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The impulse to save and conserve artwork – particularly older art - might seem beyond question (witness worldwide outrage of the Taliban’s destruction of art [ArtsJournal.com]). Yet art conservation has increasingly become a set of interlocking paradoxes, unanticipated consequences, and counter-intuitive procedures that defy easy understanding or simple defense. Unpleasant surprises and occasionally acrimonious disputes like these provide public glimpses of the state of mind of a discipline whose self-examination just now is wide, deep, and intense. At the risk of gross oversimplification, that self-examination centers on two major issues. - Is it fair to say that Leonardo’s Last Supper still exists after an expensive 20-year restoration? The images are still so faded out [U of Chicago Press] and the dim conditions under which they can be seen in person so uncomfortable, that the painting scarcely resembles what Leonardo must have intended. - After the Louvre restored a prominent painting by Veronese last year, an expert despaired [The Times (London)] at what had been done: "Clothes that were originally red were now green. The whole spatial and wonderful chromatic harmony is distorted. When you look at the painting . . . black, red and blue colors seem to be floating among other colors like pieces of a broken puzzle. The light is now a cold, artificial, modern one." - India's Ajanta paintings, which easily rank among the world’s most precious heritage sites, are being restored [The Art Newspaper]. But a leading expert warns that "the cleaning methods employed at the caves and the level of skills of the workers engaged in the cleaning have seriously damaged the Ajanta paintings and led to a demonstrable loss of pigment." - When the Vatican's St. Peter's got a facelift two years ago, restoring some original color to the façade, critics decried the job as a post-modern hash, born out of a “desire to transform everything into a movie set." - Last year a minor scandal of sorts erupted at the British Museum when it was revealed [The Art Newspaper] that when the museum’s experts cleaned the Elgin marbles back in the 1930s they irreparably damaged them. 1. Quality of Conservation Among the matters that conservators disagree about is who should be regarded as a conservator in the first place [The Telegraph]. In Italy, despite a decades-old law to the contrary, “any Italian citizen can be registered as a restorer, and get working on ‘improving’ a supreme work of art—whether he or she has had any training or not,” according to distinguished (and distressed) art historian and restorer Bruno Zanardi. The result: Italy, with the world’s greatest concentration of master works in need of conservation and with a comparably large pool of conservation expertise, is a scene of conservation chaos. But disagreement scarcely stops at the question of credentials and qualifications. When five conservators met for a conversation [Getty Conservation Newsletter] about surface cleaning sponsored by the Getty Conservation Institute, the results were revealing. What counts as best practice in Old Masters painting conservation may not be so regarded in antiquities conservation. Similarly, a conservator of fine furniture may draw the line between restoration and preservation very differently than do his colleagues either in antiquities or in painting. (Getty Conservation Institute Newsletter). The layman may assume that in a painting soil is the top layer, shellac or varnish the middle layer(s), and paint the bottom layer(s), but scientific cross-section studies by Richard Wolbers show clear and sobering layer-to-layer vertical migration [Getty]. It might not be possible, then, to remove the shellac without removing some of the paint. Furthermore, though dirt may have no rights, shellac does. The older the work, the more art-historical information is to be recovered from whatever may have been applied to its surface in the past. Patinas and glazes have a story to tell, in short, and paintings that show signs of conservation are less valuable, other things equal, than those that show none. The research science of conservation clearly complicates rather than simplifies the lives of working conservators. Research chemists told a meeting Ananova] of the American Chemical Society that the solvents which many collectors and curators use to clean paintings often damage the paint, first softening and deforming it, then—when the solvent dries—rendering it more brittle and fragile. The chemists proposed using sophisticated computer models to predict paint behavior under cleaning. But how many museums can afford computer modeling, and where does this process end? The science of “art defense,” like the science of military defense, makes everything more expensive, so much so that at least a few voices have begun to ask about bang for the buck. 2. Politics of Conservation Padua’s Scrovegni Chapel recently unveiled its restored Giotto frescoes, but they sit climate-controlled, under glass while strictly monitored visitors struggle to get a glimpse. The Atlantic’s Francine Prose described such an unpleasant experience trying to see the art that she wondered: “Maybe we should at least consider the radical notion that masterpieces—like so much else in this mutable world—have a life-span, and ask ourselves if preserving them is worth making it so unpleasant to experience them.” Certainly Leonardo’s Last Supper, though officially restored and open again to the public, should be spoken of in the past tense. Essentially, the work no longer exists, and reading a learned account of its restoration in a sumptuous book [U of Chicago Press] may well be more rewarding than squinting at the depressing little that remains of the thing itself in the refectory of the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery in Milan. Bruno Zanardi raises an adjacent objection: Heavy expenditure on tourist attractions like the Last Supper and the Scrovegni Chapel, some of it made necessary by the tourists themselves, is robbing thousands of off-the-beaten-track masterpieces of the pennies that would make basic maintenance possible. “There’s no [Italian government] interest at all,” he laments, “in the thousands of buildings and churches that are quietly crumbling, along with the objects inside them, in the centers of Italy’s ancient cities” [The Telegraph]. Prose’s meditation on the virtually embalmed frescoes reminds one of the school of thought that says that endangered species should not be kept in zoos but left in their natural habitat and that humans should be content to view them on film or in museums. As an alternative to the quasi-taxidermy of the Scrovegni Chapel, she reports “talk of erecting a facsimile of the chapel and the frescoes—rather like the faux version of the cave paintings at Lascaux—that tourists could visit in lieu of the real thing. But why would anyone want to? Wouldn’t most people prefer just to stay home [The Atlantic] and contemplate, at their leisure, reproductions of the frescoes in an art book or on a computer screen?” Good question. But what serious art lover would suggest that a poster or book or computer-screen representation of a work of art compares to experiencing the original? Just how many tourists would visit a full-size Scrovegni Chapel facsimile remains to be seen. Perhaps a great many would. Theme park operators such as Disney have made billions proving there is a vast audience for places that are supposed to be other places. Such recreations, architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable has pointed out, often seek to recreate an experience that probably never existed – instead substituting our imaginings of what an idealized place or thing might have been. Worse, the theme-park mentality as applied to conservation can be downright dangerous. “Restoration” of sites such as Ephesus in Turkey, old Samarkand, and now Old Bukhara [CNN] risks turning them into little more than walkabout fantasies for the tourist trade, in the process destroying the historical (as distinct from artistic) value of what was originally there. A more contemporary example is the perpetually cash-strapped Barnes Collection outside Philadelphia. One proposal to revive the Barnes’ fortunes is to recreate it downtown in a more tourist-friendly location. That, it has been pointed out, [Philadelphia Inquirer] might be good for the bottom line, but the distinctive experience of the Barnes as directed by its founder would most certainly be lost. On the other hand, the case for facsimiles may be strong for books and precious manuscripts. While the technology for the preservation of, for example, J.S. Bach autographs is progressing dramatically [CNN], so is digital photography that can sometimes “see” more than the naked eye can. CD-ROM facsimiles provide, on the one hand, a uniquely private and functional experience of rare books or manuscripts and, on the other, minimize damage to fragile works that, uniquely, cannot be seen without being touched. Paradoxically, however, the very iconization of original objects, monuments and buildings which makes them valued objects of restoration can subvert their intended effect. Celebrating the creation of the Last Supper is one thing; fetishizing its ghostly shadow is something else. No wonder some of the best minds in the art world are discovering the tao of conservation—cultivated skepticism about their own best efforts. Additional Reading: Our Politics of Conservation archives Letters, opinions, reactions, suggestions? Send your e-mail to email@example.com

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Unlike Christian or Jewish holidays, there isn’t a universally accepted method to be exactly sure which day Ramadan begin. In fact, there is significant debate among Muslims in America about whether calculations or visual confirmation should be used to determine the exact date of Islamic holidays. One school of thought on the issue follows the dictates of scientific calculations, which tell us that the new crescent moon should be visible tonight, signifying that tomorrow will be the first day of Ramadan. Others feel that an actual sighting of the moon is required to confirm the date, regardless of whether or not calculations predict it will be there. This group of people could start Ramadan tomorrow or the day afterwards. As I previously mentioned, I am an unapologetic geek, so I abide by the calculations method. This, however, does not take away the significance for me of seeing the hilal (crescent moon) that marks the beginning of Ramadan. So tonight, just after sunset, I will look just above and to the left of where the sun set to see with my own eyes what my heart (and computer) already know to be true: Ramadan has arrived, and fasting begins tomorrow. click here to see all of our uplifting newsletters» About Hungry for RamadanThe last update to the Hungry for Ramadan blog was in October 2007. We welcome your comments about Ramadan and Islam in general in our Muslim forums. Shahed Amanullah, a frequent Beliefnet contributor, is one of the country’s foremost Muslim journalists. He has harnessed the power of the Internet to spread a positive view of Islam. Amanullah is the editor of altmuslim.com, a Muslim news website, and founder of Halalfire Media, a network of Muslim-themed websites with more than five million annual visitors. Through his work Amanullah has tapped into a strong force of online activism. He lives in Texas with his wife and two sons, and looks forward to the spiritual rewards of Ramadan every year. - Ramadan 2009 (on Beliefnet) - “Hungry for Ramadan” Recap - These are the Days of Eid - What a Difference 30 Days Can Make - The Sweets of Ramadan - Making Ramadan Festive for Children - The Solitude of the Suhoor – The Morning Meal - Sharing the Blessings of Ramadan with the Fast-a-thon - A Golden Opportunity to Curb Addiction - The Story of the USPS Eid Stamp

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Julius Karash writes from Kansas City, Mo.: “Today, a family member called my father and told him that his 94-year-old brother died this morning. My uncle had been up and about, performing his usual routine, and then suddenly died. “The family member told my father that the manner in which my uncle had passed away was a chutz, or a similarly sounding word. Are you familiar with such an expression? Could it have something to do with dying quickly at home and with family?” The Yiddish word khuts does not in itself refer to a manner of dying. It means “exception” or “exceptional case,” which Mr. Karash’s uncle’s death indeed was. As sometimes happens with Yiddish words derived from Hebrew, in which ḥutz means “outside” (its original biblical meaning was “courtyard” — that is, the out-of-doors space enclosed by a house), and the prepositional phrase ḥutz mi- means “outside of” or “apart from,” Yiddish has given the Hebrew word a significance that it never had in its original setting. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a marvelous Jewish expression that does refer specifically to an easy death in old age, it’s in Hebrew, not in Yiddish, that you’ll find it. This is mitat neshika, “death by a kiss,” and it comes from an old rabbinic legend about Moses that is a gem. In it, the 120-year-old Moses, told by God that the time has come for him to die across the Jordan as forewarned without entering the Promised Land, begs for a reprieve. So mighty are his prayers that God orders the gates of heaven shut against them; so desperate is he to remain alive that he pleads to be allowed to do so as a beast or even a bird; so unwilling is he to take no for an answer that he enlists the earth, the mountains, the sea, even the sun and stars to intercede for him — all to no avail. God is adamant. He has given His word that Moses must die, and He intends to keep it. Finally, Moses gives in and accepts his fate. Now, however, God finds that He has a problem, because none of the angels summoned to take Moses’ soul is willing to do it. Even Samael, the angel of death, is so frightened by Moses’ awesome presence that he at first trembles with fright; then, plucking up his courage, he draws his sword and advances, only to have Moses strike it from his hands and blind him with a radiant look. “I beg you,” Moses says, turning to God, “do not hand me over to the angel of death!” God answers, “Fear not, Moses, I will do it myself.” And in William Braude’s translation from Chaim Nachman Bialik and Yehoshua Ravnitzky’s classic “Sefer ha-Aggadah” or “Book of Legends” we read: “Then, from the highest heaven of heavens, the Holy One came down to take the soul of Moses, and with Him the three ministering angels, Michael, Gabriel, and Zagzagel. Michael laid out his bier, Gabriel spread a fine linen cloth at his head, while Zagzagel spread it at his feet. Michael stood at one side and Gabriel at the other. Then the Holy One said to Moses, ‘Moses, close your eyes,’ and he closed his eyes. ‘Put your arms over your breast,’ and he put his arms over his breast. ‘Bring your legs together,’ and he brought his legs together. Then the Holy One summoned Moses’ soul, saying, ‘I had fixed the time of your sojourn in the body of Moses at 120 years. Now your time has come to depart. Delay not!’ “She replied, ‘Master of the Universe, I know that You are God of all spirits and Lord of all souls. You created me and placed me in the body of Moses 120 years ago. Is there a body in the world more pure than the body of Moses? I love him, and I do not wish to depart from him.’ “The Holy One exclaimed, ‘Depart, and I will take you up to the highest heaven of heavens, and will set you under the throne of glory, next to the cherubim and seraphim.’ “In that instant, the Holy One kissed Moses and took his soul with that kiss.” To this day, if you wish to say in ordinary Hebrew that someone has died at a ripe old age without prior disease or suffering, you say that he or she had a mitat neshika. According to rabbinic tradition, one has to be at least 80 to qualify. Yet not all the rabbis thought that it required being as saintly as Moses. The great talmudic sage Rava, hearing of such a death, is reported to have said, “A man’s lifespan, children, and livelihood depend not on merit but on the stars.” Mr. Karash’s uncle’s star was a lucky one. Questions for Philologos can be sent to email@example.com

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The Department of Geography at Texas A&M University strives for a balanced program of research, undergraduate and graduate teaching, and outreach and service. Our activities in these areas have, in recent years, self-organized five themes. Physical geography emphasizes the study of surficial processes in the fields of geomorphology, biogeography, and hydrology. Human geography includes cultural, historical, economic, urban, and political geography. One prominent theme is interpretation of places, and the cultural, economic, historical, political, and social factors determining the character and development of places. Geographical Information Science is linked to the other themes. Research is focused on applications of GIS, remote sensing, and related technologies to problems in urban and transportation modeling, landscape ecology, geomorphology, hydrology, and environmental change. Geography education investigates how geography is taught and learned. Topics include spatial learning, effective use of information technology, assessment, and institutional factors in geography education. Over the past three years the department has aligned its research and teaching efforts to emphasize the Human-Environment Interactions. We have worked to emphasize study of spatially variable change in natural systems—most especially change engendered by human activities such as globalization—as well as actual or advisable adaptive responses and interactions of human societies to these transformations. Click here to read a historical account of the Department of Geography at Texas A&M, printed with permission from the Southwestern Geographer.

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The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Poverty in the Philippines AbstractThe recent global financial and economic crisis which started in the United States and expanded to other developed countries has, to some extent, affected developing countries as well. Given the vulnerability of most developing countries, it is important to monitor the impact of this global crisis on poverty. This study, therefore, aims to assess the impact of the crisis on poverty in the Philippines. The result of this study would serve as inputs to policymakers in prioritizing mitigating measures that would address the impact of the crisis. In this study, monitoring is done primarily through the conduct of CBMS surveys in selected sentinel sites. Household- and community-level data were collected to capture the different dimensions of poverty. In addition to the CBMS core indicators, specific indicators (including the outcome and impact indicators) were monitored to determine the impact of the global crisis. These indicators were identified based on the relevant key transmission channels for the Philippines including overseas employment and remittances, and local employment. The study also looked at the different coping mechanisms adopted by the households in response to the crisis. The study also attempted to identify who are able to access the programs which were being implemented in the community. Ten (10) barangays all over the Philippines were selected to serve as poverty observatories or sentinel sites for monitoring the impact of the global crisis. Selection of these sites was also based on the relevant transmission channels for the Philippines. Results reveal that although the impact of the crisis is generally minimal, the crisis has affected some specific sectors in the economy. The degree of impact also varies among different groups of households. Hence, policies should be designed to mitigate the impact of the crisis on these affected sectors and groups of households. Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large. Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by East Asian Bureau of Economic Research in its series Finance Working Papers with number 22808. Date of creation: Jan 2010 Date of revision: Contact details of provider: Postal: JG Crawford Building #13, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University, ACT 0200 Web page: http://www.eaber.org More information through EDIRC global financial and economic crisis; poverty impact; community-based monitoring system (CBMS); impact transmission channels; CBMS indicators; household-coping strategies; program targeting; leakages and exclusion; Find related papers by JEL classification: - G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data) - O10 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General - G39 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Other You can help add them by filling out this form. CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item. - Isabel Ortiz & Jingqing Chai & Matthew Cummins, 2011. "Escalating Food Prices: The threat to poor households and policies to safeguard a Recovery for All," Working papers 1101, UNICEF,Division of Policy and Strategy. For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Shiro Armstrong). If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.

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Carmine, a red dye extracted from cochineal insects, is an example of a chemical product created in nature’s laboratory. Used as a vibrant red dye by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations, cochineal became a prized and protected export after the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs during the colonial period. Frenchman Theirry de Menonville became determined to discover the secret source of this dye and in 1777, he voyaged to Cuba and Mexico, posing as a physician and botanist, to advance his scheme. After four years of plotting and adventure, de Menonville obtained specimens of the white insect that when crushed, revealed the coveted cochineal. Ironically, his smuggled Mexican cochineal samples failed to thrive in his cultivation attempts, but one afternoon on a walk around his house on Santo Domingo, he discovered healthy white insects of indigenous cochineal. Cochineal extract may be made by heating the cochineal insects in an oven, immersing them in hot water, or exposing them to steam or sunlight. Each process results in a different shade of scarlet or orange. The more pure carmine is produced by boiling the dried insects in either ammonia or sodium carbonate followed by the addition of alum to induce precipitation. A purple material can be produced if lime is added along with the alum. Cochineal’s popularity as a dye increased rapidly when sheep were introduced to Latin America since the red dye binds more tightly to animal-based fibers such as wool or silk than to plant-based fibers such as cotton. Although water-soluble cochineal dye could be adhered to an insoluble support to produce red lake pigment, these colorants were notoriously susceptible to the bleaching effects of light and did not maintain their integrity either in paintings or on the artist’s palette. More recently, cochineal and carmine experienced a resurgence of use as a natural food coloring when health questions were raised about the safety of a few synthetic red dyes used in food products. In food applications it is one of the most stable reds for light fastness, heat resistance and stability to oxidation and reduction. Carmine is also used in a number of cosmetics such as lipstick, blush, and face powder. More information about cochineal may be found at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1302796

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Sure, we have the X-Games and X-treme Cheese Nachosplosion Doritos now in our modern age, but the extreme skateboarders and snowboarders and parkourists and whomever aren't fit to boil parrafin for the extreme sportsmen of a century ago. Take these fellows here, who, as a 1912 copy of Popular Mechanics tells us, rode railroad tracks down a freaking mountain at 120 miles per hour. Oh, but don't be too impressed. If you look at the protective gear they had, you can see they were wearing hats, and their rail-sleds were made of advanced materials like wood, or as they called it "tree pork." As the article says, the formula to make a sport attractive is "two parts novelty and one part danger." I suspect the exchange rate of danger must have changed dramatically over the past century, since sliding on a cogged railroad track down Pike's Peak (now Pikes Peak) is a hell of a lot more than one part danger. The toboggans used appear to be composed of a sitting board with a steel cleat to engage the center, cogged rail, and a long perpendicular bar for hand grips and to rest on the rails on either side. Oh, and what looks to be a foot rest. No belts, seats, padding or any kind of protection at all, and these are used on nine miles of track, which drops nearly a mile. It's not surprising top speeds of around 120 mph, two miles a minute, were recorded on the steepest sections of the track. Rail Tobogganing was started by railroad employees looking for a more exciting, lazier way to get down the mountain rapidly, and as their balls transformed into spheres of tempered steel, became a sport of sorts. Another article from the September 9, 1911 Telegraph shows that "shooting the peak" had been popular for a while, but railroad officials wanted to stop it because "the fool killer got on the job too often." So the next time you're impressed by some bonkers skateboarding jump or see a moron train sledding, remember: barely-literate badasses were doing crazier shit a century ago. And in dress shoes. (Hat tip to our old friend Ben Wojdyla!)

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House Mouse: Mus musculus The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a brownish mouse with a long scaly tail and large, naked leaf-like ears The house mouse is not native to Florida, but now occurs throughout the state, often in habitats associated with humans. In addition to houses, they may live in groceries, factories, or agricultural buildings where grain is stored. They may also live outdoors in old fields, pastures, or road sides. They may be a pest as they get into food, and gnaw in walls or clothing. As the weather grows colder, mice may become more active and seek indoor shelter. Control of mice may be done by an exterminator or by the property owner. Mice may be trapped with glue boards or snap traps. The poison Quintox is also an effective control, and is not dangerous to other animals or neighborhood pets if they eat a poisoned mouse. Quintox should not be eaten directly by people or pets. Perhaps most effective is cleaning up debris, and mowing nearby overgrown areas. Messy areas give mice food and shelter, and allow the mice to breed and spread. Additionally encouraging predators, such as barn owls in the area, may decrease mice densities. You can receive technical assistance for mouse problems by contacting your nearest FWC regional office.

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The Legislative Assembly, the unicameral legislative body for Mexico City, just passed a marriage equality bill 39-20. The mayor is expected to sign it. Mexico City has been a regional leader in LGBT rights, passing a civil unions law and other LGBT-positive legislation in recent years. The Los Angeles Times says: The bill calls for changing the definition of marriage in the city’s civil code. Marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. The new definition will be “the free uniting of two people.” The change would allow same-sex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit wealth and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse, rights they were denied under civil unions allowed in the city. … Argentina’s capital became the first Latin American city to legalize same-sex civil unions in 2002 for gay and lesbian couples. Four other Argentine cities later did the same, and as did Mexico City in 2007 and some Mexican and Brazilian states. Uruguay alone has legalized civil unions nationwide. Buenos Aires lawmakers introduced a bill for legalizing gay marriage in the national Congress in October but it has stalled without a vote, and officials in the South American city have blocked same-sex wedding because of conflicting judicial rulings. … City lawmaker Victor Romo, a member of the mayor’s leftist party, called it a historic day. “For centuries unjust laws banned marriage between blacks and whites or Indians and Europeans,” he said. “Today all barriers have disappeared.”

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CHICAGO – A system that allows surgeons to perform laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery from a remote console, controlling up to three robotic arms and a binocular camera, was successfully tested in 10 patients, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery (a Roux-en-Y procedure) is often considered the most challenging minimally invasive procedure in general surgery, requiring a learning curve of 75 to100 cases for even experienced surgeons to achieve the highest level of proficiency, according to background information in the article. Although robotic surgical techniques have been developed to assist laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, the complex geometry of the surgery has required repositioning of the robot, complicating its use. Catherine J. Mohr, M.S.M.E., of the Stanford School of Medicine, Calif., and colleagues report the first 10 patients to undergo a totally robotic laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (during March and April 2004) using a technique developed to minimize robot repositioning. The results were compared with a sample of 10 patients who had undergone standard laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery during July to September 2002. There were no significant differences in the general health, age or body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) of the two sets of patients. All patients were women. The researchers compared surgical times as well as the ratio of the procedure time to the patient's BMI. The number and severity of complication were comparable, the researchers found. "The median length of time to complete the procedure was significantly shorter with the robot (169 vs. 208 minutes)," the authors report. "In addition, the ratio of procedure time to BMI was considerably lower with the robot (median, 3.8 vs. 5.0 minutes per BMI for the laparoscopic cases). Moreover, the rate at which the operative times improved indicate that the learning curve for the robotic procedure is considerably shorter. We found that the mean minutes per BMI of our second five robotic procedures was 3.45 minutes, whereas the laparoscopic data for our senior attending surgeon did not attain a comparable five-case mean of the metric until case 42. In addition, when the data from a bariatric fellow from the same institution [Stanford Medical School] were compared, that surgeon did not match the metric until surgical case 85." "Reluctance to use new technology such as the … surgical robot often reflects surgeon concern over increasing complication rates, increased operative times, and steep learning curves," the authors conclude. "Any new technology must be proven feasible and safe. Our results support the robot's feasibility in the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass as we achieved comparable operating room times with an extremely short learning curve. … Likewise, both major and minor complications were similar between the robotic and laparoscopic group, suggesting that a totally robotic laparoscopic gastric bypass is a safe and potentially superior alternative to traditional laparoscopic gastric bypass." Source: Eurekalert & othersLast reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009 Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved. Understanding is the soil in which grow all the fruits of friendship. -- Woodrow Wilson

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So now, let’s take this lesson offline to help you teach your little ones the importance of making good food choices. Here’s a fun (and tasty activity) for you to explore: - Various items of food, both healthy and unhealthy - Include cake, sweets, fruit, vegetables, soda, milk, fish, beans and chocolate - Various magazines containing examples of different foods - Have all the foods on display for the child(ren) to look at - Let them touch and smell the various foods - Go through each one and ask them to describe it and tell you if they think it is a healthy or unhealthy food - Make two sets with the food — one healthy and one unhealthy - Encourage the child(ren) to place the foods into the sets they think the foods belong - Give the child(ren) a piece of paper divided into two. - Ask them to draw a happy face on one side for healthy food and a sad face on the other side for unhealthy food - Give the child(ren) the magazines and ask them to cut out different foods and glue them onto which side they think the food belongs Health and Safety - Ensure that you have no child with a food allergy when handling the food items.

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Every Saturday at noon, Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today. How we imagine a tourist magazine might have looked in 1867. Assembled by Jamie Bradburn. In June 1867, Toronto was weeks away from becoming the capital city of the province of Ontario in the newly formed Dominion of Canada. Then, as now, the summer tourist season was underway, though the preferred methods of arrival were train or steamship. We recently thumbed through a travel guide published that year, The Canadian Handbook and Tourist’s Guide, which provides both brief highlights for visitors to our fair city and criticizes the lack of natural wonders. Which got us thinking…what would tourist literature akin to modern publications like Where Toronto have looked like 144 years ago? Here’s our attempt. Normal School building, Gould Street, north-side east of Yonge, 1856. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1498, Item 8. Summer is upon us and there are few better times to take a day’s visit or a week’s excursion to Toronto. Pay no heed to the authors of a recent travel guide who contend that our city has too many brick buildings (due to the absence of local stone quarries) and utterly lacks beautiful scenery and scenic drives. A city like ours has many aspects to appeal to any traveller, with which we hope to enlighten you. St. James Cathedral, between 1885 and 1895. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1478, Item 23. Toronto treats piety with the utmost seriousness. If your visit coincides with the Lord’s Day, there are many handsome churches that will satisfy your spiritual needs. If you are of the Anglican persuasion, attend a service at St. James Cathedral at the corner of King and Church streets. If you are a devotee of the papacy (which we generally do not advise visitors to openly display on Toronto’s streets, especially those of Irish extraction, unless brawling is on your itinerary), then slip into a mass at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Michael. Though both of these buildings of high worship have yet to be completed, we are assured that once their spires are finished they will provide much to the city’s appearance from a distance. University of Toronto, 1859. Painted by Sir Edmund Walker. Wikimedia Commons. The city’s institutes of higher learning provide more than space to train the nation’s future leaders—these are sites for tourists who wish a sense of Toronto’s philosophy, the city’s aesthetics. Deep thought has gone into their architecture and aesthetic surroundings which make them ideal locations to spend an afternoon. The University of Toronto offers a beautiful botanical garden on its grounds, along with a main Norman-styled building made of the finest white stone from Ohio. On Queen Street, Trinity College offers 20 acres of lush parkland that we are certain future generations will enjoy on days resplendent with sun. The Normal School at St. James Square is said to the largest building in America designed to train future educators. Right wing of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, 1868. Photo by William Notman. McCord Museum, Item I-34480.1. A recently published guidebook, The Canadian Handbook and Tourist’s Guide, highlights one of the most enlightening experiences in which any visitor to Toronto can partake, one that reinforces the frailty of human existence: The Provincial Lunatic Asylum, at the western extremity of the city, is well worthy of a visit by the curious in such matters. It is kept in admirable order; and though it is a painful sight at all times to be brought in contact with “humanity so fallen,” it is pleasing to see the degree of comfort many of the patients seem to enjoy. There is no difficulty in obtaining permission to view it. Advertisement, the Globe, June 12, 1867. Were a carnival of “fallen humanity” not diversion enough, visitors in July will have the opportunity to enjoy one of America’s finest travelling circuses, operated by veteran showman L.B. Lent. Travellers arriving from the north have a new train station to disembark from in the vicinity of City Hall and St. Lawrence Market. Operated by the Northern Railway, this wonderful new facility on the Esplanade west of Jarvis Street was recently described in one of the city’s finest newspapers, the Globe, as being “a much more ornamental and commodious structure than is generally imagined…It is in the Italian style, with heavy bracketed cornice, circular-headed windows and doors, glazed with ornamental ground glass.” No less a figure than John A. Macdonald (who we suspect will become leader of the new Dominion next month) was on hand for the opening ceremony to praise the future possibilities of extending the line beyond Barrie into Grey County and other points north. King Street East, south side looking west, 1856. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1498, Item 1. For the finest in dry goods and seasonal fashions, King Street east of Yonge offers high class shopping to rival that found in older cities. It is a district for the chattering class, as one writer has noted: The buildings on King Street are greater and grander than their neighbours on Yonge; the shops are larger and dearer; and last but not least King Street is honoured by the daily presence of the aristocracy while Yonge Street is given over to the business man, the middle-class and the beggar. Amid the upper classes there is a performance that goes on daily that is known among the habitués as ‘doing King.’ It consists principally of marching up and down a certain part of the street at a certain hour, performing, as it were, ko-tou [sic] to the goddess of Fashion, and sacrificing to her sister divinity of Society. At three o’clock in the afternoon the first stragglers appear on the scene, which extends perhaps a quarter of a mile. These consist primarily of young ladies, whose proper place should be at school, and young men attired in the height of fashion. By the time these ardent devotees have paraded a few times, the regular habitués make their appearance, and till six o’clock in the evening one side—for one side only is patronized—is crowded to excess. Advertisement spotlighting the Golden Lion, 1872. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1662, Item 14. Among the finest of King Street’s merchants is the establishment of Robert Walker and Sons, colloquially known as the “Golden Lion” due to the jungle lord that gazes down upon patrons entering the store. Founded around 1836, the business has been in its present location for the past two decades. Current renovations to the handsome cast-iron building will make it the largest retailer in Canada West/Ontario. When finished, the store will consist of a four-storey frontage along King Street and a two-storey section stretching back to Colborne Street that will include a large dome to provide beautiful natural lighting to heighten customer appreciation of the goods for sale. Additional information from The Canadian Handbook and Tourists Guide (Montreal: M. Longmoore & Co., 1867), Lost Toronto by William Dendy (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1978), Toronto by Bruce West (Toronto: Doubleday, 1967), and the June 11, 1867 edition of the Globe.

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Two things I’ve learned over the years that I’ve worked with LGBT students at the American Civil Liberties Union are that many school administrators and teachers don’t have the slightest clue about what their students’ legal rights are, and that a lot of the ones who do know go right ahead and violate students’ rights anyway because they think they can get away with it. The only way to be sure that your school will respect and uphold your legal rights is for YOU to educate yourself about what your rights are and hold your school to its responsibility to protect and enforce them. That’s never more true than during Day of Silence, an annual event designed to bring attention to the bullying, harassment, and name-calling LGBT students often experience in school. Here are four things you need to know about your rights as you mark Day of Silence this year on Friday, April 16. - You DO have a right to participate in Day of Silence and other expressions of your opinion at a public school during non-instructional time: the breaks between classes, before and after the school day, lunchtime, and any other free times during your day. If your principal or a teacher tells you otherwise, you should contact our office or the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. - You do NOT have a right to remain silent during class time if a teacher asks you to speak. If you want to stay quiet during class on Day of Silence, we recommend that you talk with your teachers ahead of time, tell them that you plan to participate in Day of Silence and why it’s important to you, and ask them if it would be okay for you to communicate in class on that day in writing. Most teachers will probably say yes. - Your school is NOT required to “sponsor” Day of Silence. But Day of Silence is rarely a school-sponsored activity to begin with — it’s almost always an activity led by students. So don't be confused - just because your school isn’t officially sponsoring or participating in Day of Silence doesn’t mean that you can’t participate. - Students who oppose Day of Silence DO have the right to express their views, too. Like you, they must do so in a civil, peaceful way and they only have a right to do so during noninstructional time. For example, they don’t have a right to skip school on Day of Silence without any consequences, just as you don't have a right to skip school just because you don’t like what they think or say. If you’re concerned that your school might forbid you from participating in Day of Silence, you might want to print out the ACLU’s “Letter to Educators about the Day of Silence” and give it to your school administrators. Tell them they should show the letter to the school’s lawyer. The letter explains what schools’ responsibilities are regarding Day of Silence. And for more information on your rights in public schools, check out the ACLU’s website.

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"Personal life is the fine flower of life.” Emanuel Mounier I. The Gist of Existentialism Personalism might be a popular ideology or at least a household word today if existentialism had not better suited the aversive reaction to the cult of supreme personality that had fostered two massive world wars. Whereas personalism emphasizes the social human being, existentialism places the onus on the individual alienated from society, and affords bare existence priority over clothed being. Existentialism is an anxiety-bound mélange of rationalizations spawned by homelessness, alienation, the meaningless of life and absurdity of death made apparent in the horrors of two world wars systematically fought pursuant to the institution and breakdown of political and economic systems deemed "objective', "rational", "reasonable." Not only irrational faith in a personal god but faith in impersonal reason and universal, abstract systems-of-being was also lost when confronted with the disastrous effects of being fanatically rational and reasonable. Considering humankind as a whole, it does seem suicidal and therefore unreasonable to murder others; yet it also seems quite rational to align individuals or divide the population into fractions that murder perceived enemies for the sake of individual and group survival – there is safety in numbers. The term "existentialism" was picked up by the press in a smoky Paris jazz cellar from a casual remark made by a jazz singer to a reporter about the "scene" observed by the American tourists flocking to Paris in the aftermath of the war. Jean Paul Sartre and other “existentialists” dismissed the term at first - they were just philosophizing – but when the label came into vogue, they adopted and employed the appellation much to their advantage. Existentialism as they described it includes especially the notion that the particular individual must be solely responsible individual for his own thinking instead of relying on habitual culture or rationalized systems of being; but existentialists seek the impossible, for language itself is a social tool dependent on and responsive to the will of others. Existentialism is not a system at all, but is more or less an anxious and absurd reflection of the human predicament, particularly the predicament of a man's individuality made obvious by the disturbing fact of death. Indeed, any sort of systematic existentialist thought put forward by a so-called existentialist would contradict the very premise of existentialism – thus did Sartre, for example, strive never to repeat himself. The subject of Existentialism abstracted from human personality, the subject that is individual human existence as distinct from and prior to human being, is the broadest of subjects, the subject of all subjects subjected to particular existence. Kierkegaard appropriately called abstracted individuality the “category of one.” Being and existence somehow converge in the category of one. The category of one is presumably a general term for particulate being or qualitative individual existence, as if objects stripped of their predicates still had a quality in common – “existence” – but still remain unique in themselves. We might revert to Leibniz and speculate on independent existences as windowless monads that are identical but for number, yet, although identically constituted, somehow have slightly different perceptions. Suffice it to say that the category of one is incomprehensible hence is compatible with irrationality; the non-categorical category of absolute individual freedom has no relation to hence no dependence for its category on others; thus is existentialism is non-systematic, indefinite, and irrational despite the volumes of rationalizations that justify it. A perceived individual or particular is a unique coincidence of universal qualities had in common by many particulars, qualities that “survive” the individuals involved, so to speak; the qualities are sorts of general beings that have no perceivable existence absent their coincidence in particular objects. The uniqueness of individuals, needless to say, does not preclude their being typecast according to their similarities, thus they are accorded with a higher, more conceptual being. But denuded existence, or the conception of existents stripped of the qualitative predicates necessary for being, is virtually nothing and unknowable to boot. Christian existentialism, for instance, is a contradiction in terms; Christians in need of an seemingly objective standard or external authority in order to prolong isolated or “freed” subjective individuality beyond the inevitable fate of all individuals, death, project the vague qualitative impressions of the fleeting willful self within onto a screen: the eternal Subject external, the Immortal Subject of subjects, the unknown self-god painted large, the Divine Individualist crucified by existence in the world. But then the Christian existentialist has placed Being before denuded existence, and in the form of a social creature, a human being, thus slips from Existentialism to Personalism. Yet here the human being is still alienated from the Supreme Being although reflecting it. As Boethius said, “Nothing is said to be because it has matter, but because it has distinctive form. But the divine substance is form without matter, and therefore one, and is its own essence. But other things are not simply their own essences. For each thing has its being from the things of which it is composed. The Pure Form “is truly One in which is no number, in which nothing is present except its own essence,” of “God that differs from God in no respect,” and “where there is no difference there is no sort of plurality and accordingly no number; here therefore is unity alone…..” Precisely how this Being differs from Nothing is unclear, but like the category of one that is said to be individual existence before being, the being before existence strips or alienates the godly person from material existence, and it remains to be seen how this person really exists at all. However that might be, long before the term 'existentialism' was coined, the abstract yet irrational subject of individual subjective existence was considered to be unlimited by or even antithetical to grandiose systems-of-being such as those cranked out by theologians and the likes of Hegel and Marx. Indeed, we have a history of centuries of alienation, freedom, irresponsibility, guilt, despair, and dire circumstances of persecution unto death, not to mention other factors of enormous interest to today's existentialists. II. The Gist of Personalism Personalism shares existentialism’s concern with the plight of the existent individual; the rhetoric is similar is several respects. Yet we may draw a convenient distinction to posit that personalism is the hopeful affirmation of the absolute value of the socially organized human personality, in contradistinction to existentialism’s pessimistic denial of the virtue of socially organized being. Personalism’s social optimism is not the positive mental attitude of the bourgeois towards the rational organization of economic mass man for production and consumption. Shortly before the Great War, optimistic leaders at international peace conferences declared that free trade between countries had rendered war obsolete; for, they argued, unprofitable war would certainly be self-destructive hence insane. But self-destruction is the unconscious motive for war. Of what avail is it to tell angry competitive men, for whom economic trade is an unsatisfactory surrogate for war, that the murder of particular enemies is on the whole a form of mass suicide no matter who wins or loses? The enemy, sayeth the prophets, are the rods of god, thus does the death instinct serve the god of death and relieve the swarm of its crowded stress that the remainder can begin anew with more elbow room. Once the ground is leveled, the survivors clutch their bibles, glorify their god, and the say ‘never again’ during the reconstruction period; but once prosperity sets in, bibles are laid aside and the golden calves are reestablished on altars for a repeat performance. Emmanuel Mounier, a pioneering Personalist of Catholic disposition who took refuge in Vichy France, where he was involved in the moral indoctrination of youth, had this to say of the vicious cycle wherein the cheap, hypocritical optimism of having a positive mental attitude no matter what transpires plays an important role when business is done as usual before the next apocalypse: "But our countries, devastated by weariness, now need the builders of hopes and duties. I have developed the theme of triumphant history, because it is the Christian view of history, not in order to make the plethoric Christians feel more at ease than the cavaliers of anathema and scorn. Perhaps tomorrow we shall be invaded by worse than barbarians, by Babbitts, with crucifixes of gold, teeth of gold, and hearts of gold, coming to preach their new theologals in a big way: optimism, good temper and philanthropy, which can be achieved much more easily, we know, through using the right toothpaste, well-adjusted foundations and a Parker pen, than through the Word of God. Then once more we shall need those great sombre voices." Personalism is essentially conservative and at odds with modernism and the unrestrained advancement of objectivist science. “Material” science, with its emphasis on analytical thought, its obsession with breaking everything down into bytes and bits, disintegrates the various social masks upon which dynamic human intercourse depends, reducing the human being to the status of a bare unit, a programmed, windowless monad whose program gives him cause to perceive that his existence is independent, while, at the same time, responsible. Ironically, he has been thoroughly socialized in the totalitarian sense. Nothing stands between him and the political-economic dictatorship. So devoted is he to rational production and consumption that he has little or no time left for clan or club or community; as for the nuclear family, it is an empty vestige of the productive institution it once was. Not only has science dispelled belief in spirits, gods and other mythical entities, but its mechanical way of thinking if taken to its logical conclusion would transform nature and man into machines. Thus God, Nature, and Man are dead. Yet if a man were acting like a machine, we would deem him insane; providing, however, that we were not machines ourselves - in which case his behavior would seem normal. Wherefore we must revitalized and restore the human person - the social human being. This person is at least metaphysical or spiritual if not "divine." Biological evolution and scientific progress are irrelevant in the personal context: in that context, only the person is real; the rest is mere phenomena. Our thoughts about the phenomenal world may or may not be valid, but reasoning will never disclose the ultimate foundation of reality or nature; for thought itself is phenomenal, and Being is prior to thought. A being, say, a human being, then, is always more than and prior to a thought. Personality has an individuality or existent aspect, but it is one shaped by society: the individual human being is naturally a social, thinking, rational and reasoning creature. Theological personalism - in contrast to anarcho-Christian protestations of anarchic individuality represented by an arbitrary, divine Anarchist, avers that the ultimate reality of the world is a Divine Person who sustains the universe by a continuous act of creative will. For Emmanuel Mounier, that incarnate god or Christ calls human beings to be Christian gods: "Christianity gives man his full stature and more than his full stature. It summons him to be a god, and it summons him in freedom. This, for the Christian, is the final and supreme significance of progress in history." Mounier pointed out that the bourgeois conception of individualism emerged from the revolt of the individual against traditional society during the Renaissance; it was a revolt against an inflexible church and domineering economic system; the revolt lead to the Reformation and Industrial Revolution. But the conception of freedom that inspired the revolt doomed society to another sort of decadence, a corruption presided over by commercial speculators who profit from doing little or nothing. "This speculation, in which profit is gained without the rendering of service, was the ideal towards which all capitalist endeavor tended. Thus the motive passion of adventure gradually gave way to the soft enjoyment of comfort, the passion of conquest to the ideal of the impersonal mechanism, of the automatic distributor of pleasures devoid of risk or of excess, regular and constant, derived from the machine and from fixed income.... The substitution of speculative profit for industrial profit, and the values of comfort for the values of creation, has gradually dethroned the individualistic ideal and opened the way to the spirit which we call bourgeois because of its origin and which seems to us to be the exact antithesis of spirituality." The new Christian “is a man without love, a Christian without conscience, an unbeliever without passion. He has deflected the universe of virtues from its supposedly senseless course towards the infinite and made it centre about a petty system of social and psychological tranquility..." Therefore contemporary man “needs the tragic, the Cross, as a goad to prick him along the right course.” God did not create man perfect because he wants him to work for a living, to perfect his self. No doubt the socio-psychological disposition dubbed ‘personalism’ has ruled the sentiments of sages since prehistoric times. Even people who fervently believe in abstract existents denuded of personal qualities tend to imitate personal models and behave according to their socially derived personal biases and prejudices – Camus depicted the typical atheist of his day, who fell down on his knees and prayed to God in secret when he felt his life was at stake. Despite the many professions to the contrary, personality is the ultimate reality for personalists. Mundane personalism strives for the full awareness and understanding of the human condition so that an happy accord may be realized between the universal WE and the particular I, or the person as the synthesis of individual existence with the socialized individuals or persons it introjects from its environment during the course of its development towards being an ideal human being in existence; that is to say, in a philosophical phrase, the human concrete universal, or, in theological terms, god incarnate. Personalism therefore is not contemporary individualism: "Individualism is a system of ... mutual isolation and defense,” Mounier explained. “Man in the abstract ... the sovereign lord of a liberty unlimited and undirected, turning towards others with a primary mistrust, calculation and self-vindication; institutions restricted to the assurance that these egoisms should not encroach upon one another, or to their betterment as a purely profit making association.... (Personalism) is opposed to contemporary individualism. Personal man is not desolate, he is man surrounded, on the move, under summons.... It is the primal sin of the West to have departed dangerously from the original truth." Nor is personalism other-worldly: "It is not affirmed outside the world or separately from the other, but against the impersonal world of the 'one', the world of irresponsibility and flight, of lethal slumber, amusements, ideologies and chatter, it asserts the world of responsibility, presence, of effort, of 'abundance.'" Personalism, according to Mounier, is a form of communion: "There is one affirmation that is common to all Personalist philosophies... that the basic impulse in a world of persons is not the isolated perception of self (cogito) nor the egocentric concern for self... but the communication of consciousness.... We should prefer to call it the communication of existence, existence with the other, perhaps we should say co-existence." III. Religious Implications of Personal Existence We find nothing fundamentally novel in the modern personalism that places being before existence and thus emphasizes social being over the individual existence or existential aspect of the personal unity we call a person. The late Polish pope was certainly conservative of the ancient personal tradition; his admirers may be unfamiliar with the term, personalism, yet the pope, whom they consider qualified for personal sainthood at his death, was committed to formal personalism early on in his intellectual career. And the ancient Eastern Orthodox Church has as a matter of course taken religion personally; that is, as a religious commune of individuals who have their personal identify in the Divine Person of Jesus the Christ. Hindus have enjoyed a lively dialectic on the personal or impersonal nature of the divine Subject of subjects for many centuries. Religious personalists insist that persons can only have genuine and effective faith in personal deities or in Supreme Personal Being. They claim that impersonalists, who roundly deny the reality of personal deities, are in fact atheists. The Invocation of the Sri Isopanisad, purportedly the essential verse of the variegated Hindu religion, of ultimate importance since it seems to indicate that people would presumably overlook their differences and be at peace if only everyone would realize that everyone and everything is part and parcel of the infinite, has become the main bone of contention on that point: Om purnam adah purnam idam purnaat purnam udacyate. purnasya purnam aadaaya, purnam eva vashishyate The Gita Society (www.gita-society.com) publishes this translation: That is infinite, this is infinite; From That infinite this infinite comes. From That infinite, this infinite removed or added: Infinite remains infinite. This Purport follows: Brahman is limitless, infinite number of universes come out and go into the infinite Brahman, Brahman remains unchanged. If we assume that numbers do not exist in themselves but are merely invented counting terms of a contrived mathematical language, then the insertion of the numerical concept in the Purport to demonstrate the being of an ideal infinite super-reality abstracted from material existence is problematic, for there would be nothing in that infinite sphere to count. At first glance we find nothing particularly religious in the original verse, unless religion is the exaltation of the abstract idea of the infinite or unlimited, which can indeed be expressed metaphorically as the mathematical concept of the infinite series; it is not difficult to conceive that there is an infinite number of odd numbers within the infinite series of numbers. Infinity is certainly not a conception beyond the reach of mere mortals, for something is always beyond our grasp; we always want something more than what can be had: so when we think of an object, even the universe, we think there must be something beyond it, perhaps more universes, ad infinitum. If the Infinite is the unlimited deity, then we might hold that the adoration of any particular form besides the metaphysical form named by an arbitrary term (e.g., the Infinite) is sacrilegious idolatry. There may be an infinite or countless number of finite things to dispose of, but Infinity itself, which transcends every particular thing, is not finite. One might say that Infinity is the feeling of something more to be had, something besides what is grasped and apprehended, the unsatisfied want or desire for complete satisfaction that constitutes the essential disatisfaction of existential life; for each instantiated life would persevere forever without impedence if only it could, and thus be unlimited power. Each thing would want for nothing and no thing would stand in another’s way; in time, every other installation would be consumed by an existent’s absolute power, and likewise for each other instance – in fact all things do perish, but they perish variously in differing instants of time. Individual identity depends on relationship. Mr. & Mrs. Jones say they want to be one with one another in marriage, yet once in holy wedlock both complain that they cannot be their true selves because they have lost their identities to each other. If they were in fact identical, they would not have their separate identities, and in fact they need each other and others to be themselves. By virtue of their individual existence they are moved to fly apart. Yet the two may, instead, because they abhor the isolation within which they would each, standing alone, as social creatures be worthless or unwholesome (not sane), work to make inherent strife harmonious, that their differences be concerted in the composition of a mutual personal relationship transcending occasional discordance and cacophony. And that ideal marriage would be naturally motivated - although its ultimate success would require personal education of the existential motive - for each existent would not perish, and to that end it seeks temporal refuge in relationships with others. Although intimacy is lost in the crowd, safety is found in numbers greater than one, and the more the better. Hence the whole is called good. Absolute safety in an infinite number compounded is thought best. That ideal security might be called Infinity or Supreme Being; as a relationship between socialized individual existents, namely, persons, the whole that is greater than its parts might be projected as Supreme Personality. But compound things are bound to disintegrate, for each particulate as such is, in the final analysis, fated to strive for independence or absolute power over the others and the whole to the best of its ability, and to perish in the process. Even harmonious strife will eventually bring the particulates as they exist to an end, as if they must die for one another that each may live. But if each arrived at the same conclusion at once in the One, nothing finite would remain; call it not-finite or infinite nothingness, if you please. That is to say, the apocalypse would uncover Nothing. Everyone might set aside multiplicity at once to end the war over differences; they might then “enjoy” absolute peace, but the death of the struggle for life would be beyond celebration, wherefore we are naturally moved to struggle against total assimilation and to take pains to enjoy some independence. Wherefore the wave prays to the ocean to protect it from the other waves. Understanding the very process that seemingly makes fools out of us might move us to make sport of war and to take to the arenas instead of the killing fields. Variety is indeed the spice of life. A little girl in a pink blouse with the word SWEET embroidered across its front appeared with her mother at the Starbucks on South Pointe – the south end of Miami Beach. She had her mom’s facial features and her dour expression as well. Her mother got her a glazed donut, a bottle of orange juice, and a plastic cup of ice. As the tot chewed on her donut, without much interest despite her serious countenance, her mom offered her orange juice from the plastic bottle; but she reached for the ice instead, picked up and popped a cube in her mouth. Instead of pouring the juice into the container with the ice, her mother starting dropping cubes into the bottle, as if to show her child what should be done with ice cubes if picked up one by one. But the girl did not have that objective: she insisted on pressing the plastic lid on the bottle; then she took another ice cube from the glass and popped it into her mouth, whereupon her face lit up with delight. She did not want the liquid; she wanted the ice: she appreciated the sensational difference of form, and no doubt she appreciated the fact that she had obtained it for herself. Again, nothing in particular would exist without differences; nothing exists within the simple unity and absolute self-identity of the perfect wholeness sometime called the final cause or the end for which all things were created and in which they are presumably perfected and therefore have their truth and beauty; to wit: Good. All existents in unity have hypothetically canceled each other out; nothing but Infinity remains once the vanities are consumed by the bonfire; but That would be Nothing in Itself, which is to say nothing in particular. On the verge of the abyss, then, we might say “From Nothing to Nothing” instead of “From dust to dust.” We find variations of such nonsensical nihilism or idiotic iconoclasm at the esoteric or occluded core of several religions. Religious ascetics whose sacrificial religion constitutes the good death or virtual suicide, and who identify absolute being with nothingness, might deny the charge of negativity by stating that the affirmation of what is tantamount to Nothing is in fact an affirmation of the All; for example: empty space is the positive permanent fact; the forms of space are ephemeral negations. In any event one might want eternal life, but in the end each must submit, so perhaps it is best to accept the fact of existential death forthwith and be glad and thankful for one’s small quota of life instead of grasping selfishly and vainly beyond the grave for more than one’s allotment. Of course the end of a finite existence in the infinitude does not erase the fact of its existence in time, wherefore the finite has its infinity within the Infinite. Yet even this scant thought is too much for those freedom fighters who would be finally done with determined existence at its end, and who loath even the idea of being remembered and thus further defined after their bodies are cremated and the ashes scattered in the river. The idea of reincarnation or survival in any form or a marker somewhere is a horror to them. They love Infinitude. Brahman was not originally identical with the Infinite. We would have no problem with the interpolation of the term in the Gita Society’s Purport if it were yet another term for the Infinite, an arbitrary label completely unladed of its historical predicates. In fact, the accidental qualities attributed Brahman over time unduly limit the substance they are attributed to. The honest etymologist and lexicographer will warn us that the origin and meaning of ‘Brahman’ is rendered uncertain by various, often conflicting attributions. We may for instance boil the word down to the root, brh, which ancient Indian exegetes said meant “being strong,” hence we might conclude that Brahman, a neuter noun, names the absolute or unconditioned power that endures forever and ever, hence is permanent and eternal. Of course our denotation falls apart with the conception of “eternity”, for that which is eternal is timeless hence does not, strictly speaking, “endure” over time; so we dispose of time, the commonsense notion rooted in the experience of succession, and claim that time is an illusion. Absolute power might be personified as an almighty god and named Brahma. But that would be a waste of breath according to other scholars, for the Brahman found in the Vedas is not eternal or immutable but is said to be “carpented” or made. According to Hindu lore, the personification of Brahman, Brahma, was the first created living being. Accordingly, Brahma does not get the attention or reverence due to an almighty god, not even from his wife, who considers him as her subordinate in one context. Indeed, Brh might have been made by Ma, she who draws out or gives birth to “breathing” things – Maya is at once the maker, the making, and the made. Now brh might also mean “swelling”, as in the swelling of “breath” or speech, or “formation” and “formulation”; wherefore our strongest power might be the creative power that formed the one verse or universe in one breath, perforce in a big bang from a non-dimensional point. Such an incredible inflation presents a paradox or riddle to this very day – the term barh, incidentally, means “riddle.” Such enigmas are best presented by poets in poetic form. We might imagine Brahma as the poet who utters the universe as a poem; Vishnu maintains the verse by chanting it; Siva finishes it when he decapitates Brahma. Of course there is quite a debate as to this illusory process of creation, maintenance, and destruction. The riddling contest is called Brahmodya; it is a life or death ritual because the maintenance of life above and below depends on it. The loser must submit to becoming the disciple of the Brahmin who wins the contest, or else lose his head. The winners inhabit Brahman, “the highest heaven of speech.” Now the intellectuals are at leisure to ponder at length and to weave finer and finer abstractions out of nothing and mount the metaphysical ladder or Chain of Being to the Vacuum of Being-in-itself, where they have their faith in Supreme Being, which is indistinguishable from Nothing, The vulgar lot below, who are given to working for their living or who do not want to wither away chained to their computers at the tops of towers, have cause to believe that the highly educated brahmins, no matter how pure they might be, are in fact atheists. What is sorely needed is an exoteric and practical religion; a material religion with representative objects to adore; a personal model, if you please, for the vulgar masses. A totemic idol, say a black bull or golden calf or redheaded jackass will not suffice: only a perfect person will serve the purpose of realizing completion of the whole as god-headed Good. Yes, a perfected human person, a supreme being, an absolute power incarnate might do very well. But how could That be That if the essence of That or the being of Being has no delimiting form or positive definition? We are confronted with an absurd riddle if not the Vanity of human vanities, the sort of contradiction that Luther liked to confidently refer to as “one of God’s mysteries.” For example, in Hinduism we are confronted with Krishna. The mystery is further compounded by those who claim that the cosmos is really the body Brahman created out of itself, which is nothing in particular; and if we substract that finite creation, we are somehow left with the universal infinite form, that of the famed person, Krishna, who would seem to be, at least to an ignoramus, a formless form or nothing at all that can somehow, nevertheless, take fantastic personal form on our planet. The Gita Society puts it this way: ”After taking away the infinite creation from the infinite Brahman during the creative cycle or adding infinite universes to the infinite Brahman during the great dissolution, the infinite Brahman remains in His infinite Universal form. This can be mathematically expressed as infinity, plus or minus infinity, equals infinity. This infinite Universal form of Krishna, the Brahman, was revealed to Arjuna and is described in the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-Gita in great detail.” How the infinite Brahman wound up as an He, instead of a She or S/he or It, to begin with, we do not know as of yet. How a form might remain after the forms of the universe are subtracted remains a mystery – we might suppose the possibility of a formless form, whose gender is merely metaphorically male, a He who may be described in detail when He appears on earth to tell warriors it is their duty to make war even against their own relatives because that is what warriors are ordained to do – we are mindful of the fact that the cause is ethical, for the society our enemies fight for is decadent and dissolute, as the Brahmins who sanction war know very well. Suffice it to say that Brahman may be considered as a fictional persona, a mask over reality, as it were, analogous to a man’s personality, a mask worn by, say, Brahma, the primordial living being, who is analogous to the super man who composes the constituent castings of humankind - His feet are the lowest caste of people, the Sudras, his head the highest class, the Brahmins. How Brahman can be a presumably subordinated form of Krishna, allegedly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is a question only bona fide spiritual masters can answer appropriately. And answer they must, for the most of us are left clutching at thin air despite the mention of the being of a divine personality. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society For Krishna Consciousness, examined the Invocation to Sri Isopanisad and declared that om literally means, “the Complete Whole, and purnam means, “perfectly complete.” He is not satisfied to leave it at that, and goes on to discuss the traditional implications. He rejects the obvious meaning, that, since no persons were mentioned, the deity must be impersonal. He says the Sanskrit words ‘Sri Isopanisad’ means “the knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Person, Krishna. “ He identifies “Brahman” as eternal existence. In that impersonal sense, Brahman alone is insufficient for the Hari Krishna swami and his followers; although they do celebrate Arjuna on the warpath, Bhakti yoga, the path of love, is their path to the union with the godhead; they would be conscious of their dance and blissfully blessed in it. So the ‘Prab’ the acarya rendered this interpretative translation of the verse: “The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” “Realization of impersonal Brahman or Paramatma, the Supersoul,” Prabhupada explains in his ‘Purport’, “is incomplete realization of the Absolutely Complete. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. Realization of impersonal Brahman is realization of His sat feature, or His aspect of eternity, and Paramatma realization is the realization of His sat [existence] and cit [consciousness] features, His aspects of eternity and knowledge. But realization of the Personality of Godhead is the realization of all the transcendental features – sat, cit, and ananda, bliss. When one realizes the Supreme Person, he realizes these aspects of the Absolute Truth in their completeness. Vigraha means “form.” Thus the Complete Whole is not formless.” The impersonalists speak of an infinite number of finite things, and hold that human beings can rest peacefully as replicated common denominators of the common denomination called infinity; they are somehow comforted by knowing there is no fundamental difference between the waves in the ocean, or between the material forms of energy; fundamentally speaking, a cow, a man, a rock and a tree are the same. In fine, Thou art That, so stop fighting it, just accept it. But contemporary Western culture would rather demolish the traditional forms or render them into commercialized relics in order to accept each other as equals in mutual animosity and make a profit to boot. Once the war of democracy on the world is won and the booty distributed according to merit rather than privileged rank, everyone shall presumably live most complaisantly. The disintegration of traditional cultural modes is graphically represented by the iconoclastic assault on the old art forms that paid ample respect to common human beings if not allegorical or divine persons. Art became increasingly abstract, and eventually the order or structures abstracted fell under the iconoclasts’ hammers, until the art world was converted to a post-modern anti-art world, a veritable junkyard or trash heap where ‘Thou art That’ means the individual is a junkyard dog. The only value remaining was the subjective appreciation of junk, perchance expressed idiotically as an absurd concept that nobody understands, particularly the anti-artist, whose popularity is determined randomly as each rebel contends to be more original or idiosyncratic than the next rebel, not understanding that the their rebellion is stultifying conformity with the status quo of the junkyard. No particular production is really worthy of praise or blame, not according to the dictum, “Art is not right or wrong.” Everything has equal moral value or is amoral, and this is all very democratic and seemingly peaceful and tolerable until the bombs start exploding at home – democracies thrive on wars abroad to tame anarchism at home, and are inherently imperialistic in their pre-emption of competition. Underneath the appearance of peaceful existence in substantial equality lurks an alienated crowd of potential suicide-bombers who would be glad to finally settle any remaining differences between people. All this would be perfectly acceptable to someone who recognized the Supreme Impersonal Being in it all, for such is life and one might as well enjoy it. Swami Prabhupada also believed that peace could be found in the Complete Whole, but only if it were a Supreme Person. A human personality, in contrast to the ‘personalities” of animals, is a cooperative fabrication learned and in part fashioned by individuals – hence we use the term “person” in the sense that a person is a synthesis of individual existence and social being. For Swami Prabhupada, the Person of persons, or Supreme Person, seen by Arjuna as Krishna, was the ultimate or transcendent reality of personal life. People who believe civilization causes their discontent may want to revert to wild-animal life, figuratively speaking, they would fain don an animal mask and dance around their totemic fetish. At least there would be no sin, then, in fighting over the kill and its scraps. “Men face one another in enmity and snarl just like cats and dogs,” observed Swami Prabhupada in his Purport to Mantra One of the Sri Isopanisad, which advises individuals to want no more than their quota. “If they do not recognize the proprietorship of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, all the property they claim is stolen…. Animals, birds, reptiles and other lower life forms strictly adhere to the laws of nature; therefore there is no question of sin for them, nor are the Vedic instructions meant for them. Human life alone is a life of responsibility.” Human dignity is obviously at stake in this controversy between the impersonalists, for whom existence is sufficient reason to live, and the personalists, who desire an ideal personal example for their improvement. Krishna takes some delightfully human and superhuman forms in the literature, a literature far more entertaining than the published episodes of the life of Jesus the Christ, whose dignity was sacrificed to the mundane human order; he was all too human when crucified by existence. Jesus put a kind face or personal mask on the impersonal god – although ineffable Yahweh was, as the Lord, a “He” and a “Father”, he was no respecter of persons, particularly idolaters, and even murdered innocent children to have his way with the folk. Whereas Hinduism was an umbrella over diverse cults and was tolerant of diverse beliefs and behavior providing everyone kept to their kind, Judeo-Christians demanded a choice of either this or that: one choose this saving form of behavior or be doomed to that hell. Fundamentalists may have believed in the fundamental equality of individuals, who are “born equal in the eyes of God,” but not in the equality of developed personal qualities. Their religious form or social system of being takes precedence over naked existence. Modern existentialist thought, the mainstream of which tends to impersonality in its rejection of social systems of being, professes individual responsibility: the responsible individual is faced with Either/Or and makes a choice: the existentialist does not choose, first of all, a system of being social, a system of relatively defined good and evil, but chooses his or her existence or self, or at least all subsidiary choices are meant to obtain that “selfish” end, an end compatible with certain protesting forms of Christianity, where the eternal salvation of the individual self and the will to endure forever of the existent meet and embrace. IV. Existentialist Godfather Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) is the godfather of the anti-systematic movement of thought we call existentialism. His corpus elevates the arrogant individual to divinity and therefore gives us due cause to pause and distinguish between existentialism and personalism, a less well-known response to the horrors of the two world wars. The subject of existentialism, the individual existent, when socialized, is a person. The person, the socialized individual, is a synthetic system. While existentialism focuses on the individual, personalism emphasizes the socialized individual. Indeed, its adherents may go so far as to claim that the person is a blessed spiritual substance. For example, Karol Wojtyla (the late John Paul II), confronted with the despairing and anxious mental processes of war-shocked intellectuals whose main concern was their dreadful existence as alienated individuals, worked to rejuvenate the conception of the substantial person in his early work, The Acting Person. As a devout Catholic, he undoubtedly had a universal model in mind; that is to say, a supreme personal model people could systematically imitate and identify with rather than losing themselves speculating on an incomprehensible unknown god or impersonal force. A number of existentialists, all too familiar with the crimes against humanity fomented by charismatic personalities, abhorred the cult of personality in any shape or form, and they decried the “rational” systems of thinking and corresponding ways of acting that had apparently led to widespread havoc and panic instead of a new world order. Many but not all existentialists were atheists. Some Christians among them were “protesting” Christians if not philosophical anarchists. After all, Soren Kierkegaard, existentialist godfather, studied for the Lutheran ministry and was in effect an independent Danish theologian. Most of all, existentialists are supposed to hate systems – Kierkegaard believed intricate systems of thought were big lies leading the world to ruin. The greatest existentialists systematically decried systems at length. Their literature often interchanged the term “person” with “individual,” but make no mistake about it, inasmuch as the person is a social system, anti-systematic thinkers would rid the world of that fictional entity along with the lies of the Establishment. But the reduction of the person to a supposedly “responsible” individual would unwittingly leave him, in his discontent, vulnerable to the charismatic likes of Mussolini and Hitler. Thus do we notice that some of the philosophical notions of the existentialists who survived World War II resembled in some instances the ideology of the enemy – not that the existentialists knowingly or willingly collaborated with the occupiers. Of course, the same might be said of personalists – after the war was over, the ranks of the Resistance swelled dramatically. In any case, one cannot get rid of the vulgar person and still communicate effectively. Although Kierkegaard’s contempt for society led him to prefer the abstract individual or “category of one” behind imperfect personal masks, he preferred to project his inner conflicts and conceal his self-contradictions and hypocrisy by speaking indirectly through several personifications: his thought-provoking Either/Or , for instance, is presented as a conversational work of fiction involving fictional persons, and not as a direct philosophical tome in the form of a coherent system of thought. Prominent existentialists deliberately tried to popularize their abstract philosophy by presenting it in fictional form, in plays and novels, behind which their fundamental incoherence would be hidden by the obvious absurdity of characteristic life. Albert Camus, for instance, who admired Kierkegaard, is best known as the philosopher of The Absurd; he noted in his diary that a good novelist must be a philosopher. Jean Paul Sartre and others followed suit. Philosophers have traditionally identified the highest good if not god with social goodness; however, as far as Kierkegaard was concerned, an ethical man had no choice but to choose himself, the penultimate good; the religious man worshiped the unknown god, his ultimate good; while the aesthete was a sort of pantheist, finding his good in anything he pleased. We concoct three equations for Kierkegaard’s three types. For the Aesthete, the relative: I am that multiplicity. For the Ethical, the duality: I am not that world. For the Religious, the absolute: I am I. We shall see that Kierkegaard’s distinction between the Ethical and Religious realms was in vain. Despite his assertion that the ethical man chooses his true self instead of creating it from scratch, his fondness for the individual reveals the individual, as an abstract “category of one”, as the indefinite or infinite wherefore unknown I-god, the YHWH or I-AM of yore. "Only when I absolutely choose myself,” wrote Kierkegaard, “do I infinitize myself absolutely, for I myself am the absolute for only myself can I choose absolutely, and the absolute choice of myself is my freedom, and only when I have absolutely chosen myself have I posited an absolute difference, the difference, that is to say, between good and evil.... The good... being in and of itself, and this is freedom.... It is... not so much a question of choosing between willing the good or the evil, as of choosing to will, but by this in turn the good and evil are posited...." Hence it appears that the Absolute One chosen by Kierkegaard is a private and absolutely free godhead, an Anarch, in a word, that disposes of and therefore transcends relative good and evil. Of course the essence of this "category of one", the universal individual and god presumably chosen by all self-chosen, self-integrated, hence ethical individuals, differs from the nature admired by unethical persons, the dissolute aesthetics who are preoccupied with the highest sort of feelings called beauty. Beauty is normally identified with pleasurable feelings ascetics abhor because the painful contrary, the want of pleasure or pain, is implied by pleasure felt – in either case, of pain or pleasure, the dignity of the self-caused person, an arrogance found in his freedom, is threatened to be demolished by an external cause. To rid themselves of pain, ethical ascetics would dispose of pleasure as well; they throw out the baby with the bath water and lay claim to transcendental indifference to the felt qualities of life, the relative value of which philosophers tend to dispute. The aesthete’s preference for felt qualities instead of abstract ideation seems mistaken because the feelings vary one from the other, hence provide no absolute escape from the disturbing dialectic rooted in the basic social conflict between the existent individual and its society. The basic conflict is internalized and gives the person over to normal anxiety. The person’s joint role as an “I” and a “We” – the “I” as part and parcel of “We” – are both “introjected” as social conditions, yet the mystical unification and at-one-ment of subject and object wanted by the anxious ethical individual in flight from his existence cannot be obtained in fact short of death; and then the objective world ironically survives the particular subject, which was in fact the temporary, unique coincidence of universal conditions, but who when alive might find take pleasure in his existential crucifixion, on the crossbars of time and space, in the notion of eternal life free of the impediments that gives him cause to suffer life in hopes of salvation from it. This supreme arbiter loves himself only, in his finality, and cannot part with himself to merge with the nymphs calling to him from the social forest. Life then, for Kierkegaard’s ethical person, burdened by the necessity of dreadful choices, which in effect constitute a negation of possibilities, is a bitter thing. But the lemon can be made sweet by a faithful leap to the religious sphere, a transcendental planet far removed from both the aesthetic and ethical planets. That ideal religious sphere, fortunately for Kierkegaard’s temperament, would not be inhabited by the established church of socially compromising and therefore hypocritical Christians he knew on Earth. As a devout Christian-of-one, Kierkegaard, instead of loving his neighbors wholeheartedly despite their sins, was moved to hatefully denounce professed Christians for falling far short of his fundamentalist notions. He chose to elevate himself to the rooftop and to cry out to his neighbors, “Hypocrites!” When he collapsed on the street in the midst of his violent attack on the Danish National Church, he told a friend that someone must die for the cause, and he died shortly thereafter. It is no wonder that the seemingly absurd commandment, to love thy neighbor as thyself, had to be written down long ago for lip services, since it is so easily forgotten by the human heart. Thus does the anarcho-Christian become the reflection of his fellow enemy – a bigoted, irrational, unethical hypocrite – instead of the reflection of the only Christian who has walked upon this Earth thus far, the very Criterion of Christianity, Jesus the Christ. Although Kierkegaard may not have been the Strange God of Love’s prophet, he was certainly a seer, and in his prescience he was himself, in his representative anxiety and egoism, a prefiguration of our own time. The godfather of Existentialism is highly regarded as a theologian. Indeed, he was a good Christian as far as many of our contemporaries are concerned, a Christian who died for a good cause: calling organized Christians hypocrites for the usually reasons: for selling their souls to the devil and their consciences to the state. Kierkegaard advocated individual integrity and responsibility. But to what end? What does he integrate his self with? The ethical individual abandons his reasonable reflections, which are the very means to ethical conduct, and leaps blindly to faith in What, which, when described, turns out to be some quiddity or the other. He evidently no longer has faith in his ability to choose, so he chooses nothing, really, but non-sense, and he does whatever might come to mind in the form of an authoritarian command from the charismatic leader of a totalitarian state of being – Kierkegaard admired the biblical willingness of a father to kill his own son (Isaac) upon command of the unknown god. Thus do intelligent men whose criticism eventually leads them to suspend judgment even in the value of criticism fall prey to the preaching of that ignorance in which they find their bliss, and may go forth to wreak havoc throughout the world for its sake. Wherefore, until freedom is realized in death, let individuals rebel. “Down with the Establishment! Down with the System! Give me Liberty or give me Death!” are the slogans of misfits; that is, until their own system is firmly established on uncompromising, fanatical principles. Freedom from compromise is found only in the omnipotent god, and those who believe they are gods have the noun spelled backwards. Kierkegaard, to pursue what he believed was the ethical life of either/or, ultimately choose himself alone. Some of us may choose things to get rid of them, so that we may feel miserable for doing what we thought was the self-righteous thing to do. Only a mate can adequately sum up humanity. Kierkegaard dismissed the flawed queen of his mundane affections, his girlfriend, Regine, upon whom he thereafter literally reflected at length, in lieu of the consummation he had forsworn. She was not good enough or god enough for him: only the unknown god was worthy of his debasement. The true lover must always be wrong; the beloved must always be right. He thought he had ditched her to save her from the mistake of loving the likes of him, a man with cold feet. He eventually made the ultimate choice, a suicidal leap to faith in perfection. Only god can do no wrong despite appearances to the contrary. But nothing is perfect. Kierkegaard’s faith was really in his own reflection in the pool slowly swirling around the drain, the very mirror of his perturbations, as it were, from which only a chimpanzee with distorted figure could foolishly grin back, for the apostle gazing therein had renounced his reason with an open proclamation of his foolhardiness. Only faith in something absurd can escape the torment of doubting reason; absolute certitude can only be had in ignorance. Nothing, no thing in particular, is really worthy of unadulterated love. "(The Ethical) is not a question of the choice of something.... The alternative is the aesthetical, the indifferent ...." The aesthetically inclined person would find his escape from the ultimate cause of anxiety – mortality – in the enjoyment of ephemeral feelings and the appreciation of beauty found in nature and art, including the art of personal living, But Kierkegaard’s ethical individual finds his solace in absolute solitude, in premature or living death, in virtual suicide. He mistakenly charges the aesthete with his own melancholic indifference to the world at large: he claims that the ethical realm is an infinite movement along hierarchically arranged values whereby one realizes (not creates) what he is by making important choices, but the choices available in the aesthetic realm are relative hence of equal value, constituting a flight from the ultimate Either/Or, that of good or evil. Of course Kierkegaard’s ethical doctrine does not require a preoccupation with choosing good things: his point is that an individual must make willful decisions, and it is in those decisions and not the particular things or acts chosen that he eventually finds his real self. Kierkegaard was an idealist in the Platonic sense: the ideal is the real; reality is in heavens unknown as of yet – if only horses had wings. "The poetic ideal is always a false ideal, for the true ideal is always the real. So when the spirit is not allowed to soar up into the eternal world of spirit it remains midway and rejoices in the pictures reflected in the clouds and weeps that they are so transitory. A poet's existence is therefore, as such, an unhappy existence, it is higher than finiteness yet no infiniteness." Infiniteness is, to wit, the ineffable X – we might aptly call it Nothing, or, if you wish, the Origin. The path to X is heady stuff; as Kierkegaard himself remarks: "There is hardly an anaesthetic so powerful as abstract thinking." [Indeed, we who are given to infinite reflections recommend that aesthetes withdraw from their addictive substances and take up philosophy instead. Still, we would not have them forsake the fine arts. In truth, the highest aesthetic expression of intelligent love of life found in fine art varies largely in technique but little in principle. Works of fine art would be worthless without social agreement, and that accord or harmony is common to human nature. The so-called anti-art movement of the modern cult of individualism that rejected the traditional and only principle of art, the feeling of beauty, amounts to a lazy reduction to an absurd claim that art is merely subjective, hence one individual work is as good as another, and any criticism of an individual work is an unwarranted intrusion into the right of “contemporary” artists to individual equality. Since the anti-artist is unable to think coherently, that is, along social lines, his concepts are as incoherent as his constructions – he is unable to give us a beautiful drawing of a person; may heaven forbid if he does turn to fine art, and that his gift of personal beauty is the ideal beauty of a clothed Madonna or nude Venus. The anti-artist’s success of course is a matter of whimsical chance – some piece of nonsense or an accident widely publicized may turn him into a celebrity]. Kierkegaard’s self craves its very self, apparently the highest good or Good, or even God. The dualist refrain is familiar: Self is Good, wherefore World is Evil. Kierkegaard wants it all for himself: unity, freedom, omnipotence. He chooses nothing in particular: he chooses will in general, the will to the Good, or goodwill. But that constant choice is really of the self, for Self is Good. Such a choice would make a subjective god of a man, a man whose will is free no matter what the objective circumstances might be. Kierkegaard’s iconoclastic self, in its constant flight from objective determination by sensation, would be perpetually becoming and not a choice of a permanent being; only Nothing or God is permanent. His subjectively omnipotent self-god would apparently be, in opposition to its circumstances, more reliable than a projected hence ambivalent objective god, particularly if that unreliable objective god represents Good, in the social sense that the good of society is Good, or in the sense that society itself is god. In that case, Power would have to be gradually rationalized, no doubt by political intervention - religion worships Power, politics distributes it. No, the individual must be absolutely free. Man (humankind) is naturally social. But thou shalt not have any god before god; wherefore thou shalt not idolize Man, for man exists by virtue of original sin – he is aesthetically inclined. Thus it seems to follow that, at least for Kierkegaard, the individual soul is, ironically and actually, the sole good, and not the Absolute God or Supreme Being. He does not mention the possibility that the real original sin is the sin of individuality, of being born individuals, and that his choice of self as the category of one adds insult to injury. Of course one might imagine that the microcosmic god reflects the macrocosmic god, or is part and parcel of god, or is in fact god in mystical unity with himself. Ah, but that would be utterly selfish and solipsistic. Kierkegaard avoids that conclusion with ambiguity or doublespeak: "The mystic chooses himself abstractly ... out of the world ... The truly concrete choice is that wherewith at the very same instant some instant I choose myself out of the world I am choosing myself back into the world. For when I choose myself repentantly I gather myself back into the world ... in all my finite concretion, and in the fact that I have thus chosen myself out of the finite I am in the most absolute continuity with it." Furthermore, "I do not create myself. I choose myself. Therefore while nature is created out of nothing, while I as an immediate personality am created out of nothing, as a free spirit I am born of the principle of contradiction." Is not that the principle of original sin? Is not that the hypocrisy or underlying crisis of man? Is not that the principle of original slavery that dooms us to choose or to die? Free will disobeys to god’s law, hence Kierkegaard’s formerly lauded ethical choices were in fact sinful acts. He says he repents even of his father's sins. Why does he not repent of original sin? In effect he has repudiated his creative choice and his freedom. Afraid to love another, he had no choice but to choose himself, but that self must die. In the end, once he finds his true nature, he must resign his freedom and accept god’s law, that all individuals are born in sin and must therefore must die. Repenting of it all, the existentialist theologian gets it all back: "He repents himself back into himself, back into the family, back into the race, until he finds himself in God." Repentance, he says, is the only word that expresses love for God. He chooses to surrender to X. His choice destroys all options. He sets the self up as god and chooses god, thus destroying self and god for he has not chosen something but has rejected everything. From nothing he came and to nothing he returns - god or nothing is permanent. It appears that he identifies his instinct to survival with his particular self or the apotheosis thereof. "I do not create myself. I choose myself. Therefore while nature is created out of nothing, while as an immediate personality I am created out of nothing, as a free spirit I am born of the principle of contradiction, or born by the fact that I choose myself." Kierkegaard would forsake the evil world for himself, for the category of one; but once he is at one with the category of one, he shall love the world: "If the despairing man makes a mistake, if he believes that his misfortune lies in his multifarious surroundings, then his despair is not genuine and it will lead him to hate the world.... When in despair you have found yourself you will love the world because it is what it is." And what is despair? "Despair is doubt of personality," he says. Again, the assumption is that this self, whatever it is, is good if not the highest good or Good or God. It seems that if only one would love the self for what it is, first of all, then love for the world would follow, just as night follows day. If one loved himself rightly, he would love the world so much that he would gladly stretch out his neck for his executioner if need be. It is a matter of attitude, really, and one's attitude in choosing oneself must be sincere, for as one believes, so one is. What counts, says Kierkegaard, is the energetic sincerity of choosing the real either/or over the mere either/or, such as choosing to visit the bank or barber. The real choice is ultimately between good/evil, good being the real self. Kierkegaard admits that many other worthwhile decisions may be made along the way to finding/receiving one's self. We hear the familiar song hand down from ancient times: the treasure is within, in the inner unity where man is reconciled with himself if not his collective self projected as god. Kierkegaard criticizes critics for not taking up the inner life, for losing themselves in illusions, professions, callings and other forms of escape. Yet his own approach is also an escape. Indeed, life is an escapade! Are we to deride the philosopher who said, “As a matter of fact, I am not slightly interested in self-spelunking, given all the objects the universe has to offer.” "You are capable of spending a whole month reading nothing but fairy tales - Kierkegaard writes in his either/or novel - you make a profound study of them, you compare and analyze, and your study is not barren of result - but what do you use it for? To divert your mind; you let the whole thing fire off in a brilliant display of fireworks." Kierkegaard opines that philosophy mediates the past but cannot mediate what has not occurred yet: it cannot choose the future. And philosophers would have no past to mediate unless there were an absolute Either/Or. One obviously has to do something besides philosophize to get something done. Life would come to a dead stop with philosophy alone. "We have the disgusting sight of young men who are able to mediate Christianity and paganism, are able to play with the titanic forces of history, and are unable to tell a plain man what he has to do in life ...." That is true . We must not entirely abandon self-spelunking – and we study others to discover our own nature. Nevertheless we find in Kierkegaard’s philosophy the usual Christian activism without specification of particular deeds. Kierkegaard’s philosophical protagonist offers nothing in particular except marriage and family to the hypothetical young man addressed in the book-long letter constituting the novel Either/Or. "In my capacity as a married man it is my custom on every occasion to maintain against you, both orally and in writing, the reality of love...." In real life Kierkegaard did not marry his sweetheart Regine Olson. He broke of the engagement in 1840; supported by his inheritance, he took up philosophy while she embraced another in holy matrimony. It is evident that Kierkegaard’s novel is a self-divided letter, a dialectical epistle to himself from himself, expressing a conflict or dialogue between his artificially divided emotional and moral nature. In a fugue of bourgeois self-contempt, he poses a conflict between art for its own sake and the realistic business of the mind, that he might continually choose something valuable upon which profit can be realized and infinitely accrued rather than something for fleeting gratification to be eliminated as waste. Why not pile up treasure in heaven instead of counting on earthly things that are bound to be relatively disappointing because they fall short of the ideal? He chooses for the sake of choosing, thinking he is making the ultimate choice, of his absolutely good self, as distinguished from creating art for its own sake - today students of contemporary art are taught that there is no such thing as good or bad art. The primary ethical action we find in Kierkegaard's is symbolic action - thinking - and that to criticize others for not acting ethically, for not taking the one-god versus the satanic multiplicity seriously. It is no wonder that confident persons of the enthusiastic confession conclude that almost anything goes as long as one has faith and hopes for self-salvation. Kierkegaard means to say that a man thinks before he acts if he would act of his own accord. He thinks self-importantly: his choice is very important because he believes he is choosing himself, whatever that might be. We think that in his feeling of self-importance he has self-consciousness, or his unity of consciousness as a subject posed before virtually infinite objects. He is an I or individual, a Category of One at Dodge City, facing down the multiplicitous world, a world rendered as multiple by the psychological interpretation of diverse inchoate sensations that the mind is delighted to organize and represent as a reflection of its microcosmic god, the individual. V. The Russian Philosopher of Freedom Nicolai Aleksandrovich Berdyaev, the “Russian philosopher of freedom”, is mistakenly labeled an existentialist because he emphasized anthropocentric subjectivity in his theory of "objectification". His nods to Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, Jaspers, and other non-systematic philosophers also served to place him in the existentialist camp. Berdyaev, nonetheless, was more of a personalist than an existentialist. According to Berdyaev, personalism idealizes the human person. There is no such thing as a national person. That is a self-conceited lie, stupid and ludicrous. The nation is the projection of everything evil as a collective ideal. Evil is called good. Hate, violence, egoism, pride, will to power are all converted into virtues. Do not idolize Nation or Volk. Do not be a slave to "the People." Real personality has an existential center - of conscience. Real personalities are individual, and therefore Volk will crucify them. Egocentricity and personalism are contrary concepts. "Egocentricity is the original sin of man ... an illusory, distorted universalism ... a false perspective ... under the power of objectivization, which it seeks to turn into an instrument of self-affirmation ... Man is the salve of the surrounding external world, because he is the slave of him ...." Of course, "The genius lives near to primary reality and to real existence whereas the culture elite is subject to the laws of objectivization and socialization." "All possession, whether it is possession by base passion or by lofty ideas denotes the loss of the spiritual center in man." The very notion of the soul as a unity derived from physical processes is false. The unity of the soul-process is the dynamic spiritual principle itself and not arbitrarily conceived points or 'souls.' The notion that the individual of individualism constitutes resistance to its environment and is thus constituted by isolated exercises of its own will is an illusion. Such an individual would have to be exterior to the world in order to rebel against it, hence the individual would have to be alienated, impersonal, and self-determined or self-caused, as if it were a god facing a violent enemy. The enmity projected onto a seemingly violent world would define the supposedly self-determining individual who blames the objective world for everything perceived to be in opposition; thus is he in fact determined by objectivity rather than his presumed subjectivity. As 'subject' in distinction from 'object', he thinks he is a free individual, but the emperor has his foot on his neck. Since humankind is natural and human beings are a social species, the individual of individualism has dissociated himself from nature and society. For him, nature is dead; god is dead; society is dead. Since society comprises individuals, the person is dead as well, for the person is a social individual who enjoys not only individuality but the commune as well . Ironically, the individualist believes he is free when in fact he is enslaved. Today he is in reality the over socialized, bourgeois individual of the militant protestant-capitalist system. He is fully engaged in the war of all against all where each individual crushes other and is crushed in the material arena of economic forces and interests. He has internalized the anti-social rules of engagement that subjugate him. Like a prisoner in Bentham's panopticon-prison, he is constantly under observation and control by unseen wardens. But he is a virtual slave; a slave not to his circumstances, but to himself. He is, as it were, self-imprisoned, and is like the animal that stays put when the fence is torn down. "The individualist is the slave to himself, he is under the spell of slavery to his own ego, and, therefore, he cannot resist the slavery which comes from the non-ego .... Man is always a slave of the non-ego through the ego…. The object world can make a person a martyr but it cannot make him a conformist." On the other hand, whereas individualists are "wolfish" and vicious, Berdyaev's person of personalism is virtuously communal and fraternal. For personality is emancipation from slavery to the ego, and, at the same time, to the non-ego "The fundamental nature of the person is not originality nor self-knowledge nor individual affirmation. It lies not in separation but in communication." Slavery and Freedom by Nicolas Berdyaev, New York: Scribner's 1944 Be Not Afraid, a Denunciation of Despair by Emmanuel Mounier, transl. Cynthia Rowland, New York: Sheed and Ward '62 EITHER/OR by Kierkegaard

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|Evolutionary conserved microRNAs are ubiquitously expressed compared to tick-specific miRNAs in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus.| |Jump to Full Text| |PMID: 21699734 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE| |BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that act as regulators of gene expression in eukaryotes modulating a large diversity of biological processes. The discovery of miRNAs has provided new opportunities to understand the biology of a number of species. The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, causes significant economic losses in cattle production worldwide and this drives us to further understand their biology so that effective control measures can be developed. To be able to provide new insights into the biology of cattle ticks and to expand the repertoire of tick miRNAs we utilized Illumina technology to sequence the small RNA transcriptomes derived from various life stages and selected organs of R. microplus. RESULTS: To discover and profile cattle tick miRNAs we employed two complementary approaches, one aiming to find evolutionary conserved miRNAs and another focused on the discovery of novel cattle-tick specific miRNAs. We found 51 evolutionary conserved R. microplus miRNA loci, with 36 of these previously found in the tick Ixodes scapularis. The majority of the R. microplus miRNAs are perfectly conserved throughout evolution with 11, 5 and 15 of these conserved since the Nephrozoan (640 MYA), Protostomian (620MYA) and Arthropoda (540 MYA) ancestor, respectively. We then employed a de novo computational screening for novel tick miRNAs using the draft genome of I. scapularis and genomic contigs of R. microplus as templates. This identified 36 novel R. microplus miRNA loci of which 12 were conserved in I. scapularis. Overall we found 87 R. microplus miRNA loci, of these 15 showed the expression of both miRNA and miRNA* sequences. R. microplus miRNAs showed a variety of expression profiles, with the evolutionary-conserved miRNAs mainly expressed in all life stages at various levels, while the expression of novel tick-specific miRNAs was mostly limited to particular life stages and/or tick organs. CONCLUSIONS: Anciently acquired miRNAs in the R. microplus lineage not only tend to accumulate the least amount of nucleotide substitutions as compared to those recently acquired miRNAs, but also show ubiquitous expression profiles through out tick life stages and organs contrasting with the restricted expression profiles of novel tick-specific miRNAs. |Roberto A Barrero; Gabriel Keeble-Gagnère; Bing Zhang; Paula Moolhuijzen; Kazuho Ikeo; Yoshio Tateno; Takashi Gojobori; Felix D Guerrero; Ala Lew-Tabor; Matthew Bellgard| Related Documents : |23618514 - Molecular determination of tritrichomonas spp. in aborted bovine foetuses in eastern an... 22139924 - An in silico model for identification of small rnas in whole bacterial genomes: charact... 20238054 - A hypoplastic retinal lamination in the purpurin knock down embryo in zebrafish. 2691504 - The primary structure of porcine liver acylamino acid-releasing enzyme deduced from cdn... 20381534 - Sybr green based real-time rt-pcr assay for detection and genotype prediction of bovine... 17846794 - Molecular and phylogenetic analysis of mads-box genes of mikc type and chromosome locat... |Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2011-06-24| |Title: BMC genomics Volume: 12 ISSN: 1471-2164 ISO Abbreviation: BMC Genomics Publication Date: 2011| |Created Date: 2011-07-22 Completed Date: 2011-11-15 Revised Date: 2013-05-24| Medline Journal Info: |Nlm Unique ID: 100965258 Medline TA: BMC Genomics Country: England| |Languages: eng Pagination: 328 Citation Subset: IM| |Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA, Australia. email@example.com| |APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex| Drosophila / genetics Gene Expression Profiling Gene Expression Regulation* Larva / genetics MicroRNAs / genetics, metabolism* Ovum / metabolism RNA Precursors / genetics Rhipicephalus / genetics*, growth & development |0/MicroRNAs; 0/RNA Precursors| Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMC Genomics Publisher: BioMed Central Copyright ©2011 Barrero et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Received Day: 15 Month: 4 Year: 2011 Accepted Day: 24 Month: 6 Year: 2011 collection publication date: Year: 2011 Electronic publication date: Day: 24 Month: 6 Year: 2011 Volume: 12First Page: 328 Last Page: 328 Publisher Id: 1471-2164-12-328 PubMed Id: 21699734 |Evolutionary conserved microRNAs are ubiquitously expressed compared to tick-specific miRNAs in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus| |Roberto A Barrero1||Email: firstname.lastname@example.org| |Gabriel Keeble-Gagnère1||Email: email@example.com| |Bing Zhang23||Email: Bing.Zhang@deedi.qld.gov.au| |Paula Moolhuijzen13||Email: firstname.lastname@example.org| |Kazuho Ikeo4||Email: email@example.com| |Yoshio Tateno4||Email: firstname.lastname@example.org| |Takashi Gojobori4||Email: email@example.com| |Felix D Guerrero5||Email: Felix.Guerrero@ars.usda.gov| |Ala Lew-Tabor1236||Email: A.LewTabor@uq.edu.au| |Matthew Bellgard13||Email: firstname.lastname@example.org| 1Centre for Comparative Genomics, Murdoch University, WA 6150, Australia 2Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) Biotechnology Laboratories, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia 3CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia 4Center for Information Biology and DNA Databank of Japan, National Institute of Genetics, Yata 1111, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan 5US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2700 Fredericksburg, Rd., Kerrville, TX 78028, USA 6Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation Institute, The University of Queensland, c/o DEEDI, St Lucia, QLD 4067, Australia The Arthropods are a diverse group of organisms including Chelicerata (ticks, spiders), Myriapoda (centipedes, millipedes), Crustacea (crabs, shrimps), and Insecta (flies, beetles). Molecular estimates indicate that ticks emerged 300 ± 27 MYA, while the prostriate and metastriate hard tick lineages diverged 241 ± 28 MYA . Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is considered to be the most economically important tick parasite in the world. R. microplus is a hard tick associated with cattle infestations but can also occasionally be found on other hosts including horses, goats, sheep, pigs and some wild animals living in subtropical and tropical regions worldwide [2,3]. R. microplus is a member of the metastriate lineage of ticks that includes numerous genera and species of medical and veterinary importance. In comparison, I. scapularis is a member of the prostriate lineage that comprises the single genus Ixodes. The prostriate and metastriate lineages differ markedly in many aspects of their biology such as type of developmental cycle (i.e., three-versus one-host ticks), host range and vector competence. Comparative analyses between prostriate and metastriate gene sets including miRNAs may reveal the genetic basis for fundamental differences in the biology of these tick lineages . R. microplus is generally a single host tick spending all parasitic life cycle stages on cattle. The eggs hatch in the environment and the larvae crawl up grass or other plants to find a host. In the summer, R. microplus can survive for as long as 3 to 4 months without feeding. In cooler temperatures, they may live without food for up to six months. Newly attached seed ticks (larvae) are usually found on the softer skin inside the thigh, flanks, and forelegs. After feeding, the larvae molt twice, to become nymphs and male or female adults. Each developmental stage (larval, nymph and adult) feeds only once, but the feeding takes places over several days. Adult male ticks become sexually mature after feeding, and mate with feeding females. An adult female tick that has fed and mated detaches from the host and deposits a single batch of many eggs in the environment. Typically, these eggs are placed in crevices or debris, or under stones. The female tick dies after ovipositing. Ticks in the subgenus Boophilus have a life cycle that can be completed in 3 to 4 weeks; this characteristic can result in a heavy tick burden particularly on tick susceptible cattle in tropical areas [2,3]. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small 19--25 nucleotide regulatory RNAs that act as post-transcriptional modulators of gene expression in animals and plants . They are estimated to represent 1% of the transcriptome in higher eukaryotes and predicted to control the expression of up to 30% of messenger RNAs [6,7]. Most miRNAs are encoded in intergenic regions and are transcribed by RNA polymerase II as long primary nuclear miRNAs (pri-miRNAs), which range from hundreds to thousands of nucleotides in length . One pri-miRNA typically contains a single or several miRNA precursors (pre-miRNAs) as stem-loop, hairpin structures flanked by unstructured, single stranded RNA sequences . Pre-miRNAs are cleaved near their loops by the cytoplasmic RNase III enzyme Dicer to generate a heteroduplex of two ~23-nt RNAs that are then packed into the RISC complex . Mature miRNA sequences are encoded either in the 5'-arm or the 3'-arm of pre-miRNAs. The decision as to which sequence is incorporated into the silencing complex is influenced by the difference in pairing stabilities between the two ends of the miRNA:miRNA star (miRNA*) duplex, with preferential incorporation of the strand whose 5'end is less stably paired [11,12]. In some cases both strands of the miRNA:miRNA* duplex were found expressed at similar levels . About half of the miRNA genes in Drosophila melanogaster are clustered and transcribed from a single polycystronic pri-miRNA . Recently, next generation sequencing technologies have been utilized to profile and discover miRNAs genome-wide. To assist in this process it is normally required to have a reference genome sequence. Currently, there is no reference genome sequence for R. microplus, with the Ixodes scapularis genome draft (IscaW1.1) the closest reference genome in which 37 miRNAs have been identified . Some miRNAs are highly conserved throughout evolution including let-7, present in metazoan lineages such as arthropods and vertebrates that diverged 641-686 MYA . Thus, the use of the D. melanogaster reference genome for which 152 miRNAs are currently annotated may allow not only the identification of highly conserved tick miRNAs, but also to discover arthropod-specific miRNAs. Previous studies have shown that miRNAs are continuously being added to metazoan genomes through time, and once these are integrated into gene regulatory networks, show only rare nucleotide substitutions within the mature miRNA sequence at predictable positions and are only rarely secondarily lost [17-19]. This is likely related to the strong purifying selection against changes in secondary structure of pre-miRNAs . Wheeler and colleagues documented evolutionary stable shifts to the determination of position 1 of the mature sequence that can be displaced towards either the 5' or 3' end, a phenomenon called seed shifting, as well as the ability to post-transcriptionally edit the 5' end of the mature read, changing the identity of the seed sequence and possibly the repertoire of downstream targets. Currently there are no known microRNAs reported for R. microplus and we aimed at the identification and discovery of evolutionary conserved as well as novel tick-specific miRNAs in R. microplus by using a combination of next generation high throughput sequencing, comparative genomics and de novo computational screening. We constructed eight small transcriptome libraries derived from various cattle tick life stages and from selected organs including gut, salivary glands and ovaries. We aim to characterize changes in gene set and expression levels of miRNAs at various tick life stages as well as selected organs. We also conducted an evolutionary analysis to identify subsets of R. microplus miRNAs and miRNA* sequences that are perfectly conserved since either the Nephrozoa (641-686 MYA), Protostomia (618-653 MYA), Arthropoda (~540 MYA) or Ixodidae (~241MYA) ancestor [1,16,21]. We also provide evidence of seed shifts and gene duplications unique to the R. microplus lineage. Currently there are 37 known miRNAs in Ixodes scapularis, a species belonging to prostriate hard tick lineage [15,21], but there are no known miRNAs identified for R. microplus or other metastriate hard tick species. In order to identify R. microplus miRNAs and expand the repertoire of cattle tick miRNAs and to obtain insights into changes in miRNA expression throughout the cattle tick life stages and in selected adult female tick organs, a high throughput sequencing approach was conducted. This approach generated more than 35 million short reads derived from the tick small RNA transcriptome from eggs, unfed larvae, larvae exposed for six hours to the host without being allowed to feed (frustrated larvae), and adult ticks as well as selected adult female tick organs (Table 1). To identify tick miRNAs we anticipated that a fraction of the known Arthopoda miRNAs should be conserved in both the Chelicerata (cattle ticks) and Insecta lineages regardless of their estimated divergence time of more than 500 MYA [16,21]. Under this assumption, sequenced short reads from tick samples could be mapped onto the D. melanogaster genome in order to identify identical or nearly identical conserved tick miRNAs. To be able to distinguish true sequence polymorphisms from non-specific mapping artefacts the performance of several short read aligners were initially evaluated to define the tool that mapped the largest amount of true positives and introduced a limited amount of false positive aligned short reads. We created simulated 36-bp short reads using mutation rates from 0.1% to up to 16% (Additional file 1) containing both SNPs and/or insertion/deletions (indels) and evaluated the ability of each tool to correctly align simulated short reads. Our results indicated that Novoalign produced the best overall short read mapping performance (Additional file 2). Thus, we used this tool to align the generated tick short reads onto the Drosophila genome. To ensure reliable short read alignments base quality scores were taken into account to conduct an interative alignment approach aiming to identify the best mapping position for each read. Novoalign generates a mapping quality score for each aligned read so that ambiguously mapped short reads can be removed from downstream analyses. Out of 35 million short reads derived from various cattle tick life cycle stages and three key organs, 3.5 million reads were aligned onto known miRNA loci on the Drosophila genome with at least a quality alignment score of Q = 1 (Table 1). We manually inspected the aligned reads onto miRNA loci and removed non-specific alignments. To identify possible duplicated R. microplus miRNAs all reads mapped onto a single D. melanogaster miRNA locus were inspected and if miRNA isoforms were observed these were required to be cloned in at least two distinct libraries to be validated. This approach identified 46 R. microplus miRNAs including four duplicated copies for rmi-let-7 (a, f, m and n), and two duplicated copies for rmi-miR-219 and rmi-miR-285. In addition we also detected the expression of 7 miRNA* sequences, of these four have counterparts in D. melanogaster (Additional file 3). It has been recently reported that there has been gain and loss of miRNA families in Arthropod lineages . Thus some known miRNAs may have been lost in the D. melanogaster genome but still be present in tick genomes. To evaluate this possibility and also to identify novel tick-specific miRNAs we conducted a computational screening using MiRDeep as previously described . To screen for candidate miRNA loci we aligned small RNA reads from each tick library onto both the I. scapularis draft genome (IscaW1.1; 369,492 contigs) and R. microplus draft genomic contigs that were recently sequenced and assembled by our group (Bellgard et al. unpublished data; 175,226 contigs encoding a total of 144,709,321 bp). This identified candidate pre-miRNA sequences that were further screened against nucleotide databases and those having similarity to known coding/non-coding genes were excluded. Furthermore, short reads from all libraries were then aligned onto remaining pre-miRNA candidates and those not having typical miRNA alignments were removed . This analysis identified 44 and 25 miRNAs in I. scapularis and R. microplus genomic contigs, respectively. We next screened the identified miRNAs against all annotated miRNAs and determined that 32 and 1 (rmi-miR-190) miRNA in I. scapularis and R. microplus, respectively, had counterparts in other species. In addition the expression of three miRNA* sequences were detected (Additional file 3A). As anticipated this approach identified five (rmi-miR-71, rmi-miR-96, rmi-miR-153, rmi-miR-745b and rmi-miR-2001) evolutionary conserved miRNAs in R. microplus that were lost in the D. melanogaster genome. Overall we identified 51 miRNAs in R. microplus that have counterparts in other species. Out of the 51 evolutionary conserved R. microplus miRNAs we also detected the expression of 11 miRNA* sequences (Additional file 3A). MiRNA* sequences have been implicated in modifying mature miRNA and 3'UTR evolution in flies . Thus, these species along with the mature tick miRNAs will facilitate the understanding of changes in gene regulatory networks during R. microplus life stages and in vital organs. In the above analysis, we also identified 36 novel R. microplus miRNAs and of these 12 were conserved in the I. scapularis genome (Additional file 3B). Examples of pre-miRNAs of novel tick-specific miRNAs showing typical drosha-processed features including localization of mature miRNA within few nucleotides of the loop are shown in Figure 1. Interestingly we detected the expression of miRNA* sequences in four novel tick pre-miRNAs common to both R. microplus and I. scapularis (Additional file 3B and Figure 1). To determine if the 36 identified novel R. microplus miRNAs are restricted to cattle tick, we aligned mature miRNA and pre-miRNAs sequences onto the genomes of Anopheles gambiae, Apis mellifera, Aedes aegypti, Tribolium castaneum, Nasonia vitripennis, Pediculus humanus, Culex quinquefasciatus and nine Drosophila genomes (Additional file 4). The mapping coordinates of aligned reads were then used to retrieve genomic segments to evaluate for typical pre-miRNA structures. None of the 36 novel R. microplus miRNAs were found conserved in the 16 tested genomes suggesting that these may represent tick-specific miRNAs. The genome size of the cattle tick R. microplus is three times larger than that of I. scapularis, thus we anticipate that other novel R. microplus miRNAs are likely to be identified once the complete genome becomes available. Overall, we identified 87 R. microplus miRNAs with 72 of these expressed during various cattle tick life stages and 67 in selected adult female tick organs (Figure 2A and Additional file 3). We found 52 mature miRNAs expressed in both the life stage and tick organ samples with the majority of these (44; 84.6%) corresponding to evolutionary conserved miRNAs (Figure 2A). In contrast, the majority of the 20 life stage-and 15 organ-specific miRNAs corresponded to novel cattle tick-specific miRNAs suggesting that these miRNAs play unique roles at specific life stages and key tick organs. A recent study suggested that miRNA invention is closely related to the evolution of tissue identities in bilaterian species . Further investigation is required to determine if novel tick-specific miRNAs contribute to the implementation of biological features unique to tick species. Similar to what has been observed in other species we found miRNAs that show expression from both arms of the pre-miRNA. In cattle ticks we observed co-expression of 15 mature and complementary star sequences including rmi-miR-10, rmi-miR-71, rmi-miR-993 and rmi-miR-5308 that are expressed in all cattle tick life stages evaluated in this study (Table 2). Co-expression of rmi-miR-153 and rmi-miR-5314 mature and star sequences was restricted to larval stages while rmi-miR-iab-5p was only detected in adult ticks. These miRNA* sequences were highly conserved between R. microplus and I. scapularis despite their estimated divergence of 241 ± 28 MYA indicating that these sequences in these species are under selective pressure to avoid nucleotide changes. Interestingly rmi-miR-79*, rmi-miR-281* and rmi-miR-993* are expressed at significantly higher levels than their mature counterparts suggesting that some of the currently annotated mature miRNAs in reference databases may correspond to miRNA* sequences or in some lineages like R. microplus miRNA* sequences become the primary transcript from the miRNA/miRNA* duplex. To evaluate global changes in miRNA expression during R. microplus life stages, short read counts overlapping the 87 miRNAs and 15 miRNA* sequences were normalized as reads per million and compared against the overall expression found in eggs. Our results indicate that in the transition from egg to larval stages there is nearly a 90-fold increase in miRNA transcripts (Figure 2B). Interestingly, larvae exposed to the host for six hours showed a significant reduction in the accumulation of miRNA transcripts as compared to unexposed larvae. The largest accumulation of miRNA transcripts was found in female adults, showing 2.7-fold higher level than males. We also compared changes in expression between evolutionary conserved and tick-specific (unique) miRNAs. Evolutionary conserved R. microplus miRNAs are significantly more highly expressed as compared to the identified novel tick-specific miRNAs (Figure 2C), only during larval stages there was an increment in the expression of tick-specific miRNAs. Overall in the life stage samples, we identified 72 R. microplus miRNAs, of these 37, 63 and 61 miRNAs were expressed in egg, larval and adult stages, respectively (Figure 2D). Interestingly, 32 (44.5%) of the identified miRNAs were expressed in all cattle tick life stages with 31 of these evolutionary conserved in a range of species and only one rmi-miR-5308 unique to tick species. In contrast most of the stage-specific miRNAs corresponded to novel tick-specific miRNAs. These findings suggest that evolutionary conserved miRNAs play a ubiquitous role through out cattle tick life stages, while most novel tick-unique miRNAs are restricted to specific life stages. We next evaluated the percentage fraction of expression of each miRNA in each sample. In eggs there are five abundantly expressed miRNAs including rmi-miR-1, rmi-miR-310/miR-92, rmi-miR-279, rmi-miR-275 and rmi-miR-71 that accounted for 80.6% of the total amount of miRNA transcripts (Figure 3A and Additional file 3), while in all other life stages miR-1 was the most abundantly expressed miRNA (Figure 3). Among the top ten most abundant miRNAs in eggs we found two novel cattle tick-specific miRNAs, rmi-miR-5316b and rmi-miR-5331, that accounted for 4.3% and 3.1% of miRNA transcripts, respectively (Figure 3A). These novel miRNAs were only expressed at statistically significant levels (P < 9.62E-06) during the egg stage (Additional file 5) suggesting they play critical roles during this stage. Although rmi-miR-1 is the most abundantly expressed miRNA in cattle tick larvae (Figure 3B), we found eight other miRNAs, including rmi-miR-133, rmi-miR-87, rmi-miR-10, and rmi-miR-252, that had a higher fold-change ratio in miRNA transcript levels as compared to that in eggs suggesting that these miRNAs may play a role during larval development (Table 3 and Additional file 6). We also found two novel tick-specific miRNAs, rmi-miR-3931 and rmi-miR-5308, among the top ten expressed larval miRNAs representing 2.7% and 1.2% of the miRNA transcripts (Figure 3B). Interestingly, in Drosophila miR-10 is encoded within the HOX cluster downstream of its target Sex combs reduced (Scr), which is a gene required for proper embryo and adult development in flies [27,28]. It has also been reported that the miR-10 binding site in the Src 3'UTR is conserved across a large number of arthropod species, some with an estimated divergence time of over hundreds of millions years . Similar to the observation in larval stages, rmi-miR-1 was vastly abundant in adult ticks accounting for 87.4% and 86.2% of miRNA transcripts in females and males, respectively (Figure 3C and 3D). The second most abundant miRNA in adult ticks is rmi-let-7a, a miRNA known to be involved in the transition from late larval to adult stage in worms . It remains to be elucidated if rmi-let-7a is also expressed during tick nymph stage associated with the transition to adult fate. In contrast to egg and larval stages, no novel tick-specific miRNAs were observed among the top ten most abundant miRNAs in adult ticks. These findings suggest that novel tick-specific miRNAs may play key roles during early embryo and larval development stages. The relative changes in expression of 27 miRNAs and 3 miRNA* expressed in all life stages tested in R. microplus are shown in Figure 3E. Interestingly let-7, miR-100 and miR-125 are known to be clustered in the same genomic location in the D. melanogaster and A. gambiae genomes within 1 kb and 4.5 kb, respectively . In general it is accepted that clustered miRNAs are likely to share highly correlated expression profiles if these are within 50 kb of each other . Our results show that these three miRNAs present similar expression trends (Figure 3E) suggesting that rmi-let-7a, rmi-miR-100 and rmi-miR-125 may also collocate to the same genomic region in the R. microplus genome. To validate the observed miRNA expression profiles we conducted real time PCR amplification of five randomly selected miRNAs that showed perfect sequence conservation between ticks and flies. These included rmi-let-7a, rmi-miR-1, rmi-miR-7, rmi-miR-12, and rmi-miR-124. As controls we selected U14 and snoRNA-442 non-coding RNAs, which are reference genes used in Drosophila studies (Ambion, Applied Biosystems), but none of these were either expressed or conserved in cattle ticks. We then normalized the relative expression of all miRNAs in eggs, frustrated larvae and female ticks against the expression of rmi-let-7 in female ticks (Additional file 7). Our results validated the abundant expression of rmi-miR-1 in eggs, frustrated larvae and female samples. We also verified that rmi-let-7 is highly expressed in female ticks as compared to eggs or frustrated larvae samples (Additional file 5). Overall we observed a good agreement between the trends observed in real time PCR quantification and high throughput small RNA sequencing. R. microplus normally parasitizes a single host and it is believed this host specificity depends on the specific detection of bovine phenolic compounds . To evaluate if host odour recognition by ticks may trigger changes in miRNA expression we exposed tick larvae to its host for six hours without allowing the larvae to feed (frustrated larvae), and then we collected small RNA samples for high throughput sequencing. We found 57 miRNA expressed in frustrated larvae, of these 54 were also expressed in unexposed larvae (Additional file 3). There were six miRNAs expressed in unexposed larvae that were not detected in frustrated larvae, particularly rmi-miR-5315 that showed a significant lost in expression (Table 4 and Additional file 8). Only rmi-miR-31a, rmi-miR-285a and rmi-miR-5329 were specifically detected in frustrated larvae, but none of these had significant expression levels (P < 9.62E-05) (Additional file 8). The major difference in miRNA expression found in frustrated larvae, as compared to un-exposed larvae, is the down-and up-regulation of 26 and 23 miRNAs, respectively (P < 9.62E-05) (Additional file 8). Among the most down regulated miRNAs in frustrated larvae are rmi-miR-317, rmi-miR-315, rmi-miR-33, rmi-miR-87 and five tick-specific novel miRNAs including rmi-miR-5306, rmi-miR-5309, rmi-miR-5310, rmi-miR-5312 and rmi-miR-5314 (Table 4 and Additional file 8). Other significantly up-regulated miRNAs in frustrated larvae compared to unexposed larvae are rmi-miR-279, rmi-miR-190, rmi-miR-79*, rmi-miR-96, rmi-miR-5307 and rmi-miR-5308 (P < 9.62E-05) (Table 4 and Additional file 8). The identification of novel tick-specific miRNAs showing up and down-regulation upon exposure to the host make these molecules attractive candidates for further host-recognition functional studies. There are significant morphological and behavioural differences between female and male ticks. To evaluate whether there are gender differences in the expression of miRNAs we inspected changes in the miRNA transcriptome between female and male adult ticks. We found 55 miRNAs expressed in adult cattle ticks, of these 46 were expressed in both females and males. We found two miRNAs, rmi-miR-5334 and rmi-miR-5336, specifically expressed in male ticks, while another seven miRNAs were detected in female ticks with four of these also expressed in larval stages (Figure 2D). The three miRNAs uniquely expressed in females were rmi-miR-307, rmi-miR-5317a and rmi-miR-5318, which were expressed at low levels (Additional file 9). Among the miRNAs expressed in both females and males, 22 were up regulated in females (P < 9.62E-05) including the let-7-complex miRNAs rmi-let-7a, rmi-miR-100 and rmi-miR-125 (let-C miRNAs) (Table 5 and Additional file 9). Although similar levels of up regulation of the former two miRNAs in females were observed, rmi-miR-100 showed an expression level similar to that in males. Differential accumulation of these let-7-C miRNAs, which were shown to co-transcribe as a single polycistronic primary transcript , may be due to post-transcriptional processing of mature miRNAs from primary transcripts undergoing developmental regulation [34-36]. Interestingly, loss of function of let-7 in Drosophila specifically affects female reproduction, while males retain fertility levels comparable to that in wild type flies . It remains to be elucidated if the observed up regulation of rmi-let-7a in female ticks is required for maintaining both normal fertility and oviposition . In male ticks we found 9 miRNAs up regulated in comparison to female ticks (P < 9.62E-05) including rmi-miR-133, rmi-miR-bantam, rmi-miR-279 and rmi-miR-310/miR-92 (Table 5 and Additional file 9). It is intriguing to observe the up regulation of two known anti-apoptotic miRNAs, rmi-miR-bantam and rmi-miR-133 in adult males [37,38]. MiR-133 and miR-1 are preferentially expressed in cardiac and skeletal muscles in Xenopus laevis both have opposing effects, with miR-1 being rather pro-apoptotic . Interestingly, miR-1 level was shown to significantly increase in response to oxidative stress . In ticks blood digestion has been suggested to be a source of oxidative stress [40,41]. This is particularly relevant for female ticks that ingest large volumes of blood (about 100-fold their own weight) in preparation for the laying of about 2,000 to 3,000 eggs , while males rarely feed on blood . Interestingly, apoptosis of salivary glands prior to oviposition in female ticks was reported for Dermacentor variabilis and R. microplus . Surprisingly R. microplus female ticks presented apoptosis just after 24 hours of host detachment contrasting with the 5 days required for D. variabilis female ticks . These observations suggest that in R. microplus molecular changes are likely to occur prior to female detachment from the host that predispose them for a rapid onset of apoptosis and consequently facilitating egg laying. This notion correlates with the observed significant up regulation of rmi-miR-1 in semi-engorged females as compared to males (Table 5). It remains to be elucidated if blood-mediated oxidative stress in R. microplus contributes to the increased expression level of rmi-miR-1 in females and if this miRNA exercise pro-apoptotic activities similar to its X. laevis miR-1 counterpart that would ultimately facilitate egg laying. Primary target organs for cattle tick control are the gut, salivary glands and ovaries of adult female ticks. Nearly 13.3 million short reads were generated for these three organs, of these 790,821 and 5,759 short reads were mapped onto evolutionary conserved and novel tick-specific miRNA loci, respectively (Table 1B). To compare global miRNA expression levels between these samples we normalized all mapped miRNA transcripts in each sample as reads per million. The tick gut sample showed 2-fold and 5-fold higher relative amount of miRNA transcripts as compared to salivary glands and ovaries samples, respectively (Additional file 10A). These differences were due to the larger amount of transcripts mapped onto evolutionary conserved miRNA loci in the gut sample as compared to salivary gland and ovary samples (Additional file 10A). We found 68 miRNAs expressed in all tested tick organs with 50 (6 novel), 50 (9 novel) and 49 (13 novel) expressed in gut, salivary glands and ovaries, respectively (Additional file 10B). A comparison of R. microplus miRNAs found in female tick organs with those found in whole semi engorged adult females revealed that 36 miRNAs were commonly expressed in all samples (Additional file 10B). Interestingly the majority of the commonly expressed R. microplus miRNAs (94.6%) in tick organs corresponded to known miRNAs in other species, while 18 of the 20 organ-specifically expressed miRNAs found in this study correspond to novel tick-specific miRNAs (Additional file 10C). Most of the novel tick specific miRNAs were expressed at low levels except for rmi-miR-5307 found in all three organs and rmi-miR-3931 present in adult female tick ovaries (Additional file 11). Similar to what we observed for life stage samples, rmi-miR-1 was the most abundantly expressed miRNA in all sampled organs accounting for ~81-83% of the identified R. microplus miRNA transcripts in ovaries and gut, and for 43.1% of the miRNA transcripts in salivary glands (Additional file 11). Other highly expressed miRNAs in salivary glands are rmi-let-7a (15.1%), rmi-miR-275 (10.5%), rmi-miR-263a (5.0%) and rmi-miR-71 (4.2%) (Additional file 11). Recently, two studies have reported the secretion of miRNAs into the saliva [46,47]. Interestingly, among the most abundantly expressed R. microplus miRNAs in salivary glands, only let-7 orthologs were found expressed in human salivary glands [46,47]. The expression of let-7 in the salivary glands of ticks and vertebrates suggests a functional role for this miRNA throughout the evolution of this organ. To evaluate similarities in the global tick miRNA expression pattern among all samples we conducted a hierarchical clustering as described by Eisen et al. and found that there is low miRNA diversity in eggs, while larvae and female ticks samples showed a large diversity of expressed miRNAs (Figure 4). Adult female tick salivary glands and gut samples clustered together with adult tick samples showing high expression of various miRNAs, but also having unique signatures owing to the presence of tissue-specific miRNAs. Interestingly most of the identified R. microplus miRNAs with known counterpart in other species showed high expression levels in most tick life cycle stages and tick organs, while the identified novel tick-specific miRNAs presented more restricted expression patterns accounting for the majority of the tick life stage-specific and tissue-specific R. microplus miRNAs. D. melanogaster has 151 annotated miRNAs , of these 61 miRNAs are closely located (= < 2 kb) in 17 genomic clusters (Additional file 12). We found tick miRNAs overlapping five of these clusters, including the miR-100:miR-125:let-7, miR-275:miR-305, miR-2a-2:miR-2a-1:miR-2b-2, and miR-310:miR-311:miR-312:miR-313:miR-991:miR-992 clusters (Additional file 12). To infer if these clusters may also be conserved in the cattle tick genome we analysed the co-expression pattern of tick miRNAs across all samples. We observed correlated co-expression profiles of tick miRNAs overlapping two D. melanogaster clusters, miR-100:miR-125:let-7 and miR-275:miR-305 indicating that these clusters may also be conserved in the cattle tick genome (Additional file 12). We conducted an evolutionary analysis to determine if miRNAs found in R. microplus were perfectly conserved or accumulated nucleotide changes since the last common available ancestor (See Methods). We collected all available miRNAs and for those overlapping the identified R. microplus miRNAs we determined the ancestral sequences using a Maximum Likelihood approach [49,50] under the Junkes-Cantor model using a tree topology similar to that shown in Figure 5A (modified from ). We found that 73% of the R. microplus miRNAs were perfectly conserved since at least 241 MYA with 11, 5, 15 and 6 miRNAs conserved since the Nephrozoan, Protostomian, Arthropoda and Ixodidae ancestor, respectively (Figure 5B). Only 27% of the R. microplus miRNAs presented nucleotide substitutions unique to the R. microplus lineage. These unique miRNAs can be further divided into three groups: 1) unique miRNA variants in R. microplus for which a protostomian ancestral sequence is available (Rmi-I), 2) duplicated copies of R. microplus miRNAs (Rmi-II), and 3) unique R. microplus miRNAs for which an ancestral sequence is not available and only ortholog sequences in the insecta lineage are known (Additional file 13). We next examined the number of nucleotide substitutions found in each of the above subsets of R. microplus miRNAs by comparing against an ancestral sequence if it can be unambiguously determined (i.e. a R. microplus miRNA perfectly conserved since the Arthropoda ancestor was compared against the Protostomian ancestral miRNA sequence or an earlier ancestral sequence if available). In cases where no ancestral sequences are available owing to the gain of that miRNA in a more recent ancestor the number of base substitutions was recorded as zero (i.e. a miRNA that was gained in the Arthropoda ancestor and since then have not accumulated nucleotide substitutions in R. microplus). The average number of nucleotide substitutions was then calculated for each subset. We determined 0, 0.25, 0.8 and 1.0 average nucleotide changes for R. microplus miRNAs conserved since the Nephrozoan (Rmi-NA), Protostomian (Rmi-PA), Arthropoda (Rmi-AA) and Ixodiade (Rmi-IA) ancestor, respectively (Figure 5C). Furthermore we found 2.2 and 1.3 average nucleotide changes in R. microplus miRNA unique variants (Rmi-I) and duplicated miRNAs (Rmi-II) (Figure 5C). Interestingly the average number of nucleotide substitution in miRNAs was directly proportional to the evolutionary time of the ancestor where the oldest conserved miRNAs showed the least amount of nucleotide changes while more recently acquired miRNAs showed slightly increased number of nucleotide changes. Recently, gain of miRNA genes in Metazoan species was suggested to be associated with the increase in morphological complexity . Our findings correlate with the notion that perfectly conserved miRNAs since for example the Nephrozoan ancestor may regulate key basic processes common to a range of animal species and therefore be under stronger selective pressure to remain unchanged throughout the evolution, while those miRNAs more recently acquired or perfectly conserved since a more recent ancestor such the Arthropoda ancestor may play more specific roles for these species. We further interrogated the position of the nucleotide substitutions for each of the above subsets as compared to an ancestral sequence and found no base substitutions overlapping the mature miRNA seed (positions 2-8) in all the identified R. microplus miRNAs (Figure 6A). R. microplus miRNAs conserved since the Protostomian, Arthropoda and Ixodidae ancestor preferentially accumulated nucleotide changes in the 3' end of the mature miRNAs (Figure 6A and Additional file 12). MiRNAs that are unique variants to R. microplus particularly those that have a reference Protostomian ancestral sequence or are duplicated miRNAs showed base substitutions in the middle (positions 9 to 12) and 3'end (positions 17 to 23) (Figure 6B). Only unique miRNAs variants without a reference ancestral sequence but with ortholog genes in insecta (Rmi-III) showed an apparent uniform distribution of nucleotide changes from position 9 to 23, but this is likely due to independent accumulated nucleotide substitution in the chelicerata and insecta lineages since the last common Arthropoda ancestor. We also observed that D. melanogaster and A. gambie tend to have an increased number of base substitutions as compared to R. microplus (Additional file 13 and data not shown). To determine if similar biases in nucleotide substitutions are observed in miRNA* sequences we evaluated nucleotide changes in seven miRNA* (rmi-miR-10*, rmi-miR-281*, rmi-miR-307*, rmi-miR-71*, rmi-miR-8*, rmi-miR-993*, rmi-miR-iab-4-3p) for which ortholog sequences are available among insecta species or in Lottia gigantea (Mollusca) for miR-281*. Figure 6C shows that most miRNA* sequences accumulated preferential base substitutions in position 1, in the middle (positions 9 to 12) and the 3'end. Only rmi-miR-iab-4-3p accumulated base substitutions preferentially towards the 5'end, but these nucleotide changes are compensatory mutations to those found in the mature rmi-miR-iab-4-5p sequence (Additional file 13) to maintain a proper pre-miRNA structure (data not shown). Based in our results it is apparent that miRNA* sequences have similar selective pressure to that of mature sequences to avoid base substitutions in the 'miRNA* seed' sequence (positions 2-8) despite this region being complementary to the 3'end portion of the mature miRNA where most base substitutions are accumulated. These findings suggest that R. microplus miRNA* sequences may play regulatory roles similar to their mature counterparts and this view is further supported by the significantly higher expression level of rmi-miR-79*, rmi-miR-281* and rmi-miR-993* as compared to their mature miRNA complementary sequences (Additional file 3). The displacement of the miRNA seed (positions 2-8) towards either the 5' or 3' is referred as 'seed shifting' . As shown in Additional file 13 we found three R. microplus miRNAs showing one-nucleotide seed shifting with two of these (rmi-miR-79 and rmi-miR-137) and a third miRNA (rmi-miR-iab-4-5p) displacing the seed towards the 3' and 5', respectively. Interestingly seed shifting in miR-79 was not observed in the sister taxon I. scapularis nor the crustacean Daphnia pulex with which rmi-miR-79 shares perfect sequence identity. Seed shifting of miR-79 was also found in Capitella teleta (Annelida) and insecta species, but not in their sister taxon, namely, Mollusca and Crustacea, respectively. These findings suggest that miR-79 underwent three independent seed shifting events of one-base displacement towards the 3' end in R. microplus, C. teleta and insecta ancestor lineages. We also found two independent seed shifting events for miR-137 one in R. microplus and another among insecta species (A. mellifera and T. castaneum) but not in their sister taxon Daphnia pulex (Additional file 13). The observed consistency in the seed shifting direction in independent events suggests that this phenomenon may be under selective pressure. In our data only rmi-miR-iab-4-5p represents an example of seed shifting unique to the R. microplus lineage, but this miRNA is an exceptional example as both mature and star sequences have also accumulated a large number of base substitutions (Additional file 13). Despite the observed seed shifting and nucleotide substitutions changes the expression level of the mature rmi-miR-iab-4-5p is 5.2-fold higher than that of rmi-miR-iab-4-3p, which is consistent with the 5.4-fold higher expression level of dme-miR-iab-4-5p as compared to dme-miR-4-3p . These findings suggest that despite the various molecular changes that can take place in a miRNA-miRNA* duplex, the expression ratio at which these molecules are found expressed in distinct taxa remains unchanged reflecting that other mechanisms may regulate the dosage at which each molecule is present to properly control downstream targets. This study has identified 87 R. microplus miRNAs being 51 of these known in other species including 36 in I. scapularis. Overall we found 72 rmi-miRNAs expressed in various cattle tick life stages and 67 rmi-miRNAs expressed in the adult female tick gut, salivary glands and ovaries. Novel tick-specific miRNAs account for the majority of the life-stage and organ-specific expression profiles found in R. microplus miRNAs and represent attractive targets for further functional studies. We provide insights into the evolutionary conservation of R. microplus miRNAs revealing that the majority of anciently acquired miRNAs remain perfectly conserved, while more recently acquired miRNAs tend to accumulate more nucleotide substitutions in the middle and 3' portion of mature miRNA and miRNA* sequences. Our findings correlates with the notion that long-lived miRNAs are likely to play crucial roles in a wide range of animal species, probably closely related to the acquisition of new organ identities and higher complexity, and therefore be under a stronger selective pressure to remain unchanged as compared to more recently acquired miRNAs. The ticks used in this study were obtained from the tick colony (Non-Resistant Field Strain--NRFS) maintained at the Animal Research Institute (Qld Primary Industries & Fisheries), Yeerongpilly, Queensland . Semi-engorged 17-day-old females for the dissections were collected in sterile 5 mL screw top containers (Nalgene, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.) and transferred to the laboratory. Dissections were carried out within the hour after collection. Prior to dissection, the ticks were rinsed with 0.1% DEPC-treated water. Semi-engorged females were fixed on double-sided adhesive tape inside an 8 cm culture dish placed on ice and covered with a few drops of ice-cold sterile PBS. An incision was made with a sterile razor blade just above the right spiracle, starting at the right side of the capitulum and ending the cut at the left side of the capitulum. The dorsal cuticle was then lifted with a pair of dissection tweezers. The salivary gland, midgut and ovary were then removed and homogenized by freezing in liquid nitrogen and ground to powder using sterile RNase ZAP-treated (Applied Biosystems, CA, USA) mortars and pestles. Whole R. microplus females (17 days old, n = 10) and males (17 days old, n = 10) collected from the under-side of semi-engorged females were also processed for miRNA extraction. After rinsing in DEPC-treated water, the adult ticks were frozen in liquid nitrogen and subsequently crushed and ground to powder using a sterile mortar and pestle. Approximately 2 g of NRFS strain larvae incubated for 21 days in 1 g batches were obtained for miRNA extractions. One batch of larvae were exposed to the host for 6 hours in a mesh bag attached to the host inside a collar without being able to establish feeding (frustrated larvae). Eggs were also collected into sterile tubes up to 7 days after laying by fully-engorged females. Both larval samples were homogenized by freezing in liquid nitrogen and ground to powder using sterile mortar and pestle. Total RNA and/or enriched small RNA fraction was isolated from the whole adult ticks (male and female 17 days old), larvae, frustrated larvae, eggs and dissected female tick organs using the mirVana microRNA isolation kit as described in the manufacturer's instructions (Ambion, Applied Biosystems). Total RNA or enriched small RNA fractions were prepared from eggs, larvae (unfed and frustrated), adult male and adult female as well as from adult female gut, salivary glands and ovaries. All these samples were ground in liquid nitrogen using a sterile mortar and pestle, and then the RNA was isolated using the mirVana microRNA isolation kit according to manufacture's instructions (Ambion, Applied Biosystems). RNA samples for each condition were collected in triplicate (each as a pool of individuals) and these were kept at -80°C until deep sequencing or real time PCR analysis as described below. For small RNA library construction and deep sequencing, RNA samples were prepared as follows: for each life cycle stage or tick organ equal quantities (5-7 μg) of enriched small RNA fraction or total RNA isolated from three independent pools as described above were pooled. Approximately 10 μg of enriched small RNA fraction or 20 μg of total RNA representing each life stage or a tick organ were submitted to Illumina/Solexa service provider (GeneWorks, Australia) for sequencing. In brief, the sequencing was performed as follows: RNA was purified by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), to enrich for molecules in the range of 18--30 nt, and ligated with proprietary adapters to the 5' and 3'-end termini of the RNA. The samples were used as templates for cDNA synthesis. The cDNA was amplified with 18 PCR cycles to produce sequencing libraries that were subjected to Illumina/Solexa's proprietary sequencing-by-synthesis method. Tick miRNAs identically conserved in D. melanogaster including let-7, miR-1, miR-7, miR-12 and miR-124 were selected and TaqMan miRNA assays against these miRNAs were purchased from Applied Biosystems. A total of 10 ng of enriched small RNA fraction for each individual eggs, larvae and female tick samples was used to amplify the miRNAs for up to 50 cycles in a RotoGene 3000 termal cycler. Several short read aligners including Maq , SOAP , RMAP , Novoalign http://www.novocraft.com, Bowtie and BWA were selected to evaluate their mapping performance using simulated short reads. 36-bp simulated short reads were generated using MAQ-simulate with mutation rates of 0.1% to up to 16.0%, and introducing read errors using the file simdata/simupar.dat file from the MAQ data installation . Using default parameters of each tool simulated short reads were mapped onto the human and/or the Arabidopsis genomes (Additional file 2). As the originating position of the simulated reads are known the fraction of true positive aligned reads was calculated as [Number of correctly aligned reads/Total number of simulated reads]. Conversely we can also calculate the proportion of false positive aligned reads as [Number of incorrectly aligned reads/Total number of simulated reads]. Based on our results (Additional file 3) we selected Novoalign for aligning our sequenced cattle tick short reads onto the D. melanogaster genome using its default parameters http://www.novocraft.com. The D. melanogaster (dme_r5.32) genome was downloaded from FlyBase http://flybase.org. We removed short reads mapped with quality alignment scores of zero (Q0), which correspond to reads mapped to two or more locations on the reference genome with identical quality alignment scores. We then conducted a manual inspection of the short reads overlapping known Drosophila miRNA loci to confirm the accuracy and sequence conservation of tick miRNAs aligned onto the Drosophila genome. To identify novel miRNAs we aligned cattle tick short reads from each sample onto the draft genome of Ixodes scapularis (IscaW1.1; 369,459 contigs) and R. microplus draft genomic contigs that were recently sequenced and assembled by our group (Bellgard et al. submitted; 175,226 contigs encoding a total of 144,709,321 bp). We then utilized MiRDeep to identify known and novel miRNA candidates as previously described . The identified miRNAs were then compared against 37 known I. scapularis miRNAs (miRBase rel. 17.0); matching hits were removed from the novel miRNA candidate dataset. The remaining candidate miRNAs were then subjected to clustering analysis with other known insect miRNAs using MEGA5 . Candidate novel miRNAs with significant similarity to other known miRNAs were removed from the downstream analysis. To assess the conservation of novel miRNAs in other genomes we downloaded from VectorBase http://www.vectorbase.org the genomes of Anopheles gambiae (AgamP3), Aedes aegypti (AaegL1), Pediculus humanus (PhumU1) and Culex quinquefasciatus (CpipJ1). The Nasonia vitripennis (Nvit_2.0) genome was downloaded from the Nasoria Genome Project http://www.hgsc.bcm.tmc.edu. We downloaded from UCSC Genome Bioinformatics resource http://hgdownload.cse.ucsc.edu the following genomes: Drosophila pseudoobscura (dp4), D. ananassae (droAna3), D. erecta (droEre2), D. grimshawi (droGri2), D. mojavensis (droMoj3), D. virilis (droVir3), D. willistoni (droWil1), D. yakuba (droYak2), Tribolium castaneum (Tcas 2.0) and Apis mellifera (Amel_4.0). Novel R. microplus miRNA mature and star sequences were then aligned onto all the above genomes using Bowtie and BLAT . Positive hits were further inspected for typical precursor miRNA secondary structure using RNAfold . Statistically significant changes in miRNA expression between samples was calculated using four statistical tests including Pairwise Audic & Claverie test (AC), Pairwise Chi sq. test (Chi2 × 2) and Multiple Chi sq. test (Chi) as previously described by Romualdi et al. . Bonferroni correction was applied to the data and significant thresholds of 9.62E-05 or 9.62E-06 were defined depending on the comparisons. We conducted an evolutionary analysis to determine if miRNAs found in R. microplus were perfectly conserved or accumulated nucleotide changes since the last common ancestor based on available sequences for each miRNA (miRBase release 17). Multiple sequence alignments for each miRNA were generated using ClustalW within the MEGA5 package . Ancestral sequences were determined using a Maximum Likelihood method [49,50] under the Junkes-Cantor model using a tree topology similar to that shown in Figure 5A (modified from ). We then compared each R. microplus miRNA sequence against the respective inferred ancestral sequence (Additional file 13) and determined if each R. microplus miRNA was perfectly conserved since the Nephrozoan, Protostomian, Arthropoda or Ixodidae ancestor or if it represented a unique nucleotide variant in the R. microplus lineage (Figure 5A and 5B). This resulted in a classification of each miRNA into one of the following categories: 1) conserved since Nephrozoan ancestor (Rmi-NA), 2) conserved since Protostomian ancestor (Rmi-PA), 3) conserved since Arthropoda ancestor (Rmi-AA), 4) conserved since Ixodidae ancestor (Rmi-IA), or 5) unique variant to R. microplus (Rmi-unique). RB contributed with the conception, bioinformatics, experimental validations, evolutionary analysis, data analysis and interpretation, and writing of the manuscript. GKG and PM contributed with the bioinformatics data processing. BZ contributed with the collection of samples for deep sequencing. KI, YT and TG provided critical feedback on the evolutionary analysis. ALT, FDG and MB provided critical review of the manuscript and interpretation of data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S1.DOC) Additional file 2 Single-end mapping performance of short read aligners. A) The percentages of correctly mapped reads at the indicated mutation rates are shown for each tool. For each point 70,000 short reads in triplicate were mapped. B) The percentages of incorrectly aligned reads at the indicated mutation rates are shown for each tool. For each point 70,000 short reads were mapped in triplicate. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S2.PDF) Additional file 3 Evolutionary conserved and novel tick-specific R. microplus miRNAs expressed during various life stages and selected organs. Rhipicephalus microplus miRNAs with known counterpart in D. melanogaster, I. scapularis or other relevant species are shown with reference miRBase IDs. The number of short reads overlapping each miRNA locus, the corresponding percentage fraction of the total number of reads overlapping all miRNA loci for each sample and the normalized reads per million (RPM) counts for each miRNA in each sample are shown. N.A. = Not available in miRBase and/or not cloned previously. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S3.XLS) Additional file 4 Mapping of novel R. microplus miRNAs on various genomes. Novel R. microplus miRNAs were aligned onto various genomes using Bowtie allowing up to two mismatches. Regions where miRNAs aligned were extracted the typical pre-miRNA hairpin structure evaluated using RNAfold . Additionally, identified pre-miRNAs in R. microplus and I. scapularis genomic contigs were aligned on the selected genomes using BLAT. No miRNA counterparts for the novel R. microplus miRNAs were identified in the current available genome assemblies for the 16 tested species. Genome assemblies for each species are indicated in parentheses. N.F. = Not found. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S4.XLS) Additional file 5 Statistically significant differences in miRNA expression among R. microplus life stage samples. Statistically significant changes in miRNA expression between libraries was calculated using Pairwise Audic & Claverie (AC), Pairwise Chi sq. (Chi2 × 2) and Multiple Chi sq. test (Chi) tests as previously described by Romualdi et al. (2003). Bonferroni correction was applied and significant thresholds of 9.62E-06 for AC and Chi2 × 2, and 9.62E-05 for Chi were defined. Bold fonts denote values that are statistically significant. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S5.XLS) Additional file 6 Comparison of changes in tick miRNA expression between egg and larval stages. Statistically significant changes in miRNA expression between libraries was calculated using six statistical tests including Pairwise Audic & Claverie test (AC), Pairwise Chi sq. test (Chi2 × 2) and Multiple Chi sq. test (Chi) as previously described by Romualdi et al. (2003). Bonferroni correction was applied and significant thresholds of 9.61E-06 for AC, Chi2 × 2 and Chi were defined. Bold fonts denote values that are statistically significant. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S6.XLS) Additional file 7 Real Time PCR quantification of selected R. microplus miRNAs. Cattle tick miRNAs identically conserved in D. melanogaster were selected and specific Drosophila miRNA TaqMan probes (Applied Biosystems) were used to amplify these in eggs, larvae and female tick samples. Additional file 8 Comparison of changes in tick miRNA expression between larvae and frustrated larvae samples. Statistically significant changes in R. microplus miRNA expression between libraries was calculated using three statistical tests including Pairwise Audic & Claverie test (AC), Pairwise Chi sq. test (Chi2 × 2) and Multiple Chi sq. test (Chi) as previously described by Romualdi et al. (2003). Bonferroni correction was applied and significant thresholds of 9.62E-05 for AC, Chi2 × 2 and Chi was defined. Bold fonts denote values that are statistically significant. RPM = Reads per million; N.A. = Not applicable. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S8.XLS) Additional file 9 Comparison of changes in tick miRNA expression between female and male tick samples. Statistically significant changes in miRNA expression between libraries was calculated using four statistical tests including Pairwise Audic & Claverie test (AC), Pairwise Chi sq. test (Chi2 × 2) and Multiple Chi sq. test (Chi) as previously described by Romualdi et al. (2003). Bonferroni correction was applied and significant thresholds of 9.62E-05 for AC, Chi2 × 2 and multiple Chi was defined. Bold fonts denote values that are statistically significant. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S9.XLS) Additional file 10 Global comparison R. microplus miRNAs expressed in selected adult female tick organs. A) The normalized fraction of small RNA reads (RPM × 1000) overlapping all R. microplusmiRNAs with known counterparts in other species or all novel tick-specific miRNAs are shown for each life stage. F = adult female ticks, Gu = Gut, SG = Salivary glands and Ov = Ovaries. B) Unique and commonly expressed miRNAs among adult female tick samples. Values in parenthesis correspond to novel tick-specific miRNAs. Additional file 11 Statistically significant differences in miRNA expression among tick adult samples. Whole individuals and selected organs derived from adult female ticks are compared. Statistically significant changes in miRNA expression between libraries was calculated using Pairwise Audic & Claverie (AC), Pairwise Chi sq. (Chi2 × 2) and Multiple Chi sq. test (Chi) tests as previously described by Romualdi et al. (2003). Bonferroni correction was applied and significant thresholds of 1.60E-05 for AC and Chi2 × 2, and 1.60E-05 for Chi were defined. Bold fonts denote values that are statistically significant. MiRNAs with at least one pairwise comparison with a statistically significant difference are shown. N.A. = Not applicable, no statistical significant differences. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S11.XLS) Additional file 12 Expression of tick miRNAs overlapping Drosophila miRNAs organized as clusters. Drosophila miRNAs located within 2 kbp are grouped within the same cluster. Red font = Tick miRNAs that show correlated co-expression patterns across all tick samples. Black font = Expressed tick miRNAs that do not show a correlated co-expression pattern. Grey font = denote miRNAs not expressed in the sequenced tick samples in this study. Additional file 13 Evolutionary analysis of R. microplus miRNAs. Evidence supporting R. microplus miRNAs conservation since the A) Nephrozoan, B) Protostomian, C) Arthropoda and D) Ixodidae ancestors are presented as well as E) miRNA nucleotide variants unique to R. microplus based on currently available datasets (miRBase release 17). Ancestral sequences were determined using a Maximum Likelihood method [49,50] under the Junkes-Cantor model using a tree topology similar to that shown in Figure 5A (modified from ). Evolutionary analyses were conducted in MEGA5 package . Key miRNAs supporting each ancestral state were selected. Base-substitutions compared to predict ancestral sequences are highlighted in red fonts. Green fonts denote bases for which an ancestral state could not be determined. R. microplus miRNAs are denoted by bold fonts. Click here for additional data file (1471-2164-12-328-S13.XLS) This research was funded in part by the WA State Government and the WA Centre of Excellence in Comparative Genomics. We acknowledge the CRC for Beef Genetic Technologies for partial staff and laboratory support contributing to this study. 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Examples of precursor miRNA sequences for novel tick-specific miRNAs are shown. The mature sequences and miRNA* sequences are highlighted in black and red bold fonts, respectively. [Figure ID: F2] Global expression changes of evolutionary conserved and novel tick-specific R. microplus miRNAs. A) Overlap of identified R. microplus miRNAs found in various life stages and those expressed in adult female tick organs. Values in parentheses correspond to novel tick-specific miRNAs. B) The normalized fraction of small RNA reads (RPM × 1000) overlapping all R. microplus miRNAs with known counterparts in other species or all novel tick-specific miRNAs are shown for each life cycle stage. E = eggs, L = larvae, FL = frustrated larvae, F = adult females and M = adult males, respectively. C) Fold-increment in the accumulation of miRNA transcripts in various tick life stages as compared to the egg sample normalized to 1. D) Unique and commonly expressed miRNAs among life stages. Values in parentheses correspond to novel tick-specific miRNAs. [Figure ID: F3] Top ten most abundant R. microplus miRNAs expressed in various cattle tick life stages. Panels A-D show the percentage expression of the top ten miRNAs for A) eggs, B) larvae, C) adult female, and D) adult male. The number of short reads overlapping a miRNA locus was divided by the total number of reads overlapping all miRNA loci to calculate the percentage of transcripts overlapping each miRNA. Results are show for the top ten most abundant miRNAs in each sample. E) Normalized counts for selected miRNAs expressed in all life stages tested are shown. MiRNA* or miRNA-complementary sequences are denoted with an asterisk. [Figure ID: F4] Clustering of tick samples based on their miRNA expression profiles. MiRNA counts for each miRNA locus were normalized as reads per million and then log transformed prior to conducting hierarchical clustering as described by Eisen et al. . Novel tick-specific miRNAs are denoted in blue fonts. [Figure ID: F5] Evolutionary conservation of R. microplus miRNAs. A) R. microplus phylogentic relationships highlighting relevant ancestors are shown. The tree topology was modified from . Diverge times were taken from and ; Nephrozoan anecestor = 641-686 MYA; Protostomian ancestor = 618-653 MYA; Arthropoda ancestor = 540MYA. B) Percentage fraction and R. microplus miRNAs perfectly conserved since various ancestors are shown as well as those miRNAs representing unique R. microplus sequence variants. C) The average number of nucleotide substitutions in miRNAs is shown for the various subsets shown in panel B. MiRNA variants that are unique to R. microplus were further divided into three groups as described in the text. Only miRNA for which an ancestral sequence was available were considered, except for Rmi-III where nucleotide changes were compared against known orthologs in insecta species (Additional file 13). [Figure ID: F6] Mutational profile of R. microplus miRNAs as compared to ancestral sequences. The percentage of nucleotide substitutions from positions 1 to 23 are show for A) subsets of miRNAs defined in Figure 5B; B) unique R. microplus miRNA variants subsets as defined in the text; and C) miRNA* sequences showing similar mutational profiles to their mature counterparts with the exception of rmi-miR-iab-4-3p. Short read statistics for evolutionary conserved and novel tick-specific R. microplus miRNAs |Sample||Total reads||Evolutionary conserved miRNAs||Novel tick-specific miRNAs||Total miRNAs| |A) Life cycle stages| |B) Female tick organs| R. microplus miRNAs expressed from both arms of the precursor Numbers indicate the total number of reads overlapping mature miRNA and miRNA* sequences. Statistically predominant transcripts (P < 9.62E-06) for each miRNA-miRNA* pairwise comparison in each sample are shown in bold. Abbreviations are as shown in Figure 2B. Changes in tick miRNA expression between tick eggs and larvae. |miRNA||Eggs (E)||Larvae (L)||L/E ratio| Selected miRNAs showing statistically significant up-regulation are shown in bold (P < 9.61E-06). The L/E expression ratio was calculated using normalized read per million counts for each miRNA. Complete list of miRNAs and statistics are shown in Additional file 6. Exposure to host triggers changes in cattle tick miRNA expression. |miRNA||Larvae (L)||Frustrated larvae (FL)||FL/L ratio| Selected miRNAs showing statistically significant up-regulation are shown in bold (P < 9.62E-05). The FL/L expression ratio was calculated using normalized read per million counts for each miRNA. Complete list of miRNAs and statistics are shown in Additional file 8. Changes in tick miRNA expression between adult female and male ticks. |miRNA||Female (F)||Male (M)||F/M ratio| Selected miRNAs showing statistically significant up-regulation are shown in bold (P < 9.62E-05). The F/M ratios were calculated using normalized reads per million counts for each miRNA. Complete list of miRNAs and statistics are shown in Additional file 9. Previous Document: Glutamate acts as a neurotransmitter for gastrin releasing peptide-sensitive and insensitive itch-re... Next Document: Granulocyte Colony-stimulating Factor Increases the Therapeutic Efficacy of Bone Marrow Mononuclear ...

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Satellite View Selection 20:30 AEST on Wednesday 19 June 2013 | Cloud/surface composite, Australia Images from Japan Meteorological Agency satellite MTSAT via Bureau of Meteorology. Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology National Meteorological and Oceanographic Centre Satellite Notes for the 1800UTC chart on 19 June 2013 Issued at 5:00 am EST Thursday on 20 June 2013 A large cloud band ahead of a broad upper trough extends from the Pilbara region of WA into the interior and across most of northern and central Australia. The cloud band originates from an area of convection around a tropical low near the Cocos Islands. Further south, a low pressure system is located offshore south of the Great Australian Bight, and is generating cloud associated with showers and thunderstorm activity. In a southerly airstream, areas of low cloud are visible over coastal regions of Tasmania, eastern Victoria, New South Wales and southwestern WA.

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Fun Classroom Activities The 20 enjoyable, interactive classroom activities that are included will help your students understand the text in amusing ways. Fun Classroom Activities include group projects, games, critical thinking activities, brainstorming sessions, writing poems, drawing or sketching, and more that will allow your students to interact with each other, be creative, and ultimately grasp key concepts from the text by "doing" rather than simply studying. 1. 1940s New York Create a visual representation (diorama, collage, etc.) of New York city during World War II. Be sure to think about clothes, cars, housing, furniture, music, and other aspects of life that might help you gain a better understanding of the setting of this book. 2. Military Punishment Write a report discussing the different forms of punishment used in any/all branches of the United States military. Discuss the philosophy behind such actions, how they came into being, and how effective... This section contains 589 words| (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page)

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Elephanta IslandArticle Free Pass Elephanta Island, Hindi Gharapuri (“Fortress City”), island located in Mumbai (Bombay) Harbour of the Arabian Sea, about 6 miles (10 km) east of Mumbai and 2 miles (3 km) west of the mainland coast of Maharashtra state, western India. Elephanta Island has an area of 4 to 6 square miles (10 to 16 square km), varying with the tide. In the early 16th century Portuguese navigators named the island Ilha Elefante (“Elephant Island”) in reference to a large stone elephant that was found there; the statue was later moved to Victoria Gardens (now called Jijamata Udyan), Mumbai. The island’s Hindi name, Gharapuri, derives from a small village at its southern end. Elephanta’s famous 8th- and 9th-century cave temples were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1987. Atop a large hill, they occupy some 54,800 square feet (5,000 square metres). The main temple is a long hall stretching 90 feet (27 metres); carved into the rock on the walls and ceiling of the cave are rows of columns and crossbeams. The plan of the temple is such that important points are laid out in the form of a mandala. A series of sculptured panels lining the walls of the cave portray images from Indian mythology, the most celebrated of which is the 20-foot- (6-metre-) high Trimurti, a three-headed bust of Shiva in the roles of destroyer, preserver, and creator emerging from a mountain. Other sculptures depict Shiva crushing Ravana with his toe, the marriage of Shiva and Parvati, Shiva bringing the Ganges (Ganga) River to earth by letting it flow through his hair, and Shiva as the embodiment of cosmic energy, dancing to drums. A linga (Hindu symbol of Shiva) is housed in a sanctuary at the western end of the temple. When the island was ceded to the Portuguese by the kings of Ahmadabad in the 16th century, it ceased to be a place of worship, and the caves and sculptures were damaged by Portuguese soldiers. In the 1970s the temples were restored and preserved, and the island became a popular tourist site. What made you want to look up "Elephanta Island"? Please share what surprised you most...

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Usually Ships in 1-5 days Published: Random House, 3/2012 A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, THE AGE OF INSIGHT takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art. At the turn of the century, Vienna was the cultural capital of Europe. Artists and scientists met in glittering salons, where they freely exchanged ideas that led to revolutionary breakthroughs in psychology, brain science, literature, and art. Kandel takes us into the world of Vienna to trace, in rich and rewarding detail, the ideas and advances made then, and their enduring influence today. The Vienna School of Medicine led the way with its realization that truth lies hidden beneath the surface. That principle infused Viennese culture and strongly influenced the other pioneers of Vienna 1900. Sigmund Freud shocked the world with his insights into how our everyday unconscious aggressive and erotic desires are repressed and disguised in symbols, dreams, and behavior. Arthur Schnitzler revealed women’s unconscious sexuality in his novels through his innovative use of the interior monologue. Gustav Klimt, Oscar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele created startlingly evocative and honest portraits that expressed unconscious lust, desire, anxiety, and the fear of death. Kandel tells the story of how these pioneers—Freud, Schnitzler, Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele—inspired by the Vienna School of Medicine, in turn influenced the founders of the Vienna School of Art History to ask pivotal questions such as What does the viewer bring to a work of art? How does the beholder respond to it? These questions prompted new and ongoing discoveries in psychology and brain biology, leading to revelations about how we see and perceive, how we think and feel, and how we respond to and create works of art. Kandel, one of the leading scientific thinkers of our time, places these five innovators in the context of today’s cutting-edge science and gives us a new understanding of the modernist art of Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele, as well as the school of thought of Freud and Schnitzler. Reinvigorating the intellectual enquiry that began in Vienna 1900, THE AGE OF INSIGHT is a wonderfully written, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book that also provides a foundation for future work in neuroscience and the humanities. It is an extraordinary book from an international leader in neuroscience and intellectual history. “A fascinating meditation on the interplay among art, psychology and brain science. The author, who fled Vienna as a child, has remained captivated by Austrian artists Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele, each of whom was profoundly influenced by Sigmund Freud and by the emerging scientific approach to medicine in their day … [calls] for a new, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the mind, one that combines the humanities with the natural and social sciences.” —Scientific American

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Medication safety for children: important advice for caregivers (BPT) - Each year, an estimated 71,000 children are treated in emergency rooms for accidental medication poisonings, many of which are caused by dosing mistakes. Thankfully, while health care professionals or poison control resources resolve most issues, extreme cases that go untreated can result in complications, particularly in very young children. "Many well-intentioned caregivers can get mixed up when it comes to administering medication," says Dr. Michael App, a pediatrician in Grand Rapids, Mich. "With so many factors playing a role in proper dosage, such as weight and age of the child, it is essential that caregivers closely follow the directions on the label to avoid potentially life-threatening mistakes." Several manufacturers of children's medications are also making efforts to improve safety and reduce the likelihood of errors. Perrigo Company , the world's largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products for retailers' store brands, has been investing in equipment to insert "flow restrictors" in the bottles of all of their pediatric acetaminophen products. Flow restrictors reduce the size of the bottle opening and limit access to the medicine inside the bottle. Perrigo has added flow restrictors to all of its infants' products and began converting the packaging of all of its children's products with flow restrictors in January 2012. Perrigo is also participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Consumer Healthcare Products Association PROTECT initiative , which is bringing together experts to create strategies to reduce unsupervised medication ingestion in children. Experts remind caregivers to be diligent and avoid these common medicine mistakes: Not paying attention to potential drug interactions Caregivers should always check medication labels and take care to avoid administering multiple drugs at the same time, unless recommended or prescribed by a pediatrician. Also, before administering medicine, caregivers should always review the enclosed packaging materials and directions. Overmedicating due to measuring errors When administering medicine, caregivers should always use the dosing device provided by the pharmacist or manufacturer, and never attempt to "eyeball" the proper amount. That household teaspoon your mom used? According to a study in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, household spoons or similar objects can hold two to three times more liquid than standardized materials. Most pediatricians recommend using a syringe over any other dispensing device for the most accuracy. Basing the dose on age instead of weight "Children grow at different rates, which makes it hard for parents and doctors to base dosage recommendations on age," says App. "Since children metabolize medicine differently depending on how much they weigh, this is how most manufacturers label their dosage recommendations - not based on age. This is especially important for children who are over- or underweight." As with adults, doctors need to know every medication or vitamin that a child is taking, as certain vitamins can decrease the effectiveness of medicines or cause complications. Caregivers should always have a list of medicines on hand that lists the types and dosage amounts of every medication, vitamin and supplement that a child takes, as well as a list of allergies. Not taking medicine as directed Most prescriptions, especially antibiotics, are meant to be used in full. Even though a child may feel better, it is important to complete the dosage, or else the illness could recur. Furthermore, this practice can ultimately contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the same vein, caregivers should avoid giving leftover pills from a previous prescription for something they "self-diagnose" to be the same as a previous illness. It is also important to avoid giving medicine for any purpose other than that specified by the instructions. Failing to adhere to expiration dates Manufacturers list expiration dates on packaging for a reason, as these dates are generally based on internal testing that demonstrates the longest period a medicine is known to be effective. Using medicine left in the cabinet after it has expired can result in reduced effectiveness. "Parents should always ask their pharmacist or pediatrician if there are any special precautions or directions with any drug - over-the-counter or prescription - their child is taking," says App.

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A replica moai was created and transported in an experiment, filmed for NOVA “Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island”, 1997. This is an edited version specifically for publication on this web site of a paper originally published in “Onward and Upward! Papers in Honor of Clement W. Meighan” (K. Johnson, ed. 2005) © Jo Anne Van Tilburg and Ted Ralston Our model for Rapa Nui statue carving is Polynesian canoe building. Experimental anthropology has established maritime methods for pre-contact Hawai’i and elsewhere in Oceania. Canoe builders and handlers were, like statue carvers, specialists who performed expert (and often sacred) work at the behest of powerful chiefs and for their communities. Canoe experts were socially and politically powerful. In addition to the adze, the tool kit employed in canoe building contained the clamp, chisel, cordage and drill. Apprentices began by developing basic skills, including roughhewing and hauling massive logs. When wood materials were inadequate to build the desired size vessel, planks or logs were spliced and patched. Practiced methods of joinery provided strength, flexibility and protection of lashings from the sea, and finish details were carved with intricate artistry. Positioning, stepping, raising and rigging a canoe mast required precision timing and a well-coordinated work force. A canoe’s survival in rough seas depended upon robust and durable cord lashing, which was required to withstand forces of many thousands of pounds per square inch. Complex methods of lashing outrigger components to both single and double hull canoes required such specialty tools as the keke (or ke’ke), a Y-shaped lash-tightening device that varied in size. A device such as the keke may be depicted in the Y-shaped bas-relief tattoos on the chins of some moai. Wire diagrams arrived at after photogrammetric work accomplished at Ahu Akivi depict the statistically average statue used in computer simulations and then in our transport experiment. ©1992 EISP/JVT. This is an abbreviated version of a paper originally published in Pacific Art: Persistence, Change and Meaning (Herle et al. eds. Adelaide: Crawford House, 2002 for citations and notes). Experimental archaeology is the systematic approach used to test, evaluate and explicate method, technique, assumption, hypothesis and theory at all levels of archaeological research. This paper employs a replicated moai to describe relationships between real time and individual energy, and explores the subjective artistic dimension of moai carving during an experiment lasting 32 8-hour days. It is drawn from journal notes taken by Van Tilburg from October 1997 to May 1998, by Arévalo from December 1988 to July 1999, and on written correspondence in English and Spanish between the authors. On Easter Island (Rapa Nui) ethnographic data related to monolithic stone carving methods, production techniques and carvers are scant. In the 1800s some Rapanui persons were distinguished by their relationships to ancestors who had been famed stone carvers. Katherine Routledge, co-leader of the Mana Expedition to Easter Island, 1913-1915, collected some names of statues that were said, in actuality, to be names of carvers, and believed them to have veracity.

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Yard and Garden: Recycling Christmas Trees and Poinsettias AMES, Iowa — When Christmas is over, the egg nog gone, relatives departed and decorations are getting packed away, it also is time to get rid of the real Christmas tree. Horticulturists with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach have advice on disposing of trees and options for poinsettias after the holidays. To have additional yard and garden questions answered contact the Iowa State University Hortline at email@example.com or 515-294-3108. What are some good ways to dispose of a Christmas tree after the holidays? After the holidays, there are several ways to dispose of or recycle your tree. (Before recycling your Christmas tree, remove all ornaments, lights and tinsel.) Place the tree in the yard or garden for use by birds and other wildlife. The branches provide shelter from strong winds and cold. Supply food by hanging fruit slices, seed cakes, suet bags or strings of cranberries or raisins on the tree’s branches. You also can smear peanut butter and seeds in pine cones and hang them in the tree. Prune off the tree’s branches and place the boughs over perennials as winter mulch. Chip the tree and use the chipped material as mulch around trees, shrubs or in perennial flower beds. If you can't use the tree yourself, contact your Solid Waste Agency or sanitation service. Most communities have some type of Christmas tree disposal program. Some have central collection points, others collect trees at curbside. Collected trees may be chipped into mulch and made available to local residents or used in city parks. Others may be chipped and composted. Conservation groups may be another option. Some hunting and fishing groups collect trees and use them to provide habitat for wildlife. Don’t burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove. Dry, evergreen branches literally explode when burned and could cause a house fire. Also, burning the tree may contribute to the buildup of creosote and lead to a flue fire. What should I do with my poinsettia after the holidays? If given good care in the home, a poinsettia should remain attractive for two to three months. Toss the poinsettia when you grow tired of it or it becomes unattractive. For those home gardeners who enjoy a challenge, it is possible to get the poinsettia to bloom again next season. Cut the stems back to within 4 to 6 inches of the soil in March. The poinsettia also may be repotted at this time. When new growth appears, place the poinsettia in a sunny window. Continue to water the plant when the soil surface becomes dry to the touch. Fertilize every two weeks with a dilute fertilizer solution. In late May, move the poinsettia outdoors. Harden or acclimate the plant to the outdoors by placing it in a shady, protected area for two or three days, then gradually expose it to longer periods of direct sun. The poinsettia should be properly hardened in seven to 10 days. Once hardened, dig a hole in an area that receives six to eight hours of sunlight and set the pot into the ground. To obtain a compact, bushy plant, pinch or cut off the shoot tips once or twice from late June to mid-August. Continue to water and fertilize the plant outdoors. The poinsettia should be brought indoors in mid-September. Place the plant in a bright, sunny window. The poinsettia is a short-day plant. Short-day plants grow vegetatively during the long days of summer and produce flowers when days become shorter in fall. To get the poinsettia to flower for Christmas, the plant must receive complete darkness from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily from early October until the bracts develop good color, usually early December. Protect the plant from light by placing it in a closet or by covering with a box. During the remainder of the day, the poinsettia should be in a sunny window. PHOTO: Before recycling trees, remove all ornaments, tinsel and lights. Counties Main Menu - County Home - About Us - 4-H & Youth - Agriculture & Environment - Business & Community - Families & Healthy Living

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Gardening Articles: Care :: Soil, Water, & Fertilizer Improving Soil With Gypsum by Garn Wallace with Shelly Stiles Gypsum is one of the best sources of calcium, the most important of the secondary plant nutrients. But calcium is more than a nutrient. It is the major balancing element in plants and soils. It protects, within limits, from nutrient excess and deficiency, problems caused by both high and low pH and heavy metal contamination. Along with organic matter, calcium improves soil structure. Gypsum as Fertilizer Pure gypsum is 23 percent calcium and 19 percent sulfate (CaSO4-2H2O). In the hierarchy of the 16 essential plant nutrients that begins with non-minerals hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, calcium is seventh and sulfur is ninth. Calcium is the plant nutrient most likely to be unavailable to roots when needed. An essential nutrient itself, calcium also improves root uptake of other plant nutrients, especially ammonium nitrogen. Calcium does not move from old to new plant tissues, so a constant supply of soluble calcium is needed. The growing points of both roots and shoots are sensitive to insufficient calcium, but roots more so. The ratio of calcium to sodium is more critical than the actual concentration of calcium. Symptoms of calcium deficiency include - Water-soaked, discolored areas on fruits, such as blossom end rot on tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash, or bitter pit or cork spot on apples and pears. Tip burn on young leaves of celery, lettuce and cabbage. - Death of terminal buds and root tips. - Abnormal dark green appearance of leaves. - Premature shedding of blossoms and buds. - Weakened stems. Calcium is most often deficient in high-rainfall, acid-soil areas, such as the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascade Mountains, and east of the Mississippi River. These regions receive in excess of 40 inches of rainfall each year. Deficiency symptoms, such as tomato blossom end rot, often appear there after a period of heavy rainfall. Gardeners apply ground dolomite or limestone, primarily to raise soil pH, but also to replace lost calcium. But the calcium in limestone is not water soluble, however. It must be incorporated into the soil and brought into contact with soil acids before calcium ions (Ca++) are released. Limestone does not migrate in the soil, and is effective only to the depth incorporated. In contrast, gypsum dissolves immediately in the moisture of the soil, allowing plant roots to absorb the calcium ions and the sulfate ions. Because it is dissolved in the soil solution, gypsum readily migrates into the lower depths in the soil. Most western soils contain abundant calcium, but as very insoluble limestone in the form of calcium carbonate. Where pH is 7 or higher, the limestone is insoluble and the calcium it contains is not available to plant roots. Again, the calcium in applied gypsum is immediately available.

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US 7093956 B2 A method of lighting to protect sea turtles comprises providing in a housing both a white light source, for example a low-voltage incandescent source, and a red LED source that is visible to humans but that does not interfere with the normal nesting and hatching behavior of sea turtles, and selectively energizing the latter source during turtle nesting season. 1. A method of lighting for protecting sea turtles comprising providing a housing containing first and second selectively operable low-voltage light sources and switch means for selectively energizing either light source, wherein the first low-voltage light source is a source of white light that is usefully visible to humans but interferes with the normal nesting and hatching of sea turtles, and wherein the second low-voltage light source is an LED source that is usefully visible to humans but does not interfere with the normal nesting and hatching of sea turtles, that has a peak wavelength greater than 590 nm but not greater than 650 nm, and that comprises at least one string of from six to nine LED's in series, and selectively energizing the second light source rather than the first light source during turtle nesting season. 2. The method of 3. The method of 4. The method of 5. The method of This application claims the benefit of prior U.S. provisional application No. 60/538,652, filed Jan. 23, 2004. This invention relates to lighting and lighting fixtures, and more particularly to outdoor lighting, which may be seen by animals. Eight out of twelve species of sea turtle are on the endangered species list. A large part of the problem is that the hatchlings crawl toward lights along the beach instead of toward the moonlight reflecting off of the water and are killed. Lights may also discourage female turtles from coming ashore to nest. Turtle nesting season runs from March 1 to November 1. Florida has mandated that beachfront illumination must be turned off or blacked out during this period. This presents a potential hazard for pedestrians negotiating dark walkways. There is gathering evidence that turtles cannot see red and/or yellow wavelengths well. The present application uses LEDs of such peak wavelengths, preferably red LEDs, as Turtle Friendly Lights. In an implementation, a light also may use an incandescent or fluorescent white light and red LEDs with the same power source switchable between emitting white light and red light. Due to the nature of color vision, monochromatic red light may be used. Filtered (incandescent) white lights may look red to humans while still emitting a significant portion of yellow, green and even blue light. These shorter wavelengths of light do not significantly impact the perception of red color to humans, but may still be visible to turtles. Low-pressure sodium vapor lamps emit nearly monochromatic yellow light that has been shown not to interfere with the nesting behavior of some species of turtles. This color may be unappealing and can exhibit poor color rendering properties. Due to their size, power supply requirements and expense, it is difficult to integrate these lamps with another more traditional light source to provide flexible and appropriate landscape and decorative lighting. The low-pressure sodium lamps are more suited to area illumination of parking lots and highway interchanges. Traditional landscape lighting uses incandescent or fluorescent lighting fixtures. Both of these light sources emit significant amounts of light at wavelengths less than 570 nm, which has proven to be disorienting to both nesting adult turtles and hatchlings. While these light sources could be rendered more ecologically compatible in turtle nesting areas by use of filters, significant labor is required to install and uninstall these filters at the beginning and end of turtle nesting season. Further, high quality filters that block all light emission at wavelengths below 570 nm and will not degrade in the temperatures and humidity typical of turtle nesting beaches are expensive and are not available in useful shapes. Therefore, filtering will be an expensive and inconvenient solution. The present disclosure provides methods and techniques for protecting wildlife. The techniques provide for lighting that may be switched between light sources. One light source can emit white light, which contains wavelengths of light that are visible to a particular animal species, and another light source can and does emit a substantially monochromatic wavelength that is not visible to the particular species. Both light sources can be visible to humans and provide lighting for ornamental, functional, safety and other uses. In one aspect, the techniques include providing an incandescent light source in a housing; providing light emitting diode light sources in the housing, all of the diodes emitting a substantially monochromatic wavelength of light; energizing either the light emitting diode light sources or incandescent light sources, wherein the light emitted from the light emitting diode light sources is not visible to a selected species of animal. The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. The present disclosure provides resorts, public parks as well as homeowners with an aesthetically pleasing landscape light that is ecologically compatible and that will not interfere with the normal nest and hatching behavior of sea turtles. The present invention provides lighting fixtures that may be switched from white light to a monochromatic light that is not visible to a selected animal species. The white light can be from any source, including incandescent, fluorescent and LED. If the white source is one or more LED's, simple switching between white and monochromatic LED's is all that is required. Otherwise differences on operating voltages must be taken into account, as will be explained utilizing incandescent lighting as the source of white light. Incandescent landscape lights may be designed to operate at voltages between 12 and 18 volts. Although the red LEDs that are most compatible for use in turtle nesting areas operate at approximately 2 volts, operating multiple LEDs in a series of 6 to 9 devices results in a fixture that can operate at the same voltages as incandescent lights. The use of monochromatic red LEDs for landscape lighting may not be aesthetically pleasing. Alternatively, neon bulbs may be used to radiate a red light that is not visible to sea turtles. The monochromatic LEDs may have a peak wavelength greater than 590 nanometers (nm), preferably in the range of 590–650 nm, more preferably 630–650 nm, and most preferably 640–650 nm. A preferred configuration of the device is a fixture that comprises an incandescent or fluorescent light, one or more strings of red (or possibly yellow) LEDs connected in series and a voltage sensing circuit that can switch the current between the incandescent light or the LEDs depending on the line voltage. A simple switch located at the transformer providing the power to the light fixtures allows step changes in the operating voltage that can be used to switch between operating modes. This system allows for owners to choose between operating lighting fixtures with either a broad-spectrum white light or a nearly monochromatic red LED without the need for installation and removal of filters or changing light bulbs. Incandescent lights are typically operated using AC power supplies, while LEDs are typically operated using a DC power supply. This dichotomy can be resolved by using a simple rectifier circuit for the LEDs or by using pairs of LED strings set in parallel, but with opposite polarity. A variety of commonly known circuit designs exist that can allow easy switching between incandescent and LED operation. Such switching could be accomplished by means of a mechanical switch, input voltage, or a control signal in an RS-232, RS-485 or other electronic control system. A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, all-LED or fluorescent-LED circuits may be utilized. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

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The Epiphany is an ancient Christian's feast day and is significant in a number of ways. It celebrates the revelation of God in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. The term epiphany means 'to show' or 'to make known' or 'to reveal'. Eastern Christians commemorate, the Epiphany celebrates the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. It is also called Theophany. Western Christians commemorate the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the child Jesus when God revealed himself to the world through the incarnation of Jesus. It is known as Three Kings Day. The Day before Epiphany is called as Twelfth Night. The Orthodox Churches perform the Great Blessing of Waters on Theophany.

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Without any of the trappings of a Hollywood premiere, a documentary made by University of Miami law students in the Historic Black Church Program's Oral History Project had its first public screening at a Coconut Grove school that is at the heart of the film's real-life story. The documentary, titled "G.W. Carver: A Community School," focuses on Carver from its inception more than a century ago to its integration in the wake of the Civil Rights Act. The film – made in collaboration with the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance, Ransom Everglades School and the University of Miami School of Communication – features a number of notable African-American figures who attended Carver and went on to leave a lasting impression not only on Miami's Coconut Grove community but the nation. The premiere, hosted by Miami Law's Center for Ethics and Public Service, took place on Thursday, April 5, at 6 p.m. at the G.W. Carver Middle School, 4901 Lincoln Drive. CEPS' Historic Black Church Program Oral History Project uses filmed documentaries to compile historical archives for church congregations and ministries. Students conduct videotaped interviews with congregants and ministers, edit the film, and organize panel discussions on the subjects at issue. Two earlier films focused on the history of the West Grove and the West Grove churches. G.W. Carver – which includes elementary and middle schools – can trace its history to 1899, when it was known at The Little Schoolhouse. In 1943, the year George Washington Carver died, it was named after him. Carver was a scientist, botanist, educator and inventor who is believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in 1864. Carver was the first black student and faculty member of Iowa State College. He later became director of agriculture at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, where his pioneering research of 300 uses for the peanut led to multi-crop farming that saved the South's economy. For decades, the Carver school's students lived under Jim Crow laws, segregated from whites in all aspects of everyday life, the school's website says. Carver was desegregated in 1970 by court order. CEPS' Historic Black Church Program is headed by law Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service, which for more than a decade has been immersed in helping the distressed areas of the Coconut Grove community. Cynthia McKenzie is the program's manager. The documentary project had as collaborators the UM School of Communication's Kim Grinfeder, an Assistant Professor in Visual Journalism, and Visiting Professor Maggie Steber; Don Cramp Jr., the Dean of Students at Ransom Everglades School; and UM law students Erica Gooden, 3L; Erika Kane, 3L; Quinshawna Landon, 3L; Amanda Darlington, 2L; Alexa Diambois, 2L; Pamela Adewoyin, 1L; Jewell Reddick, 1L; and Christine Tudor, 1L.

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Tea’s Noble Birth—True Serendipity Tea’s birth story is infused with a blend of myth and fact and coloured by ancient concepts of spirituality, and philosophy. According to ancient legend in China, the story of tea began in 2737 B.C. when the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong, a skilled ruler and scientist, accidentally discovered the tea. While boiling water in the garden, a leaf from an overhanging wild tea tree drifted into his pot. The Emperor enjoyed drinking the infused water with its unusual and delicious flavour. He felt invigorated and refreshed. As a scientist, this serendipitous event compelled him to further research the plant whereby he found tea to have medicinal properties. And so, the first cup of tea, generated by the mighty leaf, was created by accident. Indian history attributes the discovery of tea to Prince Bodhi-Dharma, an Indian saint who founded the Japanese Zen school of Buddhism. In 520 A.D., he left Indian to preach Buddhism in China. To prove some Zen principles, he vowed to meditate for nine years. Towards the end of his meditation efforts he fell asleep. Upon awaking he was so distraught that he cut off his eyelids. A tea plant sprung up from where his bloody eyelids hit the ground to sanctify his sacrifice. Traditional Tea Culture in China and Japan Whatever the legend, tracing tea’s original roots proves difficult. It is probable that the tea plant originated in the region of southwest China, Tibet and Northern India. Chinese traders may have traveled throughout these regions often and encountered people chewing tea leaves. From these journeys, the Chinese learned tea’s use. Early on, people primarily used tea for medicinal purposes. Not until the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), often referred to as the classic age of tea, did consumption become widespread and characterized as China’s national drink. An imposition of a government imposed tea tax further evidences the beverage’s growing popularity. During that time, compressed bricks of tea leaves were first softened by fire and then grated into boiling water. A Buddhist monk, Lu Yu (733-804) composed the Ch’a Ching or Classic of Tea treatise. He described types of tea, uses and preparation and the benefits of drinking it. More importantly, he imbued the writings with a spiritual aesthetic that reflected Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian religious thought of the time. The tea ceremony served as a metaphor for expressing the harmony and simplicity that not only ordered but also streamed throughout the entire universe. Later, in the Sung dynasty (960-1280 AD.), known as the romantic age of tea, poetry and artistic references to tea abounded. A precursor to the Japanese tea ceremony or Cha No Yu to come, the most popular method of preparation involved grinding delicate tea leaves into a green powder in a stone mill and whipping it into hot water with bamboo whisks. During this period, Chinese culture significantly influenced and impacted art, politics and religion in the Far East. Consequently, around the early 9th century, a Japanese Buddhist monk, Saicho, is credited with introducing tea to Japan. While studying in China, Saicho became exposed to tea and brought back seeds to start growing at his monastery. Other monks over time followed suit, and soon small tea plantations sprouted up at secluded monasteries. However, due to the isolation, tea's popularity did not blossom until the thirteenth century. At this time, like in China people only drank tea in powdered form. Inspired by Buddhist spiritual philosophy, this marks the origin of the Japanese Tea Ceremony or "Chanoyu". The Modern Tea Steeping Custom Emerges Not until the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was tea prepared by steeping leaves in water, like it is today. Instead of compressing tea leaves into bricks, the leaves were dried, rolled and then heated in iron woks. Brewing simply involved steeping leaves in hot water. The Chinese government further established a hold on tea trade by opening a Bureau of Tea and Horses. They introduced laws regulating interactions on the frontier, where people traded tea for horses. From 1644 to 1911, the Qing dynasty ruled China and eventually abolished duties on tea, a testament to how essential tea had become to everyday life and the economy. In the 17th century, a Chinese monk traveling in Japan brought the new rolled form of tea that had replaced powdered tea in China. A tea merchant in Uji, Kyoto, Nagatani Soen invented a new Japanese method of steaming, drying and rolling green tea during the 18th century. This tea and style of processing became known as Sencha. The custom of drinking Sencha tea daily lives on today. Tea Entices the West Although Europeans first started importing tea in the 17th century, it appeared earlier in the West. Traders, missionaries and explorers traveling back and forth between Europe and the Orient became exposed to the budding tea traditions in China and Japan. Around the 9th century, references in Arab trade documents refer to the process of boiling bitter tea leaves. Later Marco Polo (1254-1324) alludes to tea in his travel writings about the East. Tea finally arrived in the West during the 16th century - a Portuguese missionary is attributed with bringing tea to Europe while caravanning back and forth between Portugal and China. Tea was not seriously traded though until Dutch merchants entered the picture. In 1610, the first shipments of Japanese and Chinese tea arrived in Europe via ships charted by the Dutch East India Company. Tea also flowed into Russia early on via camel trains that came from China on part of the famous Silk Road. The popularity of tea spread to cities including Amsterdam, Paris and London, however, its high price limited consumption to Europeans royal classes and aristocrats. Tea drinking, a novelty at the time, allowed the wealthy to partake in a bit of Eastern adventure during the age of exploration and discovery. The Birth of an English Love Affair The English did not gravitated towards tea immediately. Coffee remained the preferred drink in coffee houses frequented mainly by men. The tea fad caught on slowly with women who perceived it as a genteel drink. In 1657, the first shop to sell tea in England opened, run by Thomas Garraway. The shop sold tea imported by the Dutch. Tea’s popularity began to spread and consumption rose in London’s cafes and coffee houses. The drink gained further legitimacy when Charles II married Catherine of Braganza, a Portuguese royal, who adored tea and introduced the concept of tea time to the court. Soon thereafter, the British East India Trade Company (also known as the John Company), who was competing with the Dutch for tea trade, established their first foothold in the East by securing a tea factory in Macao. A Tea Monopoly - The British East India Company By the early 1700s, the British East India Company established via itself as the dominant trading power and would go on to monopolize the tea trade with China. Trading stations sprung up in India, including hubs in Bombay, Bengal and Madras. The Company, acting as an imperial arm of England would exercise significant political power in helping to create a wealthy and powerful British Empire. This included not only trading but also the right to annex land, direct troops and dictate British laws. The British would exploit the tea trade for profit and political power over the next century. However, geo-political change involving new American colonies abroad and the French and Indian Wars in 1763 began to threaten the British East India Company’s privileged position. In addition, the Company would struggle burdened by financial mismanagement, corruption and growing tea smuggling operations. Tea Plantations in India Despite the Company’s dominance, interestingly enough, up until the mid 1800s, China remained the sole source of tea for Western demand. Looking to discover the tea growing secrets and to end their reliance on Chinese tea, the British Tea Committee sent Robert Fortune, an English botanist, on an undercover mission to China. Disguised as a Chinese merchant he traveled around the country learning about farming and processing techniques. Most importantly, he sent back tea samples and brought back Chinese tea experts who played an important role in enabling British tea planting and experimentation in India. In around 1823, a British Army Major Robert Bruce stumbled upon indigenous tea bushes growing in the Northeast region of Assam, India. With this discovery, the British East India Company seized the opportunity to experiment with growing tea in not only Assam but in Darjeeling, a region in Northeastern India at the foot of the Himalayas. An East India Company employee, Dr. Campbell, first planted Darjeeling tea seeds in his garden at Beechwood, Darjeeling. The planting proved so successful that in 1847 the British government began developing tea estates in the area This marked the beginning of a new tea industry in India and an end to reliance on Chinese grown tea. With tea plantations springing up all over parts of India and the advent of the industrial revolution, the tea trade in India would flourish. Tea in North America Tea initially came to America in the mid 1600s via the Dutch who started a settlement in New Amsterdam, which after acquiring the colony, the English renamed it New York. A favorite of colonial women and wealthy colonists, a heavily taxed tea trade flourished between the colony and England. To bolster up the Company’s failing financial position, it had convinced the English Parliament to enact the Tea Act, which allowed them to ship tea duty-free directly to the colonists and profit by excluding the colonial merchants. The general notion of taxation without representation brewed great dissent among the colonists. Political tensions came to a climax with the Boston Tea Party, as colonists protested England's high taxes by dressing as Native Americans and dumping tea into the water off East India Company's trading boats. This act provided an impetus for the American colonies fight for independence in 1776. Although the American Revolution set back the Company, it managed to survive due to its immense size. But, when Richard Twining and thousands of independent tea merchants organized a campaign to reveal the Company’s corrupt practices and pressured the English government to end their monopoly, it would eventually crumble. Clipper Ships and the American Tea Trade American clipper ships began importing tea directly from China to America starting in the 1850s. In the wake of the Company’s downfall and the repeal of the Navigation Acts, which dictated that all tea must be shipped directly from England to colonist ports, clipper ships quickly became the preferred method for transporting tea. These graceful and sleek vessels with three masts easily outdated trading ships. Built for speed, the British and Americans raced clippers back and forth between China and England bringing the best teas for auction. American Tea Inventions During the 19th century, tea drinking played an important role in social life, from tea parties to afternoon tea in both England and America. New tea traditions began to develop in America as the beverage’s popularity grew. Iced Tea originated in 1904 at the Worlds Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. A tea merchant and plantation owner from abroad had intended to provide visitors with free hot tea samples. However, due to the unusually hot weather, it was not a big hit. To promote sales, he asked a nearby ice cream vendor for some ice. The American iced tea tradition was born when he dumped the ice into the hot brewed tea. Today, ice tea sales make up at least 80% of the entire U.S. tea market. The original tea bags were handmade, hand stitched muslin or silk bags, much like Mighty Leaf’s handcrafted, artisan tea pouches. Patents for tea bags exist as early as 1903. However, Thomas Sullivan, a tea merchant from New York is often credited with creating the first commercial tea bag concept. Today, tea is the world’s most popular beverage after water. At Mighty Leaf we proudly carry on the ancient tea tradition, by packing our tea pouches with artisan blends of whole leaves, herbs and spices too big for ordinary tea bags, and sourcing only the finest single-estate teas.

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Most women having a baby will probably have an ultrasound test during the pregnancy. This simple test is quite safe for both mother and baby and causes only minor, if any, discomfort. Ultrasound is a way of taking a look at the baby without using potentially dangerous X-rays. Sound waves are used instead, in a similar way to radar. A type of jelly is spread on the mother's skin and a device producing the sound waves is moved over the skin. The sound waves ‘bounce’ off the baby and other internal structures, creating a picture on a TV screen. Ultrasound is used in pregnancy for several reasons. Here are some examples. In an uncomplicated pregnancy it is quite common to perform an ultrasound at about 18 to 20 weeks. This allows confirmation of the due date and a chance to rule out any major abnormalities. As well as its use in pregnancy, ultrasound is a useful tool in the diagnosis of many other conditions including gallstones, breast lumps, and kidney and bladder problems. A specialised form of ultrasound can also be used to image the heart. Last Reviewed: 02 May 2009

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VINA, Calif.— A California abbey has been home to Cistercian monks since 1955, and it now houses a new chapel built of stones taken from a medieval Cistercian monastery in Spain. “These stones have come home. ... We had a donor event last year because the scaffolding finally came down, and you can see the glory of this vaulted stone chapter house,” the abbot, Father Paul Mark Schwan, told Catholic News Agency Jan. 7. “We sang our Cistercian ‘Salve’ at the conclusion of this event. That was the first time since 1835 that these stones had heard the chanting of, as it were, ‘their’ Cistercian monks,” he added. “It was a very touching moment, not just for our monks, but for the guests who were present for that.” The new chapel for the Abbey of New Clairvaux — located in Vina, Calif. — is made from stones that had been used for a chapter house created in the late 12th century for Spain’s Santa Maria de Ovila monastery. The monastery was seized by the Spanish government in 1835, and from then on the buildings were long used as barns for local farmers. The property was later purchased by William Randolph Hearst, who had the monastery’s chapter house disassembled and transported to the United States. The stones ended up languishing in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for more than 60 years, but when New Clairvaux was founded, they caught the eye of one of the new monks. In 1955, Father Thomas Davis was taken to see the stones, and, according to Father Schwan, he “thought to himself that these stones need to return to Cistercian property. ... They’re our heritage.” Father Davis became abbot of New Clairvaux and had “a vision in his own heart” about bringing the stones to the monastery. After the monastery’s main building suffered a fire in 1970, he secured about 20 of the stones from Golden Gate Park for the monastery, but they were not enough to be of use. The abbot again tried to obtain all of the stones in the early 1990s, and, in 1994, they were finally awarded to the monastery. The medieval chapter house has now been rebuilt, and it will serve as the monastery’s chapel when it is completed. Classic Cistercian Architecture The medieval chapter house is a classic example of Cistercian architecture, showing the transition from Romanesque to Gothic styles, Father Schwan said. It has taken around $7 million to complete the building process, and the monastery needs another $2 million to complete the church. The monks are looking forward to a permanent chapel, as the monastery’s current chapel was built in 1960 and was only expected to last some 10 years. They also hope to raise an additional $5 million to build a much-needed infirmary, as well as an administration and formation center for their novices. Their fundraising has been assisted by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, located in nearby Chico, which in 2010 began brewing a series of Belgian-style ales called “Ovila Abbey” beers. Sierra Nevada agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds from the series to the monastery’s building projects. The monastery also produces its own wines, and its winery is known as New Clairvaux Vineyard. The community numbers 23 and is “doing very well for vocations,” Father Schwan said. New Clairvaux has one postulant and one novice, and it received three solemn professions last year. The community is part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, also called Trappists. They observe the Rule of St. Benedict and spend much of their time chanting the Liturgy of the Hours. While the efforts to rebuild the medieval chapter house and transform it into a chapel have put the usually obscure monks “in the limelight,” Father Schwan said that “it helps us to treasure all the more our vocation and move more inward in our hearts and protect that inner silence and solitude which is so characteristic of our way of life.” Father Schwan noted that the community is very pleased that the stones which had been long-neglected in Golden Gate Park can again be home to the monks for whom they were first hewn. “That’s why we feel so strongly about these stones. They’re not just stones; they’re stones that held Cistercian life, held Christian monastic life for over 600 years. ... There’s an element of justice in it.”

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Let's Face Facts The first step toward a solution is recognizing there's a problem. In this issue's cover story, we alert you to a serious problem that you may not be aware of: Our environment is pervaded by hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of man-made chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, so named because they interfere with the endocrine system, the hormones that regulate our metabolism, sexual development, fertility, and brain function. Scientists are now discovering that these synthetic chemicals can mimic, block, or otherwise alter the activity of hormones in animals and humans alike. These compounds can be found in food cans, baby bottles, and cosmetics; in the air, in farm fields, and in streams; in cattle and birds, in polar bears in the Arctic, and in us, even in breast milk. In both wildlife and laboratory studies, researchers have observed malformed sexual organs, impaired sexual reproduction, gender reversal (female fish, for example, that develop male sex organs), and behavioral abnormalities. When Theo Colborn, a pioneering researcher, first placed this issue on the public radar in 1996, she was mocked as a fringe scientist obsessed with a phantom hazard. But during the past 10 years, her dogged research has inspired many other scientists, who collectively have uncovered a chemical time bomb that we must urgently address. It is impossible not to feel urgency about many things these days. An environmental magazine like ours has to work hard not to get trapped by the Chicken Little syndrome. The key is this: Articles like Daly's should spur us to action, rather than tempt us into despair. Still, the first step is to acknowledge that there is a problem. So the sky is not falling. But it is getting warmer. Only during the last year has it seemed that we as a society have begun to grapple in earnest with the greatest environmental challenge of our lifetimes. Even if you were not directly hit by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma, you could not help but realize that something large and portentous was happening. Climate change -- in the form of warmer oceans that generate fiercer storms -- has suddenly become, for many people, less a matter of theory and more a matter of firsthand experience. We all live now in a post-Katrina world. Can we still change the course of events? The answer is always yes, and action sometimes comes from unexpected quarters. Read, for instance, in Living Green about the construction of the world's greenest skyscraper, now being erected in midtown Manhattan to house the new Bank of America headquarters. Or read in Frontlines about new initiatives in fuel efficiency being advanced by giant retailers like Wal-Mart and the trucking fleets that carry their goods. Or read Elizabeth Kolbert's interview with Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a coalition of large investors that is helping awaken corporate America to the economic consequences of climate disruption. Even the direst problems can be solved if we face facts. That's the mission of OnEarth magazine -- to convey information rigorously but, whenever possible, with beauty, wit, and poetry. That may be why, for the second year in a row, we have been nominated for the Independent Press Awards -- this time not just for Environmental Coverage, the award we won in 2004, but also in the category of General Excellence. Further encouragement, we think, to keep our eyes wide open. Douglas S. Barasch

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2011 State Poverty Data Underscore the Need to Protect Programs for Low-Income Women New data from the Census was just released, and NWLC’s calculations show that many women and their families around the country are still struggling in the wake of the great recession. Though poverty stabilized between 2010 and 2011, protecting low income programs remains absolutely critical for women. In 2011, more than one in five women was poor in Mississippi (22.3 percent) and Louisiana (20.6 percent). Only one state, New Hampshire, had a poverty rate of less than ten percent for women, at 8.9 percent. In the other 47 states and the District of Columbia, between 10 and 20 percent of women lived below the poverty line. In 2011, more than half of female-headed families with children were poor in Kentucky (51.3 percent), Louisiana (50.3 percent), Mississippi (51.8 percent), and West Virginia (51.6 percent). In eight more states (AL, AR, ID, MI, NM, OH, SC, and TN), their poverty rates were 45 percent and above. What about women of color? In eleven states, about a third or more of black women were poor (IA, IN, LA, ME, MI, MN, MS, SD, WI, WV, and, VT). Roughly a third of Hispanic women were poor in six states (IN, MS, NC, PA, RI, TN). Yet again, these numbers underscore the importance of federal and state programs for low-income people. We’ve talked about this before, but with poverty rates at record highs, programs like Social Security, Medicare, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps), and the Earned Income Tax Credit, among others, are essential for keeping millions of women and families above the poverty line. We know that women disproportionately rely on these programs, making the message from the state poverty data clear: Programs for low-income families and individuals must be protected. We sincerely hope Congress is taking note. Articles by Topic Join the New Reproductive Health Campaign Go to ThisIsPersonal.org to get the facts and tools you need to help protect women's reproductive health.

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Nonverbal Learning Disorder Nonverbal learning disorder is a learning disorder that has many traits commonly associated with Reference Asperger's syndrome Opens New Window. Like those with Asperger's syndrome, children with nonverbal learning disorder usually start to talk around 2 years of age (the age at which speech normally develops). They often have excellent memorization skills needed for reading and spelling. Also, they share a desire to form relationships but often fail because of poor social skills. But these conditions are not the same. Children with nonverbal learning disorder have some distinguishing characteristics. A hallmark trait of the disorder is difficulty learning from the visual environment. Although they are poor visual learners, children with nonverbal learning disorder often excel at remembering information they hear. Children with Asperger's syndrome are also good at remembering information they hear. Children with nonverbal learning disorder often have difficulty with math, because math is often explained in a visual context and these children lack nonverbal reasoning skills. While many people with Asperger's syndrome have nonverbal learning disorder, not all do. Likewise, many people with nonverbal learning disorder do not have Asperger's syndrome. Although these disorders are separate, they both involve similar differences in processing information and those affected may benefit from the same types of treatment. |By:||Reference Healthwise Staff||Last Revised: Reference April 5, 2012| |Medical Review:||Reference John Pope, MD - Pediatrics Reference Fred Volkmar, MD - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

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This guide begins by describing the problem of animal cruelty and reviewing factors that increase its risks. It then identifies a series of questions to help you analyze your local animal cruelty problem. Finally, it reviews responses to the problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police practice. Animal cruelty is but one aspect of the larger set of problems related to animals. This guide is limited to addressing the particular harms created by animal cruelty. Related problems not directly addressed in this guide, each of which requires separate analysis, include the following: Nuisance or Hazardous Animals Harm to Animals Incidental to Other Motives Some of these related problems are covered in other guides in this series, all of which are listed at the end of this guide. For the most up-to-date listing of current and future guides, see www.popcenter.org. Animal cruelty includes many kinds of mistreatment, from temporarily failing to provide essential care to the malicious killing or repeated torturing of an animal. Every state defines animal cruelty differently, both in terms of the specific actions that are prohibited and the categories of animals that are protected. For example, hunting is exempted from animal cruelty laws and livestock are not protected, even though in both cases the animals are killed and quite often suffer. Laws in some states protect wild animals from frivolous harm (e.g., “thrill killing”), although most animal cruelty laws are designed to only protect “companion animals” or pets. Animal cruelty cases tend to span the jurisdictions of several state and local agencies and departments, and the agency officially responsible for handling animal cruelty cases varies. Some jurisdictions have sophisticated programs within animal welfare organizations (e.g., Humane Societies, Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Animal Control) with specially trained staff who respond to all complaints of animal cruelty. They may be called animal cruelty enforcement agents, humane law enforcement agents, cruelty investigators, or animal control officers, and while they may have the legal authority to investigate and enforce animal cruelty laws, the public often grants them less legitimacy than police.1 In some jurisdictions, animal cruelty enforcement agents collaborate with police. In places without local animal welfare organizations, police may be solely responsible for enforcing all animal-protection laws.2 Where local humane agencies exist, police tend to refer complaints of animal cruelty to these agencies, even though they often lack the funding, expertise, and resources to investigate animal cruelty cases.3 The intense public reaction to animal cruelty cases covered by the media suggests that the public is concerned about the treatment of animals and believes animal cruelty to be a social problem worthy of police attention.4 Because police routinely come into contact with people at their homes where their animals are ordinarily kept, the officers are in an ideal position to identify warning signs of animal cruelty and neglect. While some cases will be arduous, involving lengthy investigations, search warrants, and complex crime scenes, most cases of animal cruelty are not particularly complicated. Particularly in cases of simple neglect, police who identify the signs of animal cruelty can offer information, suggestions for improving animal care, or warnings, which will usually rectify the situation before a serious tragedy occurs.5 The following types of animal cruelty exist: While specialized training is desirable, particularly for complicated hoarding cases or cases of physical abuse that will be prosecuted, most police officers need only a basic familiarity with animals’ health and normal states of being to identify the warning signs of animal cruelty. These signs may include the following:7 National crime-reporting systems do not monitor animal cruelty. Doing so would be very difficult, because enforcement authority is scattered across thousands of state and local agencies, laws vary across states, and standardized reporting structures have not been developed. The two major efforts to collect data on the prevalence of animal mistreatment rely primarily on media reports, rather than enforcement records, as the source.†One survey of school-aged children in the United States found that 30 percent admitted to committing some form of animal cruelty.8 Another survey found that 14 percent of the population had witnessed someone “intentionally or carelessly inflicting pain or suffering on an animal in the past year.”9 This translates to over 15 million incidents of animal cruelty in a single year. Over half of the respondents stated they reported the incident to a law enforcement or humane organization. One study estimated that approximately 5,000 cases of hoarding are reported each year, with roughly 40 animals involved in each case.10 Despite the lack of national data, most researchers agree that cases of neglect constitute the vast majority of animal cruelty cases.11 However, unless the neglect is extreme or involves a large number of animals, these cases are rarely discussed by the media. As a result, the public may not fully understand the prevalence and nature of animal cruelty.12 † Until 2004, the Humane Society of the United States collected data on animal cruelty cases covered in the media. It discontinued the project because of excessive demands on staff (Lockwood 2008). Press clippings were also used build the Animal Abuse Registry Database Administration System (AARDAS), a private system which was launched in 2002. While the website includes a search engine and crime-mapping capabilities, it includes only those cases with a media reference or that proceeded to court. As of April 18, 2011, the database included over 17,000 cases in six countries. The most obvious harm caused by animal cruelty is the pain and suffering endured by the animal. In contrast to what is often presented by the media, happy endings in cases of physical cruelty are rare: the abuse is often ghastly and victim animals are rarely returned to good health or adopted by a loving family.13 Particularly in hoarding cases, severe crowding and a lack of socialization create health and behavior problems that may leave animals unadoptable and at risk of euthanasia.14 One study of animal cruelty cases in the media in 2003 found that 62 percent of the animal victims were either killed by the perpetrator or euthanized because of their injuries.15 Long-term outcomes are better for victims of mild neglect, provided their owners change their approach to the animal’s care. In addition to the animal suffering inflicted in even the least sensational cases, the more complicated hoarding cases also generate significant public health concerns. Homes of hoarders are generally filthy, with an accumulation of animal feces and urine on the floor, sometimes several inches deep. The resulting ammonia gas creates toxic air. Utilities and major appliances usually do not work, and most of the basic activities for a functional and sanitary household (e.g., showering, sleeping in a bed, preparing food) are impaired. Carcasses of dead animals are often found in hoarding locations, many of which are eventually condemned.16 While animal cruelty is a serious social problem in its own right, interest in its association with other forms of violence has motivated a great deal of research. Groups of researchers in both the United States and the United Kingdom assert that people who harm or kill animals are at high risk of interpersonal violence.17 These researchers assert that people who mistreat animals will do so habitually and are likely to be violent to their partners and children. Further, they claim that victims of child abuse are likely to harm animals and are more likely to be violent toward humans as they mature. Most of these studies examined the prevalence of animal cruelty among incarcerated, violent offenders. However, citing methodological flaws in the research and overly broad generalizations, a few researchers believe the link between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence has been overstated.18 Given that most people who have been cruel to animals have not gone on to commit increasingly violent acts towards humans, these researchers worry that assuming a direct link will cast the net too wide and result in misdirected resources.19 The same set of external factors (e.g., stress, poverty, substance abuse) may underlie multiple forms of violence. However, cruelty to animals, alone, is not a particularly influential predictor of interpersonal violence, and animal cruelty may precede or follow other types of violent offenses.20 Understanding the factors that contribute to your problem will help you frame your own local analysis questions, determine effective measures in response, recognize key intervention points, and select appropriate responses. Dogs and cats are the most frequent victims of neglect and physical cruelty, although birds, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, and reptiles are sometimes abused. Most victims of animal cruelty are pets, not wild animals.21 A survey of veterinarians’ experience with abused animals and suspected abusers revealed that offenders may physically abuse younger animals (age 7 months to 2 years), who are full of energy and sometimes difficult to train.22 Wild animals (e.g., raccoons, possums, deer) may be brutally attacked by poachers who intentionally hit the animal with a car or beat them with a club or bat.23 The animals are killed not for their meat, but rather for sport or the thrill of causing harm. Neglected animals are often found in households where residents have alcohol and drug problems and where residents are overwhelmed and have difficulty meeting their own basic needs.26 Further, some pet owners are simply ignorant of animals’ basic needs and how to train them effectively.27 Even though their cruelty is unintentional, owners who lack this essential knowledge may severely neglect their animals. Although a few studies have shown that a small proportion of violent adult criminals were chronic animal abusers as children, most children who are cruel to animals commit mild, infrequent acts of cruelty and eventually grow out of it.28 Their cruelty is motivated by curiosity, peer pressure, boredom, or a lack of knowledge about animals.29 Perpetrators are most likely to be older adolescents or young adults. Males commit intentional acts of cruelty toward animals more often than females.30 While abuse occurs at all socio-economic levels, it is concentrated in lower socioeconomic households.31 Physical cruelty is often motivated by unrealistic expectations about how animals should behave, and offenders cause pain and distress in an effort to control or retaliate against the animal. They may also express anger about other situations by abusing the animal.32 In domestic violence situations, offenders may abuse animals in an effort to intimidate or control their human victims.33 Although far less common than physical abuse or simple neglect, hoarding has attracted a disproportionate amount of research. As a result, the profile of a typical hoarder is far more specific. Hoarders are most frequently single females who live alone, do not work outside the home, and are socially isolated. However, hoarding cases also involve single males and couples of varying ages and living arrangements. Research has identified several types of hoarders, including the following:34 Regardless of the motivation, without adequate treatment and limits on future pet ownership, nearly all hoarders reoffend.35 Research has not examined the specific locations where physical abuse or simple neglect occurs. We do know that although animal cruelty occurs at all socioeconomic levels and in all communities, it is concentrated in households of lower socioeconomic status.36 Media accounts suggest that animal cruelty occurs in or around private residences (when a pet is the victim) or in isolated public spaces (when the victim is a wild or stray animal). Although research describes the characteristics of the households in which hoarding occurs, we do not know the geographic concentrations of hoarding cases.37 Although the seasonal patterns of animal cruelty have not been researched in depth, the research implies that simple neglect (e.g., inadequate shelter) may be more prevalent during seasons with extreme temperatures. The co-occurrence of animal cruelty with other forms of violence compounds the harms associated with it. Although the link between the physical abuse of animals and interpersonal violence is unlikely to be as causal as some research suggests, the occurrence of either type of violence should cue police to check whether other forms of mistreatment may also be present.38 The underlying conditions that create the opportunity for animal cruelty to occur (e.g., stress, deprivation, aggression, mental illness, prior victimization, drug and alcohol use) mirror the risk factors for interpersonal violence. As a result, people who abuse animals may be at risk of committing interpersonal violence, and vice versa. While presuming that people who abuse their pets also abuse their children or spouses is inappropriate, being vigilant about the potential co-occurrence of various forms of violence is only prudent. Women in domestic violence situations may delay leaving a violent partner, in part because they are concerned about pets that would be left behind.39 Most domestic violence shelters do not accommodate animals. The social isolation and limited financial resources of domestic violence victims can prevent them from leaving their pets with family members, friends, or at a kennel. Many women in shelters report that their pets have been threatened, injured, or killed by their abusive partners. Batterers harm pets to exert control, prevent the victim from leaving, or coerce the victim to return.40 Finally, the chaos and filth that characterize hoarding locations have grave consequences for the health of the human inhabitants. Hoarders generally have poor hygiene and limited access to a sanitary environment for eating, bathing, and sleeping. These problems with self-care are often compounded by untreated mental illnesses. You may order free bound copies in any of three ways: Phone: 800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480 Allow several days for delivery. Send an e-mail with a link to this guide. Error sending email. Please review your enteries below.

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Thousands Face Delay in Medical Tests By Liz Szabo Thousands of patients in the USA may face delays in getting key medical tests because of a global shortage of radioactive tracers, which are used to perform bone scans and to assess blood flow to the heart, experts say. The radiotracer in short supply, Mo-99, is mostly used to observe blood flow to the heart and in bone scans that assess the spread of cancer, says Robert Atcher, president of the Society of Nuclear Medicine. Used in 80% of nuclear medicine procedures, the drug also is used to measure kidney function and to gauge whether cancers have spread to the lymph nodes during some breast cancer surgeries. The impact on patients is “very serious,” Atcher says. About half of the 20 million nuclear medical scans performed in the USA each year are for urgent needs, he says. In some cases, cancer patients may safely delay the tests for a few days or weeks. But others, such as those who have had heart attacks, may not be able to wait and may have to have more invasive procedures, such as angiograms, says Atcher of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The shortage stems from the shutdown of three of the world’s six facilities that make radioisotopes, according to an article by the British Nuclear Medicine Society in the current British Medical Journal, or BMJ. Reactors in France and Belgium have closed for scheduled maintenance, while a Dutch reactor unexpectedly shut down in late August because of a problem in its cooling system. The Dutch reactor, which supplies about half of the USA’s supply of Mo-99, isn’t expected to reopen until late October. Mo-99 has a half-life of less than three days, so it can’t be stockpiled or stored for very long. Half-life is the time required for a radioactive substance to lose 50% of its activity by decay. The shutdown of a Canadian reactor in November and December last year delayed exams for about 50,000 patients in the USA, which has no facilities to make Mo-99, according to the BMJ article written by Alan Perkins, Andrew Hilson and John Hall. All the reactors that make nuclear medicines are about 40 years old, the article states. As the reactors age, shortages could become more common. (c) Copyright 2008 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

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That Americans love their cars or that our infrastructure is built around them isn’t something people argue with, but what to do about it is a source of debate. In their book, Creating Green Roadways: Integrating Cultural, Natural, and Visual Resources into Transportation, James L. Sipes, ASLA, and Matthew L. Sipes offer up practical construction, design advice on how we might begin to move beyond basic transportation. Sipes and Sipes, a landscape architect and engineer respectively, haven’t just written a book about roads. As they say in their introduction, they’ve written a book about “pedestrians and bicycle facilities, streetscapes, community character; protecting cultural and natural resources and ensuring creatures large and small can cross the road safely. It is about multimodality, natural processes, and energy efficiency.” With common language, thorough research and numerous case studies, the Sipes provide the reader with sound arguments for making our roadways green. They define green roadways as highways and roads that are site specific, that respect both the visual character of the place as well as plant and animal life. Green roadways work with a site’s watershed, maintain green corridors, and protect open spaces. It is possible, the authors maintain, to create roads that both meet traditional engineering standards and minimize their impact on the environment. More than that, though, green roadways are about getting people out of their cars – walking, biking and using public transportation. They contend that the time is ripe for this green conversion, citing quite a few scary statistics: 33 percent of our nation’s roadways are in “poor or mediocre” condition; 36 percent of our major urban highways are congested; and 26 percent of bridges are “structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.” They point to the collapse of the I-35 W bridge over the Mississippi in Minneapolis as an example of what might happen if we don’t make these changes. And not to put too fine a point on it, since the book has gone to press, yet another bridge has collapsed, this time on I-5 over the Skagit River in Washington State. The number of cars on our roads has quadrupled from 65 million cars and trucks in 1955 to 246 million today, and where in 1970 vehicles in the US traveled 1 trillion miles per year, in 2010 that number had increased to 3 trillion miles per year while the amount of paved roads increased only 1.97 percent. These numbers are staggering, and the basic argument that the Sipes make is that building more roads won’t solve these problems. After all, how will laying down more roadways provide a solution when we can’t maintain what we have? Instead, their book makes a strong case for integrating roads, bridges, trails, walkways and other elements so they become assets, not liabilities. As they say, “roads and highways have such an impact on our communities that we need to start thinking about them in terms of quality of life.” In urban and suburban areas, especially on local and neighborhood roads, the move should be on “de-emphasizing roads.” They should be narrowed and their visual impact lessened, sidewalks widened, and opportunities for sociability increased. The use of rain gardens and bioswales rather than a reliance on drains also lessens the environmental impact of roads. Greener roundabouts can be used to slow traffic, and in the case of the roundabout in Normal, Illinois, it was designed as a community gathering places as well as a system for underground storm water collection. Our interstates can be retrofitted to allow for wildlife crossings, either as land bridges or underpasses, which protect habitat and wildlife populations that live around highways. The authors note that the average cost of repair to a vehicle after a crash involving an animal is $2,900, a figure that certainly makes these changes worthwhile. Both Sipes, who do believe there is still a place for pleasure driving, especially along the nation’s scenic and historic roads, provide the reader with examples of roads that are done well. They also offer recommendations for protecting the environmental, cultural and historical resources along these roadways. The authors are dedicated to turning our transportation systems to assets, not liabilities, and have written a book to help guide this transformation. This guest post is by Heidi Petersen, Student ASLA, ASLA 2013 summer intern and Master’s of Landscape Architecture candidate, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Image credits: (1) Island Press, (2) Portland Library Streetcar Stop / J. Sipes, (3) Atlanta’s 15th Street / EDAW, (4) Portland Green Street Rain Garden / Kevin Robert Perry, City of Portland, (5) Normal, Illinois Roundabout / City of Normal, Illinois, (6) Proposed Wildlife Crossing / Washington Department of Transportation, (7) Stone Retaining Wall / depositphotos.com, (8) Blue Ridge Parkway Linn Cove Viaduct / Wikipedia Commons The Dirt has initiated a new bi-weekly feature highlighting news stories from around the Web on landscape architecture. For more LA in the News, check out LAND, ASLA’s newsletter. If you see others you’d like included, please email us at “In 1996, when developers proposed a residential community atop the slag heaps that for decades had greeted parkway travelers at the inbound entrance to the Squirrel Hill Tunnel, a dream once envisioned by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead but long thwarted by the demands of the steel industry would finally become possible.” “As many metropolitan areas around the Midwest begin to reap the benefits of a downtown resurgence that has graced cities from Cincinnati to Chicago, Cleveland plans to turn its lackluster Public Square into a 10-acre park in the heart of downtown.” “A new ‘toolbox’ is put together annually by the Danish organization Sustainia, aiming to differentiate itself from other sustainability awards by focusing exclusively on solutions that are available today. By highlighting trends as well as the solutions that already exist to capitalise on them, Sustainia aims to create an army of world-changing ideas.” “The curving benches are a tip of his cap to Jens Jensen, the early 20th-century Danish-American landscape architect who brought the feeling of the prairie, and Native American traditions, to Chicago’s parks and countless public and private landscapes across the country.” These articles were compiled by Phil Stamper, ASLA Public Relations and Communications Coordinator Image credit: Mountain laurel at Brooklyn Botanic Garden / Randy Harris for The New York Times. I have been under stress watching the recent events taking place in my native Turkey. These events began with peaceful demonstrations on May 29 by environmentally-minded citizens who wanted to preserve one of the last remaining green spaces in Istanbul. They did not want to see a planned demolition and privatization of a public park known as Gezi (Promenade) Park in a major public open space in the District of Taksim. However, excessive use of force by the riot police — with their use of water cannons, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators — quickly brought more protesters, who then introduced an anti-government agenda. Public gatherings in support of the Gezi Park as well as anti-government demonstrations quickly spread over to other major cities and 78 of Turkey’s 81 provinces. The use of excessive force by police to disperse the protestors in Istanbul, the capital city of Ankara, and the third largest city Izmir, has been clearly documented by the international media. As a result, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his religious-based conservative government are looking vulnerable for the first time in his ten-year administration. Despite significant economic successes under his leadership, this episode has the potential to tarnish the international image and reputation of Turkey, a majority Muslim country with a strongly secular tradition. I believe these sad developments can be linked to the top-down planning style of the Prime Minister, who once again took center stage to explain his vision for this public square and park during these tragic events. Furthermore, instead of trying to calm the protestors and approve the requested dialog for public participation, the PM sent in his supporters in addition to riot police. The announced plans by the Istanbul city government, which were strongly promoted by the PM, initially called for razing the park to build a shopping mall inspired by a demolished Ottoman Military Barracks. Based on initial protests, the PM backed off plans for a shopping mall on the site, but there are still plans to remove the existing park and building “something” there. For the rest of the Taksim Square, the PM calls for removing several stores to bring an existing church into the open and build a “major mosque” on the other side of the street, in a location that used to be a private theater for musical performances. This is proposed under the guise of open dialog and respect for both religions. As for the proposed plans and designs: The overall plan, which calls for the removal of the park, calls for several underground tunnels to alleviate traffic congestion that currently plagues the square. They would add very large turf areas in the shape of tulips, which are a revered flower in Turkey and also known to have religious symbolism referring to the Prophet Muhammad. The PM’s statement suggesting that “something” will be built there proves that there is no design thought given either to the master plan or the street-level designs (see videos below): As an educator, I would call the proposed overall plan for the square and the park sophomoric at best. This park has been the subject of many of my projects when I was an undergraduate student in late 1970s. Over the years the park has been encroached upon along its edges and has received minimal maintenance and care; an occasional bench replacement is about that seems to be done. Despite their neglect, trees have matured and provide the only shaded area and refuge from the highly-motorized greater Taksim square. The current state of the park reminds me of Bryant Park in New York City prior to its most recent renovations. It’s true that something needs to be done to take advantage of this wonderful green oasis in the sea of cars dominating Taksim Square. However, the proposed removal of the park to establish a private shopping center or “something” is not what is needed. The use of earlier Ottoman Military Barracks as an inspiration for the proposed shopping center (or some other type of building) is also highly questionable. These barracks were the scene of one of the bloodiest uprisings by mullahs, who wanted religious laws enacted during the last decades of the Ottoman Empire (similar to those used in Iran or by the Taliban today). Atatürk (Father of Turks), the founder of today’s modern Turkey, was the Ottoman Military commander who quashed these uprisings in the late 1800s and consequently ordered the destruction of the barracks after the establishment of Turkey in 1923. The promotion of the image of these barracks by the PM as a back drop to the proposed developments begs the question: how much respect does the current government have for the strong secular traditions of the country? The proposed plans do not seem to give even a cursory thought to the needs of pedestrians. They do not offer any significant design elements for the human scale. Perhaps another unstated objective of the PM is to minimize and eventually remove the monument to the Independence War, which houses sculptures of Atatürk, his commanders, and the unknown soldiers during the final days of the occupied Ottoman Empire. The videos released by the metropolitan city government of the proposed development make this meaningful landmark look as insignificant as an ant. PM Erdoğan’s government owes some of its economic successes to the privatization of many government institutions, holdings, and services. Some of these privatization efforts were perhaps necessary to encourage private financing and development. But selling national treasures is highly questionable. The government has sold parts of the first model farm in Ankara established by Ataturk to international clients to establish a private resort. At the present, there is extensive clear cutting in the Atatürk Farm. Let me explain the significance of this: Could you imagine the U.S. Government selling President Jefferson’s Monticello? Similarly, how would the American public react if the U.S. Government or the National Parks Service were to sell some of much-cherished open fields not covered by memorials in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for a private shopping mall development? This is exactly what is happening in Istanbul and other cities in Turkey. All of these tragic events could have been avoided if either the PM Erdoğan or his representatives were to institute a public hearing system in their planning and design process. Instead the PM is more concerned with the demonstrators questioning his authority and calls them “çapulcu,” meaning marginal and extreme. At other times, he’s called these concerned citizens of Turkey “terrorists.” This is quite ironic considering that it’s the PM’s government who is holding talks with a convicted killer and the head of the internationally recognized terrorist group PKK (Kurdish Separatists). Prime Minister Erdogan PM and all of his representatives must recognize they are elected to represent the people. These people have shown up in unprecedented numbers to express their opinions and represent themselves. If the PM and his government continue to ignore the voice of the people, they may not be re-elected as the peoples’ representatives. Finally, Mr. Erdoğan needs to make up his mind if he wants to be the Prime Minister of Turkey, the Mayor of City of Istanbul, or an urban designer. If the Prime Minister has no intention of going back to school, then he should let the real design professionals do their job and concentrate on managing the government in a way that will make all Turkish citizens proud. This guest post is by Professor Sadik Artunc, FASLA, RLA, head of the department of landscape architecture, Mississippi State University. A native of Turkey, Professor Artunc has a BS and MS in forestry and forest engineering from the University of Istanbul and an MLA from the University of Michigan. Prior to arriving in the United States in 1975, he worked in Turkey as a forester for the Ministry of Forestry, as a recreation planner in the Central Planning Office, and as the planning director of the Olympus National Park for the Department of National Parks. Image credits: (1-2) Turkish Revolution, (3) The Huffington Post, (4-5) Taksim Square / Wikipedia The National Building Museum’s summer mini-golf is back, this time with two courses of nine holes each. Each hole was constructed around the theme “Building the Future” and was designed by a variety of architects, landscape architects, designers and contractors. A group of four of us played through both courses; the highlights, favorites and frustrations of which are detailed below. Perhaps the coolest looking hole on either course was Holograph Hole on the Green course. Designed and built by architecture firm Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill with help from students at Catholic University’s School of Architecture, this hole featured a 3-D virtual cityscape in glowing holographic green. Calling attention to the digital tools that architects now use, this hole highlights how 3-D technology is also changing the design process. Par was 2. Half of our crew scored on par, the other half a 3. Is it an acceptable excuse to say the sci-fi surroundings were a bit distracting because they were just so awesome? FOREward Thinking, hole 6 on the Green course, was built and designed by STUDIOS Architecture, under the premise that we can be sustainable by revitalizing old buildings. Common materials came together in the construction of this hole, along with two separate paths, one of which was up a ramp and down a xylophone. This route was, of course, not the direct route. Par was 3, which our group easily made, with the exception of yours truly, who got stuck trying unsuccessfully to use the xylophone. This resulted in 2 over par, though the invitation to draw on the chalkboard walls took away some of the sting. Hole 8 on the Green Course, Capital RiverGreen, designed by Shalom Baranes Associates and built by Winmar Construction, showcases D.C.’s relatively new Yards Park, which runs along the Anacostia River. Depending on where you stand, panels line up to create large pictures of the landscape in and surrounding the park. Play is directed around a tiny Navy Yard Metro sign and over the park’s iconic bridge rendered in miniature. Enjoyment of this hole has to do with an interest in community green space and not just because of a score of 2 on a par 3. Our merry band of mini golf players made it through the “easy” Green Course, which was par 25, with a respectable 24 and 25, as well as a slightly less than respectable 26 and 28. But who’s judging? We’re just having fun. On to the Blue Course, which, you guessed it, was the “hard” course. Some of the holes on this course seem nearer to impossible than hard, but again, who’s judging? First up was Mount Vernon Triangulation, which at first blush is deceptively simple – lines of light form triangles on a flat rectangle with a straight path to the hole. Then you step on it and realize that where you stand affects the shape of the putting green. Designer, E/L Studio, and builders, Think Make Build; FLOR; and Independent Custom Metalworks, want to teach participants about triangulation, which is a process that determines a location by using other known and fixed points. Upon closer inspection, the lines of blue lights also form a map of the Mount Vernon Triangle. It is possible to direct the ball by jumping from side to side and changing the shape of the course rather like a game of pinball, but no need, we were all off to a good start scoring on par or below on this hole’s par 3. The Evolution of the Office, Hole 2, which was designed by Determined by Design and built by DAVIS Construction, reminds us that technology has fundamentally changed how, and where, we work. Our laptops and smartphones give us the opportunity to take our work from the office to the park bench. This, like many holes on the Blue course, provides the player with two routes, generally one more direct than the other. Not wanting to say no to challenge, I chose the route over the desks and back around the park bench. The angle is a bit awkward and high off the ground, so it seemed like a good idea to use the club like a pool cue. That is until the ball went flying off the bench and landed on the other side of the room. This resulted in a score of 4, 2 over par, with my mini-golf associates scoring at par, or 1 over. You might guess who chose the direct route. Hole 4, The Future’s Looking Up!, designed by Bonstra I Haresign Architects and built by Monarc Construction, shows the player the latest in green roof technology. Play is a straight shot uphill, once you get past the drainage elements and round the chimney. But don’t get too confident, or you’ll end up in the roof’s gutter which sends you back down the hill. Par was 3, though only one in our group scored that, with the rest of us scoring a very sorry and disappointing 6. Tomorrow’s Water, Hole 5, sponsored by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and designed and built by students at Virginia Tech’s Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center is not only arguably the most beautiful hole on either course, it is without question one of the most difficult. Carved in layered wood, this hole shows in topographic detail D.C.’s watershed and forces the player to confront something that few of us ever consider in our day-to-day lives: Where does storm water go and how does it get there? Par is 3, though if it weren’t for witnessing a hole in one, one might argue par should be nigh impossible. Unlike water which flows where it will, there is one route that will lead you directly to the hole, but beware falling off the edge. If that happens, you might have to call it at 6 strokes rather than admitting the 15 strokes you took to try and get back on track. The Blue Course’s Hole 7 provides a much needed respite after the frustrations of some of the earlier holes on the course. Imagination Powers the Future, designed and built by Hargrove, Inc., is whimsical, colorful, and a direct shot with a par 3. This hole is based on the idea that imagination and creativity make the world a better place. We were all happy to make it under par, with one in the group getting a hole in one. The last hole on the Blue Course, PARticipatory TERRAIN, designed by D.C.-based landscape architecture firm, Landscape Architecture Bureau (LAB), built by Harkins Builders, and sponsored by The JBG Companies, requires the player to choose a side on a yes or no question, and by placing a pink plastic rod on the side of their answer, decide themselves how to change the route to the hole. The question our group confronted, “Should we prepare for an asteroid to hit the earth?” was split pretty evenly between the yes and no camps, something that may have helped direct the ball neatly to the hole, under the par 3, with one of us scoring a hole in one. Come back each week for a new question, and new challenge. Blue Course’s par was a 26, and proved for most of us to be as much of a challenge as it was billed to be. We scored a 29, a 31 (uffda, that’s yours truly), a 23 (show-off), and a 28. At $5 per course per person, this is truly a fun time. Come down and show off your mad mini-golf skills and prove you’re up for the challenge. This guest post is by Heidi Petersen, Student ASLA, ASLA 2013 summer intern and Master’s of Landscape Architecture candidate, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Image credits: (1) Mini Golf Clubs / Anne McDonough Photography, (2) Holograph Hole / Kevin Allen Photography, (3) FOREWard Thinking / Emily Clack Photography, (4) Capital RiverGreen / Kevin Allen Photography, (5) Mount Vernon Triangulation / Emily Clack Photography, (6) The Evolution of the Office / Anne McDonough Photography, (7) The Future’s Looking Up! / Kevin Allen Photography, (8) Tomorrow’s Water / Kevin Allen Photography, (9)) Imagination Powers the Future / Anne McDonough Photography, (10) PARticipatory TERRAIN / Kevin Allen Photography

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Jan. 26, 2012 It comes as a surprise to many that male house mice produce melodious songs to attract mates. Unfortunately for us, because the melodies are in the ultra-sonic range human ears cannot detect them. Through spectrographic analyses of the vocalizations of wild house mice, researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna have found that the songs of male mice contain signals of individuality and kinship. Their results appear in the journal Physiology & Behavior and in the Journal of Ethology. It has been known for some time that house mice (Mus musculus) produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during courtship but it has generally been assumed that these are no more than squeaks. However, recent spectrographic analyses have revealed that USVs are complex and show features of song. Although the vocalizations are inaudible to human ears, when playbacks of recorded songs are slowed down their similarity to bird song becomes striking. Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf and Dustin Penn of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna’s Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology aimed to learn what type of information is contained in males’ songs for the discerning ear of the female mouse to detect. Their initial studies, the first to study song in wild mice, confirmed that males emit songs when they encounter a females’ scent and that females are attracted to males’ songs. Additionally, the scientists discovered that females are able to distinguish siblings from unrelated males by their songs – even though they had previously never heard their brothers sing. In their recent studies, Penn’s group recorded and analysed the courtship calls of wild-caught male house mice for the first time, using digital audio software to examine parameters such as duration, pitch and frequency. They found that males’ songs contain “signatures” or “fingerprints” that differ from one individual to another. Moreover, they confirmed that the songs of siblings are very similar to one another compared to the songs of unrelated males, which helps explains how females can distinguish unrelated males. This finding could potentially lead us to understand how female mice avoid inbreeding. Interestingly, in some species of birds the males with the most complex songs appear to be most successful at attracting females. Further studies are needed to determine whether the complexity of male mouse vocalizations has an effect on females that is similar to that of “sexy syllables” in birds. The vocalizations of wild house mice differ significantly from those of inbred strains of laboratory mice. Wild male mice produce more syllables within high frequency ranges than laboratory mice, a result that is consistent with other studies that find genetic effects on mouse song. “It seems as though house mice might provide a new model organism for the study of song in animals,” says Dustin Penn. “Who would have thought that?” Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. - Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf, Dustin J. Penn. Spectrographic analyses reveal signals of individuality and kinship in the ultrasonic courtship vocalizations of wild house mice. Physiology & Behavior, 2012; 105 (3): 766 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.10.011 - Frauke Hoffmann, Kerstin Musolf, Dustin J. Penn. Ultrasonic courtship vocalizations in wild house mice: spectrographic analyses. Journal of Ethology, 2011; 30 (1): 173 DOI: 10.1007/s10164-011-0312-y Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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Music sheet cover 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' Adelphi Theatre, London Museum no. S.350-2012 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery novel written by the American author Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1851. The book tells the story of the slave Uncle Tom, and the cruelties and harshness of his life. It was the first famous abolitionist work of fiction and became a stage play in 1852. The book stirred up great public feeling in the United States. Some even credited it with helping to start the American Civil War. Indeed, when Abraham Lincoln met Mrs Stowe in 1852, he said to her 'So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war'. The book was dramatised in 1852 and played simultaneously at theatres across America. This music sheet cover is from the dramatisation of the novel. After its American success, the play opened at London's Adelphi Theatre in 1852.

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Terra/MODIS Color Image of Copahue Eruption Plume Across South America For the first time since 2000, Copahue is erupting, sending an ash plume across southern South America. So far, the eruption is following the same patterns as the activity that ran from July to October 2000. That activity started with phreatic (water-driven) explosions, so it will be interesting to see if this eruption has new juvenile magma involved. Earlier this year, a study of the summit crater lake suggested new magma was intruding under Copahue and the SERNAGEOMIN report mentioned. that seismicity was rising before today’s eruption. I grabbed the brand new Terra/MODIS imagery for South America and the plume from the Copahue was glorious – stretching over 350 km across Argentina to the east of the volcano. For a sense of scale on the image, the distance between Copahue and the Embalse los Barreales is ~225 km. The plume itself has been reported to be over 9.5 km / 30,000 feet tall. UPDATE 12/22 5 PM EST: Eruptions reader Kirby pointed me to the SERNAGEOMIN webcam pointed at Copahue — check out the eruption live! UPDATE 12/22 7 PM EST: ONEMI has not called for any evacuations on the Chilean side of Copahue — this article also has a nice gallery of pictures from the eruption as well. Check out the original post with more details. Erik Klemetti is an assistant professor of Geosciences at Denison University. His passion in geology is volcanoes, and he has studied them all over the world. You can follow Erik on Twitter, where you'll get volcano news and the occasional baseball comment. Follow @eruptionsblog on Twitter.

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How Does it Feel: A Study in Sensory Perception Sensory stimulation is a chemical process which occurs between the human body and brain. When we experience sensation, our body is exposed to some type of sensory stimulation. The sensory receptors then receive this information, and transmit it to the brain using neural impulses, or neurotransmitters. There it is interpreted into the correct sensation. Sensations are the basic building blocks of perception. Perception is the process of organizing and making sense of our sensory input. Perception allows us to better interpret the information our sensory receptors receive, and form images of the world around us. Transduction is what happens when the receptors transform the energies they receive into a form that can be interpreted and utilized by the nervous system. Human beings are able to experience various sensations because the nervous system encodes the messages we are receiving and interpreting. In his doctrine of specific nerve energies, Johannes Muller theorizes that different sensory modes exist because the information received by our sensory receptors stimulates different synapses when traveling back to the brain. This is known as anatomical encoding. This type of encoding determines which sensory organ is activated by a certain type of stimulation, according to which specific neural pathway it travels. (Wade, Tavris, 2006). Anatomical encoding does not totally explain how or why our different sensory modalities exist independently. Scientists found it difficult to link specific skin senses to individual neural pathways; neither does the doctrine of specific nerve energies explain variations of stimulus within a certain sensory experience, i.e. the softness of an animal's fur versus the coarseness of sandpaper, or the distinction between the colors light blue and dark blue. A second type of encoding, called functional encoding, is therefore required to make sense of these differentials in our sensory perception. According to Wade and Tavris, "functional...

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The Founding Fathers, as a group, were a band of very wise men. Perhaps the wisest was Benjamin Franklin, a rare combination of genius and solid common sense. He also had that attribute of truly wise people: the sense to hide his intellect to some extent behind a fog of good humor. How fortunate for America that throughout his life he placed his intellect at the service of his country, a country he understood at an early date embraced all of the colonies in British America. At the end of his life his final great service to America was at the Constitutional Convention where his calming words helped bring disputing factions together to achieve the task of hammering a document together that has endured through the centuries. Many of the delegates noted the importance of Doctor Franklin in the process of bringing the Constitution to life. One of the delegates, Dr. James McHenry of Maryland, a surgeon who had served as an aide to General Washington during the Revolutionary War, recorded that as Franklin was leaving Constitution Hall “A lady asked Dr. (Benjamin) Franklin, “Well Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” “A republic,” replied the Doctor, “if you can keep it.” I have always been struck by that answer, because Franklin indicated in it that it is the responsibility of each individual American to keep the nation a Republic, not the responsibility of someone else. Sound advice in 1787, sound advice in 2011.

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The terms rich and poor are used variously and often confusingly. They can differentiate material resources, from decided surplus to brutal destitution. They can also be used to address the inner life, and here you have to be a little savvy. For example, one who is “poor in spirit” is a humble person who could thereby also have inner wealth. Being poor in spirit is very different from having an impoverished soul. Today’s Gospel story, in three short acts, reveals something of the relationship Christians ought to have with wealth and poverty. In act one, a wealthy man asks Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. When Jesus reminds him of the Commandments, he replies, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus looks at him lovingly and then says to him: “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The man leaves crestfallen, “for he had many possessions.” In act two, Jesus tells his disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples are astonished. In the Old Testament, wealth was typically portrayed as a blessing from God and proof that one was righteous. Now it appears to be one of the greatest liabilities. In act three, Peter announces that they had given up everything to follow Jesus. Jesus assures them that anyone one who has given up houses and family for the sake of the Gospel will be repaid “a hundred times more now in this present age...and eternal life in the age to come.” So, what exactly should our relationship to wealth and poverty be? This is not the sort of question that admits a pat answer. If poverty is a curse, then why would Jesus demand it of the rich man? If it is necessary, then why give it to the poor, making them presumably less poor? At least one thing should be obvious: pursuing material wealth at the expense of spiritual wealth is always bad. Today’s first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, addresses this specifically: “I preferred her [wisdom] to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison to her.” It is also the case that Jesus’ historical mission was marked by itinerancy. He and his disciples were constantly on the move; to follow him on his mission meant literally to leave everything behind. While this is not our situation today, we would do well to consider the aspiration of focusing on Jesus and his mission, as his disciples did who dropped everything to follow him unreservedly. We could consider that when our time, energy and even identity are tied up in pursuing material wealth, we have lost sight of the kingdom. Finally and most uncomfortably, we need to recognize that material wealth can insulate us from hearing the cry of the poor. St. John Chrysostom pointed out: “It is madness to fill our wardrobes full of clothes and to regard with indifference a human being—made in the image and likeness of God—who is naked.” Consider this challenge, inspired by Peter Singer: You just bought a new pair of suede boots for $200 and you are walking by a pond where a toddler is drowning. You would not hesitate to dash into the water to save the child, even though this would ruin your boots. A child is more important than boots! Now consider the moment just before buying the boots, knowing that those $200 could feed a starving child. Do you buy the boots, or do you give the money to a charity that feeds starving children? Where does a poverty calculus like this stop? Would you continue to give your money to the point of starving yourself? Should you liquidate your children’s college tuition fund to feed more starving children? Without collapsing into neurotic absorption about possessions or unhealthy guilt in having them, we could still ask ourselves: How much is enough? Am I hearing the cry of the poor? • Before the Lord, review your lifestyle. • Ask him to show you what can be given away.

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Written by Administrator Though the effect of science and technology is experienced in every day life of each and every person, there appears to be a very big gap between scientifically literate and the common person on the road on acquiring scientific attitude and awareness. Even in the elite and highly educated group, it is doubtful how many of them have scientific attitude in correct sense. Though the constitution stipulates the spread of scientific attitude and temperament as one of the foremost duties of every citizen in India, the pace at which this duty is being fulfilled is at snail’s speed and sometimes in reverse direction due to vested interests at certain levels. While planning to inculcate scientific attitude in the society, which will certainly eradicate superstitions, it became necessary to concentrate our efforts among school going children who generally acquire the traditions and rituals followed blindly by their parents. If it is possible to inculcate scientific awareness at that tender age by some means, the young will be aware of the importance of scientific attitude throughout their life. Formal education as planned by our educationists for primary and secondary education is just not sufficient to inculcate scientific attitude. As such Maharashtra Andhasraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (ANS) planned to educate students informally by appealing to the interested students to study superstitions and scientific reasoning behind the so-called miracles. We have realized that just delivering lectures and performing demonstrations would not be adequate enough specially when audience is full of students. It was also learnt that the assimilation of knowledge is generally through listening to the lectures, self study, discussions with teachers and friends and appearing for examination to evaluate comprehension. To implement the scheme effectively, it became necessary that teachers should be the nodal point. As such a curriculum was formulated to include various related topics and for various age groups and accordingly programs were planned to train teachers so that they in turn can teach the subjects related to scientific attitude during extra hours and on holidays. Teachers were also entrusted the task of conducting the examination to assess assimilating abilities of students and successful candidates were awarded certificates. The course has been divided into three levels: Vaidnanik Janiva Parichay (Introduction to Awareness of Science) for students studying in fourth to seventh class. This is an introductory course, which enables students to get acquainted with fundamentals of superstitions and of scientific temper. Vaidnanik Janiva Shodh (Search of Awareness in Science)is for students studying in eighth to tenth class. During this course, in-depth study of various subjects will be completed. Satya Shodh Prabodh (Awareness and Search of Truth) is for college going students. It includes the study of theoratical topics like rationalism, secularism, mental disorders etc. The syllabus has been arranged in such a way that it can be covered in about 10 periods of 30 minute each. If a special camp is arranged the syllabus can be completed within a day. Generally 20 minutes are spent on explanation of the topic assigned and 10 minute for question - answer and discussions. The subjects covered during these courses are as under: • Scientific Attitude • Faith and Blind faith • Mental disorder and possible remedies • Astronomy and Astrology • Study of snakes and remedies on snakebites • Scientific explanations about miracles, poltergeist and hypnotism • Exposure of God men, Babas Matajis etc. • Poltergeist (Bhanamati) • Works of social reformers For example the subject ‘scientific attitude’ includes following topics: • Necessity of the removal of blind belief • The distinguishing factors between scientific literacy and scientific attitude • Methodology to check evidence • Scientific thinking that includes freedom, fearlessness and humbleness • Dangers of glorification of great persons. • The origins and meaning of prevailing customs, traditions and rituals. • Moral values and scientific attitude. We arranges teachers training camps with the due permission of concerned educational officer in all district place and major towns. Teachers can avail the opportunity and attendance of training camp is considered as working day for teachers. MANS activists and experts in the field will outline the methodology of conducting the course and examinations, use of course material etc. Teachers participate in post lecture discussions and clarifications are sought. In fact ANS has compiled the questions that are generally being asked by the audience, which is also applicable to students also. These training camps benefit teachers and in fact some of them serve as activists and/or contact persons for MANS. We have trained more than 50,000 teachers and more than 500,000 students have undergone various courses. We have observed marked change in the students attending the course. A question like “mention three superstitions followed in house” may trigger their inquisitiveness. Children are never passive in this regard. After realization they go out of their way to protest and are not afraid of expressing their displeasure frankly and openly. This in turn influences parents to take corrective measures. As the saying goes “ there are no problematic children but there are problematic parents’. ANS can cite hundred of examples where children protested against illogical and unscientific behavior of their parents; thanks to the courses undergone by students. During the euphoria of milk drinking by Ganesh on 21 Sept. 95, it was the students in Maharashtra who protested vehemently about the whole episode. Similar protest was observed even during the eclipse. The girls who had attended the course start protesting against rituals, which encourage gender discrimination. It is not only students who are benefited by this course but also the teachers who conduct them. Age-old practice of observing fast, believing in astrological predictions, expensive, outdated and irrelevant ceremonies were abandoned by most of the teachers. To sum up we have oticed the following changes: • Influence of Babas, Matas etc is reduced • Children started showing keen interest in measures of reform • Participation of students in exposing witchcraft, haunting and casting of spells • Girls are becoming bold enough to question rituals of gender inequality • Course material is used as a reference guide during discussions with staunch believers of superstitions • Students advice their juniors and friends to undergo the course • Students show keen interest in the activities and events happening in the surroundings • Students want more material to enhance their knowledge • Training one child in a family is equivalent to training the full family and its neighbourhood. MANS has followed the principle of “Science and Technology at your doorsteps” rather than making students come to a centralized urban place as has been done in many of the `not so successful’ projects. This is one example, which has a potential to replicate all over India instead of confining to Marathi speaking area. In fact MANS is ready to extend its assistance to any dedicated team from other states that is prepared to come forward and work hard to conduct such program. This will hasten the process of inculcating scientific attitude among millions of our students.

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A major step towards rational use of medicines was taken in 1977, when WHO established the 1st Model List of Essential Medicines to assist countries in formulating their own national lists. The present definition of rational use was agreed at an international conference in Kenya in 1985. In 1989, the International Network for the Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) was formed to conduct multi-disciplinary intervention research projects to promote more rational use of medicines (email: firstname.lastname@example.org website: http://www.msh.org/inrud). Following this, the WHO/INRUD indicators to investigate drug use in primary health care facilities were developed and many intervention studies conducted, A review of all the published intervention studies with adequate study design was presented at the 1st International Conference for Improving the Use of Medicines (ICIUM) in Thailand in 1997. Box 3 shows a summary of the magnitude of prescribing improvement by type of intervention, The effect varied with intervention type, printed materials alone having little impact compared to the greater effects associated with supervision, audit, group process and community case management. Furthermore, the effects of training were variable and often unsustained, possibly due to differences in training quality and the presence or absence of follow-up and supervision. BOX 3 Review of 30 studies in developing countries size of drug use improvements with different interventions

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FILMING TABLE TOP EARTHQUAKES (Dec, 1935) FILMING TABLE TOP EARTHQUAKES by EARL THEISEN – Honorary Curator of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles Museum. When the director calls for floods, train wrecks, and volcanoes, the miniature men create the scenes. Read how they produce these effects. BEHIND the studio walls tucked off in a corner may be found the miniature department. It is hidden away where persons will not interfere with its work or find out its secrets. To the miniature man everything is possible from the fabrication of airplane crashes, train wrecks, explosions, floods, to the bringing to life on the screen of prehistoric monsters. In this department of the studios is filmed those things that cannot be photographed or are too dangerous to be photographed in full size. The miniature men are specialists in reproducing literally on a table top practically anything that occurs in real life. In a picture entitled, Last Days of Pompeii, the destruction of this historic city by a volcanic eruption can be seen on the screen. Because of the risk to human life and the expense involved, it was impossible to make the volcanic scenes other than by miniature. Besides, by using miniatures, a more forceful and realistic story could be made. Streams of flowing lava, smoke, flying debris, destruction of huge buildings, and other volcanic phenomena were reproduced for the screen in this picture. To do this was no simple matter; chemistry, physics, and much creative ingenuity contributed to the filming. Some scenes required as many as five trick super-imposures exposed on the same film. One such scene depicted a boat burning in the harbor of Pompeii. In the background Mt. Vesuvius was shown erupting while the streets of Pompeii began to fill with smoke and ash. The burning boat with real-life players was photographed in full size and then later added to the miniature scene by what is known in the studios as the “projection process.” This process consists of projecting the movie of the burning boat to a screen placed in the miniature setting. The screen being of glass is easily camouflaged in the setting. By moving the projector, which was out of camera lines near the screen, a proper balance between the size of the boat and the miniature city was reached. To photograph this entire scene it was necessary to run the negative through the camera five times, each time a different portion of the picture was photographed. First the city of Pompeii was photographed showing the streets beginning to fill with smoke and ash. The negative was then re1 wound in the camera and a second exposure was made showing Mt. Vesuvius; then another exposure introduced the smoke and fire effects which were being ejected from the mouth of the volcano; finally the burning boat was added. A fifth exposure introduced birds flying about in the scene. The various exposures were required because different methods or “processes” had to be used for the various effects. The smoke and fire effects had to be photographed at high speed in order to get the proper floating and billowy effect. Then the clouds were superimposed over the city by “stop-motion,” which is the studio name for the process of photographing action photograph by photograph rather than continuously as is done when “shooting” real life stars. In “stop-motion” the action is photographed pose by pose on motion picture film. When the progressive poses are projected in the theatre at high speed, the poses blend together to give the illusion of motion. In the destruction of Pompeii, the use of “stop-motion” made it possible to project the picture of the clouds and falling ashes into the city while the city was being destroyed. This was done by projecting the motion picture of the clouds, which was taken at high speed on to a “split screen.” The “split screen” which was placed a few inches in front of the camera lens in this “shot” is a partially silvered mirror which reflected the image of the clouds and at the same time permitted the camera lens to see through the mirror to photograph the miniature city. In this way the two pictures were combined. In the fabrication of the destruction of a building by earthquake in The Last Days of Pompeii, Willis O’Brien, who did the technical and miniature work on The Lost World, King Kong, as well as this picture, constructed a miniature building of about four by five feet in size on a table. In order to effect an earthquake movement, the table was set on a series of rocker arms operated by an electric motor. The building was constructed of plaster and wood joined together in sections, and was so built that any desired portion could be made to collapse when desired by pulling wires which ran through the building down to the table, and from there to the control board. In some sea films that show boat wrecks or fires, the work is done by use of miniature. In some instances the boat never touches the water but is run on tracks in the studio sound stage. Recently Ralph Hammeras, who is in charge of miniature photography at Fox Films Corporation, constructed a twelve-foot miniature boat in order to show a fire at sea. The boat was complete with every detail of an ocean going liner, even to the use of three thousand miniature globes that actually furnished illumination. The water was added by the “projection process,” which projected a moving picture of the desired ocean scene to a screen behind the ship. The camera angle was set so the projected picture of the ocean and the burning ship was combined to show the ship moving in water. In so doing a more forceful and effective action for the story was obtained with no risk to human life. Things as complicated as a ballroom with dancing couples have been made in miniature. For the Big Broadcast, Harry Reynolds, who makes the miniatures for Paramount Studios, brought to life such a ballroom where sixty couples danced the waltz, and an orchestra of men made in miniature to represent the Vincent Lopez Orchestra went through all the motions of producing the music. To make these miniatures do this was not a simple matter. Harry Reynolds constructed a number of conveyor belts on which were anchored the figures. These conveyor belts ran over drums, which had an intricate tripping mechanism which moved the figures in a certain manner when in a desired position. The question arises, “Why go to all that trouble when the real orchestra and ballroom would be available?” At times it is thought desirable for picture purposes to photograph at an impossible angle, or photograph in a dangerous position. Probably the most difficult of all miniature shots are the type that characterize Willis O’Brien’s work; that is, in such pictures as King Kong, wherein people in small size are added to miniatures which seem of heroic proportions. The new “stop-motion” camera is used in photographing miniatures so they may be moved by hand between each exposure while the camera shutter is closed. The process of photographing a miniature by “stop-motion” pose by pose is continued until the desired action is complete. A day’s work is often only twenty-five feet of film, which is seen on the screen in about a quarter of a minute. To add real-life persons to the miniature picture, a real-life motion picture is first taken of the persons going through the desired action. Then, the miniature set is made up in which is added a projector screen of a lightly ground glass. This glass blends with the rest of the set in such a way that its presence is not noticed. Now, while the miniature fur-and-steel ape is being moved from position to position in the set around the projection screen, a moving picture of the people is projected one picture at a time.

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While Americans and others may celebrate Easter only on a Sunday, that occasion is marked in Spain by an entire week of festivities known as Semana Santa, or Holy Week. The Holy Week festivals that take place all over the country are especially marked in Andalucia. Here, the emphasis is less on doleful repentance and more on celebration of the central figures of Christianity. The central feature of all those activities are the notable processions that take place in every town in the region. The times, participants and style varies considerably from town to town. But almost all have some common themes. Typically, traffic is closed off to allow for the floats and the hundreds or sometimes even thousands of people that precede or follow them. The festival is marked by religious figures dressed in Church finery carrying candles and directing the parade. Encircled by them is the main focus of the event: the floats. Every float is a unique and creative construction that contains a figure of Jesus, Mary or an important saint. A small statue of Saint Rocco, for example, may be held aloft on one platform, displaying his bare leg. He is regarded as a patron of the sick and the hopeful will often toss money onto the float, seeking relief or improvement. Other floats will depict scenes from the Bible, early Christian stories, or any of a thousand different images that evoke memories of tales passed down through hundreds of generations. There is the Gitano del Polvorín, the Virgen de la Victoria and the Señor de Sevilla, among many more. The processions, like the stories, are an ongoing tradition that has its origins in the early Middle Ages. As far back as 1,500 years ago the faithful annually walked with the platforms to celebrate the Annunciation, the Sermon on the Mount, the Rising from the Dead and other well-known scenes from the Bible. For centuries – during the period Spain was ruled by Islamic Moors, Berbers, Arabs and others from North Africa – the festivals were forbidden. Not surprisingly, therefore, after the Reconquest by Christian kings and the re-establishment of Christianity in the country, the festivals started anew. They have been a regular event in Andalucia, with few interruptions, ever since. But the natives are not the only participants. Church officials from Rome and elsewhere, along with people from around the world merely wanting to take part, celebrate the Holy Week festivals, too. The celebrations ramp up a notch the final few days before Easter, making that an especially good time to visit in order to see or participate in Semana Santa. Musicians will play and sing as others carry banners, followed by Nazarenos dressed in tunics and masks. Whether taking place in Cadiz or Cordoba, or any of the other dozens of cities large and small in Andalucia, the scene is similar. At the end of the procession, which often takes place from dusk to the following dawn, the float enters its individual sponsoring church and a hush comes over the crowd, signifying the culmination of Semana Santa.

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Walter Jackson Freeman II |Walter Jackson Freeman II| |Born||November 14, 1895 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |Died||May 31, 1972(aged 76)| University of Pennsylvania Medical School |Known for||Popularizing the lobotomy Invention of the "ice pick" lobotomy |Children||Walter Jackson Freeman III| |Parents||Walter Jackson Freeman I| |Relatives||William Williams Keen, grandfather| Biography and early years Walter J. Freeman was born on November 14, 1895 to a privileged family. He was raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by his parents. Freeman was also known for being a bit of an oddball and he complemented his theatrical approach to demonstrating surgery by sporting a cane, goatee, and a wide-brimmed hat. Working in the field of medicine ran in his family and his grandfather, William Williams Keen, was well known as a surgeon in the Civil War. His father was also a very successful doctor. Freeman attended Yale University, which at the time was Yale College, beginning in 1912 and graduated with his undergraduate degree in 1916. He then moved on to study neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. While attending medical school he studied the work of William Spiller and idolized his groundbreaking work in the new field of the neurological sciences. William Spiller also worked in Philadelphia and was credited by many in the world of psychology as being the founder of neurology. Freeman applied for a coveted position working alongside Spiller in his home town of Philadelphia, but was rejected. Shortly afterward, in 1924, Freeman relocated to Washington D.C. and started practicing as the first neurologist in the city. Upon his arrival in D.C., Walter Freeman began work directing labs at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. Working at the hospital and witnessing the pain and distress suffered by the patients encouraged him to continue his education in the field. Freeman earned his PhD in neuropathology within the following few years and secured a position at George Washington University as head of the neurology department. The first systematic attempt at human psychosurgery is commonly attributed to the Swiss psychiatrist Gottlieb Burckhardt. Burckhardt's experimental surgical forays were largely condemned at the time and in the subsequent decades psychosurgery was attempted only intermittently. On November 12, 1935, a new psychosurgery procedure was performed in Portugal under the direction of the neurologist and physician Egas Moniz. His new “leucotomy” procedure was used to treat patients with mental illness. Moniz became a mentor and idol for Freeman who modified the procedure renaming it the “lobotomy.” One year after the first leucotomy, on September 14, 1936 Walter J. Freeman performed the very first prefrontal lobotomy in the United States on housewife Alice Hood Hammatt of Topeka, Kansas beginning his now infamous career as a neurosurgeon in the United States. Freeman’s lobotomy procedure was assisted by fellow neurosurgeon and research partner, James Watts. By November after only two months performing their first lobotomy surgery, Freeman and Watts had already worked on 20 cases including several second, follow-up operations. By 1942, the duo had performed over 200 lobotomy procedures and had published results claiming sixty three percent improved, 23 percent were reported to be unchanged and fourteen percent were worse after the surgery. After almost ten years of performing lobotomies Freeman heard of a doctor in Italy named Amarro Fiamberti who operated on the brain through his patients’ eye sockets, allowing him to access the brain without drilling through the skull. After experimenting with novel ways of performing these brain surgeries, Freeman formulated a new procedure called the transorbital lobotomy. This new procedure became known as the icepick lobotomy and was performed by inserting a metal pick into the corner of each eye-socket and moving it back and forth, severing the connections to the prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobes of the brain. He performed the transorbital lobotomy surgery for the first time in Washington D.C. on a housewife named Sallie Ellen Ionesco. This transorbital lobotomy method did not require a neurosurgeon and could be performed outside of an operating room without the use of anesthesia by using electroconvulsive therapy to induce seizure. The modifications to his lobotomy allowed Freeman to broaden the use of the surgery, which could be performed in state mental hospitals throughout the United States that were overpopulated and understaffed. In 1950 Walter Freeman’s longtime partner James Watts left their practice and split from Freeman due to his opposition to the cruelty and overuse of the transorbital lobotomy. Following his development of the icepick lobotomy, Freeman began traveling across the country visiting mental institutions in his personal van, which he called the "lobotomobile." He toured around the nation performing lobotomies and spreading their use by educating and training staff to perform the operation. Freeman’s name gained popularity despite the widespread criticism of his methods following a lobotomy on President John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary Kennedy, which left her with severe mental and physical disability. A memoir written by former patient Howard Dully, called My Lobotomy documented his experiences with Freeman and his long recovery after undergoing a lobotomy surgery at 12 years old. Walter Freeman charged just $25 for each procedure that he performed. After four decades Freeman had personally performed as many as 3,400 lobotomy surgeries in 23 states, despite the fact that he had no formal surgical training. In February 1967, Freeman performed his final surgery on Helen Mortensen. Mortensen was a longterm patient and was receiving her third lobotomy from Freeman. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage as did many of his other patients[quantify] and he was finally banned from performing surgery. At age 57, Freeman retired from his position at George Washington University and opened up a modest practice in California. Contributions to psychiatry However controversial his techniques may have been, Walter Freeman did make a number of important contributions to the studies of psychiatry and neurology. Walter Freeman nominated his mentor António Egas Moniz for a Nobel prize and in 1949 Moniz won the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine. He pioneered and helped open up the psychiatric world to the idea of neurosurgery as a possible treatment for severe mental illness. He also supported and helped to demonstrate the idea that mental events have a physiological basis. Despite his interest in the mind, Freeman was “uninterested in animal experiments or understanding what was happening in the brain”. Freeman was also co-founder and president of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology from 1946 to 1947 and a contributor and member of the American Psychiatric Association. It is interesting to mention that, up to this day, the very idea of "biological" psychiatry and the physiological problems of mentally ill people remain controversial for the vast majority of mental illnesses. - Freeman, W. and Watts, J.W. Psychosurgery. Intelligence, Emotion and Social Behavior Following Prefrontal Lobotomy for Mental Disorders, Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Springfield (Ill.) 1942, pp. 337. - "The Lobotomist". American Experience. Retrieved 07/10/2011. "In the 1940s Dr. Walter Freeman gained fame for perfecting the lobotomy, then hailed as a miracle cure for the severely mentally ill. But within a few years, lobotomy was labeled one of the most barbaric mistakes of modern medicine." - Rowland, Lewis (April 2005). "Walter Freeman's Psychosurgery and Biological Psychiatry: A Cautionary Tale". Neurology Today 5 (4): 70–72. Retrieved 07/09/2011. - "Guide to the Walter Freeman, Class of 1916, Yale College, Photograph Albums Documenting Life at Yale". Yale University Library Manuscripts and Archives. Retrieved 07/08/2011. - For example, Whitaker, H.A.; Stemmer, B.; Joanette, Y. (1996). "A psychosurgical chapter in the history of cerebral localization: the six cases of Gottlieb Burkhardt". In Code, Christopher; Wallesch, C.-W.; Joanette, Y.; Roch, A. Classic Cases in Neuropsychology. Hove: Psychology Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-86377-395-2. Stone, James L. (2001-01). "Dr. Gottlieb Burckhardt the Pioneer of Psychosurgery". Journal of the History of the Neurosciences 10 (1): 79–92. doi:10.1076/jhin.10.1.79.5634. ISSN 0964-704X. PMID 11446267. Retrieved 2011-08-12. Text "D404A21C5BB053405B1A640AFFD44AE3 " ignored (help) Manjila, S.; S. Rengachary, A. R Xavier, B. Parker, M. Guthikonda (2008). "Modern psychosurgery before Egas Moniz: a tribute to Gottlieb Burckhardt". Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics 25 (1): 1. However, Kotowicz notes a difference, irregularly observed, among medical historians and medical practitioners in their location of the origin of psychosurgery. The latter group, he contends, tend to favour beginning the narrative with Burckhardt whilst the former group favour starting with Moniz. Kotowicz, Zbigniew (2005). "Gottlieb Burckhardt and Egas Moniz–Two Beginnings of Psychosurgery". Gesnerus 62 (1-2): 78–9. In the context of early psychosurgery, Berrios unusually also refers to the operations performed in 1889 by a surgeon (Harrison Cripps) at the behest of the British psychiatrist Thomas Claye Shaw in which fluid was drawn from the brain of a patient diagnosed with General Paralysis of the Insane. While the purpose of the operation was aimed towards the alleviation of mental symptoms attendant on the condition the procedure did not aim to interfere directly with brain tissue and therefore it has been excluded from most conventional accounts of psychosurgery. Berrios, German E. (1991). "Psychosurgery in Britain and elsewhere: a conceptual history". In Berrios, German E.; Freeman, Hugh. 150 Years of British psychiatry, 1841-1991. Gaskell. pp. 181–5. ISBN 978-0-902241-36-7. - Kotowicz, Zbigniew (2005). "Gottlieb Burckhardt and Egas Moniz–Two Beginnings of Psychosurgery". Gesnerus 62 (1-2): 79. - "A Lobotomy Timeline". NPR. Retrieved 07/10/2011. - Cordingley, Gary. "Walter Freeman's Lobotomies at Athens State Hospital". Retrieved 07/12/2011. - Rogers, Lisa. "The Ice Pick Lobotomist: Dr. Walter Freeman". Retrieved 07/11/2011. - Dully, Howard (2007). My Lobotomy. Crown. ISBN 0-307-38126-9. - Guide to the Walter Freeman and James Watts papers, 1918-1988, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University - The Lobotomist, authoritative biography of Freeman by Jack El-Hai - New England Journal of Medicine article - Article referencing Jack El-Hai's initial Washington Post feature on Freeman - A Brief History of Lobotomy - 'My Lobotomy' documentary program from SoundPortraits.org. " - "Shedding Light on Shadowland"

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History of Jain Sects The Jain religion is one of the oldest religions in the world. The Jain religion was also known as Shraman Dharma, Nirgranth Dharma, etc. It is not an offshoot of any other religion but is an independent religion recognized by these various names during different time periods. It was has been taught by Tirthankaras also called Jina. A follower of a Jina is called a Jain and the religion followed by Jains is called Jainism. Each Tirthankara revitalizes the Jain order. The Jain Order is known as the Jain Sangh. The current Jain Sangh was reestablished by Lord Mah�vira, who was the 24th and last Tirthankar of the current time period. The Jain Sangh is composed of the following four groups: 1) S�dhus (Monks) 2) S�dhvis (Nuns) 3) Shr�vaks (Male householders) 4) Shr�vik�s (Female householders) The first Tirthankar of the current time period was Lord Rushabhdev, who is also known as �din�th. Names of other popular Tirthankars are Lord Sh�ntin�th (the 16th Tirthankar), Lord Nemn�th (the 22nd Tirthankar), Lord P�rshwn�th (the 23rd Tirthankar), and Lord Mah�vira (24th Tithankar). Lord Mah�vira is the most popular Tirthankar of our time. Mah�vira attained nirv�n (liberated from the worldly existence) in 527 B. C. He had eleven ganadharas (disciples). Nine ganadharas attained liberation (salvation) during the lifetime of Lord Mah�vira, while aother two Gautamsw�mi and Sudharm�sw�mi survived him. Gautamsw�mi attained perfect knowledge and perfect perception and became Arihant the very night of Lord Mahavira's nirv�n. The remaining ganadhar, Sudharm�sw�mi, was the next to attain perfect knowledge and perfect perception and became Arihant. Jambusw�mi, the disciple of Sudharm�sw�mi was the last Arihant of the present half time cycle. After Jambusw�mi none attained perfect knowledge and the knowledge declined slowly as time went on. Lord Mahavira's teachings were carried on by his ganadharas to us in the form of scriptures (Agams). They were compiled into twelve separate parts, known as the dwadashangi (twelve parts). These twelve compositions were acceptable to all followers. However, the dwadashangi were not put in writing for a long time. The Jain pupils learned them by memorizing them. About 150 years after the nirvana of Lord Mahavira, there was a drought for 12 years. During this time, some monks along with Bhadrabahuswami migrated to South. After the drought was over, some monks came back to North. They observed that there was some inconsistency in oral recollection of the Jain scriptures by different monks. That made them to compile scriptures. To accomplish that, the first council (conference) of monks was held in Patliputra about 160 years after Lord Mahavira�s nirvana. Monk Bhadrabahu, who had the knowledge of all 12 Angas, could not be present at that meeting. The rest of the monks could compile only the first eleven Angas by recollection and thus, the twelfth Anga was lost. The monks from the South did not agree with this compilation, and the first split in Jainism started. Jains divided into two main groups, Svet�mbaras and Digambaras. Svet�mbara monks wore white clothes. Digambara monks did not wore any clothes Jain order had divided into two The Digambara sect The Svetambar sect The Digambara sub-sects The Digambara sect, in recent centuries, has been divided into the following sub-sects: Taranapantha or Samaiyapantha. The followers of Bisapantha support the Dharma-gurus, that is, religious authorities known as Bhattarakas who are also the heads of Jaina Mathas, that is. religious monasteries. The Bisapanthas, in their temples, worship the idols of Tirthankaras and also the idols of Ksetrapala, Padmavati and other deities. They worship these idols with saffron, flowers, fruits, sweets, scented 'agara-battis', i.e., incense sticks, etc. While performing these worships. the Bisapanthis sit on the ground and do not stand. They perform Arati, i.e., waving of lights over the idol, in the temple even at night and distribute prasada, i.e., sweet things offered to the idols. The Bisapantha, according to some, is the original form of the Digambara sect and today practically all Digambara Jainas from Maharashtra, Karnataka and South India and a large number of Digambara Jainas from Rajasthan and Gujarat are the followers of Terapantha arose in North India in the year 1683 of the Vikram Era as a revolt against the domination and conduct of the Bhattarakas. i.e. religious authorities, of the Digambara Jainas. As a result in this sub-sect, the institution of Bhattarakas lost respect in North India, however in South India the Bhattarakas continue to play an importent role. In their temples, the Terapanthis install the idols of Tirthankaras and not of Ksetrapala, Padmavati and other deities. Further. they worship the idols not with flowers, fruits and other green vegetables (known as sachitta things), but with sacred rice called 'Aksata', cloves, sandal, almonds, dry coconuts, dates, etc. As a rule they do not perform Arah or distribute Prasada in their temples. Again, while worshipping they stand and do not sit. From these differences with the Bisapanthis it is clear that the Terapanthis appear to be reformers. They are opposed to various religious practices. As according to them. These are not real Jaina practices. The Terapantha had performed a valuable task of rescuing the Digambaras from the clutches of wayward Bhattarakas and hence the Terapanthis occupy a peculiar position in the Digambara Jaina community. The Terapanthis are more numerous in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. It is pertinent to note that even though the name Terapantha sub-sect appears both among the Digambara and the Svetambara sects. Still the two Terapanthis are entirely different from each other. While the Digambara Terapanthis believe in nudity and idol-worship, the Svetambara Terapanthis are quite opposed to both. The sub-sect Taranapantha is known after its founder Tarana-Svami or Tarana-tarana-Svami (1448-1515 A.D.). This sub-sect is also called Samaiyapantha because its followers worship Sarnaya, i.e., sacred books and not the idols. Tarana-Svami died at Malharagarh, in former Gwalior State in Madhya Pradesh, and this is the central place of pilgrimage of Taranapanthis. The Taranapanthis strongly refute idolatry but they have their own temples in which they keep their sacred books for worship. They do not offer articles like fruits and flowers at the time of worship. Besides the sacred books of the Digambaras, they also worship the fourteen sacred books written by their founder Tarana-Svami. Further, Taranapanthis give more importance to spiritual values and the study of sacred literature. That is why we find a complete absence of outward religious practices among them. Moreover, Tarana-Svami; was firmly against the caste-distinctions and in fact threw open the doors of his sub-sect even to Muslims and low-caste people. These three main traits of the Taranapanthis, namely, (a) the aversion to idol worship, (b) the absence of outward religious practices, and (c) the ban on caste distinctions, were evolved as a revolt against the religious beliefs and practices prevailing in the Digambara Jaina sect, and it appears that Tarana-Svami might have formulated these principles under the direct influence of Islamic doctrines and the teachings of Lonkashaha, the founder of the non-idolatrous Sthanakvasi sub-sect of the Svetambara sect. The Taranapanthis are few in number and they are mostly confined to Bundelkhand, Malwa area of Madhya Pradesh and Khandesh area of Maharashtra. The Gumanapantha is not so important and in fact very little is known about it. It is stated that this sub-sect was started by Pandit Gumani Rama or Gumani Rai, who was a son of Pandit Todaramal, a resident of Jaipur in Rajasthan. According to this Pantha, lighting of candles or lamps in the Jaina temples is strictly prohibited, because it regards this as a violation of the fundamental doctrine of Jaina religion, viz., non-violence. They only visit and view the image in the temples and do not make any offerings to them. This pantha became famous in the name of shuddha amnaya, that is pure or sacred tradition, because its followers always stressed the purity of conduct and self-discipline and strict adherence to the precepts. Gumanapantha originated in the 18th. Century A.D. and flourished mainly during that century. It was prevalent in several parts of Rajasthan, and it is found now in some areas of Rajasthan The Totapantha came into existence as a result of differences between the Bisapantha and Terapantha sub-sects. Many sincere efforts were made to strike a compromise between the Bisa (i.e. twenty) Pantha and the Tera (i.e.. thirteen) pantha and the outcome was sadhesolaha (i.e., sixteen and a half)-Pantha or 'Totapantha'. That is why the followers of Sadheso!aha Pantha or Totapantha believe to some extent in the doctrines of Bisapantha and to some extent in those of The Totapanthis are extremely few in number and are found in some pockets in Madhya Pradesh. In connection with the account of the major and minor sub-sects prevailing among the Digambara sect. it is worth while to note that in recent years in the Digambara sect a new major sub-sect known as 'Kanji-pantha', consisting of the followers of Kanji Swami is being formed and is getting popular especially among the educated sections. Saint Kanji Swami (from whom the name �Kanji-pantha' is derived), a �Svetambara-Sthanakvasi� by birth, largely succeeded in popularizing the old sacred texts of the great Digambara Jaina saint Acharya Kunda-Kunda of South India. But Kanji Swami�s efforts, while interpreting Acharya Kunda kunda's writings, to give more prominence to nischaya-naya, that is, realistic point of view, in preference to vyavahara-naya, that is, practical view point, are not approved by the Digambaras in general as they consider that both the view points are of equal importance. However, the influence of Kanjipantha is steadily increasing and Sonagarh town in Gujarat and Jaipur in Rajasthan have become the centers of varied religious activities of the The Svetambara sub-sects - Like the Digambara sect, the Svetambara sect has also been split into three main sub-sects: The original stock of the Svetambaras is known as Murtipujaka Svetambaras since they are the thorough worshippers of idols. They offer flowers, fruits, saffron, etc. to their idols and invariably adorn them with rich clothes and jeweled ornaments. Their ascetics cover their mouth with strips of cloth while speaking, otherwise they keep them in their hands. They stay in temples or in the specially reserved buildings known as upasrayas. They collect food in their bowls from the sravakas or householders' houses and eat at their place of stay. The Murtipujaka sub-sect is also known by terms like (i) Pujera (worshippers), (ii) Deravasi (temple residents). (iii) Chaityavasi (temple residents) and (iv) Mandira-margi (temple goers) The Murtipujaka Svetambaras are found scattered all over India for business purposes in large urban centers, still they are concentrated mostly in Gujarat. The Sthanakvasi arose not directly from the Svetambaras but as reformers of an older reforming sect, viz., the Lonka sect of Jainism. This Lonka sect was founded in about 1474 A.D. by Lonkashaha, a rich and well-read merchant of Ahmedabad. The main principle of this sect was not to practice idol-worship. Later on, some of the members of the Lonka sect disapproved of the ways of life of their ascetics, declaring that they lived less strictly than Mahavira would have wished. A Lonka sect layman, Viraji of Surat, received initiation as a Yati, i.e., an ascetic, and won great admiration on account of the strictness of his life. Many people of the Lonka sect joined this reformer and they took the name of Sthanakvasi, meaning those who do not have their religious activities in temples but carry on their religious duties in places known as Sthanakas which are like prayer-halls. The Sthanakvasi are also called by terms as (a) Dhundhiya (searchers) and (b)Sadhumargi (followers of Sadhus, i.e., ascetics). Except on the crucial point of idol-worship, Sthanakvasi do not differ much from other Svetambara Jainas and hence now-a-days they invariably call themselves as Svetambara Sthanakvasi. However, there are some differences between the Sthanakvasi; and the Murtipujaka Svetambaras in the observance of some religious practices. The Sthanakvasi do not believe in idol-worship at all. As such they do not have temples but only sthanakas, that is, prayer halls, where they carry on their religious fasts, festivals, practices, prayers, discourses, etc. Further, the ascetics of Sthanakvasi cover their mouths with strips of cloth for all the time and they do not use the cloth of yellow or any other color (of course, except white). Moreover, the Sthanakvasi admit the authenticity of only 31 of the scriptures of Svetambaras. Furthermore, the Sthanakvasi do not have faith in the places of pilgrimage and do not participate in the religious festivals of Murtipujaka Svetambaras. The Svetambara Sthanakvasi are also spread in different business centers in India but they are found mainly in Gujarat, Punjab, Harayana and Rajasthan. It is interesting to note that the two non-idolatrous sub-sects, viz., Taranapanthis among the Digambaras and Sthanakvasi among the Svetambaras, came very late in the history of the Jaina Church and to some extent it can safely be said that the Mohammedan influence on the religious mind of India was greatly responsible for their rise. In this connection Mrs. S. Stevenson observes: "If one effect of the Mohammedan conquest, however, was to drive many of the Jainas into closer union with their fellow idol-worshippers in the face of iconoclasts. Another effect was to drive others away from idolatry altogether. No oriental could hear a fellow Oriental�s passionate outcry against idolatry without doubts as to the righteousness of the practice entering his mind, Naturally enough it is in Ahmedabad, the city of Gujarat, that was most under Mohammedan influence, that we can first trace the stirring of these doubts. About 1474 A.D. the Lonka sect, the first of the non-idolatrous Jaina sects, arose and was followed by the Dhundhiya or Sthanakvasi sect about 1653 A.D. dates which coincide strikingly with the Lutheran and Puritan movements in Europe." (vide Heart of Jainism, p. 19). The terapanthi sub-sect is derived from the Sthanakvasi; section. The Terapanthi sub-sect was founded by Swami Bhikkanaji Maharaj. Swami Bhikkanaji was formerly a Sthanakvasi saint and had initiation from his Guru, by name Acharya Raghunatha. Swami Bhikkanaji had differences with his Guru on several aspects of religious practices of Sthanakvasi ascetics and when these took a serious turn, he founded Terapantha on the full-moon day in the month of Asadha in the year V.S. 1817, i.e., 1760 A.D. As Acharya Bh1kkanaji laid stress on the 13 religious principles, namely, (i) five Mahavratas (great vows), (ii) five samitis (regulations) and (iii) three Guptis (controls or restraints), his sub-sect was known as the Tera (meaning thirteen)-pantha sub-sect. In this connection it is interesting to note that two other interpretations have been given for the use of the term Terapantha for the sub-sect. According to one account, it is mentioned that as there were only 13 monks and 13 laymen in the pantha when it was founded, it was called as Tera (meaning thirteen) -pantha. Sometimes another interpretation of the term Terapantha is given by its followers. Tera means yours and pantha means path; in other words, it means, "Oh! Lord Mahavira! it is Thy path". The Terapanthis are non-idolatrous and are very finely organized under the complete direction of one Acharya, that is, religious head. In its history of little more than 200 years, the Terapantha had a succession of only 9 Acharyas from the founder Acharya Bhikkanaji as the First Acharya to the present Acharya Tulasi as the 9th Acharya. This practice of regulating the entire Pantha by one Acharya only has become a characteristic feature of the Terapantha and an example for emulation by other Panthas. It is noteworthy that all monks and nuns of the Terapantha scrupulously follow the orders of their Acharya, preach under his guidance and carry out all religious activities in accordance with his instructions. Further, the Terapantha regularly observes a remarkable festival known as Maryada Mahotasava. This distinctive festival is celebrated every year on the 7th day of the bright half of the month of Magha when all ascetics and lay disciples, male and female, meet together at one predetermined place and discuss the various problems of Terapanthis. The penance of Terapanthis is considered to be very severe. The dress of Terapanthi monks and nuns is akin to that of Sthanakvasi monks and nuns. But there is a difference in the length of muhapatti, i.e., a piece of white cloth kept always on the mouth. The Terapanthis believe that idolatry does not provide deliverance and attach importance to the practice of meditation. Further, it may be stressed that the Terapantha is known for its disciplined organization characterized by one Acharya (i.e., religious head), one code of conduct and one line of thought. The Terapanthis are considered reformists as they emphasize simplicity in religion. For example, the Terapanthis do not even construct monasteries for their monks, who inhabit a part of the house which the householders build for themselves. Recently their religious head, Acharya Tulasi, had started the Anuvrata Andolana, that is, the small vow movement. which attempts to utilize the spiritual doctrines of the Jainas for moral uplift of the masses in India. The rise of Terapantha is the last big schism in the Svetambara sect and this Pantha is becoming popular. The Terapanthis are still limited in number and even though they are noticed in different cities in India, they are concentrated mainly in Bikaner, Jodhpur and Mewar areas of Rajasthan. S�dhus (monks) and S�dhvis (nuns) are people who have voluntarily given up their household lives and worldly affairs and have accepted the five major vows to uplift their souls on the spiritual path. They strictly follow the rules laid down for them. Shr�vaks and shr�vikas, on the other hand, continue to lead worldly lives. They may observe in full or to a limited extent, twelve minor vows laid down

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When you learned about the Doppler Effect in high school physics class—the wave frequency shift that occurs when the source of the wave is moving, easily illustrated by a passing ambulance—you probably didn't envision it helping control your computer one day. But that's exactly what a group of researchers are doing at Microsoft Research, the software giant's Redmond, Washington-based lab. Gesture control is becoming increasingly common and is even built into some TVs. While other motion-sensing technologies such as Microsoft's own Kinect device use cameras to sense and interpret movement and gestures, SoundWave does this using only sound—thanks to the Doppler Effect, some clever software, and the built-in speakers and microphone on a laptop. Desney Tan, a Microsoft Research principal researcher and member of the SoundWave team, says the technology can already be used to sense a number of simple gestures, and with smart phones and laptops starting to include multiple speakers and microphones, the technology could become even more sensitive. SoundWave—a collaboration between Microsoft Research and the University of Washington—will be presented this week in a paper at the 2012 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing in Austin, Texas. The idea for SoundWave emerged last summer, when Desney and others were working on a project involving using ultrasonic transducers to create haptic effects, and one researcher noticed a sound wave changing in a surprising way as he moved his body around. The transducers were emitting an ultrasonic sound wave that was bouncing off researchers' bodies, and their movements changed the tone of the sound that was picked up, and the sound wave they viewed on the back end. The researchers quickly determined that this could be useful for gesture sensing. And since many devices already have microphones and speakers embedded, they experimented to see if they could use those existing sensors to detect movements. Tan says standard computer speakers and microphones can operate in the ultrasonic band—beyond what humans can hear—which means all SoundWave has to do to make its technology work on your laptop or smart phone is load it up with SoundWave software. Chris Harrison, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University who studies sensing for user interfaces, calls SoundWave's ability to operate with existing hardware and a software update "a huge win." "I think it has some interesting potential," he says. The speakers on a computer equipped with SoundWave software emit a constant ultrasonic tone of between 20 and 22 kilohertz. If nothing in the immediate environment is moving, the tone the computer's microphone hears should also be constant. But if something is moving toward the computer, that tone will shift to a higher frequency. If it's moving away, the tone will shift to a lower frequency. This happens in predictable patterns, Tan says, so the frequencies can be analyzed to determine how big the moving object is, how fast it's moving, and the direction it's going. Based on all that, SoundWave can infer gestures. The software's accuracy hovers in the 90 percent range, Tan says, and there isn't a noticeable delay between when a user makes a gesture and the computer's response. And SoundWave can operate while you're using the speakers for other things, too. So far, the SoundWave team has come up with a range of movements that its software can understand, including swiping your hand up or down, moving it toward or away from your body, flexing your limbs, or moving your entire body closer to or farther away from the computer. With these gestures, researchers are able to scroll through pages on a computer screen and control simple Web navigation. Sensing when a user approaches a computer or walks away from it could be used to automatically wake it up or put it to sleep, Tan says. Harrison thinks that having a limited number of gestures is fine, especially since users will have to memorize them. The SoundWave team has also used its technology to control a game of Tetris, which, aside from being fun, provided a good test of the system's accuracy and speed. Tan envisions SoundWave working alongside other gesture-sensing technologies, saying that while it doesn't face the lighting issues that vision-based technologies do, it's not as good at sensing small gestures like a pinch of the fingers. "Ideally there are lots of sensors around the world, and the user doesn't know or care what the sensors are, they're just interacting with their tasks," he says. - Researchers Create "Hate Map" of the U.S. With Twitter Data - Other Interesting arXiv Papers This Week Ending 12-5-13 - New Milestone for CO2 Levels: Mauna Loa Observatory Records 400 PPM - Bacteria-killing Viruses Could Make Medical Implants Safer This article originally published at MIT Technology Review here

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These straightforward guidelines show how to design and analyze a simple structure for bandstop filters using multi-layer micromachined microstrip asymmetrical couplers. Dr. Nadia Benabdallah, Nasreddine Ben Ahmed, Fethi Tarik Bendimerad, and Dr. Boumediene Benyoucef Millimeter-wave frequency bands have long held the appeal of enormous bandwidths for high-data- rate, line-of-sight communications. The main limitation on the increased use of millimeter- wave components and systems has been the cost of manufacturing hardware with such small dimensions (as a function of wavelength) and with the corresponding tight tolerances. But silicon (Si) micromachining has been applied to microwave and millimeter-wave circuits in many ways since its introduction in the late 1980s and offers great potential for realizing cost-effective millimeterwave products. Micromachining, or sculpting crystal Si, can be made using either orientation-dependent (anisotropic) or orientation-independent (isotropic) etchants. Silicon micromachined, dielectric membrane supported structures, such as antennas, transmission lines, and filters, have shown improved performance and have extended the operating range of planar circuits to W-band frequencies and beyond.1-3 In addition, silicon micromachined-based packaging provides a high-isolation self-package without the need for external carriers or external hermetic shielding. This method of circuit integration provides a comprehensive technique to integrate a very large degree of functionality with extremely high density and at a relatively low cost. The vertically layered structure of a micromachined circuit presents an excellent opportunity for threedimensional integration, resulting in the potential for substantial reductions in size. Micromachined circuits are an ideal way to integrate microelectromechanical- systems (MEMS) devices and provide components with performance and size advantages from 1 GHz to terahertz frequencies. They demonstrate their greatest promise at K-band and above. Micromachining is truly an excellent integration technology with the opportunity for an order of magnitude or more reduction in the size, weight, and cost of planar circuits, which can have a major impact on radar and communications system designs in military, commercial and space applications. Micromachining techniques can be applied to any semiconductor substrate, but the use of Si substrate layers as the foundation of the micromachined structure has major advantages of low cost and allowing direct integration of silicon-germanium (SiGe) and CMOS circuits. Highresistivity Si also has mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties that compare well with the best ceramic substrates, and as a result has been successfully demonstrated as the substrate of choice in three-dimensional integrated circuit.4 Cost comparisons have been made for simple circuit applications and show one- and twoorders of magnitude cost reductions over the same circuit packaged in ceramic. Circuit integration based on micromachined fabrication technology promises to be the key to achieving the very demanding cost, size, weight, and simplicity goals required for the next advances in communications and radar systems commercial, space, and military applications. The aim of this article is the analysis and the design of a simple structure for bandstop filters using multilayer micromachined microstrip asymmetrical couplers. The analysis is done using the method of moments (MoM) in two dimensions.5 This technique is adapted to study the complex configuration of the line's system, which does not have a simple analytical solution. The modeling of this structure consists in analyzing the primary inductive and capacitive matrices ( and ). When and are found, it is possible to estimate the resulting scattering parameters of the bandstop filter using an adapted numerical model.6 The results of a multilayer micromachined bandstop filter using asymmetrical strips show excellent performance in terms of rejection, size, and simplicity. Bandstop filters are useful for a wide range of applications in eliminating unwanted signals and interference. When the low cost, size, weight, and simplicity are required, the design at high frequencies of such filters can be greatly simplified with a simple structure fabricated on multilayer micromachined microstrip substrates. The new filter architecture is well suited for rejecting unwanted carrier frequencies of a communications system. A bandstop filter using multilayer microstrip was presented in ref. 7. Its design involves a double-layer microstrip resonator coupled to a microstrip line. The filter was designed to operate around a center frequency (f0) of 1.8425 GHz and reject unwanted carrier frequencies in the intermediate- frequency (IF) processing unit of a DCS cellular communications receiver. What follows are the analysis and the design of a shielded bandstop filter using multilayer micromachined microstrip asymmetrical coupler. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the shielded membrane microstrip (SMM) line with a parallel open stub, which brings about a stopband effect around frequency f0. In microwave and millimeter-wave circuits, where space is limited, it might be preferred to use the most compact SMM configuration possible. A possibility proposed by the author of ref. 7 consists of rotating the open SMM structure and placing it on top of the access lines, with an additional layer of substrate between them. Figure 2 gives the equivalent circuit of the bandstop filter, where its output is matched with a characteristic impedance, Zco= 50 O. Figure 2 shows that for a selected length, l, the bandstop filter consists of two coupled transverse-electromagnetic (TEM) or quasi-TEM transmission lines. The left end of the top line is connected to that of the bottom line, and its right end is kept open. Figure 3 shows the cross section of the filter as having an inhomogeneous multilayer micromachined structure with a dielectric material (Si) of a relative dielectric constant of er3 = 11.7 and with asymmetrical microstrip construction (wi, i = 1, 2) wide and placed on membranes (SiO2/Si3N4/SiO2) of thickness (hmi, i = 1, 2) having a relative dielectric constant of er2 = 4.5. This type of multilayer micromachined bandstop filter is used here to create a low effective dielectric permittivity environment (eeff 1) in which modes will propagate at the same velocity for the asymmetrical coupler. Electrically, the shielded bandstop filter using multilayer micromachined microstrip asymmetrical coupler can be described in terms of its primary parameters, the inductance and capacitance matrices, and : The inductance matrix contains the self-inductances of the two strips, on the diagonal, and the mutual inductances between strips in the offdiagonal terms. The capacitance matrix, , accounts for the capacitance effects between the two conductive strips, and characterizes the energy storage in the filter. Continue on page 2 The numerical calculations of the EM parameters of the proposed bandstop filter structure were carried out with LINPAR for Windows (Matrix Parameters for Multiconductor Transmission Lines), a twodimensional (2D) Method of Moments (MoM) software for numerical evaluation of the quasi static matrices for multiconductor transmission lines embedded in piecewise-homogeneous dielectrics5. The technique used in the program is based on an electrostatic analysis. In the analysis, the dielectrics were replaced by bound charges in a vacuum, and the conducting bodies were replaced by free charges. A set of integral equations was derived for the charge distribution from the boundary conditions for the electrostatic potential and the normal component of the electric field. The MoM analysis was applied to these equations, with a piecewise-constant (pulse) approximation derived for the total charge density and the Galerkin technique. For a length of one quarter-wavelength, i.e., l = ?/4, when and are known, it is possible to estimate the resulting scattering parameters (S11 and S12) of the analyzed filter using an adapted numerical model.6 To show the influence of the width of the top line on the properties of the bandstop filter of Fig. 3, the authors analyzed a shielded bandstop filter using a multilayer micromachined microstrip asymmetrical coupler. The filter is characterized by the following features: a bottom strip width (w1) of 50 m; strip thickness (ti, i = 1,2) of 1 m; bottom material thickness (hu1) of 50 m; top material thickness (hu2) of 50 m; membranes with (hmi, i = 1,2) of 1.5 m, and (εr2) of 4.5; ground-plane separation (hb) of 80 m; (lbs) of 600 m; (lbi) of 750 m and (a) of 900 m; relative dielectric constant (εr3) of 11.7; filter length (l) of 1800 m; and rejection frequency (f0) of 40 GHz. Figure 4 shows the segmentation of the charged surfaces used to analyze the cross section of the shielded bandstop filter using a multilayer SMM asymmetrical coupler. The features mentioned above were kept constant and the width (w2) of the top SMM line was varied as needed from (w1) to (lbs) in order to change the electromagnetic parameters (EM) and consequently the minimum of S12 of the bandstop filter. All of the electromagnetic parameters obtained for the shielded bandstop filter are presented in the table. The table clearly shows the influence of the ratio (w2/w1) on the bandstop filter's EM parameters (, ) and, consequently on the minimum module (S12) of its rejection frequency, f0. Finally, for w2/w1 = 5, the authors analyzed the filter response for the same physical and geometrical parameters mentioned above using MATPAR software.6Figure 5 provides plots of the scattering coefficient (S12) as a function of frequency for the proposed bandstop filter structure using multilayer SMM asymmetrical coupler. Figure 5 shows that a minimum value of (S12) = -90 dB is obtained at f0 = 40.25 GHz, where the -3-dB rejection bandwidth frequency is calculated as 30 GHz. In conclusion, a simple structure for bandstop filters using a multilayer shielded micromachined microstrip asymmetrical coupler has been proposed, analyzed, and designed. The designed filter is only 900??183? 1800 m in size and can be easily designed and fabricated. The rejection bandwidth of the designed filter is between 30 and 50 GHz, with the minimum value of (S12) of -90 dB obtained at a rejection frequency (f0) of 40.25 GHz. To achieve these results, it was necessary to determine the electromagnetic parameters of the bandstop filter using the multilayer micromachined SMM asymmetrical coupler. In the frequency range of 10 to 70 GHz, the resolution of the problem is based on the quasi-static assumption and was studied by MoM analysis. Micromachined microstrip bandstop filters can be designed at any operating frequency from 1 to 120 GHz, using the EM parameters values presented in this article. 1. T. M. Weller, L.P. Katehi and G.M. Rebeiz, "High-performance microshield line components," IEEE Transaction on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 43, No. 3, March 1995, pp. 534-543. 2. R. F Drayton, T.M. Weller and L.P. Katehi, "Development of miniaturized circuits for high-frequency applications using micromachining techniques," International Journal of Microcircuits and Electronic Packaging, Vol. 18, No. 3, Third Quarter 1995, pp. 217-223. 3. L. P. Katehi, "Si Micromachining in high-frequency applications," CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1995. 4. R. M. Henderson and L.P. Katehi, "Silicon-based micromachined packages for high-frequency applications," IEEE Transaction on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 47, No. 8, August 1999, pp. 1600-1607. 5. A. R. Djordjevic, M.B. Bazdar and T.K. Sarkan, LINPAR for windows: Matrix parameters of multiconductor transmission lines, Software and user's manual, Artech House, 1999. 6. A. R. Djordjevic, M. Bazdar, G. Vitosevic, T. Sarkar, and R. F. Harrington, Scattering parameters of microwave networks with multiconductor transmission lines, Artech House, Norwood, MA, 1990. 7. D. Jaisson, "A Multilayer Microstrip bandstop Filter for DCS," Applied Microwave & Wireless, 1998, pp. 64-70.

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February 10, 2005Despite its arm-in-arm morning "duets," this monkey species is so little known that it has no namebut not for long. From February 24 to March 3, the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society will offer the right to name the species to the highest bidder in an online auction. The nonprofit society discovered the one-foot-tall (30-centimeter-tall), two-pound (one-kilogram) species last year in Bolivia's Madidi National Park. All proceeds from the auction will go toward the enforcement, protection, and management of the park. Home to more plant and animal species than any other South American preserve, Madidi is threatened by "illegal settlements and unsustainable resource extraction," according to the society.

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Whereas people use their eyes and ears to get information, cells rely on proteins that span their outer membranes to scan for chemical signals from the outside world. Now a biotech start-up plans to launch an international consortium to determine the three-dimensional crystal structures of 100 such membrane proteins, many of which represent promising drug targets. Several "structural genomics" efforts have been launched recently to automate the atomic mapping of proteins, but this is the first to concentrate on membrane proteins. The subjects are a class of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors, which are sensitive to stimuli as varied as hormones and photon-altered pigments. Once these proteins detect a specific signal outside the cell, they let loose a cascade of biochemical messengers that alters the cell's chemistry or gene expression. Scientists would love to know more details, but the receptors are notoriously difficult to work with. Removing them from the cell membrane destroys their normal 3D shape and any hope of understanding what they look like in atomic detail. The consortium, led by start-up Bio-Xtal in Roubaix, France, plans to orchestrate a concerted effort to find new ways to express, crystallize, and image the proteins. If all goes as planned, starting in April the company will collaborate with four academic labs in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Bio-Xtal has applied to the European Union for half the estimated 10 million Euro ($9.3 million) cost of the 3-year project, and it expects to raise the rest from pharmaceutical sponsors. Seventeen companies, including Roche, Merck, and Astra Zeneca, have already offered support, says Etienne L'Hermite, Bio-Xtal's manager. The effort to extend structural genomics to membrane proteins "an excellent idea," says Aled Edwards, a structural biologist at the University of Toronto. But because membrane proteins are difficult to express and crystallize--two necessary steps in determining their structure--the project is certain to face slow going, he says. "Calling something 'genomics' implies automation and high throughput," says Edwards. In this case, "it is a bit of a stretch." Bio-Xtal's Web site

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Objective: To determine the prevalence of infant exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) among infants attending child health clinics in regional NSW; the association between such exposure and household smoking behaviours; and the factors associated with smoking restrictions in households with infants. Methods: Parents completed a computer-based questionnaire and infant urine samples were collected. Information was obtained regarding the smoking behaviours of household members and samples were analysed for cotinine. Results: Twenty seven per cent of infants had detectable levels of cotinine. Infant ETS exposure was significantly associated with the smoking status of household members, absence of complete smoking bans in smoking households and having more than one smoker in the home. Smoking households were significantly less likely to have a complete smoking ban in place. Conclusions: This study suggests that a significant proportion of the population group most vulnerable to ETS were exposed. Implications: Future efforts to reduce children's exposure to ETS need to target cessation by smoking parents, and smoking bans in households of infants where parents are smokers if desired reductions in childhood ETS-related illness are to be realised. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health Vol. 34, Issue 3, p. 269-273

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What is Turfgrass Disease? What Causes It? Lawn diseases are generally caused by pathogenic fungi that occur naturally in the thatch and soil. There are a wide variety of fungi living in the soil and thatch of a lawn, but only a small number cause disease symptoms in turfgrass. The vast majority of fungi are beneficial, and contribute to the biodegradation of dead plant material as well as the breakdown on complex organic compounds into useable nutrients that the plants can absorb. What Does Lawn Disease Look Like? Symptoms of disease in a lawn can appear in a number of ways, depending on the fungi that is causing the disease. You might see brown circular spots, dead rings, irregular patches, red or white mycelium growing on the grass blades or the roots may appear black & rotten. If you suspect that your lawn has a disease, contact your local Nutri-Lawn immediately and we'll schedule a free service call. What Can Be Done to Correct a Disease Problem? The majority of the disease problems experienced on home lawns can be managed by ensuring the following practices are adhered to. Make sure the lawn is being properly Irrigated Overwatering creates an environment that is perfect for fungal diseases to spread. Make sure the surface of the lawn is allowed to dry out between waterings, as this will kill or inhibit the disease. Water in the early morning Watering in the afternoon results in a significant amount of the watering being lost to evaporation, and this leads to shallow watering and shallow root development and ultimately poor drought tolerance. Watering in the evening results in the lawn staying wet for the entire night before the sun can dry off the lawn the following day. This wet environment is conducive to disease development. Sharpen Your Mower Blade A dull mower blade shreds the leaf blades rather than cuts them. The shredded blade does not heal well and is easily infected by disease organisms. The shredded blades also brown off and make your lawn look brown and unhealthy. Mow at the Proper Height and Frequency Avoid cutting to low as this will stress out the lawn and make it more susceptible to disease. Also, mow frequently enough so that only one third of the leaf blade is removed at each mowing. If you wait too long between mowings, and then cut low, the lawn will go into a state of shock and this added stress makes the lawn more disease susceptible. Aerate the Soil Annually Aeration reduces soil compaction and allows water and nutrients to move deeper into the soil and encourages deeper roots. This results in a healthier lawn better able to resist disease. The soil cores that are removed from the lawn breakdown and filter into the thatch layer and modify the thatch and introduce beneficial microbes that compete with disease causing organisms. Ensure a Balanced Diet of Fertilizer Too much fertilizer can create succulent leaves that are more susceptible to disease. Too little fertilizer can create a weak unhealthy lawn. Our programs modify the type and quantity of fertilizers applied throughout the season to ensure a balanced diet. Overseed or slitseed with new, disease resistant cultivars of turfgrass. If your lawn suffers from a reoccurring disease problem then we strongly recommend that you overseed or slitseed with some new lawn seed that is resistant to the problem disease.

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LATN1010/1020 - Beginning Latin: Grammar, Fall 2007 Based on F. Wheelock, An Introduction to Latin, Based on Ancient Authors (3rd Edition) Professor Mark Damen, Ph.D. Languages, Philospphy, & Speech Communication, Course Structure: Hour long classes - four times a week Latin is an ancient Indo-European language that was spoken in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The conquests of Rome spread the language throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe. It existed in two forms: Classical Latin, used in poetry and formal prose, and Vulgar Latin, spoken by the people. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the rise of the Roman Catholic Church Latin became the ecclesiastical language of the Roman Catholic Church and the lingua franca of educated classes in the West. - Wikipedia

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Did You Know... The Facts About HPV? The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania Last Modified: January 13, 2008 - HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the world. - By age 50, about 80% of women have been infected by some type of HPV. - Most HPV infections do not cause any symptoms, therefore people are unaware that they are infected. - 70-80% of HPV infections resolve spontaneously because our immune system fights them off. - HPV is found in 99% of cervical cancers. - There are 100 strains of HPV, 12 or more are classified as “high risk” and are linked to cancer. - Most women with HPV do NOT develop cervical cancer. - About 20% of women infected with HPV will develop chronic infection, and 2% of these will develop cervical cancer. - Two strains of HPV are responsible for causing genital warts. - Sexual intercourse is not necessary for transmission of HPV; skin to skin genital/genital, genital/anal and possibly genital/oral contact is sufficient for transmission. - Use of condoms can reduce the risk of transmission, but it cannot prevent all transmission because some genital tissue remains uncovered. - HPV is the cause of many high and moderate grade abnormal pap smears (CIN 2/3) and some low grade lesions (CIN 1). - HPV is estimated to cause: - 70% of anal cancers - 50% of vaginal and vulvar cancers - 50% of penile cancers - 20% of head and neck cancers - Researchers are looking at vaccinating men as well as women.

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(2003). Sustainability indicators. In: Neumayer, Eric ed. Online Encyclopaedia of Ecological Economics (OEEE). International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE). Full text available as: Imagine a situation where, after debating for years on what makes you happy, you finally decide that it is about time you start put these ideas into practice and effectively make yourself happy(ier). If you are really determined, you will be keen to stop convincing yourself that you are happy if you are not: you will want to check whether you are really making progress towards achieving your goals. You will have identified different components of your happiness and will assess some of them, progressing cautiously, step by step. You will also be aware of the links between these components, links that determine your overall state of happiness. In the situation described above, now replace the term 'happiness' by that of 'sustainability' - like concepts such as justice, truth, or happiness indeed, it is a desirable objective, albeit difficult to capture in a concise, shared, definition. Actions (login may be required)

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I understand that a small aperture (large aperture number eg. F/22) means large depth of field. It is simple to undersand that small aperture size means, less light is allowed into the camera sensor. If less light is allowed how is the large depth of field is acheived?. I always believed that "Large" means you need more light, but in this case, if aperture is small, large depth of field is achieved. Could someone please help me understand this from form technical perspective. I have seen many threads related to somewhat same question, but I don't think I have got much help, so I am posting this question (I own a D90)

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It’s Christmastime again, and Mexico, like the rest of the world, is celebrating. Here in our home of Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Caribbean coast we have found that celebration is a unique mixture of holiday customs drawn from America, Europe and Mexico. Mexico’s historical Christmas traditions have usually been centered around the religious nature of the holiday and have focused more on church, family and friends and less on the commercial rush to buy things so often seen in the United States. That’s something we enjoy. While the stores are more and more filled with holiday gifts and toys, there still does not seem to be the near hysterical feeling that one must find the perfect gift or buy the latest electronic gadget in order to make the holiday special. Instead there is an emphasis in Mexico of taking time to enjoy people during the holidays. Schools, city offices and many businesses shut down from the middle of December until after the new year to allow people to spend more time at home. Christmastime is made a little easier for folks by the fact that business are required by law to give a Christmas bonus called an “alguinaldo” to employees. Many employers also give a little more or give gifts to their employees, as well. A common present given to employees is a dispensa. This is a package or box of practical items for the home. It could include foods like rice or beans, cleaning products or other things used in the household. Stores like Costco and Sam’s Club will sell pre-packaged dispensas, much like fruit baskets or boxes of candy can be found on the store shelves in the US and Canada. With the holiday vacations from work and school, people have more time for socializing. Many families host “posada” meals to gather together their friends and loved ones. Posada means “inn” and refers to the inn that had no room for Mary and Joseph. Guests ask to be admitted to the dinner but are told there is no room until they produce a statue of the baby Jesus. A traditional dish for a posada meal is Chiles en Nogada, a poblano chili stuffed with rice, nuts fruits and meat, covered in a creamy walnut sauce and topped with pomegranate seeds. It is one of our favorite dishes in Mexico. Of course children are a big part of any celebration in Mexico, especially at Christmas when the little ones expect wondrous gifts to appear. Traditionally it was not Santa Claus who brought gifts to good girls and boys, but the three kings, the same kings who brought gold, frankincense and myrrh to the Christ child. However, in modern times Santa Claus has become a popularly-accepted figure, and children in Mexico now often receive gifts from both Santa on Christmas Day and from the Kings on Three Kings Day (January 6th). It’s also common for children in Mexico to go caroling. They take a branch from a tree and decorate it with tinsel, ribbons and a picture of Mary, the Virgin of Guadalupe. They then go through the streets singing. On 5th Avenue in Playa del Carmen the little ones, usually accompanied by an older sister or brother (who often stand nearby talking with friends on their cellphones) go door to door or even table to table in a restaurant singing an enthusiastic but often humorously tuneless version of a Spanish Christmas carol like Peces in El Rio (Fishes in the River). They hope for a reward of a few pesos before going on to the next table. During the weeks leading up to Christmas the town of Playa begins to decorate. At the Palacio Municipal (City Hall) a giant Christmas tree can be found right next to an large inflatable Santa Claus and a life-sized nativity scene. In fact you can find decorated trees all over town. When we first moved to Mexico, we brought our own artificial tree with us as we had been told the Christmas tree was not a custom which was celebrated in this part of Mexico. That was true back then. However over the last five or six years the custom of having a decorated tree has caught on among locals. Fir trees are hauled in by the truckload and can be seen lined up for purchase at Walmart and Mega stores. Living here in Playa del Carmen we have been able to continue our own beloved Christmas traditions while enjoying the slower, less commercial feel of Mexico’s version of the holiday. However we must admit, our first Christmas in Mexico wasn’t exactly idyllic. Our first Mexican Christmas occurred only a few days after we had our grand opening as the Luna Blue Hotel. We had been working frantically for months trying to get the property ready. We finished only a few days before Christmas, and when December 24th came every room was occupied. We worked late into the evening that night to get everyone checked in and taken care of. Then we walked home to the little house we had moved into the week before (up until then we had been living in the hotel while we renovated it). We had not even unpacked yet and were sleeping on a mattress on the floor among piles of boxes. We had not put up a Christmas tree or bought a single present. We had just been too busy and there had been no time with all the demands of getting ready for the hotel to be opened. We had been too busy to even go food shopping. There was no turkey or ham or a single candy cane to be found in our little house. When we realized we hadn’t eaten all day we headed out to find a restaurant, but by then it was 11 o’clock on Christmas Eve and everything was closed. We finally gave up walking the deserted streets and went home to have peanut butter on white bread for our Christmas Eve dinner. Then we got a few hours sleep. The next day we arose early to go the the hotel to clean the rooms and take care of the guests. Finally in the late afternoon of Christmas Day we finished our work and went down to the beach to swim in the warm Caribbean Sea. After a dip we laid down in the white sand side by side…and fell asleep. That nap beside the ocean was our Christmas present to each other. Since then our Christmas celebrations have become a little less exhausting. With our wonderful staff and with the hotel now being well established we now happily have more time to enjoy the season. We put up our tree early (Before Thanksgiving this year!) and decorate it with ornaments we have picked up on our travels around the world. A lot of the decorations are tropical themed…things like a snorkeling Santa, tropical fish, and Santa flying over palm trees. This year we also topped our tree with a large colorful mermaid. We decorate the house and will have friends over for dinner or drinks through the holiday time. Christmas Eve we will call family back in the US and then settle down with some treats and a few favorite videos (A Charlie Brown Christmas, Love Actually, The Night of the Meek and a few others). Then we will get some sleep because…of course…we will have to be at that hotel front desk early Christmas morning. Yes…that is still part of our tradition. And afterwards we will go down to the Caribbean Sea. That too is part of our Christmas celebration now. What we have learned living in Mexico is that how the holidays are celebrated is not as important as making sure they are filled them with love and happiness. So however you celebrate the holidays…be it Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa or Buddha’s Enlightenment Day…we wish you peace and joy. ‘LIKE’ the Luna Blue Hotel & Bar

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Walter Scott Lenox realized his dream early on, despite personal tragedy and professional setbacks. His perseverance proved that American ceramics could be as resilient and durable as their British counterparts. Upon his death in 1920, Mr. Lenox had created a china legacy that, even today, is renowned the world over for its fine craftsmanship and superior quality. In 1889 the Ceramic Art Company, which was creating dinnerware pieces that reflected the Romanesque, Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic styles (and eventually moved on to Art Nouveau) was founded by Walter Scott Lenox and Jonathan Coxon, Sr. Mr. Lenox, who was very artistically inclined, had studied master potters since his youth and worked as an apprentice at both Ott and Brewer and Willetts Pottery in Trenton, New Jersey. He, more than Coxon, was the creative driving force behind the Ceramic Art Company. Around the time of the Ceramic Art Company's inception, Belleek of Ireland permanently closed its doors. Migrant ceramic artisans flowed into America, giving new life to the struggling pottery industry and providing an opportunity for Ceramic Art Company to acquire two of Belleek's artisans. The company, along with its newest employees, had one common goal: to create beautiful, ivory-tinted dinnerware marked by an uncompromisingly rich and resilient glaze. Unfortunately, that dream would be more difficult to reach than they had ever imagined. In 1894, an ambitious Walter Scott Lenox acquired all ownership of the Ceramic Art Company from his partner, Jonathan Coxon. Then, tremendously in debt and desperately needing recognition for his company in order to stay afloat, Mr. Lenox was diagnosed with Locomotor Ataxia: a disease that eventually cost him his sight and the use of his arms and legs. Undeterred, Mr. Lenox utilized an assistant to act as his eyes and hands while perfecting the rich, creamy slip that would become the company's trademark. Walter Scott Lenox founded Lenox, Inc. in 1906. Despite his acute disability, he had become the sole proprietor of a ceramics company and achieved his goal of creating beautiful ivory-tinted porcelain. Furthermore, he had propelled the United States into the forefront of the ceramics industry by proving that American china could be as strong and beautiful as its foreign counterparts. Nevertheless, he still was not satisfied. Mr. Lenox's crowning jewel arrived in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson asked Lenox, Inc. to produce the White House's china service. Most of the previous White House residents had chosen French-made Limoges patterns and this was the first time such a prestigious opportunity had been awarded to an American ceramics company, a distinction that was not lost on Walter Scott Lenox. His company worked diligently to create a gold encrusted design that not only captured the strength and elegance of the United States of America, but also reflected the pride for which its creator had become known. Walter Scott Lenox worked consistently throughout his life. He was never absent a day from his factory, even when his disability required that he be carried in by his assistants. His vision and efforts created the foundation for a company that has since grown to embrace the entire tableware world: not only collectibles and giftware as well. Lenox has become one of the most prominent names in the international dinnerware industry and is now the parent company of several companies including Lenox Collections, Lenox Classics, Gorham 1831 Silversmiths, Kirk Stieff Silversmiths, Bridal Line and Dansk. In Lenox, Inc., Walter Scott Lenox has left behind an American dinnerware legacy that is honored every day on tables across the globe. Surely, that is how he would have preferred to be remembered. Other companies owned by Lenox include Kirk Stieff, Gorham, Art Carved, Inc., Imperial Glass and Dansk.

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Stability of martian water "Liquid water can be stable against freezing and stable against boiling, but unstable with respect to evaporation. The situation is analogous to Earth's oceans. Liquid water on the surface does not freeze because temperatures are higher than the melting point, and it does not boil because the vapor pressure corresponding to the temperature of the water is less than the surface pressure. Yet the water does evaporate because the atmosphere is not saturated. A similar situation can occur on Mars, though the odds are much more likely for boiling." "But whether it boils or evaporates, either way the water will cool because of the heat loss and thus it will eventually freeze."

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But what if an attacker doesn't care about getting access to a specific system? After all, trying 10,000 passwords against a server would most likely cause a target account to be locked out. Instead, a malicious hacker could attempt password attacks on a large scale, using the same username and password combination on 10,000 systems. That would result in only one failed log-in attempt per server, but a much better chance of successfully compromising at least one. Lately, attackers have been using the "low and slow" tactic, employing botnets against large numbers of servers. The technique gives them the ability to launch large-scale attacks from multiple sources. Defending against these SSH brute-force attacks means going back to the basics of solid security practices. To start, utilize passwords and passphrases that will not be easily guessed. Doing standard "Leetspeak" -- an Internet language that substitutes letters with ASCII characters -- will not work. Attackers now use custom dictionaries that incorporate the common Leet substitutions used by sysadmins, like "@" for "a" and "3" for "e." Also, make the root password inaccessible via a direct SSH connection by setting 'DenyUsers root' and 'PermitRootLogin no' in your sshd_config file. The majority of password attacks I've seen lately have been against the root account on systems. This was first published in January 2009

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Are you going duck hunting this weekend? The Sept. 27 opening date, a week earlier than the traditional first Saturday in October, is intended to give hunters more opportunities to kill ducks. Early migrants, such as blue-winged teal and wood ducks, are more likely to be available to hunters, because they head south when cold winds begin to blow. To make it easier to kill birds, the DNR relaxed bag limit restrictions, increasing the mallard hen bag from one to two and the wood duck limit from two to three. The total daily bag limit is six ducks, the most allowed under the federal waterfowl harvest guidelines. DNR Wildlife officials say making it easier to kill ducks isn't a biological issue, because the state now has about half as many duck hunters as it did 30 years ago. However, back then Minnesota had more places to hunt ducks and many more ducks. As an example, 30 years ago, the DNR conducted an annual count of opening day hunters at my favorite Cook County swamp. While the hunting at this northwoods pothole didn't compare with the action at a western prairie slough, it was good enough to draw hunters year after year. These days, perhaps two or three hunting parties start the season on the swamp and consider themselves lucky to come home with a bird or two. And the hunting isn’t much better at many once-popular marshes across the state. It should be noted that many years ago, before this writer was old enough to go duck hunting, Minnesota had what was known as an early teal season, which opened in September and was intended to give hunters an opportunity to shoot only blue-winged teal. Alas, they shot other ducks, too, leading to the discontinuation of the early hunt. The rules today's wildlife officials are relaxing to give hunters a better crack at the ducks were pioneered by an earlier generation of waterfowl biologists. Back then, Minnesota supported a large breeding duck population and wildlife managers tried to protect those precious local birds. For years, shooting hours on the opener were from noon to 4 p.m. For the remainder of the season, once ducks knew hunting season was open, shooting hours began one half hour before sunrise, when ducks are most active. Closing time remained 4 p.m. to protect hen mallards, which are especially vulnerable to late afternoon shooting. The 4 p.m. closure remains in place for the first nine days of the season. For decades, learning to identify ducks in flight to avoid shooting hens has been a conservation cornerstone of duck hunting. The former one hen mallard limit was intended to allow hunters a "mistake" bird. While it is just one duck, the 2011 shift to two hen mallards in the bag is a symbolic step away from “don’t shoot hens” conservation ethic. Some say the same about the decision to raise the wood duck bag limit from two to three, because not enough is known about how the hunting harvest affects the overall wood duck population. Yesterday's waterfowl managers would also be uncomfortable with opening the hunting season in September. Neither young-of-the-year nor post-molt adults are fully feathered then, which means they are slow-flying and difficult to identify. For those reasons and because they believed protecting local ducks was important, the old-timers thought it was best to hold off on hunting until October. That said, Canadian hunting seasons open as early as Sept. 1, though there is much less hunting pressure there. Does relaxing duck hunting regulations mean the Minnesota DNR has suddenly given up on ducks? No. In fact, many familiar with the agency would say Wildlife Division is strongly biased toward ducks and may even devote too much of its energy to waterfowl management. A cynic might say the continuing decline in duck abundance and interest in duck hunting threatens the continued existence of the DNR’s waterfowl management bureaucracy. In that context, relaxing the rules to make it easier to kill ducks could be partly construed a matter of bureaucratic self-preservation. Far more likely, the DNR's decisions are motivated by a sincere desire to provide better hunting and a sincere belief that doing so won't hurt duck populations. After all, DNR commissioner Tom Landwehr is an avid duck hunter and once served as the agency’s wetlands program coordinator and worked for Ducks Unlimited as well. Still, it is troubling to see the agency move away from long-standing hunting rules. Present duck populations are healthy, but the habitat upon which they depend is increasingly threatened by development. Political support for wildlife and hunting is on the wane. Barely a century old, the conservation of wildlife is still a new and radical concept in America. As such, it retains a surprisingly fragile hold on our collective consciousness and politics. While the relaxing of a few duck hunting rules in no way means we’ve reached the conservation’s end times, it is another step down a path of putting the convenience of the hunter ahead of the conservation of the hunted. If we aren’t careful, wildlife conservation may lose its way. Airdate: September 23, 2011 Photo courtesy of cobalt123 via Flickr.

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Pain Relievers Could be Spiking Your Blood Pressure Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Doctors and patients need to be aware of risks, TAU researcher cautions Diseases such as kidney failure and endocrine tumors are among the suspects causing high blood pressure — but could the common pain relievers in your medicine cabinet be the culprit? According to Prof. Ehud Grossman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center, many common over-the-counter and prescription medications are underlying causes of hypertension, which is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attack, and aneurisms. The chemical components of the drugs can raise blood pressure or interfere with anti-hypertensive medications, he explains. And while many medications can cause this drug-induced hypertension, both patients and doctors remain dangerously uninformed. His recent research was published in the American Journal of Medicine. Weighing the treatment options "In diagnosing the causes of hypertension, over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen are often overlooked," says Prof. Grossman. Patients often assume that because a medication can be obtained without a prescription, it's relatively harmless. But that's not always the case. Many of the medications that are linked with a rise in blood pressure are quite widely used, says Prof. Grossman, whose research provides an overview of which medications are related to high blood pressure. Examples include contraceptive pills, various anti-depressants, anti-inflammatory pills to control pain. and bacterial antibiotics. Though high blood pressure is a known side effect of many of these medications, doctors do not always account for them in their treatment plans, and they don't inform patients of the potential risks associated with these medications. It's ultimately the doctor's responsibility to weigh treatment options and present the best course for their patient should issues of hypertension arise, Prof. Grossman says. Doctors may be advised to decrease the dosage of the drug, or add an anti-hypertensive drug to the treatment regime, he says. In any case, awareness on the part of both doctors and patients needs to be raised. "Many physicians don't account for this, and some don't even know about it. It's their responsibility to be informed and make sure that their patients are aware that this is a possibility." Cost and benefit Though much of the time a course of treatment can be altered to account for the dangers of hypertension, that isn't always the case. For example, new anti-vascular endothelial growth factor drugs, which may increase blood pressure, block the formation of new blood vessels and arteries to solid tumors. Because the drugs are so effective in treating these malignancies, the benefit outweighs the cost, he believes. But that doesn't mean that patients shouldn't be watched closely for signs of hypertension. "Once a patient has won a longer life with the use of these drugs, you don't want to expose them to problems associated with blood pressure, such as stroke," says Prof. Grossman. There are simple ways to counteract drug-induced hypertension, such as the thoughtful addition of anti-hypertensive medications to a treatment plan, he says. For more medicine and health news from Tel Aviv University, click here

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SAINT ALEXANDER NEVSKY Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263) was proclaimed Saint of the Russian Orthodox Church by Metropolite Macarius in 1547 ||| Back to the Royal Russia News Archive ||| ||| Royal Russia Bulletin - Our Official Blog. Updated Daily With News Clips, Videos & Photographs ||| ||| Royal Russia Video & Film Archive ||| Romanov & Imperial Russia Links ||| ||| Our Bookshop: Books on the Romanovs & Imperial Russia ||| Gilbert's Books - Publisher of Books on the Romanovs ||| ||| What's New @ Royal Russia - Updated Monthly ||| ||| Return to Royal Russia - Directory ||| Return to Royal Russia - Main Page ||| Alexander Nevsky (1220-1263) The life of a saint is always a mystery both for contemporaries and for descendants. Only our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ can evaluate in full measure all the troubles and accomplishments of his hermit. The life of a saint, although it belongs to the church on our sinful earth, serves as an expression of the will of the Church in Heaven. We recall the saints in the most difficult minutes of our life, when it seemed there is no way out. And that is when God sends us his hermit. This happened to our Russian land more than once. “In the year 1237,” runs the chronicle, “Batu Khan, cruel and godless, came to the Russian land and there were many Tartars with him. Batu Khan’s army was so big that one Russian had to fight against a thousand Tartars, and two – against a legion. There had never been a battle like that and there were no survivors. Almost all Russia, except its Northern areas, languished under the Tartar-Mongol yoke for nearly 300 years. Having conquered the Russian land, the Tartars went down the Volga River where they founded their kingdom – the “Golden Horde”. The town of Sarai was its capital. Fortunately, the Tartars, though they imposed a heavy tax on Russia, left untouched the Russian Orthodox Church – the guarantee of the future liberation of Russia. Alexander’s father, Grand Prince Yaroslav, undertook to take care of the devastated Russian land. The Tartars and Mongols were not the only enemies Russia had to face at the time. Germans and Swedes threatened it from the West. Prince Alexander was 20 years old when he clashed with them for the first time. Be that time Grand Prince Yaroslav, Alexander’s father, made him Prince of Novgorod. Taught martial arts since early childhood, Alexander was a skilled warrior. He was a man of military bearing and rare beauty. A contemporary wrote about him: “I traveled about many countries and saw many celebrities, but never did I meet a prince or king equal to Prince Alexander.” Prince Alexander was a wise and just ruler, and had good manners which made him very popular and highly respected. A contemporary of his wrote: “He treated priests and monks with love and respect; he was considerate to the poor. And as for metropolitans and bishops, Prince Alexander honored them as he honored Jesus Christ.” Prince Alexander’s subjects used to say: “Our Prince is sinless.” In 1240 Prince Birger of Sweden sent his messengers to Prince Alexander with the following address. “Hey, Prince Alexander! You may resist if you can. But remember that I am already here ready to conquer your land.” For a long time Prince Alexander prayed in the St. Sofia Cathedral of Novgorod. He recalled the words of Jesus Christ: “No love is greater than the love of a man who gives life for his friends”. When he left the church, he addressed the army in these words: “God is not force, God is truth.” Prince Alexander entrusted his hopes to the Holy Trinity and made up his mind to fight. The two armies met on the banks of the Neva River. One was the army of the proud invader, the other – of the Russian combatants. Our Lord helped his hermit — Prince Alexander. The legend has it that a soldier named Philip had a miraculous vision on the eve of the battle. He was on patrol on the Neva River. At dawn he saw a boat with martyr princes Boris and Gleb, ancestors of Prince Alexander, in full combat gear. Suddenly Philip heard a voice from the boat: “Gleb, brother of mine! Hurry up, we must help our relative, Grand Prince Alexander.” And the vision disappeared… Encouraged by the miraculous vision, Alexander rushed his men to the scene and gave the battle on the banks of the Neva. The battle was great, says the chronicle, and many people were killed, both Russians and Latins, and Prince Alexander left a scar on the face of their leader with a lance. At this point I must explain that in medieval Russia all intruders from the West were called Latins. After the glorious victory in the battle of the Neva Prince Alexander was awarded the honorary title Alexander Nevsky or Alexander of the Neva. Birger and his warriors were defeated. But another threat to Russia already loomed in the West. The German crusaders (or Teutonic knights) conquered the ancient Russian fortress of Koporye. In 1241 Alexander Nevsky regained it, but in a year the Teutonic knights were back. They also seized the ancient Russian towns Pskov and Izborsk. By the winter of 1242 Prince Alexander had gathered an army to defend Russia from the German crusaders. And on April 5th Russian warriors and Teutonic knights met in a merciless battle on the ice of Lake Chudskoye, also known as Lake Peipus. Prince Alexander was praying: God and our Savior Jesus Christ! Help us defend our country, our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters, as many years ago you helped Moses. Here’s how one chronicler described the battle on Lake Chudskoye: “Prince Alexander arranged his men in battle formation and moved towards the enemy. Alexander had many brave men, like King David in ancient times. It was a Saturday. The troops clashed when the sun rose. It was a fierce battle. The crackle of breaking spears and the clanging swords sounded as though the ice began to move. The ice couldn’t be seen for blood… With God’s help the courageous Russian warriors defeated the Teutonic knights. Many knights drowned, others were taken prisoner, and only few of them escaped. The contemporaries rejoiced over the victory in what would later be called “The Battle on the Ice”. Entrance of Alexander Nevsky at Pskov after the Battle on the Ice. Artist: Valentin Serov Having preserved Russian land in the West, the Grand Prince Alexander clearly realized he ought to maintain peace with the Tartars, the “Golden Horde”. Weak and devastated, Russia was in no position to fight again. The Tartar yoke was a heavy burden on the Russian people. Before he could become a real ruler of his domain any Russian prince had to go to the “Golden Horde” where, after a long and humiliating procedure he might (or might not) get the so called “Yarlyk” – a license to rule. For many Russian princes, landlords and warriors the way to the “Golden Horde” was the last. Alexander Nevsky too, went to see Batu Khan, the king of the Tartars. Batu Khan was amazed to see him; he told his nobles: “It’s true what they said, that there’s no one like him.” He paid the prince all due honors and let him go safely. Alexander Nevsky had to go to Sarai, the capital of the “Golden Horde” on three occasions. And every time he was not sure he would return. But he never lost heart, for he was sure that God would not leave him. In the “Golden Horde” Prince Alexander always remembered he was not only a prince but also a Christian. He told pagans and Muslims about the Christian faith, about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and about the Holy Trinity. That was the beginning of Christianization of oriental peoples. Thousands of them turned their souls to Jesus Christ. Owing to the efforts of Alexander Nevsky the Russian Orthodox episcopate was established in Sarai in 1261. In 1252 Alexander Nevsky became the absolute ruler of the Russian land. His responsibilities were enormous. He managed to protect southern, eastern and western boundaries of Russia firmly enough. His wise rule breathed a new life into Russia after the Tartar invasion. Churches, monasteries and towns were built all over the country. Unfortunately, Prince Alexander’s farsighted policy was sometimes disapproved of by his fellow countrymen. In 1261 many Russian towns rose in revolt. The Tartar envoys who had come to collect tribute were killed. People waited for revenge with horror. Prince Alexander had to go to the Tartar capital again in order to ward off devastating raids against Russia. An excellent diplomat, the prince saved Russia and coped with his duty to God and the country. However years of wars and the affairs of the state undermined Alexander Nevsky’s health. Upon his return from Sarai the Grand Prince fell ill and died in a small monastery of St. Feodor in the town of Gorodets, not far from the ancient city of Vladimir, on November 14, 1263. Just before his death Alexander, in keeping with the ancient Russian tradition, took monastic vows and was named Alexi. The death of Alexander Nevsky in 1263. Artist: M. V. Nesterov “Brethren! The sun has set over Russian land! Our Grand Prince Alexander has passes away. No one like him will be found in Russian land.” And there was so much weeping and groaning as had never been heard before; the land trembled. Nine days people carried Grand Prince Alexander’s body to the city of Vladimir where the burial service took place in the St. Vladimir Cathedral on November 23. During that service a miracle happened. When a priest about to pull a scroll with the last prayer in the late prince’s hand approached the body, the dead prince stretched out his hand, took the prayer and crossed his hands on his chest again. This episode caused awe and terror in the crowd present… In 120 years, shortly before a great battle with the Tartars, a monk at the church where the Grand Prince Alexander’s body was buried saw a vision during the night praying. The candles in front of Prince Alexander’s tomb suddenly lit up and two elders came up to the tomb and said: “Arise, our prince! Hurry to help your relative, Prince Dmitry!” And the saint prince arose and became invisible. After that vision the saint’s tomb was opened and the relics found undecayed. Many sick people who came close to them are said to have been healed. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Grand Prince Alexander. 1724 was the time of sweeping and rapid reforms of the Russian emperor Peter the Great. Those were the times of great changes in all spheres of life: spiritual, political, economic. The Emperor and the Holy Synod began to play the leading role in the Russian Church, whereas before the Patriarch was the most important figure. The Emperor and the Holy Synod decided that the relics of Alexander Nevsky be transferred to St. Petersburg, to the monastery built in his honor. On August 30 the capital of the Russian Empire welcomed the boat carrying the holy relics. Peter the Great piloted the boat himself; senior officials assisted him as sailors. A festive religious service for the Grand Prince took place at the monastery of his name. The commemoration of St. Alexander took place shortly after Russia’s victory in the Northern war of 1700-1721 against Sweden. Almost for 200 years the relics of St. Alexander were kept in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. After the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 the relics were taken away and put on display at a museum of atheism. As for the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, it was closed down. Alexander Nevsky remained a saint most revered by the Russian people. People named in his honor are too numerous to count. In 1990 the relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky were returned to the Russian Orthodox Church to take their place in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg to the joy of all Russian believers. And we know that owing to St. Alexander’s prayers, our Russian land will be revived and stand firm forever… Watercolour of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg 7 December, 2012

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UNESCO International Literacy day 2012 Theme Literacy is important for then growth and development of society. The society can become healthy and Wealthy with literacy. UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) has initiated for the observance of international literacy day. Date of International Literacy day: The first international literacy day was observed in the year 1965. Every year international literacy day shall be observed on the 8th day September. UNESCO is taking up then initiation of celebration of international literacy day across the globe. Need for literacy and observation of international literacy day: Nearly one in every six people is still illiterate. Among these two thirds are women. Nearly 80 crore adults are still illiterate in the world. There are so many children are out of school during their young age. It is observed that poverty and ill health is related to illiteracy in then world. Literacy can improve the quality of life among the human beings. One can have better sanitation and health with literacy. Educating adult illiterate and bringing the children to schools at the young age are the main agenda for organizing the international literacy day. Literate adults can know the need of education and can send their children in pursuing education. Literacy can uplift people from poverty. UNESCO supports its member states in planning and implementation of program for the improvement of literacy rates in the respective sites.

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Later Ly dynastyArticle Free Pass Later Ly dynasty, Vietnamese Nha Hau Ly, (1009–1225), first of the three great dynasties of Vietnam. The kingdom, known later as Dai Viet, was established by Ly Thai To in the Red River Delta area of present northern Vietnam. Its capital was Thang Long (Hanoi). (It is “later” with respect to the Earlier Ly dynasty, founded by Ly Bon and lasting from 544 to 602/603.) The Later Ly was the first stable Vietnamese dynasty and helped establish many of the characteristics of the modern Vietnamese state. A Chinese style of administration was one of the more significant changes wrought by the Later Ly. Through this system the local lords were replaced by a nine-tiered hierarchy of civil servants and state officials. An institution for the training of civil administrators was established, as was an academy of learning. This centralized form of government enabled the Ly to establish universal military service, which kept the invading Chinese and Champa at bay for two centuries. More importantly, the administrative system enabled the Ly to develop the great Red River Delta system of dikes and canals that prevented summer flooding and winter drought and made the region one of the most fertile rice-growing areas in the world. The Ly promoted literature and art, and during their reign, knowledge of classical Chinese literature was widespread. Under the Ly, Vietnamese influence spread southward into the area controlled by the Indianized kingdom of Champa. What made you want to look up "Later Ly dynasty"? Please share what surprised you most...

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Colon cancer, a malignant tumor of the large intestine, affects both men and women. It affects 2-6% of all men and women in their lifetime. The vast majority of colon cancer cases are not hereditary. However, approximately 5 percent of individuals with colon cancer have a hereditary form. In those families, the chance of developing colon cancer is significantly higher than in the average person. Identifying those individuals and families that might be at-risk for hereditary colon and associated cancers can dramatically reduce the number of cancer diagnoses in these families. Colon Cancer Genes Several genes have been identified which contribute to a susceptibility to colon cancer. The two most common inherited colon cancer conditions include FAP and HNPCC. - FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis) Individuals with this syndrome develop many polyps in their colon (often over 100). People who inherit mutations in the APC gene have a nearly 100 percent chance of developing colon cancer by age 40. In addition, having FAP increases the risk of developing hepatoblastoma, dermoids, fibromas, and other cancers. If a patient has more than 10 adenomatous polyps in their lifetime a cancer risk assessment is appropriate. - HNPCC (hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer)Individuals with an HNPCC gene mutation have an estimated 80 percent lifetime risk of developing colon or rectal cancer. There is also a 40-60 percent chance for endometrial cancer. Other cancer risks are increased as well. Patients with the following characteristics should be referred for a cancer risk assessment: - Patient diagnosed with colon cancer younger than age 50 years. - Patient has multiple colon cancers or more than one HNPCC related cancer.* - Patient has colon cancer and one relative with an HNPCC related tumor* under age 50 years. - Patient has colon cancer and two or more first or second degree (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents) relatives with HNPCC related* cancers at any age. *Colon, endometrial, ovarian, stomach, small bowel, biliary tract or transitional cell of the renal pelvis.

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The Use of the Means of Grace: A Statement on the Practice of Word and Sacrament , Application A of Principle 11 states, “Music is a servant of the Gospel and a principal means of worshiping God in Lutheran churches. Congregational song gathers the whole people to proclaim God's mercy, to worship God, and to pray, in response to the readings of the day and in preparation for the Lord's Supper.” Further explore the role of music and musicians in worship by considering the principles about “Music in the Christian Assembly” in the Renewing Worship volume, Principles for Worship Find education and training events and connect to guilds and societies especially for church musicians. Copyright question? Your compliance with copyright law ensures that musicians, composers, and arrangers are compensated for their creative work. Find out more about copyright and connect to worship publishers. Explore the worship books, hymnals, and songbooks of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. God creates music as part of the whole creation and gives it to humankind to develop and shape. - Principles for Worship, Principle M-1, “Music and the Christian Assembly”

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Change-over from Kerosene to LPG use – A Family Case Study, Nigeria This case study examines the “Improving Access of Women to LPG as a Substitute for Fuelwood in Nigeria” project. The project is designed to expand access to affordable LPG as a substitute for fuel wood. Fuel wood currently is the main fuel for households, schools and small businesses in many parts of Nigeria. The overarching goal is to improve the socio-economic and environmental conditions of the poor and vulnerable, particularly women and children whose health is usually negatively affected by indoor air pollution arising from cooking with fuel wood. In an attempt to expand clean energy services to poor households, while simultaneously and indirectly addressing the environmental effects of energy production and use. The focus on LPG is to explore its comparative advantages compared to traditional biomass fuels, as well as the abundance of gas and petroleum resources in the country. To this end, Friends of the Environment (FOTE) with funding from the Global Environment Facility- Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP) in Nigeria, undertook a survey on LPG Perception and Sales in Lagos State in October 2010. The survey chose a sample frame of Lagos State and a sample size of 250 households from two communities, Badagry and Ojokoro (One Rural and One Urban) in administering the questionnaire in Lagos State. The conclusions were that making LPG readily accessible to all socio-economic groups could be achieved by locating LPG depots strategically across the country to assure uninterrupted product availability and price stability. Affordability, however, would require the whole gamut of facilitating targeted measures such as lowering the costs for cylinders and equipment by tax and duty exemption, ready access to soft financing and other complementary measures without which the high front-end investments in becoming an LPG consumer will remain a barrier to access to many but especially for women and the poor. Low-cost consumer credit is not common in Nigeria and initiatives in this direction are recommended. Seedfunding case study Penetrating LPG Use in Lagos State - Download

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English grammar help. Grammar questions from ESL learners Would you say that "how" in the following sentence is a subordinating conjunction ? I don't understand how (1) he could behave this way / (2) how this machine works. Thank you in advance. I wish you a merry Christmas. - Platinum Member - Posts: 559 - Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 6:59 pm It is an adverb, traditionally known as a conjunctive adverb. - EC Teacher - Posts: 12388 - Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm - Location: Japan - Status: English Teacher Return to Grammar Help Who is online Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests

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|Two More Human Chromosomes Are Complete| By Edward R. Winstead Posted: March 31, 2004 Two more human chromosomes—one crowded with genes, the other not—are now essentially complete, bringing the total number of finished chromosomes to nine (out of 24). A chromosome sequence is “finished” when most of the gaps and errors in the DNA sequence from draft versions have been eliminated. The newly sequenced chromosomes, 13 and 19, are available online, and scientific papers about them appear this week in Nature. Work on chromosome 19 began nearly two decades ago and parallels the history of modern genomics. This chromosome was among those originally targeted by the U.S. Department of Energy for sequencing in the days before the human genome project because it contained genes thought to be associated with cancer and the repair of damaged DNA. Today, nearly 100 genes on chromosome 19 have been linked to genetic traits or diseases, including insulin-resistant diabetes. But no genes have been found for at least 20 inherited inherited disorders associated with chromosome 19, and the new sequence will aid in the search for these genes. The effort to finish the chromosome sequence was led by Jane Grimwood at the Stanford Human Genome Center in Palo Alto, California. In contrast to chromosome 19, chromosome 13 has relatively few genes, despite being a mid-sized chromosome. Among other genes, the breast cancer gene BRCA2 resides on chromosome 13. A region of the chromosome has been linked to both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, or manic depression. To gain an evolutionary perspective on the chromosome, the researchers compared it to chromosomes in mice and rats, and found that the “gene poor” areas of the chromosome 13—stretches where there are relatively few genes—were highly similar to sequences in rodents. It’s possible that these regions, even though they don’t contain many genes, have been conserved over the course of evolution because they are important to human health. With the chromosome sequence in hand, researchers can now explore this possibility. Andrew Dunham of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, the United Kingdom, led the chromosome 13 project. The other finished human chromosomes are 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, 22, and the Y.

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Bayer is trying to protect its manufacturing process for a chewable drug delivery dosage form with a US patent application. The US patent filing covers the manufacturing process for a soft chewable product for delivering an API (active pharmaceutical ingredient). Manufacturing of the dosage form is done without extrusion. “Processes for manufacturing the edible soft chews do not require the use of heat or the addition of water during mixing of active and inactive ingredients, provide stable concentrations of the active ingredient, and produce chews of consistent weight and texture”, Bayer wrote in a US patent filing . Manufacturing the dosage form without using extrusion allows Bayer to avoid heat generated when using this process. Heat can cause deterioration of the drug’s stability and lead to API degradation. As such Bayer wrote: “Preferably, the method would be performed without application of any heat above room temperature to the mixture or formed product. It is also desirable that the chews be susceptible to manufacture without use of costly, pharmaceutical grade water as an ingredient.” The Bayer process cuts out the use of water by adding the ingredients to a mixing vessel capable of blending the material and casting it against the side of the container. Taking this approach cuts the risk of microbial growth – and costs – from the use of pharmaceutical grade water in production. An oil suspension and liquid ingredients, such as softening agents, are added to the dry materials. After blending the mixture is passed, without compression, into a moulding machine. Bayer thinks the machine could output more than 50,000 units per hour. Pressing the dosage into this chewable form could increase compliance among people and animals. For humans Bayer envisages using sweet flavourings, such as sugars or molasses, to make it more pleasant to take the medicine.

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|Origin:||deus 'two', from Latin duos| the situation in tennis when both players have 40 points, after which one of the players must win two more points to win the game 2 [countable] American English a playing card with the number two on it 3 old-fashioned spoken used to add force to a question: What the deuce is going on?

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Developing our brains from cradle to grave - Foresight Report 22 October 2008 Proposals aimed at helping society realise its mental potential at every stage of peoples' lives are contained in a major new report published today by Foresight, the Government's futures think tank. The study into 'Mental Capital and Wellbeing' looks at how a person's mental resources change through life, as a child, adult and in old age, and identifies factors that can help or hinder their development. The consequences are substantial for individuals, wider society and the economy. The report concludes that there is a clear case for action across society including by Government, companies and individuals, to boost both mental capital and wellbeing. This could reap very high economic and social benefits in the future. The report, sponsored by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), outlines the findings of an extensive two-year study involving over 400 leading international experts in subjects ranging from neuroscience to economics. The study defines mental capital as a person's cognitive and emotional resources; how good they are at learning and their "emotional intelligence" such as their social skills and resilience in the face of stress. Mental wellbeing changes from day to day and is linked to personal and social fulfilment. Its main findings are that: - Early intervention is crucial in developing and maintaining mental capital and mental wellbeing - whether it's spotting and treating learning difficulties in children and young people or developing biomarkers to diagnose dementia earlier in older people; - A small increase in levels of wellbeing can produce a large decrease in mental health problems across people of all ages; - There is substantial scope for improving how to tackle the huge problem of mental-ill-health, which costs up to £77 billion a year for England alone. Professor John Beddington, the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser and Director of the Foresight Programme, said: "This report gives us new insights, based on cutting-edge science, into the challenges ahead and how they might be addressed. It contains a range of proposals for society and Government to consider. "There is good work being done but progress can be made and taxpayers money saved if government departments work together more effectively to tackle these issues. "Investing to identify and tackle learning difficulties early on and improving the take up of education and learning will result in people getting better jobs. The report has shown that if an individual is fulfilled in their work this positively affects wellbeing, this in turn will see reduced expenditure on the treatment of mental health problems. "Acting now in a co-ordinated way is even more important as the pressures on our society change - this is particularly pertinent in the current climate. Competition from abroad and uncertain economic times will drive people to work harder and smarter. Both will result in increasing demands made on individuals and the state". John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, who is the report's Ministerial sponsor, said: "I welcome this report which provides new insights and creates fresh opportunities to offer support to individuals, families and organisations in building and sustaining mental capital and good mental health. "Future prosperity and social justice in the UK will be strengthened by drawing on the mental capital and talents of its citizens and I am pleased this report recognises that the Government is already on the right track in many areas. "My own department is investing more in skills and training than ever before to ensure our all of our people, young and old, can make the most of their talents and abilities, increasing their prosperity and improving their life chances and strengthen the wider economy. And across Government we are driving through reforms in education, health and business to support individuals, their families and communities. "A range of departments and organisations across Government and more widely are committed to taking forward the project's findings and I look forward to overseeing the progress of that over the coming year." Drawing on over 100 expert papers, the report identifies three key areas which need to be tackled. These are learning in the early years, wellbeing at work, and the ageing population. The study highlights: Learning in the early years - An estimated 10 per cent of children have a learning difficulty of some kind; - Dyslexia and dyscalculia (number blindness) can both substantially reduce lifetime earnings and GCSE achievement, with dyscalculia potentially as common as dyslexia - but frequently undetected; - Improvements in early detection and intervention would prevent problems developing further and improve educational achievement; - Teacher training needs to capitalise on new, emerging scientific understanding of child development in areas such as neuroscience and developmental psychology. Wellbeing at work - Work related absenteeism accounts for between 10 million to 14 million days lost, costing business around £750 million per annum; - Presenteeism - where the individual is at work but not productive - could cost the UK around £900 million per year (this is worked out using figures from the US and adjusting to fit the UK work environment); - Continuously developing our mental capital by training and retraining through our working lives will be crucial to compete in the global market for skills and can improve mental wellbeing; - New forms of flexible working could help employees meet the conflicting demands of intensification of work and the increased need for people to look after older relatives; - There should be better integration of primary care and occupational health services to identify early symptoms of stress and mental ill-health which could help people return to work. - We need to act now - new treatments could take years to become available so protective lifestyles need to be adopted now by the middle aged; - Addressing dementia is a priority. By 2071 the number of over 65's could nearly double to over 21 million, and those aged 80 could more than treble to 9.5 million - Treating dementia costs the UK £17 billion a year - this is set to rise to £50 billion a year within 30 years; - Scientific developments, such as biomarkers could help detect dementia earlier. (Biomarkers are objective biological measures associated with presence of a disease, increased risk for it, or response to treatment. MRI scans are one example). Early detection could help the development of new drugs, improve potential therapeutic benefit of treatment, enhance quality of life for patients and reduce financial burden of health care services in the long tem. - The mental capital of older people is a massive, and under utilised resource. Unlocking this could benefit the wellbeing and prosperity of older people and society as a whole - We need to ensure wellbeing in the elderly - this could be provided through: better treatment for common mental disorders such as depression, enabling people to engage in paid and unpaid work if they wish, lifelong learning, and through social networking. As the project's sponsor, DIUS will now take responsibility for the report's recommendations to assist in policy development across government. A report in 12 months time will outline the project's progress including action by other stakeholders.

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(ARA) - This year's tick population, including the increased number of the treatments throughout the Mid-Atlantic, has a somewhat surprising cause ... acorns. Oak trees produced an extremely high number of acorns in 2010, which led to an increase in the white-footed mouse population in 2011. In turn, the deer tick (or black-legged tick), had ample supply of its preferred food source. As a result, you may spot more of the most common tick in the Mid-Atlantic in your backyard. Ranging from the size of a sesame seed to 5/8-inch long, most ticks are ectoparasites, or parasites that live on the surface of their host. The deer tick goes through three life stages - larva, nymph and adult - requiring a blood meal during each stage. Typically, ticks feed on wildlife where they can come into contact with dangerous bacteria, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The bacteria may be transferred to humans through tick bites. "In most cases, a tick must be attached to your body for 24 to 36 hours to transmit disease. As a result, prevention and early detection are critical," says Phil Pierce, entomologist and technical services manager for Western Pest Services. "It is important to always check yourself, children and pets promptly after spending time outdoors in wooded or grassy areas and to take steps to limit your exposure to these blood-sucking pests." Pierce recommends the following tips to help you avoid ticks when outdoors: * Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when working outside near woodlands, fields and areas with shrubbery and tall grass. * Choose light-colored clothing so it's easier to identify any ticks on your body, and tuck pants into socks or boots to prevent ticks from crawling into pant legs. * Apply an EPA-approved insect repellant on clothing and exposed skin near potential entrance areas (pants cuff, shirt cuff, collar and around socks). You can also purchase clothing treated with materials that repel and control ticks. Ticks generally do not infest areas that are well maintained. To help control tick populations around the home, keep vegetation in the yard trimmed, especially along the edges of your property. Should you encounter ticks, it is best to remove them with fine point tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to the point of the bite as possible. Gently, but firmly, lift the tick at the head with tweezers. Avoid using rubbing alcohol, nail polish, hot matches, petroleum jelly or other items to remove ticks as these may startle them, causing them to regurgitate and possibly infect you with disease or bacteria. "Ticks are a year-round pest, so we expect residents will continue to encounter this pest into the fall," adds Pierce. Contact your local pest management professional should you suspect tick activity in or around your home. Experts also recommend consulting your doctor should you notice an attached tick lodged onto your body, as well as working with your veterinarian to make sure your pets are protected.

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Definition of Amylo- Amylo-: (Amyl- before a vowel.) A prefix pertaining to starch. From the Greek amylon, meaning starch. Last Editorial Review: 6/14/2012 Back to MedTerms online medical dictionary A-Z List Need help identifying pills and medications? Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE!

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(MENAFN Press) Plastic is a natural product derived from hydrocarbons and is as natural as petrol or diesel, argues the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association (AIPMA), the co-organiser of Plastivision Arabia scheduled to be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from May 14 “ 17, 2012. "It is the misuse and specifically the littering of plastic which is unwarranted and harmful to the environment," said Mr. Jayesh Rambhia, President of AIPMA. The AIPMA was making a case for putting an end to littering habits and working towards educating the public that plastics have a lower carbon footprint compared to other materials. For example, plastic bags generate 39 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions than uncomposted paper bags; plastic bags consume less than 6 per cent of the water needed to make paper bags; plastic grocery bags consume 71% less energy during production than paper bags; and using paper sacks generates almost five times more solid waste than plastic bags. "More than 90 per cent of plastic bags or any plastic which is disposed of properly is recycled and will not harm the environment. Any plastic that does not recycle will find its ways to designated land-fills where it will eventually bio-degrade, only if disposed properly," he added. Some argue that plastic helps the environment is several ways. After all, plastic has been used to make cars lighter. As a result, less oil is used to mobilize the cars and less CO2 is emitted. In addition, plastic containers provide safe ways for disposing of toxic waste products. "In our society and communities, people litter the landscape with plastics. This not only creates an eyesore with plastic floating at beaches or flying in the desert, but also poses a serious risk to the environment," said Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah, the co-organiser of Plastivision Arabia. Mr Midfa cited a report in the 'Community Reports' section of Gulf News dated April 11, 2012, which had a photograph of a bird struggling to remove pieces of plastic entangled around its neck. "It is a heart-wrenching sight. Had the plastic been disposed of properly, it wouldn't have caused this hardship to this poor creature," Mr Midfa said. "The municipalities are doing their best in trying to curb this menace and the absence of awareness among the public is the main reason for such practices. The recent announcement of Sharjah Municipality to intensify imposing littering fine will go a long way in reducing littering and promoting recycling of plastic," Mr Midfa said. "There is no point in hating all plastic products, instead we should actually hate the abuse of plastics. We should hate the way how this incredibly versatile product is made the enemy of public health and environment," Mr Midfa said. Among the most crucial improvements in technology over the past few hundred years has been the creation of plastic. Today, plastic is used in just about everything we use, and we pay it almost no notice at all. "Plastic is quite indispensable and there is no complete alternative for it," said Eng. Mohamed Saleh Badri, Director General of the Emirates Authority for Standardization & Metrology (ESMA). "We use plastic in almost everything in our daily life, in our cars, at the workplace, in hospitals. However, it is important to manage disposable plastics like shopping bags, packaging, cups and cutlery," he added. "We have introduced a law to use Oxo bio-degradable plastic in shopping bags and garbage bags across the UAE since the beginning of 2012. Information on this, the proper usage of additives, and registration of additive suppliers will be available at our stand at the forthcoming Plastivision Arabia," he said. ESMA will also create workshop on the specific requirements for registration of Oxo biodegradable plastic bags as part of Plastivision Arabia. Plastivision Arabia is organised by Expo Centre Sharjah and the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association with the support of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

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Watch a video to find out. Stay logged in Go to Navigation Go to Content Go to Search The tour introduces visitors to the origins of Impressionism in the late 1860s and its flourishing in the following decades in landscapes and scenes from modern life by such artists as Monet, Degas, and Renoir. The tour also explores the impact of Impressionism on the next generation of artists, which includes Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh. Free with Museum admission See more in Tours Bring your friends and chart your own course through the galleries as you participate in activities that connect you with works of art. The Museum offers lectures and panels in conjunction with special exhibitions, the permanent collection, and other related topics. Enjoy collection highlight tours, garden tours, gallery talks, and other programs at The Cloisters museum and gardens, the branch of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in northern Manhattan devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe. © 2000–2013 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.

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- No upcoming events available. The Importance of Using Accountable Language by Phyllis B. Frank and Barry Goldstein This article was conceived because of the frequency with which leaders of our movement and presenters at conferences use unaccountable language in our presentations and proposals, even as they deeply care about ending men’s violence against women and have devoted their lives to helping women partnered with abusive men. Like all tools of oppression, unaccountable language is conditioned into our psyches, taught and learned as appropriate vocabulary and in socially acceptable sentence structure. Thus, unaccountable language is part of everyday parlance of people acting in complete good faith in trying to end men's violence against women. We know this is true because as long as we have trained to avoid unaccountable language, we still sometimes make this error, as well. The movement to end domestic violence has not yet made the use of accountable language a priority. We hope this article will encourage all of us in the movement to do so. This is one program we can afford even in tight economic times. Defining unaccountable language Unaccountable language refers to the powerful messages embedded in all forms of speech and media that have all of us lapse into sentence structure that obscures perpetrators, minimizes their abuse, and supports blaming victims. One common example is the phrase “an abusive relationship." The relationship did not hit the woman, but rather it was the abuser, typically a man who is husband or intimate partner, who was abusive. Such statements make the person who committed the offense, invisible. More specifically it is the use of passive language that results in making the perpetrator invisible. For example, a phrase like a woman was raped should be replaced by, “A man raped a woman.” The rape did not just happen, but rather the rapist committed a brutal act. The idea is to focus attention on the person responsible. Accountably speaking we might say a woman was in a relationship with an abuser or he is abusive to his intimate partner. Another example is exposed by the question, “How many women will be raped or assaulted in this year?” Do we ever hear, “How many men will rape or assault this year?” During a dinner conversation, Barry, and his partner, Sharon, were discussing a series of disastrous calamities in their home caused by the builder who seemed to have deliberately sabotaged their house. After hearing about one emergency repair after another, Phyllis said it was the first time she actually understood the true meaning of an “abusive home“, since too often the phrase "abusive home" is misused to invisiblize a man who repeatedly abuses his partner in their home. The police and media often refer to incidents in which a man brutalizes his wife or girl friend as a "domestic dispute." This describes a man's criminal assault as if it were some kind of mutual problem, even-sided engagement, or tame dispute, rather than an act of brutality. When a mugger assaults and robs a cab driver, it is not described as a "fare dispute." Domestic violence is comprised of a wide range of tactics used by men to maintain power and to control their intimate partners The tactics are part of a pattern of coercive actions designed to maintain, what he believes (consciously or not), are his male privileges, to control his significant other. Historically, men were assigned, by social and legal norms, control over wives and families. Today, even though that is no longer legally, and for so many, morally, the case, an "abusive relationship" or "domestic dispute" makes it seem like a communications or relationship problem between the parties. It suggests counseling or therapy as a remedy instead of consequences to hold abusers accountable for abusive, controlling, and/or violent tactics. Social Consequences of unaccountable language If we are going to end or at least reduce the use of unaccountable language in this society, those of us working in the battered women's movement must take the lead and must set an example to use accountable language. Politicians often use phrases like "mistakes were made" Instead of saying, “I made a mistake.” We want society to be clear that men ,who abuse and mistreat the women they are partnered with, are responsible for their actions. We are asking presenters and others working to end domestic violence to join us in striving to use accountable language. Dedicated to our dear friend and colleague Jon Cohen, who worked with Phyllis B. Frank in developing the NY model for Batterers Programs, and with Barry Goldstein, to find many of the examples of unaccountable language in Barry’s first book, Scared to Leave Afraid to Stay. Phyllis B. Frank, firstname.lastname@example.org, www.nymbp.org

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- NVIDIA GRID - 3D Vision - About NVIDIA NVIDIA CUDA: Naked-Eye Stereoscopic System for Real-Time Medical Imaging One interesting field of imaging technology is naked-eye stereoscopy, which displays 3D stereoscopic images without the need for special eyeglasses. This intriguing technology not only has applications in entertainment, but is being studied as a practical technology for a variety of professional applications. One especially promising application is in medical imaging, where NVIDIA’s CUDA™ parallel computing platform is being studied by Professor Takeyoshi Dohi and his colleagues in the Department of Mechano-Informatics at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Information Science and Technology. Naked-eye stereoscopy can be implemented in a variety of ways; the one being studied by Associate Professor Hongen Liao and graduate student Nicholas Herlambang in Profesor Dohi’s research group is called Integral Videography (IV). This method uses a special display comprising a micro-lens array, consisting of convex lenses on a matrix which is bonded to a liquid crystal panel. Directly beneath each micro-lens, there are some 100 liquid crystal elements and the convex lens projects the light from each element in various directions. The object to be represented in 3D space is illuminated by light rays from several directions, forming a stereoscopic image which to the user seems to be floating in the air. Because this method projects a 3D image into space, it has advantages over the traditional stereoscopic method, where different images are displayed for the viewer’s left and right eyes. Using IV, the 3D image can be observed from a wide area in front of the display by several viewers at once, without using special eyeglasses or viewpoint tracking. Since 2000, the University’s research group has been developing a system where in vivo cross-sections obtained in real time by CT or MRI scans are treated as volume textures, which can not only be reconstituted as 3D images through volume rendering, but also displayed as stereoscopic video for use in an IV system. This system could revolutionize real-time, stereoscopic, in vivo imaging. However, the amount of computation is huge; the volume rendering alone creates a high processing load, then further processing is required for the stereoscopic imaging. For each video frame, a vast number of angles must be displayed at the same time. Multiply this by the number of frames in the video and a staggering amount of computation must be done with high precision in a short time. In research in 2001, real-time volume rendering and stereoscopic reconstitution for images of 512 x 512 resolution on a Pentium III 800 MHz PC took over ten seconds to generate a single frame. To speed up processing, the group tried using the 60 CPUs of an UltraSPARC III 900 MHz machine, the latest high-performance computer available at the time. But the best result that could be obtained was five frames per second. This was simply not fast enough to be practical. Both the volume rendering and subsequent conversion to IV format require data-parallel vector calculation. For this, the optimal computing paradigm is the GPU. Accordingly, Liao and Herlambang started to research GPU implementation using CUDA, a general-purpose, C-language GPU development environment from NVIDIA. First, the researchers developed a prototype system using the GeForce® 8800 GTX, a latest-generation GPU. When data sets from the 2001 study were run on the GPU using CUDA, performance improved to 13-14 frames per second. As the UltraSPARC system had cost tens of millions of yen, the researchers were amazed that a GPU, costing a hundred times less, delivered nearly three times the performance. Moreover, according to the group, NVIDIA’s GPU was at least 70 times faster than the latest generation of multi-core CPUs. In addition, tests showed that the GPU’s high performance was even more conspicuous for larger volume texture sizes. Currently, the group is working with NVIDIA’s latest deskside supercomputer, the Tesla™ D870 and is optimizing the current IV system for Tesla using CUDA. This is expected to boost performance even further. “We have evaluated various development environments for parallel computing,” says Herlambang, the researcher responsible for the CUDA implemention, “but we chose CUDA because it lets us do development in the C language syntax we are used to. Also, we will be able to take advantage of speed increases in future generations of GPUs without modifying the system we have developed. If an environment that makes it easy to debug large CUDA programs becomes available, CUDA will become an even more powerful development environment for parallel computing and we expect it will find more applications in medical image processing as well.” When images from CT and MRI are viewed stereoscopically in real time, physicians can check the state of diseased tissues and make diagnoses without biopsies and surgery. Moreover, several physicians can view the images at the same time and consult with one another. And it may eventually make it possible for several physicians to perform arthroscopic surgery and other minimally invasive surgical techniques together, with each surgeon able to visualize the operation in real time. It is difficult to bring a huge parallel computer array into clinical settings, but the powerful computing capabilities of GPUs and Tesla make it possible to provide compact, parallel computing modules. Prof. Takeyoshi Dohi, Advanced Therapeutic & Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory: http://www.atre.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/ Associate Professor Hongen Liao: http://bmpe.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~liao/ ▼Introduction to Laboratory ATRE Lab, Dept. of Mechano-Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, where Prof. Dohi and his colleagues have pioneered computer-aided surgery, is one of the world’s top laboratories in the medical engineering field. The 3D stereoscopy technology presented here has given rise to numerous advanced devices, including microsurgery robots, wedge prism endoscopes, and surgical stereoscopic composite displays.

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Many conditions during pregnancy or labor can make a C-section necessary, including: Prolonged or ineffective labor Placenta issues if the placenta is positioned abnormally low in the cervix (placenta previa), it can block the birth canal. The placenta can also suddenly separate from the uterus (placenta abruptia), causing the mother to hemorrhage and the baby to have an abnormal heart rate. Disproportion or multiple births: if the baby’s head is too large for the birth canal, or if there is more than one baby to deliver, a C-section may be safer than a vaginal delivery. Abnormal presentation: if the baby’s position in the womb is abnormal, it may be safer to deliver via a C-section. Prolapsed cord: if the umbilical cord cord comes before the baby through the vagina, it can strangle the baby during a vaginal delivery. Fetal distress or medical problems: if the mother has diabetes, genital herpes, hypertension, cardiac disease, toxemia, or ovarian or uterine cysts, vaginal delivery may be hazardous for both mother and child. If a C-section may be necessary for you, it is important to plan ahead and know what risks may be involved. Learn more about potential C-section risks .

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Jan. 27, 2012 Dr. Susan Mallery, a professor in the College of Dentistry at The Ohio State University and Oral Pathology Consultant at the Ohio State University and James Cancer hospitals, has dedicated her nearly 30-year career to studying new strategies to preventing oral cancer. Oral cancer is currently responsible for more than 7,000 deaths each year, and has a particularly high mortality rate. Treatment relies on excising cells before they turn cancerous, but as many as one-third of all patients will experience a recurrence within a year. "While not all oral lesions progress to cancer, we cannot accurately predict which will be the 'bad actors.' This often results in multiple surgeries and high anxiety in both our patients and clinicians," says Mallery. Since 2003, Mallery has been investigating a variety of agents ranging from anti-angiogenesis drugs to natural products, to identify new therapeutics that can suppress the conversion of pre-cancerous to cancerous cells. Her first breakthrough was the creation of an oral gel based on anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants found in black raspberries. Study results showed that the gel, when applied to the mouth, would suppress genes associated with functions that allow cancerous cells to grow, thus diminishing the risk for recurring lesions. Mallery next turned her attention to identifying alternatives to the surgical removal of pre-cancerous lesions. Mallery thought she might have good possibilities with fenretinide, a decades-old breast cancer treatment that had been largely abandoned by oral pathologists despite strong clinical evidence that showed fenretinide can induce cell death, encourage the body's natural cellular defense system and strangle blood supply to tumors. "The discrepancy between the established efficacy of fenretinide in other cancer types and in oral cancer was puzzling. Then it occurred to me that maybe the structure of the oral mucosa wasn't allowing a therapeutic amount to reach the lesions, even at high doses," says Mallery. "We knew we needed to come up with a way to deliver the therapy directly to the lesion" In 2009, The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, in collaboration with the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) awarded Mallery and her team funding for a project aimed at developing a way to treat precancerous lesions directly in the mouth and preventing recurring lesions. Mallery partnered with two pharmaceutical chemists from the University of Michigan (Drs. Stephen Schwendeman and Kashappa Goud Desai) along with two Ohio State investigators Drs. Gary Stoner and Peter Larsen to develop a first of its kind patch that could stick to the inside of the mouth, and deliver a continuous therapeutic dose of fenretinide directly on the lesion. The research team plans to move the patch into pre-clinical and clinical trials, and is already looking at a combination of fenretinide and anthocyanins, as well as testing a combination therapy using the patch and black raspberry-based gel mouthwash to prevent recurrence of lesions. "If we can effectively treat the lesions with the patch, and then prevent more from coming back, we will completely change -- and improve upon -- the way oral cancer is currently treated," said Mallery. Mallery says the best course of action is to prevent oral cancer in the first place, and provides the following tips: - Use of tobacco products -- particularly burned tobacco -- is the greatest risk factor for development of oral cancer. - Watch what you drink and eat. Alcohol consumption -- in excess and especially during smoking -- can have an additive effect and increase your chances to develop oral cancer. Conversely, a diet high in fruits and vegetables can lower your risk. - Infection with human papilloma viruses (HPV) causes a subset of oral cancers. Inoculation of both young women and men with the HPV vaccine would markedly decrease HPV-associated oral cancers. - Remember the mouth heals quickly. If you have a sore in your mouth that doesn't heal in 14 days, seek prompt treatment from your dentist. - See your dentist at least once a year (better if twice a year) for a complete oral health screening. This is extremely important as oral cancer initially develops a precancerous oral lesions (patient treatment and survival is much better at this stage). Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science, via Newswise. Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

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Some of school going kids uses Electricity and Magnetism related science projects Experiments in there school’s science fair. children’s always trying to know that what is a magnet or something about electricity. Someone can make electricity and Magnetism Science Fair Projects Using Batteries, Balloons etc. these Electricity and Magnetism Physics Projects are so interesting and Hair Raising. Electricity and magnetism, electromagnetic waves and Magnetism are most used in these Physics Projects of school. here we have video to know more about Electricity and Magnetism Physics Projects Experiments.

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When you exercise exhaustively, lactic acid builds up within your muscles and pours out into the bloodstream. It refers to the lack of available oxygen which is necessary for exercising and this can cause the pain associated with exercising which can sometimes be rather intense. Lactic acid is involved with the way in which your muscles work and how they use energy. As muscles actively contract they obtain Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) from the glucose which is located within the blood. They also retrieve this substance through the breakdown of glycogen which is stored in muscles. When muscles work hard for prolonged periods of time, the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the muscles begins to be put under strain. During these times, lactic acid is produced as a result of glucose being broken down. As more is produced within the muscles, leakages into the blood occur and it is circulated throughout the body. The build up of lactic acid causes the functionality of body mechanics to decline and this can mean that performance and the ability to continue to push your body harder also become diminished. Muscle fatigue and overall tiring of the body are the main symptoms of such conditions. At the extreme, this condition is known as the anaerobic threshold or the lactic threshold. Removing this substance from the muscles takes around an hour usually. Warming down efficiently can mean that the removal is accelerated and performed much more effectively. This warm down period ensures that the muscles receive a continuous and fast supply of essential oxygen to the muscles. Despite common belief, this substance is neither responsible for the pain associated with hard exercise nor is it the cause of the aching experienced sometimes following periods of extensive exercise. It actually helps to delay the lowering blood glucose concentrations and this is known as hypoglycaemia. This condition actually causes people to feel the fatigue, aching and lowered performances related to exercising vigorously. By products of exercising include exothermic reactions which cause sweating to occur in order to reduce the heat gained and the conversion of oxygen into carbon dioxide. The body fails to cope with the number of by products produced and cannot effectively remove them from the muscles.

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Fighting the "venereal menace" An unspeakable problem The Oregon Social Hygiene Society Just after war was declared, the society took steps to reach all of the Oregon National Guard units as they were mobilized. The men were provided circulars on the subject and received lectures on the wisdom of avoiding infection. Helping develop an education plan As a result of the work at Fort Lewis, the Army planned an education campaign in which a medical officer was dispatched to speak to every group of men inducted into the service. The campaign also distributed circulars to "practically every man" as well as posting warning placards on every latrine. The effort was rounded out by the display of the society's "KEEPING FIT" exhibit and the showing of the film "HOW LIFE BEGINS." Back in Oregon, the education continued with a cooperative arrangement between the society and the Army. The Army detailed a medical officer from Fort Lewis to lecture all conscripted men in the state while the society made the arrangements and picked up the tab. Meetings were held in every county seat except for Gold Beach with attendance reaching a robust 40,890. Attacking the civilian problem As an outgrowth of the stepped up enforcement, a "V.D. hospital" was installed "where cases could be observed and treated." The city of Portland also planned and equipped a "detention hospital" that handled the city's cases as well as some from around the state. Women and girls who were detained at the hospital could work to improve themselves. The society "employed a young lady especially qualified for this kind of work and she has devoted her entire time to rehabilitation work since March 1918." According to the military, even with the law enforcement efforts of the society and local police, the problem persisted with the civilian world. The armed services had instituted effective education that significantly reduced the problem of contracting VD after entry into the service. It continued to blame civilian communities that "had been afraid to attack the problems of venereal disease...." The governor employs shock power The governor first argued that it was treasonous to contract venereal disease during war. Since the country was mobilizing with "both blood and treasure" to fight the "war-maddened imperialists," everyone needed to contribute. Citing the definition of treason in the U.S. Constitution as giving aid and comfort to the enemy, Withycombe contended that "if a soldier wilfully injures himself and thereby renders himself unfit for military service, he delivers a blow against this country. If he permits himself to become infected with a dangerous and contagious disease, he deprives the government of his own services and puts in jeopardy the health of all men in the service with whom he may come in contact," thereby giving aid to the enemy and committing treason. Unafraid to stir up a little hatred for the cause, he deplored the "fiendish devices of war" that Germany had adopted to weaken its enemies: "No act of cruelty seems too horrible if she thinks it will accomplish her purpose. We hear tales that are almost unbelievable in their depravity." Withycombe referred to one report of the enemy sending women and girls infected with syphilis and gonorrhea into cities housing the Allies' soldiers to have sex and render the soldiers unfit for combat. The governor championed education since "too many of our boys exposed themselves to infection because of ignorance...." Withycombe wanted to use the information taught by the military to reach boys before they went into the service. He wanted to dispel the popular myth that sexual intercourse was "necessary to preserve good health," and to remind boys that there is "a nobler purpose than promiscuous indulgence with immoral women." Praising the military training on the subject, Withycombe noted the need to overcome a common double standard among young men: He appealed to the boys' sense of shame, reminding them of the grief to parents and loved ones that could follow from the wrong decision. The records of the Army and Navy described conditions, including venereal disease of the soldiers and sailors. What boy would want his parents to know that he had been "checked up as a noneffective because of having syphilis or gonorrhea?" And the governor warned those who may have contemplated purposefully contracting the disease to avoid service, saying that it would not exempt them. The draftee would report to camp where his condition would "be known immediately." Moreover, "instead of being welcomed by comrades in arms, you will be isolated in a hospital and given treatment until you are no longer a menace to other human beings." Adding ostracism to his list, Withycombe described how men in the service "look with contempt" at an infected man: "Today nothing is so unpopular as venereal disease--the boys won't eat with you and they won't bunk with you." The Oregon record

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-Michael A. Healy was born on 22 September 1839 in Georgia. His father, Michael Morris Healy, was a white planter and his mother, Eliza Clark, was variously reported as a slave or a former slave. -His father sent him and his nine siblings north to be educated and escape slavery. -Michael A. Healy ran repeatedly ran away from any of the schools he was sent to and finally "ran away to sea" in 1855 as a mate on board the clipper ship Jumna, bound for Calcutta from Boston. He sailed on merchant vessels for the next ten years until he applied for an appointment as an officer in the U.S. Revenue Marine in 1864. -He was commissioned as a Third Lieutenant in the U.S. Revenue Marine by President Abraham Lincoln on 4 March 1865. -Healy was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1866. He served as a junior officer on board the cutters Reliance, Vigilant, Moccasin, and Active and was promoted to First Lieutenant on 20 July 1870. -He became the second officer on the cutter Rush in 1874. -Healy obtained his first command, the cutter Chandler, in 1877. -He was ordered to take command of the Thomas Corwin in 1882, a post he held until 1886. -The Revenue Cutter Service promoted Healy to the rank of Captain on 3 March 1883. -In 1884 he and the Corwin participated in an attack and bombardment of the Alaskan-native village of Angoon at the request of an officer of the U.S. Navy. -The Revenue Cutter Service acquired the ship Bear and ordered Healy to take command in February 1886. The Bear was designated as the flagship of the Bering Sea Force. He commanded the cutter through 1895. -In 1888 the Bearís crew rescued 160 sailors from whaling vessels trapped near Point Barrow, Alaska. -In 1890 he was investigated by a Board of Investigation for charges of drunkenness and cruelty to some merchant sailors. The Board cleared Healy of the charges. -From 1892 through 1895, Healy transported reindeer to Alaska, establishing a plentiful food source for the native population. -On 8 June 1896 a court-martial found Healy guilty of seven charges. The Treasury Secretary ordered him dropped to the bottom of the Captainís list and placed out of the Service for a period of four years without pay. The charges he was found guilty of were: -Healy was given temporary command of the cutter McCulloch in 1900. He was then given command of the cutters Golden Gate and Hartley. -In January 1902 Healy was restored to his original position on the Captainsí list and given command of the cutter Thetis. -He retired from the service on 22 September 1903 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64 as the third most senior captain in the service. He died on 30 August 1904 in San Francisco of a heart attack. His career may best be summed up in his own words, spoken by Healy during his court-martial in 1896: "When I am in charge of a vessel, I always command; nobody commands but me. I take all the responsibility, all the risks, all the hardships that my office would call upon me to take. I do not steer by any manís compass but my own."

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Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that early visual areas, long believed to play no role in higher cognitive functions such as memory, retain information previously hidden from brain studies. Researchers made the discovery using a new technique for decoding data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The findings, published Feb. 18 online by Nature, represent a significant step in understanding how we perceive, process and remember visual information. “How do people maintain an active representation of what they have just seen moments ago? This has long been a conundrum,” says Frank Tong, co-author of the research findings and an associate professor of psychology. “Before, we knew that early visual areas of the cerebral cortex that are the first to receive visual information were exquisitely tuned to process incoming visual signals from the eye, but not to store this information. We also knew that the higher-order brain areas responsible for memory lack the visual sensitivity of early brain areas, but somehow people are able to remember a visual pattern with remarkable precision for many seconds—actually, for as long as they keep thinking about that pattern. Our question was, Where is this precise information being stored in the brain?” The researchers found that fine-scale activity patterns in early visual areas reveal a trace of “something like an echo of the stimulus that the person is actively retaining,” says Tong, “even though the overall activity in these areas is really weak after the stimulus is removed.” Before this discovery the visual cortex had not been implicated in cognitive processes such as memory or active maintenance of information, says Stephenie Harrison, lead author of the research and a graduate student in the Vanderbilt psychology department. “By using a neural decoding technique, we were able to read out what people were holding in their visual memory. We believe this sustained visual information could be useful when people must perform complex visual tasks in everyday life.” Research subjects were shown two examples of simple striped patterns at different orientations. They were then told to hold one of the orientations in their mind while being scanned using fMRI. Orientation has long been known to be one of the first and most basic pieces of visual information coded and processed by the brain. “Through both evolution and learning, the visual system has developed the most efficient ways to code our natural environment, and the most efficient way to code any basic shape or contour is orientation,” Tong explains. “We used a decoding method to see if the activity patterns contained information about the remembered orientation, and we found that they do.” Analyzing responses over several trials, researchers could tell accurately which of the two orientation patterns a subject was holding in his or her mind more than 80 percent of the time. Their predictions held true even when overall activity in these visual areas was very weak—no different than looking at a blank screen. This suggests that the act of remembering an image leaves some sort of faint echo or trace in these brain areas. The activity traces are weak but quite detailed and rich in information. “By doing these pattern analyses, we were able to find information that was hidden before. We do not know for sure, but it’s possible that a lot of information in the brain may be hidden in such activity patterns,” Tong says. © 2013 Vanderbilt University | Photography: DANIEL DUBOIS Conversation guidelines: Vanderbilt Magazine welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.

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Wildmind Meditation News Aug 16, 2010 Outdoors and out of reach, studying the brain Five neuroscientists go on a rafting adventure to see how the brain reacts when in a natural environment. Todd Braver emerges from a tent nestled against the canyon wall. He has a slight tan, except for a slim pale band around his wrist. For the first time in three days in the wilderness, Mr. Braver is not wearing his watch. “I forgot,” he says. It is a small thing, the kind of change many vacationers notice in themselves as they unwind and lose track of time. But for Mr. Braver and his companions, these moments lead to a question: What is happening to our brains? Mr. Braver, a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis, was one of five neuroscientists on an unusual journey. They spent a week in late May in this remote area of southern Utah, rafting the San Juan River, camping on the soft banks and hiking the tributary canyons. It was a primitive trip with a sophisticated goal: to understand how heavy use of digital devices and other technology changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects. Cellphones do not work here, e-mail is inaccessible and laptops have been left behind. It is a trip into the heart of silence — increasingly rare now that people can get online even in far-flung vacation spots. As they head down the tight curves the San Juan has carved from ancient sandstone, the travelers will, not surprisingly, unwind, sleep better and lose the nagging feeling to check for a phone in the pocket. But the significance of such changes is a matter of debate for them. Some of the scientists say a vacation like this hardly warrants much scrutiny. But the trip’s organizer, David Strayer, a psychology professor at the University of Utah, says that studying what happens when we step away from our devices and rest our brains — in particular, how attention, memory and learning are affected — is important science. “Attention is the holy grail,” Mr. Strayer says. “Everything that you’re conscious of, everything you let in, everything you remember and you forget, depends on it.” Echoing other researchers, Mr. Strayer says that understanding how attention works could help in the treatment of a host of maladies, like attention deficit disorder, schizophrenia and depression. And he says that on a day-to-day basis, too much digital stimulation can “take people who would be functioning O.K. and put them in a range where they’re not psychologically healthy.” The quest to understand the impact on the brain of heavy technology use — at a time when such use is exploding — is still in its early stages. To Mr. Strayer, it is no less significant than when scientists investigated the effects of consuming too much meat or alcohol. But stepping away is easier for some than others. The trip begins with a strong defense of digital connectedness, a debate that revolves around one particularly important e-mail… [story continues on New York Times.]

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A century of comet data suggests a dark, Jupiter-sized object is lurking at the solar system's outer edge and hurling chunks of ice and dust toward Earth. "We've accumulated 10 years' more data, double the comets we viewed to test this hypothesis," said planetary scientist John Matese of the University of Louisiana. "Only now should we be able to falsify or verify that you could have a Jupiter-mass object out there." In 1999, Matese and colleague Daniel Whitmire suggested the sun has a hidden companion that boots icy bodies from the Oort Cloud, a spherical haze of comets at the solar system's fringes, into the inner solar system where we can see them. In a new analysis of observations dating back to 1898, Matese and Whitmire confirm their original idea: About 20 percent of the comets visible from Earth were sent by a dark, distant planet. This idea was a reaction to an earlier notion that a dim brown-dwarf or red-dwarf star, ominously dubbed Nemesis, has pummelled the Earth with deadly comet showers every 30 million years or so. Later research suggested that mass extinctions on Earth don't line up with the Nemesis predictions, so many astronomers now think that object doesn't exist. "But we began to ask, what kind of an object could you hope to infer from the present data that we are seeing?" Matese said. "What could possibly tickle [comets'] orbits and make them come very close to the sun so we could see them?" Rather than a malevolent death star, a smaller and more benign companion called Tyche (Nemesis' good sister in Greek mythology) could send comets streaming from the Oort Cloud toward Earth. The cosmic snowballs that form the hearts of comets generally hang out in the Oort Cloud until their orbits are nudged by some outside force. This push could come from one of three things, Matese said. The constant gravitational pull of the Milky Way's disk can drag comets out of their icy homes and into the inner solar system. A passing star can shake comets loose from the Oort Cloud as it zips by. Or a large companion like Nemesis or Tyche can pull comets out of their comfort zones. Computational models show that comets in each of these scenarios, when their apparent origins are mapped in space, make a characteristic pattern in the sky. "We looked at the patterns and asked, 'Is there additional evidence of a pattern that might be associated with a passing star or with a bound object?'" Matese said.

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While solar power gets a lot of attention in the US as a possible alternative energy source, European countries are focusing a great deal of attention on wind power. Denmark gets 20% of its power from wind, a percentage that's set to rise to at least 25% by the end of the decade. Most the Danish wind farms use giant turbines; these can be efficient, but expensive. Another up-and-coming wind power nation, Scotland, has decided to take a different approach: rooftop turbines. According to the Financial Times, the first five rooftop turbines in a pilot program have now been installed in Fife, using a new turbine technology from the Edinburgh-based firm Renewable Devices. Not designed to totally replace grid power, the turbines are intended to provide supplemental power. The Renewable Devices design is the first to be able to dampen the noise and vibration enough to allow rooftop installation. For now, the turbines cost £10,000, but Renewable Devices believes that they can get the price down to £1,500 in short order. The buildings in Fife installing the turbines received government subsidies, part of Scotland's overall plan to generate 10% of the country's power from renewable resources by 2010, and 40% by 2020. For those of us without access to the FT article, the Scottish Executive website has a press release: Launch of rooftop wind turbine pilot The first installation of a world-leading rooftop turbine took place today at a Fife school. One rooftop turbine is being installed at each of five Fife Primary schools in the new pilot, and if successful, the turbines could be sited on houses and buildings across Scotland. The revolutionary Swift turbine has been developed by Edinburgh company Renewable Devices Limited, and is at the cutting edge of global renewables technology.

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Distributed Systems and Applications Dr. E. Tuosto Computer networks and distributed applications have a paramount role in all-day life. Nowadays, it is hard to imagine stand-alone systems or applications. Practically, any modern computing device offers the possibility of being connected with other devices. At higher level, applications aim at exploiting networking capabilities of systems and tend to be more and more interconnected and communicating themselves. Programming this kind of distributed applications can result a hard task if not done at the appropriate level of abstraction. There are two main complex aspects to face with: (i) distributed systems are frequently made of heterogeneous devices and interact through many different communication infrastructure; (ii) modern distributed systems have different tiers (e.g., TCP/IP level, operating system, network system, etc.). Middlewares provide an abstraction of many low-level details of systems. They are meant to simplify software development and application integration by interfacing the application level with lower tier of distributed systems so that the programmer does not have to worry about implementation details. Also, middlewares allow the programmer to integrate applications developed for different execution context and in different times. The course reviews some notions of concurrent and distributed programming (e.g., threads and RMI) and presents the main models and principles behind the middlewares that in the last years many vendors (Microsoft, IBM, Sun, Oracle) have proposed. In fact, these proposals differ each other not only with respect to the technologies or architectures adopted, but also with respect to the underlying coordination models. The course also presents the use of some of the most common middlewares in the development of web-based and distributed applications.

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About this site The main goal of Across Cultures is to celebrate Canadian cultural diversity by highlighting the extraordinary contributions that different communities have made to Canada, as well as the many challenges they have had to face, while acknowledging the less praiseworthy moments in Canadian history regarding cultural diversity. The site is also intended as a tribute to filmmakers from various cultural and ethnic communities who have made it their work to show the Canadian population the great richness of their cultures. Lastly, the site is designed to help teachers present the issues around Canadian multiculturalism in a dynamic and inviting way that also matches the goals of their academic programs. Films and film clips The site features 120 films from the NFB collection (60 in English; 60 in French in the French part). Of those, 48 (24 in English; 24 in French in the French part) include an audio description for the blind and visually impaired; and 49 films (27 in English; 22 in French in the French part) are available with closed-captioning. Users will also find 164 film clips (80 in English; 84 in French in the French part). These 120 films are only a fraction of NFB productions on Canada’s ethnic and cultural communities; however, they are representative of communities from all over the country, and altogether more than 60 years of film production are covered. The selection does not include films on Aboriginal peoples, since another site – Aboriginal Perspectives – is devoted entirely to them. Some people may be surprised at the omission of well known works from our list. They are absent because we were unable to obtain online broadcast rights for all the films we might have wanted to include and because the project, which is supported by the Canadian Memory Fund, had to leave aside some newer works to give pride of place to those of high heritage value. How the site is organized The Across Cultures Web site is divided into five sections: Themes to Explore; Cinema and Representation; Points of View; See Everything, Hear Everything; and For Teachers. The Themes section covers 6 themes formulated as questions. Each theme includes film clips with accompanying questions, original articles and interviews with experts, public opinion polls, archival materials and classroom activities. Cinema and Representation considers the ways in which ethnic and cultural communities have been represented in NFB documentaries. In it, you will find film clips, archival materials, original articles by NFB experts, interviews with filmmakers and a classroom activity. The third section, Points of View, addresses issues of racism, identity and social integration in Canada. It comprises original articles by Canadian experts in the field, film clips and discussions. The See Everything, Hear Everything section gives users access to all the complete films, film clips, archival artefacts and other types of audiovisual content available on the site. Finally, For Teachers offers lesson plans, web links and bibliographic resources. It contains a Glossary of Terms (also available on the Tools menu) to familiarize users with the language of cultural diversity. Our main focus is on the complete films, but we also include film clips as an easy introduction to each section. The clips allow teachers, students and other users to quickly pinpoint specific content – the issues raised in each theme, expert viewpoints, or aspects of ethnic and cultural representation, for example. Of course, the complete films are always available and easily accessed for viewing. Clearly, we cannot claim to cover every aspect of diversity, describe every issue, raise every question, or mention the challenges and achievements of every ethnic and cultural community in the country. Across Cultures does, however, provide an excellent introduction to the area for anyone interested in multiculturalism and the issue of cultural diversity in Canada. We encourage users to visit two other sites our team has built with support from the Canadian Memory Fund, which also deal with issues of cultural diversity: Documentary Lens and Aboriginal Perspectives.

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The fairs can be treasure troves of free information, but they can be tough to navigate. Imagine a gymnasium crammed with tables for a hundred or more college reps, and snaking lines of overwhelmed teens and parents trying to figure out where to go. Basically, you need a game plan: Before You Go: - First, go online and download the list of participating colleges and any information sessions. Have your child decide which sessions he wants to hear, and which schools interest him most. - Print out a stack of mailing labels with his name, address, anticipated graduation date, intended major (if he knows it), and e-mail address. If he’s still using an e-mail address such as hotstuff9 or firstname.lastname@example.org, this would be an excellent time to pick a new one. Printing labels will save him from writing the exact same information over and over on 50 clipboards at the fair. - Lines tend to be long at college fairs, particularly at tables manned by reps from very popular colleges, so prioritize your time and your list of questions. Admission requirements and majors are listed online, so ask the questions that are not: “Will professors or grad students teach my classes?” “How many freshmen return the next year?” and “How will I sign up for classes - with assistance from the same faculty advisor for all four years, or on my own, via computer screen?” At the Fair: - Wear comfortable shoes, and bring a notebook and pen. Vendors usually provide bags so you can tote all those brochures and free pencils, but it’s a good idea to bring your own, just in case. - Plan your route by picking up a map when you first enter. Some fairs group state schools in one section, or put all the military academies together, but there’s always some alphabetical arrangement, so organize your “must see” list alphabetically, then compare it to the map. - If you’re planning to attend a session on financial aid or another aspect of college admissions, double check the schedule when you first arrive and keep an eye on the time. - Start making the rounds, spending the most time at colleges on your child’s list, but making sure you at least glance at other possibilities. There may be other schools here that would be a good fit too. Keep an open mind. - Encourage your child to move to the front of the lines - he may have to be assertive to get past all the helicopter parents - and add his contact information to the “yes, I’m interested” clipboard. Have him pick up any materials and ask his own questions. College reps want to talk to him, not you. - One caveat: college reps are there to pitch their schools and woo new applicants. Do not mistake a rep’s cheery optimism about your child’s less-than-stellar GPA and test scores for actual admissions savvy. Check out the school’s incoming freshman class profile before going to the trouble of applying. - Discuss what you saw. Make notes. Were there schools to add to your child's list or research further? Did new questions arise? Now it’s time to go online, take a closer look at those university web sites, and arrange a campus visit.

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The need to sleep has long plagued scientists. Why do we—and in fact every other animal with a nervous system—spend such large portions of our day sleeping? After all, there are so many other aspects of life that need our attention. Studies have suggested that sleep may function to consolidate memories, help us solve difficult problems, and boost our immune system. However, there’s still no conclusive answer to why sleep is so vital. This week, one hypothesis is gaining ground. It suggests that sleep is a “state of adaptive inactivity” that conserves energy when activity is either not required or is not particularly advantageous. In the most recent issue of Science, a group of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology tested this theory by looking at a system where near-constant activity, and therefore a lack of sleep, might benefit fitness. In pectoral sandpipers, male fitness is determined by access to females, and at the high Arctic latitudes in which these birds live, extremely long days enable males to engage in near-constant mating displays during periods of high female fertility. If giving up sleep to spend more time wooing potential mates increases the reproductive success of males, sleep in this species might depend more on the value of wakefulness, rather than the benefits of resting. The researchers recorded electrical activity from the brains and the muscular systems of several male sandpipers via electroencephalogram and electromyogram dataloggers, in order to determine the amount of time the males spent sleeping each day. The sleeping patterns of males varied greatly; some males slept as little as 2.4 hours per day, while others slept more than three times as much. Males that spent the least time sleeping during periods of high female fertility were rewarded; those that slept less interacted with more females, sired young with more females, and sired greater numbers of young overall than males that slept more. Because male pectoral sandpipers generally return to their breeding grounds yearly, it was possible for the scientists to assess survivorship by using return rates as a proxy; males that didn't return the next year were likely to have died. If sleep deprivation during the breeding season is detrimental to long-term health, males that give up sleep might be less likely to survive until the next year. However, the researchers found that males that were successful in breeding the previous year—those that slept less—were ten percent more likely to return the next year than other males. This suggests that males were not rendered less healthy over the long term by giving up sleep; in fact, they actually returned to breed at greater rates than birds that took more time out of their breeding season to sleep. The take-home message is surprisingly simple: self-imposed sleep deprivation is positively correlated with both reproductive success and survival in male arctic sandpipers. Furthermore, this study lends some credence to the theory that sleep may not be particularly beneficial when animals have something better to do. However, the period during which females are fertile is a relatively short three-week window. So males may be able to “catch up” on their sleep after the breeding season when females are not fertile. Additionally, the study did not test any short-term health risks of this strategy, or whether sleep deprivation in these males led to any type of reduced cognitive performance. It is possible that there are ramifications for sleep loss. But, in the grand scheme of biology, reproductive success is what matters, as it determines what traits are passed on to the next generation. And for male pectoral sandpipers, sacrificing sleep for sex appears to be a good strategy.

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Aleja wakes up very early in the morning, as she does every Saturday, to go to the market and buy the groceries for the week. She takes with her the same amount of money she usually does, but to her surprise she can’t even buy half of the things she needs. At home, Aleja has five small children waiting for her to bring them something to eat. She is a single parent, mother of two sponsored children from Betel Student Center in the city of Oruro. She was abandoned by her husband and left with her children. The family lives in a very small and dark room where they have three beds, a small table, some chairs and a small, wrecked shelf. Outside of the room, they use a small space covered with old pieces of calamines as their kitchen. Aleja works washing clothes. She earns around $21 per week, and that is how she supports her family. She uses the money to pay the rent, the water, the electricity, the gas and buy the food and some things her children need for school. Bolivia is experiencing a food crisis as a consequence of many things. Besides the inflation, there are other variables that are affecting the country. When we have the “typical” unrests, immediately some food is “hidden,” so people speculate, and as a consequence the prices rise. This general rise of prices in basic food has affected everybody, especially those who need it the most. “It affects my family because I can’t feed my children properly, I can’t provide them everything they need,” says Aleja. Families have had to reduce the number of meals they have every day, because what they earn and what they have is simply not enough. When people go to buy what they need for the week, they go back home with half, or less, of the things they were supposed to buy. It seems like money doesn’t have the same value anymore. It seems like money flies out of their hands. It seems like money falls out from holes in their pockets. Sonia, the Betel Student Center director says, “Many rather not eat bread anymore. They eat quinua (grain) or other things they bring from their crops. They eat chuño (dried potato) soup. They bring food from the country, like potatoes, chuño, grains, and that way they don’t have to buy things here. For example, they don’t eat oat, lentils or milk. Things that are good for them, they can’t have because they are too expensive.” The development centers have also been affected by this situation. Suddenly, the budget they had wasn’t enough, so they had to take some measures that also affected the children. They had to reduce the daily provision they gave the children in order to make the money last for the whole month. Sonia explains, “We were very sad, because we started to give the children only one plate of food. One day they received soup; the other a dry plate. We also suspended special activities for the children, like field trips. Also in the material for the classes, we stopped buying some things.” However, not everything is discouraging. Thanks to special funding through the Complementary Intervention Program (CIV), many children who have malnutrition will be helped by receiving extra nourishment at the student center. This intervention will benefit 80 child development centers in Bolivia. They will work with all of the undernourished registered children, up to 18 years old. Sonia says that parents are very thankful for this extra support they receive. They were already thankful for the meals, but this extra food can be considered an extra blessing for them. They are very thankful; they come here and say that here they can have meals and a soft drink. Those are the only three days they can eat. At their home they don’t. Children don’t miss a day at the center, even though many of them live far away and have to walk around one hour or more to get here.” The children are very thankful, too. They might not express it with words, but their faces of happiness, when they receive their meals, say it all.

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Biographies of Some Former Georgia Slaves Contributed by Robert Scott Davis Jr. The records resulting from the Civil War and Reconstruction contain information on the lives of tens of thousands of former slaves. Although the genealogically valuable surviving records of the Freedman’s Bank are being indexed, most of this material remains almost inaccessible for just one name or person. For information on these sources see the new guide to Georgia research being published by the Georgia Genealogical Society. The following brief biographies of twenty Georgia African Americans comes from The War of the Rebellion (1895), vol. 47, pp. 37-39. They went to Washington to meet with Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and General William Sherman about the future of African-Americans in Georgia on January 12, 1865. * William J. Campbell, aged fifty-one years, born in Savannah; slave until 1849, and then liberated by will of his mistress, Mrs. Mary Maxwell; for ten years pastor of the First Baptist Church of Savannah, numbering about 1,800 members; average congregation, 1,900; the church property, belonging to the congregation (trustees white), worth $18,000. * John Cox, aged fifty-eight years, born in Savannah; slave until 849, when he bought his freedom for $1,100; pastor of the Second African Baptist Church; in the ministry fifteen years; congregation, 1,222 persons; church property, worth $10,000 belonging to the congregation. * Ulysses L. Houston, aged forty-one years, born in Grahamville, S. C.; Slave “until the Union Army entered Savannah;”owned by Moses Henderson, Savannah, and pastor of the Third African Baptist Church, congregation numbering 400; church property, worth $5,000, belongs to congregation; in ministry about eight years. * William Bentley, aged seventy-two years, born in Savannah; slave until twenty-five years of age, when his master John Waters, emancipated him by will; pastor of Andrew’s Chapel, Methodist Episcopal Church (only one of that denomination in Savannah), congregation numbering 360 members; church property worth about $20,000, and is owned by congregation; been in the ministry about twenty years; a member of Georgia Conference. * Charles Bradwell, aged forty years, born in Liberty County, GA; slave until 1851; emancipated by will of his master, J. L. Bradwell; local preacher, in charge of the Methodist Episcopal congregation (Andrews Chapel) in the absence of the minister; in ministry ten years. * William Gaines, aged forty-one years, born in Wills County, GA; slave “until the Union Forces Freed me;” owned by Robert Toombs, formerly U. S. Senator, and his brother, Gabriel Toombs; local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Andrews Chapel); in the ministry sixteen years. * James Hill, aged fifty-two years, born in Bryan County, GA; slave “up till the time the Union Army comes in;” owned by H. F. Willings, of Savannah; in ministry sixteen years. * Glasgow Taylor, aged seventy-two years, born in Wilkes County, GA; slave “Until the Union Army come;” owned by A. P. Wetter; is a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal Church (Andrew’s Chapel); in the ministry thirty-five years. * Garrison Frazier, aged sixty-seven years, born in Granville County, N. C.; slave until eitht years ago, when he bought himself and wife, paying $1,000 in gold and silver; is an ordained minister in the Baptist Church, but, his health failing, has now charge of no congregation; has been in the ministry thirty-five years. * James Mills, aged forty-six years, born in Savannah; freeborn, and is a licensed preacher of the First Baptist Church; has been eight years in the ministry. * Abraham Burke, aged forty-eight years, born in Bryan County, GA; slave until twenty years ago, when he bought himself for $800; has been in the ministry about ten years. * Arthur Wardell, aged forty-four years, born in Liberty County, GA; slave “until freed by the Union Army;” owned by A. A. Solomons, Savannah, and is a licensed minister in the Baptist Church; has been in the ministry six years. * Alexander Harris, aged forty-seven years, born in Savannah; freeborn; licensed minister of Third African Baptist Church; licensed about one month ago. * Andrew Neal, aged sixty-one years, born in Savannah; slave “until the Union Army liberated me;” owned by Mr. William Gibbons, and has been deacon in the Third Baptist Church for ten years. * James Porter, aged thirty-nine years, born in Charleston, S. C.; freeborn, his mother having purchased her freedom; is lay reader and president of the board of Wardens and Vestry of Saint Stephen’s Protestant Episcopal Colored Church in Savannah; has been in communion nine years; the congregation numbers about 200 persons; the church property is worth about $10,000 and is owned by the congregation. * Adolphus Delmotte, aged twenty-eight years, born in Savannah; freeborn; is a licensed minister of the Missionary Baptist Church of Milledgeville, congregation numbering about 300 or 400 persons; has been in the ministry about two years. * Jacob Godfrey, aged fifty-seven years, born in Marion, S. C.; slave “until the Union Army freed me;” owned by James E. Godfrey, Methodist preacher, now in the rebel army; is a class leader and steward of Andrew’s Chapel since 1836. * John Johnson, aged fifty one years, born in Bryan County, GA; slave “up to the time the Union Army came here”; owned by W. W. Lincoln, of Savannah; is class leader and treasurer of Andrew’s Chapel for sixteen years. * Robert N. Taylor, aged fifty-one years, born in Wilkes County, GA; slave “to the time the Union Army come;” was owned by Augustus P. Wetter, Savannah, and is class leader in Andrew’s Chapel for mine years. * James Lynch, aged twenty-six years. Born in Baltimore, MD; freeborn; is presiding elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and missionary to the Department of the South; has been seven years in the ministry and two years in the South.

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Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (billion cubic meters) Annual freshwater withdrawals refer to total water withdrawals, not counting evaporation losses from storage basins. Withdrawals also include water from desalination plants in countries where they are a significant source. Withdrawals can exceed 100 percent of total renewable resources where extraction from nonrenewable aquifers or desalination plants is considerable or where there is significant water reuse. Withdrawals for agriculture and industry are total withdrawals for irrigation and livestock production and for direct industrial use (including withdrawals for cooling thermoelectric plants). Withdrawals for domestic uses include drinking water, municipal use or supply, and use for public services, commercial establishments, and homes. Data are for the most recent year available for 1987-2002.

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Some of Palawan’s reefs are sad reflections of warming ocean temperatures. White skeletons are all that remain of previously colorful and varied coral reefs around the island. The phenomena is known as ‘coral bleaching’, caused by too warm of ocean temperatures. Scientists cited in the article below hold out hope for these damaged reefs. Apparently, some corals can adapt to warming temperatures, and even thrive in them. Studies are being done in Kiribati, an island in the South Pacific, very close to the equator, where ocean temperatures are the hottest. An international team of scientists, including lead researchers from Canada and Australia published an article on March 30, in the journal PLoS ONE, Click on the link below to read the article from ScienceDaily.com: Excerpt from article says, the study: . . . paves the way towards an important road map on the impacts of ocean warming, and will help scientists identify the habitats and locations where coral reefs are more likely to adapt to climate change. “We’re starting to identify the types of reef environments where corals are more likely to persist in the future,” says study co-author Simon Donner, an assistant professor in UBC’s Department of Geography and organizer of the field expedition. “The new data is critical for predicting the future for coral reefs, and for planning how society will cope in that future.” When water temperatures get too hot, the tiny algae that provides coral with its colour and major food source is expelled. This phenomenon, called coral bleaching, can lead to the death of corals. The researchers say coral reefs may be better able to withstand the expected rise in temperature in locations where heat stress is naturally more common. This will benefit the millions of people worldwide who rely on coral reefs for sustenance and livelihoods, they say. “Until recently, it was widely assumed that coral would bleach and die off worldwide as the oceans warm due to climate change,” says lead author Jessica Carilli, a post-doctoral fellow in Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s (ANSTO) Institute for Environmental Research. “This would have very serious consequences, as loss of live coral — already observed in parts of the world — directly reduces fish habitats and the shoreline protection reefs provide from storms.” This is very good news for Palawan. DonnaOnPalawan wishes these scientists and their studies continuing success. My novel’s plot revolves around Palawan’s coral reefs and fish life, as I am very concerned about this issue. Palawan’s coral reefs are a precious resource. We hope the damage will be halted, and the reefs will thrive on into the future.

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Although their state has three coal ash impoundments rated as “poor” by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kent Conrad today introduced a bill that cuts EPA efforts to regulate coal ash disposal. Their bill is identical to H.R. 2273, which passed the House of Representatives last Friday. North Dakota has unresolved coal ash problems at three dangerous dams and a history of serious contamination by coal ash, yet Senators Hoeven and Conrad are ready to embrace a bill that will, according to the White House, “undermine the Federal government’s ability to ensure that requirements for management and disposal of coal combustion residuals are protective of human health and the environment.” The Senate bill will also kill 28,000 potential new jobs that would be created by a strong coal ash rule, according to a new report by a Tufts University senior economist. “It is beyond irresponsible for the senators to offer a bill that fails to cure the safety problems facing their own state,” says Earthjustice attorney Lisa Evans. “And it is with great disregard of their civic responsibility that they support a bill that places the citizens of other states at great peril.” Last week, the EPA released the results of 144 new inspections of significant and high hazard coal ash ponds. EPA inspectors gave 48 of the ponds “poor” ratings, including the three large coal ash ponds in North Dakota. Despite the obvious threats coal ash have on drinking waters and nearby communities, the House passed H.R. 2273, a bill that blocks the EPA from setting the first-ever federal regulations for toxic coal ash, America’s second largest industrial waste. “Those who will pay the greatest price aren’t the polluter who would have to clean up their mess, it’s the communities and families living near these toxic dumps,” states Evans. EPA inspectors found fault with the three significant-hazard coal ash ponds at the Leland Olds Power Station in Stanton, ND, about 50 miles northwest of Bismarck. All three ponds lacked the necessary slope stability and hydraulic and liquefaction analyses to confirm stability. The EPA rates dams “poor” when there are no tests to confirm the dams’ stability. Also, the oldest and highest pond (approximately 3.5 stories tall) lacked erosion protection. This dam is 46 years old, beyond the recommended lifespan of 40 years for a coal ash impoundment. The other two ponds are approximately 35 years old. None of the dams was designed, constructed or maintained by a professional engineer, according to information submitted to the EPA by the owner of the dams, Basin Electric Coop. According to the EPA, a significant hazard potential classification is given to dams where failure or mis-operation can cause economic loss, environment damage, disruption of lifeline facilities, or have other impacts. The significant-hazard dams at the Leland Olds Power Station had not been inspected in the last 5 years, according to the plant owner. Like many other states, North Dakota has very poor regulations governing the management and inspection of coal ash ponds. Deficiencies include the state’s failure to require regulatory inspections of ponds, as well as the failure to require emergency action plans or inundation mapping. Also like many other states, North Dakota fails to require all ponds to be lined, and water monitoring data to be submitted to the state. Also, North Dakota has experienced severe contamination of groundwater and surface water from poor coal ash management, including poisoning of drinking water with toxic chemicals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium and lead. Of the more than 137 documented coal ash-contaminated sites nationwide, five are in North Dakota.

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Students and teachers in the Francis Howell School District (FHSD) are taking advantage of the district’s new technology initiative, B.Y.O.T. which means, “Bring Your Own Technology.” Students at Francis Howell High School (FHHS) had the opportunity to utilize their personal digital devices to conduct research to complete an English research assignment during end of course assessments. Freshman English teachers at FHHS were unable to access the school library computers due to testing; however, this did not stop students from completing their assignment. Teachers and students gathered in the upper commons area at the high school, where they were able to conduct research using their digital devices. Students without digital devices used books that were wheeled in on book carts and students with smart devices were able to download mobile apps, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, to finish their research. Teachers were amazed at how well students worked, as they were engaged for the entire 90 minute scheduled course time. Although, all teachers have not begun to incorporate B.Y.O.T. into their curriculums or teaching practices Gina Hartman, Educational Technology Specialist for the Francis Howell School District, says that B.Y.O.T. is important for student learning. “It allows for ubiquitous access and learning, anywhere and anytime,” said Hartman. “In a B.Y.O.T. classroom the teachers’ role shifts from the expert to the facilitator, allowing for 21st century learning to take place.” Brian Santos, Spanish teacher and Instructional Technology Specialist at Francis Howell North (FHN) High School, has incorporated B.Y.O.T. in his classroom curriculum in numerous ways by allowing students to use their cell phones. Santos uses the online website www.poleeverywhere.com, a real-time inexpensive mobile and web technology, to conduct surveys or ask multiple-choice questions about a specific topic. Students use text messaging to submit their responses to a provided number and instantly the results are displayed in graph format in the teacher’s PowerPoint presentation or web browser. Santos also uses Google Voice, which allows students to answer questions in Spanish to practice their speech and pronunciation as well as practice self-editing techniques. Yodio.com is a program that Santos recently used for a family history project, where students were able to upload images and narrate audio clips from their mobile devices about their families. Santos also uses ipadio.com to create live broadcasts and podcasts from any phone to the Internet live. Additionally, Santos is also heavily involved with professional development at FHN and says that because there has been a culture shift of digital immigrants (those of the pre-digital age) and digital natives (native speakers of the digital language); many teachers fall into the digital immigrant category. “Teachers fall into a distinct population; some are digital immigrants and some are digital natives,” said Santos. “A lot of teachers are digital immigrants and are apprehensive about using technology; my job is to make teachers more comfortable with technology usage in the classroom.” However, some teachers are apprehensive of allowing students to use their personal devices in the classroom because every student does not have access to digital devices outside of the school environment. In a recent survey conducted at FHN, Santos found that 75 percent of students owned a cell phone and 60 percent of students owned a Smartphone, for example Apple iPhone, Blackberry or Android. This may seem to pose a problem, but Santos encourages students to share devices or submit answers in an alternate form for in-class assignments. Hartman says teachers have the option of checking out mobile devices from school libraries. “Teachers can check out mobile devices that are available in the library for those students or incorporate cooperative learning activities where students are in small groups working and each individual students doesn’t need their own mobile device,” said Hartman. Although, B.Y.O.T. is only currently being offered at the middle and high school levels, Hartman says the ultimate goal is to encourage more teachers to incorporate B.Y.O.T. into their teaching curriculums next school year. Hartman encourages teachers interested in B.Y.O.T. to sign-up for district workshops or look for professional development opportunities that will be offered during the school year. “Students have cell phones and use them for entertainment, why not use them for learning,” said Santos. “I think teachers should try to incorporate new digital technologies into education; thus bringing entertainment to education.” Click here to access the FHSD B.Y.O.T. Guide for students, teachers and parents.

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