole organisms, and ecosystems. Populations and Ecosystems (5-8) Populations of organisms can be categorized by the function they serve in an ecosystem. There are producers, consumers, and decomposers. The number of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available. Lack of resources and other factors such as predation and climate, limit the growth of populations in specific niches in the ecosystem. Specific (California standards): (1.2a) Students know different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different kinds of places. (1.2b) Students know both plants and animals need water, animals need food, and plants need light. (1.2c) Students know animals eat plants or other animals for food and may also use plants or even other animals for shelter and nesting. (2.2d) Students know there is variation among individuals of one kind within a population. (3.3a) Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction. (4.2b) Students know producers and consumers are related in food chains and food webs and may compete with each other for resources in an ecosystem.

http://www.nature-watch.com/owl-pellet-activity-kit-p-255.html?cPath=160_178

back to index ofchapters Answers to questions from the text 1. What are plankton? Ans. Plankton are the small animals and plants that live in the surfacelayers of the sea. 2. Plankton can either be temporary or permanent. Give an example ofa temporary and permanent plankton Ans. Temporary - barnacle larvae. Permanent - jelly fish. 3. Why are there so many planktonic animals? Ans. To increase the chance of immature barnacles growing to maturity. 4. What are the sex cells of a barnacle called? Ans. Eggs and sperm 5. After fertilisation, name the first larval stage of a barnacle anddraw it. Ans. A nauplius 6. Name four other animals that have a larval stage as temporary plankton. Ans. A rock lobster, prawn, sea snail or crab 7. Draw a fully labelled diagram to show the behaviour of the juvenilesettling behaviour of a barnacle. Ans. See Figure 8. Where do adult prawns live? Ans. On the continental shelf beside rivers. 9. What does the mysis stage of the prawn do 5 9 days after hatching? Ans. Turns into a post larval stage 10. If you had a commercial fish hatchery, why would you need a marinescientist? Ans. To identify the various stages of the animals being bread as wellas identify fish diseases and other competitors in the food chain at yourhatchery. 11. What is photosynthesis? Ans. Photosynthesis is the process by which a plant uses the sun to makeits own food. 12. Give an example of a producer organism. Ans. Marine algae, phytoplankton, diatoms. 13. What role do marine bacteria play in stabilising the marine ecosystem? Ans. Marine bacteria play an important role in the recycling of wastematerial in the sea and are found at the surface as well as the ocean depths. 14. How should a coral cut be treated? Ans. A coral cut need to be treated by removing all coral pieces witha toothbrush and then applying a drying solution such as betadine, to dryup the wound making it impossible for further bacteria to breed. 15. Name two zooplankton. Ans. Copepods, arrow worms, snail larvae, prawn or crab larvae, jellyfish. 16. What is the main difference between phytoplankton and zooplankton? Ans. Phytoplankters have chlorophyll 17. Name two planktonic adaptations giving reasons for your answers. 1. Size. Most plankton are small which helps them float. Small size alsomeans that the individual can ingest and excrete straight through the bodywall and so reducing the need for a complicated digestive system which wouldadd weight to the body. 2. Shape. Most plankters use shape to stay afloat. They can be: · long and flat or · bell shaped or · have long chains with air filled sacs or · have a swimming antennae like copepods 18. What happens to plankton as night falls? Ans. They move towards the surface. 19. What is the photic zone? Ans. The photic zone is the depth of water that light can penetrate intothe sea (Figure 168.1). This is where phytoplankton live because they needthe sunlight for photosynthesis. 20. Why are upwellings important to phytoplankton? Ans. Upwellings are currents that bring marine sediments to the surfaceand are very rich in nutrients which fertilise the phytoplankton (see Chapter12). Phytoplankton grow to very high numbers here, providing an enormousamount of food for marine animals. 21. Give an example of a marine food chain. Algae copepod fish fry cod tuna great white shark 22. What is the difference between a producer and a consumer? Producers are plants which make their own food using photosynthesis toconvert the Sun's energy to sugars. Consumers are animals that consume other organisms plants, animals orboth to obtain their energy needs. 23. Name one herbivore that lives in the sea. Ans. Dugong or abalone, 24. How much oxygen is produced by plankton? Ans. Plankton form the basis for life on Earth they produce more than70 per cent of the Earth's oxygen and are a vital part of the food chainfor all living creatures in the sea. 25. Write definitions of the following terms and give an example of each: a. First order consumer Ans. Eats the producers.. b. Second order consumer Ans. Eats the first order consumer Ans. Animals that eat other animals Ans. An animal that kills and eats other animals. Ans. Special groups of animal consumers that eat dead animals and plants. f. Decomposer organism Ans. A decomposer organism breaks down the dead tissues of other organismsto release simple chemical substances such as minerals back into the sea. Ans. Animals that eat only plants, such as dugong or abalone, are herbivores. 26. Draw a marine food web. Ans. See Figure 1701. 27. What is the ultimate source for all energy on our planet? Ans. The Sun 28. What do marine scientists use energy pyramids for? Ans. Scientists often use an energy pyramid to demonstrate the energyflow through a community. 29. Only 10 per cent of energy is passed on in a food chain from oneconsumer to another. a. Why is this so? Ans. Only 10 percent can get locked up in chemical bonds. b. What happens to the other 90 per cent of energy? Ans. Use for normal body functions c. Show how a seal, herring, zooplankton, small fish and phytoplanktonare related in a energy pyramid. Ans. See Figure 171.1 30. Define the term biomass. Ans. Biomass is the total amount of living matter per unit of surfaceor volume, expressed as a weight. To be completed 5. reproductive cells 10. vertical migration

http://www.wetpaper.com.au/student/chapters/16.html

In this lesson, our instructor Tom Quayle goes through an introduction on algorithms: recursion. He starts by discussing recursion and explains caluclating factorials and fibonacci numbers. Then, he talks about other recursive functions and important cons A recursive call must be made with a different value than the method itself was A recursive method must contain a conditional statement that will eventually cause it to exit without calling itself again The case that causes the method to exit without calling itself again is called a Calculating factorial numbers is a common recursive algorithm Calculating Fibonacci numbers is a common recursive algorithm Lecture Slides are screen-captured images of important points in the lecture. Students can download and print out these lecture slide images to do practice problems as well as take notes while watching the lecture.

http://www.educator.com/computer-science/introduction-to-java/quayle/algorithms_-recursion.php

Use the following Interactive Activity to work on the problems below, which let you use the rods to try out representations and operations with fractions. This activity requires the Flash plug-in, which you can download for free from Macromedia's Web site. For a non-interactive version, use Cuisenaire Rods or print several copies of the Rods Template (PDF) on stiff paper and then cut them out. What rod would you use as a unit to do computations with fifths? What rod would you use as a unit to do addition and subtraction with fifths and halves? How are the combinations of rods you can use related to factors? Model 1/2 + 2/5. Model 3/5 - 1/2. Model 3/5 1/2. Model 4/5 1/2. What rod (or combination of rods) would you use as a unit to perform the following computations with thirds and fourths? 1/3 + 1/4 3/4 - 1/3 The rod that you are using to represent "1" will need to be more than a single rod. In this case, it is best to choose the orange rod plus whatever rod you need to make the appropriate length. Close Tip Use the Interactive Activity to explore operations with other fractions. Video Segment In this video segment, Rhonda and Andrea use rods to model multiplication and division with thirds and fourths. First they must figure out what their model is going to be in order to do their computations. Watch this segment after you've completed Problems B2 and B3. If you are using a VCR, you can find this segment on the session video approximately 11 minutes and 42 seconds after the Annenberg Media logo.

http://www.learner.org/courses/learningmath/number/session8/part_b/try.html

in humans is a moderately severe color vision defect in which one of the three basic color mechanisms is absent or not functioning. It is hereditary and sex-linked, predominantly affecting males. Dichromacy occurs when one of the cone pigments is missing and color is reduced to two dimensions. Organisms with dichromacy are called dichromats. Dichromats can match any color they see with a mixture of no more than two pure spectral lights. By comparison, a trichromat requires three pure spectral lights to match all colors in their visual spectrum. There are various kinds of color blindness - Protanopia is a severe form of red-green color-blindness, where there is impairment in perception of very long wavelengths, such as reds. To these sufferers, reds are perceived as beige and greens tend to look like reds. Protanomaly is a less severe version. - Deuteranopia consists of an impairment in perceiving medium wavelengths, such as greens. Deuteranomaly is a less severe form of deuteranopia. Those living with deuteranomaly cannot see reds and greens like normal people, however they can still distinguish them in most cases. - A more rare form of color blindness is tritanopia, where there exists an inability to perceive short wavelengths, such as blues. Sufferers have trouble distinguishing between yellow and blue and tend to mistake greens for blues and yellows for reds. Dichromacy in mammals It is currently believed that most mammals are dichromats. The straightforward exceptions are primates closely related to humans , which are usually trichromats, and sea mammals (both pinnipeds ) which are cone monochromats . New World Monkeys are a partial exception: in most species, males are dichromats, and about 60% of females are trichromats, but the owl monkeys are cone monochromats , and both sexes of howler monkeys Recent research suggests that trichromacy may be widespread among marsupials.

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Dichromacy

Quiz: Chapter 1, A Brief History of Relativity |Name: _____________________________||Period: ___________________________| This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions. Multiple Choice Questions Directions: Circle the correct answer. 1. What did this theory of curved spaces help Einstein and Marcel Grossman to do? a) Mark time accurately. b) Build another theory. c) Curve space. d) Generate a proof. 2. How were people's views of space-time changed because of Einstein's work? a) No one's idea of space-time was changed. b) Space-time became understood as a dynamic feature. c) Space-time became irrelevant. d) Space-time became understood as a passive feature. 3. When did Einstein receive the Nobel prize? 4. What two things are considered capable of shaping space-time, according to Einstein? a) Time and conclusion. b) Gravity and space. c) Mass and energy. This section contains 291 words| (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)

http://www.bookrags.com/lessonplan/the-universe-in-a-nutshell/quiz5.html

Padrone systemA padrone (from the Italian padroni for “patrons” or “bosses”) was a middleman in the labor trade, helping poor immigrants obtain transportation to North America, jobs upon arrival, and basic needs in an alien society. Though most often associated with Italian immigration during the 19th century, the labor middleman was common in many ethnic groups from colonial times, especially in arranging contracts for indentured servitude. With industry largely unregulated before World War I (1914–18), it was easy for labor bosses to take advantage of poor, uneducated immigrants. In organizing labor gangs to fill contracts negotiated with railroads and other companies, padrones did provide jobs and often advanced money for transportation or other essentials, but they also charged fees for every transaction and sometimes required their clients to purchase goods from their own stores. It has been estimated that more than half the Italian labor in large U.S. cities during the late 19th and early 20th century worked under the padrone system. As progressive legislation was passed and immigrants in the wave of new immigration found more family, friends, and social contacts to assist them upon arrival, the role of the padrone changed from labor boss to economic adviser. Often well connected to economic and political leaders, the padrone was frequently able to help clients qualify for mortgages or improve their chances of moving up the business ladder. As Italians and other new immigrants became increasingly assimilated into American society after World War II (1939–45), the role of the European padrone declined. Labor brokers continued to play a significant role in the lives of poorer immigrants, especially those from Mexico, Central America, and Asia, though the modern padrone was seldom as well connected to the community as he had been early in the 20th century.

http://immigration-online.org/227-padrone-system.html

Use these lesson plans, created by teachers for teachers, to explore immigration. Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local (Grades 6-12) Creating an archive of primary source materials constitutes the principal activity of a year-long American Studies class focusing on historiography and the use of primary sources. The Immigrant Experience: Down the Rabbit Hole (Grades 3-8) Students uncover the common themes of the immigrant experience. Immigration History Firsthand (Grades 6-8) Elementary students use immigration as a theme to begin understanding primary sources. The American West: Images of Its People (Grades 6-8) Students investigate the cultures of the western United States and identify their contributions to the nation. Immigration and Migration: Today and During the Great Depression (Grades 6-12) Students compare the immigration/migration experiences of their families to those of people living through the Great Depression. Immigration and Oral History (Grades 8-12) Students engage in visual and information literacy exercises to gain an understanding of how to identify and interpret primary historical sources, specifically oral histories. Westward Expansion: Links to the Past (Grades 6-8) Students create scripts depicting the experiences of immigrants who settled California between 1849 and 1900. Linking the Past to the Present: The Legacy of French Canadian Immigrants in New England (Grades 9-12) Students will investigate primary sources from the American Memory collections to learn about French Canadian immigrants and their contributions in New England.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/themes/immigration/lessonplans.html

Loyalists, in the American Revolution, colonials who adhered to the British cause. The patriots referred to them as Tories. Although Loyalists were found in all social classes and occupations, a disproportionately large number were engaged in commerce and the professions, or were officeholders under the crown. They also tended to be foreign born and of the Anglican religion. In addition, thousands of free blacks were among the Loyalists. As a whole, their motives for remaining loyal were complex and embraced both ideological and material reasons. In 1774–75, when most colonials hoped for reconciliation with the British government, the line between Loyalist and non-Loyalist was not very sharp; many Loyalists voiced opposition to the acts of Parliament. But the Declaration of Independence created a sharp dividing line between supporters and opponents of independence. Figures on public opinion in the Revolution are obviously mere guesswork, but John Adams estimated that one third of the colonials were Loyalists; probably another third were neutral, apathetic, or opportunistic. The Loyalists were strongest in the far southern colonies—Georgia and the Carolinas—and in the Middle Atlantic colonies, especially New York and Pennsylvania. In those places particularly the fighting became bitter civil war with raids and reprisals. The Revolutionaries deeply hated the leaders of the Loyalist armed bands, such as Thomas Browne, Edmund Fanning, and John Butler. Even before warfare began many Loyalists were seeking refuge in British-held lands. Feeling against them, in addition to natural cupidity, led the patriots to enact harsh penal laws against the Loyalists and to confiscate many of their estates. The matter of restoring these properties to their owners was discussed in negotiations for the Treaty of Paris (1783), and the treaty provided that Congress should urge the states to make restitution, but little was done, and there were stray lawsuits concerning particular properties for many years. A great many of the dispossessed Loyalists settled in the Maritime provs. of Canada, in the Bahamas, in other parts of the West Indies, and in England. See W. H. Nelson, The American Tory (1961, repr. 1964); W. Brown, The Good Americans: Loyalists in the American Revolution (1969); G. N. D. Evans, ed., Allegiance in America: The Case of the Loyalists (1969); M. Jasanoff, Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World (2011); studies of Loyalism in individual provinces by A. C. Flick (1901, repr. 1970; New York), O. G. Hammond (1917; New Hampshire), I. S. Harrell (1926, repr. 1965; Virginia), E. A. Jones (1927, New Jersey; 1930, Massachusetts), R. O. Demond (1940, repr. 1964; North Carolina), and H. B. Hancock (1940; Delaware). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on Loyalists from Infoplease: See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/loyalists.html

December 22, 2010 Scientists expect that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at current rates, the Arctic Ocean could be completely free of permanent sea ice by the end of the century. The sea ice acts as a barrier which separates many marine mammal populations; with the loss of the ice, populations which have been isolated from each other for millennia could potentially interbreed. This could result in the disappearance of unique, adaptive characteristics. Examples of hybridization have already been documented. In the 1980s, the skull of a narwhal/beluga washed up on a beach in Greenland; in 2006, a hunter shot a polar/brown bear hybrid; and just last year a bowhead/right whale was observed in the Bering Sea. Andrew Whitely, a conservation geneticist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, explains that while hybridization has the potential to offer certain advantages, it can also result in the lack of adaptive traits or the addition of maladaptive ones. The arctic is a hostile environment, and survival often hinges on the presence of specific characteristics. Muddling of the gene pool via hybridization could result in the dilution of important genes. For instance, the mating of brown bears with polar bears produces offspring with mottled coats which are far less effective camouflage in either environment. And a hornless male narwhal/beluga living in a narwhal pod would not be able to compete for mates. Photo by Rhett A. Butler According to the study, at least 22 species are at risk of hybridizing in 34 combinations, and includes whales, bears, and seals. Many are endangered. The authors of the study advise that if stringent monitoring of all at-risk populations is not implemented soon, many discrete populations will disappear through hybridization. Specifically, the researchers call for the modeling combination of sea-ice loss, oceanography, and landscape genomics to predict when and where hybridization is most likely to occur. National organizations should also work with tribal organizations to monitor high-risk populations. "By melting the seasonal ice cap, we’re speeding up evolution." lead author and NOAA scientist Brendan Kelly told OnEarth.org, "People often talk about species adapting to climate change, but the kind of adaptation that’s necessary is a change toward genes that fit the new climatic environment better than the old genes. Individuals don’t adapt genetically. Populations do. That requires generations, which requires time. Bears, seals, whales -- these are long-lived animals. They need decades and centuries to adapt. But we’re talking about losing the Arctic summer sea ice in a matter of a few decades. So the time for adaptive response may not be there."

http://news.mongabay.com/2010/1222-morgan_arctic_hybridization.html

for National Geographic News In the cold and dark depths of the seas, some fish attract their prey with bioluminescent lures. Others have huge mouths that allow them to chomp enough food in a single bite to sustain them for weeks. Scientists are eager to learn more about these creatures, but whenever they try to bring them up to the surface and transport them to a laboratory, they die. "You can only learn so much from studying dead things, and it gets really frustrating," said Jeffrey Drazen, a marine biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California. The fish die from the tremendous and sudden changes in temperature and pressure. Many of these species live at depths of several kilometers, where temperatures are slightly above freezing and the pressure is of several hundred atmospheres. At sea level, air pressure is equal to one atmosphere, or about 15 pounds per square inch (7 kilograms per every 7 square centimeters). As the fish are brought to the surface, their bodies, which are adapted to cold, dark, high-pressure environments, cannot cope. For example, said Edward Seidel, enzymes, which are essential for functions such as digesting food, have specific shapes that allow them to function under the extreme pressure of the deep sea. Seidel is a curator at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. "When you release that pressure, the shape of the enzyme changes, and since it changes, it no longer functions and the animal no longer can survive," he said. To remedy the problem, Drazen has designed a high-pressure fish trap. The trap should allow him to capture fish at the bottom of the ocean and bring them up to the surface at the same pressure and temperature that exists in their native home. "From there you could perform a variety of controlled experiments on them and do all those things intertidal marine biologists have been doing for decades, but that we have not been able to do," he said. Drazen is keeping details of the trap under wraps until he and his colleagues publish the first of their scientific results in a peer-reviewed journal. He anticipates this sometime early next year. SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0701_040701_oceantrap.html

|Eyes may be even more important to birds than to humans. One indication of this is that bird eyes are much larger, relative to total face area, than human eyes. The common European Starling's eyes account for fifteen percent of the mass of the bird's entire head, while human eyes amount to less than two percent. I'll bet the Great Horned Owl's eyes in the picture at the right (photo by Dr. Dan Sudia) account for even more than fifteen percent. Of course, no one really knows what birds see, but we can make educated guesses after studying bird eye anatomy. For instance, the retina is a thin membrane at the back of the eyeball. It receives the image from the eye's lens and is connected to the brain by the optic nerve. Among the retina's receptor cells are cone cells, used for daylight vision. The denser that cone cells are, the sharper is the perceived image. The human eye has at most 200,000 cones per square millimeter, while House Sparrows have approximately twice that number. Hawks, who must spot small prey from the sky, possess about five times as many as humans! Songbirds and predators such as hawks are believed to have the sharpest vision among birds. They can see details at distances two to three times farther away than humans. A bird's retina actually has three types of photoreceptors that "translate" light into nervous impulses: The interesting thing here is that humans only have two types of photoreceptors, rods and cones. Thus birds may see more colors than humans. In fact they may be able to perceive ultraviolet or near-ultraviolet light, which humans cannot. Moreover, bird retinas, in contrast to human retinas, contain no blood vessels. This prevents shadows and light scattering, which cut down on human vision. Some nocturnal birds such as owls and whippoorwills have a layer at the back of the eye called the tapetum lucidum that, like a mirror, reflects light back through the retina, making it more likely that light will strike sensory cells in the retina. As a result, birds with a tapetum lucidum see much better at night. The tapetum lucidum produces the "eyeshine" you see when you shine a flashlight into the eyes of a nocturnal bird or mammal, or take its picture with a flash. It's been suggested that sharpness of vision may not even be the birds' main sight-advantage over humans. Rather, their advantage may lie in their brain's ability to capture at a glance a picture that a human eye would have to scan back and forth to see and understand. This is more a matter of brain circuitry than eye structure. Bird vision isn't superior to human vision in every respect, however. The next time you see a bird taking a close look at something, notice how it turns its head sideways. This is because eyes in most bird species lie at the sides of their heads, and bird eyeballs can't be rolled like human ones. Therefore, when most birds look closely at something, they use only one eye at a time, and they must turn their heads. This means that most birds have little or no binocular vision, which makes judging distances difficult. This often accounts for why many birds bob their heads. They look at something from below, then from above. If the object's perceived position changes a lot, it's close up, but if there's little or no change, it's far away. Owls, as the picture at the top of this page shows, are one kind of bird with eyes directed forward, and thus owls have good binocular vision, needed when pouncing on rodents in the night.

http://www.backyardnature.net/birdeyes.htm

The easiest way to approach such an abstract concept is to think of it as being made up of 4 overlapping layers: each layer an equal component to its overall functionality. So, how exactly does the internet work? The first layer is called the physical layer and this includes all the physical components of the network. For example, in a telegraph transmission, a telegraph machine would be considered part of its physical layer In an internet connection; copper wire, a modem and a computer would be part of its physical layer. Now, for the more complex stuff. The logical layer is related to the protocol that is used within the internet connection. A protocol is the set of rules or language used to communicate. For example, the telegraph uses the protocol called Morse Code. The internet, uses the protocol called TCP/IP. Now, the pattern of dots and lines are the alphabet that determines what the message is and where it's going to be sent. This alphabet follows the rules of the language of Morse Code. Similarly, a data package, which contains a pattern of 1's and 0's, are the alphabet that determines what the information is and where it travels over the internet. This alphabet follows the rules of the language of TCP/IP. So, when two computers are attempting to communicate with one another by changing information over the internet, they speak TCP/IP. Now, what TCP/IP does is direct the various data packets sent from one computer over the internet to its destination. What is unique about the language that the internet speaks is that it provides alternate routes for data packets to take in order to reach their destination. These routes are "nodes" or check points for information to take pit stops before continuing its journey throughout the internet. If any information is lost when reaching a node--much like hitting a dead-end--it simply reroutes to a different node and takes an alternate way to its destination. Now the "Application Layer" is the 'intelligence' of the internet connection. For example, a telegraph operator would be part of the application layer of a telegraph communication. This is because it possesses the intelligence to translate the Morse Code into the actual message it is supposed to represent. For the internet, an e-mail client would be an example of this as well. Whether you use Hotmail, Outlook Express, or Gmail, they all possess the knowledge to translate the 1's and 0'sВ into the alphabetic form of an e-mail message the way it was originally created. So think of it this way, without a telegraph operator, although the machinery and the protocol of Morse Code will allow the message to be sent and delivered; the transmission is pointless because the meaning of the message cannot be identified. Similarly, once the data packets reach their destination by TCP/IP, if there isn't an application to translate the 1's and 0's, the file type cannot be identified. It will remain a meaningless set of 1's and 0's. Finally, the "Content Layer" is what is translated by the application of the internet connection.В So, one the Morse Code is translated, the meaning of the message is what is known as the "Content Layer" of the telegraph transmission. Similarly, once the e-mail client decodes the 1's and 0's, it is able to display the contents of an e-mail, the "Content Layer" of the internet connection. So there you have it, your comprehensive breakdown of how the internet works. Возможные причины, по которым возникла эта ошибка: - Не правильно указан адрес страницы. Проверьте правильность набора адреса страницы в адресной строке браузера. - Эта страница была удалена с сервера либо перемещена по другому адресу. Попробуйте найти интересующий документ, используя навигацию по разделам сайта.

http://tech-er.com/tech-er-videos-and-articles/tech-er-season-2/item/200-how-does-the-internet-work

This is a Java tutorial, which requires that you have Java, a free software, installed on your computer. It works best if you have the latest version of Java installed. If you are having trouble viewing or using this tutorial, try downloading the latest version of Java. Magnetic fields are produced by electric currents; a simple segment of current-carrying wire will generate around it a circular magnetic field in accordance with the right hand rule. You can create a stronger magnetic field by taking wire and forming it into a coil; the field is more concentrated in the center of the loop than outside the loop. By adding more loops to a coil, you create an increasingly stronger magnetic field. Stacking multiple loops also concentrates the field even more; this arrangement is known as a solenoid. Iron filings are often used to reveal the shape of magnetic fields, as in the tutorial below. In the presence of a magnet, these filings will rearrange themselves according to the magnetic lines of force (flux lines). The electromagnet above features a solenoid embedded in a table strewn with iron filings; the bottom half of the solenoid is just faintly visible below the tabletop. Click the Turn On button that controls the Knife Switch so that the circuit is electrified. Note the filings follow the field lines which are concentrated in the center of the solenoid where the magnetic field is most powerful.

http://www.magnet.fsu.edu/education/tutorials/java/solenoidfield/index.html

Long or Short Vowels? What sounds do vowels make in your favorite English words? With Crayola® Color Switchers™ Markers, short and long vowels stand out—in bright colors! 1. The English vowels a, e, i, o, and u make different sounds in words. When these letters seem to say their own names, they are often called long vowels. You can hear long vowels in these words: game, heat, life, rope, and cute. Vowels can also make short sounds. You can hear them in hat, pen, gift, hop, and run. 2. Use Crayola Color Switcher Markers to write your favorite words on paper. Look at each word, one at a time. Say the word aloud. Listen for the vowel sound you hear. Is it a long or short vowel sound? 3. Flip the Marker and apply the special color switcher to color-code long vowels and short vowels. For example, you could color vowels that make a long sound yellow and short vowels green. If one vowel is causing another vowel to be long or short (such as a silent e), color code that vowel, too. 4. Read your words once more, paying close attention to the long and short sounds. Post your favorite words on a classroom wall, add them to your personal dictionary, or cut them apart to make favorite word flashcards. Adult supervision is required for any arts & crafts project. Observe children closely and intervene as necessary to prevent potential safety problems and ensure appropriate use of arts and crafts materials. Some craft items, particularly beads and buttons, are potential choking hazards for young children. Avoid use of such small parts with children younger than 3 years. Craft items such as scissors, push pins and chenille sticks may have sharp points or edges. Avoid use of materials with sharp points by children younger than 4 years. Read all manufacturers' safety warnings before using arts and craft supplies. - Focus on blends, digraphs, prefixes, suffixes, or other letter patterns. Or discover small words within large ones. Write words with Overwriters under colors and then highlight specific word parts with over colors. - Make more word lists. Exchange them with classmates to color code the vowel sounds. - Assessment: Do some children identify specific vowel sounds incorrectly? Repeat the activity focusing on those sounds. Does distinguishing between long and short vowels appear to be a challenge? Focus on one vowel at a time.

http://www2.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/long-or-short-vowels?-lesson-plan/

Volcán Wolf, 2001, NASA Landsat 7 image |Elevation||1,707 m (5,600 ft)| |Prominence||1,707 m (5,600 ft)| |Location||Isabela Island, Galapagos Islands| The Galapagos Islands are believed[by whom?] to be formed from a mantle plume, which creates a hotspot of volcanic activity away from plate boundaries where islands then form, similar to the process that created the Hawaiian islands. This plume stays in place while the Nazca plate moves above it; the relative movement of this plate is 91 degrees. The oceanic plate under Wolf Volcano is believed[by whom?] to be only 10 million years old., and the volcano is estimated to be less than half a million years old. Wolf is situated at the northern end of Isabela Island in the Galapagos, and sits on the Equator. It is one of the six coalescing volcanoes that make up this island, the others being Ecuador, Darwin, Alcedo, Sierra Negra, and Cerro Azul. Along with the Fernandina Island volcano, the western Galapagos volcanoes have similar structures that differ from the volcanoes in the eastern part of the archipelago. The western volcanoes are higher and have larger calderas than those to the east, they are also shaped like an upturned soup bowl. Wolf reaches a height of over 1700 metres; the caldera is 6 by 7 km and has a depth of 700m. Only Cerro Azul has a caldera of similar depth in the Galapagos. Following the last eruption, there was collapse in the caldera, causing its stepped appearance. Wolf has very steep slopes reaching 35 degrees in places, making access difficult. The first historical eruption in the Galapagos was recorded for this volcano in 1797; a further nine eruptions have been recorded since then, the last being in 1982. Eruptions prior to 1797 have been dated from analysis of surface exposures. The newest lavas are on the eastern and southern sides as well as within the caldera. Lava flows from Wolf are unusual for a mid-ocean island and also differ from the two volcanoes next to it, Ecuador and Darwin and other volcanoes closer to the centre of the plume. The lavas from Wolf are similar to those erupted from the Galapagos Spreading Center, a mid-ocean ridge over 200 km away. This is believed[by whom?] to be due to interaction between the plume, which is centred on Fernandina, and the upper mantle. As is common in the Galapagos, Wolf Volcano has unique fauna, differing not only from the other islands in the group but also from its neighbouring volcanoes on the same island. It has its own subspecies of Galapagos tortoise, Chelonoidis nigra becki which has a saddleback shell and is found on the northern and western slopes of the volcano, away from the more recent lava flows where there is denser vegetation. However, tortoise subspecies from many different Galapagos islands have been abandoned at Wolf Volcano by ships which at one time collected the tortoise as a food source. C. n. becki is threatened due to population pressures such as predation by feral cats. During a 2008 survey of over 1600 specimens on Wolf Volcano all morphologies of tortoise were found, including two that in shape are similar to Lonesome George. DNA studies of these specimens are currently being undertaken. In 2009 it was announced that a new species of land iguana had been found on the slopes of Wolf Volcano. The pink land iguana had been found by park rangers in 1986 and has been studied by scientists since 2000. Scientists are unsure where the species developed as it is believed to have separated from the other land iguana of Galapagos prior to Wolf volcano or Isabela Island having formed. The natural habitat is under threat from the introduction of goats. The Galapagos National Park has instigated Project Isabela to eradicate feral goats from around Wolf. - de Ferranti, Jonathan; Maizlish, Aaron (2005). "Ecuador: 15 Mountain Summits with Prominence of 1,500 meters or greater". peaklist.org. Retrieved June 17, 2013. - Geist, Dennis J.; Naumann, Terry R.; Standish, Jared J.; Kurz, Mark D.; Harpp, Karen S.; White, William M.; Fornari, Daniel J. (June 13, 2005). "Wolf Volcano, Galápagos Archipelago: Melting and Magmatic Evolution at the Margins of a Mantle Plume". Journal of Petrology (Oxford University Press) 46 (11): 2197–2224. doi:10.1093/petrology/egi052. Retrieved June 18, 2013. - Scott, Michon; Allen, J. (February 13, 2009). "Wolf Volcano, Galapagos Islands". Earth Observatory: Images. EOS Project Science Office, NASA Godard Space Flight Center. Retrieved June 18, 2013. - "Volcan Wolf". Galapagos Geology on the Web. Cornell University Department of Geological Sciences. Retrieved June 18, 2013. - "Wolf". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1503-02%3D. - Rothman, Robert H. "Giant Tortoise". Reptiles. Rochester Institute of Technology. Retrieved June 18, 2013. - Swingland, Ian R.; Klemens, Michael W.; The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, eds. (1989), "The Conservation Biology of Tortoises", Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) No. 5, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, pp. 24–28, ISBN 2880329868, retrieved June 17, 2013 - "Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonoidis nigra spp. becki". IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. 1996. Retrieved June 17, 2013. - Emanuel, Janet Rettig (May 11, 2007). "Study of Galápagos tortoises’ DNA may locate mate for 'Lonesome George'". Yale Bulletin & Calendar (Yale University) 35 (28). Retrieved June 18, 2013. - Galpagos Conservancy[dead link] - Black, Richard (January 5, 2009), "Pink iguana rewrites family tree", BBC News, retrieved June 18, 2013 - "Ecosystem Restoration: Project Isabela". Galapagos Conservancy: Conservation: Project Areas. Galapagos Conservancy. Retrieved June 16, 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Volcano

A Unique Geography -- and Soot and Dust -- Conspire Against Himalayan Glaciers "So many disparate elements, both natural and man-made, converge in the Himalayas," said William Lau, a climatologist from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "There’s no other place in the world that could produce such a powerful atmospheric heat pump," referring to a new hypothesis he’s put forward to explain the rapid retreat of Himalayan glaciers in recent decades. The Himalayas, home to the tallest mountains on Earth, include more than 110 peaks and stretch 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles). Bounded to the north by the Tibetan Plateau, to the west by deserts, and to the south by a bowl-like basin teeming with people, the mountains hold 10,000 glaciers. These massive rivers of ice spill off mountain sides and grind down through creviced valleys. In the spring, when the monsoon carries moist air from the Indian Ocean, the glaciers begin to thaw, replenishing lakes, streams, and some of Asia's mightiest rivers, on which more than a billion people depend. South of the Himalayas -- which forms the east-west edge of the table-like Tibetan Plateau -- the mountains give way to the Indo-Gangetic plain, one of the most fertile and densely populated areas on Earth. The plain has become a megalopolis of cities including Delhi, Dhaka, Kanpur, and Karachi, as well as a hotspot for air pollution, with a steady supply of industrial soot mixing with ash and other particles in the air. To the west, in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, the Thar Desert stretches across 200,000 square kilometers (77,000 square miles) of arid, dusty land. During the spring, westerly winds pluck dust and sand from the Thar and blow it toward the Indo-Gangetic plain. The dust joins a mash of industrial pollutants to create a massive brown cloud visible from space. Underneath the brown cloud, some solar radiation is blocked from reaching the surface, causing the under-lying land surface to cool. "Surprisingly, these brown aerosol clouds seem to have potent climate consequences that affect the entire region," Lau said. The thick soot and dust layer absorbs solar radiation, and heats up the air around the Himalayan foothills. The warm, rising air enhances the seasonal northward flow of humid monsoon winds, forcing moisture and hot air up the slopes of the Himalayas. As the aerosol particles rise on the warm, convecting air, they produce more rain over northern India and the Himalayan foothill, which further warms the atmosphere and fuels a "heat pump" that draws yet more warm air to the region. "The phenomenon changes the timing and intensity of the monsoon, effectively transferring heat from the low-lying lands over the subcontinent to the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau, which in turn warms the high-altitude land surface and hastens glacial retreat," Lau said. His modeling shows that aerosols -- particularly black carbon and dust -- likely cause as much of the glacial retreat in the region as greenhouse gases via this "heat pump" effect. > The Dark Side of Carbon: Will Black Carbon Siphon Asia’s Drinking Water Away? > Soot is Key Player in Himalayan Warming, Looming Water Woes in Asia > Asian Summer Monsoon Stirred by Dust in the Wind > Glacier-capped Mountains in Tibet NASA Earth Science News Team

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/terrain-heat-pump.html

June 15, 2001 June 15, 2001 Classroom language is that collection of phrases used for communication among teacher and students, from "Open your books to page fifteen" to "May I go to the bathroom?" While emphasis is usually placed primarily on the target language, classroom language, too, can be an invaluable way of promoting English as real communication, student involvement in the lesson, and active language learning skills. Part 1 will summarize three steps in encouraging classroom language use, and Part 2 will show how an activity can be modified to encourage the four different kinds of classroom language (requests, choices, leadership, and manners and values). 1. Practical Purpose for Students: Enabling Students to Get Things Done Students can be encouraged to use classroom language independently under two conditions: it helps them to express themselves or have their needs and wishes met, and the lesson structure enables them to make decisions and requests. Below are some examples of lesson structures and the classroom language they enable. This is perhaps the most familiar condition, in which students use expressions such as "How do you spell ____?" or "Can you repeat that?" to express their needs to the teacher. Through activities such as TPR, this can be expanded beyond the lesson to other areas, such as room conditions ("I'm hot. Can I open the window?") and restroom needs. Given a coloring worksheet with, for example, numbered items of clothing, rather than dictating what students should do, teachers can create opportunities for students to make choices and even tell other students what to do. In this case, a student might say, "Let's color the . . . pants . . . um, pink!", or, at a more basic level, simply say the elements, "Number 6, pants, pink!" Once students get accustomed to an activity, a student rather than the teacher can be in charge, whether as caller for bingo or slap, or as roll taker. D. Manners and Values Although this involves set expressions ("Thank you," "You're welcome," "I'm sorry," "That's okay"), it is also important to respect feelings and express appreciation. For an example of how an activity can be modified to incorporate these four types of classroom language, see Encouraging Classroom Language Use - Part 2. 2. Selection of Expressions: Few, Frequent, and Systematic I've worked mostly with students in their first or second year of English study from ages 4 to 9, who came for weekly, hour-long lessons. The most frequently used phrase is "please," and one reason is that students need to ask for everything: worksheets, game pieces, crafts supplies, the next item for bingo or slap, permission to wash their hands. Next is "What is it?" I used to teach "I don't know," but some students, particularly those with low self-confidence, tended to use it all the time to avoid answering. "What is it?", on the other hand, allowed students to ask for help, and in reply I would give the answer, provide hints, or invite the other students to help. The student in question would then be able to give the answer with confidence. Two other well use phrases are "What's next?" and "Again, please." Both are used during activities such as dictation or bingo, when students must request the next item and ask me to repeat when they can't understand. 3. Reinforcement: Non-verbal Prompts Key to any teaching strategy is how the language is reinforced after the initial introduction and practice. A problem with verbal prompts is that they easily become "feeds," where the prompter may unconsciously give away the language to the student. Students can quickly figure out that eventually the teacher will feed them the desired answer, and will come to depend on the teacher rather than try to remember the language themselves. Non-verbal prompts can help remind students what expression the situation calls for or recall the language, while also building student confidence and the spirit of helping each other. Below are some forms of non-verbal prompts. A. Visual Prompts Pictures illustrating situations such as "I'm sorry" can be reviewed regularly and posted. When needed, the teacher can point to them or hold them up. B. Reading Prompts Students comfortable with reading can have a list of useful phrases which can be posted and/or glued to the inside cover of their textbooks. I've posted numbered lists with large letters, and have sometimes held up fingers to indicate the number of the expression they should be using. C. Gesture Prompts Shrugging can indicate "I don't know," and outstretched hand "please," a hand cupping the ear "Can you repeat that?", and so on. (Gesture prompts are used in Part 2.) D. Pronunciation Prompts Especially in classes paying close attention to pronunciation and phonics, such as those using the "Finding Out" series, I've sometimes mouthed the expression, and let students deduce the sounds. E. Clue Prompts Rather than the entire phrase, just the first word or first sound can be given, or blanks can be written on the board with the first letter of each word. This takes a little time, so I've usually used it in situations where the phrase will be used several times, such as reminding students of "What's next?" during a game. Be careful to distinguish between meaning reinforcement and usage reinforcement. Meaning may be reinforced, say, when a new term is being introduced or when students are unable, even as a class, to remember what something means. Thus, in introducing the command, "Open your books," you might actually open a book, or use your hands to mime opening a book, to help students comprehend the message through visual as well as audio input. In usage reinforcement, students already know the meaning, but need to be reminded to use it or of how to say it correctly. Thus, the (silent) open hand gesture reminds students there is a term to be used to request getting what they want, but there is no cue as to what that term is. Meaning reinforcement should be used only after the students as a class have shown they don't understand the expression. Otherwise, they will respond to the on-verbal cues rather than to the language itself. In other words, they will be "listening" to the gesture of opening the book rather than to your words, "Open your books." In summary, the immediate practicality and frequency of use of classroom language helps students appreciate English as real communication and develop their confidence, in both their English abilities and in themselves as active individuals by enabling them to use it to get things done. Through the frequent and systematic use of a selected list of words and expressions, reinforced with a variety of non-verbal prompts, teachers can help students to master and enjoy using classroom language. This is not to imply that the target language is unimportant, but simply to highlight the rich possibilities for learning and even mastery that are offered by classroom language. For myself, with the exceptions of Halloween and Christmas, classroom language has been the most fun to teach, as even the shyest students have gotten a kick out of barking orders or being able to choose what the class will color next. It takes planning and self-discipline on the part of the teacher, but seeing the students get more involved in the class is well worth it! Best of luck with your teaching! This article will show how an activity can be modified to encourage the four kinds of classroom language (requests, choices, leadership, and manners and values) described in part 1. The Basic Activity: Peephole Cards for Vocabulary Review Stack of large picture cards of vocabulary for review, several A-3-sized, opaque sheets of paper with a hole cut in the middle about half a centimeter to a centimeter square in size (larger hole for younger students). I usually just ran A-3 paper through the copy machine with the cover up (although you will be scolded, like I always was, for doing this). "What is it?", "It's a ____," "Is it a ____?", "No, it isn't," "Yes, it is." Students have already been taught the classroom language and are familiar with the non-verbal prompts (gestures, etc.). Teacher holds up a card with the peephole screen in front of it. "What is it?" she asks mysteriously. Students are perplexed. She moves the card behind the screen so that, through the hole, students can see different parts of the picture. Students yell guesses, teacher replies, until someone gets it right. Teacher demonstrates two more times, using different picture cards, then divides students into pairs and they take turns quizzing each other. When dividing classes into pairs with different roles, designate one student A and one student B. Explain that all the A's are the quizzers and all the B's the guessers. Call the A's to the front to pick up the cards. As pairs finish, tell the B's to take the peephole screen and choose a new card (as necessary). Students will not get X unless they request it appropriately (in English, of course). Students must desire X, or they will not be motivated to make the effort of requesting it, and they must have the ability and aids to make that request. Motivating young children is simple and fun: show them something, make a big deal over it, show them there is enough for everyone, and then blatantly fail to give them any. With some classes, lording it over them, and then crying and feigning agony when you are "forced" to distribute it because they have asked appropriately, is also a great motivator. A's come to the teacher to get the peephole screens, perhaps carelessly requesting the screen in L1. After fiercely ordering, "Line up," teacher studies the ceiling casually or admires her nails while casually prompting "____, please," with her outstretched hand. Baffled by what the screens are called, the first A will point to it and ask, "What is it?" (If this question doesn't come, the teacher can remind the student to ask by shrugging her shoulders.) The teacher says, "Black peephole paper" (or whatever). The student says, "Black peephole paper, please," and, after getting the screen, goes to choose a picture card. This requires students to make choices and requests based on them so shy or reticent students may be unfairly discriminated against. (This can be avoided by letting students take turns choosing first, for example.) It is helpful to demonstrate how to request the choices first, such as by holding up each item and saying what it is before failing to give them away. The peephole screens can be diversified by having the holes in different shapes, or, rather than being all black, can be of construction paper of different colors. Students then request, "Heart peephole paper, please," or "Blue peephole paper, please." The request can also be simplified if necessary to "Heart paper, please," or just "Heart, please." More peephole screens than pairs can be available, and the quizzers are free to change their screen a limited number of times. Of course, they must first request it: "Change paper, please," for example. My students were usually in their first or second year of learning English and very young, so I kept the language structure for requests very simple. With students of more experience or older age, I would require longer, more correct requests ("May I have...?" and so on). Perhaps the more accurate phrase should be "Being in Charge," or "Bossing Your Classmates Around." It's been my experience that nothing excites a child more than power (except, perhaps, causing pain). Minor adjustments to almost any activity can open it up to letting students have more control over certain aspects. After the second or third time the class has done the activity (and so is comfortable, perhaps even a little bored with it), review the directions up, down, left, right, and stop. Then, as quizzer, communicate that you will not move the hole unless they tell you. (Be sure to clarify whose perspective will be used for left and right.) This makes the activity more fun for both A and B as one gets to choose the card while the other gets to give orders. Manners and Values If nothing else, students leave the class knowing "Thank you" and "Please." As much as the subject of the class, teachers embody certain values, and it's always been important to meespecially with the current problems of bullying and classroom collapseto emphasize respect for each other as well as the teacher and fair play. Students also do better knowing they are in a safe and just environment. (For a discussion of rules and classroom policy, see Effective Classroom Rules. The first A successfully requests a peephole screen from the teacher and has it in hand, but the teacher does not let go. A tugs and tugs, and is rewarded with a dark look or raised eyebrows from the teacher. A remembersor is prompted by those behind himto say, "Thank you!" The teacher says, "You're welcome," and lets go of the peephole screen. During excited quizzing, A's partner B is unable to guess the picture. A forgets himself and cries out, "Baka! (Stupid!)" The classroom goes silent as the teacher immediately stops all other activity, walks up to A, and says sternly, "We don't say baka in class. No baka. Tell B you're sorry." A tells B, "I'm sorry." B replies, "That's okay." They shake hands. (This may be prompted as necessary). A native of Hawaii, Michele Louwerse has taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and organized summer English camps and teacher training workshops in Hong Kong and Guangdong (Canton), China. After earning an M.Ed. in Secondary English Education at New York University, she taught at the Nagoya (Japan) YMCA English School for five years, including two years as head coordinator, and specialized in classes for children aged 4-6 years. She is currently working at the National Council of YMCAs of Japan.

http://www.eltnews.com/columns/kids_world/2001/06/encouraging_classroom_language.html

Classical Education, as a rule, refers to a method of study based on three distinct stages of learning. The first stage is the grammar stage and is the setting for memorization of many facts. This stage typically fits children between the ages of 6 and 10 years of age. The second stage is the dialectic and logic stage. It typically encompasses students age 11-13 years of age, encouraging them to ask “why” questions within the safety of a classroom environment and their home. The third stage is the rhetoric stage, which builds on the first two and incorporates students age 14 and up. This stage springboards upper-level-students towards the ability to debate and form a world view based on the information gathered in the first two stages. At this stage, the student begins to become the teacher. This is also the stage when serious collegiate prep work begins. A Classically Eclectic Education refers to a method of education which provides coherence between subjects. For example, students study the history of the world in chronological order. At the same time, their history relates to their geography. Analyzing classic literature becomes a springboard for writing and worldview. It is a method of study which serves to promote an understanding of the world in a cohesive fashion. These areas of study are often confused and fragmented in a traditional method of teaching, and the classical method allows us to showcase each area of study, but tie them together so that they make sense as a whole. This has a remarkable effect on helping students develop into well-rounded, intelligent leaders. World history and biblical history are also often fragmented. A Christian classical education will highlight how these two areas of study fit together as a unit. Wellmont classes make a point of joining biblical knowledge to world history, literature and science in a cohesive manner in order to foster a balanced world view for students.

http://www.wellmontacademy.com/what-is-classical-education

Notice the alternate name of the Ports pins. The AVR microcontollers are designed to allow dual use of most of its pins. This has the advantage of allowing a developer to use these pins as I/O pins if the function they are provided for is not being utilized. In this AVR tutorial we are only concern with the pins in there Digital I/O function, so for now just forget they have alternate capabilities. The pins of the AVR microcontroller are not fixed as input or output at the manufacturing stage, these pins are software configurable which is the topic of the section below. DDRx is an 8-bit register which stores configuration information for the pins of Portx. Writing a 1 in the pin location in the DDRx makes the physical pin of that port an output pin and writing a 0 makes that pin an input pin. Note: Each physical pin of a port is configured independently and thus a port can have some of its pins configured as input an the others as output pins. PINx - Port X Input Pins Register PINx is an 8-bit register that stores the logic value, the current state, of the physical pins on Portx. So to read the values on the pins of Portx, you read the values that are in its PIN register. PORTx - Port X Data Register PORTx is an 8-bit register which stores the logic values that currently being outputted on the physical pins of Portx if the pins are configured as output pins. So to write values to a port, you write the values to the PORT register of that port. AVR Tutorials hope this AVR tutorial on the AVR microcontroller digital I/O ports was benificial to you and looks forward to your continued visit for all your microcontroller tutorial needs.

http://www.avr-tutorials.com/digital/about-avr-8-bit-microcontrollers-digital-io-ports

From Ohio History Central In 1799, the legislature of the Northwest Territory selected William Henry Harrison to represent the territory in the United States House of Representatives. Upon taking his seat, Harrison immediately asked the House to assist in encouraging settlement of the Northwest Territory. On April 15, 1800, the government approved the Harrison Land Act. Under this law, people had the opportunity to buy land in the Northwest Territory directly from the federal government. The purchasers also could use credit to make part of their purchase. The Harrison Land Act stated that people had to purchase at least 320 acres of land for a minimum of two dollars per acre. At the time of the sale, the purchaser had to provide the government with at least one-half of the price plus administrative costs. This amounted to an initial payment of 330 dollars. The remaining 320 dollars had to be paid in four equal installments. The purchasers made one payment per year, and the loan could not exceed four years. The government would evict any "squatters" if any new people wished to purchase a certain parcel of land. Squatters were people who already lived on the land but who had not purchased it legally. The only exception would be if the squatters had constructed mills on the land. In those cases, the government permitted the squatters to buy the land at two dollars per acre. The Harrison Land Act only applied to land west of the Muskingum River. The Harrison Land Act greatly enhanced settlement in the Northwest Territory. Thousands of people bought land on credit. Some people purchased too much land and could not make payments when they were due. Many of these people lost their property at the end of four years when the government foreclosed on it.

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Harrison_Land_Act?rec=1478

By burning wood, humans have been significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions as far back as the Roman Empire, researchers say. The finding may lead scientists to rethink some aspects of climate change models, which assume humans weren't responsible for much greenhouse gas before the Industrial Revolution. "It was believed that emissions started in 1850. We showed that humans already started to impact greenhouse effects much before," study co-author Célia Sapart of Utretcht University in the Netherlands said. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with 20 times the warming power of carbon dioxide, Sapart told LiveScience. Forest fires, wetlands and volcanic eruptions naturally release methane into the atmosphere. But human actions, such as raising cattle or burning fossil fuel, now account for more than half of the methane released. To see how far back humans were producing significant amounts of methane, Sapart and her colleagues analyzed ice cores from Greenland. Tiny air bubbles trapped in the ice provide a perfect snapshot of the atmosphere thousands of years ago: The fraction of heavy and light carbon isotopes (atoms of the same element but with different numbers of neutrons) inside these air bubbles can not only reveal atmospheric levels of methane but tell researchers whether the gas came from forest fires, wetlands or other sources. [Giant Ice: Photos of Greenland's Glaciers] In their Oct. 3 study detailed in the journal Nature, the researchers found that methane production was high around 100 B.C., during the heyday of the Roman Empire, and waned around A.D. 200 as the empire faltered. The methane was released when Romans burned down forest to clear land for crops and expanding settlements, Sapart said. This time period also coincided with the peak of China's Han dynasty, which burned large amounts of wood to forge swords. Once the dynasty collapsed around A.D. 200, atmospheric methane levels dropped. Methane production also spiked during Europe’s mini-ice age, around 1400, as people burned wood to stay toasty inside, she said. Across the time period the researchers studied, human activities such as growing food or keeping warm were responsible for 20 percent to 30 percent of the methane released from burning organic matter. Of course, the historical methane emissions were still small in comparison with modern levels. The findings suggest that climate change predictions may need tweaking, Sapart said. Prediction models assume baseline, natural levels of methane emissions to forecast how human actions will change levels in the future. Previously, researchers thought natural events produced almost all of the methane prior to industrialization. "The big goal of all this is to try to predict how greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere are going to evolve in the future," Sapart said. "Already at this period humans were emitting greenhouse gases, especially methane, so we need to reconsider what are natural conditions.” - The Reality of Climate Change: 10 Myths Busted - Image Gallery: One-of-a-Kind Places on Earth - History's Most Overlooked Mysteries

http://news.yahoo.com/human-greenhouse-gas-emissions-traced-roman-times-192551162.html

When there is a shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth caused by underground movement along a fault plane or by volcanic activity, then it is the time of earthquake. The scale of earthquake is commonly measured by Richter scale which compares the maximum heights of the seismic waves at a distance of 100 kilometers from the point on the earth's surface directly above where the earthquake originated within the earth, the epicenter. The Richter scale then divided into categories called Magnitudes which are the estimation of the energy released by an earthquake. Earthquake happens because the Earth’s tectonic plates are always moving and floating on molten rock. An earthquake can last few seconds to a few minutes, which can be followed after-shocks. Most earthquakes occur on the edge of plates, especially where one plate is forced under another such as happens off Sumatra or past another as occurs in California. The earth's outer shell is divided into seven major and some smaller plates which are constantly in a dynamic state, pushing against, pulling away from, or grinding past one another. Forces build up as the plates attempt to move in relation to each other. When the adhesions along the fault give way, stored energy is released in the form of earth tremors, volcanic activity etc. Types of plate movements and principal effects of earthquake: - Oceanic plates pulling away from each other leads to hot volcanic material being expelled from cracks to form mid-ocean ridges. - Oceanic plates colliding with and forced under continental plates leads to mountain ranges being pushed up, accompanied by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. - Collisions of continental plates force up mountain ranges; release compression energy in quakes. See also a paper about earthquake characteristics published by Montana government. There are several primary impacts of earthquake: - Total or partial destruction of structures. - Blockage or breakage of transport activities. - Interruption of Water Supply. - Breakage of Sewage Disposal Systems. - Loss of Public Utilities, eg. electricity & gas Earthquakes will give various effects of damages while it depends on the scale. An example of massive damages of earthquake was on 2004 when an earthquake was occurred in Sumatra-Indonesia. It was not only affected Indonesia, but also several countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. See also the damages of earthquake in Aceh-Indonesia 2006 and environmental impacts in Haiti earthquake 2010. When in a situation of emergency, we should consider where we are, a good basic knowledge of emergency will be helpful in emergency situation. If you are indoor, take cover under a heavy desk or table. If you get under a table and it moves, try to move with it. It would be better if you stay away from falling objects, glasses, hanging objects, huge furniture that can be fallen. If you are in a public building, do not rush for the doorways and do not use elevators. If outdoors, move away from buildings and utility wires. The greatest danger from falling debris is just outside doorways and close to outer walls. Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. If you are in automobile stop as quickly and safely possible but not under a potential materials that could fall but into an open space. When you drive on, watch for hazards created by the earthquake, such as breaks in the pavement, downed utility poles and wires, a fallen overpasses and bridges. There are many ways to reduce earthquake damages. Possible actions include: · Developing construction techniques that are seismic resistant. · Conducting a program to introduce improved construction techniques to the building industry and the general public. · Determining which sites are safe for construction through analysis of the soil type and geological structure. · Instituting incentives to remove unsafe buildings and buildings on unsafe sites or, more probably, to upgrade their level of safety. · Instituting incentives to encourage future development on safer sites and safer methods of construction through: Land use controls (zoning). Building Codes and standards and means of enforcing them. Favourable taxation, loans, or subsidies to qualify buildings, methods and sites. Land development incentives. · Reducing possible damage from secondary effects by: Identifying potential landslide sites and restricting construction in those areas. Installing devices that will keep breakages in electrical lines and gas mains from producing fires. Verifying the capability of dams to resist earthquake forces, and upgrading as necessary. Learn also a guidance manual on nonstructural earthquake mitigation by FEMA and a mitigation plan which is developed by Nevada government. Several actions related to earthquake management planning. 1. A journal on contingency planning for earthquake in Asia. (click here) 2. GIS for Earthquake, developed by ESRI. (click here) 3. A case study on earthquake risk management in Italian region. (click here)

http://un-spider.org/disaster-and-risk-management-guides/earthquake

A water molecule, because of its shape, is a polar molecule. That is, it has one side that is positively charged and one side that is negatively charged. The molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The bonds between the atoms are called covalent bonds, because the atoms share electrons. The hydrogen atoms have one electron each. Because they share those electrons with the oxygen atom, the electrons tend to stay close to the oxygen atom and the outside of the hydrogen atom tends to be positively charged. The oxygen atom has eight electrons. Most of those tend to stay away from the hydrogen atoms, and cause the outside of the oxygen atom to have a negative When two water molecules get close together, the polar forces work to draw the molecules together. The oxygen atom of one water molecule will bond with several hydrogen atoms of other water molecules. These bonds are called hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds are not as strong as covalent bonds, but they are strong enough to bind water molecules together and give water its unique characteristics. (An analogy concerning the bonds is that the covalent bonds are like a strong glue bond while the hydrogen bonds are like the bond between two toy magnets). Two of those characteristics are: water's great ability to dissolve materials, and water's lower density when it is frozen. At any time about 20% of the water molecules in liquid water are freed of their hydrogen bonds and able to "hydrate" other materials in the water. The Triangular Wave treatment technology takes advantage of this unique characteristic of water, a polar molecule.

http://www.triangularwave.com/a1b1.htm

The Physics of Sound What is Sound? Put simply, sound is vibration. As such, sound can pass through many different substances - in fact, it requires the presence of a medium. Sound cannot travel in a vacuum. The most common medium within which we perceive sound is, of course, air. Various movements around us cause vibrations in air molecules, and this sound energy is transported outwards as waves. Much in the same way as waves move across the surface of a pond, so does sound move through the air. Once the action that caused the waves ceases, then the pond will gradually return to its original position, as if nothing had happened. Sound also travels through water, and can travel through solids too, such as wood, brick, iron and so on. The ease with which it can do so depends upon the composition of the medium, and the nature of the sound itself. Different frequencies can move more easily through certain substances than others, and some frequencies travel further than others. Approaching a concert, for example, you may well hear the thumping of the bass drum before all else. Waves travel as a transfer of energy within a medium - a wave is essentially a sequence of compressions (moving together) and rarefactions (moving apart) of molecules. Properties Of A Wave A number of properties are commonly used to define a wave. The wavelength may be defined as the horizontal distance between two successive equivalent points on the waveform. For convenience, these two points are usually taken at peaks (highest point) or troughs (lowest). The period then is the time it takes for the wave to complete one full cycle. The amplitude equates to the height of the wave; loud sounds produce waves of higher amplitude. The loudness or intensity of sound is measured in decibels; however, it must be remembered that this is not a linear or absolute scale of measurement. The lowest threshold of human hearing is set at zero; a decibel is sometimes defined as the smallest change in volume discernable by a human. For a doubling in volume, the decibel level goes up by six. Within this scale, normal speech levels fit in at around 60dB. The frequency of a wave is the number of cycles that pass a set point in a second, and is measured in Hertz (Hz). Frequency is intimately connected to pitch, although they are not exactly synonymous; the A above middle C is a vibration at a rate of 440 Hz. Lower frequency vibrations are perceived as being lower in pitch, and higher frequencies seem higher in pitch. Basic Interference Patterns Sound, like all waves, rarely occurs in isolation. Every day, the world around us is awash with sounds, from the rustling of leaves to the roaring of engines. All of these sounds interact with one another, and with all the elements and obstacles of their environment. Hence, the same sound sources can sound vastly different depending upon the position of the listener in relation to them. A practical example can illustrate how soundwaves interfere with one another. We can set up two loudspeakers located at a distance of three metres from the listener. The speakers are producing the same tone, with a wavelength of one metre. The speakers� diaphragms are also moving in synchrony - that is, they both move in and out at the same time. As the distances are equal, the compressions of each wave (peaks) are reaching the listener at the same time. A process of linear superposition then occurs - the combined pattern of the waves is the sum of the individual wave patterns. As the pressure of both waves is waxing at the same time, the pressure fluctuations where the two waves meet exhibits twice the amplitude of the individual waves. This means that the waves are exactly in phase - creating a condition known as constructive interference. However, if one of the speakers is moved half a wavelength further away from the listener (in this example, half a metre), then an entirely different effect will be observed. The rarefactions (troughs) of one of the waves will now reach the listener at the same time as the compressions (peaks) of the other. Following the same additive principles as before, the variations in air pressure now cancel each other out. This is destructive interference, when two signals are perfectly out of phase. Noise-cancelling headphones use this technique to reduce unwanted ambient sounds. Now that we know what happens when two sound waves with the same frequency overlap, let's explore what happens when two sound waves with different frequencies overlap. Two instrument tuners are placed side by side, one set to emit a sound whose frequency is 440 Hz and the other set to emit a sound whose frequency is 438 Hz. If the two tuners (which have the same amplitude) are turned on at the same time, you will not hear a constant sound. Instead, the loudness of the combined sound rises and falls. Whenever a condensation meets a condensation or a rarefaction meets a rarefaction, there is constructive interference and the amplitude increases. Whenever a condensation meets a rarefaction and vice versa, there is destructive interference, and you can hear nothing. These periodic variations in loudness are called beats. In this situation you will hear the loudness rise and fall 2 times per second because 440-438=2. So, there is a beat frequency of 2 Hz. Musicians listen for beats to hear if their instruments are out of tune. The musician will listen to a tuner that has the correct sound and plays the note on his intrument. If the musician can hear beats, then he knows that the instrument is out of tune. When the beats disappear, the musician knows the instrument is in tune.

http://www.podcomplex.com/guide/physics.html

This page describes a programming technique called Recursive Programming, in which a procedure calls itself repeatedly until some escape condition is met. Recursive programming is a powerful technique that can greatly simplify some programming tasks. In summary, recursive programming is the situation in which a procedure calls itself, passing in a modified value of the parameter(s) that was passed in to the current iteration of the procedure. Typically, a recursive programming environment contains (at least) two procedures: first, a procedure to set up the initial environment and make the initial call to the recursive procedure, and second, the recursive procedure itself that calls itself one or more times. Let's begin with a simple example. The Factorial of a number N is the product of all the integers between 1 and N. The factorial of 5 is equal to 5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1 = 120. In the real world you would not likely use a recursive procedure for this, but it will serve as a simple yet illustrative example. The first procedure is named DoFact sets things up, calls the Fact function and displays the result. Dim L As Long Dim N As Long N = 3 L = Fact(N) Debug.Print "The Factorial of " & CStr(N) & " is " & Format(L, "#,##0") The Fact function does the real work of calculating the factorial. Function Fact(N As Long) As Long If N = 1 Then Fact = 1 Fact = N * Fact(N - 1) In this code, the value of the input N is tested. If it is 1, the function simply returns 1. If N is greater than 1, Fact calls itself passing itself the value N-1. The function returns as its result the input value N times the value of itself evaluated for N-1. While recursive programming is a powerful technique, you must be careful to structure the code so that it will terminate properly when some condition is met. In the Fact procedure, we ended the recursive calls when N was less than or equal to 1. Your recursive code must have some sort of escape logic that terminates the recursive calls. Without such escape logic, the code would loop continuously until the VBA runtime aborts the processing with an Out Of Stack Space error. Note that you cannot trap an Out Of Stack Space error with conventional error trapping. It is called an untrappable error and will terminate all VBA execution immediately. You cannot recover from an untrappable error. For example, consider the following poorly written recursive procedure: Function AddUp(N As Long) Static R As Long If N <= 0 Then R = 0 R = AddUp(N + 1) AddUp = R In this code, there is no condition that prevents AddUp from calling itself. Every call results in another call to AddUp . The function will continue to call itself without restriction until the VBA runtime aborts the procedure execution sequence. See also Recursion And The File System Object for additional recursive code examples. This page last updated: 14-September-2007

http://www.cpearson.com/excel/RECURSIVEPROGRAMMING.ASPX

This is a chapter in Guides to Peace and Justice from Ancient Sages to the Suffragettes, which is published as a book. For ordering information, please click here. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer served occasionally as a diplomat. When he was about twenty, he was taken prisoner in France and ransomed by King Edward III. Chaucer then acted as a diplomatic courier in the negotiations that brought about the Peace of Calais in 1360. He married a lady of the English court and for ten years went on many diplomatic missions to France and the Low Countries "on the King's secret affairs." Chaucer was a close friend of John of Gaunt and was aided by him in court life. In 1372 he traveled to Florence and probably heard Boccaccio's lectures on Dante, and in 1378 he went to Milan, where Petrarch had spent his last twenty years. In 1385 Chaucer became justice of the peace for Kent, and the next year he was elected to parliament. He was given appointments by Richard II and was also favored by Henry IV before he died in 1400. Chaucer is justly famous for his great work The Canterbury Tales. These stories told by various characters while on their pilgrimage to Thomas Becket's tomb illustrate many points of view on life from ribald accounts of lust to high moral fables. Each tale reveals the personality of the storyteller. In the parson's tale Chaucer warned that anger can lose an old friend; but when it leads to war, every kind of wrong is committed. Significantly, after he is cut off in his tale of a knight named Sir Thopas, the story that Chaucer puts into his own mouth is an enlightened account of peacemaking and diplomatic counseling called "The Tale of Melibeus." Melibeus is a powerful and rich young man who has a wife named Prudence and a daughter Sophie. One day when Melibeus is out playing in the fields, three of his old enemies break into his house, beat his wife, and wound his daughter in five places. Melibeus becomes greatly upset and weeps profusely as Prudence attempts to console him. Melibeus decides to call in all the people he knows in order to get advice about what to do. Melibeus sadly describes his trouble and angrily speaks of vengeance and his eagerness for war. First the physicians help the wounded and declare their policy of never doing harm to anyone; however, they add that as diseases are cured by their opposite, so war might be cured by vengeance. Many flatterers praise the wealth and might of Melibeus and his friends while disparaging the strength of his enemies. The older and wiser recommend that he guard his person and his house, but that he wait before deciding on war. Then the young people rise up and begin to cry, "War, war!" An old man advises caution, but the young heckle him until he sits down. Melibeus is ready to go along with war when his wife Prudence asks him to listen to her counsel. Melibeus says he would be a fool to give over his sovereignty to a woman, women being evil and unable to keep secrets. Prudence declares that he ought to change if previous counsel has been foolish, that listening to advice is not giving up one's power to decide, and that all women are not necessarily bad and untrustworthy. Melibeus agrees to listen to Prudence. First, she says, one ought to begin by praying to God for guidance. Then one must remove the three impediments to good counsel from the heart-anger, covetousness, and hastiness. After having taken counsel within oneself it is best to keep it secret so as to receive unprejudiced and objective counsel from the advisors. Melibeus had betrayed his desire, and all the flatterers had agreed with his passion. Prudence suggests that it is best to ask advice from friends that are old, faithful, discreet, and wise; he must beware of former enemies and those who are afraid of him. Prudence teaches Melibeus that in counsel he ought to be truthful about the situation and examine the probable results of the advice and the various causes. Then Prudence takes up the specific issues. She points out that vengeance is not the opposite of wickedness as the physicians thought; but it is wrong for wrong. Peace is the opposite of war. As to guarding his person and garrisoning his house, Prudence declares that friends are the best defense. War would be foolish, because his enemies have more relatives than he and surely would revenge his acts of vengeance. Only a judge with the proper jurisdiction should punish. The consequences of war would be injuries, deaths, and the waste of wealth. Spiritually the ultimate cause of everything is God. Therefore if God has allowed this to happen to his family, it must be chastisement for previous sins. Allegorically the three enemies of mankind are the world, the flesh, and the devil, and the five wounds symbolize the five senses through which the sins have entered the heart. He should leave vengeance to the sovereign Judge, for "'Vengeance is mine,' saith the Lord." Besides Melibeus does not have the power to avenge himself. Chaucer and Prudence discourage fighting under any circumstances. It is madness in a man to strive with one who is stronger than himself; and to strive with a man of even strength is dangerous; but to strive with a weaker man is foolish. And for this reason a man should avoid all strife, in so far as he may.1 Melibeus figures that he can count upon his wealth, but Prudence warns that no amount of wealth is sufficient to maintain war, and a great man is as easily killed in a war as a poor one. Prudence counsels Melibeus to make peace with God and become reconciled to His grace, and God will change the hearts of his enemies so that they also will seek peace. Prudence then tells the adversaries privately that they ought to repent for the injury and wrong they had done to Melibeus, herself, and her daughter. They are surprised by her gracious words and acknowledge the wrong they have done. She convinces them to trust themselves to Melibeus and her for a reconciliation. She then gathers their true friends, and they being correctly informed give counsel for peace. When the adversaries submit, Melibeus still wants to punish them by confiscating all their property and banishing them; but Prudence warns him against gaining a reputation for covetousness and then advises mercy. Finally Melibeus forgives them for all the offenses, injuries, and wrongs done against his family so that God will forgive him the sins he has done in the world. Thus through Prudence Chaucer showed us how to alleviate the mood for war and bring reconciliation. Another English poet, William Langland (c. 1332-c. 1400), in Piers the Plowman described the suffering from the long war and criticized the Pope for sending men to kill those he should be saving. The poet blamed Edward III for the ruinous campaign in France that followed his failing to keep the peace treaty of Brétigny. In the first version of his poem Langland had hope that the Black Prince would become a good king; but after Richard II became king, his vision changed to hoping for the reign of Christ in which all weapons would be transformed into farm tools; the penalty for trying to make a weapon would be death. The poet John Gower (c. 1330-1408) was a friend of Chaucer. Although Gower supported Edward III's claims in France, in 1369 he joined a group of prelates in opposing more taxes because a truce with France had been broken. In his early French poem, The Mirror of Man, Gower reminded knights that God looks into your heart, and that even in a just cause one must do no wrong. Love, pity, and charity keep war far away. In his English poem Confessio Amantis (The Lover's Shrift) and in his Latin poem Vox Clamantis (Voice of Crying) Gower condemned bloodshed. The latter was stimulated by the Jack Straw Rebellion of 1381. Gower criticized the warrior clerics who practice war when they should restore peace, and he castigated the lords who gain loot from war and laugh at those who suffer or complain. Disillusioned by the Norwich Crusade of 1383, Gower compared the peaceful preaching of Peter to the current Pope's fighting and killing with armies for riches. Gower believed that knights should serve the common good, defend orphans and widows, and protect the church; but he lamented that avarice often leads them astray. Gower came to believe that Edward's claims in France were not justified, and thus the war was wrong. Gower agreed with the criticisms that accused Richard II of eight violations of his duty to keep the peace toward the clergy and his people. Thus Gower supported Henry IV in his taking of the throne in 1399, and in a poem addressed to him he urged the new king to make peace with France. Yet he warned Henry IV that some appeal to peace for their own ends. The test of peace is if one's motive is love. In the book on wrath in his English poem Gower asks the Confessor if it is lawful to kill a man. At first the Confessor indicates that exceptions can be made by a judge for robbery, murder, and treason according to the laws, and one may defend oneself in war. However, when Gower asks about deadly war for a worldly cause, the Confessor says, If charity be held in awe, Then deadly wars offend its law: Such wars make war on Nature too; Peace is the end her laws pursue Peace, the chief gem in Adam's wealth; Peace which is all his life and health. But in the gangs of war there go Poverty, pestilence, and woe, And famine, and all other pain Whereof we mortal men complain, Whom war shall trample down until Our only succor is God's will. For it is war that brings us naught, On Earth, all good that God has wrought: The church is burnt, the priest is slain; Virgin and wife, vile rapes constrain; Law pines away, God is not served: Now tell me, what has he deserved, The man who brings such warfare in? First, if he stirred up war to win Advantage, count his heavy cost, With all the people who are lost: By any worldly reckoning, The man has not won anything. Then, if he acts in hope of grace From heaven, it is not my place To speak of such rewards; but still, Both love and peace were Our Lord's will; And he who works their opposite Must reap an ill reward from it. Since in their nature, as we find, Battles and wars of every kind Are so displeasing to Our Lord, And since their temporal reward Is woe, it mystifies the mind To guess at what can ail mankind That they agree no armistice: Sin, I think, is what makes us miss; And sin is paid with death. I know Not how such matters truly go; But as for us, who are of one Belief, in my opinion Peace were a better thing to choose Than ways by which we doubly lose.2 The confessor finds the real cause of war in coveting. He tells a story of a pirate who justifies himself to the great Alexander by arguing he only does on a small scale what Alexander does with his empire. Yet even Alexander met a tragic end. The confessor concludes that only in a just cause is slaughter justified. Gower then asks if it is lawful for men to go across the sea to slay Saracens, but the Confessor says this is contrary to the examples of the Christ and those he sent out to preach to the world. If they had killed, the faith would be uncertain. Thus all killing is evil, because murder makes men worse than beasts. John Wyclif was born about 1328 and was educated at Oxford, gaining his master of arts at Balliol about 1358. He became vicar of Fillingham in 1363 and of Ludgershall in 1368, but he got permission to be absent while he studied at Oxford for several more years. Wyclif earned his doctor of divinity in 1372. The previous year papal nuncio Arnold Garnier had arrived in England to recover all property bequeathed for the deliverance of the Holy Land. However, in February 1372 Garnier was forced by King Edward III to swear before Chancellor Thorpe and others that he would not act contrary to the interests of the realm nor take any treasure out of England for the pope or cardinals. Wyclif may have been present; but even if he was not, he was impressed by this. In 1374 Edward III sent Wyclif on a commission to Bruges to negotiate peace with France and resolve differences over appointments in England with papal agents. Wyclif wrote treatises on civil and divine dominion, suggesting that a church in sin should give up its possessions. Three principles he emphasized were that the clergy and especially the pope should be humble and ready to serve, that they must remove themselves from secular affairs according to the apostolic example, and that thus the Church should be relieved of its excessive endowments. Under the influence of John of Gaunt, Wyclif preached in favor of moderate disendowment. Wyclif agreed with the Franciscan Spirituals that possessions not only by monks and friars but also by the Church itself were evil, because poverty was the way of the true Church. Thus he repudiated all costly churches, especially those of friars. In his sermons Wyclif urged that the goods of the friars be seized and given to the poor. In 1377 Pope Gregory XI issued five Bulls against Wyclif and called for his arrest. Before these documents arrived, Wyclif urged the first Parliament under Richard II to detain money from the Pope. His treatise on the truth of sacred scripture was published the next year, and in this he argued that all lying is sinful; a good intention does not justify falsehood, even for the pope. After Gaunt's men killed a squire taking refuge in Westminster Abbey, Wyclif argued that royal servants had the right to bring criminals to justice even from sanctuaries. Wyclif studied the original teachings of Jesus and objected to church rituals; he could not agree with the doctrine of the Eucharist transubstantiation that the spiritual presence of the Christ also made the physical bread his body. He argued that Jesus conferred spiritual powers on Peter, not metal keys, and that all saints that come to heaven have these spiritual keys. He bitterly criticized and satirized the pope's practice of getting money by tribute and taxation, comparing such priests to those who clip coins and cut purses. Wyclif lamented that Bible study was excluded from the religious life and that officials were reluctant to spread this knowledge among the people. He called the scriptures "God's Law," and he believed that every person should know and obey the law of God directly. In 1380 he began translating the Bible so that an order of Poor Preachers could take its message to the people. Wyclif believed it was a fundamental sin to withhold the scriptures from the laity, and he held that the first duty of a priest is to make them known in the mother-tongue of the people. The next year Wyclif sympathized with the Peasants' Revolt that arose after a flat tax of half a mark was laid on the head of all clergy; poor vicars had to pay as much as rich prelates; deacons, acolytes, and other inferiors had to pay one shilling. People were upset by government corruption, rampaging soldiers, and because Parliament had forced all adults to work for their present lord at the same pay as was current before the Black Death even though Edward III had depreciated the silver coinage in 1351. During the uprising the propertied and clergy such as Spenser of Norwich helped the state by hanging hundreds of peasants. Shortly after the revolt Wyclif in his de Blasphemia urged patience and clemency to avoid hatred and division in the realm, and he blamed the people's excesses for the murder of Canterbury archbishop Simon of Sudbury; yet he did assert that Sudbury died in sin, because he also held the office of chancellor. His successor William Courtenay condemned the works of Wyclif in 1382, and Oxford banned his writings. A synod at Blackfriars arrested many of his followers but left Wyclif himself alone, perhaps because he suffered a stroke that year. Wyclif was also disgusted by the crusade Norwich bishop Henry de Spenser was preparing for Urban VI against the Avignon Pope Clement VII in 1383 and wrote tracts condemning the clerics, curates, prelates, priests, and monks who are enemies of peace and maintainers of war in order to perpetuate their possessions and rob poor tenants. If they loved peace, they would give up their lordships in charity; but they maintain armed men to kill Christians in the thousands. Using biblical scholarship Wyclif challenged the Church's authority to sanctify war. In his Trialogus Wyclif elucidated the principles that if the Bible and the Church do not agree, one should follow the Bible, and when conscience and human authority conflict, one should obey conscience. Wyclif was summoned to Rome by Pope Urban VI, but he refused to go and sent him a letter explaining his views. Wyclif noted that Jesus had refused to let the people make him king, and he urged the Pope also to renounce all worldly lordship. Wyclif died on the last day of 1384. Before Wyclif's death, probably in 1382, his followers, called the Lollards, were the first to publish a complete English translation of the entire Bible. The treatise On the Seven Deadly Sins has been attributed to Wyclif; but it was written in a western dialect he did not use, and it was published by his follower Nicholas Hereford about 1384. It noted that anger is the opposite of fellowship and charity and can lead to war; but Christ taught that men should not fight. Those called Lollards referred to themselves as "true men" or "Christian men" and went even further than Wyclif in denouncing war and promoting English translations of the scriptures. Nicholas Hereford said that Jesus Christ taught them the law of patience and not to fight bodily. In a sermon in 1382 Hereford urged King Richard II to lessen the tax burden on the laity by reforming the clergy. William Swynderby was charged by the bishops of Hereford and Lincoln in 1390 and went into hiding. Swynderby sent a letter to the Bishop of Hereford, pointing out that Jesus taught loving our enemies, but the pope's law permits hating and killing them for money. Two Cambridge professors replied that a just war against infidels was holy; but Walter Brut supported Swynderby's view and criticized the Roman pontiff for promoting wars not only against infidels but against Christians too for earthly goods. In 1395 the Lollards presented Twelve Conclusions to Parliament, and the tenth point was that war and killing are contrary to the teaching of Christ. The bishops responded with sixteen charges against the heretics, condemning the belief that it is not lawful to kill any person. In 1401 Parliament passed England's first act for burning heretics, and the statute specifically cited the Lollards for having wrong thoughts about the sacraments and for usurping the office of preaching. The law forbade people to preach, teach in schools, and publish books. Most of the Lollards abjured, but a few were burned. That year William Sawtré was burned for denying the material presence of Christ's body in the bread, for condemning adoration of the cross, and for teaching that preaching is the priest's most important duty. When Lollards were charged with heresy in courts in the 15th century, they were often also accused of opposing killing or fighting. Jan Hus was born about 1370 at Husinec in southern Bohemia to poor Czech parents, but he managed to study at the university in Prague by working as a choir boy and began lecturing there in 1396. Hus studied and taught Wyclif's realism philosophy, but in 1401 Jerome of Prague brought Wyclif's Dialogus, Trialogus, and De eucharistia. Hus preached in Czech at the large Bethlehem chapel in Prague. In 1403 university authorities condemned 24 articles that had been banned by a London council in 1382, and then they forbade the teaching or preaching of 45 articles. After several German professors left Prague in 1409, the remaining Czechs elected Hus rector of the university. That year a church council at Pisa deposed Pope Gregory XII and "anti-pope" Benedict XIII, and in electing Alexander V, Europe now had three popes. When Alexander prohibited preaching in chapels and ordered Wyclif's writings seized and burned, Hus and others appealed to Pope John XXIII (r. 1410-1415); but the reformer's books that included nontheological works were thrown into the flames. Two days later Hus was excommunicated but continued to preach and declined a summons to Rome. In 1411 Pope John XXIII was driven out of Rome and declared a crusade against King Ladislas of Naples for supporting the deposed Gregory. Those who promised to take up the sword were promised remission of their sins, and Pope John also ordered the sale of indulgences to finance the military campaign. Hus denounced the war and condemned the Pope's granting of indulgences. In Prague people protested the papal bulls with a mock burning. Czech King Vaclav IV (r. 1378-1419) had three men beheaded, because they opposed the sale of indulgences and had cried out in church that the papal bulls were lies as Hus had proved; they were mourned as martyrs. The city was put under interdict, but Hus preached that the Pope's prerogatives were from the devil. Hus was persuaded to withdraw from Prague and spent two years in exile, enabling him to write his most important treatise on the Church, De ecclesia. In this work he argued that the Roman bishop should be equal to other bishops but had usurped authority since Constantine. Alexander's bull prohibiting preaching was against what Jesus told his apostles to do, and Hus denied that the Pope had a right to go to war or to appeal to secular force. Hus took many of his arguments from the writings of Wyclif. Hungarian king Sigismund was elected king of Germany in 1411, and three years later he invited Jan Hus to a council at Constance, promising him safe conduct. After a month Hus was imprisoned in the dungeon of a Dominican convent in December 1414. During the spring of 1415 Hus was held in chains at the Gottlieben castle until he was moved to a Franciscan friary when his public hearings began on June 5. Shouting did not allow Hus to be heard. When his statement that no heretic should be put to death was read, those attending shouted in mockery. To his argument that kings in mortal sin have no authority, King Sigismund replied that no one lives without sin. Hus declared that he would revoke any statement that could be proved untrue by the scriptures and good arguments; but this was not done, and he did not recant on any article. Finally thirty articles were pronounced heretical and seditious, and Hus was condemned for being a disciple of Wyclif. It was later reported that when Hus reminded the king of his safe conduct, Sigismund turned red but said nothing. The council turned Hus over to Sigismund as a heretic, and on July 6, 1415 he was burned at the stake as he prayed and sang hymns. Jerome of Prague was burned the next year, and Bohemia's leading citizens gradually organized a revolt, which grew into open rebellion against the royal government in 1419. The next year the Hussites summarized their main concerns in the Four Articles in which they called for preaching the Word of God without interference, communion in two kinds to all believers (allowing the laity the cup), confiscation of secular possessions held by priests and monks, and punishment of mortal sins violating divine law (including simony). Conservative Utraquists were led by Jan of Pribram. Radical Taborites were expecting the second coming of Christ in February 1420 and were led by Jan Zelivsky (d. 1422). When their hopes were disappointed, they rebelled and murdered Catholic magistrates. When Vaclav IV died of a heart attack in a fit of rage, the Bohemian crown went to his brother Sigismund. The radical Taborites gained a military leader in Jan Zizka (d. 1424); after Pope Martin V proclaimed a crusade against the Hussites in Bohemia on March 1, 1420, Zizka's troops defended Prague twice from attacks by the imperial forces of Sigismund. The Taborites' leading theologian Jakoubek of Stribro argued that a war could be just and cited Wyclif for this belief. Peter Chelcicky was born about 1380 in southern Bohemia and was either a peasant or chose to live like one. He read the Bible in Czech. Chelcicky disagreed with Jakoubek and continued to renounce all violence, referring to the New Testament and complaining that Jakoubek had given up his conscience to shed blood. Like the Waldenses, Chelcicky cited the parable of the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), that both should be allowed to live until the harvest. Thus it is wrong to kill, even the sinful. Christians should refuse to perform military service and accept the consequences. If many refused, the lords would have no one to go to war with them. Chelcicky taught that those who think they can arm themselves with weapons to destroy the Devil are deluded, because when they use their war machines to smash the walls and destroy the evil people, the Devil goes out from those walls and into them, dwelling in their cruel hearts. Thus no physical power can destroy evil. During the war Utraquist Hussites made compacts with the Catholics in 1433; but when the Taborites rejected the Four Articles, their socialist experiment was overthrown the next year. The Bohemians accepted Sigismund as their king in 1436, but he died the following year. Hussite leader George of Podebrady organized an army, captured Prague in 1448, made Utraquist Jan Rokycans archbishop, and became governor of Bohemia in 1452. Pope Nicholas V declined to recognize Rokycans, and the Hussites thought of joining the Greek Orthodox Church; but the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, the year the Taborites were finally wiped out by the campaigns of Podebrady, who was elected king of Bohemia in 1458. Chelcicky left Prague in 1420 and resided for the rest of his life in his native village of Chelcice. His friends and disciples became the nucleus for the Unity of Brethren that eventually was formed into a church in 1467 by those who held to nonviolence and followed the teachings of Christ as interpreted by Chelcicky. As educated men from the university in Prague joined the new sect, those holding to the original ideas of Chelcicky came to be called the Old Brethren. In the 1490s the majority followed Lukas, who favored accepting state offices and did not object to military service. In the first half of the 15th century the Old Brethren died out, and the Unity of Brethren was no longer a pacifist church. In probably his first and most important work, On Spiritual Warfare, Chelcicky argued that the Taborites had been deceived by the devil into participating in violence through lust for the world's glamorous rewards. He criticized the absurd prophecies of the chiliasts, who tried to terrify people into believing strange things. Chelcicky opposed all warfare, even that which claimed to be defensive, because he believed in the example of Jesus and the Gospel of peace. Chelcicky noted that the Taborites abolished their common treasury and equal distribution of wealth after they adopted violence, and then they retracted their democratic methods and reimposed rents and dues on the peasants. Chelcicky criticized the obligations of debts and trade which gave some power over others, castigating those who bind with rents and fees on those ... for whom they show no mercy in their burdens, but extort from them the most they can, exacting by the day or the year to earn their money by such rates, never valuing their strength of life, but only their increase in profits.3 Chelcicky complained that they no longer served their flock like a shepherd but used people to "serve their bellies and elevate their pride." Chelcicky believed they had no Christian prerogative to either subject people or to tax them. Chelcicky believed that Christians in following the law of love should be removed from the compulsion of state authority as had been the case with the early church before Constantine. The way to convert people is by loving God and one's neighbor, and conversion must come from free will and not from any compulsion. If persecution comes, Christians should suffer without retaliating. One may obey authorities only so long as that is not contrary to God's law. Chelcicky was concerned about anarchy in which the wicked try to reign over the honest and take the fruits of others' labor, but still he did not believe that a Christian should rule as a king. He wrote that God did not set up magistrates, and he argued that violent punishments are wrong and that no Christian could apply them; he was particularly critical of capital punishment and cruel mutilations. Chelcicky wrote "The executioner who kills is as much a wrong-doer as the criminal who is killed."4 He suggested that Christians could expel evil ones from their company. The sixteen years of war he witnessed convinced Chelcicky that his views about violence being wrong were correct as he saw people robbed, imprisoned, and killed with want and fear on every side. Working people were stripped of everything as they were taxed by both sides, and their living was eaten up by armies. Jesus commanded his followers not to take life, and he did not even defend himself; but all people are to be brothers and sisters. Chelcicky complained that in war the nobles did not do the fighting themselves but sent the peasants to fight for them like sheep to the slaughter. When princes and prelates command such evil things, they should not be obeyed. He said that it is our Christian duty to help with love anyone in need, whether they be a Jew or a heathen or a heretic or an enemy. He objected to tithes which were based on robbery and violence. Chelcicky condemned their refined luxuries, sophisticated pride, loose morals, contempt for work, and oppression of workers. He advised people to avoid profit-making occupations so as not to harm their souls. He encouraged people to understand the Bible for themselves, and the first complete Bible in Czech was published. In his book On the Triple Division of Society Chelcicky criticized the nobility, clergy, and the middle class, believing that only the poor were genuine Christians. He wrote that they consider themselves better members of the body of Christ than the common people whom they subject and ride as if they were beasts. Late in life Chelcicky wrote Net of Faith. In this work he noted that the apostles treated each other and people as equals, and they considered Christ as the head. Chelcicky found that the teaching of the Christ does not coerce in any way nor does it recommend any kind of vengeance against the wicked; but they should be improved only through brotherly goodwill so that they can be led to penitence. Chelcicky aimed his diatribes at the religious orders of monks and friars, the priests, the nobility, the cliques of university professors, and the growing business class. He argued that these evils resulted from the two great whales that burst the net of faith, namely the emperor and the pope. He complained that to see the Church in a material way led to concepts of the priests as eyes, nobles as arms, and peasants as legs such that in this body the first is to pray, the second is to fight, and the third is to work, resulting in two insatiable gluttons riding around on the peasants living in debauchery from their sweat and misery. This he concluded was the Antichrist's explanation of the body of Christ. 1. Chaucer, Canterbury Tales "Tale of Melibeus" 44 tr. J. U. Nicolson. 2. Gower, John, Confessio Amantis 2261-2304 tr. Terence Tiller. 3. Chelcicky, Petr, Drobné spisy tr. Eduard Petru 75/1690 quoted in Wagner, Murray L., Petr Chelcicky, p. 89. 4. Chelcicky, Petr, Postilla I, p. 131-2 quoted in Brock, Peter, Political and Social Doctrines of the Unity of Czech Brethren, p. 55. next chapter: Erasmus and Anabaptists This is a chapter in Guides to Peace and Justice from Ancient Sages to the Suffragettes, which is published as a book. For ordering information, please click here.

http://www.san.beck.org/GPJ11-Chaucer,Wyclif.html

September 25, 2009 The extreme dryness of the Moon is established scientific dogma. The study of Apollo rock and soil samples pretty much had convinced scientists that the Moon has no water. Because its surface is in a vacuum and experiences extreme temperature swings at the equator (from -150° to 100° C), the Moon was believed to have a bone dry surface. Moreover, minerals that make up the lunar rocks not only have no water, but crystallized in a very reducing, waterless environment, indicating no significant water at depth. Yet, some irritating facts suggested that the whole story was more complicated. Water is being added to the lunar surface. We know the Moon is bombarded with comets (mostly water ice) and meteorites rich in water-bearing minerals. Additionally, the solar wind (mostly hydrogen atoms or protons) constantly hits the surface, implanting itself into the dust grains and a possible source for the creation of water. An experiment laid out on the surface by the Apollo astronauts observed water vapor after the crew left the Moon. It was thought this vapor might be latent out-gassing from the Lunar Module descent stage, but scientists couldn’t be sure. So what happens to all this water? Most of it is thought lost to space by a variety of processes, including dissociation by sunlight, thermal loss from the extremely high daytime temperatures, and sputtering induced by the impact of high-energy particles from space. Some areas near the poles of the Moon are permanently dark and cold, so if any of this stray water happened into them, they would be “trapped” forever in the dark areas. And although an extremely slow process, over millions of years a considerable amount of water ice might accumulate. But we don’t know how much water is made and how much might be present on the Moon. Just published results from spectral mapping instruments on three different spacecraft indicate the presence of large amounts of either water or the OH molecule in the soils of the Moon. This water is present at high latitudes at both poles and occurs in sunlit areas (these instruments rely on reflected sunlight). Although the authors of these new results don’t understand the source of this water, they favor the creation of water by the interaction of solar wind with surface minerals. Solar wind protons reduce metal oxides in the soil, creating free metal (usually pure iron, Fe0) and water. The M3 Team suggested that this water might act as a source for the water believed to be trapped in the dark polar cold traps. What’s surprising about this new data is not the presence of water, but its pervasiveness. The published image (above) shows this water to be present from the poles down to about 60° latitude. This area subtends over 10 million square kilometers, or about one-third the surface area of the entire Moon! Although the water appears to be present only in the upper few millimeters of the surface, its total mass could be enormous, greatly exceeding the several hundred million tones estimated to be present as ice in the dark areas of the poles. As always with good science, the new results raise many more questions than they answer. In part, this is a “chicken or egg” issue – do the newly discovered deposits result from surface alteration by water derived from the polar ice, or do they serve as a source for such deposits? How does water form, move, get destroyed or get cold-trapped on the Moon? What are rates of water deposition and removal? What and where are the ice deposits and how pure might they be? Right now we can only dimly perceive the beginnings of a whole new sub-discipline of lunar studies: polar geoscience. This exciting story isn’t over. More developments in this field are on the horizon. Results from other experiments carried aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, including my own Mini-SAR imaging radar, have yet to be fully reported. The American Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) mission is settled into its mapping orbit and will be examining the Moon in detail over the next couple of years. Every time we get new data from the Moon or examine and map it with some new technique, we learn new and surprising facts. In a future post, I’ll examine the implications of large amounts of lunar water for human return to the Moon and the possibilities for a permanent sustainable presence on our nearest planetary neighbor. Stay tuned – things are getting very interesting. The web editors have closed comments for this blog.

http://blogs.airspacemag.com/moon/2009/09/water-water-everywhere%e2%80%a6/

Read: Before you begin your tasks look over the rubric in the Evaluation Section . If you need help with materials please see the teacher. Step: You will take the online quiz. The quiz can be found in the resource section below. Step 2: Click on the Area and Perimeter Review and Quiz link to open the quiz. Please Read carefully!!! Step 3: Print the result page after you have completed the quiz. (You may use a calculator.) TASK -BE CREATIVE Step 1: You will need an 8 x 10 sheet of paper. Step 2: Use a ruler to divide the paper into 6 parts. (No more than two parts can be equal.) Step3: Label each part with the name of a vegetable, fruit, flower or anything you come up with. Step 4: Use a ruler to find the area and perimeter of each section of your garden. Step 5: Write a summary to tell what you did and then describe how you found the area and perimeter for each part. Give the area and perimeter for each part. EXTRA POINTS TASK-OPTIONAL This activity under resources below (#2) is a challenge activity for you to earn an extra five points. You are not required to do this activity, it is optional. However, if you do the activity follow the following steps: Step 1: Print out the page Step 2: Solve the problems. Step 3: Turn completed page in when you turn in your quiz.

http://www.zunal.com/process.php?w=117454

New York HistoryEdit This Page From FamilySearch Wiki The following important events in New York history affected political boundaries, record-keeping, and family movements. - 1609: Henry Hudson, sailing for the Dutch, established Holland's claim to the New York region. - 1624–1626: The Dutch West India Company established established the colony of New Netherland. Its chief settlements were at New Amsterdam, on the lower tip of Manhattan Island, and at Fort Orange, the present site of Albany. - 1629: The Dutch introduced the patroonship (manorial) system, which established a landholding aristocracy in the Hudson Valley. - 1664: New Netherland surrendered to the English, who separated it into the colonies of New York and New Jersey. - 1672: New York employed Indians to carry mail from city to Albany because of the extreme hardships involved. - 1673–1674: The Dutch briefly reconquered New York. 1674 - 1683: The twelve original counties were formed (Albany, Cornwall [Maine], Dukes [Massachusetts], Dutchess, Kings, New York, Queens, Orange, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester). - 1700: Tuscarora tribe of North Carolina migrated to New York and joined the Iroquois Confederacy. - 1731: The boundary between New York and Connecticut was settled. - 1768: Fort Stanwick Treaty, the Iroquois Confederacy ceded 1/2 its land to U.S. - 1769: After long conflicts, the present border with New Jersey was agreed upon. The line was surveyed and marked in 1774. - 1773: The New York-Massachusetts boundary dispute was finally resolved. - 1776: New York declared independence from Britain and Vermont declared its independence from New York. At the end of the Revolutionary War, in 1783, the British evacuated Loyalists to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the British West Indies. - 1786: The Hartford Treaty gave Massachusetts the title to the land in western New York west of the "Preemption Line" (a line running north and south between Seneca and Keuka Lakes) but reserved political governance to New York. - 1788: ( July 26,)New York ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the eleventh state of the Union. - 1791: New York's eastern boundary was finally determined when Vermont was admitted as a state. - 1796: The state capital moved from New York City to Albany. - 1825: The Erie Canal (between Albany and the Great Lakes) was completed, stimulating settlement of the midwestern U.S. By 1842, rail lines connected Albany and Buffalo. - 1839–1845: The Anti-Rent War led to the end of the manorial system. - 1898: Brooklyn (Kings) established 1683, New York (Manhattan) established 1683, Queens established 1683, and Staten Island (Richmond) established 1683 were incorporated as boroughs of New York City. - 1898: Over 300,000 men were involved in the Spanish-American War which was fought mainly in Cuba and the Philippines. - 1914: Bronx was incorporated as the fifth borough of New York City. - 1917–1918: More than 26 million men from the United States ages 18 through 45 registered with the Selective Service. World War I over 4.7 million American men and women served during the war. - 1930's: The Great Depression closed many factories and mills. Many small farms were abandoned, and many families moved to cities. - 1940–1945: Over 50.6 million men ages 18 to 65 registered with the Selective Service. Over 16.3 million American men and women served in the armed forces during World War II. - 1950–1953: Over 5.7 million American men and women served in the Korean War. - 1950's–1960's The building of interstate highways made it easier for people to move long distances. - 1964–1972: Over 8.7 million American men and women served in the Vietnam War. Histories are great sources of genealogical information. Many contain biographical information about individuals who lived in the area, including: Some of the most valuable sources for family history research are local histories. Published histories of towns, counties, and states usually contain accounts of families. They describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You can also find lists of pioneers, soldiers, and civil officials. Even if your ancestor is not listed, information on other relatives may be included that will provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search. Local histories are extensively collected by the Family History Library, public and university libraries, and state and local historical societies. The United States Research "History" page cites nationwide bibliographies of local histories which include histories of New York. - Harold Nestler, compiler, A Bibliography of New York State Communities, Third Edition. (Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, Incorporated, 1990) FHL book 974.7 H23nh - New York has officially appointed town and county historians who gather material about their locality and its people. They often have original and transcribed cemetery records, newspaper clippings, church records, and local histories. For their addresses, see The County Historians Association of New York State, 1991 Directory of New York State County and Municipal Historians Fifth Edition. (Albany, New York: The New York State Education Department, Division of Research and Collections, 1991) FHL book 974.7 N24v - Filby, P. William. A Bibliography of American County Histories. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1985.) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 973 H23bi - Kaminkow, Marion J. United States Local Histories in the Library of Congress. 5 vols. Baltimore: Magna Charta Book, 1975-76. WorldCat 315166; FHL book 973 A3ka - Accessible Archives ($) has digitized dozens of New York county local histories. There were several paths of migration into, through, and out of New York. The original settlements were mostly along the Hudson River in southeastern New York and on Long Island. Following the Revolution and War of 1812, settlements spread westward and northward. The early spread of such settlements were along the waterways -- The Hudson River, the Erie Canal, and others. The 1865 New York State Census has, scattered through it in various places, reports on the crops being grown and if the area was experiencing a drought. This and other similar situations also affected the movement of families. State Histories Useful to Genealogists Good genealogists strive to understand the life and times of their ancestors. In this sense, any history is useful. But certain kinds of state, county, and local histories, especially older histories published between 1845 and 1945, often include biographical sketches of prominent individuals. The sketches usually tend toward the laudatory, but may include some genealogical details. If these histories are indexed or alphabetical, check for an ancestor's name. Some examples for the State of New York are: - David M. Ellis, et al., A History of New York State, 1957, revised (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1983) FHL book 974.7 H2e - One of the best multi-volume histories is Alexander C. Flick, ed., The History of the State of New York, Ten Volumes. (1933; reprint, Port Washington, New York: Ira J. Friedman Incorporated, 1962) FHL book 974.7 H2f - Brodhead, John Romeyn, compiler; O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey, and Berthold Fernow, translator and Editor. Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Procured in Holland, England and France, by John Romeyn Brodhead, Esquire, Agent. 15 Volumes. (Albany, New York: Weed, Parsons, and Co., 1853–1887.) FHL films 824380–91; 974.7 H2d; Biographical sketches drawn from official records of governors, courts, and petitions. - Documentary History of the State of New York. Four Volumes in eight parts. (Albany, New York: Weed, Parson and Company, 1849–51 [octavo edition]; 1850–51 [quarto edition].) FHL films 986504–07; fiche 6051121; book 974.7 H2o A subject index is on FHL film 017137 item 10. Digitized version available through FHL catalog entry. Biographical information drawn from official records of governors, courts, and petitions. - O'Callaghan, Edmund Bailey, ed. Calendar of Dutch (and English) Historical Manuscripts in the Office of Secretary of State, (Albany, New York, Two Volumes. 1865–1866. Reprint, Ridgewood, New Jersey: The Gregg Press, 1968.) (FHL fiche 6051113; book 974.7 A3cMany of the documents described in this inventory were destroyed or damaged in the 1911 capital fire. United States History The following are only a few of the many sources that are available: - Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. The Almanac of American History. (Greenwich, Conn.: Bison Books, 1983.) At various libraries (WorldCat), FHL book 973 H2almThis book provides brief historical essays and chronological descriptions of thousands of key events in United States history. - Dictionary of American History, Revised ed., 8 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976.) At various libraries (WorldCat), FHL book 973 H2adIncludes historical sketches on various topics in U.S. history, such as wars, people, laws, and organizations. - Van Doren, Charles Lincoln; Robert McHenry, Webster's Guide to American History: A Chronological, Geographical, and Biographical Survey and Compendium. (Springfield, Mass.: G and C Merriam, 1971.) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 973 H2v Includes a history, some maps, tables, and other historical information. - American Historical Association, Writings on American History (Washington, D.C.:American Historical Association,1960-1960) At various libraries (WorldCat); FHL book 973 H23wFull text available at Google Books Family History Library To access histories available through the Family History Library Catalog, use the Place-names Search for: - NEW YORK - HISTORY - NEW YORK, [COUNTY] - HISTORY - NEW YORK, [COUNTY], [TOWN] - HISTORY - NEW YORK, BIBLIOGRAPHY Genealogical Resources: According to the website: "The Crooked Lake Review is a local history magazine for the Conhocton, Canisteo, Tioga, Chemung and Genesee river valleys, and for the Finger Lakes and Lake Ontario regions of New York State.". This website deals with stories, histories and information dealing with people, events, and places (past and present) in relationship to the area. - This page was last modified on 18 July 2012, at 18:52. - This page has been accessed 2,208 times. New to the Research Wiki? In the FamilySearch Research Wiki, you can learn how to do genealogical research or share your knowledge with others.Learn More

http://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/New_York_History

The voice of a verb refers to the form of the verb used in relation to what the subject is doing. In English there are only two voices-- passive and active. The passive voice of a verb simply means the form of the verb used when the subject is being acted upon rather than doing something. The passive voice is formed by taking the appropriate tense of the verb to be and adding the past participle. Active Voice: The committee reviewed the project. Passive Voice: The project was reviewed by the committee. In most writing, use the active voice. It is more direct and less ambiguous. The passive should be used only if the doer is unknown or unimportant, or if more emphasis is put on the receiver of the action than the doer. Doer unknown: The Jones' car was stolen last week. Doer unimportant: The bells were rung to announce the wedding. Emphasize receiver: Tony was hit by a fastball.

http://www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000359.htm

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of -1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek Seirios ("glowing" or "scorcher"). The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris. What the naked eye perceives as a single star is actually a binary star system, consisting of a white main sequence star of spectral type A1V, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. The distance separating Sirius A from its companion varies between 8.1 and 31.5 AU. Sirius appears bright because of both its intrinsic luminosity and its proximity to Earth. At a distance of 2.6 parsecs (the Sirius system is one of Earth's near neighbors. Sirius A is about twice as massive as the Sun and has an absolute visual magnitude of 1.42. It is 25 times more luminous than the Sun but has a significantly lower luminosity than other bright stars such as Canopus or Rigel. The system is between 200 and 300 million years old. It was originally composed of two bright bluish stars. The more massive of these, Sirius B, consumed its resources and became a red giant before shedding its outer layers and collapsing into its current state as a white dwarf around 120 million years ago. Sirius can be seen from almost every inhabited region of the Earth's surface (those living north of 73.284 degrees cannot see it) and, in the Northern Hemisphere, is known as a vertex of the Winter Triangle. The best time of year to view it is around January 1, when it reaches the meridian at midnight. Under the right conditions, Sirius can be observed in daylight with the naked eye. Ideally the sky must be very clear, with the observer at a high altitude, the star passing overhead, and the sun low down on the horizon. Sirius is also known colloquially as the "Dog Star", reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (Big Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the "dog days" of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians it marked winter. A Binary Star is a star system consisting of two stars orbiting around their common center of mass. The brighter star is called the primary and the other is its companion star, comes, or secondary. Research between the early 19th century and today suggests that many stars are part of either binary star systems or star systems with more than two stars, called multiple star systems. The term double star may be used synonymously with binary star, but more generally, a double star may be either a binary star or an optical double star which consists of two stars with no physical connection but which appear close together in the sky as seen from the Earth. A double star may be determined to be optical if its components have sufficiently different proper motions or radial velocities, or if parallax measurements reveal its two components to be at sufficiently different distances from the Earth. Most known double stars have not yet been determined to be either bound binary star systems or optical doubles. If components in binary star systems are close enough they can gravitationally distort their mutual outer stellar atmospheres. In some cases, these close binary systems can exchange mass, which may bring their evolution to stages that single stars cannot attain. Examples of binaries are Algol (an eclipsing binary), Sirius, and Cygnus X-1 (of which one member is probably a black hole). Binary stars are also common as the nuclei of many planetary nebulae, and are the progenitors of both novae and type Ia supernovae. What appears as a single star is actually a large binary star system, consisting of a bright white main sequence star of spectral type A1V, named Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA named Sirius B. Sirius B is invisible to the naked eye but packs almost the entire mass of our sun into a globe only 4 times as large as the Earth. Sirius B's surface is 300 times harder than diamonds, while its interior has a density 3,000 times that of diamonds. Spinning on its axis about 23 times a minute, it generates huge magnetic fields around it. The two stars, Sirius A and Sirius B move around each other, constantly exchanging particles. Because of its greater density and magnetic field, Sirius B takes the lion's share, taking gases and materials off of its larger host body. Sirius B has a super-heavy gravitationally powerful star made of concentrated super-dense matter (essence) with the number 50 associated with it (describing its orbital period). Every 49.9 years, Sirius A and B, come as close together as their orbits allow, creating huge magnetic storms between them. As they approach each other, the stars both begin to spin faster as tidal forces become stronger, finally flip-flopping over, actually trading places with each other. This energy is eventually released to flow on magnetic field lines to the Sun, which transmits it like a lens to all the planets. When a star like our sun gets to be very old, after another seven billion years or so, it will no longer be able to sustain burning its nuclear fuel. With only about half of the its mass remaining, it will shrink to a fraction of its radius and become a white dwarf star. White dwarfs are common, the most famous one being the companion to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. Although they are common and represent the final stage of our own sun, astronomers still do not understand their full range of character, or the parameters that determine what they ultimately become. One reason is that many white dwarfs are, like the companion of Sirius, located in binary systems in which the companion stars influence the details of how they age. Around 150 AD, the Hellenistic astronomer Claudius Ptolemy described Sirius as reddish, along with five other stars, Betelgeuse, Antares, Aldebaran, Arcturus and Pollux, all of which are clearly of orange or red hue. The discrepancy was first noted by amateur astronomer Thomas Barker, squire of Lyndon Hall in Rutland, who prepared a paper and spoke at a meeting of the Royal Society in London in 1760. The existence of other stars changing in brightness gave credence to the idea that some may change in color too; Sir John Herschel noted this in 1839, possibly influenced by witnessing Eta Carinae two years earlier. Thomas Jefferson Jackson He cited not only Ptolemy but also the poet Aratus, the orator Cicero, and general Germanicus as coloring the star red, though acknowledging that none of the latter three authors were astronomers, the last two merely translating Aratus' poem Phaenomena. Seneca, too, had described Sirius as being of a deeper red color than Mars. However, not all ancient observers saw Sirius as red. The 1st century AD poet Marcus Manilius described it as "sea-blue", as did the 4th century Avienus. It is the standard star for the color white in ancient China, and multiple records from the 2nd century BC up to the 7th century AD all describe Sirius as white in hue. In 1985, German astronomers Wolfhard Schlosser and Werner Bergmann published an account of an 8th century Lombardic manuscript, which contains De cursu stellarum ratio by St. Gregory of Tours. The Latin text taught readers how to determine the times of nighttime prayers from positions of the stars, and Sirius is described within as rubeola - "reddish". The authors proposed this was further evidence Sirius B had been a red giant at the time. However, other scholars replied that it was likely St. Gregory had been referring to Arcturus instead. The possibility that stellar evolution of either Sirius A or Sirius B could be responsible for this discrepancy has been rejected by astronomers on the grounds that the timescale of thousands of years is too short and that there is no sign of the nebulosity in the system that would be expected had such a change taken place. An interaction with a third star, to date undiscovered, has also been proposed as a possibility for a red appearance. Alternative explanations are either that the description as red is a poetic metaphor for ill fortune, or that the dramatic scintillations of the star when it was observed rising left the viewer with the impression that it was red. To the naked eye, it often appears to be flashing with red, white and blue hues when near the horizon. Some ancient observations of Sirius describe it as a red star. To the Romans this meant an angry god, and they are known to have sacrificed red dogs to this star. Today, Sirius A is bluish white. The possibility that stellar evolution of either Sirius A or Sirius B could be responsible for this discrepancy is rejected by astronomers on the grounds that the timescale of thousands of years is too short and that there is no sign of the nebulosity in the system that would be expected had such a change taken place. Alternative explanations are either that the description as red is a poetic metaphor for ill fortune, or that the dramatic scintillations of the star when it was observed rising left the viewer with the impression that it was red. To the naked eye, it often appears to be flashing with red/white/blue hues when near the horizon. Sirius is the standard star for the color white in ancient China. Multiple records from the 2nd century BC up to the 7th century AD all describe Sirius as white in hue. Historically, many cultures have attached special significance to Sirius. Sirius, known in ancient Egypt as Sopdet or Sothis, is recorded in the earliest astronomical records. The hieroglyph for Sothis features a star and a triangle. During the era of the Middle Kingdom, Egyptians based their calendar on the heliacal rising of Sirius, namely the day it becomes visible just before sunrise after moving far enough away from the glare of the Sun. This occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile and the summer solstice, after a 70-day absence from the skies. Sothis was identified with (the embodiment of) Isis, wife and consort of Osiris who appeared in the sky as Orion. Together they formed a trinity with their son Horus. The 70-day period symbolized the passing of Isis and Osiris through the duat (Egyptian underworld). Belt Stars of Orion and the Great Pyramid Sirius, Queen's Chamber (Feminine), Pleiades (Sister Stars) Orion, Kings Chamber, Thuban Thuban was the pole star when the pyramids allegedly were built and the program began. Seamen called it 'The Dragon's Tail' (Reptilian, DNA References) Sothis (isis) and her husband, the god named Sah (Orion), came to be viewed as manifestations of Isis and Osiris. She was not only represented as a woman with a star on top of her headdress, but as a seated cow with a plant between her horns (just as Seshat's hieroglyph might have been a flower or a star) as depicted on an ivory tablet of King Djer. The plant may have been symbolic of the year, and thus linking her to the yearly rising of Sirius and the New Year. She was very occasionally depicted as a large dog, or in Roman times, as the goddess Isis-Sopdet, she was shown riding side-saddle on a large dog. Sirius was both the most important star of ancient Egyptian astronomy, and one of the Decans (star groups into which the night sky was divided, with each group appearing for ten days annually). The heliacal rising (the first night that Sirius is seen, just before dawn) was noticed every year during July. Early Egyptians used this to mark the start of the New Year ('The Opening of the Year'). It was celebrated with a festival known as 'The Coming of Sopdet'. As early as the 1st Dynasty, Sophis was known as 'the bringer of the new year and the Nile flood'. When Sirius appeared in the sky each year, the Nile generally started to flood and bring fertility to the land. The ancient Egyptians connected the two events, and so Sopdet took on the aspects of a goddess of not only the star and of the inundation, but of the fertility that came to the land of Egypt with the flood. The flood and the rising of Sirius also marked the ancient Egyptian New Year, and so she also was thought of as a goddess of the New Year. Her aspect of being a fertility goddess was not just linked to the Nile. By the Middle Kingdom, she was believed to be a mother goddess, and a nurse goddess, changing her from a goddess of agriculture to a goddess of motherhood. This probably was due to her strong connection with the mother-goddess Isis. Not just a goddess of the waters of the inundation, Sopdet had another link with water - she was believed to cleanse the pharaoh in the afterlife. It is interesting to note that the embalming of the dead took seventy days - the same amount of time that Sirius was not seen in the sky, before it's yearly rising. She was a goddess of fertility to both the living and the dead. In the Pyramid Texts, she is the goddess who prepares yearly sustenance for the pharaoh, 'in this her name of "Year"'. She is also thought to be a guide in the afterlife for the pharaoh, letting him fly into the sky to join the gods, showing him 'goodly roads' in the Field of Reeds and helping him become one of the imperishable stars. She was thought to be living on the horizon, encircled by the Duat. Paralleling the story of Osiris and Isis, the pharaoh was believed to have had a child with Sopdet. The Dogon describe this 'star' specifically as having a circle of reddish rays around it, and this circle of rays is 'like a spot spreading' but remaining the same size. The Dogon are a West African tribe who have known about, and worshipped, Sirius A and its twin the invisible star Sirius B, for the past 5,000 years. They are have also been aware of the planets circle the sun in elliptical orbits, the four moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn. They say that Sirius B is immensely heavy, invisible, very small, yet extremely powerful. Their understanding of the two stars' orbits coincides exactly with modern astronomical findings, yet was arrived at thousands of years before it was scientifically proven. They also claim that a third star Emme Ya - Sorghum Female - exists in the Sirius system. Larger and lighter than Sirius B, this star revolves around Sirius A as well. The Dogon also believe that approximately 5,000 years ago, Amphibious Gods, called Nommo, came to Earth in three legged space ships from the Sirius Star System. They have described perfectly the DNA pattern made by this elliptical orbit created by the two stars as they rotate make around each other. They believe Sirius to be the axis of the universe, and from it all matter and all souls are produced in a great spiral motion. The ancient Greeks observed that the appearance of Sirius heralded the hot and dry summer, and feared that it caused plants to wilt, men to weaken, and women to become aroused. Due to its brightness, Sirius would have been noted to twinkle more in the unsettled weather conditions of early summer. To Greek observers, this signified certain emanations which caused its malignant influence. People suffering its effects were said to be astroboletosor "star-struck". It was described as "burning" or "flaming" in literature. The season following the star's appearance came to be known as the Dog Days of summer. The inhabitants of the island of Ceos in the Aegean Sea would offer sacrifices to Sirius and Zeus to bring cooling breezes, and would await the reappearance of the star in summer. If it rose clear, it would portend good fortune; if it was misty or faint then it foretold (or emanated) pestilence. Coins retrieved from the island from the 3rd century BC feature dogs or stars with emanating rays, highlighting Sirius' importance. The Romans celebrated the heliacal setting of Sirius around April 25, sacrificing a dog, along with incense, wine, and a sheep, to the goddess Robigo so that the star's emanations would not cause wheat rust on wheat crops that year. Ptolemy of Alexandria mapped the stars in Books VII and VIII of his Almagest, in which he used Sirius as the location for the globe's central meridian. He curiously depicted it as one of six red-colored stars. The other five are class M and K stars, such as Arcturus and Betelgeuse. In Chinese astronomy the star is known as the star of the "celestial wolf". Several cultures also associated the star with a bow and arrows. The Ancient Chinese visualized a large bow and arrow across the southern sky, formed by the constellations of Puppis and Canis Major. In this, the arrow tip is pointed at the wolf Sirius. A similar association is depicted at the Temple of Hathor in Dendera, where the goddess Satet has drawn her arrow at Hathor (Sirius). Known as "Tir", the star was portrayed as the arrow itself in later Persian culture. In the Sumerian Civilization, predating the Egyptians, their epic poem Epic of Gilgamesh describes a dream of Gilgamesh where the hero is drawn irresistibly to a heavy star that cannot be lifted despite immense effort. This star descends from heaven to him and is described as having a very 'potent essence' and being "the God of heaven". Gilgamesh had for his companions, 50 oarsmen in the great ship, Argo, a constellation bordering Canis Major, where Sirius is found. The Quran mentions Sirius in Surah 53, An-Najm ("The Star"), of the Qur'an, where it is given the name (al-shi'raa.) The verse is "That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star)." (53:49) Just as the appearance of Sirius in the morning sky marked summer in Greece, so it marked the chilly onset of winter for the Maori, whose name Takurua described both the star and the season. Its culmination at the winter solstice was marked by celebration in Hawaii, where it was known as Ka'ulua, "Queen of Heaven". Many other Polynesian names have been recorded, including Tau-ua in the Marquesas Islands, Rehua in New Zealand, and Aa and Hoku-Kauopae in Hawaii. Bright stars were important to the ancient Polynesians for navigation between the many islands and atolls of the Pacific Ocean. Low on the horizon, they acted as stellar compasses to assist mariners in charting courses to particular destinations. They also served as latitude markers; the declination of Sirius matches the latitude of the archipelago of Fiji at 17íS and thus passes directly over the islands each night. Sirius served as the body of a "Great Bird" constellation called Manu, with Canopus as the southern wingtip and Procyon the northern wingtip, which divided the Polynesian night sky into two hemispheres. Several cultures also associated the star with a bow and arrows. Many nations among the indigenous peoples of North America also associated Sirius with canines; the Seri and Tohono O'odham of the southwest note the star as a dog that follows mountain sheep, while the Blackfoot called it "Dog-face". The Cherokee paired Sirius with Antares as a dog-star guardian of either end of the "Path of Souls". The Pawnee of Nebraska had several associations; the Wolf (Skidi) tribe knew it as the "Wolf Star", while other branches knew it as the "Coyote Star". Hopi Prophecy states, When the Blue Star Kachina (Sirius) makes its appearance in the heavens, the Fifth World will emerge. Further north, the Alaskan Inuit of the Bering Strait called it "Moon Dog". Based on changes in its proper motion, in 1844 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel deduced that Sirius had a hidden companion. In 1844 German astronomer Friedrich Bessel deduced from changes in the proper motion of Sirius that it had an unseen companion. Nearly two decades later, on January 31, 1862, American telescope-maker and astronomer Alvan Graham Clark first observed the faint companion, which is now called Sirius B, or affectionately "the Pup". This happened during testing of a 18.5 inch aperture great refractor telescope for Dearborn Observatory, which was the largest refracting telescope lens in existence at the time, and the largest telescope in America. The visible star is now sometimes known as Sirius A. Since 1894, some apparent orbital irregularities in the Sirius system have been observed, suggesting a third very small companion star, but this has never been definitely confirmed. The best fit to the data indicates a six-year orbit around Sirius A and a mass of only 0.06 solar masses. This star would be five to ten magnitudes fainter than the white dwarf Sirius B, which would account for the difficulty of observing it. Observations published in 2008 were unable to detect either a third star or a planet. An apparent "third star" observed in the 1920s is now confirmed as a background object. In 1909 Ejnar Hertzsprung suggested that Sirius was a member of the Ursa Major Moving Group, based on the systems movements across the sky. However, more recent research by Jeremy King et al. at Clemson University in 2003 questions whether that is true, since the two components of Sirius appear to be too young. Sirius is roughly half the age of the other members of the stream, so their common motion is most likely a coincidence. In 1915, Walter Sydney Adams, using a 60-inch (1.5 m) reflector at Mount Wilson Observatory, observed the spectrum of Sirius B and determined that it was a faint whitish star. This led astronomers to conclude that it was a white dwarf, the second to be discovered. This means that Sirius B must have originally been by far the more massive of the two, since it has already evolved off the main sequence. In 1920 the first spectrum of Sirius B was obtained at Mount Wilson Obvservatory. Sirius B although small and faint and about 10,000 times dimmer than Sirius A is extremely dense and heavy enough to exert influence on Sirius A. The pull of its gravity caused Sirius' wavy movement The diameter of Sirius A was first measured by Robert Hanbury Brown and Richard Q. Twiss in 1959 at Jodrell Bank using their stellar intensity interferometer. In 1970 the first photograph was taken of Sirius B by Dr. Irving W. Lendenblad of the US Naval Observatory. In 2005, using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers determined that Sirius B has nearly the diameter of the Earth, 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles), with a mass that is 98% of the Sun. The Voyager 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977 to study the four Jovian planets in the Solar System, is expected to pass within 4.3 light years of Sirius in approximately 296,000 years time. Could there be a Sirius C? In 1995 two French researchers, Daniel Benest and J.L. Duvent, authored an article in the prestigious journal Astronomy and Astrophysics with the title Is Sirius a Triple Star? and suggested (based on observations of motions in the Sirius system) there is a small third star there. They thought the star was probably of a type known as a brown dwarf and only had about .05 the mass of Sirius B. In visible light Sirius A (Alpha Canis Majoris) is the brightest star in the night sky, a closely watched celestial beacon throughout recorded history. Part of a binary star system only 8 light-years away, it was known in modern times to have a small companion star, Sirius B. Sirius B is much dimmer and appears so close to the brilliant Sirius A that it was not actually sighted until 1862, during Alvan Clark's testing of a large, well made optical refracting telescope. For orbiting x-ray telescopes, the Sirius situation is exactly reversed, though. A smaller but hotter Sirius B appears as the overwhelmingly intense x-ray source in this Chandra Observatory x-ray image (lines radiating from Sirius B are image artifacts). The fainter source seen at the position of Sirius A may be largely due to ultraviolet light from the star leaking into the x-ray detector. With a surface temperature of 25,000 kelvins, the mass of the Sun, and a radius just less than Earth's, Sirius B is the closest known white dwarf star. Can you guess what makes Sirius B like Neptune, the Sun's most distant gas giant planet? While still unseen, the presence of both celestial bodies was detected based on their gravitational influence alone ... making them early examples of dark matter. In Theosophy, it is believed the Seven Stars of the Pleiades transmit the spiritual energy of the Seven Rays from the Galactic Logos to the Seven Stars of the Great Bear, then to Sirius. From there is it sent via the Sun to the god of Earth (Sanat Kumara), and finally through the seven Masters of the Seven Rays to the human race. In the astrology of the Middle Ages, Sirius was a Behenian fixed star, associated with beryl and juniper. Its kabbalistic symbol was listed by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. Sirius is a BLUE-white star - the color of electricity. Reality is created by electromagnetic Consciousness grids. Ancient aliens from Sirius were allegedly BLUE - their descendants thought of as bluebloods or royalty. ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ALL FILES CRYSTALINKS HOME PAGE PSYCHIC READING WITH ELLIE 2012 THE ALCHEMY OF TIME

http://www.crystalinks.com/sirius.html

Fern Roof (Kathrin Marks) Imagine that you’re a spore nestled on a leaf in a sleepy forest. It’s a dry, sunny day. All of a sudden – within 0.00001 seconds, you are flung into the air with an acceleration of 100,000 times the force of gravity. What happened? The play by play of this extraordinary voyage is now explained: The whole annulus is thus bent out of shape, much like an accordion in the hands of a musician. The sporangia open when dehydrating and use the stored elastic energy to power a fast closure motion that ultimately ejects the spores. The beauty of this dispersal mechanism and its similarity with medieval catapults have not escaped notice (1). All man-made catapults are equipped with a crossbar to stop the motion of the arm midway. Without it, catapults would launch their projectiles into the ground. This crossbar is conspicuously missing from the sporangium, suggesting that it should simply speed up to its closed conformation without ejecting the spores. We show that much of the sophistication of this ejection mechanism and the basis for its efficiency lie in the two very different time scales associated with the sporangium closure. It’s as if inside each fern is a spore sack mimicking a medieval catapult (or is it the catapult mimicking the spore?) to launch each spore with maximum velocity to begin the next generation. A dozen cells placed in a row can fulfill all the functions of a medieval catapult, including the motive force for charging the catapult (water cohesion), energy storage (annulus wall), triggering mechanism (cavitation), and returning motion arrest (poroelastic behavior of the annulus wall).

http://scienceblogs.com/deanscorner/2012/03/26/annulus-all-bent-out-of-shape/

Evidence of Design in Mathematics Galileo, one of the founders of modern science, said, "The book of nature is written by the hand of God in the language of mathematics." Paul Dirac, one of the leading figures in twentieth century physics said, "God chose to make the world according to very beautiful mathematics." To any perceptive mind, the mathematical structure of the universe is one of the most compelling evidences of design. Actually, mathematics furnishes four independent lines of evidence. 1. Not only are the basic principles of logic, arithmetic, and algebra true in our universe, but also it is impossible to imagine a universe in which they would not be true. How could there be a universe in which both "A is B" and "A is not B" were true (an example from logic), in which 3 + 5 = 8 (an example from arithmetic), or in which a + b = b + a (an example from algebra)? It would appear that there can be no reality which is not obedient to the basic laws of mathematics. Yet these laws are merely ideas; they have and can have no existence except when they are mentally conceived. Therefore, in the very structure of reality we see evidence of a mind at work. Whose mind if not the mind of God? 2. Even within the constraints of these inviolable laws, you could build a universe in many different ways. Yet, as Dirac said, the blueprint of the universe in which we live is drawn according to very beautiful mathematics. It would not be far-fetched to say that our world is the most mathematical of all possible worlds. In geometry we study the characteristics of space and learn that from a few basic properties of this space we can deduce an elaborate system of informative theorems about geometrical figures: for example, the Pythagorean theorem—c^2 = a^2 + b^2. Perhaps we could imagine a world where this theorem was not true. But it is much more convenient to live in our world, since this theorem gives us a handle on many practical problems. Indeed, modern technology would not be possible except for our ability to find mathematical order wherever we look. The most pervasive and fundamental relations tend to be very simple. Newton's three laws of motion, for example, can be understood by a child. Throughout physics, the basic equations are not difficult: F = ma, W = FD, λ = v/f, E = F/q, E = mc^2. What does all this mean? It gives us another proof of the anthropic principle—that the world was evidently made for the sake of man. The mathematical structure of the world makes it easy for man to formulate predictions as to what will happen under stated conditions and on the basis of these predictions to control nature for his own benefit. Perhaps the most convincing evidence that the world was expressly designed to conform to simple laws that man would readily discover is furnished by the universal law of gravitation: F= Gmm/r^2. Notice the exponent 2. Why is it not 1.9999999 . . ., or 4.3785264 . . ., or something else hard to use in computations? Yet research has been able to specify the exponent as far as the first six digits, giving 2.00000. Thus, so far as we can tell, the exponent is exactly 2. Coulomb's law of electric force is similar: F = kqq/r^2. In this case, research has established that the exponent is no different from exactly 2 as far as the first 17 digits. Would we find such laws in an accidental universe? 3. Mathematics furnishes many examples of elegant relationships based on real-world properties, but having no physical meaning or practical value in themselves. The only plausible explanation for such relationships is that God created the world so that its mathematical structure would be a passageway to a much larger structure of abstract mathematics. Why did He adjoin this larger structure to the mathematics of the real world? Because it is His nature to express Himself in things of beauty, and abstract mathematics is a grand symphony, an epic poem, a rich tapestry intelligible to those who are most diligent in thinking God's thoughts after Him. Abstract mathematics is a most puzzling feature of reality if we do not see it as the handiwork of an infinitely clever mind. Let me give you an example of a relationship discoverable only by abstract math. Never could this be derived from study of the physical universe. In math, three numbers are so important that they are named by letters: π: ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter e: the number such that ∫(e^x)dx = e^x + c. In other words, if we were to graph the exponential function e^x, the difference between the values of the function at x and x would equal the area under the curve between those two points. √-1: Since -1 has no square root, the number is called i, which means "imaginary." Now watch. When any budding mathematician comes to this equation in the course of his mathematical education, his mouth drops open in sheer wonder and admiration. e^iπ = -1 This equation, a special case of Euler's formula, has been called the most beautiful equation in mathematics. The question raised by this equation is obvious. Though both π and e are concepts well grounded in the real world, their real-world meanings seem totally independent, and i has no real-world meaning whatever. How then can we account for their simple relationship except by invoking a divine mathematician? In this simple equation we perceive the existence of God. 4. Yet we would never perceive the mathematical structure of the universe unless our minds had a knack for mathematics. It is fairly easy for us to grasp the first principles of math and science. These principles are ideas. That is, they are not directly observable in the world about us, nor are they synonymous with any sequence of biochemical events in the brain. Ideas are transphysical. Therefore, the mind which apprehends them cannot be physical in nature. It must belong to another realm, a realm we describe as the realm of the soul. Therefore, man's capacity for mathematics and, more generally, his ability to think are impossible outcomes of organic evolution. His intelligence is the crowning evidence of purpose and design in the universe. In summary, mathematics furnishes evidence of design in four ways: - All reality must be obedient to laws which are merely ideas. - The structure of our universe is mathematical throughout, the most fundamental principles being exceedingly simple. - The mathematics of the real world is a bridge to a much larger realm of abstract mathematics. - Human beings are capable of mathematical thought. Evidence of Design in Natural Law One remarkable feature of the natural world is that all of its phenomena obey relatively simple laws. The scientific enterprise exists because man has discovered that wherever he probes nature, he finds laws shaping its operation. If all natural events have always been lawful, we must presume that the laws came first. How could it be otherwise? How could the whole world of nature have ever precisely obeyed laws that did not yet exist? But where did they exist? A law is simply an idea, and an idea exists only in someone's mind. Since there is no mind in nature, nature itself has no intelligence of the laws which govern it. Modern science takes it for granted that the universe has always danced to rhythms it cannot hear, but still assigns power of motion to the dancers themselves. How is that possible? The power to make things happen in obedience to universal laws cannot reside in anything ignorant of these laws. Would it be more reasonable to suppose that this power resides in the laws themselves? Of course not. Ideas have no intrinsic power. They affect events only as they direct the will of a thinking person. Only a thinking person has the power to make things happen. Since natural events were lawful before man ever conceived of natural laws, the thinking person responsible for the orderly operation of the universe must be a higher Being, a Being we know as God. © 2007, 2012 Stanley Edgar Rickard (Ed Rickard, the author). All rights reserved.

http://www.themoorings.org/apologetics/theisticarg/teleoarg/teleo2.html

Pericarditis (PER-ih-kar-DI-tis) is a condition in which the membrane, or sac, around your heart is inflamed. This sac is called the pericardium (per-ih-KAR-de-um). The pericardium holds the heart in place and helps it work properly. The sac is made of two thin layers of tissue that enclose your heart. Between the two layers is a small amount of fluid. This fluid keeps the layers from rubbing against each other and causing friction. In pericarditis, the layers of tissue become inflamed and can rub against the heart. This causes chest pain, a common symptom of pericarditis. The chest pain from pericarditis may feel like pain from a heart attack. More often, the pain may be sharp and get worse when you inhale, and improve when you are sitting up and leaning forward. If you have chest pain, you should call 9–1–1 right away, as you may be having a heart attack. In many cases, the cause of pericarditis is unknown. Viral infections are likely a common cause of pericarditis, although the virus may never be found. Bacterial, fungal, and other infections also can cause pericarditis. Other possible causes include heart attack or heart surgery, other medical conditions, injuries, and certain medicines. Pericarditis can be acute or chronic. "Acute" means that it occurs suddenly and usually doesn't last long. "Chronic" means that it develops over time and may take longer to treat. Both acute and chronic pericarditis can disrupt your heart's normal rhythm or function and possibly (although rarely) lead to death. However, most cases of pericarditis are mild; they clear up on their own or with rest and simple treatment. Other times, more intense treatments are needed to prevent complications. Treatments may include medicines and, less often, procedures or surgery. It may take from a few days to weeks or even months to recover from pericarditis. With proper and prompt treatment, such as rest and ongoing care, most people fully recover from pericarditis. Proper treatment also can help reduce the chance of getting the condition again. In many cases, the cause of pericarditis (both acute and chronic) is unknown. Viral infections are likely a common cause of pericarditis, although the virus may never be found. Pericarditis often occurs after respiratory infections. Bacterial, fungal, and other infections also can cause pericarditis. Most cases of chronic, or recurring, pericarditis are thought to be the result of autoimmune disorders. Examples of such disorders include lupus, scleroderma, and rheumatoid arthritis. With autoimmune disorders, the body's immune system makes antibodies (proteins) that mistakenly attack the body's tissues or cells. Other possible causes of pericarditis are: Pericarditis occurs in people of all ages. However, men aged 20 to 50 are more likely to develop it than others. People who are treated for acute pericarditis may get it again. This may happen in 15 to 30 percent of people who have the condition. A small number of these people go on to develop chronic pericarditis. The most common sign of acute pericarditis is sharp, stabbing chest pain. The pain usually comes on quickly. It often is felt in the middle or left side of the chest or over the front of the chest. You also may feel pain in one or both shoulders, the neck, back, and abdomen. The pain tends to ease when you sit up and lean forward. Lying down and deep breathing worsens it. For some people, the pain feels like a dull ache or pressure in the chest. The chest pain also may feel like pain from a heart attack. If you have chest pain, you should call 9–1–1 right away, as you may be having a heart attack. Some people with acute pericarditis develop a fever. Other symptoms are weakness, palpitations, trouble breathing, and coughing. (Palpitations are feelings that your heart is skipping a beat, fluttering, or beating too hard or too fast.) The most common symptom of chronic pericarditis is chest pain. Chronic pericarditis also often causes tiredness, coughing, and shortness of breath. Severe cases of chronic pericarditis can lead to swelling in the stomach and legs and hypotension (low blood pressure). Two serious complications of pericarditis are cardiac tamponade (tam-po-NAD) and chronic constrictive pericarditis. Cardiac tamponade occurs if too much fluid collects in the pericardium (the sac around the heart). The extra fluid puts pressure on the heart. This prevents the heart from properly filling with blood. As a result, less blood leaves the heart, which causes a sharp drop in blood pressure. If left untreated, cardiac tamponade can be fatal. Chronic constrictive pericarditis is a rare disease that develops over time. It leads to scar-like tissue forming throughout the pericardium. The sac becomes stiff and can't move properly. In time, the scarred tissue compresses the heart and prevents it from working well. Your doctor will diagnose pericarditis based on your medical history, a physical exam, and test results. Primary care doctors—such as a family doctor, internist, or pediatrician—often diagnose and treat pericarditis. Other types of doctors also may be involved, such as a cardiologist, pediatric cardiologist, and an infectious disease specialist. A cardiologist treats adults who have heart problems. A pediatric cardiologist treats children who have heart problems. An infectious disease specialist treats people who have infections. Your doctor may ask whether you: Your doctor also may ask about your symptoms. If you have chest pain, he or she will ask you to describe how it feels, where it's located, and whether it's worse when you lie down, breathe, or cough. When the pericardium (the sac around your heart) is inflamed, the amount of fluid between its two layers of tissue increases. As part of the exam, your doctor will look for signs of excess fluid in your chest. A common sign is the pericardial rub. This is the sound of the pericardium rubbing against the outer layer of your heart. Your doctor will place a stethoscope on your chest to listen for this sound. Your doctor may hear other chest sounds that are signs of fluid in the pericardium (pericardial effusion) or the lungs (pleural effusion). These are more severe problems related to pericarditis. Your doctor may recommend one or more tests to diagnose your condition and show how severe it is. The most common tests are: Your doctor also may recommend blood tests. These tests can help your doctor find out whether you've had a heart attack, the cause of your pericarditis, and how inflamed your pericardium is. Most cases of pericarditis are mild; they clear up on their own or with rest and simple treatment. Other times, more intense treatment is needed to prevent complications. Treatment may include medicines and, less often, procedures or surgery. The goals of treatment include: As a first step in your treatment, your doctor may advise you to rest until you feel better and have no fever. He or she may tell you to take over-the-counter, anti-inflammatory medicines to reduce pain and inflammation. Examples of these medicines include aspirin and ibuprofen. You may need stronger medicine if your pain is severe. If your pain continues to be severe, your doctor may prescribe a medicine called colchicine and, possibly, prednisone (a steroid medicine). If an infection is causing your pericarditis, your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic or other medicine to treat the infection. You may need to stay in the hospital during treatment for pericarditis so your doctor can check you for complications. The symptoms of acute pericarditis can last from a few days to a few weeks. Chronic pericarditis may last for several months. You may need treatment for complications of pericarditis. Two serious complications are cardiac tamponade and chronic constrictive pericarditis. Cardiac tamponade is treated with a procedure called pericardiocentesis (per-ih-KAR-de-o-sen-TE-sis). A needle or tube (called a catheter) is inserted into the chest wall to remove excess fluid in the pericardium. This procedure relieves pressure on the heart. The only cure for chronic constrictive pericarditis is surgery to remove the pericardium. This is known as a pericardiectomy (PER-ih-kar-de-EK-to-me). The treatments for these complications require staying in the hospital. You usually can't prevent acute pericarditis. You can take steps to reduce your chance of having another acute episode, having complications, or getting chronic pericarditis. These steps include getting prompt treatment, following your treatment plan, and having ongoing medical care (as your doctor advises). Many cases of pericarditis are mild and go away on their own. But other cases, if not treated, can lead to chronic pericarditis and serious problems that affect your heart. Some problems can be life threatening. Sometimes it takes weeks or months to recover from pericarditis. Full recovery is likely with rest and ongoing care. These measures also can help reduce your risk of having the condition again. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is strongly committed to supporting research aimed at preventing and treating heart, lung, and blood diseases and conditions and sleep disorders. NHLBI-supported research has led to many advances in medical knowledge and care. Often, these advances depend on the willingness of volunteers to take part in clinical trials. Clinical trials test new ways to prevent, diagnose, or treat various diseases and conditions. For example, new treatments for a disease or condition (such as medicines, medical devices, surgeries, or procedures) are tested in volunteers who have the illness. Testing shows whether a treatment is safe and effective in humans before it is made available for widespread use. By taking part in a clinical trial, you can gain access to new treatments before they're widely available. You also will have the support of a team of health care providers, who will likely monitor your health closely. Even if you don't directly benefit from the results of a clinical trial, the information gathered can help others and add to scientific knowledge. If you volunteer for a clinical trial, the research will be explained to you in detail. You'll learn about treatments and tests you may receive, and the benefits and risks they may pose. You'll also be given a chance to ask questions about the research. This process is called informed consent. If you agree to take part in the trial, you'll be asked to sign an informed consent form. This form is not a contract. You have the right to withdraw from a study at any time, for any reason. Also, you have the right to learn about new risks or findings that emerge during the trial. For more information about clinical trials related to pericarditis, talk with your doctor. You also can visit the following Web sites to learn more about clinical research and to search for clinical trials: For more information about clinical trials for children, visit the NHLBI's Children and Clinical Studies Web page. The NHLBI updates Health Topics articles on a biennial cycle based on a thorough review of research findings and new literature. The articles also are updated as needed if important new research is published. The date on each Health Topics article reflects when the content was originally posted or last revised.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/peri/printall-index.html

Hydrogen can be made by reaction of any active metal like magnesium or zinc with a strong acid such as H2SO4 or HCl, for example, Mg(s) + 2 HCl(aq) H2(g) + MgCl2(aq) Since hydrogen gas is almost insoluble in water, it can be collected by displacement of water using an inverted bottle: The trough is filled with water, and a wide mouth bottle is completely filled with water and inverted on the shelf. Magnesium or zinc metal is placed in the bottom of the flask and the acid (3 M HCl) is introduced through the thistle tube (which is just a long-stemmed funnel). Fill the flask with enough solution to cover the bottom of the thistle tube as shown to prevent air from entering and hydrogen from escaping through the funnel. Hydrogen gas will begin to escape from the rubber tube; allow the reaction to run for a few minutes before connecting it to the inverted bottle as shown, to sweep air out of the flask. The collected hydrogen will be saturated with water vapor and contaminated with small amounts of air. You can force the gas through a tube packed with calcium chloride pellets to remove the water. Hydrogen can be further purified by exploiting the fact that the gas is extremely soluble in many solid metals. The metal palladium (Pd) is especially good at dissolving hydrogen. If the gas is forced through a tube blocked by a membrane of palladium, hydrogen passes through the membrane but the gaseous impurities do not. To determine the purity of a sample of dried hydrogen, you can burn it in excess dry oxygen and pass it through a tube packed with a strong dehydrating agent like Dehydrite or Anhydrone. The weight increase of the tube gives the amount of water produced by the combustion reaction, and so, the amount of hydrogen in the sample. There are many technical difficulties that need to be considered to get good results by this method; see Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists, AOAC, 13th ed., 1980, pp 855-857 for more details. Hydrogen has a distinctive line spectrum, and it can be qualitatively and quantitatively detected using emission spectroscopy. The laboratory preparation using magnesium or zinc is too expensive for industrial production of hydrogen. Hydrogen is produced more cheaply by the reaction of iron with steam at about 600°C. 3 Fe(s) + 4 H2O(g) Fe3O4(s) + 4 H_2(g) Hydrogen can also be produced by passing a strong electric current through water: 2 H2O() 2 H2(g) + O2(g) A salt like Na2SO4 is added to the water to increase its conductivity. See a previous question for tips on demonstrating water electrolysis safely. Author: Fred Senese email@example.com

http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/inorganic/faq/hydrogen-prep.shtml

Ride Your Way To Fluency By: Alexis Ogubie The goal of fluency is for students to be able to read with automatic word recognition. As students read and reread, they are able to add words into their sight vocabulary. Through repeated readings more words are learned, students are better able to comprehend what they have read and words are read with greater expression and interest. This lesson is designed to give students repeated readings of texts in order to become more fluent readers. In addition, it will help the students to understand the importance of automatic, fluent reading Speed Reading Record: Name: _________________________ Date: ___________ - After 1st read _______ - After 2nd read _______ - After 3rd read _______ Partner check- sheet: Name: ________ Partner: ______________ Date: _________ I noticed that my partner... (check the circle) After 2nd after 3rd ( ) ( ) Remembered more words ( ) ( ) Read faster ( ) ( ) Read smoother ( ) ( ) Read with expression 1. I will start the lesson by explaining to students what being a fluent readers means and why it is important that students are fluent readers. In addition, they must remember what they have read in order to interpret the meaning of the text. Today we are going to practice reading with speed and accuracy, this helps us become more fluent readers. It is important that we learn to read fluently so that we can read things easily and with an appropriate speed, this allows us to be able to focus on the meaning of the words we are reading. Reading a story many times helps us to become fluent readers. Today we are going to read a story many times and each time you read I want you to try to read faster. 2. Explain to the students the cover-up strategy that they can use while reading. Class, do you remember when we talked about what we do when we get to a word that we do not know? A way to figure out the word is to use your cover-up critter. Write the word splint on the board. Using my cover-up critter, I am going to model how to decode a word. If I do not know what this word is, this is what I would... I cover up everything but the i, (cover up all other letters). Cover up all the letters except the i and sound out the short i=/i/ sound. Then I am going to look at the letters leading up to the vowel, spl =/spl/. Lastly, I would look at the end of my word and blend the last sounds with my chunk. So /n/ and /t/ plus /spl/ reads splint Now when you come across a tough word, you can use your cover- up critter. 3. Now, I am going to model fluent reading. I am going to write the following sentence on the board: ''The sun was shining as I rode my bike.'' Now, I want you to listen to me model the way that a fluent reader should read. When you read with fluency, you put together chunks of sentences and read with expression. I am going to write the same sentence on the board so that you can follow along with me. The first time, I will read it slowly, without fluency, ''The-sun-was-shining-as-I -rode-my-bike.'' I will ask the children if that sounded like the way a fluent reader would read. They should recognize that it was hard to understand and very choppy. Then, I will reread the sentence in a smooth, expressive manner, ''The animals at the zoo scared the children!'' Then, I will explain to the students that the reason it was hard to understand the non-fluent sentence is because the words were all chopped up and did not flow together to make sense. When I read with fluency, my reading became fluent because I was able to automatically recognize the words and read them immediately. I am able to read more fluently by practicing and reading and rereading. This helps one become quicker so that they can read with more expression. 4. Now, I am going to give each student a copy of the book The Bike Ride. They will each get to read it by themselves before coming together with a partner for timed readings. This story is about Nate who has been visiting Tim and Jan but lately, he is not much fun. Can Tim and Jan come up with a plan to get their friend away from the television? We will, read to find out. After the students finish reading, we will discuss the events of the story. Next, the students will break up into partners and I will give each group a stopwatch and each child a Partner Check -Sheet and Speed Reading Record. Each child will read the book three times. The listener will time each reading and give a report after the second and third readings. They will record the times of each reading on the Speed Reading Record. The reports are always complementary and do not put down a child. No criticism or advice is allowed. The child simply marks on the evaluation sheet. With your partner, you will read the book three times. Your partner will time each reading and record the time on your Speed students will each bring me their Speed Reading Record and partner checklist. I will perform one-minute reads with each child to check for fluency and accuracy, noting their miscues. The one-minute reads will let me see how many words the child is reading a minute as well as how much automaticity is developed. Finally, I will ask a few comprehension questions to ensure that they did not speed read through the material and to see that they actually understood the story. The Bike Ride by Geri Murray White, Amy. 1-2-3 Go http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/whitegf.html Return to Encounters Index

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/encounters/ogubiegf.html

Abraham Lincoln, Sixteenth President, 1861-1865 Abraham Lincoln was well known for his opposition to the expansion of slavery, and his election as president in 1860 triggered the secession of 11 southern states from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Lincoln viewed the Southern action as unconstitutional, and he was well aware that a civil war would be a very likely result of any attempt to reunite the country. When Confederate soldiers fired on Fort Sumner in April of 1861, war did break out, resulting in the four bloodiest years the United States has ever seen. In the second year of the raging war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the Confederate states. Later that year, Lincoln gave his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, on the site of the most pitiless battle of the war. In 1865, with Confederate resources dwindling and ever more soldiers deserting, the Union army was able to force a surrender at Appommatox court house in Virginia on April 9. Just five days later, Lincoln was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. The president died the following morning, throwing the nation into intense mourning. Lincoln had plans for bringing the country back together again, but without his leadership, the country was plunged into confusion that would take many years to resolve. When our country began, nobody thought much of political parties or campaigns. Our first President, George Washington, was elected unanimously, the only President ever so chosen. When he was re-elected, in 1793, he was affiliated with the newly formed Federalist Party. By the time John Adams was elected in 1796, an opposition party to the Federalists--the Democratic-Republicans--had been formed under the leadership of Jefferson, who was elected after Adams. Direct contact between the candidate and the voter began early in the 19th century at small gatherings where a party's political philosophy was the topic of discussion rather than the candidates themselves. Parlor politics required the office to seek out the candidates. By the middle of James Monroe's second term, the Democratic-Republicans were so split on political issues that the contest of 1824 became one of individual candidates rather than of political parties. When Andrew Jackson lost to John Quincy Adams, his supporters immediately started campaigning for the next election, and in so doing formed a new party, the Democratic Party. With Jackson's first campaign, the gaiety, excitement, and organization we know today began. The image of the candidate was etched as clearly in the minds of the voter a hundred years ago as it is today. This new style of campaigning, an emotional appeal by going out and meeting the people, gained a victory for Jackson and later for William Henry Harrison. The campaign of 1840 was the wildest and most exciting, colorful, and nonsensical of al political campaigns in American history. It saw the beginning of street parades for candidates and the transformation of catchy phrases and slogans into campaign music. Party rallies often turned into barbecues. Large balls bearing slogans and issues were rolled across the country from city to city--thus the origin of the slogan "keep the ball rolling." Parlor politics had completely given way to hard campaigning. The year 1856 witnessed the appearance of a new national party--the Republican Party--campaigning on the four freedoms: "free Speech, Free Press, Free Soil and Free Man." Thus, the two major political parties familiar to us today had emerged. Transportation and communication have played significant roles in either bringing the candidate to the people or the people to the candidate. Front-porch campaigning was used as early as 1856, when James Buchanan was running, and again in 1880 by James A. Garfield. It was made most popular, however, in 1896 by William McKinley, whose campaign manager, Mark Hanna, rounded up groups and transported them to Canton, OH, where McKinley addressed them from his front porch. There was a great contrast between McKinley and his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, both in issues and techniques. Bryan went out to sell himself to the American people by rail and traveled 18,000 miles through 29 states delivering more than 600 speeches. Bryan used an emotional appeal on the crowds, a technique successfully followed years before Jackson. His speech against the gold standard became classic; it transfixed the crowd into screaming jubilation as he uttered his memorable words: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." With the advent of the automobile, campaigning techniques changed in the 20th century, although the railroad observation car continued to be used successfully by candidates, the two most recent being Harry Truman's "whistle stop" and the "Lady Bird Special" of Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson. Various attempts to form a strong third political party--such as the Progressive Party, which formed around Theodore Roosevelt in 1912--have failed, and the nation continues to have a system of two major parties. It was Lincoln who once said, "Almost all men in this country, and in any country where freedom of though is tolerated, attach themselves to political parties. It is but ordinary charity to attribute this to the fact that in so attaching himself to the party which his judgment prefers, the citizen believes he thereby promotes the best interests of the whole country; and when an election is passed, it is altogether befitting a free people, that until the next election, they should be as one people." [February 18, 1861.] From "We the People: The American People and Their Government" (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1975) 40. "Lincoln and Liberty Too," Abraham Lincoln campaign song "Lincoln And Liberty Too" from the recording entitled Presidential Campaign Songs 1789-1996, Folkways 45051, provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1999. Used by permission. Words: Jesse Hutchinson; Melody: "Rosin the Beau;" arranged by Oscar Brand/TRO-Hollis Total Music Services., BMI "…We’ll go for the boy from Kentucky The hero of hoosierdom through The pride and the 'Suckers' are lucky For Lincoln and Liberty too…" "Excerpt from the Emancipation Proclamation" "Excerpt from the Emancipation Proclamation" from the recording entitled The Glory of Negro History, Folkways FC 7752, provided courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. © 1955, 1960 Used by permission. On January 1, 1863 Abraham Lincoln signed a document freeing slaves from the states that were no longer under Union control. "…On the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…"

http://historywired.si.edu/detail.cfm?ID=543

inert gas or noble gas, any of the elements in Group 18 of the periodic table. In order of increasing atomic number they are: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. They are colorless, odorless, tasteless gases and were once believed to be entirely inert, i.e., forming no chemical compounds; however, some compounds of these elements have been produced, i.e., fluorides of krypton, xenon, and radon. The low chemical activity of the inert gases is due to the fact that their outermost, or valence, electron shell is complete, containing two electrons in the case of helium and eight in the remaining cases. The inert gases are sometimes called the rare gases, although argon is not rare (it makes up about 1% of the atmosphere) and helium is commercially extracted from natural gas and the atmosphere. See G. A. Cook, Argon, Helium and the Rare Gases (2 vol., 1961); I. Asimov, The Noble Gases (1966). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on inert gas from Fact Monster: See more Encyclopedia articles on: Compounds and Elements

http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/science/inert-gas.html

More About Paintbrush Gene In two related Drosophila species, a so-called paintbrush gene is activated to "paint" the pigment on the body. In one species, an extra switch activates the gene, resulting in spotted wings. This animation includes audio narration: please make sure your computer's volume is up so that you can hear it. Paintbrush Gene Background Both Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila biarmipes have a so-called paintbrush gene that controls pigmentation, including wing color. Although the two fly species have similarly colored bodies, D. biarmipes has spots on its wings and D. melanogaster does not. Expression of the paintbrush gene is controlled by special switch regions of DNA. D. biarmipes has a "wing switch" region that controls expression of the paintbrush gene in the wings, thereby creating the spots. There is no wing switch in D. melanogaster. The paintbrush gene is not expressed in this fly's wings, and thus the wings are not spotted. From Lecture Four of the 2005 Holiday Lectures Series "Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads" Paintbrush Gene Teaching Tips The animations in this section have a wide variety of classroom applications. Use the tips below to get started but look for more specific teaching tips in the near future. Please tell us how you are using the animations in your classroom by sending e-mail to email@example.com. - Use the animations to make abstract scientific ideas visible and concrete. - Explain important scientific principles through the animations. For example, the biological clocks animations can be used to demonstrate the fundamentals of transcription and translation. - Make sure that students learn the material by repeating sections of the animations as often as you think necessary to reinforce underlying scientific principles. You can start, restart, and play back sections of the animations. - Urge students to use the animations in accordance with their own learning styles. Students who are more visually oriented can watch the animations first and read the text later, while others might prefer to read the explanations first and then view the graphics. - Incorporate the animations into Web-based learning modules that you create to supplement your classroom curricula. - Encourage students to incorporate the animations into their own Web-based projects. The 2005 Holiday Lectures Series "Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads" Paintbrush Gene Credits Director: Dennis Liu, Ph.D. Scientific Direction: Sean B. Carroll, Ph. D. Scientific Content: Satoshi Amagai, Ph.D. Animator: Blake Porch

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/evolution/paintbrush_gene.html

This period, one of the most important in Lincoln's life, saw the young legislator earn a law license and thereby find a new profession, and take up residence in the rapidly growing town of Springfield. Lincoln led the successful effort to move the Illinois State Capital from Vandalia to the more centrally located Springfield. Representing the new state capital, Lincoln found himself at the center of political life in Illinois. Illinois counted among the states pledging their support to General Andrew Jackson in his two tempestuous presidential terms (1829-1837). The Old Hero decisively turned the powers of the federal government to securing the Union (facing down South Carolina's attempts to nullify federal laws not to its liking), disbanding the controversial Bank of the United States and dispossing Native Americans of their lands. The Whig Party emerged as the major challenger to the followers of Jackson, who became the Democratic Party. Whigs resented Jackson's bold uses of executive authority. Despite their distrust of executive authority, Whigs advocated a far greater role for local, state and federal governments than did Jacksonian Democrats, especially in the encouragement of economic development. Where Jacksonian Democrats sought to build an economy that gave the common man an opportunity to farm and practice a trade in an atmosphere free from the governmental "special privileges" that had so poisoned the British mercantile system, Whigs sought to use government policies, especially those establishing corporations (like national banks), and internal improvements (like canals and turnpikes) to give ambitious entrepreneurs a leg up. Whigs believed that such developments benefited all Americans by binding the nation together with commercial and trading relationships, but Democrats saw government subsidies to politically favored groups. Lincoln cast his lot with the Whig Party. As an ambitious young man with no interest in farming, he saw banks, internal improvements and economic growth as a means to a new, more prosperous economy offering greater economic opportunities. In the 1830s, Illinois' rapid economic growth provided the young man with the means to realize some of his goals. Lincoln emerged as a politician worthy of notice and married a politically connected belle from Lexington, Kentucky. Finding a profession and a wife marked the young Lincoln's transition to manhood, and he began building a reputation as a skilled In short, the frontier youth of humble origins and scant education lifted himself from subsistence farming and day labor to lawyer and rising politician, and into a socially ambitious marriage.

http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/biography3.html

You may already be familiar with some of the tools in this training and use them in your work. But you will discover how to adapt and modify those tools to reach new audiences. You may even discover that experimenting with these tools enriches the learning experience for all your audiences. How Do We Access Meaning in Art? To access completely the meaning of a work of art, all viewers need to understand two things: 1 . the physical presence of the work—the compositional and material elements that comprise style. 2 . the intellectual, emotional, and spiritual power of the work. A work of art is rarely self-explanatory. To experience and understand a work of art, a viewer needs background information and analysis of the subject matter, artist, materials and techniques, as well as the historical and cultural context. Art Requires Dialogue Equally important is the interaction of the viewer with the object. Art requires dialogue—verbal, written, or through art-making. Art enables people to learn about history and culture from multiple perspectives. Art also acts as a catalyst for reflecting on our life experiences. A Museum's Mission One aspect of a museum's mission is to create an open environment for this dialogue between work and viewer for all visitors, including people with disabilities. The tools that can provide access to meaning in art for people with visual impairments are, in essence, the same tools required by sighted viewers. For both audiences the tools include: reproductions of works of art (posters, postcards), written texts (labels, brochures, and catalogues), tours, audio guides, lectures, art-making activities, Web materials, sound and dramatic elements, and for school-based experiences, curriculum integration activities. The diversity of the disabilities community also presents unique challenges and opportunities for the museum's education department and/or accessibility coordinator. A broad range of approaches is necessary when reaching out to this community, such as physical accessibility for people who are blind or wheelchair-users, sign language and captioning for visitors who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, multi-sensory tours for people with developmental disabilities, or telephone and distance-learning classes for people who find it difficult to leave home. One Universal Fact Individuals in every audience want equal opportunity to choose how in-depth their dialogue and experience with a work of art will be, and they should be able to access art in as many ways as possible. Through the tools discussed in this tutorial, we can make art more meaningful for everyone.

http://www.artbeyondsight.org/handbook/acs-onlinetraining.shtml

Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-206) and index. Preface Purpose and Audience Background Organization of the Book Data Sources and Collection Acknowledgments About the Author 1. Why Focus on Upper Elementary Grades and Students? Upper Elementary Children and Grade Levels Defining Upper Elementary Teachers: Their Practice and the Profession Advocating for Upper Elementary Students 2. Development of 8- to 12-Year-Old Children Development as Learners Cognitive Development Language Development Development as Individuals and Members of Society Development of Sense of Self Autonomy and Relatedness Doing What Is Right Physical Development Refining the Broad Strokes of Generalizations 3. Children as Members of Groups Situating Group Differences: Biological, Cultural, and Societal Influences Biological Influences Cultural Influences Social, Historical, and Economic Influences Ethnic and Racial Group Affiliation Race and Ethnicity: Relation to Achievement Race and Ethnicity: Relation to Social Development Socioeconomic Group Affiliation Socioeconomic Influences on Achievement Socioeconomic Influences on Social Development English-Language Learners English-Language Learners and Achievement English-Language Learners and Social Development Gender Affiliation Gender and Academic Achievement Gender and Social Development Gender and Physical Development Exceptional Learners Achievement of Exceptional Learners Social Development of Exceptional Children The Holistic Child: Mixing Group Identities 4. Individual Developmental Differences Individuals as Learners Variation in Cognition and Intelligence Variation in Motivation to Learn Variation in Expressions of Creativity Exceptional Variation Variation in Development of Self-Concept and Social Competency Physical Variation Summary 5. Children's Lives Outside of School The Multiple Contexts of Children's Lives Family and Home Friends and Peers Neighborhood and Community Other Important Contexts How Children Spend Time Outside of School Adult-Organized, Sponsored, or Supervised Activities Child-Driven Activities Summary 6. The School Environment: Supporting Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement School Role in Developing a Sense of Accomplishment Defining and Measuring Accomplishment Adult Expectations for Accomplishment Student Expectations for Accomplishment School Role in Developing a Sense of Belonging Inviting Spaces and Warm Adult Relations Belonging Within the Peer Network Extending the Sense of Belonging to Family Extending Belonging to the Community School Role in Engaging Students Academically, Socially, and Physically Academic Engagement Social Engagement Physical Engagement School Culture, Organizational Structures, Policies, and Procedures Summary 7. The Classroom Environment: Supporting Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement Classroom Role in Developing a Sense of Accomplishment Academic Accomplishment Social Accomplishment Physical Accomplishment Classroom Role in Developing a Sense of Belonging Belonging in a Community Joy and Cooperation Democracy and Equity Care and Nurture Extending Community to Others Classroom Role in Developing a Sense of Engagement Academic Engagement Social Engagement Physical Engagement Summary 8. Teaching and Learning Important Knowledge Addressing What Students Are Expected to Know Addressing Student Interest and Knowledge Using Knowledge to Meet Student Needs for Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement Selecting or Designing Appropriate Assessments Assessing Acquisition of Desired Knowledge Assessing Students' Prior Knowledge and Knowledge Assimilation Using Assessment to Meet Diverse Students' Needs for Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement Delivering Instruction Teaching the Content Teaching the Students Using Instruction to Meet Diverse Students' Needs for Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement Importance of Aligning Content, Instruction, and Assessment Putting the Pieces Together Issues Surrounding Teaching and Learning Aligning Content, Assessment, and Instruction to Promote Accomplishment, Belonging, and Engagement 9. Supporting Upper Elementary Students: Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Professionalism, and Advocacy A Framework of Upper Elementary Developmentally Appropriate Practice Actions of Students Actions of Teachers Characteristics of the Classroom Environment Characteristics of the Teaching and Learning Process Professional Identity Becoming Upper Elementary Teachers Supporting Upper Elementary Teachers in the Profession National Board Middle Childhood / Generalist Certification Advocating for Upper Elementary Children Compiling and Encouraging Research on Upper Elementary Children and Teaching Examining Policies and Practices What Can You Do to Help Upper Elementary Children? Developmentally Appropriate Practice Professional Identity for Upper Elementary Teachers Advocacy References Index. (source: Nielsen Book Data) 'This book reminds me that I became a fifth grade teacher because that time in a child's life is amazing and critical. This book should be required reading for every teacher, especially ones going into the upper elementary grade levels' - Tracy Pinnell, Fifth-Grade Teacher, Sheppard Accelerated Elementary School, Santa Rosa, CA. Help your upper elementary school students thrive and achieve! A positive educational experience in the upper elementary years sets the stage for a child's long-term success in school. With increased testing and accountability requirements, upper elementary teachers are challenged to help students master required content while responding to each child's unique needs and way of learning.This inspiring book presents a child-centered teaching approach for Grades 3-6, one that helps build students' sense of confidence, belonging, and accomplishment. Written by a passionate advocate for upper elementary students, this guide offers teachers detailed information about child development and effective teaching practices uniquely targeted for 8- to 12-year-olds. In this book, readers will find: a thorough look at how upper elementary children develop as learners, based on comprehensive research; teaching strategies and assessment techniques to help students master upper elementary curriculum; a discussion of diversity issues, including race and ethnicity, gender, socio-economic background, language, and exceptionalities; and, informative case studies and firsthand insights from students, teachers, and administrators. Gain the knowledge you need to grow professionally and serve your upper elementary students more effectively. (source: Nielsen Book Data)

http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/7874008

Teaching Techniques for Inattentive and Overactive Children Working effectively with highly active or inattentive children isn’t easy, and with some children it is a matter of trial and error. Ask the child’s parents what methods have been successful in the past. Has there been a beloved teacher or mentor who had a magic touch with the child? Seek guidance to increase your chances of success. Following are some general guidelines from the literature that may be helpful in your quest: - Provide highly stimulating work, along with structure, firm rules, clear expectations, and specific adaptations for AD/HD. - Give them opportunities for movement in the classroom. They can only sit for just so long. Honest. Let them sharpen a pencil, do an errand, go to a learning center, pace, or whatever, every 15 minutes. - Some children are able to sit for longer periods of time on a large ball that you can obtain from a back store or an occupational therapist. Or try different kinds of cushions. - Instead of reprimanding them each time they blurt out an answer, try complimenting them when they demonstrate some self-control. Remember that much of this behavior is not within their control. - Provide incentives for homework completion or on-task behavior. Maybe they can earn a special privilege by working hard at adapting to the rules in the classroom. - Try providing a more challenging activity or assignment and see if that helps. If it is too hard, they will give up in frustration, and if it is too easy or too repetitious, they will be unable to concentrate. - One-on-one attention really helps. Can an aide or volunteer assist the child? This is particularly necessary at the beginning of an assignment, as these children often are uncertain how to get started. They need guidance with organization and elaboration of ideas. - Remember that attention is variable, so expect inconsistency. An activity that is new and interesting one day may be unappealing the next day. They respond to variety, so be creative. - They usually have trouble stopping an activity they are engaged in and moving on to something else, so develop a signal (e.g., a tap on the shoulder) or assign a buddy to help them with transitions. - As most suffer from poor handwriting and racing thoughts, allow them to use a keyboard for written work. A typing tutorial program should be employed, such as Mavis Beacon, Mario Teaches Typing, etc. - Shorten writing assignments or allow them to demonstrate mastery in some other way. - Preferential seating is often necessary. Sit the child near you and give frequent eye contact to help maintain attention (as well as reduce disturbance of others). - Call on them as often as possible during class discussions. Interaction really keeps them focused, and waiting their turn is difficult. - Have a firm rule in your classroom that no teasing is allowed. These children are particularly vulnerable to ridicule by other students. A class discussion about individual differences helps set the tone for acceptance. - When behavior becomes problematic, ask the child to brainstorm with you some ways to resolve the difficulties. This will increase self-awareness and improve self-control. - Develop a good communication system between home and school, so that the child does not get too far behind in homework and the parents are informed on a regular basis about behavior at school. Thank goodness for email… - Have a place in the room where the child can retreat when overstimulated or unable to maintain control. This should be a quiet corner with headphones, and perhaps some relaxing music, puzzles, books, etc. This is not a time-out center that the child associates with punishment. Instead, it is a self-chosen retreat when needed. - A social skills group or "friendship group" can help the child learn skills such as taking turns, not standing too close, not dominating a discussion, finding out what others are interested in, etc. This experience can prevent social rejection. - If you have a Student Assistance Team or Care Team (a interdisciplinary group that meets to discuss children at risk) at your school, brainstorm other ways to accommodate the needs of this particular child and other highly active children in your school. ©Copyright held by Linda Kreger Silverman. From Upside-Down Brilliance: The Visual-Spatial Learner. (2002). Denver: DeLeon Publishing. Do not copy without permission from author. Contact the Gifted Development Center, 1452 Marion Street, Denver, CO 80218, (303) 837-8378. Reprinted with the permission of the Visual-Spatial Resource. © 2004-2007, Visual-Spatial Resource. All rights reserved. Add your own comment Today on Education.com - Kindergarten Sight Words List - The Five Warning Signs of Asperger's Syndrome - What Makes a School Effective? - Child Development Theories - Why is Play Important? Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Creative Development - 10 Fun Activities for Children with Autism - Test Problems: Seven Reasons Why Standardized Tests Are Not Working - Bullying in Schools - A Teacher's Guide to Differentiating Instruction - Should Your Child Be Held Back a Grade? Know Your Rights

http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Teaching_Techniques/

Principal Insect Predators Principal Insect Predators Spiders. Spiders are among the most neglected and least understood of predators. They rely on a complex diet of prey and can have a strong stabilizing influence on them. Because spiders are generalists and tend to kill more prey than they actually consume, they limit their preys’ initial bursts of growth. Many spiders live in crop canopies but most inhabit the soil surface and climb plants. Fields with either living plants or residue as soil cover tend to harbor diverse and abundant spider populations. Up to 23 spider families have been documented in cotton and 18 species have been tallied in apples. Because such diverse populations of spiders remain relatively constant, they maintain tolerable levels of their associated prey without extinguishing them. TIP: Fields with either living plants or residue as soil cover tend to harbor diverse and abundant spider populations. Living mulches composed of clover or other soil plant covers attract spiders, while residue from plants like barley or rye also harbor spider populations. Lady beetles (Coccinellidae, also called ladybugs or ladybird beetles). With their shiny, half-dome bodies and active searching behavior, lady beetles are among the most visible and best known beneficial insects. More than 450 native or introduced species have been found in North America. They are easily recognized by their red or orange color with black markings, although some are black with red markings and others have no markings at all. Lady beetles have been used in biological control programs for more than a century and are beneficial both as adults and larvae. Most larvae are blue-black and orange and shaped like little alligators. Young larvae pierce their prey and suck out their contents. Older larvae and adults chew entire aphids. Any crop prone to aphid infestation will benefit from lady beetles, even though this predator’s vision is so poor that it almost has to touch an aphid to detect it. Growers of vegetables, grains, legumes, strawberries and orchard crops have all found lady beetles helpful in managing aphids. In its lifetime, a single beetle can eat more than 5,000 aphids. In the Great Plains, studies of greenbug pests in grain sorghum have shown that each lady beetle adult can consume almost one of these aphids per minute and dislodge three to five times that many from the plant, exposing the dislodged greenbugs to ground-dwelling predators. While their primary diet is aphids, lady beetles can make do with pollen, nectar and many other types of prey, including young ladybugs. Indeed, their extensive prey range — which includes moth eggs, beetle eggs, mites, thrips and other small insects — makes lady beetles particularly valuable as natural enemies. Ground beetles (Carabidae). Predaceous ground beetles, or carabids, belong to a large family of beneficial beetles called the Carabidae whose adults live as long as two to four years. Several thousand species reside in North America alone. Generally nocturnal, most predaceous ground beetles hide under plant litter, in soil crevices or under logs or rocks during the day. At night, their long, prominent legs allow them to sprint across the ground in pursuit of prey. Some species even climb up trees, shrubs or crops. Most adult ground beetles range in length from 0.1 to 1.3 inches (3.2–32 mm). Their antennae are fairly threadlike and their bodies — although quite variable — are often heavy, somewhat flattened and either slightly or distinctly tapered at the head end. Some species are a brilliant or metallic purple, blue or green, but most are dark brown to black. Armed with large, sharp jaws, adult predaceous ground beetles are ferocious. They can consume their body weight in food each day. Some carabids grind and eat such annual weed seeds as foxtail and velvetleaf. Larval carabids are not always predatory. In the Lebia genus, for example, adults are predators but first-instar larvae are parasites of chrysomelid beetles. (Instars are stages between successive molts.) Normally colorful, Lebia adults are just 0.1 to 0.6 inches (2.5–14 mm) long. Lebia grandis is a native and specialist predator of all immature stages of the Colorado potato beetle in cultivated potatoes in the eastern and mideastern U.S. Lacewings (Chrysoperla spp.). Green lacewings — with their slender, pale-green bodies, large gauze-like wings and long antennae — are very common in aphid-infested crops, including cotton, sweet corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, asparagus, leafy greens, apples, strawberries and cole crops. The delicate, fluttering adults feed only on nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew. About 0.5 to 0.8 inches (12–20 mm) long, they are active fliers — particularly during the evening and night, when their jewel-like golden eyes often reveal their presence around lights. The larvae — tiny gray or brown “alligators” whose mouthparts resemble ice tongs — are active predators and can be cannibalistic. Indeed, green lacewing females suspend their oval eggs singly at the ends of long silken stalks to protect them from hatching siblings. Commonly called aphid lions, lacewing larvae have well-developed legs with which to lunge at their prey and long, sickle-shaped jaws they use to puncture them and inject a paralyzing venom. They grow from less than 0.04 inch to between 0.2 and 0.3 inches (from <1 mm to 6–8 mm), thriving on several species of aphids as well as on thrips, whiteflies and spider mites — especially red mites. They will journey up to 100 feet in search of food and can destroy as many as 200 aphids or other prey per week. They also suck down the eggs of leafhoppers, moths and leafminers and reportedly attack small caterpillars, beetle larvae and the tobacco budworm. Minute pirate bugs (Orius spp.). These often-underestimated “true bugs” are very small — a little over 0.1 inch (3 mm) long. The adults’ white-patched wings extend beyond the tips of their black, somewhat oval bodies. The briskly moving nymphs are wingless, teardrop-shaped and yellow-orange to brown. Minute pirate bugs are common on pasture, in orchards and on many agricultural crops, including cotton, peanuts, alfalfa, strawberries, peas, corn and potatoes. They feed greedily on thrips, insect eggs, aphids and small caterpillars and can devour 30 or more spider mites a day. Clasping their assorted small prey with their front legs, they repeatedly insert their needle-like beaks until they have drained their victims dry. They are prodigious consumers of corn earworm eggs in corn silks and also attack corn leaf aphids, potato aphids, potato leafhopper nymphs and European corn borers. Minute pirate bugs can even deliver harmless but temporarily irritating bites to humans. Because they depend on pollen and plant juices to tide them over when their preferred prey are scarce, minute pirate bugs are most prevalent near spring- and summer-flowering shrubs and weeds. Big-eyed bugs (Geocoris spp.). Named for their characteristically large, bulging eyes, big-eyed bugs are key and frequent predators in cotton and many other U.S. crops, including warm-season vegetables. Geocoris punctipes and G. pallens are the most common of the roughly 19 Geocoris species found in North America. Adult big-eyed bugs — normally yellow or brown but sometimes black — are oval and small (0.12 to 0.16 inch, or 3–4 mm, long). Their unusually broad heads are equipped with piercing, sucking mouthparts. The similarly armed nymphs look like smaller, grayer versions of the adults. Big-eyed bugs are omnivorous. Their diet includes plants but they prefer to prey on smaller insect and mite pests. They have been observed charging their intended victims, stabbing them quickly with their extended beaks and sometimes lifting them off the ground in the process. Big-eyed bugs attack the eggs and small larvae of bollworm, pink bollworm and tobacco budworm and most other lepidopteran pests. They also target all life stages of whiteflies, mites and aphids and the eggs and nymphs of plant bugs. Laboratory studies indicate that a ravenous, growing nymph can exterminate 1,600 spider mites or about 250 soybean looper eggs before reaching maturity; adults have bolted down 80 spider mites or four lygus bug eggs a day. Syrphid flies. Also known as hover flies because they hover and dart in flight, these brightly colored bee and wasp mimics are unusually voracious predators, as larvae, of aphids and other slow-moving, soft-bodied insects. Depending on the species, many syrphid flies over-winter, giving rise to adults in spring. Adult syrphid flies feed on pollen, nectar and aphid honeydew. Each female lays hundreds of white, football-shaped eggs, about 0.04 inch (1 mm) long, amidst aphid colonies. The narrow, tapered slug-like larvae that hatch from these eggs can pierce and drain up to 400 aphids apiece during the two to three weeks it takes them to complete development. Unable to perceive their prey except through direct contact, syrphid fly larvae find their dinners by flinging their forward ends from side to side.

http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Manage-Insects-on-Your-Farm/Text-Version/Beneficial-Agents-on-the-Farm/Principal-Insect-Predators

Introduction | List of Maps If you look at a current highway map of North Dakota, you will see roads of different qualities, towns, county lines, reservations, rivers, hills, lakes, and parks. The scale of inches to miles gives reliable, visual information on distance between points of interest. The modern map is very scientific, and with the exception of the distortion created by applying the curve of the earth to a flat piece of paper, very accurate. Maps weren’t always so reliable. The map in this document collection dated 1772 shows a great blank space where we live today. The mapmaker, using the best information available could not accurately place our two most important rivers, the Missouri and the Red, nor identify major lakes, hills or the continental divide. And yet, it is important to acknowledge that the mapmaker’s information was not complete. There were people living on the northern Great Plains in 1772 who knew how to find rivers, hills, neighboring towns and villages, and traveled along well-known trails to get from here to there. They had met Europeans and Native Americans of other cultures and exchanged much information with them about the lay of the land. The only conclusion we can draw from this information gap is that map-making is a cultural exercise. Native Americans did not usually draw maps on paper or hide. They kept their knowledge of land forms, river courses, and villages in their minds and transmitted the information orally from one generation to the next. At the prodding of Europeans and European Americans they sketched the landscape features in dirt or snow or on paper or hide. Most of their knowledge was personal acquired from their own travels, but some was acquired from conversations with visitors from distant villages and cities. Western Europeans created maps with specific features such as political (nation or state) boundaries, mountain ranges, rivers, valleys. They were drawn to scale as accurately as possible with knowledge available. They use latitude and longitude to measure distance. North is always up which gives a common reference point in viewing maps, but also suggests the way Western Europeans viewed themselves in relation to the rest of the world. Interest in the Northwest, as the northern plains were known throughout the 19th century, grew and more details filled in the map. Details included villages such as those of the Mandan, or Mantannes as the French spelled it, where men engaged in the fur trade business sought profits in furs and other trade items. The maps also indicate conquest of the northern plains and the people who lived there, but also indicated which Western nation assumed control through exploration and claim. The conquest was not only of the land and the people, but of competing nations in the process of “discovery.” After statehood, maps of North Dakota have a very different appearance. Twentieth century maps show technological innovations such as paved highways, power lines and missile sites as well as such important resources as coal and oil deposits. The series of maps presented here have been selected to provide insight into the process of changes wrought by human interaction with the land as well as changes in human occupation of the region over a period of several hundred years. They represent only a small portion of the map collection of the SHSND. 612 East Boulevard Ave. Bismarck, North Dakota 58505 Museum Store: 8am - 5pm M-F; Sat. & Sun. 10am - 5pm. State Archives: 8am - 4:30pm., M-F, except legal holidays, and 2nd Sat. of each month, 10am - 4:30 pm. State Historical Society offices: 8am - 5pm M-F, except legal holidays. phone: (701) 328-2666 fax: (701) 328-3710

http://history.nd.gov/textbook/unit1_natworld/unit1_2_intro.html

Elementary Human Genetics The Central Asian Gene Pool The Karakalpak Gene Pool Discussion and Conclusions Elementary Human Genetics Every human is defined by his or her library of genetic material, copies of which are stored in every cell of the body apart from the red blood cells. Cells are classified as somatic, meaning body cells, or gametic, the cells involved in reproduction, namely the sperm and the egg or ovum. The overwhelming majority of human genetic material is located within the small nucleus at the heart of each somatic cell. It is commonly referred to as the human genome. Within the nucleus it is distributed between 46 separate chromosomes, two of which are known as the sex chromosomes. The latter occur in two forms, designated X and Y. Chromosomes are generally arranged in pairs - a female has 22 pairs of autosome chromosomes plus one pair of X chromosomes, while a male has a similar arrangement apart from having a mixed pair of X and Y sex chromosomes. A neutron crystallography cross-sectional image of a chromosome, showing the double strand of DNA wound around a protein core. Image courtesy of the US Department of Energy Genomics Program A single chromosome consists of just one DNA macromolecule composed of two separate DNA strands, each of which contains a different but complementary sequence of four different nucleotide bases - adenine (A), thymine (T), cytasine (C), and guanine (G). The two strands are aligned in the form of a double helix held together by hydrogen bonds, adenine always linking with thymine and cytasine always linking with guanine. Each such linkage between strands is known as a base pair. The total human genome contains about 3 billion such base pairs. As such it is an incredibly long molecule that could be from 3 cm to 6 cm long were it possible to straighten it. In reality the double helix is coiled around a core of structural proteins and this is then supercoiled to create the chromosome, 23 pairs of which reside within a cell nucleus with a diameter of just 0.0005 cm. A gene is a segment of the DNA nucleotide sequence within the chromosome that can be chemically read to make one specific protein. Each gene is located at a certain point along the DNA strand, known as its locus. The 22 autosome chromosome pairs vary in size from 263 million base pairs in chromosome 1 (the longest) down to about 47 million base pairs in chromosome 21 (the shortest - chromosome 22 is the second shortest with 50 million base pairs), equivalent to from 3,000 down to 300 genes. The two sex genes are also very different, X having about 140 million base pairs and expressing 1,100 genes, Y having only 23 million base pairs and expressing a mere 78 genes. The total number of genes in the human genome is around 30,000. A complete set of 23 human homologous chromosome pairs Image courtesy of the National Human Genome Research Institute, Maryland Each specific pair of chromosomes have their own distinct characteristics and can be identified under the microscope after staining with a dye and observing the resulting banding. With one exception the chromosome pairs are called homologous because they have the same length and the same sequence of genes. For example the 9th pair always contain the genes for melanin production and for ABO blood type, while the 14th pair has two genes critical to the body's immune response. Even so the individual chromosomes within each matching pair are not identical since each one is inherited from each parent. A certain gene at a particular locus in one chromosome may differ from the corresponding gene in the other chromosome, one being dominant and the other recessive. The one exception relates to the male sex chromosomes, a combination of X and Y, which are not the same length and are therefore not homologous. A set of male human chromosomes showing typical banding Various forms of the same gene (or of some other DNA sequence within the chromosome) are known as alleles. Differences in DNA sequences at a specific chromosome locus are known as genetic polymorphisms. They can be categorized into various types, the most simple being the difference in just a single nucleotide - a single nucleotide polymorphism. When a normal somatic cell divides and replicates, the 23 homologous chromosome pairs (the genome) are duplicated through a complex process known as mitosis. The two strands of DNA within each chromosome unravel and unzip themselves in order to replicate, eventually producing a pair of sister chromatids - two brand new copies of the original single chromosome joined together. However because the two chromosomes within each homologous pair are slightly different (one being inherited from each parent) the two sister chromatids are divided in two. The two halves of each sister chromatid are allocated to each daughter cell, thus replicating the original homologous chromosome pair. Such cells are called diploid because they contain two (slightly different) sets of genetic information. The production of gametic cells involves a quite different process. Sperm and eggs are called haploid cells, meaning single, because they contain only one set of genetic information - 22 single unpaired chromosomes and one sex chromosome. They are formed through another complex process known as meiosis. It involves a deliberate reshuffling of the parental genome in order to increase the genetic diversity within the resulting sperm or egg cells and consequently among any resulting offspring. As before each chromosome pair is replicated in the form of a pair of sister chromatids. This time however, each half of each chromatid embraces its opposite neighbour in a process called synapsis. An average of two or three segments of maternal and paternal DNA are randomly exchanged between chromatids by means of molecular rearrangements called crossover and genetic recombination. The new chromatid halves are not paired with their matching partners but are all separated to create four separate haploid cells, each containing one copy of the full set of 23 chromosomes, and each having its own unique random mix of maternal and paternal DNA. In the male adult this process forms four separate sperm cells, but in the female only one of the four cells becomes an ovum, the other three forming small polar bodies that progressively decay. During fertilization the two haploid cells - the sperm and the ovum or egg - interact to form a diploid zygote (zyg meaning symetrically arranged in pairs). In fact the only contribution that the sperm makes to the zygote is its haploid nucleus containing its set of 23 chromosomes. The sex of the offspring is determined by the sex chromosome within the sperm, which can be either X (female) or Y (male). Clearly the sex chromosome within the ovum has to be X. The X and the Y chromosomes are very different, the Y being only one third the size of the X. During meiosis in the male, the X chromosome recombines and exchanges DNA with the Y only at its ends. Most of the Y chromosome is therefore unaffected by crossover and recombination. This section is known as the non-recombining part of the Y chromosome and it is passed down the male line from father to son relatively unchanged. Scanning electron micrograph of an X and Y chromosome Image courtesy of Indigo Instruments, Canada Not all of the material within the human cell resides inside the nucleus. Both egg and sperm cells contain small energy-producing organelles within the cytoplasm called mitochondria that have their own genetic material for making several essential mitochondrial proteins. However the DNA content is tiny in comparison with that in the cell nucleus - it consists of several rings of DNA totalling about 16,500 base pairs, equivalent to just 13 genes. The genetic material in the nucleus is about 300,000 times larger. When additional mitochondria are produced inside the cell, the mitochondrial DNA is replicated and copies are transferred to the new mitochondria. The reason why mitochondrial DNA, mtDNA for short, is important is because during fertilization virtually no mitochondria from the male cell enters the egg and those that do are tagged and destroyed. Consequently the offspring only inherit the female mitochondria. mtDNA is therefore inherited through the female line. Population genetics is a branch of mathematics that attempts to link changes in the overall history of a population to changes in its genetic structure, a population being a group of interbreeding individuals of the same species sharing a common geographical area. By analysing the nature and diversity of DNA within and between different populations we can gain insights into their separate evolution and the extent to which they are or are not related to each other. We can gain insights into a population's level of reproductive isolation, the minimum time since it was founded, how marriage partners were selected, past geographical expansions, migrations, and mixings. The science is based upon the property of the DNA molecule to occasionally randomly mutate during replication, creating the possibility that the sequence of nucleotides in the DNA of one generation may differ slightly in the following generation. The consequence of this is that individuals within a homogenous population will in time develop different DNA sequences, the characteristic that we have already identified as genetic polymorphism. Because mutations are random, two identical but isolated populations will tend to change in different directions over time. This property is known as random genetic drift and its effect is greater in smaller To study genetic polymorphisms, geneticists look for specific genetic markers. These are clearly recognizable mutations in the DNA whose frequency of incidence varies widely across populations from different geographical areas. In reality the vast majority of human genetic sequences are identical, only around 0.1% of them being affected by polymorphisms. There are several types of genetic marker. The simplest are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), mentioned above, where just one nucleotide has been replaced with another (for example A replaces T or C replaces G). SNPs in combination along a stretch of DNA are called haplotypes, shorthand for haploid genotypes. These have turned out to be valuable markers because they are genetically relatively stable and are found at differing frequencies in many populations. Some are obviously evolutionarily related to each other and can be classified into haplogroups (Hg). Another type of polymorphism is where short strands of DNA have been randomly inserted into the genetic DNA. This results in so-called biallelic polymorphism, since the strand is either present or absent. These are useful markers because the individuals that have the mutant insert can be traced back to a single common ancestor, while those who do not have the insert represent the original ancestral state . Biallelic polymorphisms can be assigned to certain haplotypes. A final type of marker is based upon microsatellites, very short sequences of nucleotides, such as GATA, that are repeated in tandem numerous times. A polymorphism occurs if the number of repetitions increases or decreases. Microsatellite polymorphisms, sometimes also called short-tandem-repeat polymorphisms, occur more frequently over time, providing a different tool to study the rate of genetic change against time. Of course the whole purpose of sexual reproduction is to deliberately scramble the DNA from both parents in order to create a brand new set of chromosome pairs for their offspring that are not just copies of the parental chromosomes. Studies show that about 85% of genetic variation in autosomal sequences occurs within rather than between populations. However it is the genetic variation between populations that is of the greatest interest when we wish to study their history. Because of this, population geneticists look for more stable pieces of DNA that are not disrupted by reproduction. These are of two radically different types, namely the non-recombining part of the Y chromosome and the mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. A much higher 40% of the variations in the Y chromosome and 30% of the variations in mtDNA are found between populations. Each provides a different perspective on the genetic evolution of a particular population. Y Chromosome Polymorphisms By definition the Y chromosome is only carried by the male line. Although smaller than the other chromosomes, the Y chromosome is still enormous compared to the mtDNA. The reason that it carries so few genes is because most of it is composed of "junk" DNA. As such it is relatively unaffected by natural selection. The non-recombining part of the Y chromosome is passed on from father to son with little change apart from the introduction of genetic polymorphisms as a result of random mutations. The only problem with using the Y chromosome to study inheritance has been the practical difficulty of identifying a wide range of polymorphisms within it, although the application of special HPLC techniques has overcome some of this limitation in recent years. Y chromosome polymorphisms seem to be more affected by genetic drift and may give a better resolution between closely related populations where the time since their point of divergence has been relatively short. By contrast the mtDNA is carried by the female line. Although less than one thousandth the size of the DNA in the non-recombinant Y chromosome, polymorphisms are about 10 times more frequent in mtDNA than in autosome chromosomes. Techniques and Applications Population genetics is a highly statistical science and different numerical methods can be used to calculate the various properties of one or several populations. Our intention here is to cover the main analytical tools used in the published literature relating to Karakalpak and the other Central Asian populations. The genetic diversity of a population is the diversity of DNA sequences within its gene pool. It is calculated by a statistical method known as the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) in the DNA markers from that population. It is effectively a summation of the frequencies of individual polymorphisms found within the sample, mathematically normalized so that a diversity of 0 implies all the individuals in that population have identical DNA and a diversity of 1 implies that the DNA of every individual is different. The genetic distance between two populations is a measure of the difference in their polymorphism frequencies. It is calculated statistically by comparing the pairwise differences between the markers identified for each population, to the pairwise differences within each of the two populations. This distance is a multi-dimensional not a linear measure. However it is normally illustrated graphically in two dimensions. New variables are identified by means of an angular transformation, the first two of which together account for the greatest proportion of the differences between the populations studied. Another property that can be measured statistically is kinship - the extent to which members of a population are related to each other as a result of a common ancestor. Mathematically, a kinship coefficient is the probability that a randomly sampled sequence of DNA from a randomly selected locus is identical across all members of the same population. A coefficient of 1 implies everyone in the group is related while a coefficient of 0 implies no kinship at all. By making assumptions about the manner in which genetic mutations occur and their frequency over time it is possible to work backwards and estimate how many generations (and therefore years) have elapsed from the most recent common ancestor, the individual to whom all the current members of the population are related by descent. This individual is not necessarily the founder of the population. For example if we follow the descent of the Y chromosome, this can only be passed down the male line from father to son. If a male has no sons his non-combining Y chromosome DNA is eliminated from his population for ever more. Over time, therefore, the Y chromosomes of the populations ancestors will be progressively lost. There may well have been ancestors older than the most recent common ancestor, even though we can find no signs for those ancestors in the Y chromosome DNA of the current population. A similar situation arises with mtDNA in the female half of the population because some women do not have daughters. In 1977 the American anthropologist Gordon T. Bowles published an analysis of the anthropometric characteristics of 519 different populations from across Asia, including the Karakalpaks and two regional groups of Uzbeks. Populations were characterized by 9 standard measurements, including stature and various dimensions of the head and face. A multivariate analysis was used to separate the different populations by their physical features. Bowles categorized the populations across four regions of Asia (West, North, East, and South) into 19 geographical groups. He then analysed the biological distances between the populations within each group to identify clusters of biologically similar peoples. Central Asia was divided into Group XVII encompassing Mongolia, Singkiang, and Kazakhstan and Group XVIII encompassing Turkestan and Tajikistan. Each Group was found to contain three population clusters: Anthropological Cluster Analysis of Central Asia | Group || Cluster ||Regional Populations| |XVII ||1||Eastern Qazaqs| Alai Valley Kyrgyz |2||Aksu Rayon Uighur Alma Ata Uighur |Alma Ata Qazaqs| T'ien Shan Kyrgyz |Total Turkmen | Within geographical Group XVIII, the Karakalpaks clustered with the Uzbeks of Tashkent and the Uzbeks of Samarkand. The members of this first cluster were much more heterogeneous than the other two clusters of neighbouring peoples. Conversely the Turkmen cluster had the lowest variance of any of the clusters in the North Asia region, showing that different Turkmen populations are closely related. The results of this study were re-presented by Cavalli-Sforza in a more readily understandable graphical form. The coordinates used are artificial mathematical transformations of the original 9 morphological measurements, designed to identify the distances between different populations in a simple two-dimensional format. The first two principal coordinates identify a clear division between the Uzbek/Karakalpaks, and the Turkmen and Iranians, but show similarities between the Uzbek/Karakalpaks and the Tajiks, and also with the western Siberians. Though not so close there are some similarities between the Uzbek/Karakalpaks and the Qazaqs, Kyrgyz, and Mongols: Physical Anthropology of Asia redrawn by David Richardson after Bowles 1977 First and Second Principal Coordinates The second and third principal coordinates maintains the similarity between Uzbek/Karakalpaks and Tajiks but emphasizes the more eastern features of the Qazaqs, Kyrgyz, and Mongols: Physical Anthropology of Asia redrawn by David Richardson after Bowles 1977 Second and Third Principal Coordinates The basic average morphology of the Uzbeks and Karakalpaks shows them to be of medium stature, with heads that have an average length but an above average breadth compared to the other populations of Asia. Their faces are broad and are of maximum height. Their noses are of average width but have the maximum length found in Asia. Qazaqs have the same stature but have longer and broader heads. Their faces are shorter but broader, having the maximum breadth found in Asia, while their noses too are shorter and slightly broader. Some of these differences in features were noted by some of the early Russian visitors, such as N. N. Karazin, who observed the differences between the Karakalpaks and the Qazaqs (who at that time were called Kirghiz) when he first entered the northern Aral delta: "In terms of type, the Karakalpak people themselves differ noticeably from the Kirghizs: flattened Mongolian noses are already a rarity here, cheek-bones do not stand out so, beards and eyebrows are considerably thicker - there is a noticeably strong predominance of the Turkish race." The Central Asian Gene Pool Western researchers tended to under represent Central Asian populations in many of the earlier studies of population genetics. Cavalli-Sforza, Menozzi, and Piazza, 1994 In 1994 Cavalli-Sforza and two of his colleagues published a landmark study of the worldwide geographic distribution of human genes. In order to make global comparisons the study was forced to rely upon the most commonly available genetic markers, and analysed classical polymorphisms based on blood groups, plasma proteins, and red cell enzymes. Sadly no information was included for Karakalpaks or Qazaqs. Results were analysed continent by continent. The results for the different populations of Asia grouped the Uzbeks, Turkmen, and western Turks into a central cluster, located on the borderline between the Caucasian populations of the west and south and the populations of Northeast Asia and East Asia: Principal Component Analysis of Asian Populations Redrawn by David Richardson after Cavelli-Sforza et al, 1994 Comas, Calafell, Pérez-Lezaun et al, 1998 In 1993-94 another Italian team collected DNA samples from four different populations close to the Altai: Qazaq highlanders living close to Almaty, Uighur lowlanders in the same region, and two Kyrgyz communities - one in the southern highlands, the other in the northern lowlands of Kyrgyzstan. The data was used in two studies, both published in 1998. In the first, by Comas et al, mtDNA polymorphisms in these four communities were compared with other Eurasian populations in the west (Europe, Middle East, and Turkey), centre (the Altai) and the east (Mongolia, China, and Korea). The four Central Asian populations all showed high levels of sequence diversity - in some cases the highest in Eurasia. At the same time they were tightly clustered together, almost exactly halfway between the western and the eastern populations, the exception being that the Mongolians occupied a position close to this central cluster. The results suggested that the Central Asian gene pool was an admixture of the western and eastern gene pools, formed after the western and eastern Eurasians had diverged. The authors suggested that this diversity had possibly been enhanced by human interaction along the Silk Road. In the second, by Pérez-Lezaun et al, short-tandem-repeat polymorphisms in the Y chromosome were analysed for the four Central Asian populations alone. Each of the four was found to be highly heterogeneous yet very different from the other three, the latter finding appearing to contradict the mtDNA results. However the two highland groups had less genetic diversity because each had very high frequencies for one specific polymorphism: Y chromosome haplotype frequencies, with labels given to those shared by more than one population From Pérez-Lezaun et al, 1998. The researchers resolved the apparent contradiction between the two studies in terms of different migration patterns for men and women. All four groups practised a combination of exogamy and patrilocal marriage - in other words couples within the same clan could not marry and brides always moved from their own village to the village of the groom. Consequently the males, and their genes, were isolated and localized, while the females were mobile and there were more similarities in their genes. The high incidence of a single marker in each highland community was presumed to be a founder's effect, supported by evidence that the highland Qazaq community had only been established by lowland Qazaqs a few hundred years ago. Zerjal, Spencer Wells, Yuldasheva, Ruzibakiev, and Tyler-Smith, 2002 In 2002 a joint Oxford University/Imperial Cancer Research Fund study was published, analysing Y chromosome polymorphisms in 15 different Central Asian populations, from the Caucasus to Mongolia. It included Uzbeks from the eastern viloyat of Kashkadarya, Qazaqs and Uighurs from eastern Kazakhstan, Tajiks, and Kyrgyz. Blood samples had been taken from 408 men, living mainly in villages, between 1993 and 1995. In the laboratory the Y chromosomes were initially typed with binary markers to identify 13 haplogroups. Following this, microsatellite variations were typed in order to define more detailed haplotypes. Haplogroup frequencies were calculated for each population and were illustrated by means of the following chart: Haplogroup frequencies across Central Asia From Zerjal et al, 2002. Many of the same haplogroups occurred across the 5,000 km expanse of Central Asia, although with large variations in frequency and with no obvious overall pattern. Haplogroups 1, 2, 3, 9, and 26 accounted for about 70% of the total sample. Haplogroups (Hg) 1 and 3 were common in almost all populations, but the highest frequencies of Hg1 were found in Turkmen and Armenians, while the highest frequencies of Hg3 were found in Kyrgyz and Tajiks. Hg3 was more frequent in the eastern populations, but was only present at 3% in the Qazaqs. Hg3 is the equivalent of M17, which seems to originate from Russia and the Ukraine, a region not covered by this survey - see Spencer Wells et al, 2001 below. Hg9 was very frequent in the Middle East and declined in importance across Central Asia from west to east. However some eastern populations had a higher frequency - the Uzbeks, Uighurs, and Dungans. Hg10 and its derivative Hg36 showed the opposite pattern, together accounting for 54% of haplogroups for the Mongolians and 73% for the Qazaqs. Hg26, which is most frequently found in Southeast Asia, occurs with the highest frequencies among the Dungans (26%), Uighurs (15%), Mongolians (13%), and Qazaqs (13%) in eastern Central Asia. Hg12 and Hg 16 are widespread in Siberia and northern Eurasia but are rare in Central Asia except for the Turkmen and Mongolians. Hg21 was restricted to the Caucasus region. The most obvious observation is that virtually each population is quite distinct. As an example, the Uzbeks are quite different from the Turkmen, Qazaqs, or Mongolians. Only two populations, the Kyrgyz from central Kyrgyzstan and the Tajiks from Pendjikent, show any The researchers measured the genetic diversity of each population using both haplogroup and microsatellite frequencies. Within Central Asia, the Uzbeks, Uighurs, Dungans, and Mongolians exhibited high genetic diversity, while the Qazaqs, Kyrgyz, Tajiks, and Turkmen showed low genetic diversity. These differences were explored by examining the haplotype variation within each haplogroup for each population. Among the Uzbeks, for example, many different haplotypes are widely dispersed across all chromosomes. Among the Qazaqs, however, the majority of the haplotypes are clustered together and many chromosomes share the same or related haplotypes. Low diversity coupled with high frequencies of population-specific haplotype clusters are typical of populations that have experienced a bottleneck or a founder event. The most recent common ancestor of the Tajik population was estimated to date from the early part of the 1st millennium AD, while the most recent common ancestors of the Qazaq and Kyrgyz populations were placed in the period 1200 to 1500 AD. The authors suggested that bottlenecks might be a feature of societies like the Qazaqs and Kyrgyz with small, widely dispersed nomadic groups, especially if they had suffered massacres during the Mongol invasion. Of course these calculations have broad confidence intervals and must be interpreted with caution. Microsatellite haplotype frequencies were used to investigate the genetic distances among the separate populations. The best two-dimentional fit produces a picture with no signs of general clustering on the basis of either geography or linguistics: Genetic distances based on micosatellite haplotypes From Zerjal et al, 2002. The Kyrgyz (ethnically Turkic) do cluster next to the Tajiks (supposedly of Indo-Iranian origin), but both are well separated from the neighbouring Qazaqs. The Turkmen, Qazaqs, and Georgians tend to be isolated from the other groups, leaving the Uzbeks in a somewhat central position, clustered with the Uighurs and Dungans. The authors attempted to interpret the results of their study in terms of the known history of the region. The apparently underlying graduation in haplogroup frequencies from west to east was put down to the eastward agricultural expansion out of the Middle East during the Neolithic, some of the haplogroup markers involved being more recent than the Palaeolithic. Meanwhile Hg3 (equivalent to M17 and Eu19), which is widespread in Central Asia, was attributed to the migration of the pastoral Indo-Iranian "kurgan culture" eastwards from the Ukraine in the late 3rd/early 2nd millennium BC. The mountainous Caucasus region seems to have been bypassed by this migration, which seems to have extended across Central Asia as far as the borders of Siberia and China. Later events also appear to have left their mark. The presence of a high number of low-frequency haplotypes in Central Asian populations was associated with the spread of Middle Eastern genes, either through merchants associated with the early Silk Route or the later spread of Islam. Uighurs and Dungans show a relatively high Middle Eastern admixture, including higher frequencies of Hg9, which might indicate their ancestors migrated from the Middle East to China before moving into Central Asia. High frequencies of Hg10 and its derivative Hg36 are found in the majority of Altaic-speaking populations, especially the Qazaqs, but also the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. Yet its contribution west of Uzbekistan is low or undetectable. This feature is associated with the progressive migrations of nomadic groups from the east, from the Hsiung-Nu, to the Huns, the Turks, and the Mongols. Of course Central Asians have not only absorbed immigrants from elsewhere but have undergone expansions, colonizations and migrations of their own, contributing their DNA to surrounding populations. Hg1, the equivalent of M45 and its derivative markers, is believed to have originated in Central Asia and is found throughout the Caucasus and in Mongolia. The Karakalpak Gene Pool Spencer Wells et al, 2001 The first examination of Karakalpak DNA appeared as part of a widespread study of Eurasian Y chromosome diversity published by Spencer Wells et al in 2001. It included samples from 49 different Eurasian groups, ranging from western Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, South India, Siberia, and East Asia. Data on 12 other groups was taken from the literature. In addition to the Karakalpaks, the Central Asian category included seven separate Uzbek populations selected from Ferghana to Khorezm, along with Turkmen from Ashgabat, Tajiks from Samarkand, and Qazaqs and Uighurs from Almaty. The study used biallelic markers that were then assigned to 23 different haplotypes. To illustrate the results the latter were condensed into 7 evolutionary-related groups. The study found that the Uzbek, Karakalpak, and Tajik populations had the highest haplotype diversity in Eurasia, the Karakalpaks having the third highest diversity of all 49 groups. The Qazaqs and Kyrgyz had a significantly lower diversity. This diversity is obvious from the chart comparing haplotype frequencies across Eurasia: Distribution of Y chromosome haplotype lineages across various Eurasian populations From Spencer Wells et al, 2001. Uzbeks have a fairly balanced haplotype profile, while populations in the extreme west and east are dominated by one specific haplotype lineage - the M173 lineage in the extreme west and the M9 lineage in the extreme east and Siberia. The Karakalpaks are remarkably similar to the Uzbeks: Distribution of Y chromosome haplotype lineages in Uzbeks and Karakalpaks From Spencer Wells et al, 2001. the main differences being that Karakalpaks have a higher frequency of M9 and M130 and a lower frequency of M17 and M89 haplotype lineages. M9 is strongly linked to Chinese and other far-eastern peoples, while M130 is associated with Mongolians and Qazaqs. On the other hand, M17 is strong in Russia, the Ukraine, the Czech and Slovak Republics as well as in Kyrgyz populations, while M89 has a higher frequency in the west. It seems that compared to Uzbeks, the Karakalpak gene pool has a somewhat higher frequency of haplotypes that are associated with eastern as opposed to western Eurasian populations. In fact the differences between Karakalpaks and Uzbeks are no more pronounced than between the Uzbeks themselves. Haplotype frequencies for the Karakalpaks tend to be within the ranges measured across the different Uzbek populations: Comparison of Karakalpak haplotype lineage frequencies to other ethnic groups in Central Asia || M130|| M89 || M9 || M45 || M173 || M17 || Total | ||0 - 7||7-18||19-34||5-21||4-11 Statistically Karakalpaks are genetically closest to the Uzbeks from Ferghana, followed by those from Surkhandarya, Samarkand, and finally Khorezm. They are furthest from the Uzbeks of Bukhara, Tashkent, and Kashkadarya. These results also show the distance between the Karakalpaks and the other peoples of Central Asia and its neighbouring regions. Next to the Uzbeks, the Karakalpaks are genetically closest to the Tatars and Uighurs. However they are quite distant from the Turkmen, Qazaqs, Kyrgyz, Siberians, and Iranians. The researchers produced a "neighbour-joining" tree, which clustered the studied populations into eight categories according to the genetic distances between them. The Karakalpaks were classified into cluster VIII along with Uzbeks, Tatars, and Uighurs - the populations with the highest genetic diversity. They appear sandwiched between the peoples of Russian and the Ukraine and the Mongolians and Qazaqs. Neighbour-joining tree of 61 Eurasian Populations Karakalpaks are included in cluster VIII along with Uzbeks, Tatars, and Uighurs From Spencer Wells et al, 2001. Spencer Wells and his colleagues did not attempt to explain why the Karakalpak gene pool is similar to Uzbek but is different from the Qazaq, a surprising finding given that the Karakalpaks lived in the same region as the Qazaqs of the Lesser Horde before migrating into Khorezm. Instead they suggested that the high diversity in Central Asia might indicate that its population is among the oldest in Eurasia. M45 is the ancestor of haplotypes M173, the predominant group found in Western Europe, and is thought to have arisen in Central Asia about 40,000 years ago. M173 occurred about 30,000 years old, just as modern humans began their migration from Central Asia into Europe during the Upper Palaeolithic. M17 (also known as the Eu19 lineage) has its origins in eastern Europe and the Ukraine and may have been initially introduced into Central Asia following the last Ice Age and re-introduced later by the south-eastern migration of the Indo-Iranian "kurgan" culture. Comas et al, 2004 At the beginning of 2004 a complementary study was published by David Comas, based on the analysis of mtDNA haplogroups from 12 Central Asian and neighbouring populations, including Karakalpaks, Uzbeks, and Qazaqs. Sample size was only 20, dropping to 16 for Dungans and Uighurs, so that errors in the results for individual populations could be high. The study reconfirmed the high genetic diversity within Central Asian populations. However a high proportion of sequences originated elsewhere, suggesting that the region had experienced "intense gene flow" in the past. The haplogroups were divided into three types according to their origins: West Eurasian, East Asian, and India. Populations showed a graduation from the west to the east with the Karakalpaks occupying the middle ground, with half of their haplogroups having a western origin and the other half having an eastern origin. Uzbek populations contained a small Indian component. Mixture of western and eastern mtDNA haplogroups across Central Asia |Population||West Eurasian|| East Asian || Total | The researchers found that two of the haplogroups of East Asian origin (D4c and G2a) not only occurred at higher frequencies in Central Asia than in neighbouring populations but appeared in many related but diverse forms. These may have originated as founder mutations some 25,000 to 30,000 years ago, expanded as a result of genetic drift and subsequently become dispersed into the neighbouring populations. Their incidence was highest in the Qazaqs, and second highest in the Turkmen and Karakalpaks. The majority of the other lineages separate into two types with either a western or an eastern origin. They do not overlap, suggesting that they were already differentiated before they came together in Central Asia. Furthermore the eastern group contains both south-eastern and north-eastern components. One explanation for their admixture in Central Asia is that the region was originally inhabited by Western people, who were then partially replaced by the arrival of Eastern people. There is genetic evidence from archaeological sites in eastern China of a drastic shift, between 2,500 and 2,000 years ago, from a European-like population to the present-day East Asian population. The presence of ancient Central Asian sequences suggests it is more likely that the people of Central Asia are a mixture of two differentiated groups of peoples who originated in west and east Eurasia respectively. Chaix and Heyer et al, 2004 The most interesting study of Karakalpak DNA so far was published by a team of French workers in the autumn of 2004. It was based on blood samples taken during two separate expeditions to Karakalpakstan in 2001 and 2002, organized with the assistance of IFEAC, the Institut Français d'Etudes sur l'Asie Centrale, based in Tashkent. The samples consisted of males belonging to five different ethnic groups: Qon'ırat Karakalpaks (sample size 53), On To'rt Urıw Karakalpaks (53), Qazaqs (50), Khorezmian Uzbeks (40), and Turkmen (51). The study was based on the analysis of Y chromosome haplotypes from DNA extracted from white blood cells. In addition to providing samples for DNA analysis, participants were also interviewed to gather information on their paternal lineages and tribal and clan Unfortunately the published results only focused on the genetic relationships between the tribes, clans and lineages of these five ethnic groups. However before reviewing these important findings it is worth looking at the more general aspects that emerged from the five samples. These were summarized by Professor Evelyne Heyer and Dr R Chaix at a workshop on languages and genes held in France in 2005, where the results from Karakalpakstan were compared with the results from similar expeditions to Kyrgyzstan, the Bukhara, Samarkand, and Ferghana Valley regions of Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan as well as with some results published by other research teams. In some cases comparisons were limited by the fact that the genetic analysis of samples from different regions was not always done according to the same protocols. The first outcome was the reconfirmation of the high genetic diversity among Karakalpaks and Uzbeks: Y Chromosome Diversity across Central Asia |Population||Region||Sample Size|| Diversity | |Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw||Karakalpakstan||54||0.89| |Tajik Kamangaron||Ferghana Valley||30||0.98| |Tajik Richtan||Ferghana Valley||29||0.98| |Kyrgyz Andijan||Uzbek Ferghana Valley||46||0.82| |Kyrgyz Jankatalab||Uzbek Ferghana Valley||20||0.78| |Kyrgyz Doboloo||Uzbek Ferghana Valley||22||0.70| The high diversities found in Uighur and Tajik communities also agreed with earlier findings. Qon'ırat Karakalpaks had somewhat greater genetic diversity than On To'rt Urıw Karakalpaks. Some of these figures are extremely high. A diversity of zero implies a population where every individual is identical. A diversity of one implies the opposite, the haplotypes of every individual The second more important finding concerned the Y chromosome genetic distances among different Central Asian populations. As usual this was presented in two dimensions: Genetic distances between ethnic populations in Karakalpakstan and the Ferghana Valley From Chaix and Heyer et al, 2004. The researchers concluded that Y chromosome genetic distances were strongly correlated to geographic distances. Not only are Qon'ırat and On To'rt Urıw populations genetically close, both are also close to the neighbouring Khorezmian Uzbeks. Together they give the appearance of a single population that has only relatively recently fragmented into three separate groups. Clearly this situation is mirrored with the two Tajik populations living in the Ferghana Valley and also with two of the three Kyrgyz populations from the same region. Although close to the local Uzbeks, the two Karakalpak populations have a slight bias towards the local Qazaqs. The study of the Y chromosome was repeated for the mitichondrial DNA, to provide a similar picture for the female half of the same populations. The results were compared to other studies conducted on other groups of Central Asians. We have redrawn the chart showing genetic distances among populations, categorizing different ethnic groups by colour to facilitate comparisons: Genetic distances among ethnic populations in Central Asia Based on mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms From Heyer, 2005. The French team concluded that, in this case, genetic distances were not related to either geographical distances or to linguistics. However this is not entirely true because there is some general clustering among populations of the same ethnic group, although by no means as strong as that observed from the Y chromosome data. The three Karakalpak populations highlighted in red consist of the On To'rt Urıw (far right), the Qon'ırat (centre), and the Karakalpak sample used in the Comas 2004 study (left). The Uzbeks are shown in green and those from Karakalpakstan are the second from the extreme left, the latter being the Uzbeks from Samarkand. A nearby group of Uzbeks from Urgench in Khorezm viloyati appear extreme left. There is some relationship between the mtDNA of the Karakalpak and Uzbek populations of the Aral delta therefore, but it is much weaker than the relationship between their Y chromosome DNA. On the other hand the Qazaqs of Karakalpakstan, the uppermost yellow square, are very closely related to the Karakalpak Qon'ırat according to These results are similar to those that emerged from the Italian studies of Qazaq, Uighur, and Kyrgyz Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA. Ethnic Turkic populations are generally exogamous. Consequently the male DNA is relatively isolated and immobile because men traditionally stay in the same village from birth until death. They had to select their wives from other geographic regions and sometimes married women from other ethnic groups. The female DNA within these groups is consequently more diversified. The results suggest that in the delta, some Qon'ırat men have married Qazaq women and/or some Qazaq men have married Qon'ırat women. Let us now turn to the primary focus of the Chaix and Heyer paper. Are the tribes and clans of the Karakalpaks and other ethnic groups living within the Aral delta linked by kinship? Y chromosome polymorphisms were analysed for each separate lineage, clan, tribe, and ethnic group using single tandem repeats. The resulting haplotypes were used to calculate a kinship coefficient at each respective Within the two Karakalpak samples the Qon'ırat were all Shu'llik and came from several clans, only three of which permitted the computation of kinship: the Qoldawlı, Qıyat, and Ashamaylı clans. However none of these clans had recognized lineages. The Khorezmian Uzbeks have also long ago abandoned their tradition of preserving genealogical lineages. The On To'rt Urıw were composed of four tribes, four clans, and four lineages: - Qıtay tribe - Qıpshaq tribe, Basar clan - Keneges tribe, Omır and No'kis clans - Man'g'ıt tribe, Qarasıraq clan The Qazaq and the Turkmen groups were also structured along tribal, clan, and lineage lines. The results of the study showed that lineages, where they were still maintained, exhibited high levels of kinship, the On To'rt Urıw having by far the highest. People belonging to the same lineage were therefore significantly more related to each other than people selected at random in the overall global population. Put another way, they share a common ancestor who is far more recent than the common ancestor for the population as a whole: Kinship coefficients for five different ethnic populations, including the Qon'ırat and the On To'rt Urıw. From Chaix and Heyer et al, 2004. The kinship coefficients at the clan level were lower, but were still significant in three groups - the Karakalpak Qon'ırat, the Qazaqs, and the Turkmen. However for the Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw and the Uzbeks, men from the same clan were only fractionally more related to each other than were men selected randomly from the population at large. When we reach the tribal level we find that the men in all five ethnic groups show no genetic kinship whatsoever. In these societies the male members of some but not all tribal clans are partially related to varying degrees, in the sense that they are the descendants of a common male ancestor. Depending on the clan concerned this kinship can be strong, weak, or non-existant. However the members of different clans within the same tribe show no such interrelationship at all. In other words, tribes are conglomerations of clans that have no genetic links with each other apart from those occurring between randomly chosen populations. It suggests that such tribes were formed politically, as confederations of unrelated clans, and not organically as a result of the expansion and sub-division of an initially genetically homogenous extended family group. By assuming a constant rate of genetic mutation over time and a generation time of 30 years, the researchers were able to calculate the number of generations (and therefore years) that have elapsed since the existence of the single common ancestor. This was essentially the minimum age of the descent group and was computed for each lineage and clan. However the estimated ages computed were very high. For example, the age of the Qon'ırat clans was estimated at about 460 generations or 14,000 years (late Ice Age), while the age of the On To'rt Urıw lineages was estimated at around 200 generations or 6,000 years (early Neolithic). Clearly these results are ridiculous. The explanation is that each group included immigrants or outsiders who were clearly unrelated to the core population. The calculation was therefore modified, restricting the sample to those individuals who belonged to the modal haplogroup of the descent group. This excluded about 17% of the men in the initial sample. Results were excluded for those descent groups that contained less than three |Descent Group||Population||Number of |Age in years||95% Confidence| || 35||1,058||454 - 3,704| || 20|| 595||255 - 2,083| ||3,051||1,307 - 10,677| On To'rt Urıw || 13|| 397||170 - 1,389| || 415||178 - 1,451| || 516||221 - 1,806| The age of the On To'rt Urıw and other lineages averaged about 15 generations, equivalent to about 400 to 500 years. The age of the clans varied more widely, from 20 generations for the Qazaqs, to 35 generations for the Qon'ırat, and to 102 generations for the Turkmen. This dates the oldest common ancestor of the Qazaq and Qon'ırat clans to a time some 600 to 1,200 years ago. However the common ancestor of the Turkmen clans is some 3,000 years old. The high ages of the Turkmen clans was the result of the occurrence of a significantly mutated haplotype within the modal haplogroup. It was difficult to judge whether these individuals were genuinely related to the other clan members or were themselves recent immigrants. These figures must be interpreted with considerable caution. Clearly the age of a clan's common ancestor is not the same as the age of the clan itself, since that ancestor may have had ancestors of his own, whose lines of descent have become extinct over time. The calculated ages therefore give us a minimum limit for the age of the clan and not the age of the clan itself. In reality however, the uncertainty in the assumed rate of genetic mutation gives rise to extremely wide 95% confidence intervals. The knowledge that certain Karakalpak Qon'ırat clans are most likely older than a time ranging from 450 to 3,700 years is of little practical use to us. Clearly more accurate models are required. Chaix, R.; Quintana-Murci, L.; Hegay, T.; Hammer, M. F.; Mobasher, Z.; Austerlitz, F.; and Heyer, E., 2007 The latest analysis of Karakalpak DNA comes from a study examining the genetic differences between various pastoral and farming populations in Central Asia. In this region these two fundamentally different economies are organized according to quite separate social traditions: The study aims to identify differences in the genetic diversity of the two groups as a result of these two different lifestyles. It examines the genetic diversity of: - pastoral populations are classified into what their members claim to be descent groups (tribes, clans, and lineages), practice exogamous marriage (where men must marry women from clans that are different to their own), and are organized on a patrilineal basis (children being affiliated to the descent group of the father, not the mother). - farmer populations are organized into nuclear and extended families rather than tribes and often practise endogamous marriage (where men marry women from within the same clan, often their cousins). The diversity of mtDNA was examined by investigating one of two short segments, known as hypervariable segment number 1 or HVS-1. This and HVS-2 have been found to contain the highest density of neutral polymorphic variations between individuals. - maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA in 12 pastoral and 9 farmer populations, and - paternally inherited Y-chromosomes in 11 pastoral and 7 farmer populations. The diversity of the Y chromosome was examined by investigating 6 short tandem repeats (STRs) in the non-recombining region of the chromosome. This particular study sampled mtDNA from 5 different populations from Karakalpakstan: On To'rt Urıw Karakalpaks, Qon'ırat Karakalpaks, Qazaqs, Turkmen, and Uzbeks. Samples collected as part of other earlier studies were used to provide mtDNA data on 16 further populations (one of which was a general group of Karakalpaks) and Y chromosome data on 20 populations (two of which were On To'rt Urıw and Qon'ırat Karakalpaks sampled in 2001 and 2002). The sample size for each population ranged from 16 to 65 individuals. Both Karakalpak arıs were classified as pastoral, along with Qazaqs, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen. Uzbeks were classified as farmers, along with Tajiks, Uighurs, Kurds, and Dungans. Results of the mtDNA Analysis The results of the mtDNA analysis are given in Table 1, copied from the paper. Table 1. Sample Descriptions and Estimators of Genetic Diversity from the mtDNA Sequence |Population ||n ||Location ||Long ||Lat ||H ||π ||D ||pD ||Ps |Karakalpaks ||20 ||Uzbekistan ||58 ||43 ||0.99 ||5.29 ||-1.95 ||0.01 ||0.90 ||1.05 | |Karakalpaks (On To'rt Urıw) ||53 ||Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan border ||60 ||42 ||0.99 ||5.98 ||-1.92 ||0.01 ||0.70 ||1.20 | |Karakalpaks (Qon'ırat) ||55 ||Karakalpakstan ||59 ||43 ||0.99 ||5.37 ||-2.01 ||0.01 ||0.82 ||1.15 | |Qazaqs ||50 ||Karakalpakstan ||63 ||44 ||0.99 ||5.23 ||-1.97 ||0.01 ||0.88 ||1.11 | |Qazaqs ||55 ||Kazakhstan ||80 ||45 ||0.99 ||5.66 ||-1.87 ||0.01 ||0.69 ||1.25 | |Qazaqs ||20 || ||68 ||42 ||1.00 ||5.17 ||-1.52 ||0.05 ||1.00 ||1.00 | |Kyrgyz ||20 ||Kyrgyzstan ||74 ||41 ||0.97 ||5.29 ||-1.38 ||0.06 ||0.55 ||1.33 | |Kyrgyz (Sary-Tash) ||47 ||South Kyrgyzstan, Pamirs ||73 ||40 ||0.97 ||5.24 ||-1.95 ||0.01 ||0.49 ||1.52 | |Kyrgyz (Talas) ||48 ||North Kyrgyzstan ||72 ||42 ||0.99 ||5.77 ||-1.65 ||0.02 ||0.77 ||1.14 | |Turkmen ||51 ||Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan border ||59 ||42 ||0.98 ||5.48 ||-1.59 ||0.04 ||0.53 ||1.42 | |Turkmen ||41 ||Turkmenistan ||60 ||39 ||0.99 ||5.20 ||-2.07 ||0.00 ||0.73 ||1.21 | |Turkmen ||20 || ||59 ||40 ||0.98 ||5.28 ||-1.71 ||0.02 ||0.75 ||1.18 | |Dungans ||16 ||Kyrgyzstan ||78 ||41 ||0.94 ||5.27 ||-1.23 ||0.12 ||0.31 ||1.60 | |Kurds ||32 ||Turkmenistan ||59 ||39 ||0.97 ||5.61 ||-1.35 ||0.05 ||0.41 ||1.52 | |Uighurs ||55 ||Kazakhstan ||82 ||47 ||0.99 ||5.11 ||-1.91 ||0.01 ||0.62 ||1.28 | |Uighurs ||16 ||Kyrgyzstan ||79 ||42 ||0.98 ||4.67 ||-1.06 ||0.15 ||0.63 ||1.23 | |Uzbeks (North) ||40 ||Karakalpakstan ||60 ||43 ||0.99 ||5.49 ||-2.03 ||0.00 ||0.68 ||1.21 | |Uzbeks (South) ||42 ||Surkhandarya, Uzbekistan ||67 ||38 ||0.99 ||5.07 ||-1.96 ||0.01 ||0.81 ||1.14 | |Uzbeks (South) ||20 ||Uzbekistan ||66 ||40 ||0.99 ||5.33 ||-1.82 ||0.02 ||0.90 ||1.05 | |Uzbeks (Khorezm) ||20 ||Khorezm, Uzbekistan ||61 ||42 ||0.98 ||5.32 ||-1.62 ||0.04 ||0.70 ||1.18 | |Tajiks (Yagnobi) ||20 || ||71 ||39 ||0.99 ||5.98 ||-1.76 ||0.02 ||0.90 ||1.05 | Key: the pastoral populations are in the grey area; the farmer populations are in the white area. The table includes the following parameters: - sample size, n, the number of individuals sampled in each population. Individuals had to be unrelated to any other member of the same sample for at least two generations. - the geographical longitude and latitude of the population sampled. - heterozygosity, H, the proportion of different alleles occupying the same position in each mtDNA sequence. It measures the frequency of heterozygotes for a particular locus in the genetic sequence and is one of several statistics indicating the level of genetic variation or polymorphism within a population. When H=0, all alleles are the same and when H=1, all alleles are different. - the mean number of pairwise differences, π, measures the average number of nucleotide differences between all pairs of HVS-1 sequences. This is another statistic indicating the level of genetic variation within a population, in this case measuring the level of mismatch - Tajima’s D, D, measures the frequency distribution of alleles in a nucleotide sequence and is based on the difference between two estimations of the population mutation rate. It is often used to distinguish between a DNA sequence that has evolved randomly (D=0) and one that has experienced directional selection favouring a single allele. It is consequently used as a test for natural selection. However it is also influenced by population history and negative values of D can indicate high rates of population growth. - the probability that D is significantly different from zero, pD. - the proportion of singletons, Ps, measures the relative number of unique polymorphisms in the sample. The higher the proportion of singletons, the greater the population has been affected by inward migration. - the mean number of individuals carrying the same mtDNA sequence, C, is an inverse measure of diversity. The more individuals with the same sequence, the less diversity within the population and the higher proportion of individuals who are closely related. The table shows surprisingly little differentiation between pastoral and farmer populations. Both show high levels of within population genetic diversity (for both groups, median H=0.99 and π is around 5.3). Further calculations of genetic distance between populations, Fst, ( not presented in the table but given graphically in the online reference below) showed a corresponding low level of genetic differentiation among pastoral populations as well as among farmer populations. Both groups of populations also showed a significantly negative Tajima’s D, which the authors attribute to a high rate of demographic growth in neutrally evolving populations. Supplementary data made available online showed a weak correlation between genetic distance, Fst, and geographic distance for both pastoral and farmer populations. Click here for redirection to the relevant Results of the Y chromosome Analysis The results of the Y chromosome analysis are given in Table 2, also copied from the paper: Table 1. Sample Descriptions and Estimators of Genetic Diversity from the Y chromosome STRs |Population ||n ||Location ||Long ||Lat ||H ||π ||r ||Ps ||C | |Karakalpaks (On To'rt Urıw) ||54 ||Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan border ||60 ||42 ||0.86 ||3.40 ||1.002 ||0.24 ||2.84 | |Karakalpaks (Qon'ırat) ||54 ||Karakalpakstan ||59 ||43 ||0.91 ||3.17 ||1.003 ||0.28 ||2.35 | |Qazaqs ||50 ||Karakalpakstan ||63 ||44 ||0.85 ||2.36 ||1.004 ||0.16 ||2.78 | |Qazaqs ||38 ||Almaty, KatonKaragay, Karatutuk, Rachmanovsky Kluchi, Kazakhstan |68 ||42 ||0.78 ||2.86 ||1.004 ||0.26 ||2.71 | |Qazaqs ||49 ||South-east Kazakhstan ||77 ||40 ||0.69 ||1.56 ||1.012 ||0.22 ||3.06 | |Kyrgyz ||41 ||Central Kyrgyzstan (Mixed) ||74 ||41 ||0.88 ||2.47 ||1.004 ||0.41 ||1.86 | |Kyrgyz (Sary-Tash) ||43 ||South Kyrgyzstan, Pamirs ||73 ||40 ||0.45 ||1.30 ||1.003 ||0.12 ||4.78 | |Kyrgyz (Talas) ||41 ||North Kyrgyzstan ||72 ||42 ||0.94 ||3.21 ||1.002 ||0.39 ||1.78 | |Mongolians ||65 ||Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia ||90 ||49 ||0.96 ||3.37 ||1.009 ||0.38 ||1.81 | |Turkmen ||51 ||Uzbekistan/Turkmenistan border ||59 ||42 ||0.67 ||1.84 ||1.006 ||0.27 ||3.00 | |Turkmen ||21 ||Ashgabat, Turkmenistan ||59 ||40 ||0.89 ||3.34 ||1.006 ||0.48 ||1.62 | |Dungans ||22 ||Alexandrovka and Osh, Kyrgyzstan ||78 ||41 ||0.99 ||4.13 ||1.005 ||0.82 ||1.10 | |Kurds ||20 ||Bagyr, Turkmenistan ||59 ||39 ||0.99 ||3.59 ||1.009 ||0.80 ||1.11 | |Uighurs ||33 ||Almaty and Lavar, Kazakhstan ||79 ||42 ||0.99 ||3.72 ||1.007 ||0.67 ||1.22 | |Uighurs ||39 ||South East Kazakhstan ||79 ||43 ||0.99 ||3.79 ||1.008 ||0.77 ||1.15 | |Uzbeks (North) ||40 ||Karakalpakstan ||60 ||43 ||0.96 ||3.42 ||1.005 ||0.48 ||1.54 | |Uzbeks (South) ||28 ||Kashkadarya, Uzbekistan ||66 ||40 ||1.00 ||3.53 ||1.008 ||0.93 ||1.04 | |Tajiks (Yagnobi) ||22 ||Penjikent, Tajikistan ||71 ||39 ||0.87 ||2.69 ||1.012 ||0.45 ||1.69 | Key: the pastoral populations are in the grey area; the farmer populations are in the white area. This table also includes the sample size, n, and longitude and latitude of the population sampled, as well as the heterozygosity, H, the mean number of pairwise differences, π, the proportion of singletons, Ps, and the mean number of individuals carrying the same Y STR haplotype, C. In addition it includes a statistical computation of the demographic growth rate, r. In contrast to the results obtained from the mtDNA analysis, both the heterozyosity and the mean pairwise differences computed from the Y chromosome STRs were significantly lower in the pastoral populations than in the farmer populations. Thus Y chromosome diversity has been lost in the pastoral Conversely calculations of the genetic distance, Rst, between each of the two groups of populations showed that pastoral populations were more highly differentiated than farmer populations. The supplemental data given online demonstrates that this is not as a result of geographic distance, there being no perceived correlation between genetic and geographic distance in both population groups. Finally the rate of demographic growth was found to be lower in pastoral than in farmer populations. At first sight the results are counter-intuitive. One would expect that the diversity of mtDNA in pastoral societies would be higher than in farming societies, because the men in those societies are marrying brides who contribute mtDNA from clans other than their own. Similarly one would expect no great difference in Y chromosome diversity between pastoralists and farmers because both societies are patrilinear. Leaving aside the matter of immigration, the males who contribute the Y chromosome are always selected from the local sampled population. To understand the results, Chaix et al investigated the distribution of genetic diversity within individual populations using a statistical technique called multi-dimensional scaling analysis or MDS. This attempts to sort or resolve a sample into its different component parts, illustrating the results in two dimensions. The example chosen in the paper focuses on the Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw arıs. The MDS analysis of the Y chromosome data resolves the sample of 54 individuals into clusters, each of whom have exactly the same STR haplotypes: Multidimensional Scaling Analysis based on the Matrix of Distance between Y STR Haplotypes in a Specific Pastoral Population: the Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw. Thus the sample contains 13 individuals from the O'mir clan of the Keneges tribe with the same haplotype (shown by the large cross), 10 individuals of the Qarasıyraq clan of the Man'g'ıt tribe with the same haplotype (large diamond), and 10 individuals from the No'kis clan of the Keneges tribe with the same haplotype (large triangle). Other members of the same clans have different haplotypes, as shown on the chart. Those close to the so-called "identity core" group may have arisen by mutation. Those further afield might represent immigrants or adoptions. No such clustering is observed following the MDS analysis of the mtDNA data for the same On To'rt Urıw arıs: Multidimensional Scaling Analysis based on the Number of Differences between the Mitochondrial Sequence in the Same Pastoral Population: the Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw. Every individual in the sample, including those from the same clan, has a different HVS-1 sequence. Similar MDS analyses of the different farmer populations apparently showed very few "identity cores" in the Y chromosome data and a total absence of clustering in the mtDNA data, just as in the case of the On To'rt Urıw. The overall conclusion was that the existence of "identity cores" was specific to the Y chromosome data and was mainly restricted to the pastoral populations. This is reflected in the tables above, where we can see that the mean number of individuals carrying the same mtDNA sequence ranges from about 1 to 1½ and shows no difference between pastoral and farming populations. On the other hand the mean number of individuals carrying the same STR haplotype is low for farming populations but ranges from 1½ up to almost 5 for the pastoralists. Pastoral populations also have a lower number of Y chromosome singletons. Chaix et al point to three reinforcing factors to explain the existence of "identity cores" in pastoral as opposed to farming populations: Together these factors reduce overall Y chromosome diversity. - pastoral lineages frequently split and divide with closely related men remaining in the same sub-group, thereby reducing Y chromosome diversity, - small populations segmented into lineages can experience strong genetic drift, creating high frequencies of specific haplotypes, and - random demographic uncertainty in small lineage groups can lead to the extinction of some haplotypes, also reducing diversity. To explain the similar levels of mtDNA diversity in pastoral and farmer populations, Chaix et al point to the complex rules connected with exogamy. Qazaq men for example must marry a bride who has not had an ancestor belonging to the husband's own lineage for at least 7 generations, while Karakalpak men must marry a bride from another clan, although she can belong to the same tribe. Each pastoral clan, therefore, is gaining brides (and mtDNA) from external clans but is losing daughters (and mtDNA) to external clans. Such continuous and intense migration reduces mtDNA genetic drift within the clan. This in turn lowers diversity to a level similar to that observed in farmer populations, which is in any event already high. The process of two-way female migration effectively isolates the mtDNA structure of pastoral societies from their social structure. One aspect overlooked by the study is that, until recent times, Karakalpak clans were geographically isolated in villages located in specific parts of the Aral delta and therefore tended to always intermarry with one of their adjacent neighbouring clans. In effect, the two neighbouring clans behaved like a single population, with females moving between clans in every generation. How such social behaviour affected genetic structure was not investigated. The Uzbeks were traditionally nomadic pastoralists and progressively became settled agricultural communities from the 16th century onwards. The survey provided an opportunity to investigate the effect of this transition in lifestyle on the genetic structure of the Uzbek Y chromosome. Table 2 above shows that the genetic diversity found among Uzbeks, as measured by heterozygosity and the mean number of pairwise differences, was similar to that of the other farmer populations, as was the proportion of singleton haplotypes. Equally the mean number of individuals carrying the same Y STR haplotype was low (1 to 1½), indicating an absence of the haplotype clustering (or "identity cores") observed in pastoral populations. The pastoral "genetic signature" must have been rapidly eroded, especially in the case of the northern Uzbeks from Karakalpakstan, who only settled from the 17th century onwards. Two reasons are proposed for this rapid transformation. Firstly the early collapse and integration of the Uzbek descent groups following their initial settlement and secondly their mixing with traditional Khorezmian farming populations, which led to the creation of genetic admixtures of the two groups. Of course the Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw have been settled farmers for just as long as many Khorezmian Uzbeks and cannot in any way be strictly described as pastoralists. Indeed the majority of Karakalpak Qon'ırats have also been settled for much of the 20th century. However both have strictly maintained their traditional pastoralist clan structure and associated system of exogamous marriage. So although their lifestyles have changed radically , their social behaviour to date has not. Discussion and Conclusions The Karakalpaks and their Uzbek and Qazaq neighbours have no comprehensive recorded history, just occasional historical reports coupled with oral legends which may or may not relate to certain historical events in their past. We therefore have no record of where or when the Karakalpak confederation emerged and for what political or other reasons. In the absence of solid archaeological or historical evidence, many theories have been advanced to explain the origin of the Karakalpaks. Their official history, as taught in Karakalpak colleges and schools today, claims that the Karakalpaks are the descendants of the original endemic nomadic population of the Khorezm oasis, most of whom were forced to leave as a result of the Mongol invasion in 1221 and the subsequent dessication of the Aral delta following the devastation of Khorezm by Timur in the late 14th century, only returning in significant numbers during the 18th century. We fundamentally disagree with this simplistic picture, which uncritically endures with high- ranking support because it purports to establish an ancient Karakalpak origin and justifies tenure of the current homeland. While population genetics cannot unravel the full tribal history of the Karakalpaks per se, it can give us important clues to their formation and can eliminate some of the less likely theories that have been proposed. The two arıs of the Karakalpaks, the Qon'ırat and the On To'rt Urıw, are very similar to each other genetically, especially in the male line. Both are equally close to the Khorezmian Uzbeks, their southern neighbours. Indeed the genetic distances between the different populations of Uzbeks scattered across Uzbekistan is no greater than the distance between many of them and the Karakalpaks. This suggests that Karakalpaks and Uzbeks have very similar origins. If we want to find out about the formation of the Karakalpaks we should look towards the emergence of the Uzbek (Shaybani) Horde and its eastwards migration under the leadership of Abu'l Khayr, who united much of the Uzbek confederation between 1428 and 1468. Like the Uzbeks, the Karakalpaks are extremely diverse genetically. One only has to spend time with them to realize that some look European, some look Caucasian, and some look typically Mongolian. Their DNA turns out to be an admixture, roughly balanced between eastern and western populations. Two of their main genetic markers have far-eastern origins, M9 being strongly linked to Chinese and other Far Eastern peoples and M130 being linked to the Mongolians and Qazaqs. On the other hand, M17 is strong in Russia, the Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, while M89 is strong in the Middle East, the Caucasus, and Russia. M173 is strong in Western Europe and M45 is believed to have originated in Central Asia, showing that some of their ancestry goes back to the earliest inhabitants of that region. In fact the main difference between the Karakalpaks and the Uzbeks is a slight difference in the mix of the same markers. Karakalpaks have a somewhat greater bias towards the eastern markers. One possible cause could be the inter-marriage between Karakalpaks and Qazaqs over the past 400 years, a theory that gains some support from the close similarities in the mitochondrial DNA of the neighbouring female Karakalpak Qon'ırat and Qazaqs of the Aral delta. After the Uzbeks, Karakalpaks are next closest to the Uighurs, the Crimean Tatars, and the Kazan Tatars, at least in the male line. However in the female line the Karakalpaks are quite different from the Uighurs and Crimean Tatars (and possibly from the Kazan Tatars as well). There is clearly a genetic link with the Tatars of the lower Volga through the male line. Of course the Volga region has been closely linked through communications and trade with Khorezm from the earliest days. The Karakalpaks are genetically distant from the Qazaqs and the Turkmen, and even more so from the Kyrgyz and the Tajiks. We know that the Karakalpaks were geographically, politically, and culturally very close to the Qazaqs of the Lesser Horde prior to their migration into the Aral delta and were even once ruled by Qazaq tribal leaders. From their history, therefore, one might have speculated that the Karakalpaks may have been no more than another tribal group within the overall Qazaq confederation. This is clearly not so. The Qazaqs have a quite different genetic history, being far more homogenous and genetically closer to the Mongolians of East Asia. However as we have seen, the proximity of the Qazaqs and Karakalpaks undoubtedly led to intermarriage and therefore some level of genetic exchange. Karakalpak Y chromosome polymorphisms show different patterns from mtDNA polymorphisms in a similar manner to that identified in certain other Central Asian populations. This seems to be associated with the Turkic traditions of exogamy and so-called patrilocal marriage. Marriage is generally not permissible between couples belonging to the same clan, so men must marry women from other clans, or tribes, or in a few cases even different ethnic groups. After the marriage the groom stays in his home village and his bride moves from her village to his. The result is that the male non-recombining part of the Y chromosome becomes localized as a result of its geographical isolation, whereas the female mtDNA benefits from genetic mixing as a result of the albeit short range migration of young brides from different clans One of the most important conclusions is the finding that clans within the same tribe show no sign of genetic kinship, whether the tribe concerned is Karakalpak, Uzbek, Qazaq, or Turkmen. Indeed among the most settled ethnic groups, the Uzbeks and Karakalpak On To'rt Urıw, there is very little kinship even at clan level. It seems that settled agricultural communities soon lose their strong tribal identity and become more openminded to intermarriage with different neighbouring ethnic groups. Indeed the same populations place less importance on their geneaology and no longer maintain any identity according to lineage. It has generally been assumed that most Turkic tribal groups like the Uzbeks were formed as confederations of separate tribes and this is confirmed by the recent genetic study of ethnic groups from Karakalpakstan. We now see that this extends to the tribes themselves, with an absence of any genetic link between clans belonging to the same tribe. Clearly they too are merely associations of disparate groups, formed because of some historical reason other than descent. Possible causes for such an association of clans could be geographic or economic, such as common land use or shared water rights; military, such as a common defence pact or the construction of a shared qala; or perhaps political, such as common allegiance to a strong tribal leader. The history of Central Asia revolves around migrations and conflicts and the formation, dissolution, and reformation of tribal confederations, from the Saka Massagetae and the Sarmatians, to the Oghuz and Pechenegs, the Qimek, Qipchaq, and Karluk, the Mongols and Tatars, the White and Golden Hordes, the Shaybanid and Noghay Hordes, and finally the Uzbek, Qazaq, and Karakalpak confederations. Like making cocktails from cocktails, the gene pool of Central Asia was constantly being scrambled, more so on the female line as a result of exogamy and patrilineal The same tribal and clan names occur over and over again throughout the different ethnic Qipchaq-speaking populations of Central Asia, but in different combinations and associations. Many of the names predate the formation of the confederations to which they now belong, relating to earlier Turkic and Mongol tribal factions. Clearly tribal structures are fluid over time, with some groups withering or being absorbed by others, while new groups emerge or are added. When Abu'l Khayr Sultan became khan of the Uzbeks in 1428-29, their confederation consisted of at least 24 tribes, many with smaller subivisions. The names of 6 of those tribes occur among the modern Karakalpaks. A 16th century list, based on an earlier document, gives the names of 92 nomadic Uzbek tribes, at least 20 of which were shared by the later breakaway Qazaqs. 13 of the 92 names also occur among the modern Karakalpaks. Shortly after his enthronement as the Khan of Khorezm in 1644-45, Abu'l Ghazi Khan reorganized the tribal structure of the local Uzbeks into four tüpe: |Tüpe||Main Tribes||Secondary Tribes |On Tort Urugh||On To'rt Urıw||Qan'glı| |Durman, Yüz, Ming| Shaykhs, Burlaqs, Arabs | || ||Uyg'ır| 8 out of the 11 tribal names associated with the first three tüpe are also found within the Karakalpak tribal structure. Clearly there is greater overlap between the Karakalpak tribes and the local Khorezmian Uzbek tribes than in the Uzbek tribes in general. The question is whether these similarities pre-dated the Karakalpak migration into the Aral delta or are a result of later Uzbek influences? We know that the Qon'ırat were a powerful tribe in Khorezm for Uzbeks and Karakalpaks alike. They were mentioned as one of the Karakalpak "clans" on the Kuvan Darya [Quwan Darya] by Gladyshev in 1741 along with the Kitay, Qipchaq, Kiyat, Kinyagaz-Mangot (Keneges-Man'g'ıt), Djabin, Miton, and Usyun. Munis recorded that Karakalpak Qon'ırat, Keneges, and Qıtay troops supported Muhammad Amin Inaq against the Turkmen in 1769. Thanks to Sha'rigu'l Payzullaeva we have a comparison of the Qon'ırat tribal structure in the Aral Karakalpaks, the Surkhandarya Karakalpaks, and the Khorezmian Uzbeks, derived from genealogical records: The different status of the same Qon'ırat tribal groups among the Aral and Surkhandarya Karakalpaks and the Khorezmian Uzbeks | Khorezmian | |Qostamg'alı||clan||branch of tribe|| | |Qanjıg'alı||tiıre||branch of tribe||tube| |Shu'llik||division of arıs||clan|| | |Tartıwlı||tiıre||branch of tribe||clan| |Sıyraq||clan||branch of clan|| | |Qaramoyın||tribe||branch of clan|| | A tube is a branch of a tribe among the Khorezmian Uzbeks and a tiıre is a branch of a clan among the Aral Karakalpaks. The Karakalpak enclave in Surkhandarya was already established in the first half of the 18th century, some Karakalpaks fleeing to Samarkand and beyond following the devastating Jungar attack of 1723. Indeed it may even be older - the Qon'ırat have a legend that they came to Khorezm from the country of Zhideli Baysun in Surkhandarya. This suggests that some Karakalpaks had originally travelled south with factions from the Shaybani Horde in the early 16th century. The fact that the Karakalpak Qon'ırats remaining in that region have a similar tribal structure to the Khorezmian Uzbeks is powerful evidence that the tribal structure of the Aral Karakalpaks had broadly crystallized prior to their migration into the Aral delta. The Russian ethnographer Tatyana Zhdanko was the first academic to make an in-depth study of Karakalpak tribal structure. She not only uncovered the similarities between the tribal structures of the Uzbek and Karakalpak Qon'ırats in Khorezm but also the closeness of their respective customs and material and spiritual cultures. She concluded that one should not only view the similarity between the Uzbek and Karakalpak Qon'ırats in a historical sense, but should also see the commonality of their present- day ethnic relationships. B. F. Choriyev added that "this kind of similarity should not only be sought amongst the Karakalpak and the Khorezmian Qon'ırats but also amongst the Surkhandarya Qon'ırats. They all have the same ethnic history." Such ethnographic studies provide support to the findings that have emerged from the recent studies of Central Asian genetics. Together they point towards a common origin of the Karakalpak and Uzbek confederations. They suggest that each was formed out of the same melange of tribes and clans inhabiting the Dasht-i Qipchaq following the collapse of the Golden Horde, a vast expanse ranging northwards from the Black Sea coast to western Siberia and then eastwards to the steppes surrounding the lower and middle Syr Darya, encompassing the whole of the Aral region along the way. Of course the study of the genetics of present-day populations gives us the cumulative outcome of hundreds of thousands of years of complex human history and interaction. We now need to establish a timeline, tracking genetic changes in past populations using the human skeletal remains retrieved from Saka, Sarmatian, Turkic, Tatar, and early Uzbek and Karakalpak archaeological burial sites. Such studies might pinpoint the approximate dates when important stages of genetic intermixing occurred. Sha'rigu'l Payzullaeva recalls an interesting encounter at the Regional Studies Museum in No'kis during the month of August 1988. Thirty-eight elderly men turned up together to visit the Museum. Each wore a different kind of headdress, some with different sorts of taqıya, others with their heads wrapped in a double kerchief. They introduced themselves as Karakalpaks from Jarqorghan rayon in Surkhandarya viloyati, just north of the Afghan border. One of them said "Oh daughter, we are getting old now. We decided to come here to see our homeland before we die." During their visit to the Museum they said that they would travel to Qon'ırat rayon the following day. Sha'rigu'l was curious to know why they specifically wanted to visit Qon'ırat. They explained that it was because most of the men were from the Qon'ırat clan. One of the men introduced himself to Sha'rigu'l: "My name is Mirzayusup Khaliyarov, the name of my clan is Qoldawlı. After discovering that Sha'rigu'l was also Qoldawlı his eyes filled with tears and he kissed her on the forehead. Bowles, G. T., The People of Asia, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1977. Comas, D., Calafell, F., Mateu, E., Pérez-Lezaun, A., Bosch, E., Martínez-Arias, R., Clarimon, J., Facchini, F., Fiori, G., Luiselli, D., Pettener, D., and Bertranpetit, J., Trading Genes along the Silk Road: mtDNA Sequences and the Origin of Central Asian Populations, American Journal of Human Genetics, 63, pages 1824 to 1838, 1998. Cavalli-Sforza, L. L., Menozzi, P., and Piazza, A., The History and Geography of Human Genes, Princeton University Press, Chaix, R., Austerlitz, F., Khegay, T., Jacquesson, S., Hammer, M. F., Heyer, E., and Quintana-Murci, L., The Genetic or Mythical Ancestry of Descent Groups: Lessons from the Y Chromosome, American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 75, pages 1113 to 1116, 2004. Chaix, R., Quintana-Murci, L., Hegay, T., Hammer, M. F., Mobasher, Z., Austerlitz, F., and Heyer, E., From Social to Genetic Structures in Central Asia, Current Biology, Volume 17, Issue 1, pages 43 to 48, 9 January 2007. Comas, D., Plaza, S., Spencer Wells, R., Yuldaseva, N., Lao, O., Calafell, F., and Bertranpetit, J., Admixture, migrations, and dispersals in Central Asia: evidence from maternal DNA lineages, European Journal of Human Genetics, pages 1 to 10, 2004. Heyer, E., Central Asia: A common inquiry in genetics, linguistics and anthropology, Presentation given at the conference entitled "Origin of Man, Language and Languages", Aussois, France, 22-25 September, 2005. Heyer, E., Private communications to the authors, 14 February and 17 April, 2006. Krader, L., Peoples of Central Asia, The Uralic and Altaic Series, Volume 26, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1971. Passarino, G., Semino, O., Magri, C., Al-Zahery, N., Benuzzi, G., Quintana-Murci, L., Andellnovic, S., Bullc-Jakus, F., Liu, A., Arslan, A., and Santachiara-Benerecetti, A., The 49a,f Haplotype 11 is a New Marker of the EU19 Lineage that Traces Migrations from Northern Regions of the Black Sea, Human Immunology, Volume 62, pages 922 to 932, 2001. Payzullaeva, Sh., Numerous Karakalpaks, many of them! [in Karakalpak], Karakalpakstan Publishing, No'kis, 1995. Pérez-Lezaun, A., Calafell, F., Comas, D., Mateu, E., Bosch, E., Martínez-Arias, R., Clarimón, J., Fiori, G., Luiselli, D., Facchini, F., Pettener, D., and Bertranpetit, J., Sex-Specific Migration Patterns in Central Asian Populations, Revealed by Analysis of Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Repeats and mtDNA, American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 65, pages 208 to 219, 1999. Spencer Wells, R., The Journey of Man, A Genetic Odyssey, Allen Lane, London, 2002. Spencer Wells, R., et al, The Eurasian Heartland: A continental perspective on Y-chromosome diversity, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Volume 98, pages 10244 to 10249, USA, 28 August 2001. Underwood, J. H., Human Variation and Human Micro-Evolution, Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, 1979. Underwood, P. A., et al, Detection of Numerous Y Chromosome Biallelic Polymorphisms by Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Genome Research, Volume 7, pages 996 to 1005, 1997. Zerjal, T., Spencer Wells, R., Yuldasheva, N., Ruzibakiev, R., and Tyler-Smith, C., A Genetic Landscape Reshaped by Recent Events: Y Chromosome Insights into Central Asia, American Journal of Human Genetics, Volume 71, pages 466 to 482, 2002. Visit our sister site www.qaraqalpaq.com, which uses the correct transliteration, Qaraqalpaq, rather than the Russian transliteration, Karakalpak. Return to top of page

http://www.karakalpak.com/genetics.html

An effective way to keep symptoms down is to avoid triggers that cause asthma symptoms to appear. These triggers can be found everywhere — in your home, in daycare facilities, and even outside. (See Chapter 4.) But you can take a few steps to make sure these triggers don't have the upper hand in aggravating your child's asthma. Viral infections are among the most common asthma triggers among young children. Unfortunately, they are difficult to avoid. You can take at least one step to avoid a viral infection by getting a flu shot each year. Prior to each year's flu season, the NIH guidelines call for the use of an inactivated flu vaccine for children six months of age or older. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has called for individuals with asthma to be vaccinated because they may be at an increased risk of getting complications from the flu. These risks include increased hospitalizations and increased use of antibiotics. The CDC noted that among asthmatic children in 2005, one-third of children who were ages two to four years had a flu shot. This was the highest among all children. However, the CDC noted that this figure is still low. The NIH guideline panel has cautioned, though, that the flu vaccine should not be given to a patient with the expectation that it will reduce either the frequency or severity of an asthma episode during the flu season. Triggers at Home Research has shown that removal of allergic triggers in the home — ranging from dust mites to cockroaches to mold — can sometimes be as effective as medication in controlling asthma symptoms. (See Chapters 4 and 16.) For the young child, special attention should be paid to blankets, mattresses, and pillows where triggers, particularly dust mites, can hide. Washing bedding materials in hot water (over 130° Fahrenheit) at least weekly can help, along with using allergy-preventing mattress and pillow covers. Cleaning hard-surfaced toys and laundering stuffed animals weekly can also help reduce triggers. It's never too early to emphasize to young children the importance of washing their hands. Whether crawling on the floor or playing with toys, they can pick up germs and viruses that could lead to upper respiratory infections. Exposure to Danders Sometimes, exposure to a trigger may lead to the opposite effect and maybe reduce asthma symptoms. Take dogs, for example. Recent research has found that exposure to dogs in infancy and early childhood decreased symptoms later in life. The research, part of the Childhood Origins of ASThma (COAST) project, evaluated the relationship of pet ownership on asthma diagnosis and wheezing in children. Dog exposure was found to significantly reduce the number of children who had tested positive for allergens. Of the children studied, 18 percent of the children who had dogs at both birth and age three were diagnosed with asthma symptoms by age six; meanwhile, 34 percent of children who didn't have dogs at either age were diagnosed. Those with dogs at age three but not at birth had a 31 percent asthma rate, while those with dogs at birth only had a 25 percent rate. The COAST project also explored cat ownership, but did not find such a correlation between cat ownership and reduced asthma rates. However, ongoing research is needed to confirm or reject this information and is continuing in this study and others. No recommendation has been made to own — or not own — any animal in attempting to prevent or minimize asthma in children. Exposure to secondhand smoke can often trigger asthma attacks, make asthma symptoms more severe, and lead to increased use of medications. Approximately 11 percent of children age six years or younger are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes on a regular basis (about four or more days per week), according to recent studies. While an infant or young child with asthma may or may not cough or wheeze when exposed to tobacco smoke, research has shown that it still is irritating her lungs. Even in children without asthma, tobacco smoke can cause problems with chronic cough, congestion, and ear infections. However, when exposure is eliminated, a child's asthma symptoms usually improve.

http://www.netplaces.com/parenting-kids-with-asthma/infants-toddlers-and-preschoolers/controlling-symptoms.htm

This section contains documents created from scanned original files and other documents that could not be made accessible to screen reader software. A "#" symbol is used to denote such documents. Worked example finding the radius, period, and frequency of the circular motion of an electron in a uniform magnetic field. Showing the circular motion of electrons in the magnetic field of a Helmholtz coil using a gas-filled glass tube. Definition, including the Lorentz force on a charge moving in a magnetic field. Definition of Tesla and Gauss units for the strength of a magnetic field. Explanation of how electrons are used to make image in a TV screen, with a demonstration showing that a magnet will distort this picture when placed near the screen. Finding the force on a moving charge in an electric and magnetic field. Finding the total force on a wire in a magnetic field. Circular motion of moving particles in constant magnetic fields. Finding the radius of the circular path, with an example for an electron moving in a 1T magnetic field. Using an electron gun and a magnet to show that the path of an electron will curve in the presence of a magnetic field. Definition, with examples of use in separating uranium isotopes for the atomic bomb and for separating isotopes for medical radiation treatments. Definition, with explanation of how a cyclotron is used to accelerate particles with an electric field while containing the particles with a magnetic field. Mention of the use of rings as modern particle accelerators. Pictures and discussion of an early cyclotron as well as two modern examples of particle accelerators: Fermilab and CERN. Definition, with images of their use in making visible the tracks of electrons and other charged particles. Discussion of the discovery of positrons and other new particles. Tracking the motion of electrons and alpha particles in a cloud chamber. Magnetism from empirical evidence; Lorentz force on charges and wires; electron trajectories; applications to modern physics; work done by B-fields. Introduces the magnetic field created by a bar magnet, and defines the magnetic field through the magnetic force. Mathematical derivation of the circular (or helical) path of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field. Description of two applications of a uniform magnetic field: velocity selectors and mass spectrometers; introduction to Lorentz force for magnetic and electric fields. Reminders and hints for calculating cross products in rectangular coordinates. Determine the ratio of the masses of two particles given their radii of curvature in a uniform magnetic field and charge magnitudes. Solution is included after problem. Questions 1-3 explore the motion of charged particles in electric and magnetic fields. Find the force on an electron beam in a TV tube, due to Earth's magnetic field, and its total deflection. Characterize the trajectory of a charged particle entering a region of uniform magnetic field. Derive the expression for the radius of curvature of a charged particle in a uniform magnetic field and use this to find the mass ratio between two charged particles; also consider adding an electric field. Describe the instantaneous radius of curvature for a charged particle in the magnetic field of a nearby current loop. Identify the direction of the force on a charged particle moving in a magnetic field. Identify the sign of the charge carriers in a Hall effect setup. Describing motion of a particle in parallel E and B fields. Can a resting electron be set in motion with a constant B-field? Describing trajectory of an ion through E-field, then B-field. Finding momentum of nucleus in the Large Hadron Collider and corresponding B-field or E-field. Determining the mass of a particle given its radius of motion in a magnetic field. Force on electron; balancing electric and magnetic forces. 4-part problem; finding E-field, trajectories for particle; computing kinetic energy. Solution not included. Finding relative charges given trajectories for three particles. Video animation showing the magnetic field of the earth as well as the magnetic field of the solar wind, which carries the magnetic field of the sun out to the neighborhood of the earth. Video animation demonstrating the process of magnetic merging, which is the cause of solar flares. Applet showing the interaction between the magnetic field lines of the earth and a bar magnet in a classroom at MIT. Video animation of the magnetic field created by a moving positive charge. Video animation of the magnetic field created by a moving negative charge. Video animation showing the magnetic field created by a charge moving in a circular path. Video animation showing the magnetic field generated by two charges moving in a circular path. Video animation showing the magnetic field generated by four charges moving in a circular path. Video animation showing the magnetic field generated by eight charges moving in a circular path. Video animation showing the magnetic field and force on a charge moving out of the page in a magnetic field that is uniform but changing in strength. Video animation showing the motion of a charge moving through a uniform upward magnetic field. Video animation showing a back view of the motion of a charge moving through a uniform upward magnetic field. Video animation showing the magnetic field and behavior of a magnet suspended by a spring above a current-carrying wire loop. Video showing a magnetic dipole moving to align with the magnetic field of the Earth, at a latitude similar to that of Boston. Video animation showing a giant magnetic dipole moving to align with Earth's magnetic field. Video animation showing a closer view of a giant magnetic dipole moving to align with Earth's magnetic field. Video animation showing the magnetic field and motion of a magnet between two coils with sinusoidal and out of phase current. Video animation showing the magnetic field of a magnet suspended between two coils with currents that are sinusoidal and in phase. Video animations showing the force felt by a charge moving into and then out of a uniform magnetic field. Applet simulating the magnetic field of a magnetic dipole which is rotating in a uniform magnetic field. Interactive applet simulating the behavior of a magnet attached to a spring between two coils with varying currents.

http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/physics/magnetic-fields/forces-moving-charges-in-magnetic-fields/

A stack is a container that allows elements to be pushed in and popped out in LIFO (last in, first out) fashion. Depending on the implementation, only the top element can be accessed or all elements can be accessed. A stack requires at least 2 publicly accessible functions called 'Push' and 'Pop' to be considered a Stack. A 'Push' is like an insertion of a piece of data. Once the piece of data is 'pushed' it is said to be "In the stack". The stack will remember the order of insertions. A 'Pop' will remove and return the latest piece of data to be inserted. i.e. LIFO fashion. Optional functions are sometimes added as a convenience to the programmer. An incomplete list of possible optional function are: Peek: Is like a 'Pop' in that it returns the latest piece of data to be inserted, but unlike a 'Pop' it does not remove it from the stack. Another peek option may allow you to see other pieces of data in a stack. toArray: This would return a standard array containing everything that is currently in a stack. There are many ways to implement a stack. There is no 'best' way to implement a stack. The optimal way to implement a stack often depends on how you plan on using the stack. Some languages, notably .net, have the stack class already implemented. The implementation of a stack goes like this: An array (possibly dynamic) is allocated, and a 'current element' pointer is created pointing to the bottom (one side, does not matter a lot which one) of the stack. A push operation consists of writing the pushed element to the location indicated by the 'current element' pointer, and incrementing (or decrementing, for downward growing stacks) that pointer. A pop operation consists of decrementing (or incrementing, as long as this goes the opposite way of the push operation) the 'current element' pointer, and returning the element the pointer used to point at. A Linked List offers another way to implement a stack. Basic knowledge of a Linked List required first. To change a single linked list from a standard single linked list would require minor changes. To implement a 'Push' one would simply use an "Insert Head" function. To implement a 'pop' one would use a "Remove Head" function. While this data structure must sound pretty trivial, you can do neat things with it. Most notably, the whole idea of recursion (of functions) requires some kind of stack, and can be simulated using a stack.

http://content.gpwiki.org/index.php/Stack

Where endangered Indiana Bats roost Biologists are just beginning a year-long project to study the roosting ecology of endangered Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats. The project will take researchers into the hills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its neighbors, the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. These areas are at the southern edge of the Indiana bat’s range in the United States. In these coldest months of the winter, lead researcher Joy O’Keefe and collaborator Dr. Susan Loeb of the Southern Research Station, U.S. Forest Service will hire forestry technicians and prepare radio telemetry equipment. Beginning in June, they will conduct mist net surveys (which involves stringing a very fine net across the corridors where bats fly to catch them). They will carefully identify each bat’s species, sex, and age, and then measure forearm length and weight. To mark the bats, researchers will place a unique band on each bat’s leg, and glue a tiny radio transmitter between its shoulder blades. This transmitter will allow the researchers to track the bats’ movements during the day, to figure out which trees they choose for day roosts. Ultimately, the biologists hope to figure out why bats choose the trees they do. This is important to know because many forest management decisions in National Parks and Forests revolve around protecting the endangered Indiana bat. It’s harder to protect an animal when we don’t know where, or why, the animal chooses the habitats it does. In August, the researchers hope to have enough data collected to describe where the bats roost; the characteristics of the trees that they chose; the number, health, and sex of bats in each colony; how far the bats go between roost trees; and what the bats do in between the times they roost. Wild hog control—looking back from the start of a new season In the early 1900s, a local rancher brought about two dozen European wild boars to North Carolina to stock his hunting ranch. The boars were wily and escaped, becoming the feral (domestic turned to wild) hogs we recognize today. Over the past century they have spread throughout the mountainous forests of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The hogs root out native plants, destroy streambanks (and habitat for salamanders, trout, and other sensitive wildlife), and carry diseases that can sicken or even kill wildlife and domestic pets and livestock. Wildlife managers therefore try to find and remove the hogs in the Park. In 2007, wildlife managers removed 274 wild hogs from the Park: 141 (51.5 percent of the total) in North Carolina and 133 (48.5 percent of the total) in Tennessee. Most of the animals (175, or about 64 percent) removed were adults. In past years, the Park moved trapped hogs onto state hunting lands in North Carolina or Tennessee, although in 2007 they did not. They did collect genetic samples from 14 hogs, and sent them to researchers at the University of North Dakota. The samples are part of a large scale survey that will determine genetic origins and expansion patterns of feral hogs in North America. Wildlife managers captured hogs at the following locations in Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Chilhowee - 4 hogs (1.5%) Deep Creek - 57 hogs (20.8%) Cataloochee - 11 hogs (4.0%) Oconaluftee - 24 hogs (8.8%) Cosby - 19 hogs (6.9%) Cades Cove - 56 hogs (20.4%) Little River - 33 hogs (12.0%) Backcountry, generally - 19 hogs (6.9%) Twentymile - 51 hogs (18.6%) Monitoring disease in wild hogs: positive tests suggest threat to native wildlife Wildlife managers continued to work cooperatively with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to monitor for wild hog diseases. These include swine brucellosis, pseudorabies (which is actually a form of herpes, as is chicken pox in people, and which is also called “the mad itch), and hog cholera (classic swine fever). Serological samples were collected from 156 (about 57 percent total) of the hogs removed from the park. Of these, nine hogs from North Carolina and one hog from Tennessee tested seropositive for pseudorabies, which alters their ability to reproduce. Most significant, this disease can spread to the Park’s native wildlife, harming bears, coyotes, foxes, and other animals that come into contact with the hogs. It is fatal to canines of all kinds, including coyotes and your pet poodle (another reason to keep Fido at home and off the trails). In 2007, bear researchers from The University of Tennessee-Knoxville completed their 39th year of ongoing field studies on black bears. This research included locating and visiting bears in their den trees. Scientists visited ten female bears during the winter season: six females reproduced, with litter sizes from one to three cubs, one had a yearling bear, and three had neither cubs nor yearlings. In the summer, researchers collected bear hair samples from 79 percent of their barbed-wire hair traps, for a total of 1,811 bear hair samples. Given the high rate of collection from this sampling method, the potential for this approach to serve as an effective population monitoring technique is high. Unfortunately, the researchers did not receive funding for analysis, so they cannot compare the mark-recapture based population estimate with other methods that year. Managers also dealt with so called “problem bears.” From February 27 to December 15, 2007 biologists received 257 bear management reports. Of these, 34 resulted in estimated property damages, which totaled $5,373. Managers noted that two thirds of the reports that listed some monetary loss did not estimate how much damage the bear caused, probably because the bears destroyed low-cost items (water bottles, food, or other small things) or because people were camping or storing food illegally and didn’t want to admit it. Most bear activity in popular areas included campgrounds--Cades Cove, Cosby, and Elkmont-- and picnic areas--Cades Cove, Chimneys, Collins Creek, Cosby, and Metcalf Bottoms. Bears also roamed around the Smoky Mountains Riding Stables, the Twin Creeks Science and Education Center, and at the Mt. LeConte Lodge. In the backcountry, visitors reported bears frequenting 60 percent of backcountry shelters, but only 16 percent of backcountry campsites. Biologists put up signs at 21 locations, and ultimately they closed seven backcountry campsites, one shelter, and Little Brier Gap trail due to bear activity. Over the year, managers captured 15 individual bears (10 males and 5 females). They relocated five of the captured bears, two to areas within Great Smoky Mountains National park and three to the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. Five captured bears were known to die; two were euthanized for management reasons, one died during handling and two were later struck and killed by vehicles. Wildlife and Visitor Protection staff also used non-lethal aversive conditioning techniques (noise, capture, bean-bag-shooting, and more) 13 times on bears. Return to Resource Roundup: January, 2009.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/dff109-researchwildlife.htm

Image: Clouds of Cosmic Dust in the Region of Orion A new image from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope in Chile shows a beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in the region of Orion. While these dense interstellar clouds seem dark and obscured in visible-light observations, APEX's LABOCA camera can detect the heat glow of the dust and reveal the hiding places where new stars are being formed. But one of these dark clouds is not what it seems. In space, dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust are the birthplaces of new stars. In visible light, this dust is dark and obscuring, hiding the stars behind it. So much so that, when astronomer William Herschel observed one such cloud in the constellation of Scorpius in 1774, he thought it was a region empty of stars and is said to have exclaimed, "Truly there is a hole in the sky here!" In order to better understand star formation, astronomers need telescopes that can observe at longer wavelengths, such as the submillimetre range, in which the dark dust grains shine rather than absorb light. APEX, on the Chajnantor Plateau in the Chilean Andes, is the largest single-dish submillimetre-wavelength telescope operating in the southern hemisphere, and is ideal for astronomers studying the birth of stars in this way. Located in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter), 1500 light-years away from Earth, the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth, and contains a treasury of bright nebulae, dark clouds and young stars. The new image shows just part of this vast complex in visible light, with the APEX observations overlaid in brilliant orange tones that seem to set the dark clouds on fire. Often, the glowing knots from APEX correspond to darker patches in visible light -- the tell-tale sign of a dense cloud of dust that absorbs visible light, but glows at submillimetre wavelengths, and possibly a site of star formation. The bright patch below of the centre of the image is the nebula NGC 1999. This region -- when seen in visible light -- is what astronomers call a reflection nebula, where the pale blue glow of background starlight is reflected from clouds of dust. The nebula is mainly illuminated by the energetic radiation from the young star V380 Orionis lurking at its heart. In the centre of the nebula is a dark patch, which can be seen even more clearly in a well-known image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Normally, a dark patch such as this would indicate a dense cloud of cosmic dust, obscuring the stars and nebula behind it. However, in this image we can see that the patch remains strikingly dark, even when the APEX observations are included. Thanks to these APEX observations, combined with infrared observations from other telescopes, astronomers believe that the patch is in fact a hole or cavity in the nebula, excavated by material flowing out of the star V380 Orionis. For once, it truly is a hole in the sky! The region in this image is located about two degrees south of the large and well-known Orion Nebula (Messier 42), which can be seen at the top edge of the wider view in visible light from the Digitized Sky Survey. The APEX observations used in this image were led by Thomas Stanke (ESO), Tom Megeath (University of Toledo, USA), and Amy Stutz (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg, Germany). APEX is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR), the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) and ESO. Operation of APEX at Chajnantor is entrusted to ESO. In German, "Hier ist wahrhaftig ein Loch im Himmel!" V380 Orionis has a high surface temperature of about 10 000 Kelvin (about the same in degrees Celsius), nearly twice that of our own Sun. Its mass is estimated to be 3.5 times that of the Sun. The year 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". The research into the dark patch in NGC 1999 discussed above is described in a paper by T. Stanke et al., A&A 518, L94 (2010), also available as a preprint. Tel: +49 89 3200 6116 ESO ALMA/APEX Public Information Officer Tel: +49 89 3200 6759

http://onorbit.com/node/5336

Blue Ridge goldenrod Description: Blue Ridge goldenrod is a small perennial herb (4 to 8 inches tall). Its golden-yellow flowers appear from late July to September, and fruits form and ripen from July to October. Although there are many species of goldenrods, this one can be distinguished by its flat-topped flowers, small stature, smooth foliage, and toothed, non-clasping stem leaves. Habitat: This species occupies rock outcrops, ledges, and cliffs at high elevations (generally above 4,600 ft.). The soils upon which this species grows are generally shallow and acidic. Blue Ridge goldenrods usually grow in full sun. Range: Blue Ridge goldenrod is only known from Avery County, NC, and the border area between Mitchell County, NC and Carter County, TN. Listing: Threatened, March 28, 1985, Federal Register 50:12306-120309. Critical Habitat: None designated An exotic insect, the balsam woolly adelgid, is contributing to the decline of the fir forests adjacent to some of the cliffs where Blue Ridge goldenrod grows. Although the goldenrod does not grow beneath dense forests, the death of the adjacent forests is resulting in drier and hotter conditions. All of these factors may threaten the last remaining populations of Blue Ridge goldenrod. Why should we be concerned about the loss of species? Extinction is a natural process that has been occurring since long before the appearance of humans. Normally new species develop through a process known as speciation, at about the same rate other species become extinct. However, because of air and water pollution, forest clearing, loss of wetlands, and other man-induced environmental changes, extinctions are now occurring at a rate that far exceeds the speciation rate. All living things are part of a complex and interconnected network. We depend on the diversity of plant and animal life for our recreation, nourishment, many of our lifesaving medicines, and the ecological functions they provide. One-quarter of all the prescriptions written in the United States today contain chemicals that were originally discovered in plants and animals. Industry and agriculture are increasingly making use of wild plants, seeking out the remaining wild strain of many common crops, such as wheat and corn, to produce new hybrids that are more resistant to disease, pests, and marginal climatic conditions. Our food crops depend on insects and other animals for pollination. Healthy forests clean the air and provide oxygen for us to breathe. Wetlands clean water and help minimize the impacts of floods. These services are the foundation of life and depend on a diversity of plants and animals working in concert. Each time a species disappears, we lose not only those benefits we know it provided but other benefits that we have yet to realize. What you can do to help:

http://www.fws.gov/asheville/htmls/listedspecies/Blue_Ridge_goldenrod.html

Issue Date: September 28, 2009 Moon's Surface Holds Water Less than two weeks before a spacecraft is set to slam into the moon’s surface in search of water, a flurry of new reports from other spacecraft offer convincing evidence that the moon’s surface is lightly permeated with either water or its precursor, hydroxyl radicals. The possibility that water exists on the moon improves prospects that living things—including humans arriving on future space flights—might be able to survive there more easily than if the moon were dry. Although scientists found no evidence of water in lunar rocks brought back to Earth by Apollo astronauts, in the past few decades, the idea that stores of water ice might be cached in permanently shadowed craters at the moon’s poles has gained popularity. Now, using a variety of instruments, international teams have found key spectral evidence that H+2O or HO• covers the moon’s surface (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1178658, 10.1126/science.1179788, and 10.1126/science.1178105). “These instruments make it possible to map the lunar hydrogen content on the surface as never before,” said James Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA headquarters, in Washington, D.C., at a press conference announcing the discovery. Team scientists estimate the abundance of water at about 1,000 ppm, which is about a quart of water per ton of soil. “Perhaps the most valuable result of these new observations is that they prompt a critical reexamination of the notion that the moon is dry,” writes astronomy professor Paul G. Lucey of the University of Hawaii in a perspective accompanying the papers. “It is not.” The teams include a group led by Brown University planetary science professor Carle M. Pieters. She monitored visible and near-infrared wavelengths through NASA’s moon mineralogy mapper on Chandrayaan-1, India’s first mission to the moon. Another group, led by astronomer Jessica M. Sunshine of the University of Maryland, College Park, confirmed the results from Chandrayaan-1 using spectrometers on board NASA’s Deep Impact spacecraft during that craft’s recent flybys of the moon. And astronomer Roger N. Clark of the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver examined visible and IR data captured by the Saturn-exploring Cassini spacecraft during its lunar flyby in 1999 and also found spectral evidence of adsorbed H2O and HO•. Coincidentally, on Oct. 9, NASA’s LCROSS spacecraft is slated to twice bombard the moon in search of water. The search focuses on the moon’s permanently dark crater, Cabeus A, located near the south pole because scientists believe that dark craters may contain relic frozen water from bombarding comets. First, the spacecraft will eject the spent second stage of its launch rocket, which will crash onto the surface, throwing up a large amount of debris. LCROSS and its sister spacecraft, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, will look for water in the ejected material. Then LCROSS itself will plunge to the surface, tossing up yet another plume. The new reports, however, suggest that dark craters are not the only source of lunar water. Sunshine’s team proposes that the solar wind may provide an essential ingredient for surface water: energetic H+. In the team’s scenario, the H+ flux strikes the moon’s surface, releasing oxygen atoms bound to minerals in the soil, forming HO•, which can then easily form H2O. The group posits that as temperatures climb, more water molecules are released. Similarly, when temperatures decrease, water collects, creating a steady state. Pieters cautioned in a statement that “when we say ‘water on the moon,’ we are not talking about lakes, oceans, or even puddles. Water on the moon means molecules of water and hydroxyl that interact with molecules of rock and dust in the top millimeters of the moon’s surface.” - Chemical & Engineering News - ISSN 0009-2347 - Copyright © American Chemical Society

http://cen.acs.org/articles/87/i39/Moons-Surface-Holds-Water.html

Documents on Democracy Articles of Confederation On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress appointed three committees in response to the Lee Resolution. One of these committees, created to determine the form of a confederation of the colonies, was composed of one representative from each colony with John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, as the principal writer. The Bill of Rights During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way to tyranny by the central government. Fresh in their minds was the memory of the British violation of civil rights before and during the Revolution. They demanded a "bill of rights" that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens. The Constitution of the United States The Federal Convention convened in the State House (Independence Hall) in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787, to revise the Articles of Confederation. Because the delegations from only two states were at first present, the members adjourned from day to day until a quorum of seven states was obtained on May 25. Through discussion and debate it became clear by mid-June that, rather than amend the existing Articles, the Convention would draft an entirely new frame of government. All through the summer, in closed sessions, the delegates debated, and redrafted the articles of the new Constitution. The Declaration of Independence Although the section of the Lee Resolution dealing with independence was not adopted until July 2, Congress appointed on June 10 a committee of five to draft a statement of independence for the colonies. The committee included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert R. Livingston, and Roger Sherman, with the actual writing delegated to Jefferson. The Emancipation Proclamation Even though sectional conflicts over slavery had been a major cause of the war, ending slavery was not a goal of the war. That changed on September 22, 1862, when President Lincoln issued his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that slaves in those states or parts of states still in rebellion as of January 1, 1863, would be declared free. One hundred days later, with the rebellion unabated, President issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring "that all person held as slaves" within the rebellious areas "are, and henceforward shall be free." The Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison between October 1787 and May 1788. The essays were published anonymously, under the pen name "Publius," primarily in two New York state newspapers of the time: The New York Packet and The Independent Journal. Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789 The First Continental Congress met from September 5 to October 26, 1774. The Second Continental Congress ran from May 10, 1775, to March 2, 1789. The Journals of the Continental Congress are the records of the daily proceedings of the Congress as kept by the office of its secretary, Charles Thomson. This complete edition, published by the Library of Congress from 1904 to 1937, is based on the manuscript Journals and other manuscript records of the Continental Congress in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. The Papers of George Washington The collection is organized into eight Series or groupings. Commonplace books, correspondence, and travel journals, document his youth and early adulthood as a Virginia county surveyor and as colonel of the militia during the French and Indian War. Washington's election as delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and his command of the American army during the Revolutionary war are well documented as well as his two presidential administrations from 1789 through 1797. Because of the wide range of Washington's interests, activities, and correspondents, which include ordinary citizens as well as celebrated figures, his papers are a rich source for almost every aspect of colonial and early American history. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson The collection is organized into nine series or groupings, ranging in date from 1606 to 1827. Correspondence, memoranda, notes, and drafts of documents make up two-thirds of the Papers and document Jefferson's activities as a delegate to the second Continental Congress, his drafting of the Declaration of Independence, June-July 1776, his position as governor of Virginia, 1779-81, his return to Congress as a representative, 1783-84, and his appointment as minister plenipotentiary in Europe and then minister to the Court of Louis XVI, succeeding Benjamin Franklin, 1784-89. Budget of the United States Government The purpose of the annual Budget documents is to provide the Congress, State and local governments, and the public with a complete description of the President's budget plans for the coming fiscal year. The Budget includes, among other things, budget schedules for each account, new legislative proposals, explanations of work to be performed, and proposed text of appropriation language. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance The online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance gives you access to a database of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi-public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals. The Congressional Directory is one of the oldest working handbooks in the United States government. While there have been directories of one form or another since the First Congress of the United States convened in 1789, the Congressional Directory for the first session of the 30th Congress (1847) is considered by scholars and historians to be the first official edition because it was the first to be ordered and paid for by the Congress. With the addition of biographical sketches of legislators in 1867, the Congressional Directory attained its modern format. Federal Digital System (FDsys) A product of the Government Printing Office (GPO), FDsys is a search and retrieval service that provides bibliographic records of U.S. Government information products. Use it to link to Federal agency online resources or identify materials distributed to Federal Depository Libraries. Coverage begins with January 1994 and new records are added daily. Statistical Abstract of the United States The Abstract, published since 1878, is the standard summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It is designed to serve as a convenient volume for statistical reference and as a guide to other statistical publications and sources. The later function is served by the introductory text to each section, the source note appearing below each table, and Appendix I, which comprises the Guide to Sources of Statistics, the Guide to State Statistical Abstracts, and the Guide to Foreign Statistical Abstracts. United States Government Manual The Manual is published annually as a special edition of the Federal Register (1 CFR 9.1). The new edition of the Manual is available to the Public each year in the late summer. A typical agency description includes: A list of officials heading major operating units; A summary statement of the agency's purpose and role in the Federal Government; A brief history of the agency, including its legislative or executive authority; A description of its programs and activities; Information, addresses, and phone numbers to help users locate; detailed information on consumer activities, contracts and grants, employment, publications, and other matters of public interest. Code of Federal Regulations The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the Executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. The CFR online is a joint project authorized by the publisher, the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register, and the Government Printing Office (GPO) to provide the public with enhanced access to Government information. GPO will continue to make the paper editions of the CFR and Federal Register available through its Superintendent of Documents Sales service. The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. Helpful Hints provide instructions for searching the Congressional Record database. The Federal Register is the official daily publication for Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as Executive Orders and other Presidential Documents. Helpful Hints provide instructions for searching the database. Documents may be retrieved in ASCII "TEXT" format (full text, graphics omitted), Adobe Portable Document Format, "PDF" (full text with graphics), and "SUMMARY" format (abbreviated text). Public Papers of the President Select the database(s) to be searched. Enter search terms in the space below. Phrases must be in quotation marks (" "). The operators ADJ (adjacent), AND, OR and NOT can be used, but must be in capital letters. For example: "message to the senate" AND "united nations". Helpful hints for searching this database are available as HTML and PDF files. The Public and Private Laws database is a collection of laws enacted during the 108th Congress (2003-2004), 107th Congress (2001-2002), 106th Congress (1999-2000), 105th Congress (1997-1998) and 104th Congress (1995-1996) and is prepared and published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration. United States Code The United States Code is prepared and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives. This database contains the general and permanent laws of the United States. United States Reports The bound volumes of the United States Reports contain the fourth and final generation of the Court's opinions. See the file entitled "Information About Opinions." However, the materials collected here contain not just opinions, but the full text, from cover through index, of bound volumes 502 et seq., including all of the opinions, orders, and other materials issued for the Court's 1991 Term and subsequent years. Additional volumes will be included here after they are published in print form. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents is published every Monday by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration and contains statements, messages, and other Presidential materials released by the White House during the preceding week. Contact: Paul Kammerdiner / Email / Phone: 231-591-3037 / Office: FLITE 331 Last update: January 24, 2011

http://ferris.edu/library/Government/webguides/documents.html

Why not build a small resonance based linear particle accelerator? The study of particles, the building blocks of matter, revolves around the ability to study their composition, mainly by accelerating them to high velocities and then colliding them with something. While physicists have had this ability for the better part of a century, constructing this sort of device is normally only in the realm of large institutions with equally large research budgets. However, the concept is simple in principle and an accelerator can thus be designed that can be built without extensive resources. A linear particle accelerator can be divided into two major subsystems, mechanical and electrical. Mechanically, an accelerator consists of an ion source, a beam line, a target, and a pump system. Two of these components, the beam line and the pump system require special attention. For an accelerator to function properly, a high vacuum must be maintained. The simplest method to achieve such a vacuum is a mechanical pump combined with a cold trap to condense any pump oils or water vapor. At the lower frequencies of a small accelerator, the beam line must be made of a nonconductive material. In order to maintain vacuum, materials that have low out-gassing must be used, leaving only glass. The electrical system consists of a high voltage, high frequency supply and drift tubes. A microcontroller can be used to generate an adjustable waveform, controlling particle acceleration. With proper planning, an accelerator can thus be constructed. Materials and Schematics: The earliest particle accelerators were one-stage linear accelerators, driven by a static high voltage source; such an accelerator has its limits, however, as the voltage source will eventually arc over, setting an upper limit its acceleration potential. This obstacle was overcome by Rolf Widerøe with the invention of the resonance accelerator. In such an accelerator, drift tubes are used, alternately connected to ground and a high frequency, high voltage AC power source. With this concept, a particle can be accelerated multiple times, reaching far higher energies than with an electrostatic accelerator. While a particle is within a drift tube, it is electrically shielded and is accelerated in the gaps between tubes. As a particle approaches a drift tube connected to the AC power source, it is accelerated toward the tube; the field then changes polarity while the particle is contained within the tube, and the particle is accelerated away from the tube once it exits. Thus, the particle is accelerated as if the acceleration potential were twice what it actually is. In order for particles to continue moving once they are accelerated, a vacuum must be maintained within the beam line. In addition, the electric fields of the drift tubes must reach the particles being accelerated; this can be achieved either by using a non-conductive material for the beam line or by placing the drifts tubes within the beam line itself. The simpler method of using a non-conductive material was used, avoiding issues of electrical insulation and vacuum leakage. Plastic, however, cannot be used as it out gasses in a vacuum, eliminating the possibility to use cheap, readily available PVC pipe. Thus, a borosilicate glass pipe, designed for use with steam boilers, was used. This was then connected to a mechanical vacuum pump using copper pipe. A cold trap consisting of a U-shaped pipe and an isopropanol/dry ice solution was placed between the pump and the accelerator to prevent back streaming of pump oil into the beam line. To power and control the accelerator, electronics were designed and assembled to produce a waveform with a controllable frequency. In order to create both positive and negative voltages, a microcontroller was connected to a RS232 level converter to change TTL voltages to +12V and -12V. These signals were connected to transistors to switch the larger current required by the accelerator. An ignition transformer was then used to convert the low voltage waveform into a 30kV waveform for powering the accelerator. This control board is powered by a standard ATX computer power supply as it provides clean, regulated power at both the 5V required for the majority of the electronic components and the +12V and -12V required by the transformer, all in a cheap, compact package. Ions for the accelerator were created from the atmosphere, mostly nitrogen, through the use of an off-the-shelf 7.5kV DC power source connected to points inserted into the ionization chamber. As all the particles accelerated are ions, the effectiveness of the accelerator can easily be determined by counting the number of said ions that reach the end of the beam line. In its simplest form, this can be determined with a Faraday Cup. A copper target was placed at the end on the beam line and was connected to ground across a 1MΩ resistor. An analog to digital converter was then used to find the voltage drop across this resistor and thus the current via Ohm’s Law. Measurements were recorded via a microSD card. Data collection during the experiment consisted of analog to digital converter measurements in regards to a 1.1V reference potential (x is the analog to digital converter measurement). These measurements were taken across a 1MΩ resistor, allowing one to calculate current by way of Ohm’s Law. By dividing by the charge of an ion, the number of ions accelerated can be calculated. Combining these points, a formula can be created to convert the sensor readings into the number of ions accelerated. A review of the data show that the most effective frequency was 125kHz. In addition, this was the frequency at which the data was most consistent, with the least outliers. As frequency decreased, the number of ion hits recorded also decreased. Based on the data collected, 125kHz is the optimal frequency for operating the accelerator with ions generated from the air, mostly nitrogen. The data collected is incomplete, however, as optimal frequency was found to be at the edge of the data set. A frequency generator capable of creating higher frequency waveforms could be used to verify the data collected by expanding the upper limit of the data set, allowing a peak to be determined.

http://www.mpetroff.net/projects/linear-particle-accelerator/

The threats leading to population declines in birds are many and varied: agriculture, logging and invasive species are the most severe, respectively affecting 1,065 (87%), 668 (55%) and 625 (51%) globally threatened species. These threats create stresses on bird populations in a range of ways, the commonest being habitat destruction and degradation, which affect 1,146 (93%) threatened species. There are a number of threatening processes driving declines in bird populations. Foremost among them are the spread of agriculture which puts 1,065 threatened birds (87%) at risk, logging and wood harvesting impacting 668 species (55%) and invasive species which threaten 625 (51%) of threatened species (BirdLife International 2008). In addition, residential and commercial development, hunting and trapping, changes to the fire regime, and pollution are having serious negative impacts (see figure). Climate change represents an emerging and increasingly serious threat to species; one that often exacerbates existing threats. All these threats are taken into account in the IUCN Red List evaluation of species and contribute to their classification as globally threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable). High-impact threats affect the majority of the population and cause rapid declines, while low-impact ones affect the minority and cause slower, albeit still significant, declines. These threatening process impact species’ populations in a number of ways (see figure). Habitat destruction and degradation (driven, for example, by logging and agricultural expansion) currently impacts 1,146 threatened birds (93%), while direct mortality and reduced reproductive success resulting from many of the processes listed above are affecting 54% and 33% of threatened species respectively (BirdLife International 2008). Some threats can be reversed given enough resources, so targeted actions have been recommended for all threatened birds to directly address specific threats. When species populations become very small, however, incipient threats can emerge such as stochastic events (e.g.volcanoes, cyclones and drought causing mortality) or from problematic native species (e.g. increases in competition or hybridisation), that are difficult to combat; within healthy populations these threats may be more benign. Related Case Studies in other sections Compiled 2004, updated 2008 BirdLife International (2008) A range of threats drives declines in bird populations. Presented as part of the BirdLife State of the world's birds website. Available from: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sowb/casestudy/120. Checked: 25/05/2013 |Key message: Human actions resulting in habitat destruction and degradation are the main causes of declines|

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sowb/casestudy/120

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is an inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye. The conjunctiva consists of the membrane that lines the inside of the eye and also a thin membrane that covers the actual eye. There are many causes of pink eye, including the following: In this section, only allergic conjunctivitis will be addressed. The following are the most common symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include: - Itchy eyes - Watery discharge - Swelling of the eyelids - Redness of the eyes - Stringy discharge from the eyes The symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis may resemble other medical conditions. Always consult your child's doctor for a diagnosis. Cultures of eye drainage are usually not done for allergic conjunctivitis. A diagnosis of conjunctivitis is usually made based on a complete medical history and physical examination. There is no cure for allergic conjunctivitis. Avoidance of the irritant is the best management. Cold compresses to your child's eyes may also help with the itching and swelling. Specific treatment for allergic conjunctivitis will be determined by your child's doctor based on: - Your child's age, overall health, and medical history - Extent of the reaction - Your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies - Expectations for the course of the reaction - Your opinion or preference Your child's doctor may prescribe the following medications to help with the symptoms: - Antihistamines. These help to decrease histamine release, which may help to decrease itching and watering. Some examples are diphenhydramine (Benadryl) or hydroxyzine (Atarax). These medications may make your child drowsy. - Nonsedating antihistamines. These work similarly to antihistamines but without the side effect of making your child drowsy. These might include cetirizine (Zyrtec) or loratadine (Claritin). - Eye drops. These help to relieve the itching and redness. Click here to view the Online Resources of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology Last reviewed: 7/1/2012

http://www.memorialhealth.com/tests-and-procedures.aspx?pgid=P01678

The Taiga Ecosystem The taiga, or boreal forest, is an ecosystem found across the northern regions of North America and Eurasia. It covers much of Canada and extends down into the northwestern United States. In Europe, Scandinavia and much of Russia is covered with boreal forest. Large cities including Moscow and Toronto are found in the southernmost part of the taiga, but farther north it is mostly unpopulated by humans. The taiga is composed of coniferous trees in an almost continuous belt. Boreal forest grows over areas that were once covered by glaciers and still retain some patchy areas of permafrost. Winter in the taiga is long and harsh, with temperatures dipping as low as -90 degrees Fahrenheit. The winter can last up to six months. The summer season is brief, comprising only about fifty to one hundred frost-free days. The taiga has little annual precipitation, only about fifteen to twenty inches, but its climate is humid because of low evaporation. Plant Life in the Taiga Taiga woodland soil is rocky, acidic and low in nutrients. The primary vegetation in the boreal forest is coniferous, needle-leaf trees. In North America, the dominant species of coniferous trees are fir and spruce. In Scandinavia and throughout Russia, the Scots pine is usually dominant. Deciduous trees and shrubs are also common, including alder, birch and aspen. Coniferous forest is well adapted to difficult growing conditions. Needles remain green year-round, which means that the trees don’t need to expend energy by growing new leaves every year. The needles also limit water loss through transpiration, allowing evergreen trees to stay alive even when the ground is frozen and water from the soil is difficult to come by. The shape of the branches allows snow to slide off rather than build up and cause the branches to break. Animal Life in the Taiga The boreal forest is home to a wide variety of animal life, including predatory mammals like lynxes, bobcats, bears, and weasels; small herbivores like snowshoe hares, lemmings, and voles; and large herbivores like elk and moose. Many birds in the taiga, such as wood warblers, are migratory and leave after the warmer season. Seed-eating birds like finches and omnivores like ravens make their home in the tundra year-round. Animals that live year-round in the taiga must adapt. Some hibernate through the coldest part of the season. Others produce an extra layer of fur or feathers to help them survive. Some animals change color to help them blend in with their snowy surroundings. Water Pollution in the Taiga Long ago, the taiga was covered by glaciers. When they receded, they left huge gouges and depressions. When it rains, the depressions fill, and lakes and bogs form. The bogs and ponds are a great breeding ground for insects, which help support the migratory bird populations. Some areas of the taiga are at risk of deforestation caused by acid rain. Russia has a number of plants which smelt nickel, aluminum and lead. These plants emit chemicals into the atmosphere, which causes acid rain to form. Some rivers in the taiga are also at risk, due to the damage caused by the timber industry. Logs sink and cause flooding. When areas of the forest are cut clear, the topsoil erodes into the rivers and streams.

http://myhydros.org/tag/climate/

On February 17, 2006, the village of Guinsaugon on Leyte Island in the Philippines disappeared. After several days of unusually heavy rain, a massive landslide swallowed more than 350 houses and an elementary school, burying more than 1,100 people. Residents of the village, situated at the foot of a mountain, had no warning. Landslides occur everywhere in the world, but the danger of rainfall-induced slides tends to be much greater in tropical mountainous regions like those in the Philippines, Central and South America, and southeastern Asia. Steep terrain and heavy tropical rains put dense populations at risk. Monitoring landslide-producing conditions typically requires extensive networks of ground-based rain gauges and weather instruments. But many of the developing countries in high-risk areas lack the resources to maintain such systems; heavy rains and flooding often wash away ground-based instruments. Robert Adler, a senior scientist in the Laboratory for Atmospheres at Goddard Space Flight Center, and Yang Hong, a research scientist at Goddard Earth Sciences Technology Center, are confronting the problem by developing a satellite-based system for predicting landslides. The system makes data available on the Internet just a few hours after the satellite makes its observations. Adler said, “If we can complete this ‘real-time’ product and make it available on the Web, then almost any government or organization in the world can access this information.” Mapping landslide susceptibility Rainfall is the key factor in Adler and Hong’s product, but first, they needed to piece together a global landslide susceptibility map, which would help reveal terrain and ground properties. Hong said, “Rainfall can be a trigger for landslides, but ground conditions are also very important.” Adler and Hong mapped topography, as well the direction that rivers and runoff would flow across the terrain. Satellite data helped the researchers determine land cover types, including forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and urban areas. They also included information on soil composition and depth. The map revealed no surprises—the researchers already had a general idea which regions of the world were susceptible to landslides. “The most important factors are the slope and soil type. Steep slopes and coarse soil types are more susceptible to landslides,” Hong said. “And, in terms of land cover, bare soil contributes more to landslides.” The landslide susceptibility map provides a background against which the scientists could predict the effect of rainfall. Remotely sensing rainfall Adler and Hong’s primary source of rainfall data is the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), a joint NASA-Japanese Space Agency mission that launched in 1997. Adler said, “There are two main things that TRMM provides for this multi-satellite analysis. One, it’s the calibrator for the information from the other satellites. Two, it’s always in the tropics, and gives us very good coverage in a critical area.” TRMM orbits the Earth from west to east along the equator, weaving between 35 degrees north and 35 degrees south. Adler and Hong collect data from other satellites that are in polar orbits, traveling north to south around the Earth. “Because the TRMM orbit crosses over the paths of each polar-orbiting satellite, we’re able to collect subsets of data from both satellites at the same time,” Adler said. “We use TRMM data, which we think is making the best estimate, to calibrate, or adjust the rain estimates from the other satellites.” To test whether their rainfall product accurately detected landslide-triggering rain events, Adler and Hong identified 74 rainfall-induced landslides that occurred between the TRMM launch and 2006, including the Guinsaugon slide. Over the years, scientists have analyzed case studies of landslides to determine the intensity and duration of rainfall—usually measured at ground-based rain gauges—beyond which landslides become likely. Adler and Hong plugged their satellite-based rainfall data into equations that predicted when the rainfall at each landslide location would have reached the threshold. Their results closely matched previous threshold estimates, confirming that satellite observations could detect the extremely intense rainfall needed to trigger the slides. Adler’s and Hong’s satellite-based landslide-prediction products are available online and contain data from 2002 through the present. They are updated in “real time,” allowing anyone on the Web to determine if an area is receiving particularly intense rainfall or if it has reached a critical level of accumulation. People can download data or zoom in on geographic maps that display three-hour rainfall rates or seven-day accumulations. In addition, Hong is making hourly rainfall data available through Google Earth, a popular Web-based browser for viewing a collection of satellite and aerial views of the Earth overlaid with geographical and scientific information. For now, the researchers consider the product to be in an “experimental” phase. They are still evaluating its potential and its limitations. Based on feedback from the system’s first users, they plan to refine the system to make it even more practical to local governments and disaster-response organizations on the ground. In remote, landslide-prone areas like Leyte Island, it can difficult for emergency planners to assess landslide hazards in time to prevent disasters. In these areas, a real-time, satellite-based monitoring system may ultimately save lives. “When national and international organizations have to plan disaster mitigation or relief work,” Adler said, “this system can give them quantitative information about where exactly the hazard is and which areas are affected. And that’s why I think that a lot of people are looking at this information. You don’t get it anywhere else.” About the scientists: Robert Adler is a senior scientist in the Laboratory for Atmospheres at Goddard Space Flight Center and a project scientist for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM). Adler’s research focuses on analyzing precipitation observations from space on global and regional scales using TRMM and other satellite data. Adler holds a PhD in meteorology from Colorado State University. Yang Hong is a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Earth Science and Technology (GEST) Center. His research interests include surface hydrology, remote-sensing of precipitation, flood forecasting and landslide analysis, and sustainable development. Hong received his PhD in hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona, Tucson. This research was funded by NASA.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/LandslideWarning/

Want to know how to conquer kids' learning obstacles? If after every lesson your kids can say, "We came, we saw, we heard, we touched," they'll also be able to say, "We conquered!" Kids experience their world through their senses, and each child has a favored sense that sends more information to the brain than the other senses. The three primary perceptual preferences or "learning styles" are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. By understanding these three learning styles, you can create lessons that'll give all your children a better chance of *Characteristics-Visual learners need to see or observe things closely. Visual learners recognize words by sight, remember faces but forget names, take notes, make lists, have vivid imaginations and think in pictures. Visual learners express emotion through facial expressions. Jonna is a visual learner. She's distracted by visual disorder or movement and prefers a neat, meticulous environment. She doesn't talk at length and becomes impatient when she has to listen for a long time. While her teacher lectures, Jonna will stare, daydream *Lesson Design-In every lesson, provide pictorial or graphic representations and demonstrations. Allow visual learners to read and look at illustrations, charts and other visual aids. Don't just tell kids about a topic, but allow them to also read *Characteristics-Auditory learners learn best by reading aloud or listening. Auditory learners remember things they hear better than things they see. These students move their lips or subvocalize as they talk out situations and problems. They hum and are easily distracted by sounds. They remember names by auditory repetition but forget faces. Auditory learners express emotion verbally through changes in tone, volume and pitch of voice. Brad is an auditory learner. He often talks to others during class because, even though he enjoys listening, he can't wait to talk. Brad enjoys the sound of his own voice. *Lesson Design-Provide opportunities for kids to listen to oral reading or a taped presentation. Ask questions and form group discussions to get these kids talking. Encourage dramatic presentations or role-plays. Always read aloud any *Characteristics-Kelly is a kinesthetic learner. She sits at the front of a group so she can touch the object of the lesson. In a line, Kelly is frequently told to "keep your hands to yourself!" Kinesthetic learners enjoy touching or doing things. These children aren't attentive to visual or auditory presentations and so seem distracted. Kinesthetic learners attack problems physically, impulsively trying things out-touching, feeling and manipulating. When bored, they fidget or find reasons to move. When happy, they jump for joy. When angry, they stomp off. *Lesson Design-Structure "real-life" situations such as field trips and allow kids to make things. Give these kids objects to touch or feel what they're learning about. Make lessons active by having kids play educational games or run relays. Joyce Platek works with children in Ohio. Copyright© 1992 Group Publishing, Inc. / Children's Ministry

http://childrensministry.com/articles/how-to-tailor-your-lessons-to-kids-learning-styles

How the Shape of a Histogram Reflects the Statistical Mean and Median You can connect the shape of a histogram with the mean and median of the statistical data that you use to create it. Conversely, the relationship between the mean and median can help you predict the shape of the histogram. The preceding graph is a histogram showing the ages of winners of the Best Actress Academy Award; you can see it is skewed right. The following table includes calculations of some basic (that is, descriptive) statistics from the data set. Examining these numbers, you find the median age is 33.00 years and the mean age is 35.69 years: The mean age is higher than the median age because of a few actresses that were quite a bit older than the rest when they won their awards. For example, Jessica Tandy won for her role in Driving Miss Daisy when she was 81, and Katharine Hepburn won the Oscar for On Golden Pond when she was 74. The relationship between the median and mean confirms the skewness (to the right) found in the first graph. Here are some tips for connecting the shape of a histogram with the mean and median: If the histogram is skewed right, the mean is greater than the median. This is the case because skewed-right data have a few large values that drive the mean upward but do not affect where the exact middle of the data is (that is, the median). If the histogram is close to symmetric, then the mean and median are close to each other. Close to symmetric means the data are roughly the same in height and location on either side of the center of the histogram; it doesn't need to be exact. Close is defined in the context of the data; for example, the numbers 50 and 55 are said to be close if all the values lie between 0 and 1,000, but they are considered to be farther apart if all the values lie between 49 and 56. The histogram shown in this graph is close to symmetric. Its mean and median are both equal to 3.5: If the histogram is skewed left, the mean is less than the median. This is the case because skewed-left data have a few small values that drive the mean downward but do not affect where the exact middle of the data is (that is, the median). The following graph represents the exam scores of 17 students, and the data are skewed left. The mean and median of the original data set are calculated to be 70.41 and 74.00, respectively. The mean is lower than the median due to a few students who scored quite a bit lower than the others. These findings match the general shape of the histogram shown in the graph: If for some reason you don't have a histogram of the data, and you only have the mean and median to go by, you can compare them to each other to get a rough idea as to the shape of the data set. If the mean is much larger than the median, the data are generally skewed right; a few values are larger than the rest. If the mean is much smaller than the median, the data are generally skewed left; a few smaller values bring the mean down. If the mean and median are close, you know the data is fairly balanced, or symmetric, on each side (but not necessarily bell-shaped).

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-the-shape-of-a-histogram-reflects-the-statisti.html

It is becoming increasingly harder for those who do not possess technology skills to excel in society. If you need to pay bills, apply for a job, search for financial aid, or find information, you are at a real disadvantage if you do not have basic digitally literacy skills and access to the Internet. Fortunately, there are a growing number of tools and resources that educators can use to help students understand technology and become connected. Here are a few websites to help with the basics. If your student is new to computers, start by using one of the several resources that introduce digital literacy. Microsoft Digital Literacy has a three-tier curriculum that starts with a basic introduction to computers and ends with creating an e-mail account, searching on the web and social networking. The Tennessee Library System offers a free “New User Tutorial” designed to help people who have never used a computer before. It is easy to use and students can work at their own pace. One of the most comprehensive resources for students is the Goodwill Community Foundation’s website, which covers the basics for Apple and PC computers, searching on the internet, using Microsoft features, and other ways to make the computer applicable to everyday life. You can also check out Larry Verlazzo’s Best Sites for Students to Learn about Computers and Best Places to Learn Computer Basics and How to Fix Tech Problems

http://floridaliteracy.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/digital-literacy-basics/

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (the official shortened name for the World's Fair: Columbian Exposition, also known as The Chicago World's Fair) was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492. The iconic centerpiece of the Fair, the large pond of water, was there to represent the long voyage Columbus took to the New World. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St. Louis for the honor of hosting the fair. The fair was an influential social and cultural event. The fair had a profound effect on architecture, sanitation, the arts, Chicago's self-image, and American industrial optimism. The Chicago Columbian Exposition was, in large part, designed by Daniel Burnham and Frederick Law Olmsted. It was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux Arts principles of design, namely French neoclassical architecture principles based on symmetry, balance, and splendor. The exposition covered more than 600 acres (2.4 km2), featuring nearly 200 new (but purposely temporary) buildings of predominantly neoclassical architecture, canals and lagoons, and people and cultures from around the world. More than 27 million people attended the exposition during its six-month run. Its scale and grandeur far exceeded the other world fairs, and it became a symbol of the emerging American Exceptionalism, much in the same way that the Great Exhibition became a symbol of the Victorian era United Kingdom. Dedication ceremonies for the fair were held on October 21, 1892, but the fairgrounds were not actually opened to the public until May 1, 1893. The fair continued until October 30, 1893. In addition to recognizing the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World by Europeans, the fair also served to show the world that Chicago had risen from the ashes of the Great Chicago Fire, which had destroyed much of the city in 1871. On October 9, 1893, the day designated as Chicago Day, the fair set a world record for outdoor event attendance, drawing 716,881 people to the fair. Many prominent civic, professional, and commercial leaders from around the United States participated in the financing, coordination, and management of the Fair, including Chicago shoe tycoon Charles H. Schwab, Chicago railroad and manufacturing magnate John Whitfield Bunn, and Connecticut banking, insurance, and iron products magnate Milo Barnum Richardson, among many others. Planning and organization The fair was planned in the early 1890s, the Gilded Age of rapid industrial growth, immigration, and class tension. World's fairs, such as London's 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition, had been successful in Europe as a way to bring together societies fragmented along class lines. However, the first American attempt at world's fair in 1876 in Philadelphia, though hugely successful in attendance, lost money. Nonetheless, ideas about marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus' landing started to take hold in the 1880s. Towards the end of the decade, civic leaders in St. Louis, New York City, Washington DC and Chicago expressed interest in hosting a fair, in order to generate profits, boost real estate values, and promote their cities. Congress was called on to decide the location. New York's financiers J. P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and William Waldorf Astor, among others, pledged $15 million to finance the fair if Congress awarded it to New York, while Chicagoans Charles T. Yerkes, Marshall Field, Philip Armour, Gustavus Swift, and Cyrus McCormick, offered to finance a Chicago fair. What finally persuaded Congress was Chicago banker Lyman Gage who raised several million additional dollars in a 24-hour period, over and above New York's final offer. The exposition corporation and national exposition commission settled on Jackson Park as the fair site. Daniel H. Burnham was selected as director of works, and George R. Davis as director-general. Burnham emphasized architecture and sculpture as central to the fair and assembled the period's top talent to design the buildings and grounds including Frederick Law Olmsted for the grounds. The buildings were neoclassical, painted white, resulting in the name “White City” for the fair site. Meanwhile Davis's team organized the exhibits with the help of G. Brown Goode of the Smithsonian. The Midway was inspired by the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition which included ethnological "villages". The Exposition's offices set up shop in the upper floors of the Rand McNally Building on Adams Street, the world's first all-steel-framed skyscraper. The fair opened in May and ran through October 30, 1893. Forty-six nations participated in the fair (it was the first world's fair to have national pavilions), constructing exhibits and pavilions and naming national "delegates" (for example, Haiti selected Frederick Douglass to be its delegate). The Exposition drew nearly 26 million visitors. The exposition was located in Jackson Park and on the Midway Plaisance on 630 acres (2.5 km2) in the neighborhoods of South Shore, Jackson Park Highlands, Hyde Park and Woodlawn. Charles H. Wacker was the Director of the Fair. The layout of the fairgrounds was created by Frederick Law Olmsted, and the Beaux-Arts architecture of the buildings was under the direction of Daniel Burnham, Director of Works for the fair. Renowned local architect Henry Ives Cobb designed several buildings for the exposition. The Director of the American Academy in Rome, Francis Davis Millet, directed the painted mural decorations. Indeed, it was a coming-of-age for the arts and architecture of the "American Renaissance", and it showcased the burgeoning neoclassical and Beaux-Arts styles. White City Most of the buildings of the fair were designed in the classical style of architecture. The area at the Court of Honor was known as The White City. The buildings were clad in white stucco, which, in comparison to the tenements of Chicago, seemed illuminated. It was also called the White City because of the extensive use of street lights, which made the boulevards and buildings usable at night. It included such buildings as: - The Administration Building, designed by Richard Morris Hunt - The Agricultural Building, designed by Charles McKim - The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, designed by George B. Post. If this building were standing today, it would rank second in volume and third in footprint on List of largest buildings (130,000m2, 8,500,000m3). - The Mines and Mining Building, designed by Solon Spencer Beman - The Electricity Building, designed by Henry Van Brunt and Frank Maynard Howe - The Machinery Building, designed by Robert Swain Peabody of Peabody and Stearns - The Woman's Building, designed by Sophia Hayden - The Transportation Building, designed by Adler & Sullivan Louis Sullivan's polychrome proto-Modern Transportation Building was an outstanding exception to the prevailing style, as he tried to develop an organic American form. Years later, in 1922, he wrote that the classical style of the White City had set back modern American architecture by forty years. As detailed in Erik Larson's popular history The Devil in the White City, extraordinary effort was required to accomplish the exposition, and much of it was unfinished on opening day. The famous Ferris Wheel, which proved to be a major attendance draw and helped save the fair from bankruptcy, was not finished until June, because of waffling by the board of directors the previous year on whether to build it. Frequent debates and disagreements among the developers of the fair added many delays. The spurning of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show proved a serious financial mistake. Buffalo Bill set up his highly popular show next door to the fair and brought in a great deal of revenue that he did not have to share with the developers. Nonetheless, construction and operation of the fair proved to be a windfall for Chicago workers during the serious economic recession that was sweeping the country. Early in July, a Wellesley College English teacher named Katharine Lee Bates visited the fair. The White City later inspired the reference to "alabaster cities" in her poem "America the Beautiful". The exposition was extensively reported by Chicago publisher William D. Boyce's reporters and artists. There is a very detailed and vivid description of all facets of this fair by the Persian traveler Mirza Mohammad Ali Mo'in ol-Saltaneh written in Persian. He departed from Persia on April 20, 1892, especially for the purpose of visiting the World's Columbian Exposition. The fair ended with the city in shock, as popular mayor Carter Harrison, Sr. was assassinated by Patrick Eugene Prendergast two days before the fair's closing. Closing ceremonies were canceled in favor of a public memorial service. Jackson Park was returned to its status as a public park, in much better shape than its original swampy form. The lagoon was reshaped to give it a more natural appearance, except for the straight-line northern end where it still laps up against the steps on the south side of the Palace of Fine Arts/Museum of Science & Industry building. The Midway Plaisance, a park-like boulevard which extends west from Jackson Park, once formed the southern boundary of the University of Chicago, which was being built as the fair was closing (the university has since developed south of the Midway). The university's football team, the Maroons, were the original "Monsters of the Midway". The exposition is mentioned in the university's alma mater: "The City White hath fled the earth,/But where the azure waters lie,/A nobler city hath its birth,/The City Gray that ne'er shall die." Role in the City Beautiful Movement The White City is largely accredited for ushering in the City Beautiful movement and planting the seeds of modern city planning. The highly integrated design of the landscapes, promenades, and structures provided a vision of what is possible when planners, landscape architects, and architects work together on a comprehensive design scheme. The White City inspired cities to focus on the beautification of the components of the city in which municipal government had control; streets, municipal art, public buildings and public spaces. The designs of the City Beautiful Movement (closely tied with the municipal art movement) are identifiable by their classical architecture, plan symmetry, picturesque views, axial plans, as well as their magnificent scale. Where the municipal art movement focused on beautifying one feature in a City, the City Beautiful movement began to make improvements on the scale of the district. The White City of the World's Columbian Exposition inspired the Merchant's Club of Chicago to commission Daniel Burnham to create the Plan of Chicago in 1909, which became the first modern comprehensive city plan in America. Surviving structures Almost all of the fair's structures were designed to be temporary; of the more than 200 buildings erected for the fair, the only two which still stand in place are the Palace of Fine Arts and the World's Congress Auxiliary Building. From the time the fair closed until 1920, the Palace of Fine Arts housed the Field Columbian Museum (now the Field Museum of Natural History, since relocated); in 1933, the Palace building re-opened as the Museum of Science and Industry. The second building, the World's Congress Building, was one of the few buildings not built in Jackson Park, instead it was built downtown in Grant Park. The cost of construction of the World's Congress Building was shared with the Art Institute of Chicago, which, as planned, moved into the building (the museum's current home) after the close of the fair. Three other significant buildings survived the fair. The first is the Norway pavilion, a recreation of a traditional wooden stave church which is now preserved at a museum called Little Norway in Blue Mounds, Wisconsin. The second is the Maine State Building, designed by Charles Sumner Frost, which was purchased by the Ricker family of Poland Spring, Maine. They moved the building to their resort to serve as a library and art gallery. The Poland Spring Preservation Society now owns the building, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The third is the Dutch House, which was moved to Brookline, Massachusetts. The main altar at St. John Cantius in Chicago, as well as its matching two side altars, are reputed to be from the Columbian Exposition. Since many of the other buildings at the fair were intended to be temporary, they were removed after the fair. Their facades were made not of stone, but of a mixture of plaster, cement and jute fiber called staff, which was painted white, giving the buildings their "gleam". Architecture critics derided the structures as "decorated sheds". The White City, however, so impressed everyone who saw it (at least before air pollution began to darken the façades) that plans were considered to refinish the exteriors in marble or some other material. In any case, these plans were abandoned in July 1894 when much of the fair grounds was destroyed in a fire, thus assuring their temporary status. Electricity at the fair The International Exposition was held in a building which was devoted to electrical exhibits. General Electric Company (backed by Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan) had proposed to power the electric exhibits with direct current originally at the cost of US$1.8 million. After this was initially rejected as exorbitant, General Electric re-bid their costs at $554,000. However, Westinghouse proposed using its alternating current system to illuminate the Columbian Exposition in Chicago for $399,000, and Westinghouse won the bid. It was a key event in what has been called the War of the currents, an early demonstration in America of the safety and reliability of alternating current. All the exhibits were from commercial enterprises. Thomas Edison, Brush, Western Electric, and Westinghouse had exhibits. There were many demonstrations of electrical devices developed by Nikola Tesla. These included high-frequency high-voltage lighting that produced more efficient light with less heat, a two-phase induction motor, and generators to power the system. Tesla demonstrated a series of electrical effects in a lecture he had previously been performing throughout America and Europe. This included using high-voltage, high-frequency alternating current to light a wireless gas-discharge lamp and shooting lightning from his fingertips. General Electric banned the use of Edison's lamps in Westinghouse's plan in retaliation for losing the bid. Westinghouse's company quickly designed a double-stopper lightbulb (sidestepping Edison's patents) and was able to light the fair. The Westinghouse lightbulb was invented by Reginald Fessenden, later to be the first person to transmit voice by radio. Fessenden replaced Edison's delicate platinum lead-in wires with an iron-nickel alloy, thus greatly reducing the cost and increasing the life of the lamp. The Westinghouse Company displayed several polyphase systems. The exhibits included a switchboard, polyphase generators, step-up transformers, transmission line, step-down transformers, commercial size induction motors and synchronous motors, and rotary direct current converters (including an operational railway motor). The working scaled system allowed the public a view of a system of polyphase power which could be transmitted over long distances, and be utilized, including the supply of direct current. Meters and other auxiliary devices were also present. Also at the Fair, the Chicago Athletic Association Football team played one of the very first night football games against West Point (the earliest being on September 28, 1892 between Mansfield State Normal and Wyoming Seminary). Chicago won the game 14-0. The game lasted only 40 minutes, compared to the normal 90 minutes. The World's Columbian Exposition was the first world's fair with an area for amusements that was strictly separated from the exhibition halls. This area, developed by a young music promoter, Sol Bloom, concentrated on Midway Plaisance and introduced the term "midway" to American English to describe the area of a carnival or fair where sideshows are located. It included carnival rides, among them the original Ferris Wheel, built by George Ferris. This wheel was 264 feet (80 m) high and had 36 cars, each of which could accommodate 60 people. The importance of the Columbian Exposition is highlighted by the use of "Rueda de Chicago" (Chicago Wheel) in many Latin American countries such as Costa Rica and Chile in reference to the Ferris Wheel. One attendee, George C. Tilyou, later credited the sights he saw on the Chicago midway for inspiring him to create America's first major amusement park, Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, NY. Eadweard Muybridge gave a series of lectures on the Science of Animal Locomotion in the Zoopraxographical Hall, built specially for that purpose on Midway Plaisance. He used his zoopraxiscope to show his moving pictures to a paying public. The hall was the first commercial movie theater. The "Street in Cairo" included the popular dancer known as Little Egypt. She introduced America to the suggestive version of the belly dance known as the "hootchy-kootchy", to a tune said to be improvised by Sol Bloom (and now more commonly associated with snake charmers) which he had made as an improvisation when his dancers had no music to dance to. Bloom did not copyright the song, putting it straight into the public domain. Music at the fair Black musicians - Joseph Douglass ~ Classical violinist, who achieved wide recognition after his performance there and became the first African-American violinist to conduct a transcontinental tour and the first to tour as a concert violinist. Other music and musicians - The first Indonesian music performance in the United States was at the exposition. - A group of hula dancers led to increased awareness of Hawaiian music among Americans throughout the country. - Stoughton Musical Society, the oldest choral society in the United States, presented the first concerts of early American music at the exposition. - The first Eisteddfod (a Welsh choral competition with a history spanning many centuries) held outside of Wales was held in Chicago at the exposition. - August 12, 1893 – Antonín Dvořák conducts gala "Bohemian Day" concert at Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, besieged by visitors including the conductor of the Chicago Symphony, who arranges for performance of "American" String Quartet, just completed in Spillville, Iowa, during a Dvorak family vacation in a Czech-speaking community there. . Non-musical attractions Although denied a spot at the fair, Buffalo Bill Cody decided to come to Chicago anyway, setting up his Wild West show just outside the edge of the exposition. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner gave academic lectures reflecting on the end of the frontier which Buffalo Bill represented. The Electrotachyscope of Ottomar Anschütz was demonstrated, which used a Geissler Tube to project the illusion of moving images. Louis Comfort Tiffany made his reputation with a stunning chapel designed and built for the Exposition. This chapel has been carefully reconstructed and restored. It can be seen in at the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art. Architect Kirtland Cutter's Idaho Building, a rustic log construction, was a popular favorite, visited by an estimated 18 million people. The building's design and interior furnishings were a major precursor of the Arts and Crafts movement. The John Bull locomotive was displayed. It was only 62 years old, having been built in 1831. It was the first locomotive acquisition by the Smithsonian Institution. The locomotive ran under its own power from Washington, DC, to Chicago to participate, and returned to Washington under its own power again when the exposition closed. In 1981 it was the oldest surviving operable steam locomotive in the world when it ran under its own power again. An original frog switch and portion of the superstructure of the famous 1826 Granite Railway in Massachusetts could be viewed. This was the first commercial railroad in the United States to evolve into a common carrier without an intervening closure. The railway brought granite stones from a rock quarry in Quincy, Massachusetts, so that the Bunker Hill Monument could be erected in Boston. The frog switch is now on public view in East Milton Square, Massachusetts, on the original right-of-way of the Granite Railway. Norway participated by sending the Viking, a replica of the Gokstad ship. It was built in Norway and sailed across the Atlantic by 12 men, led by Captain Magnus Andersen. In 1919 this ship was moved to Lincoln Park. It was relocated in 1996 to Good Templar Park in Geneva, Illinois, where it awaits renovation. The 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions, which ran from September 11 to September 27, marked the first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions from around the world. According to Eric J. Sharpe, Tomoko Masuzawa, and others, the event was considered radical at the time, since it allowed non-Christian faiths to speak on their own behalf; it was not taken seriously by European scholars until the 1960s. Visitors to the Louisiana Pavilion were each given a seeding of a cypress tree. This resulted in the spread of cypress trees to areas where they were not native. Cypress trees from those seedings can be found in many areas of West Virginia, where they flourish in the climate. Along the banks of the lake, patrons on the way to the casino were taken on a moving walkway the first of its kind open to the public, called The Great Wharf, Moving Sidewalk, it allowed people to walk along or ride in seats. The German firm Krupp had a pavilion of artillery, which apparently had cost one million dollars to stage, including a coastal gun of 42 cm in bore (16.54 inches) and a length of 33 calibres (45.93 feet, 14 meters). A breach loaded gun, it weighed 120.46 long tons (122.4 metric tons). According to the company's marketing: "It carried a charge projectile weighing from 2,200 to 2,500 pounds which, when driven by 900 pounds of brown powder, was claimed to be able to penetrate at 2,200 yards a wrought iron plate three feet thick if placed at right angles." Nicknamed "The Thunderer", the gun had an advertised range of 15 miles; on this occasion John Schofield declared Krupps' guns "the greatest peacemakers in the world". This gun was later seen as a precursor of the company's World War I Dicke Berta howitzers. Notable firsts at the fair ||This section needs additional citations for verification. (March 2011)| - Frederick Jackson Turner lectured on his Frontier thesis - Contribution to Chicago's nickname, the "Windy City". Some argue that Charles Anderson Dana of the New York Sun coined the term related to the hype of the city's promoters. Other evidence, however, suggests the term was used as early as 1881 in relation to either Chicago's "windbag" politicians or to its weather. - United States Mint offered its first commemorative coins: a quarter and half dollar - The United States Post Office Department produced its first picture postcards and Commemorative stamp set Edibles and potables - F.W. Rueckheim introduced a confection of popcorn, peanuts and molasses that was given the name Cracker Jack in 1896 - Cream of Wheat - Milton Hershey bought a European exhibitor's chocolate manufacturing equipment and added chocolate products to his caramel manufacturing business - Juicy Fruit gum - Pabst Blue Ribbon - Quaker Oats - Shredded Wheat Inventions and manufacturing advances - The "clasp locker," a clumsy slide fastener and forerunner to the zipper was demonstrated by Whitcomb L. Judson - Elongated coins, (the squashed penny) - Ferris Wheel - First fully electrical kitchen including an automatic dishwasher - Phosphorescent lamps (a precursor to fluorescent lamps) - John T. Shayne & Company, the local Chicago furrier helped America gain respect on the world stage of manufacturing - To hasten the painting process during construction of the fair in 1892, Francis Davis Millet invents spray painting - A device that made plates for printing books in Braille, unveiled by Frank Haven Hall, who met Helen Keller and her teacher at the exhibit. - Congress of Mathematicians, precursor to International Congress of Mathematicians - Interfaith dialogue (the Parliament of the World’s Religions) - The poet and humorist Benjamin Franklin King, Jr. first performed at the exposition. Later years The exposition was one influence leading to the rise of the City Beautiful movement. Results included grand buildings and fountains built around Olmstedian parks, shallow pools of water on axis to central buildings, larger park systems, broad boulevards and parkways and, after the start of the 20th century, zoning laws and planned suburbs. Examples of the City Beautiful movement's works include the City of Chicago, the Columbia University campus, and the National Mall in Washington D.C. After the fair closed, J.C. Rogers, a banker from Wamego, Kansas, purchased several pieces of art that had hung in the rotunda of the U.S. Government Building. He also purchased architectural elements, artifacts and buildings from the fair. He shipped his purchases to Wamego. Many of the items, including the artwork, were used to decorate his theater, now known as the Columbian Theatre. Memorabilia saved by visitors can still be purchased. Numerous books, tokens, published photographs, and well-printed admission tickets can be found. While the higher value commemorative stamps are expensive, the lower ones are quite common. So too are the commemorative half dollars, many of which went into circulation. When the exposition ended the Ferris Wheel was moved to Chicago's north side, next to an exclusive neighborhood. An unsuccessful Circuit Court action was filed against the owners of the wheel to have it moved. The wheel stayed there until it was moved to St. Louis for the 1904 World's Fair. See also - List of world expositions - Benjamin W. Kilburn, stereoscopic view concession and subsequent views of the Colombian World's Exposition. - Herman Webster Mudgett, serial killer associated with the 1893 World's Fair - St. John Cantius in Chicago, whose main altar, as well as its matching two side altars, reputedly originate from the 1893 Columbian Exposition - Spectacle Reef Light - World's Largest Cedar Bucket - Fairy lamp, candle sets popularized at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee were used to illuminate an island at the Expo - Media about the fair - 1893: A World's Fair Mystery, an interactive fiction by Peter Nepstad that recreates the Exposition in detail - Devil in the White City, non-fiction book intertwining the true tales of the architect behind the 1893 World's Fair and a serial killer - Expo: Magic of the White City, a documentary film about the exposition - Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth, a graphic novel set in part at the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 - Wonder of the Worlds, an adventure novel where Nikola Tesla, Mark Twain and Houdini pursue Martian agents who have stolen a powerful crystal from Tesla at the Columbia Exposition - Truman, Benjamin (1893). History of the World's Fair: Being a Complete and Authentic Description of the Columbian Exposition From Its Inception. Philadelphia, PA: J. W. Keller & Co. - Moses Purnell Handy, "The Official Directory of the World's Columbian Exposition, May 1st to October 30th, 1893: A Reference Book of Exhibitors and Exhibits, and of the Officers and Members of the World's Columbian Commission Books of the Fairs" (William B. Conkey Co., 1893) P. 75 (See: Google Books). See also: Memorial Volume. Joint Committee on Ceremonies, Dedicatory And Opening Ceremonies of the World's Columbian Exposition: Historical and Descriptive, A. L. Stone: Chicago, 1893. P. 306. - "Municipal Flag of Chicago". Chicago Public Library. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-04. - "World's Columbian Exposition", Encyclopedia of Chicago - Birgit Breugal for the EXPO2000 Hannover GmbH Hannover, the EXPO-BOOK The Official Catalogue of EXPO2000 with CDROM - Rydell, Robert W. (1987).All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, p. 53. University of Chicago. ISBN 0-226-73240-1. - Larson, Erik (2003). The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. New York, NY: Crown. ISBN 0-609-60844-4. - Sullivan, Louis (1924). Autobiography of an Idea. New York City: Press of the American institute of Architects, Inc.. p. 325. - "Falmouth Museums on the Green", Falmouth Historical Society - Petterchak 2003, pp. 17–18 - Muʿīn al-Salṭana, Muḥammad ʿAlī (Hāǧǧ Mīrzā), Safarnāma-yi Šīkāgū : ḵāṭirāt-i Muḥammad ʿAlī Muʿīn al-Salṭana bih Urūpā wa Āmrīkā : 1310 Hiǧrī-yi Qamarī / bih kūšiš-i Humāyūn Šahīdī, [Tihrān] : Intišrāt-i ʿIlmī, 1984, 1363/. - Levy, John M. (2009) Contemporary Urban Planning. - About The Museum - Museum History - Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, USA - David J. Bertuca, Donald K. Hartman, Susan M. Neumeister, The World's Columbian Exposition: A Centennial Bibliographic Guide, page xxi - John W. Klooster, Icons of Invention: The Makers of the Modern World from Gutenberg to Gates, page 307 - Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time, page 76 - Margaret Cheney, Tesla: Man Out of Time, page 79 - US Patent 453,742 dated 9 June 1891 - Pruter, Robert (2005). "Chicago Lights Up Football World". LA 4 Foundation. XVIII (II): 7–10. - Harper, Douglas. "midway". Chicago Manual Style (CMS). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 12 April 2013. - Clegg, Brian (2007). The Man Who Stopped Time. Joseph Henry Press. ISBN 0-309-10112-3. - "The World's Columbian Exposition (1893)". The American Experience. PBS. 1999. Retrieved 2009-12-21. - Adams, Cecil (2007-02-27). "What is the origin of the song "There's a place in France/Where the naked ladies dance?" Are bay leaves poisonous?". The Straight Dope. Retrieved 2009-12-21. - Southern, pg. 283 - Caldwell Titcomb (Spring 1990). "Black String Musicians: Ascending the Scale". Black Music Research Journal (Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press) 10 (1): 107–112. doi:10.2307/779543. JSTOR 779543. - Terry Waldo (1991). This is Ragtime. Da Capo Press. - Brunvand, Jan Harold (1998). "Christensen, Abigail Mandana ("Abbie") Holmes (1852-1938)". American folklore: an encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8153-3350-0. - Diamond, Beverly; Barbara Benary. "Indonesian Music". The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. pp. 1011–1023. - Stillman, Amy Ku'uleialoha. "Polynesian Music". The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. pp. 1047–1053. - Credit: Dvorak Museum Heritage Association article "Dvorak in America" http://www.dvoraknyc.org/Dvorak_in_America.html. Text in this and related sections adapted from Maurice Peress, "Dvorak to Duke Ellington: A Conductor Explores America’s Music and Its African American Roots" (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004). - HistoryLink Essay: Cutter, Kirtland Kelsey - Arts & Crafts Movement Furniture - Nepstad, Peter. "The Viking Shop in Jackson Park" (pdf). Hyde Park Historical Society. Retrieved 2009-01-24. - Smith, Gerry (2008-06-26). "Viking ship from 1893 Chicago world's fair begins much-needed voyage to restoration". Chicago Tribune (Tribune Company). Retrieved 2009-01-24. - Masuzawa, Tomoko (2005). The Invention of World Religions. Chicago University of Chicago Press. pp. 270–274. ISBN 978-0-226-50989-1. - "Kate McPhelim Cleary: A Gallant Lady Reclaimed" Lopers.net. Accessed October 6, 2008. - Wonderful West Virginia magazine, August 2007 at pg. 6 - Bolotin, Norman, and Christine Laing. The World's Columbian Exposition: the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2002. - Chaim M. Rosenberg (2008). America at the fair: Chicago's 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 229–230. ISBN 978-0-7385-2521-1. - John Birkinbine (1893) "Prominent Features of the World's Columbian Exposition", Engineers and engineering, Volume 10, p. 292; for the metric values see Ludwig Beck (1903). Die geschichte des eisens in technischer und kulturgeschiehtlicher beziehung: abt. Das XIX, jahrhundert von 1860 an bis zum schluss. F. Vieweg und sohn. p. 1026. - Hermann Schirmer (1937). Das Gerät der Artillerie vor, in und nach dem Weltkrieg: Das Gerät der schweren Artillerie. Bernard & Graefe. p. 132. "Der Schritt von einer kurze 42-cm-Kanone L/33 zu einer Haubitze mit geringerer Anfangsgeschwindigkeit und einem um etwa 1/5 geringeren Geschossgewicht war nich sehr gross." - Robert de Boer (2009) Alexander Macfarlane in Chicago, 1893 from WebCite - Talen, Emily (2005).New Urbanism and American Planning: The Conflict of Cultures, p. 118. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-70133-3. - Crawford, Richard (2001). America's Musical Life: A History. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04810-1. - Southern, Eileen (1997). Music of Black Americans. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-03843-2. - Petterchak, Janice A. (2003). Lone Scout: W. D. Boyce and American Boy Scouting. Rochester, Illinois: Legacy Press. ISBN 0-9653198-7-3. - Neuberger, Mary. 2006. "To Chicago and Back: Alecko Konstantinov, Rose Oil, and the Smell of Modernity" in Slavic Review, Fall 2006. Further reading |About World's Columbian Exposition| - Appelbaum, Stanley (1980). The Chicago World's Fair of 1893. New York: Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-23990-X - Arnold, C.D. Portfolio of Views: The World's Columbian Exposition. National Chemigraph Company, Chicago & St. Louis, 1893. - Bancroft, Hubert Howe. The Book of the Fair: An Historical and Descriptive Presentation of the World's Science, Art and Industry, As Viewed through the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. New York: Bounty, 1894. - Barrett, John Patrick, Electricity at the Columbian Exposition. R.R. Donnelley, 1894. - Bertuca, David, ed. "World's Columbian Exposition: A Centennial Bibliographic Guide". Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996. ISBN 0-313-26644-1 - Buel, James William. The Magic City. New York: Arno Press, 1974. ISBN 0-405-06364-4 - Burg, David F. Chicago's White City of 1893. Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 1976. ISBN 0-8131-0140-9 - Dybwad, G. L., and Joy V. Bliss, "Annotated Bibliography: World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893." Book Stops Here, 1992. ISBN 0-9631612-0-2 - Eagle, Mary Kavanaugh Oldham, d. 1903, ed. The Congress of Women: Held in the Woman's Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, U. S. A., 1893, With Portraits, Biographies and Addresses. Chicago: Monarch Book Company, 1894. - Elliott, Maud Howe, 1854–1948, ed. Art and Handicraft in the Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. Chicago and New York: Rand, McNally and Co., 1894. - Glimpses of the World's Fair: A Selection of Gems of the White City Seen Through A Camera, Laird & Lee Publishers, Chicago: 1893, accessed February 13, 2009. - Larson, Erik. Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America. New York: Crown, 2003. ISBN 0-375-72560-1. - Photographs of the World's Fair: an elaborate collection of photographs of the buildings, grounds and exhibits of the World's Columbian Exposition with a special description of The Famous Midway Plaisance. Chicago: Werner, 1894. - Reed, Christopher Robert. "All the World Is Here!" The Black Presence at White City. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-253-21535-8 - Rydell, Robert, and Carolyn Kinder Carr, eds. Revisiting the White City: American Art at the 1893 World's Fair. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1993. ISBN 0-937311-02-2 - Wells, Ida B. The Reason Why the Colored American Is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition: The Afro-American's Contribution to Columbian Literature. Originally published 1893. Reprint ed., edited by Robert W. Rydell. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 1999. ISBN 0-252-06784-3 - World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.). Board of Lady Managers. List of Books Sent by Home and Foreign Committees to the Library of the Woman's Building, World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 by World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.). Board of Lady Managers; edited by Edith E. Clarke. Chicago: n. pub., ca. 1894. Bibliography. - Yandell, Enid. Three Girls in a Flat by Enid Yandell, Jean Loughborough and Laura Hayes. Chicago: Bright, Leonard and Co., 1892. Biographical account of women at the fair. |Wikimedia Commons has media related to: World Columbian Exposition| |Wikisource has original text related to this article:| - The Columbian Exposition in American culture. - Photographs of the 1893 Columbian Exposition - Photographs of the 1893 Columbian Exposition from Illinois Institute of Technology - Interactive map of Columbian Exposition - Chicago Postcard Museum—A complete collection of the 1st postcards produced in the U.S. for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. - "Expo: Magic of the White City," a documentary about the World's Columbian Exposition narrated by Gene Wilder - A large collection of stereoviews of the fair - The Winterthur Library Overview of an archival collection on the World's Columbian Exposition. - Columbian Theatre History and information about artwork from the U.S. Government Building. - Photographs and interactive map from the 1893 Columbian Exposition from the University of Chicago - Video simulations from the 1893 Columbian Exposition from UCLA's Urban Simulation Team - 1893 Columbian Exposition Concerts - Edgar Rice Burroughs' Amazing Summer of '93 - Columbian Exposition - International Eisteddfod chair, Chicago, 1893 - Photographs of the Exposition from the Hagley Digital Archives - 1893 Chicago World Columbia Exposition: A Collection of Digitized Books from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Map of Chicago Columbian Exposition from the American Geographical Society Library - Interactive Map of the Chicago Columbian Exposition, created in the Harvard Worldmap Platform Exposition Universelle (1889) Brussels International (1897)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Columbian_Exposition

A map projection is a systematic transformation of the latitudes and longitudes of locations on the surface of a sphere or an ellipsoid into locations on a plane. Map projections are necessary for creating maps. All map projections distort the surface in some fashion. Depending on the purpose of the map, some distortions are acceptable and others are not; therefore different map projections exist in order to preserve some properties of the sphere-like body at the expense of other properties. There is no limit to the number of possible map projections. More generally, the surfaces of planetary bodies can be mapped even if they are too irregular to be modeled well with a sphere or ellipsoid. Even more generally, projections are the subject of several pure mathematical fields, including differential geometry and projective geometry. However "map projection" refers specifically to a cartographic projection. Maps can be more useful than globes in many situations: they are more compact and easier to store; they readily accommodate an enormous range of scales; they are viewed easily on computer displays; they can facilitate measuring properties of the terrain being mapped; they can show larger portions of the Earth's surface at once; and they are cheaper to produce and transport. These useful traits of maps motivate the development of map projections. However, Carl Friedrich Gauss's Theorema Egregium proved that a sphere's surface cannot be represented on a plane without distortion. The same applies to other reference surfaces used as models for the Earth. Since any map projection is a representation of one of those surfaces on a plane, all map projections distort. Every distinct map projection distorts in a distinct way. The study of map projections is the characterization of these distortions. Projection is not limited to perspective projections, such as those resulting from casting a shadow on a screen, or the rectilinear image produced by a pinhole camera on a flat film plate. Rather, any mathematical function transforming coordinates from the curved surface to the plane is a projection. Few projections in actual use are perspective. For simplicity most of this article assumes that the surface to be mapped is that of a sphere. In reality, the Earth and other large celestial bodies are generally better modeled as oblate spheroids, whereas small objects such as asteroids often have irregular shapes. These other surfaces can be mapped as well. Therefore, more generally, a map projection is any method of "flattening" into a plane a continuous curved surface. Metric properties of maps Many properties can be measured on the Earth's surface independently of its geography. Some of these properties are: Map projections can be constructed to preserve one or more of these properties, though not all of them simultaneously. Each projection preserves or compromises or approximates basic metric properties in different ways. The purpose of the map determines which projection should form the base for the map. Because many purposes exist for maps, many projections have been created to suit those purposes. Another consideration in the configuration of a projection is its compatibility with data sets to be used on the map. Data sets are geographic information; their collection depends on the chosen datum (model) of the Earth. Different datums assign slightly different coordinates to the same location, so in large scale maps, such as those from national mapping systems, it is important to match the datum to the projection. The slight differences in coordinate assignation between different datums is not a concern for world maps or other vast territories, where such differences get shrunk to imperceptibility. Which projection is best? The mathematics of projection do not permit any particular map projection to be "best" for everything. Something will always get distorted. Therefore a diversity of projections exists to service the many uses of maps and their vast range of scales. Modern national mapping systems typically employ a transverse Mercator or close variant for large-scale maps in order to preserve conformality and low variation in scale over small areas. For smaller-scale maps, such as those spanning continents or the entire world, many projections are in common use according to their fitness for the purpose. Thematic maps normally require an equal area projection so that phenomena per unit area are shown in correct proportion. However, representing area ratios correctly necessarily distorts shapes more than many maps that are not equal-area. Hence reference maps of the world often appear on compromise projections instead. Due to the severe distortions inherent in any map of the world, within reason the choice of projection becomes largely one of æsthetics. The Mercator projection, developed for navigational purposes, has often been used in world maps where other projections would have been more appropriate. This problem has long been recognized even outside professional circles. For example a 1943 New York Times editorial states: The time has come to discard [the Mercator] for something that represents the continents and directions less deceptively... Although its usage... has diminished... it is still highly popular as a wall map apparently in part because, as a rectangular map, it fills a rectangular wall space with more map, and clearly because its familiarity breeds more popularity. A controversy in the 1980s over the Peters map motivated the American Cartographic Association (now Cartography and Geographic Information Society) to produce a series of booklets (including Which Map is Best) designed to educate the public about map projections and distortion in maps. In 1989 and 1990, after some internal debate, seven North American geographic organizations adopted a resolution recommending against using any rectangular projection (including Mercator and Gall–Peters) for reference maps of the world. Construction of a map projection The creation of a map projection involves two steps: - Selection of a model for the shape of the Earth or planetary body (usually choosing between a sphere or ellipsoid). Because the Earth's actual shape is irregular, information is lost in this step. - Transformation of geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude) to Cartesian (x,y) or polar plane coordinates. Cartesian coordinates normally have a simple relation to eastings and northings defined on a grid superimposed on the projection. Some of the simplest map projections are literally projections, as obtained by placing a light source at some definite point relative to the globe and projecting its features onto a specified surface. This is not the case for most projections, which are defined only in terms of mathematical formulae that have no direct geometric interpretation. Choosing a projection surface A surface that can be unfolded or unrolled into a plane or sheet without stretching, tearing or shrinking is called a developable surface. The cylinder, cone and of course the plane are all developable surfaces. The sphere and ellipsoid do not have developable surfaces, so any projection of them onto a plane will have to distort the image. (To compare, one cannot flatten an orange peel without tearing and warping it.) One way of describing a projection is first to project from the Earth's surface to a developable surface such as a cylinder or cone, and then to unroll the surface into a plane. While the first step inevitably distorts some properties of the globe, the developable surface can then be unfolded without further distortion. Aspects of the projection Once a choice is made between projecting onto a cylinder, cone, or plane, the aspect of the shape must be specified. The aspect describes how the developable surface is placed relative to the globe: it may be normal (such that the surface's axis of symmetry coincides with the Earth's axis), transverse (at right angles to the Earth's axis) or oblique (any angle in between). The developable surface may also be either tangent or secant to the sphere or ellipsoid. Tangent means the surface touches but does not slice through the globe; secant means the surface does slice through the globe. Moving the developable surface away from contact with the globe never preserves or optimizes metric properties, so that possibility is not discussed further here. A globe is the only way to represent the earth with constant scale throughout the entire map in all directions. A map cannot achieve that property for any area, no matter how small. It can, however, achieve constant scale along specific lines. Some possible properties are: - The scale depends on location, but not on direction. This is equivalent to preservation of angles, the defining characteristic of a conformal map. - Scale is constant along any parallel in the direction of the parallel. This applies for any cylindrical or pseudocylindrical projection in normal aspect. - Combination of the above: the scale depends on latitude only, not on longitude or direction. This applies for the Mercator projection in normal aspect. - Scale is constant along all straight lines radiating from a particular geographic location. This is the defining characteristic of an equidistant projection such as the Azimuthal equidistant projection. There are also projections (Maurer, Close) where true distances from two points are preserved. Choosing a model for the shape of the Earth Projection construction is also affected by how the shape of the Earth is approximated. In the following section on projection categories, the earth is taken as a sphere in order to simplify the discussion. However, the Earth's actual shape is closer to an oblate ellipsoid. Whether spherical or ellipsoidal, the principles discussed hold without loss of generality. Selecting a model for a shape of the Earth involves choosing between the advantages and disadvantages of a sphere versus an ellipsoid. Spherical models are useful for small-scale maps such as world atlases and globes, since the error at that scale is not usually noticeable or important enough to justify using the more complicated ellipsoid. The ellipsoidal model is commonly used to construct topographic maps and for other large- and medium-scale maps that need to accurately depict the land surface. A third model of the shape of the Earth is the geoid, a complex and more accurate representation of the global mean sea level surface that is obtained through a combination of terrestrial and satellite gravity measurements. This model is not used for mapping because of its complexity, but rather is used for control purposes in the construction of geographic datums. (In geodesy, plural of "datum" is "datums" rather than "data".) A geoid is used to construct a datum by adding irregularities to the ellipsoid in order to better match the Earth's actual shape. It takes into account the large-scale features in the Earth's gravity field associated with mantle convection patterns, and the gravity signatures of very large geomorphic features such as mountain ranges, plateaus and plains. Historically, datums have been based on ellipsoids that best represent the geoid within the region that the datum is intended to map. Controls (modifications) are added to the ellipsoid in order to construct the datum, which is specialized for a specific geographic region (such as the North American Datum). A few modern datums, such as WGS84 which is used in the Global Positioning System, are optimized to represent the entire earth as well as possible with a single ellipsoid, at the expense of accuracy in smaller regions. A fundamental projection classification is based on the type of projection surface onto which the globe is conceptually projected. The projections are described in terms of placing a gigantic surface in contact with the earth, followed by an implied scaling operation. These surfaces are cylindrical (e.g. Mercator), conic (e.g., Albers), or azimuthal or plane (e.g. stereographic). Many mathematical projections, however, do not neatly fit into any of these three conceptual projection methods. Hence other peer categories have been described in the literature, such as pseudoconic, pseudocylindrical, pseudoazimuthal, retroazimuthal, and polyconic. Another way to classify projections is according to properties of the model they preserve. Some of the more common categories are: - Preserving direction (azimuthal), a trait possible only from one or two points to every other point - Preserving shape locally (conformal or orthomorphic) - Preserving area (equal-area or equiareal or equivalent or authalic) - Preserving distance (equidistant), a trait possible only between one or two points and every other point - Preserving shortest route, a trait preserved only by the gnomonic projection Because the sphere is not a developable surface, it is impossible to construct a map projection that is both equal-area and conformal. Projections by surface The three developable surfaces (plane, cylinder, cone) provide useful models for understanding, describing, and developing map projections. However, these models are limited in two fundamental ways. For one thing, most world projections in actual use do not fall into any of those categories. For another thing, even most projections that do fall into those categories are not naturally attainable through physical projection. As L.P. Lee notes, No reference has been made in the above definitions to cylinders, cones or planes. The projections are termed cylindric or conic because they can be regarded as developed on a cylinder or a cone, as the case may be, but it is as well to dispense with picturing cylinders and cones, since they have given rise to much misunderstanding. Particularly is this so with regard to the conic projections with two standard parallels: they may be regarded as developed on cones, but they are cones which bear no simple relationship to the sphere. In reality, cylinders and cones provide us with convenient descriptive terms, but little else. Lee's objection refers to the way the terms cylindrical, conic, and planar (azimuthal) have been abstracted in the field of map projections. If maps were projected as in light shining through a globe onto a developable surface, then the spacing of parallels would follow a very limited set of possibilities. Such a cylindrical projection (for example) is one which: - Is rectangular; - Has straight vertical meridians, spaced evenly; - Has straight parallels symmetrically placed about the equator; - Has parallels constrained to where they fall when light shines through the globe onto the cylinder, with the light source someplace along the line formed by the intersection of the prime meridian with the equator, and the center of the sphere. (If you rotate the globe before projecting then the parallels and meridians will not necessarily still be straight lines. Rotations are normally ignored for the purpose of classification.) Where the light source emanates along the line described in this last constraint is what yields the differences between the various "natural" cylindrical projections. But the term cylindrical as used in the field of map projections relaxes the last constraint entirely. Instead the parallels can be placed according to any algorithm the designer has decided suits the needs of the map. The famous Mercator projection is one in which the placement of parallels does not arise by "projection"; instead parallels are placed how they need to be in order to satisfy the property that a course of constant bearing is always plotted as a straight line. The term "normal cylindrical projection" is used to refer to any projection in which meridians are mapped to equally spaced vertical lines and circles of latitude (parallels) are mapped to horizontal lines. The mapping of meridians to vertical lines can be visualized by imagining a cylinder whose axis coincides with the Earth's axis of rotation. This cylinder is wrapped around the Earth, projected onto, and then unrolled. By the geometry of their construction, cylindrical projections stretch distances east-west. The amount of stretch is the same at any chosen latitude on all cylindrical projections, and is given by the secant of the latitude as a multiple of the equator's scale. The various cylindrical projections are distinguished from each other solely by their north-south stretching (where latitude is given by φ): - North-south stretching equals east-west stretching (secant φ): The east-west scale matches the north-south scale: conformal cylindrical or Mercator; this distorts areas excessively in high latitudes (see also transverse Mercator). - North-south stretching grows with latitude faster than east-west stretching (secant² φ): The cylindric perspective (= central cylindrical) projection; unsuitable because distortion is even worse than in the Mercator projection. - North-south stretching grows with latitude, but less quickly than the east-west stretching: such as the Miller cylindrical projection (secant[4φ/5]). - North-south distances neither stretched nor compressed (1): equirectangular projection or "plate carrée". - North-south compression precisely the reciprocal of east-west stretching (cosine φ): equal-area cylindrical. This projection has many named specializations differing only in the scaling constant. Some of those specializations are the Gall–Peters or Gall orthographic, Behrmann, and Lambert cylindrical equal-area). This kind of projection divides north-south distances by a factor equal to the secant of the latitude, preserving area at the expense of shapes. In the first case (Mercator), the east-west scale always equals the north-south scale. In the second case (central cylindrical), the north-south scale exceeds the east-west scale everywhere away from the equator. Each remaining case has a pair of secant lines—a pair of identical latitudes of opposite sign (or else the equator) at which the east-west scale matches the north-south-scale. Normal cylindrical projections map the whole Earth as a finite rectangle, except in the first two cases, where the rectangle stretches infinitely tall while retaining constant width. Pseudocylindrical projections represent the central meridian as a straight line segment. Other meridians are longer than the central meridian and bow outward away from the central meridian. Pseudocylindrical projections map parallels as straight lines. Along parallels, each point from the surface is mapped at a distance from the central meridian that is proportional to its difference in longitude from the central meridian. On a pseudocylindrical map, any point further from the equator than some other point has a higher latitude than the other point, preserving north-south relationships. This trait is useful when illustrating phenomena that depend on latitude, such as climate. Examples of psuedocylindrial projections include: - Sinusoidal, which was the first pseudocylindrical projection developed. Vertical scale and horizontal scale are the same throughout, resulting in an equal-area map. On the map, as in reality, the length of each parallel is proportional to the cosine of the latitude. Thus the shape of the map for the whole earth is the region between two symmetric rotated cosine curves. The true distance between two points on the same meridian corresponds to the distance on the map between the two parallels, which is smaller than the distance between the two points on the map. The distance between two points on the same parallel is true. The area of any region is true. - Collignon projection, which in its most common forms represents each meridian as 2 straight line segments, one from each pole to the equator. The term "conic projection" is used to refer to any projection in which meridians are mapped to equally spaced lines radiating out from the apex and circles of latitude (parallels) are mapped to circular arcs centered on the apex. When making a conic map, the map maker arbitrarily picks two standard parallels. Those standard parallels may be visualized as secant lines where the cone intersects the globe—or, if the map maker chooses the same parallel twice, as the tangent line where the cone is tangent to the globe. The resulting conic map has low distortion in scale, shape, and area near those standard parallels. Distances along the parallels to the north of both standard parallels or to the south of both standard parallels are necessarily stretched. The most popular conic maps either - Albers conic - compress north-south distance between each parallel to compensate for the east-west stretching, giving an equal-area map, or - Equidistant conic - keep constant distance scale along the entire meridian, typically the same or near the scale along the standard parallels, or - Lambert conformal conic - stretch the north-south distance between each parallel to equal the east-west stretching, giving a conformal map. - Werner cordiform, upon which distances are correct from one pole, as well as along all parallels. - Continuous American polyconic Azimuthal (projections onto a plane) Azimuthal projections have the property that directions from a central point are preserved and therefore great circles through the central point are represented by straight lines on the map. Usually these projections also have radial symmetry in the scales and hence in the distortions: map distances from the central point are computed by a function r(d) of the true distance d, independent of the angle; correspondingly, circles with the central point as center are mapped into circles which have as center the central point on the map. The radial scale is r'(d) and the transverse scale r(d)/(R sin(d/R)) where R is the radius of the Earth. Some azimuthal projections are true perspective projections; that is, they can be constructed mechanically, projecting the surface of the Earth by extending lines from a point of perspective (along an infinite line through the tangent point and the tangent point's antipode) onto the plane: - The gnomonic projection displays great circles as straight lines. Can be constructed by using a point of perspective at the center of the Earth. r(d) = c tan(d/R); a hemisphere already requires an infinite map, - The General Perspective projection can be constructed by using a point of perspective outside the earth. Photographs of Earth (such as those from the International Space Station) give this perspective. - The orthographic projection maps each point on the earth to the closest point on the plane. Can be constructed from a point of perspective an infinite distance from the tangent point; r(d) = c sin(d/R). Can display up to a hemisphere on a finite circle. Photographs of Earth from far enough away, such as the Moon, give this perspective. - The azimuthal conformal projection, also known as the stereographic projection, can be constructed by using the tangent point's antipode as the point of perspective. r(d) = c tan(d/2R); the scale is c/(2R cos²(d/2R)). Can display nearly the entire sphere's surface on a finite circle. The sphere's full surface requires an infinite map. Other azimuthal projections are not true perspective projections: - Azimuthal equidistant: r(d) = cd; it is used by amateur radio operators to know the direction to point their antennas toward a point and see the distance to it. Distance from the tangent point on the map is proportional to surface distance on the earth (; for the case where the tangent point is the North Pole, see the flag of the United Nations) - Lambert azimuthal equal-area. Distance from the tangent point on the map is proportional to straight-line distance through the earth: r(d) = c sin(d/2R) - Logarithmic azimuthal is constructed so that each point's distance from the center of the map is the logarithm of its distance from the tangent point on the Earth. r(d) = c ln(d/d0); locations closer than at a distance equal to the constant d0 are not shown (, figure 6-5) Projections by preservation of a metric property Conformal, or orthomorphic, map projections preserve angles locally, implying that they map infinitesimal circles of constant size anywhere on the Earth to infinitesimal circles of varying sizes on the map. In contrast, mappings that are not conformal distort most such small circles into ellipses of distortion. An important consequence of conformality is that relative angles at each point of the map are correct, and the local scale (although varying throughout the map) in every direction around any one point is constant. These are some conformal projections: - Mercator: Rhumb lines are represented by straight segments - Transverse Mercator - Stereographic: Any circle of a sphere, great and small, maps to a circle or straight line. - Lambert conformal conic - Peirce quincuncial projection - Adams hemisphere-in-a-square projection - Guyou hemisphere-in-a-square projection These are some projections that preserve area: - Gall orthographic (also known as Gall–Peters, or Peters, projection) - Albers conic - Lambert azimuthal equal-area - Lambert cylindrical equal-area - Goode's homolosine - Tobler hyperelliptical - Snyder’s equal-area polyhedral projection, used for geodesic grids. These are some projections that preserve distance from some standard point or line: - Equirectangular—distances along meridians are conserved - Plate carrée—an Equirectangular projection centered at the equator - Azimuthal equidistant—distances along great circles radiating from centre are conserved - Equidistant conic - Sinusoidal—distances along parallels are conserved - Werner cordiform distances from the North Pole are correct as are the curved distance on parallels - Two-point equidistant: two "control points" are arbitrarily chosen by the map maker. Distance from any point on the map to each control point is proportional to surface distance on the earth. Great circles are displayed as straight lines: Direction to a fixed location B (the bearing at the starting location A of the shortest route) corresponds to the direction on the map from A to B: - Littrow—the only conformal retroazimuthal projection - Hammer retroazimuthal—also preserves distance from the central point - Craig retroazimuthal aka Mecca or Qibla—also has vertical meridians Compromise projections Compromise projections give up the idea of perfectly preserving metric properties, seeking instead to strike a balance between distortions, or to simply make things "look right". Most of these types of projections distort shape in the polar regions more than at the equator. These are some compromise projections: - van der Grinten - Miller cylindrical - Winkel Tripel - Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion - B.J.S. Cahill's Butterfly Map - Kavrayskiy VII - Wagner VI projection - Chamberlin trimetric - Oronce Finé's cordiform See also - Snyder, J.P. (1989). Album of Map Projections, United States Geological Survey Professional Paper. United States Government Printing Office. 1453. - Nirtsov, Maxim V. (2007). "The problems of mapping irregularly-shaped celestial bodies". International Cartographic Association. - Choosing a World Map. Falls Church, Virginia: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. 1988. p. 1. ISBN 0-9613459-2-6. - Slocum, Terry A.; Robert B. McMaster, Fritz C. Kessler, Hugh H. Howard (2005). Thematic Cartography and Geographic Visualization (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 166. ISBN 0-13-035123-7. - Bauer, H.A. (1942). "Globes, Maps, and Skyways (Air Education Series)". New York. p. 28 - Miller, Osborn Maitland (1942). "Notes on Cylindrical World Map Projections". Geographical Review 43 (3): 405–409. - Raisz, Erwin Josephus. (1938). General Cartography. New York: McGraw–Hill. 2d ed., 1948. p. 87. - Robinson, Arthur Howard. (1960). Elements of Cartography, second edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 82. - Snyder, John P. (1993). Flattening the Earth: Two Thousand Years of Map Projections p. 157. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-76746-9. (Summary of the Peters controversy.) - American Cartographic Association's Committee on Map Projections, 1986. Which Map is Best p. 12. Falls Church: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. - American Cartographer. 1989. 16(3): 222–223. - Snyder, John P. (1993). Flattening the earth: two thousand years of map projections. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-76746-9. - Snyder, John P. (1997). Flattening the earth: two thousand years of map projections. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-76747-5. - Lee, L.P. (1944). "The nomenclature and classification of map projections". Empire Survey Review VII (51): 190–200. p. 193 - Weisstein, Eric W., "Sinusoidal Projection", MathWorld. - Carlos A. Furuti. "Conic Projections" - Weisstein, Eric W., "Gnomonic Projection", MathWorld. - "The Gnomonic Projection". Retrieved November 18, 2005. - Weisstein, Eric W., "Orthographic Projection", MathWorld. - Weisstein, Eric W., "Stereographic Projection", MathWorld. - Weisstein, Eric W., "Azimuthal Equidistant Projection", MathWorld. - Weisstein, Eric W., "Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area Projection", MathWorld. - "http://www.gis.psu.edu/projection/chap6figs.html". Retrieved November 18, 2005. - Fran Evanisko, American River College, lectures for Geography 20: "Cartographic Design for GIS", Fall 2002 - Map Projections—PDF versions of numerous projections, created and released into the Public Domain by Paul B. Anderson ... member of the International Cartographic Association's Commission on Map Projections |Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Map projections| - A Cornucopia of Map Projections, a visualization of distortion on a vast array of map projections in a single image. - G.Projector, free software by can render many projections (NASA GISS). - Color images of map projections and distortion (Mapthematics.com). - Geometric aspects of mapping: map projection (KartoWeb.itc.nl). - Java world map projections, Henry Bottomley (SE16.info). - Map projections http://www.3dsoftware.com/Cartography/USGS/MapProjections/, archived by the Wayback Machine (3DSoftware). - Map projections, John Savard. - Map Projections (MathWorld). - Map Projections An interactive JAVA applet to study deformations (area, distance and angle) of map projections (UFF.br). - Map Projections: How Projections Work (Progonos.com). - Map Projections Poster (U.S. Geographical Survey). - MapRef: The Internet Collection of MapProjections and Reference Systems in Europe - PROJ.4 - Cartographic Projections Library. - Projection Reference Table of examples and properties of all common projections (RadicalCartography.net). - PDF (1.70 MB), Melita Kennedy (ESRI). - World Map Projections, Stephen Wolfram based on work by Yu-Sung Chang (Wolfram Demonstrations Project).

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for National Geographic News Gradual changes in human skull size and shape suggest a split between humans and Neandertals (often spelled Neanderthals) about 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, according to a new study. The work provides the first estimate of a divergence date for modern humans and Neandertals based on the rate of change of physical characteristics. It also lends support to previous estimates that are based on DNA changes. (Related: "Neandertal Gene Study Reveals Early Split With Humans" [October 26, 2006].) Just as DNA changes accumulate over time and provide a kind of "molecular clock" by which the separation of closely related species can be dated, evolved differences in physical form can provide similar information, researchers say. But that is true only if the differences are due to the random process of "genetic drift," and not driven by natural selection, said study lead author Tim Weaver of the University of California Davis. During genetic drift, different traits accumulate in separate populations by the spread of chance mutations—not because the traits provide any individual advantage in survival or reproduction. The new study builds on previous work by Weaver's team suggesting that such random genetic changes are the reason people no longer sport the low forehead and protruding brow of our Neandertal relatives. If differences in human skulls are due to genetic drift, Weaver said, "then the amount of divergence will be proportional to the amount of time elapsed since the ancestors of Neandertals and modern humans [separated] from each other." The study by Weaver's team appears this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES

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Day the Earth Shook, The To explore structural engineering through three design challenges. - copy of "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" student handout - 10 index cards - 1 sheet of graph paper - 2 sheets of lined notebook paper - 10 drinking straws - 16 paper clips - 1 metric ruler - 1 tape measure - 1 pencil - 1 colored pencil - marbles to fill shoebox top - masking or transparent tape This program presents information about some architectural features that work and those that don't during an earthquake. To give the students some hands-on experience in structural design, conduct this activity. Set up the three challenges around the room with the materials and the "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" student handout (which should remain with each specific Divide the class into three teams and assign each team to one of the structure challenges. Each team will build and test its structure and record its results. When the teams are done, have them rotate so that each team is working on a new structure challenge, using the information gained from the team that already worked on that challenge. Have teams again record their data and analysis. Continue rotating until all teams have built and tested three different structures. Once this is done, bring the class back together and discuss the results. You may want to have one student record all the results on the chalkboard. Which features, if any, helped resist which challenges? Which features helped resist all challenges? Challenge #1 High Impact: A relatively short, wide building will be more stable than a tall, narrow building. Another design feature that will help the building's stability is to concentrate most of its mass near the bottom, since a top-heavy building will tend to be unstable. Since many of the buildings in earthquake-prone cities are skyscrapers, most of them are narrower at the top than the bottom. An extreme example of this is the pyramid-shaped Transamerica building in San Francisco, California. Challenge #2 Hillside Home: The building will be most stable if it is given a wide foundation, such as a fan of paper to skirt its bottom to provide more surface area against the side of the hill. Another strategy would be to brace the building by attaching straws to the downhill wall that angle down to the hillside surface. Again, as with the High Impact challenge, a relatively wide building will be more stable than a relatively tall, narrow building. Challenge #3 Rolling Along: This building will be stabilized by focusing most of its mass near the bottom. A pyramid shape would be a very clever idea, and is unlikely to tip over even when it is being shaken quite rapidly. In some communities where the ground beneath buildings is quite soft, such as the Marina district of San Francisco, California, which was badly damaged in 1989, the buildings were literally shaken apart because the soft ground magnified the intensity of the earthquake. Explain that some new buildings have actually been constructed on rubber mountings that absorb the shock waves.

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Copyright © University of Cambridge. All rights reserved. 'Changing Areas, Changing Volumes' printed from http://nrich.maths.org/ Why do this problem? Working on this problem will give students a deeper understanding of the relationship between volume and surface area, and how they change as the dimensions of a cuboid are altered. This problem follows on from Changing Areas, . We suggest students start with the rectangles task from that problem to introduce them to the structure of the grid they will be using here. Once students are familiar with the grid structure, hand out invite students to work in pairs to arrange the cards in a grid Students could use multilink cubes or draw each cuboid on to support them as they work on the task. For those who finish quickly, ask them the question from the problem about extending the grid like this: Towards the end of the lesson, bring the class together to share any efficient strategies they used to complete the task. Pose the question "If I know two cuboids have the same volume, how can I decide, just by looking at their dimensions, which has the greater surface area?" Draw out students' ideas about the properties of long and thin cuboids as opposed to those that are almost cubes. (This is the three dimensional analogue of short and fat rectangles having a smaller perimeter than long thin ones, when their areas Finally, discuss the possible content of the four extra spaces in the extended grid and strategies they used to generate Challenge students to design their own set of nine cards that can be arranged in this way. If students are restricted to whole numbers it is quite challenging to create cuboids with equal provides a two-dimensional version of this

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