Split (1)

train · ~125M rows (showing the first 849k)

text stringlengths 144 682k
How To Make A Projector? Here’s Our Answer A projector is an optical device that projects an image onto a surface. It basically takes a picture and projects it. The first thing that you should do is gather all the necessary materials. You will need a cereal box, some aluminum foil, a hole puncher, a compass, tape and some glue. There are many ways through which you can make your own projector. The projector is an excellent tool which can be used in different fields. Building your own projector is a fun DIY project that you can do either by yourself or with the whole family. Although it is not a professional projector and might not produce a perfect image, it gives a pretty nice result. You can use it as a neat little gadget for your kid’s birthday party or create special effects for Halloween . This project is a fun way for kids to learn about lenses and light and an excellent way to re-utilize materials. Guide How To Make Projector At Home What do you need: • A big screen • An Android device or PC • A projector lens • Some tape or glue • A cardboard box for your projector • A stand for the projector • A table to mount everything on – A light source Different ways to make Your Own Projector At Home Step 1: Choose the Right Mirror and Box To build this projector, we will place a mirror and a magnifying lens in a box to make the light rays coming from your phone create a bigger projected image. The more light reaches the magnifying glass, the brighter your final image would be. For that reason, you want to have a relatively narrow box to avoid light dispersion before reaching the glass. You need a long box so that you can adjust the distance between the projecting lens and your phone. With that in mind, you need to use a box that your phone’s screen will fit across. In my case, I took a box 16x31x12 cm. Step 2: Black Out the Inside of Projector for Better Image Quality Light reflecting off from the walls of the box would cause noise and can result in lower image quality . To avoid that, you should make the inner sides of the projector black. You can coat the inside of the projector by glueing black matte paper. Use a brush to evenly spread the glue so that the black paper is attached firmly to the box. If you prefer, you can use double-sided tape instead of glue. Step 3: Install the Lens Take the magnifying glass and remove its handle. Trace the outline of the magnifying glass on the centre of the narrow side you’ve cut out. Use the precision knife to cut out the outline so that the magnifying glass fits snugly in the opening you’ve made. Step 4: Making an Adjustable and Manual Focus Having an adjustable focus means we need to be able to move the lens in relation to the phone. To achieve that, you need to construct a second box that will fit inside the outer box. Take the measurements of the inside of the box. Create folds in 4 sheets of black paper so that they fit the edges of the box, use a ruler to create precise folds in the paper. Step 5: Installing the Mirror in the Cardboard The lens projects images from the phone by concentrating and refracting the light. This means that the image we get on the wall is flipped upside down and left to right. Fixing the first is easy. All you have to do is to deactivate the phone’s screen auto-rotate option and place the phone upside down. Place the mirror at a 45⁰ angle on against the side that is opposite of the lens. Check that when you look at the mirror from up, you can see the projecting lens. Step 6: Cut Out a Window for Your Smartphone Measure the width and length of your phone’s screen. Draw a rectangle with your phone screen size on the lid of the projector, right above the mirror. Fit the magnifying glass into the hole you cut out. How Does A Home Made Projector Work? The idea behind a projector is that light rays coming from your phone pass through a magnifying lens placed in a certain distance. This creates a bigger projected image. This image will be inverted, but this can be fixed by placing a mirror between the phone and the lens. Projector Why Is My Homemade Projector Image Upside Down? The image of your homemade projector is upside-down when it is built with just one convex lens. The image will be inverted and enlarged. Which lens Is Used In A Homemade Projector You need a convex lens to build a homemade projector. These lenses are bigger in the centre than on their edges. The easiest way to get a convex lens is to use a magnifying glass. You can remove the holder and place it in your projector. Projector How Do I make My Projector Screen Bigger? Most projectors have a zoom ring to enlarge the image. If you have a homemade projector, you probably won’t have a zoom ring. The easiest way to make the screen bigger is by placing the projector further. You might need to readjust the focus by moving the phone back and forth. The Science Behind IT? How did the magnifying glass make the picture bigger? The answer is in the shape of the lens. The lens is convex, meaning its sides bend outwards. This allows it to catch, bend, and focus all the light from inside the box and project it onto the wall. The human eye has a lens similar to the magnifying glass attached to the projector. What the eye sees comes through the eye’s lens upside down but the brain learns to flip the image right side up. The magnifying lens flips the image through refracting the light from the phone’s screen just like your eye flips the light from the world. Leave a Reply
Thursday, 28 March 2019 Netfilter's conntrack People who use Linux for firewalling tend to use iptables to set up their rules. The subsystem in the Linux kernel that actually does the firewalling is called Netfilter. I've never found a complete description of all of Netfilter's features, especially some of the lesser used ones. So here is a bit of an overview which includes a few recent discoveries that I've not seen documented elsewhere: Netfilter includes a connection tracker, which can keep track of each flow that the system is handling. Each flow has a 32 bit value called the connection mark (connmark), which you can use for anything you like. This mark allows you to record 32 bits of information that persists as long as the flow does rather than having to treat each packet in complete isolation. Packets traversing through the system are always in one of the following connection tracking states: UNTRACKED, INVALID, NEW, ESTABISHED, RELATED. UNTRACKED and INVALID refer to packets that are either explicitly being excluded from connection tracking, or that the connection tracker doesn't think are valid for the current state of the flows that it knows about. When a new flow is established, the first packet is in either the NEW or RELATED state, and subsequent packets are in the ESTABLISHED state. RELATED means that netfilter thinks that the new flow is somehow related to another flow, and therefore shouldn't be handled in complete isolation. I've seen information elsewhere that says that when a flow starts in the RELATED state, it inherits the connmark from the parent. Experimentation shows that this isn't entirely accurate (or at least, not entirely clear). It turns out that flows that start in the RELATED state permanently share the same connmark data with the flow(s) that they are related to. This means that if any of the flows change their connmark, those changes also affect any other flows that they are related to. The REJECT filter target asks the kernel to drop the packet being processed and reply with some kind of packet that indicates that it was rejected. For example, "-j REJECT --reject-with tcp-reset" will respond with a TCP RST packet. The response packet originates in the OUTPUT chains and has a state of RELATED, rather than being considered part of the original connection as you might expect. In the case of rejecting connections with a TCP RST packet, the RST will, of course, have the same 5-tuple as the original TCP connection. There doesn't appear to be any way of accessing a unique ID that identifies the flow, so as far as I can tell it is (probably) impossible for an external application to reliably tell the difference between packets belonging to the original (rejected) flow, and packets belonging to the related flow that carries the RST. It is a shame that a flow ID isn't made available to user applications through the NFLOG / NFQUEUE interface. Some poking around suggests that a flow ID might be available through the NFQA_CT section of the netlink message, so that warrants further investigation maybe. No comments: Post a Comment
Why did the coal miners strike during the war? Strikes. A combination of war weariness, fears for the future and the new bargaining power that the labour shortage created for the miners meant industrial relations in coal were often poor. Trade union leaders were committed to the war effort and involved in its planning at a local and regional level. Why did the coal miners go on strike? Miners striked for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of their union. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to major American cities. When was the coal miners strike? List of miners’ strikesStrikeCountryYear(s)Coal Creek miners’ strike of 1891–1892United States1891–1892Columbine Mine strikeUnited States1927Copper Country strike of 1913–14United States1913–14Cripple Creek miners’ strike of 1894United States1894Ещё 38 строк Why did England’s miners go on strike? The cause was the hours of work for surface workers, who were often older mineworkers who were no longer capable of working underground. Wages were lower, and working hours were longer for surface work than for underground work. IT IS INTERESTING: How many countries use coal for energy? What did coal miners do? Why did Thatcher want to close the mines? What caused the 3 day week? The Three-Day Week was one of several measures introduced in the United Kingdom by the Conservative government at the time to conserve electricity, the generation of which was severely restricted owing to the effects of the 1973–74 oil crisis on transportation and inflation. How many mines did Thatcher close? In early 1984, the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher announced plans to close 20 coal pits which led to the year-long miners’ strike which ended in March 1985. How long did the miners strike last in 1972? The strike lasted seven weeks and ended after miners agreed to a pay offer on 19 February. Are there any coal mines left in the UK? Functioning deep mine and opencast coal mines in the United Kingdom (UK) 2000-2019. … The number of deep coal mines has been steadily falling from 33 in 2000, while the number of opencast sites, which remain more common, has varied a lot more. IT IS INTERESTING: Best answer: Is Coke a carbon? When did the miners strike end? March 3, 1985 Where does UK coal come from? What were flying pickets in the miners strike? It is primarily used when only one workplace is being picketed or for a symbolically or practically important workplace. Due to the numbers involved, a mass picket may turn into a potentially unlawful blockade. … The first recorded use of flying pickets was during the 1969 miners’ strike in Britain. What is the life expectancy of a coal miner? Is coal mining still dangerous? How much did miners get paid in the 1800’s? IT IS INTERESTING: How can I get a job in Coal India Quora? Coal mine
Psychologists and sociologists are always trying to find similarities between the behaviour and attributes of successful individuals in the hopes of uncovering the ultimate secrets for success. In his new bestselling book, Originals, Adam Grant aims to explore what makes certain people original, unique and stand out in history. It is a captivating book that should be read by every entrepreneur, artist or anyone who wants a successful career. One of the theories in Grant’s book is that successful people don’t necessarily do better work, they simply do more work. He argues that most successful people do lots of things in the hopes that something hits the jackpot. Think of Thomas Edison, for example. Edison is known for a handful of incredible inventions, like the light bulb, phonograph, motion pictures and a few more. While only a limited amount of his inventions actually went on to change the world, he patented a total of 1093 inventions. It is important to note that this is not the same as saying that successful people simply keep on trying until they get their big break and then everything they touch turns to gold. Most successful people basically have a large portfolio of unsuccessful attempts with a few prominent success stories in between. In 2010, Sandra Bullock won (and accepted) the Worst Actress Razzie award for her role in All About Steve, and the very next day she won the Best Actress Oscar for The Blind Side. Below we have listed more examples that demonstrate that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the princes among them. 1. Shakespeare Most people are familiar with some of Shakespeare’s work. But, did you know that in total Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets? During the same 5-year period that he wrote some of his most famous works like Macbeth, King Lear and Othello, he also wrote what critics call his worst; Timon of Athens and All’s Well That Ends Well. 2. Mozart When the London Philharmonic Orchestra compiled a list of the greatest pieces of classical music ever created, the list included 6 pieces by Mozart. There are about 10 or so pieces by Mozart that are the most popular among theatres across the world. But, during his short career, Mozart composed over 600 pieces of work. 3. Beethoven Similar to Mozart, Beethoven had 5 pieces mentioned in the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s list of greatest classical music pieces. Over the span of his career, however, he wrote over 650 pieces of music. 4. Bach Bach had 3 pieces that made the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s list but he wrote over a thousand pieces during his career. 5. Picasso How many pieces of Picasso’s art will you be able to recognise? Well, his portfolio included 1 800 paintings, 1 200 sculptures, 2 800 ceramics and 12 000 drawings. 6. Maya Angelou Angelou had numerous successful pieces, like her poems On the Pulse of Morning and Still I Rise, but these are just a part of a collection of 166 poems. Her critically acclaimed autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, was also one of 7 she wrote. 7. Albert Einstein Einstein’s work greatly transformed the world of physics, but many of the 248 papers he published had very little impact. You can find even more mind-blowing theories on success and creativity in Adam Grant’s bestselling book, Originals. About The Author Enrique Grobbelaar Leave a Reply Your email address will not be published.
Breaking the Habit – Are Electronic Cigarettes Actually Healthy? Breaking the Habit – Are Electronic Cigarettes Actually Healthy? One of the differences between e smoking cigarettes and tobacco smokes is that e Cigarettes commonly contains much less nicotine than tobacco cigarettes. In fact, a typical e cigarette typically contains only about one to two milligrams of nicotine, far less than the hundreds of milligrams of nicotine within cigarettes. This means that a smoker will not experience the same hurry of nicotine as a smoker would from a puff of a normal cigarette. However, it can make these cigarette users feel as if they are still “smoking cigarettes”. There are several who declare that because an e cigarette doesn’t contain smoke and doesn’t contain any superstar, it isn’t nearly as unsafe as smoking a regular tobacco cigarette. Proponents of the cigarettes even so, dispute this point, claiming that the tar in tobacco smoke can still be absorbed by your skin. The electronic cigarette also doesn’t produce smoke such as a tobacco cigarette, meaning that there is absolutely no lingering aftertaste. However, it is important to note that these aren’t the only real benefits of electronic cigarettes. The lack of smoke also means they are less harmful for the lungs than a cigarette. For this reason, many children vapinger.com are now starting to use electronic cigarettes in place of cigarettes. There are numerous types of e Cigarette on the market today, each with its own group of benefits. There are basically two types of electric cigarettes that are currently available. The first is known as the Mod-Cig. This type of electronic cigarette has shown to have hardly any if any affect on customers, but it can cost upwards of $300. The second reason is the upgraded Smok3. Smok3 possesses found a way to eliminate one of the most common problems connected with mod-cigs and contains been deemed to be a healthier alternative to the typical e Cig. Right now, lets have a look at what typically occurs inside of an e Cigarette. Generally, an aerosol is released from the bottom end of the device. This aerosol typically has nicotine and Propylene Glycol. It is very important note that the aerosol will not contain any sort of tar or other harmful chemicals that can be bad for the individual who’s smoking the e Cig. Even so, Propylene Glycol typically contains carbon dioxide, which may be highly addictive, especially if the smoker inhales several puff. The key reason why e-Cigarettes may be a great way to break the smoking addiction is because they don’t contain any dangerous chemicals or other harmful substances. In addition they do not contain any type of tar or serious metals like lead. Moreover, e-Cigarettes may provide the smoker with the same degree of satisfaction as regular cigarettes. So, e-Cigarettes might be a perfect alternative for individuals who are looking to quit smoking completely.
Quick Answer: Can You Use Milk Instead Of Water For Tomato Soup? Can you add milk to tomato soup without curdling? What can I use as a substitute for tomato soup? Do you have to add water to soup? Dilute the soup with water or low-sodium broth. Most canned soups are condensed and require the addition of water when you prepare them. If you add more water than is recommended, you’ll decrease the amount of sodium per serving. If adding water dilutes too much of the flavor, add a low-sodium broth instead. Why does tomato soup curdle with milk? What can I add to tomato soup to make it less acidic? How do you get rid of curdled milk in soup? Problem: Your cream or butter sauce has curdled Remove the curdled sauce from heat immediately and place pan in an ice bath, which will immediately halt the cooking process. You may add an ice cube to the sauce as well. This quick-cooling should help bring the sauce back together.
This slideshow requires JavaScript. On the tenth of September 2017, PragerU published one of their 5-minute videos. The video was called If You Live in Freedom, Thank the British Empire and it was presented by H. W. Crocker III. The subject of the video is summarized above. This video made me curious about the sources. At first, I saw myself challenged to have to find out on what sources Crocker based himself, however, PragerU was kindly enough to publish the transcript of the video and an overview of Facts and Sources. They can be found here: The purpose of this post is to go through the list of facts & sources and examine each of them and see if they support his statements. See also: Five reasons PragerU might be more critical towards their contributors. The Siege of Jadotville Some time ago, in the early sixties, Belgian Congo, located smack bang in the middle of Africa, moved towards independence. Not everyone was thrilled with the idea. For one, a sizeable group of people living in the mineral-rich province of Katanga(uranium) wanted independence from independent Congo, while the original colonizers, the Belgians, wanted no independence at all. Both being the enemy of their enemy, they went for one of those curious alliances that defy logic and Katanga was declared independent. To make sure it retained it’s independence Katanga was supplied with an army of mercenaries. French ones, given by De Gaulle, so the movie tells us. The new government of Congo under Lumumba tried to conquer the state of Katanga by force. Since the west and the UN seemed lackluster in their support, Lumumba turned to the Soviets for aid. With the cold war edging towards a new high Congo seemed to become a battle ground where east and west could fight the cold war by proxy. So the United Nations stepped in with the aim to prevent this from happening or to control the damage. (which it did in hindsight). In this complicated political scene a company of Irish soldiers gets ordered to take control of a place called Jadotville as part of their UN Peacekeeping mission. Unfortenatly, we are not informed why that particular place. It gets hinted at that it is an important location, but what are the orders? What orders? The movie does spend some time on the background of the incident, but when it comes to the main part of the movie, we are clueless. What are these guys doing there anyway? The compound consists of a few buildings. Wisely enough the commander has his men dig trenches. Which is following the sage advice: dig in dammit! After some preliminaries, we get to the meat of the movie, which consists of an hour of battles scenes. There is little time for anything else but explosions and shooting. Character development is the first victim in this movie. The French dude. He is the honorable enemy. Who is he anyway? Allrighty.. I just killed like three hundred of your men with no loss of my own. No hard feelings, right. That is the enemy. Figures in a landscape. The second victim is, of course, the truth. Politicians are not to be trusted and leave noble soldiers to fend for themselves.Reality is probably more complex and given that the movie spends some time on background, but not enough to flesh out the characters we are never given an insight into the complex political background and motives of the persons involved. In fact, the movie would have done better with leaving this part out entirely and not painting those involved in this tense complex political situation in a bad light with such rough brushstrokes. It is easy to point the finger at them politicians. A more noble and heroic movie would have shown how hard the job actually is. O’Brien being appointed by the UN Secretary. O’Brien’s career as an international politician was broken in Congo/Katanga incident. He is the bad guy. And there you have it. Katanga’s prime minister Thombe doesn’t think well of the UN. .The siege of Jadotville isn’t really a good movie. Its main flaw is a lack of character development. Except for the commander, everyone is forgettable. But even as a historical insight into the events it leaves much to be desired. The same old story can be found here: untrusty politicians are selling out the noble soldiers. There is simply no time taken to delve into the complex world of cold war politics, but just enough to lay the blame with the usual suspects. The issue isn’t that there is someone to blame, the issue is that a good movie would show how a person choose his path, not because he is an untrusty bad person, but because that was his best choice, according to him at that time. But even as a war movie it lacks the quality of say: Karthoum, Zulu, The Alamo, The lost battalion, Saving Private Ryan or the defense of Arnhem bridge by Frost in A bridge too far. It is just a boring sequence of heroics that get to be unbelievable. The siege of Jadotville rightly salutes the company of Irish soldiers who ended up in a bad situation at a bad time, but it dishonors them at the same time by making a complex situation easy by laying blame by the politicians for betraying them. I know this is a hugely popular thing, but you can’t just do away history because you dislike politicians. It would have been a better movie if it had just not taken that path but had given the politicians their due. Politicians are people and they sometimes have to make hard choices. It would be a great movie that takes that into account. Story telling: In the heat of the night 2/2 This is a classic WTF moment. The next scenes move the story towards the slap scene. Tibbs instantly returns the favor, to the astonishment of everyone. Movie thoughts: Beasts of no nation The scene. Three young boys stand on the edge of a water basin. The fist is saluting repeatedly the second one. The second boy tells the third one that he is training the first one to be a warrior. Less than 50 feet away of their comrades executes an enemy soldier. [SCM]actwin,0,0,0,0;Netflix - Google Chrome chrome 3/24/2016 , 6:00:11 PM [SCM]actwin,0,0,0,0;Netflix - Google Chrome chrome 3/24/2016 , 5:59:58 PM War used to be a man’s business. I don’t mean to write this in a melancholic way. Like something has been lost and should be shed tears over. For me it is an observation from history. A matter of historical fact. History used to be my business a long time ago. Specifically warfare..Until I got fed up with it. I threw out all my books, but I kept one. It is called: Warfare in the Classical World. It tells me that a warrior of the Greek age had to carry around armor that weighed something like 60 pounds. Not something a mere boy could carry to or on the battlefield..It requires a grown up man to do so. Mind you a modern day soldier still carries a hefty weight around, but if need be.. he can do without it in battle. Modern warfare has been a kind of equalizer. That is to say: any man, when properly trained, could fire a gun that kills any other man. .And since no armor could stand up to a gun in the end, it inevitably caused the downfall of those who were privileged to afford armor. Back in those days personal wealth could provide protection in the days that knights ruled the battlefield. Common wealth provided the lowly citizen with the power to undo that. A beggar could kill a knight with something as cheap as a gun. And a lot of beggars could kill the few knights at random by using a lot of guns. History shows a few key moments. The battle of Arsuf; where crossbowmen ruled the field, or the battle of Agincourt where long-bowmen dominated, but more in evidence are the movies Kagemusha.. where the samurai are defeated by firearms and The Last Samurai, that is about the final defeat of the samurai at the hands of a regular army equipped with modern firearms. When it is possible to arm mere beggars with guns to defeat an army, it wouldn’t be illogical to arm mere boys to do the same. [SCM]actwin,0,0,0,0;Netflix - Google Chrome chrome 3/24/2016 , 5:58:39 PM And that is what movie Beasts of No Nation is about. Here is a movie that, without reservation or pastiche, just shows the bare truth. In modern times you can even arm a boys to kill men. And what is more: they would be better at it because sense is only developed a later age. Hence at that age.. there is no sense.. and without sense they can arbitrarily kill anyone without any reservation. You just point the finger. They are killing machines… Arm boys with guns and guns and boys will rule you.. without mercy and predictability.Not because they are evil, but because that is how they are raised. They do what they do.. because they are boys. Beasts of no nation shows this without reserve or pastiche. Without a message or anything. It just shows. It a well made movie.. and scary. Movie review: Colombiana I would contend that almost any story is a voyage – often a mental one, if not always – and not seldom expressed in a physical one, where the protagonists move from one place to the next as a mirror to their mental journey in which they travel from one state to the other. Just some movies I can name are obvious ones like The Lord of the Rings or Saving Private Ryan. There are less obvious ones like The Third man or the Edge of Tomorrow. And there are even reversed ones like were the main characters are in one place in the way of others travelling. While the reason for the journey is actually not the most important part of the journey, it is important enough as it can even have a profound influence due to the state of mind a person is in when the journey starts. Colombiana is a movie where the main protagonist Cataleya is confronted by the violent deaths of her parents. Her state of being is one of assumed innocence: as a nine year old child she sits at the kitchen table of her home, dressed in a neath clean black and white school uniform as violence erupts around her. With a inward turned gaze in her big doe brown eyes she faces the main henchman, who walks up to her, sit downs and talks to her. It is almost a Tarantino moment. Almost, as it isn’t. For Megaton shows himself to be the lesser of directors by ruining it. Had he started out with this moment it might have captured some of the tension and even made the next scene tolerable. The one in which the nine year old drives a knife through the bad guys hand into the table underneath, then runs through the house, jumps through a small window and descends several storeys while being chased by goons emptying their guns at her. What young kid could keep her wits to pull off well considered actions after having experienced the mental shock of her parents deaths, those that triggers her screams for revenge? Only a seriously mentally disturbed one can: a psychopath that has no feelings. So was this presumable innocent child, about to turn into a vengeful assassin, already a cold hearted murderer to start with? Was she already a natural born killer? It would have worked if that had been born out in the next part of the movie. We fastforward fifteen years after Cataleya has found shelter with her uncle and demanded to be turned into an angel of death by him. Apparently he has not only the means to provide her with the necessary skills and equipment, but also the will, as is born out by the ludicrous scene in which he pulls out a gun and shoots at random people and cars on a crossing to make the point that anyone can shoot anyone at random, but you can’t get away with it. Which he proceeds to do next as he walks out while the police cars drive past. What message that conveys. If the next part of the story would have told the journey of Cataleya’s demise as psychopath killer- but what psychopath would require the excuse for killing of deaths that occured 15 years ago- or ascension(or downfall) as a human being struggling to get away from her maimed past, it would have been a better movie. It reminds me of the movie Hannah, where Hannah is trained by her father to be that killer Cataleya’s is supposed to be, but while Hannah starts to change when confronted by the interaction with ‘normal’ humans, Cataleya doesn’t: she just has sex with them. For the four ‘intimate’ moments that she has with her lover has two with mainly sex in them. That is not character development, that is pandering to the male audience. Megaton drops the ball twice. For without focusing on Cataleya as a person struggling with what she has become, he has to focus on the mayhem. But this is done is such a haphazard manner that the result is silly. In fact it commits the grievous sin of showing the director at work. For when Cataleya turns a corner and doesn’t run into a guard once or twice we might say that is sheer luck but if she does it all the time, including opening and closing grates just in time, fitting through ventilation shafts with ease and opening them without a hitch, this is the script being laid bare. That she can do the impossible is because the director wants her to, not because of luck or skill. And this makes a director a weak one. No good magician, and that is what a director is, shows how his tricks work: it takes the magic away. Megaton develops nothing. Cataleya’s journey is rushed. Her targets are indistinct targets she and we could care less about, unlike the ones the Bride kills in Kill Bill, another avenging angel. And her skills are based on sheer luck, impossible powers and the stupidity of her opponents. This movie has virtually nothing to show for it, except for one scene, the ones with the sharks, the acting of Saldana and James who do the best they can with a feeble script, and the song at the end: ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash. But that masterpiece can’t save this movie: it only underscores how weak it actually is. Movie review: Best of Enemies But at what price? Movie Review: Zombieland That Woody Harrelson can play something else besides the buffoon roles he seems to be condemned to can be gathered from a movies as the People vs Larry Flynt. He does however play the buffoon well, even to the point of being adorable, so he stars like a buffoon in Zombieland. He is joined by a cast of three, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin to make up a group of survivors in a zombie apocalypse that has depopulated the world. If you are a zombie nut you will be upset by Zombieland, either because you think it hogwash or because you find it hilarious. Zombieland is sheer baloney and that tends to gall people in unpredictable ways, just like it makes people giggle. The keyscene is probably the one in which Bill Murray dies, which makes Emma Stone suddenly giggle, saying; he still makes me laugh. Thus purposely ruining one of the few serious moments in the movie. The movie does at times build up to a serious moment but knocks it down flat a frame later. The whole thing thrives on the interaction between the cast with the zombie background propelling the plot forward. How inconsequential everything is can be gathered from the fact that they basically travel from nowhere in particular to nowhere in particular. As Harrelson says: some go west, stating it is safer there, some travel east, thinking it is safer there. Hence his drive is not safety, but twinkies. Just as scarce and as important as to endanger himself(and others to boot). There is a very awkward romantic fling between Eisenberg and Stone who simply have nothing in common, but even that is in tune with the movie that turns everything upside down. The interaction between Breslin and Harrelson is much more believable, the first playing a twelve years old who hasn’t heard of Gandhi and Willy Nelson, much to the astonishment of the Harrelson who in turn has no clue who Hannah Montana is(that will be a bit more dated, I am sure). While Harrelson plays the buffoon, Eisenberg plays the social misfit and Stone and Breslin play two sisters who make a living cheating others, out of their money before the zombie apocalypse and their cars and guns after the zombies have inherited the world. The end scenes sees the two girls power up a theme park in the night so Breslin can have some fun. Where the power comes from doesn’t really matter, what does matter is that every zombie from miles around converges on the park, thus requiring the two men to save the girls. Zombieland is not to be taken seriously really, which is the whole point. If that gets your feathers ruffled you better skip this one. But then you might not like Shaun of the Dead either. Which is really a shame. Perhaps refocus? (I heard someone planned a spin off or something. I hope they rethink that, for there isn’t much to tell, unless the premise of the movie is changed into something more serious, which means it’s a different thing altogether) Game review: Fallout 4 Enough has been said about Fallout 4’s flaws by others and I will not repeat what has been said before ad nauseam other then to note that Bethesda has finally done away with the roleplay elements of the game, which isn’t really a surprise as we shall see shortly. In fact it is the goal Bethesda has been progressing towards. I will concentrate on what for me simply breaks a game, which is the story. In this respect Bethesda has been very consistent in that none of their flag ship games, being the Elder scrolls series and the Fallout series, have anything resembling a good story. Take the story lines of both Oblivion and Skyrim, they are very similar and just bare bones enough to get you out into the world. The world is basically a sandbox where you can roam around doing repeat missions that have no consequences. Go and kill some elder dragons up on the mountain and return to town to find out that nothing has changed. In Skyrim Bethseda has made boring what in other games is the summon of tension: fighting dragons. Next we will see fights with demons, as boring as can be(compare this to Dragon Age III) Fallout is now the same game as the Elder scroll series. It is a sandbox game that has a flimsy storyline to get you going. It is so inconsequential that the game spends less then 10 minutes on your background story, it might be longer if you take the time to extensively alter your look.The whole story in a nutshell: a short introduction to your family, after which you agree to a place in the nearby Vault. Then the alarms sound, you run to the Vault getting while the bombs drop. You get frozen in, wake up for unknown and unexplained reasons, to see your partner getting killed and your kid stolen. Some unknown time passes and you get out of your cryogenic module, to find everyone in the Vault dead. Except for the radroaches, that is. It ends when you escape to the surface to enter the world of Fallout. Fallout fails as a story because there is nothing to make you go out there. There is no imminent danger, no sword of Damocles or time limit. There is no evil character to beat, a threat to thwart or a world to save. The kidnapped son is supposed to be the MacGuffin that ought to get you going, but there is no pressure and, given that no time is spend on making him matter, you basically don’t care what happens to him. In fact you know nothing will happen to him as the story won’t progress unless you talk to the next NPC in line. He is so unimportant that I even forgot his name until it popped up in my conversation options. This game now has the option to build things, not that it matters to the world at large. It won’t get any safer or more advanced. In fact nothing happens. The same goes for the killing of all the monsters and raiders. What you get is empty looted places, not safe havens: the beginnings of a new civilization. You make a wasteland by killing everything and then that might be called peace. Someone compared it to State of Decay and indeed even that game shows how soulless Fallout has become. In State of Decay you cared for your small group of survivors and building mattered for it made your base safer and for you especially when you had to find resources that were important and in short supply. It also had a story with a definite end and a heightened pressure when more deadly monsters appeared. There were many faults in State of Decay, but you felt that it what you did mattered, you had your favorite survivors you cared for and gave the best of your equipment. And this then compared to the empty world of Fallout. No story to be had, no characters to care for, you don’t matter, the world doesn’t matter and nothing matters. It is a sandbox where you can roam around for ever for there are always randomly spawned monsters and raiders around the corner. It has no story and no soul. How utterly soulless it has become is shown by the fact that any humor is lacking. This game is as dry as a desert and devoid of life as a graveyard. Compare that to Fallout 1 and 2. And this is what Bethesda wants. Offering a sandbox game without a story so they don’t have to spend time on writing, without roleplay elements so they can go on forever, and with just shooting and looting. What is next? Fallout online or Elder Scrolls online no doubt. Perhaps that already exist? Maybe. It is what a MMO is basically: sand box games with a flimsy story. Soulless worlds. Movie review: Fifty Shades of Grey Some time ago a friend of my former partner involved herself in writing romance novels for a mass market publishing firm. She never showed any aptitude in writing before, but it was something to do next to running the family, which pinned her to her house for the better part of the day. The writing didn’t ask much imagination as the stories were pretty formulaic. Like painting by numbers she just stayed within predefined boundaries and soon enough she cranked out another cheap novelette under the name of a non-existent writer such as D. J. Barding. The ingredients were always the same. The main protagonist was a woman aged twenty something to forty, single, and without any kids to tie her down. The man was in the same age range, but always a few years older, single as well, without romantic involvements. A setup to pursue their dalliance. Also the man was usually of a higher social standing and income group. She being a nurse, him being a doctor. She being a maiden, him being a lord. She being a student, him being a billionaire. And finally there was always something to surmount: a troubled past or a social barrier. The end saw the two joined in happy union. Usually. Sounds familiar? It is almost verbatim the story outline of fifty shades of grey. At this point you would expect me to start a long list of this movie’s shortcomings, but I have to disappoint you for I am on the same page with the nostalgia critic in that this movie does the best with what it has got . In fact I will do one better. I find it a hilarious movie and it might be aiming for cult status by making a mockery of itself and of you. There are preposterous moments such as at the beginning when the female protagonist, Anna, tells to a friend that Grey is so clean. Wait. What did she just say? I checked and, heck, she says it: clean.. Grey is clean. This is her appraisal of a guy she just met. And somewhat further into the movie he pops up in the hardware store she is working in and starts buying things as tie ribs, ropes and chains. And I doubled over laughing. Was this a promise of things to come? Would she, later on, be subjected to what he is buying together with her there and then? And when he shows her his ‘play room’, a chamber done in black and red with racks filled with whips, floggers and canes – with only the bloody saw missing -, the only valid response would be to judge him batshit crazy and flee the premises, but instead she gapes as if he just revealed his private art collection, while at the same time listening to him telling her how he will use that stuff on her cause it is the only thing that turns him on. It is perfectly clear: they are seriously odd in the head. More hilarious moments follow when they come to the contract he so persistently insists upon. So we get a lengthy exposition of all the particulars of the fetish contract and she even calls for a meeting to go point for point through the contract discussing such things as the use vaginal clamps and anal fisting. All things he wants to do to her. Everything is off kilter in this movie that follows the prescription of a cheap romance flick but fills it with concepts that hail from the fetish world. He keeps on telling her how does not do the romantic thing, but for a large part of the movie he just does that, taking her with him in his helicopter, driving her around in his Lamborghini, taking her out for dinner and wooing her. He says A, but does B. And she believes B and ignores A. No wait she eventually begs him to do A. And when it happens she is really really upset about it. This movie is a trashy romantic tale that you wouldn’t have wanted to see if it it hadn’t held the promise of kinkiness. The sin of this movie therefore lies not with the movie, but with its detractors. What did you expect? Romeo and Jullia go kinky? Pride and Prejudice in skin tight leathers? Superheroes in latex instead of spandex? I am looking at you who goes to watch this on Valentine’s day and gets disappointed! What where you thinking? You knew it is crap. You know crap stays crap because only in nature crap can produce roses. But ultimately what you wanted was PG rated kinky porn. That is by definition impossible. PG is not adult. If you want to see kinky porn go watch kinky porn. It also gives a big middle finger to those who wanted so see their desire to have a continuous sexual stimulus, cloaked as having a ‘special’ relationship, a joining of spirits, vindicated and branded as a lifestyle. BDSM isn’t. You do it cause it turns you on. Just like using butt-plugs all the time : it is a fetish. And it remains disturbed if you need to hurt someone else for pleasure even if it is with consent and even if you label it differently. And that is what this movie shows you bondage fetishists and that is why you hate it . Movie review: American Sniper Just like Fury isn’t a movie about World War II, American Sniper isn’t about the Iraq wars. Nor is it about 9/11 and it’s aftermath. And certainly not about an American Sniper. This movie is about America. This is what a hero should look like according to yourself, Eastwood tells us.. Did you not decorate him? Did you not buy his biography in droves. Did you not read the book from cover to cover? Did you not gulp down the story of an all American blond haired, blue-eyed Caucasian guy with a pretty girl-next-door wife, who goes out to protect the greatest country on earth? A man of duty? A man of inner nobility? An all American hero? This is why it doesn’t matter whether the movie is set in Iraq, the Outer Hebrides or Middle Earth. This is why it doesn’t matter who the enemy is. And this is why it doesn’t matter whether the movie contains a truth or not. The only thing that matters is the larger than life depiction of an unblemished hero. And Eastwood doesn’t hold back and goes one step further. The American sniper invades, for it matters not. The American sniper shoots enemy soldiers, because they are not. The American sniper takes out women and kids, because they are not. Any unease that an American soldier might have shot a someone in violation of the Geneva-convention is taken away by clearly depicting the enemy for what they are: they are orcs Is that what really happened, America? Was every civilian death such a clear case of the enemy using any means whatsoever and thus justifying a reaction in kind? Did you really wait for the civilians to show their hostile intent before gunning them down?Did the fog of war not exist? Or did you flatten their houses and mow them down with machine guns before they could become a threat? All to protect the greatest country on earth? Perhaps it was Eastwood’s intent, or perhaps not, but the movie is a mirror to what America is not. The more shinier the American sniper becomes the starker the contrast with reality this picture is. The American sniper is all what an American soldier should be like.. So unlike reality..
phrases, sayings, proverbs and idioms at The meaning and origin of the expression: Heavy metal Browse phrases beginning with: Heavy metal What's the meaning of the phrase 'Heavy metal'? Hard rock music, usually electric guitar-based and always loud. What's the origin of the phrase 'Heavy metal'? 'Heavy metal' seems at first a strange label to apply to a form of music. However, a little investigation into the symbolism behind the name reveals it to be a rather obvious choice. 'Heavy' was coined in the beatnik era of the 1950s to mean serious or profound and the term 'heavy music' was then and later applied to music in that vein. It's clear to see this meaning of heavy is derived from the usual meaning, that is, weighty or massive. Okay, that's 'heavy' explained but why should a form of music be called metal? Well, most metals are heavy, especially the metals favoured by the bands who played that genre and used metals in their names, for example Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, Iron Maiden and Metallica. Also, the term 'heavy metals' in the chemical sense includes mercury, lead and cadmium, which have just the right image of toxicity to suit the musical style. So, both 'heavy' and 'metal' are suitable candidate words for this genre. Add to that the fact that heavy metal had already been widely used as a military term for heavily fortified tanks/guns etc. and it starts to look like an ideal choice as a label. The first heavy metal bands, notably Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne, Led Zeppelin and Judas Priest, hailed from Birmingham, which was then (sadly no longer) a principal centre of metal goods manufacturing in the UK. With the decline of that manufacturing tradition, most of the 'metal bashing', as it was known, is now done by these bands rather than by men with big hammers. Heavy metalBirmingham was the first industrialised city in the world and this industry was centred around the factories and furnaces of the aptly named Black Country, described by the US Consul to the city in 1868 as "Black by day, red by night". Many of the members of the above groups worked in factories by day (Ozzy Osbourne was, for example, a horn tester in a car factory) and played in hard rock bands by night. It's hardly surprising that the music reflected the sights and sounds that the band members were surrounded by. Black Sabbath are generally accepted to be the first heavy metal band. They were originally called Earth after J. R. R Tolkien's mythical Middle Earth. Tolkien was a local boy and is thought to have based the region of Mordor on the Black Country. All in all, it's clear where the musical form heavy metal originated. Although Ozzy and friends were playing heavy metal in the late 1960's/early 1970s, they didn't use that expression to describe it - for that we need to cross to the USA. The term 'heavy metal' first appears in print in William Burroughs' 1962 novel The Soft Machine. His character Uranian Willy is described as "the Heavy Metal Kid". Burroughs later re-used the term in his 1964 novel Nova Express: The term 'heavy metal' was used in a musical context in the title of a 1967 album by the British avant-garde outfit Hapshash and the Coloured Coat - Featuring The Human Host And The Heavy Metal Kids. The title wasn't applied to a particular musical style and appears to have been a reference to the 'kids' in Burroughs' novel. It isn't clear who first appropriated the term to refer to loud rock music, although several lay claim to it. The widely quoted description of Jimi Hendrix's music as 'like listening to heavy metal falling from the sky', while being a fairly accurate assessment, isn't the earliest use of the phrase. CreemSome claim that the US rock music critic Lester Bangs, while working for Creem magazine, used the expression in 1968 to describe a performance of the band MC5 (Motor City Five), but I've been unable to find documentary evidence of that. Creem magazine themselves attribute the term to Mike Saunders, in an article about the 'Kingdom Come' album, by Sir Lord Baltimore, in the May 1971 edition of the magazine: "This album is a far cry from the currently prevalent Grand Funk sludge, because Sir Lord Baltimore seems to have down pat most all the best heavy metal tricks in the book." This has the benefit of being a traceable citation, as copies of the edition are still extant. So, until other hard evidence is found, that has to be the current strongest claim. It would be surprising if the term had never been used in the musical context before 1971 though - after all Steppenwolf used it in the lyric of their 1968 song Born to be Wild: "I like smoke and lightning Heavy metal thunder Racin' with the wind And the feelin' that I'm under" The phrase may be American but the music was born, like my good self, in the 'jewel of the English Midlands' - the Black Country. See other phrases that were coined in the USA.
Five political parties? Looking not just at this past election but at the past several elections in the United States, one can see various political movements and philosophies being expressed. One possibility—by no means a certainty, but definitely a possibility—is that five distinct political groups could form in the country, working in cooperative opposition to try to represent all the citizens of the United States. Political parties already existed in European countries when the American Constitution was written. The writers of the Constitution hoped to avoid the development of such parties in the United States; their invention of the electoral college was one effort to dilute the power of any such parties that might develop. Almost immediately, though, two political parties developed in the new government, and the United States has operated with a two-party system ever since. The advantages of a two-party system over a multi-party system (which is common in most democracies) is that a clear majority of elected leaders can work together to guide the country. In a multi-party system, often no one party gains a majority, and coalitions of two or more parties must work together to lead the government. Sometimes these coalition governments allow leaders to gain control who never would have been chosen by a majority of citizens (such as the Fascists in Italy, the Nazis in Germany, and the Communists in Russia). But multiple parties permit a wider variety of opinions among the voters and within the body of elected leaders. At times, the two-party system seems to omit too many options from consideration. (On the other hand, in the United States, third parties often have championed causes that eventually were adopted by one or both of the major parties; the ideas were successful, even though they did not lead a new political party to ultimate success.) It seems that the United States contains five political movements at this time. We have Republican-business-as-usual and Democratic-business-as usual; we also have Progressives, Populists, and Centrists. Progressives oppose business as usual; however, their liberal goals generally cause them to support the Democratic Party. Populists also oppose business as usual; but their conservative goals generally cause them to support the Republican Party. Centrists also oppose business as usual; both parties try to gain their support, and they sometimes vote for one, sometimes for the other, and sometimes choose not to vote at all. Ross Perot attempted to capture the Centrist vote in the 1990s, but he chose a bad decade in which to run as a Centrist, given that Bill Clinton was very much a moderate Democrat rather than a liberal Progressive Democrat, and both George Bush and Bob Dole were Republican-business-as-usual candidates without much appeal to the Populist voters. Donald Trump managed to energize the Populists, inspire many of the Centrists, and capture control of the Republican-business-as-usual politicians for one term in the White House. Joe Biden was chosen by the Democratic Party as a business-as-usual candidate who could gain some Centrist support without losing any of the Progressives. As his term continues, though, he is likely to alienate the Progressive element in the Democratic Party, which could lead to a split in the party. At the same time, Republicans are divided between Populists who still support Donald Trump and business-as-usual Republicans. That also could lead to a split in the party. No better opportunity exists for the Centrists to claim their own ground in opposition to business-as-usual Republicans and Democrats. The ire of Progressives and Populists would not fuel a Centrist Party, but the Centrists could still grab a number of voters who fear both Progressives and Populists and who despise the business-as-usual politics of both parties. Not that the Centrists could choose a President by 2024. It will take a long time to form a new party. It must start from the grass roots. Its first candidates must establish themselves on school boards, community governments, and county boards. Then they could gain some seats in state legislatures. After that, they might capture a few Congressional seats—something the Progressives and Populists would also be able to do if they split from their respective parties. Over time, a growing Centrist Party could establish itself in Congress and could begin to be a factor in Presidential politics, especially as its candidates prove themselves at the local, county, and state level. The bitterness of the recent election may keep some people out of politics—both keeping voters from voting and keeping prospective candidates from running. The passion of Progressives and Populists may wane, or they might increasingly dominate the conversation to the frustration of Centrists. Those of us who still believe in democracy and in the United States of America need to remain involved. We need to hold our leaders accountable. We need to be informed about what actions the government is considering. We need to support candidates and political movements that match our values and our goals. Grass roots campaigns can be effective, both for good policies and for bad policies. To resist the bad, we must support the good. J. Making lemonade We do not know this yet, but let us assume for the moment that evidence of election fraud is not clear and convincing enough to cause judges to disqualify ballots and overturn the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States. For conservative American citizens, that would be a sour lemon to consume. Now some people say that, when life gives you lemons, you should throw them back and demand chocolate. We can try; life does not often cooperate with our demands. It would be better to pull out the sugar and the ice water and make lemonade. The election of Joe Biden is a setback for conservative voters and politicians, but it is not the end of America. The Constitution is still in force. Checks and balances remain in effect. There will be other elections. During the last presidential debate Candidate Biden reminded us all that he won the Democratic nomination for President because he was different from the other candidates; he did not share all their bad ideas. We can hold him to those words. We can expect the conservative and moderate members of Congress to hold him to those words; with our encouragement, they will not allow the socialists and other left-wing idealogues to capture control of the government. Politics of cooperation and compromise will continue to function as they have functioned for the entire history of our country. Traditionally, the party in the White House loses seats in Congress in the “off-year” elections. It appears that the Republican Party has maintained control of the Senate following this election. That control is likely to be strengthened in 2022, and Republicans may well earn a majority in the House of Representatives as well. This will not happen if conservative voters surrender and go into hiding. It will happen when we remain active in the political process, calling upon those in Congress now to remain firm in their support for the American way. Meanwhile, we have about three years to find another candidate. Republicans should not make the mistake of rewarding a long-term politician like Bob Dole, John McCain, or Mitt Romney with the nomination. Instead, Republicans need to find another Donald Trump—a political outsider, a candidate capable of capturing the loyalty of Americans by being better than the average politician. At the same time, this candidate needs to be another Ronald Reagan, holding unswervingly to the principles that make America great. Most important, this candidate must have a character and reputation of which no one needs to be ashamed. We should not have to apologize for our President; we should be able to hold our President in esteem and honor. I have prayed for all our Presidents, whether I agreed or disagreed with their policies, and I have taught other Christians to do the same. I have respected the office of President even when I did not respect the man who held that office. I have also recognized that the power of the President is limited—that those I liked and those I disliked were unable to accomplish everything they promised, because that is not how our government works. Some fear that America’s greatness is over. Over? It’s not over until we say it’s over. We, the people, still own this country, and we are not surrendering to its enemies overseas or its enemies within its borders. We are not surrendering to anyone who wants to turn the country into a socialist prison or a dictatorship of the left. We are not surrendering to anyone who says that America is not great and has never been great. The greatness of America depends upon the blessings of God and the greatness of its citizens. While we remain proud Americans, supporting what we believe is right and respecting those whose opinions are different, greatness remains in our grasp. J. More about election fraud Free cities–what would change? How would American politics change if our largest cities became separate states? This month I’ve been reading the Federalist Papers. I didn’t exactly plan to read these important political documents just before the election; they are part of a multi-year chronological reading through my library of philosophers, and they just happened to land in this summer’s reading. This weekend I covered the chapters where James Madison compares the new republic of thirteen states to some of the republics of earlier history (chiefly in Greece and Rome) and some of those that existed at the time in Europe (including Switzerland and the Netherlands). Speaking about what was then the Holy Roman Empire, Madison referred to “free cities” within the empire. That sent my mind down a rabbit hole, wondering what would happen in the largest cities in the United States became “free cities,” separated from the states to which they now are attached and treated as distinct states. We know that a massive political divide exists between rural votes and urban voters. Many of the former prefer Donald Trump and the Republican Party; many of the latter prefer Joseph Biden and the Democratic Party. I asked myself, would the national electoral and political scene be much different if the largest cities were “free cities” in the sense that they became their own states? Before looking at any maps or population numbers, I arbitrarily chose the round number of one million residents for separating cities from their states. As a result, nine cities became free states: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, and Dallas. Texas, then, would lose three cities, California would lose two, and New York, Illinois, Arizona, and Pennsylvania would each lose one city. Legislatively, the House of Representatives would remain largely unchanged, although redrawing congressional maps to keep them inside or outside these nine cities would be a major project. Meanwhile, the United States Senate would gain eighteen new Senators, nine from each city. The electoral college would also increase by eighteen voters. New York City would have fourteen electoral votes; Los Angeles and Chicago would each have six; Phoenix, San Diego, Philadelphia, and Houston would have four; and Dallas and San Antonio would have three. I then studied the electoral map for the 2016 presidential election. Hillary Clinton would have won eight of the nine free cities, losing only Phoenix; however, Donald Trump would have gained fourteen electoral votes from non-Chicago Illinois. The final result of the election would be unchanged. I also looked at the electoral map for the 2000 presidential election. Al Gore won the largest cities—New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia—but he trailed in the other five. Moreover George W. Bush would have gained electoral votes in both Illinois and Pennsylvania, making the cliff-hanging results in Florida far less significant. I also looked at Senatorial elections for the past three cycles. The Senate appears to be evenly split in this new arrangement, with a slight advantage to the Democratic Party—sixty Senators to fifty-eight for the Republican Party. Clearly election campaigning would be different under this system. Presidential candidates would have to refocus their attention; campaigns for the Senate would be very different in these nine cities and in the six affected states. Altogether, though, I was surprised to discover how little the outcomes changed with this major reshaping of the political system. My weekend in the rabbit hole did not turn the country upside down. J. The “what if?” game Every four years, they tell us that the upcoming election is vital—that the future of the nation and of the world depends upon the choices made by the voters. Every year a choice is made, and “time keeps on slipping into the future.” But, while historians tell us what happened and why and what it means, greater fun comes from finding answers to the question, “What if?” What if some of the key elections of the recent past had gone the other way? How would our nation and our world be different today? What if Thomas Dewey had been elected President in 1948 instead of Harry Truman? What different courses might the Cold War have taken under Dewey’s leadership? How would Dewey have handled Korea? Would the 1950s economy have been robust with Dewey in the White House at the beginning of the 1950s? Would television have developed differently in the Dewey administration? What about rock and roll? What if Richard Nixon had been elected President in 1960 instead of John Kennedy? How would Nixon have handled Cuba and Vietnam? Would civil rights have been approached differently by the Nixon administration? How would Nixon’s personality as President have been different if he had not been shaped by losses to President Kennedy and Governor Brown, let alone by the turbulence of the 1960s? If Albert Gore had been elected President in 2000, how would he have handled the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001? What kind of war on terror would Gore’s administration have pursued? What national policies would Gore have stressed that were not stressed or contemplated under President Bush? If Hillary Clinton had been elected President in 2016, would the economy have done as well in 2018 and 2019? How would her administration have handled the virus crisis of 2020? Would the mood of the nation be more calm, less calm, or about the same this summer with President Hillary Clinton in the White House seeking reelection? How many international events would have been exactly the same under any President? How many presidential responses, beginning with the same events, have taken different paths? Is there a “deep state” that oversees national policies and decisions no matter who is said to be in charge of the country? Or does divine power speak through the voice of the people, raising certain leaders to power at particular times to handle the circumstances that God foreknows? Historians study and describe the things that have happened. That information is exhausting already; it does not provide much left-over time to play “what if?” Trying to imagine the divergent paths of recent history, though, helps the rest of us to see the significance of the choices that voters face this year. Assuming that two roads diverge, and we can only travel one of them, does the path we choose really make all the difference? J. Eponine and Irony, part 2 This is the second half of a post which begins here: Tolstoy and Hugo did not leave much place for God in their survey of human history. Tolstoy acknowledged a god who gives standards of goodness to guide people, but other than that, both writers pretty much focused on human endeavor apart from spiritual powers. The contemporary Illuminati is much the same. As many setbacks as they have survived, they still view themselves as benevolent powers steering humanity by their own efforts. For a glimpse of how they view themselves, one might read the Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov. The Illuminati greatly resembles Asimov’s Foundation. A Christian can suggest that the Illuminati are dupes of the devil, doing his work without realizing what they are about. Seen through spiritual eyes, that is (of course) true, and the outcome of that battle is not in doubt. But the Illuminati say that they have no illusions about spiritual powers—which means, of course, that they have blinded themselves to the spiritual world. The Illuminati hopes to convince the world that all religions are the same, that no religion holds any genuine hope for an end to evil and suffering, and that religions should violently compete with one another and seek to destroy one another. Their attack on Christianity is two-fold. One arm has converted most traditional denominational structures into political entities that focus on worldly struggles for justice. These so-called churches reject any idea of doctrine; they redefine family values to undermine the traditional family, and they further the Illuminati’s goal of eliminating individuals for the sake of humanity as a whole. The other arm of the same attack has established megachurches: organizations that claim to uphold traditional doctrines and traditional values, but that teach little doctrine, turn their backs on historic expressions of Christian faith and its expression, and again eliminate individuals for the sake of humanity as a whole. The Great Depression and the two World Wars helped to build a modern world in which the Illuminati could flourish. Fear was rampart; trust in the government as “the only organization big enough to handle our problems” was unprecedented. Public schools taught children how to view the world. True, children in the 1950s were still given heroes such as Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford; but the podiums of their statues were already being undermined so their greatness would collapse in a generation or two. More and more, history was described as movements among people; heroes and geniuses were devalued. The Illuminati did not arrange to kill President Kennedy. He was suiting their plans admirably. But his assassination made President Johnson fearful enough to dance to their every command. The Illuminati promoted conspiracy theories for two reasons: to cause the few people aware of their existence to fear them more, and to cause the average population to scoff more at the idea that they exist. Every American leader who seemed capable of greatness was undermined: Nixon with Watergate, Reagan with Iran/contra-gate, Clinton with his own personal faults and weaknesses, and so on. (Presidents before their time survived far greater scandals without losing power, as have kings and emperors in most of the world for most of history.) The Illuminati effectively used the Cold War and its balance of fear for their own purposes. They did not expect the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain, or the Soviet Union to crumble; but, when they did crumble, other international crises could be found to fill the gap. Moving into the twenty-first century, the Illuminati did not expect any threat to disturb their system. The Illuminati did not expect Donald Trump. He stepped from their own world, an entertainer who understands scripts and deep-laid plans. Although morally he is no better than the worst of the Illuminati, he emerged as a defender of the traditional family and traditional Christianity. Trump personally had nothing to do with the fall of Weinstein and Epstein; if anything, he was too closely connected with both men and their organizations. His personal popularity and the evident success of his economic and political plans stymied opposition from his political opponents, who were battling to overturn his presidency through scandal and impeachment even before he took the oath of office. The Illuminati also did not expect COVID-19. They have used fear of other diseases—AIDS, Ebola, and Zika—to promote their causes in recent years, but the timing of the current epidemic generates “the perfect storm.” Blending fearful discussions of the pandemic, racial differences and confrontations, and the upcoming election, the Illuminati are able to transfer fear (and other strong emotions) from one issue to another. They are able to sustain ongoing fear, dread, and hopelessness in the general population. They are able to call attention to ongoing differences in society, promoting unrest with potential for a class war. Moreover, the Illuminati have been inching to change education—elementary, secondary, and higher levels—wanting it to take place through online courses rather than in classrooms. Online sources of information and interpretation are far easier for the Illuminati to control. The current pandemic has sped society toward the latest revolution in education. First children were taken from their families and put into schools; now they are taken out of schools and put in front of computer screens. So long as a few decision makers can control information on the Internet, they will continue their effort to shape society, guiding mass movements that share the Illuminati’s reverence for science, education, and equity of all people while sharing also the Illuminati’s rejection of individualism, traditional Christianity, and the traditional family. Their timing is not flawless. They may not be able to continue stoking fear for three more months (between now and the election). They may have already peaked generating support for a party-chosen bland candidate in preference to a people-chosen heroic candidate. As the weeks pass, voters might become increasingly aware of the plot that is working to shape and change the national direction. In November, the powers of the Illuminati may suffer a stinging rejection from those citizens they have tried to herd into their pens. Like Tolstoy and Hugo, today’s Illuminati may underestimate the ability of individuals to think for themselves and to overcome the current of mass movements. History is not in the hands of the faceless elite; history belongs to all of us. And, in the end, history is in the Lord’s hands and must serve his plans. J. “Why is populism growing?” In the fall of 2013 I conducted an unscientific poll in my neighborhood. I asked one question: “If two people were running for Congress, and the only significant difference between them was that one had never been in politics before and the other had been in politics for years, who would get your vote?” The most common answer was, “the one who had never been in politics.” In fact, that position earned some seventy-five to eighty percent of the responses, while the second-most common response was, “I would examine their positions to decide my vote; I wouldn’t pay any attention to whether or not they had been in politics before.” I was conducting this poll to see whether or not I had a shot at getting elected to Congress. My banker urged me to run; she wanted to vote for me. My barber urged me to run; he wanted to vote for me. The police officer getting his hair cut—a man I had not met until that conversation—wanted to vote for me. One store clerk told me that he would vote for me in the next election, but then he would vote for someone else the next election. “You’ll have been corrupted by then,” he said. Only when I began looking into fundraising did I learn that the wealthy donors in the party had already committed their donations and their votes to “my good friend” (as they described him), a businessman who had been involved in politics for years, although this was the first time his name would appear on a ballot. Because of this brief experience with populism, I was less surprised than most Americans by Donald Trump’s success in last year’s elections. American voters are increasingly disgusted by the way government goes about its business, and they blame Democrats and Republicans equally for the problems they see. The campaign of Bernie Sanders also drew strength from populism. Both the Tea Party Movement and the Occupy Movement were populist expressions of displeasure over the decisions and actions of those in power. For that matter, the Brexit movement in the United Kingdom is equally a populist expression of distrust in government and in those serving in the government. The more recent losses by the Conservative Party are part of the very same package of populism. Populists distrust the government. They also distrust the news media, although they generally describe their distrust in terms of conservative or liberal biases in various media organizations. Populism is not new—in the twentieth century it led to the direct election of Senators (rather than United States Senators being chosen by state governments) and to laws allowing referenda created by citizens to be placed on the ballot, giving voters power to decide matters usually left to elected officials. Populism scares the elite. “Why is populism growing?” they ask. The answer is simple: people no longer trust the elite to make decisions for everyone. People increasingly believe that the elite make decisions that serve themselves without regard to whether those decisions help or harm the rest of the people in the country. Consider this: between the 1952 Presidential election (Eisenhower-Stevenson) and the 2008 election (Obama-McCain), twelve elections were held in which one of the two major candidates was either the incumbent President or the incumbent Vice President. In each case, the opponent was either a Governor, a Senator, or a former Vice President. If that doesn’t sound like government by the elite, I don’t know what does. Campaigners regularly presented themselves as outsiders who were going to fix the government, but somehow the government never seemed to be fixed. Symptoms of populist revolt were felt in the late twentieth century—the campaigns of Ross Perot, for example. Tax protests in the 1980s used the tea party theme well before the official Tea Party movement was organized. Americans have long considered themselves to be populists, even though they generally reelect the same leaders or replace them with extremely similar leaders. The presidency of Donald Trump has been sponsored by populism. Democrats and members of the media are astonished by the continuing power of populism to support the President. Efforts to maintain a spirit of crisis, efforts to mock and disparage the President, and efforts to show that he is rejected by a majority of Americans all fail to shake his true support. They wanted an outsider in the White House, and they are delighted that President Trump continues to speak and to act as an outsider in Washington. Talk of impeaching the President is terribly premature. Any attempt to impeach Donald Trump for something less than a blatant and obvious crime will fail, and such an attempt would end the political careers of those who participate in it. Insulting the President’s supporters—calling them racist, out-of-touch, and deplorable—only sharpens the divide between the elite and the populists. As they demonstrated last summer and fall, when challenged and inspired, America’s populists can be a powerful force in politics. J. A government of our peers The foundation of American democracy is the belief that, when a government is not working, citizens have the right to change their government. The time has come to consider such a change. My proposal would require a constitutional convention whose decisions would have to be ratified by the various states, but I think approval will happen, given the problems with our current system of choosing leaders. I propose that we choose our President and members of Congress in the same way we choose our juries, providing a government of our peers rather than a government of expert politicians. The best leaders are those who do not seek power. In ancient Athens, governing officials were selected by lot for one-year terms. In the early Christian Church, new leaders were selected by those already in office—often the best of them declined their nomination, since they did not feel qualified to lead. They just wanted to learn more about Jesus. They were forced into office against their will, and they proved to be qualified all the same. Imagine that in each Congressional district of the United States, the names of all registered voters are placed into a pool, and twelve names are randomly selected. A board of attorneys (consisting of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents) reviews the twelve citizens, researching their lives and removing the names of those who are not qualified for a place in Congress, but leaving a list of five nominees for the position (even if a further drawing of names is needed after the first twelve are exhausted). During the summer, information on the five candidates is sent to all voters at public expense. They debate one another in public, but privately funded campaigning is discouraged. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, voters choose from among the five. If none of them receives more than half the votes, the two who received the most votes are placed on a second ballot which is presented to voters on the third or fourth Tuesday of November. The members of Congress would meet in Washington as is done now. They would be guaranteed the right to return to their former jobs after their time in office has ended, just as jurors and reserve military personnel are guaranteed now. A provision could be made for incumbent Representatives to be reelected if the voters so choose, although they would not run unopposed. Once the system proves itself in the House of Representatives, we will begin selecting Senators in the same way. Eventually, the President of the United States will also be chosen in this manner. The writers of the Constitution did not trust voters to make good decisions about their leaders. The Constitution allowed voters to select Representatives, but it had state governments choose Senators. (An amendment to the Constitution changed that in 1913.) The Constitution still does not allow voters to choose a President, but only to choose electors who will choose a President. (Electors promise in advance who they will choose, so voters have confidence that they are choosing their President.) The Constitution says nothing about political parties, because the writers of the Constitution were opposed to the idea of political parties. For most of American history, party conventions chose candidates for office with little participation from the average voter. Often candidates were chosen by compromise in “smoke-filled rooms.” When Hubert Humphrey was nominated by the Democrats in 1968 without having won a single caucus or primary election, both major parties changed their rules to hold caucuses or primary elections in each of the fifty states. Both parties still seat additional delegates not chosen by the voters, and these so-called “super delegates” can still swing a nomination away from the choice of the voters. Perhaps this idea should be tested in several states before a constitutional convention meets to propose this change for the entire nation. If four or five states selected their legislators and state-wide officials in the same way that juries are selected, we would see whether or not this idea works. The final change would be many years away, but the pain of this year’s presidential election might be remembered long enough to fuel a drive toward this change. Our form of government is designed to change, responsive to the will of the people. Changes have succeeded in the past, so changes can succeed in the near future. Surely we can do better than we are doing this year. J. President Trump? I have not posted much about the current election cycle in the United States. However, my most-read post in the first year of this blog asked and answered the question, “Is Donald Trump the Antichrist?” My statement that Trump is not the Antichrist is probably the nicest thing I have said about him this year. I do not want Donald Trump to be Commander in Chief of the nation’s armed forces. I do not want him to represent the American people in the eyes of the rest of the world. I do not want him to have one more success for which he can boast. But I can imagine worse things happening than Donald Trump being elected President this November. If Trump wins enough delegates in primary elections to be nominated by the Republican Party, but then is denied the nomination through legal procedures by the party’s leaders, the Republicans will bring severe trouble upon themselves. Whether Trump runs as a third-party candidate or not, the people who have voted for Trump in the primaries are unlikely to support the Republicans in the general election. Some of them might not vote at all in November, but others are likely to vote—and probably not for Republicans, especially not for incumbent Republicans. Even if Trump falls slightly short of the necessary 1,237 delegates in Cleveland, his failure to win the nomination will confirm the beliefs of those who voted for him—and beliefs of many who did not vote for him—that American democracy is a sham and that the American government is no longer (in the words of Abraham Lincoln), “of the people, for the people, and by the people.” I do not want Donald Trump to be the next President, but I would prefer him in the White House over the disillusionment and anger of his supporters should he lose the nomination. Indeed, if Donald Trump is nominated by the convention delegates, supporters of Trump are more likely to vote for other Republicans, granting the party control of the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as the White House. Control of Congress for the next several years might be worth the headache of President Trump. I do not fear a President Trump because I still believe in the Constitution of the United States. Its system of checks and balances can prevent a bad President from causing much harm to the country. The President cannot create legislation (except when his proposals are adopted and proposed by members of Congress). The President can only approve or veto legislation, and a supermajority of Congress can override the President’s veto. Even the officers appointed by the President to serve in his Cabinet of advisors must be approved by Congress. Only Congress can declare war, and treaties made by the executive branch of government must be approved by the Senate. If the President tries to use his authority to work against the will of the Congress, the court system exists to correct the imbalance. Perhaps because of Donald Trump the practice of issuing executive orders that counter legislation passed by Congress will finally be challenged; then this aspect of executive authority will be clarified for present and future leaders. Past Presidents have learned that they cannot even control their own branch of government. Thousands of career government workers fill offices in the executive branch; they continue doing what they believe is best no matter who sits in the Oval Office. Cabinet secretaries and sub-secretaries change, but the department workers continue in their jobs, often doing the same things no matter who is supposed to be in charge. The inertia of bureaucracy will stifle any President’s efforts to make large changes to government—even if that President is named Donald Trump. Of course Christians do not put their trust in kings and princes. No President can save the world, and no President can destroy the world, no matter what is said in political debates. All authority comes from Above, and all who gain power must ultimately answer to the Source of their power. Meanwhile, godly people respect those with authority in this world because of the Source of their power; we respect them even when we disagree with their opinions, and we respect them even when we dislike their personalities. We live in interesting times. I realized this weekend that, when Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton debate one another this fall, they are likely to sound like a political debate between Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd in an early episode of Saturday Night Live. Perhaps the prayer of every American Christian needs to be: “May God not grant our land the leaders we deserve.” J. Looking at an election The success of Donald Trump and Ben Carson in the early presidential polls does not surprise me. In fact, the enthusiasm shown for these non-politicians matches what I felt in my brief foray into politics two years ago. I was at the dentist’s office getting my teeth cleaned when I heard a news item on the television related to the United States Congress. The thought entered my mind that someone like me would do as good a job as the current members of Congress are doing. The thought did not merely cross my mind; it remained embedded there for the rest of the day. I would certainly vote for someone like me rather than vote for a career politician, but how many people are like me? For the rest of the day I pondered that thought, and at the dinner table I asked my family how they felt about the possibility that I might run for Congress. Since the family’s reaction was generally positive, I decided to ask a few other people who didn’t know me as well as my family does. I started at the barber shop. While waiting my turn for a haircut, I asked this question: If two candidates are running for Congress, and the biggest difference between them is that one is a career politician and the other has never held a political job, who would get your vote? Both the barber and the police officer getting a haircut said they would vote for the newcomer. I told them that I was thinking about running, and they both approved and promised their support. Over the following days, I had similar conversations at the grocery store, at the bank, and at church. The most common answer was that people would vote for the newcomer. A few people said they would consider only the issues and not care about experience. One man said he would vote for me once, but he would vote for someone else next time–he figured two years in Congress would be enough to corrupt anyone. No one said to me that they would vote for an experienced politician rather than a newcomer. Thus prepared, I contacted several officials of one political party. Several of them ignored me, and one made it plain to me that he considered me a nobody, not someone to take seriously. Others were cordial, though, and I was invited to address a meeting of county officials of the party, along with any other candidates that were interested. By the time of that meeting, three candidates had announced that they were running for the party’s nomination to serve in Congress. Two of the three were at the same meeting. One of them was a member of the state legislature. Like me, she showed up early to meet people and stayed for the entire meeting. The other was a wealthy man who had been appointed to various political positions but had never run for office. He came late, made his statement (taking considerably more than the three minutes we each were allotted), and left soon afterward. In my three minutes, I explained that I was still thinking about running, introduced myself, and commented that my barber and my banker both thought I should run. I made it plain to them that my political positions match those of the party, but that I would run a unique campaign, one designed to draw independent voters as well as the party faithful. The reactions during and after the meeting were generally positive, with just one woman phoning to recommend that I not run, because she felt that the other work I was doing was more important than serving in Congress. During the following weeks I attended several diverse events, some directly sponsored by the political party, and others more removed from the party. I met the party’s eventual nominee for the United States Senate at the opening of his campaign headquarters I even attended a tea party meeting. Sometimes I spoke to the entire group, but other times I merely mingled and met people. These weeks were my peek behind the curtain, my chance to see how politics are really run. The next step was to see if I could raise money to support my campaign. I began contacting the wealthy people I know who are connected to the party. This was the stumble of my campaign, as potential donor after potential donor said, “Well, J., I’ve already promised my support to my dear friend,” who turned out to be the wealthy man who was running. I had hoped to run a campaign painting him as the ultimate insider, with me as the true outsider to politics. On the other hand, as the ultimate insider, he had captured the financial and personal support of the people who meant the difference between a viable campaign and a campaign that would be ignored. By Christmas I knew that I was not running for Congress. Some people in the party urged me to seek a more local position, as they had an opening on the ballot they wanted to fill. I looked into the position, spoke to a few more people, and thought and prayed for a while. Then I had to admit I just wasn’t interested in that job. I thought I could win the campaign if I put my heart into it, but getting my heart into it was not easy. When some of the people supporting me began fighting with other people supporting me over a state-wide issue, I decided not to get involved in any campaign. Since I had strong feelings about the state-wide issue, I gave my support to those people in the legislature that felt as I did. This meant drawing further away from those who supported the opposite position. I heard one of a pair of good friends say that their friendship had ended as a result of this dispute. I knew that if I was heading into a career where friendships are torn apart by professional disagreements, I would not be happy there. Donald Trump and Ben Carson may be outsiders to the political process, but they enter their campaign without the financial handicap that I faced. One year before the general election, I am not surprised they are doing well in the polls. Voters in this country are hungry for new leadership, for a new approach to politics and government. Whether Mr. Trump or Mr. Carson would be able to keep their promise to change the system, Americans are glad to hear of someone, anyone, who is willing to try to change things. If enough people like me chose to become involved during some election cycle, things could begin to change. As long as no one tries to make any changes, things will stay the same. I tried once. I’m not ready yet to try again. But I do agree with the many who say that the system can be improved; it can be made workable again. Anything else I can do to bring that change closer, I will do. J.
Jul 19, 2018 6 min Chatbots in Customer Service written by: Philipp Heltewig Woman connecting cellphone and laptop computer-1 Chatbots have seen tremendous interest over the past years, with several applications emerging as low hanging fruit for organizations with customer-facing operations. Such operations are usually rely heavily on human agents who handle customer service requests via phone, email and chat. This approach is effective for the customer but comes with several significant drawbacks, such as agent availability and slower resolution times even for trivial requests. Chatbots or conversational AI technology in general can help overcome these issues by augmenting existing, human-based customer service operations with AI-based, automated technology. Such technology can be applied in different stages as organizations mature in their adoption of conversational interfaces. Woman connecting cellphone and laptop computer-1 1. FAQ Chatbot A common first step in chatbot applications is the exposure of a company’s existing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) through a conversational interface, typically as a chatbot on a website. The bot can classify the customer request against a set of predefined FAQs and then provide the correct answer. AI is used to find the correct FAQ from the customer input. Set-up time: days Sophistication: low 2. Transactional Chatbot with and without human handover Transactional bots help to answer more complex customer service requests, such as resetting a password, finding a shipment or changing an order. Such capabilities require the integration of existing backend systems, such as databases, APIs, ERPs, CRMs and the like, allowing the bot to read and write data to line of business systems. Sometimes these systems are integrated with human-to-human chat systems to provide help from a human agent if the customer gets stuck. Set-up time: weeks Sophistication: medium-high 3. Fully integrated conversational AI solution Fully integrated systems can take transactional and other requests on multiple channels, such as chat, smart speakers and phone systems (IVR). The integration with phone systems is particularly interesting, as many organizations already have call centers in place and can reduce load on their human agents by handling many requests in an automated fashion. Set-up time: weeks to months Sophistication: high The presented stages are not exclusive, but instead build on each other. An organization might start out with an FAQ bot, then extend it to handle transactional requests and later integrate the AI solution into all of their support channels. Explore More Topics
The Education Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 allowed for the creation of a support body for controlled schools, which has the potential to play a key role in the further development of the largest sector, comprising 49%, of schools in Northern Ireland. The controlled sector, comprising nursery, special, primary, grammar and non-selective post primary schools, is facing obvious legacy issues given that there has been no specific support over the past 30 years. The origins of the controlled sector began in the early 20th century, when schools managed mainly by the Protestant churches were transferred to the state. From these beginnings of a historic faith context and a commitment to free public education, today's controlled schools provide for a more pluralist society through a diversity of schools with individual characteristics, but with Christian core values and principles. The modern controlled sector is therefore a large, diverse and distinctive education system which is: • Church related • Diverse in provision and governance • Inclusive in making provision for children and young people from all backgrounds • Aspirational in seeking to provide the best possible education Further information can be found under CSSC publications.
The root of many problems A Broad Issue According to the IMF, in 2015 Madagascar was the world's 5th poorest country, with 28% of rural households lacking proper access to food. Madagascar is ranked 4th for chronic malnutrition and as a result, nearly half of children there suffer from growth stunting. Feeding Other Problems As people try to claim new lands to feed themselves, they burn forests to do so. This exposes the soil to erosion, which leaves less and less land with soil and therefore useless to future agriculture, exacerbating food supply problems. This also causes habitat fragmentation, which in turn impacts the ability of wildlife to recover from each successive burning. Driving Bushmeat Hunting As the food crisis continues, more and more people in rural communities have taken up bushmeat hunting to compensate. Unfortunately, many of the species being targeted are unique to the island, have small populations and take many years to mature. If we want to stop the targeting of Madagascar's increasingly vulnerable animals, we need to develop some way to provide food to Madagascan people.
10 Fun Facts About Mexico, a Diverse and Multicultural Land For the launch of our new section #SpanishAroundTheWorld, we chose the largest Spanish-speaking country on the planet: Mexico. At Rosario Traducciones y Servicios SA, we invite you to join us on a virtual tour through the different countries of Latin America, as we explore their diversity and cultural riches. In this first post, you will discover ten fun and unique facts about Mexico, the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. 1) Mexico: extensive, diverse and multicultural Mexico is the 11th most populous country on the planet, with almost 125 million inhabitants. Its capital city, the fifth largest in the world, is home to 30 million people. In addition to Spanish, 69 indigenous languages languages are spokes, along with their respective dialects. Mexico is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world, with the largest number of speakers of Amerindian languages in the Americas. 2) The capital with the largest number of museums Mexico City tops the list of cities ith the highest number of museums. There are 171 museums, according to the Ministry of Tourism. However, there are reportedly more than 200, many of which are not officially registered. 3) Gastronomy: World Intangible Cultural Heritage Mexican cuisine is so delicious and varied that it is recognized by the UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage contribution to humanity. Mexico introduced chocolate, chili and corn to the rest of the world, and today, nachos with guacamole can be enjoyed even in the most remote places. Its flavors are as exotic as they are rich and diverse. For example, nopales (cactus leaves with spines) are eaten in salads, as are escamoles or chapulines, which are ant eggs and crickets, respectively. 4) A sinking capital Mexico City was built on the ruins of the Aztec city Tenochtitlan. Today, the city sprawls beyond the space once occupied by Texcoco Lake, an acquirer that supplies 70% of all the water consumed in Mexico City. As a result, the Mexican capital is sinking 25 centimeters on average per year, a fact that is evident in some of the city’s largest buildings. 5) The largest pyramid in the world Many believe that the largest pyramid is found in Egypt. However, Mexico's Great Pyramid of Cholula is the largest pyramid known to exist in the world, and the largest constructed monument still standing today. But Mexico is also a nation of contrasts. The ancient Aztec empire is home to the smallest volcano in the world, the Cuexcomate, an inactive geyser. 6) Latin American Capital of Guinness Records Mexico City is the Latin American city with the highest number of Guinness records (approximately 400). These include the largest number of naked people (photographed by Spencer Tunick); the largest number of people dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller at the same time; the largest number of people kissing simultaneously; the largest enchilada in the world; the cup of biggest mug of hot chocolate; and the largest altar of the Day of the Dead, to mention a few examples. 7) The largest park in Latin America Chapultepec, or "Bosque de Chapultepec" (Chapultepec Forest) in Mexico City, is the largest city park in Latin America and one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Covering 678 hectares, it is twice the size of New York City's Central Park. 8) Coral riches The natural wonders along the Riviera Maya are as extensive as its long white-sand beaches and as abundant as the cenotes or sink holes, which the Mayan people held sacred because they were once the only source of freshwater in the Yucatan jungle. It is also home to the second largest coral reef in the world (2,500 km), surpassed only by Australia's Great Barrier Reef (2,300 Km). 9) Day of the Dead Celebration El Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead), a national holiday in Mexico, is celebrated on the 1st and 2nd of November. Over the course of two days, mexican families pay tribute to their departed loved ones in a celebratory manner. This celebration dates back more than 3,000 years to the Aztecs, who paid homage to the souls of the deceased who visited the world of the living each year in November. In this tradition, there are several types of altars, with different levels. An altar represents the material and immaterial world. Two-level altars represent the sky and the earth, and three-level altars symbolize the sky, the earth and the underworld. Sugar skulls, considered the favorite food of the spirits, and the bread of the dead (symbolizing the human sacrifices of ancient populations) are also part of the rituals. In 2008, UNESCO recognized the importance of Día de los Muertos by adding the holiday to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 10) Great biological diversity Mexico is one of the 18 most megadiverse countries of the world. To qualify, a country must have at least 5,000 species of endemic plants and border a marine ecosystem; in Mexico's case, it is believed that more than 200,000 species of plants and animals coexist in one of the the richest biologically diverse nations on the planet.
This thin, flexible light-absorber give you stealth feature This thin, flexible and light-weight material can cool your room on hot sunny days, make give you stealth features by blocking thermal detection and absorb light from every angle. Engineers from the University of California-San Diego have developed an absorbing material called near-perfect broadband absorber that can absorb more than 87 per cent of near-infrared light. The absorber can be theoretically customised to absorb certain wavelengths of light while letting others pass through. “This material offers broadband, yet selective absorption that could be tuned to distinct parts of the electromagnetic spectrum,” said Zhaowei Liu, Professor at UC San Diego. Though material that can absorb light already exists, it is bulky, brittle and cannot be controlled to absorb only a selected range of wavelengths. The flaw in such absorbers is that they not only block infrared radiation for cooling, but also normal light and radio waves that transmit television and radio programmes. The technology is still at the developmental stage. “There are different parameters that we can alter in this design to tailor the material’s absorption band: the gap size between tubes, the ratio of the materials, the types of materials, and the electron carrier concentration,” said Conor Riley UC San Diego.
The Impact of Covid-19 on the Environment True enough, the coronavirus pandemic didn’t leave anything untouched. Many people thought that staying indoors and not traveling around the world during the height of the outbreak helped the environment “clear its lungs.” It did not. While there is less pollution in the air because of reduced motor vehicles and the cancellation of thousands of flights, people began generating waste even beyond our wildest imagination. Information Dissemination The key here is to spread as much awareness as possible. One of the things that the government must do is to create a website to monitor the impact of the coronavirus on the environment. Using valuable web design and development services, local governments can teach members of the community about the proper segregation of their used masks and disposable PPE gowns. Aside from highlighting the need to dispose of these things properly, the website can also pinpoint the exact locations of waste management facilities that can handle medical waste. People lack the knowledge to understand how this coronavirus can affect the environment. For now, their focus is on not contracting/transmitting it. They are also consumed by surviving the financial woes that they are facing. It is up to key government officials to make the general public understand their role in environmental protection. Their activities can help reduce the impact of the virus. Medical Waste Medical waste is already a huge problem for the environment. The pandemic exacerbated that problem because of the amount of medical waste hospitals, clinics, and even individuals generated during the height of the pandemic. There was even a time when health experts advised people to wear only disposable face masks. These types of masks are purportedly more effective at protecting people while they are out in public. In Wuhan, China, where the virus originated, studies showed that an average of 240 tons of medical waste was produced daily in hospitals. This was six times higher than the normal amount of waste generated in the city. What are these medical waste? Surgical masks, single-use plastic packaging for medicines, gloves, and personal protective equipment (PPE) are medical waste. Just a couple of months into the pandemic and a diver already spotted a surgical mask at the bottom of the ocean. That was the first time this kind of waste got far enough to reach the seabed. Tracey Read, the founder of the non-plastic organization called “Seas Without Plastic” in Hong Kong, lamented the use of surgical face masks. The mask uses polypropylene, a type of plastic that does not break down. It is not the usage of these materials that is problematic. It is the way these are being disposed of. The disposal of medical waste is bad enough without the coronavirus. The outbreak and ensuing pandemic made it almost impossible to dispose of these things properly. Deforestation and Other Illegal Activities Environmentalists saw a 50% increase in deforestation activities of the Amazon rainforest. This is in Brazil where its president repeatedly refused to address the coronavirus. Operators got the cover that they need while the people suffer because of the virus. This is the same as the rest of illegal activities involving the environment. The loss of income will force many to turn to illegal operations. Environmentalists observed this in South Africa. Poaching of bushmeat, rhino horn, and ivory is becoming rampant. These high-value products can tide people over the difficult times ahead. The global economy is plunging into a recession worse than post-World War II. It’s only a matter of time before people turn more to looting, poaching, littering, and deforestation for survival. There are two ways to look at how the coronavirus will impact carbon emissions. The first view is that behavioral changes will reduce emissions from transport. People are turning to teleworking and teleconferencing. They are working from home. This reduces the need for public transportation. They are less reliant on these gas-chugging and carbon-emitting vehicles. On the other hand, people will also start to think about buying a personal car. They were okay sharing space with strangers until the pandemic happened. Now, they will start being reliant on single-occupancy cars. No more of those ride-sharing apps and public transport. Driven by the fear of contagion, people might risk increasing emissions to make their daily transport safer. The world has been suffering due to the pandemic for close to eight months now. But as the rest of the world grapples with its effect, key officials must also start to consider what policies must be enforced to protect the environment. Environmentalists are urging governments to enact policies that will ensure sustainability and conservation. Pre- or post-pandemic, it has been a long time coming for governments to do their parts. Share it Scroll to Top
In this time and age, it is not enough to just know grammar. What is more important is its application in conversation. English as a Native Language (ENL) Program The ENL program aims for students to acquire and enhance their English skills the way native speakers do. The ENL Program Philippine International English Institute is the first to create and develop the ENL Program. The ENL (English as Native Language) Program is different from the ESL Programs. Our non-native English students have shown that the ENL Program is very effective in improving students’ English level and their thinking process. The program trains students to learn English 100% as native speakers do. Classes are conducted using English as the only language of instruction. English lessons on rules and concepts are minimal, while there is a heavy focus on enhancing students’ creativity, judgment, analytical skills, knowledge, and understanding of various concepts in English. Thus, they naturally learn the language as they develop the skills to collect, analyze and present different information. This method is identical to how everyone learns their native language. Native speakers learn English not only through grammar or structured English classes. They actually learn more about the language by discussing and debating with friends, reading novels and biographies, and being exposed to various forms of media that discuss social issues and a wide range of subject matters. Evolution of the ENL Program Most English learning has heavily focused on the grammatical aspects of the language. The drawback has become more evident worldwide. Students fail to participate in simple English conversations with others, even after studying the language for years. English education focusing only on conversation would also have its limits. It may help students travel or live abroad for a short period, but it would not help them collect, analyze and deliver the information available to be competitive in this world. The educational systems have changed to enable students to interact when they live abroad using everyday survival English. Hence, there is no need for students to invest so much time and money in basic conversational English. English skills that enable students to be competitive contributors to society are what is truly needed. The skills to collect information, analyze them, and deliver ideas through reports, presentations, and other means in English are essential. It involves listening, grammar, writing, conversation, analyzing, compiling specialized knowledge, etc. One needs a lot of time, an effective program, and appropriate workbooks to reach a satisfying level in all areas. However, in reality, English academies in Asia are not planning to adjust their curriculum, employ professional teachers, and have an excellent program that could fulfill students’ expectations of fluency. Our academy has implemented a different approach to English learning after thoroughly noticing the flaws (i.e. students can join simple conversations, but cannot comprehend, write presentable essays, digest information provided in various forms of the language the way native speakers do) of existing forms of English learning. The ENL program has enabled students to achieve a high level of fluency with our one teacher, one student (1:1) classes, customized programs, variety of learning materials, and professional and goal-oriented teachers. ENL vs ESL Program ESL is a program for those learning English as a second language. All forms of English education for non-native speakers are under ESL. All existing English learning programs in Korea and other Asian countries are under ESL. It focuses on improving non-native English speakers’ skills to translate and associate non- English words and sentences to English. It argues to realize students’ goals through little time and effort. Its advantage is that students can show improvement after a short period of time. The disadvantage is that the students’ improvement is limited. The ENL program was developed after becoming aware of the flaws and limitations of the ESL programs. With ENL, even if we have sufficient knowledge about a subject matter, we would have to learn it again through English. It focuses on gaining knowledge in English and building critical thinking skills while learning the language naturally throughout the process. In short, students do not memorize and substitute words based on grammatical structure rules. Through the program, students learn English the way they learned their native language. The disadvantage is that the study load is quite heavy and a lot of time and effort is needed to develop the program for each student. Its advantage is that students can achieve the same English proficiency as native speakers. There is no limit to what a student can achieve through the program. Beyond the simple use of English, students can utilize the language in any form or situation to achieve their goals.
From SikhiWiki (Redirected from Gwalior Fort) Jump to navigationJump to search Gwalior is a city in Madhya Pradesh in India. It lies 76 miles (122 km) south of Agra, has a population of over 12 Lakh. The Gwalior Metropolitan area is 46th most populated area in the country. City is named after a Sage called Gwalipa. Gwalior occupies a special mention in India's medieval history and freedom struggle. City also enjoys unique position with regards to education and boasts of several colleges and schools well known across the country. It was to this fort in Gwalior that Guru Hargobind was sent when on his release he also secured the freedom of 52 Hindu rajas (kings).
Evolution storyboard Updated: 5/23/2020 Evolution storyboard Storyboard Text • We are the majority of the population • Ahhh! • The snake has a hard time preying for us • There was a rat population living outside of a cave. The population's fur color was mostly brown due to the color of the ground. • There is water and it will be cooler inside of the cave so we can survive • Water snakes were the rat's predators and they would feast on whichever rat they saw first. If the rat had a more noticeable color, then the snake would have an easier time preying on them. • Ahhh! • There was always a low population of black rats, as they were always eaten by the snakes. • The bats have a hard time preying for us • One day, there was a drought and the rats could no longer live outside as it was too hot and there was no water available, so they scurried inside of the cave. • Inside of the cave, their predator were bats, and because they could see the lighter colored rats better, the brown rats did not survive while the black rats flourished. • The black rats flourished because they are harder to see due to their environment, while the brown rats were eaten by the bats.
Enquiry form General enquiries: +44 (0)207 935 4444 Book a consultation: +44 (0)207 616 7693 Self-pay enquiry: +44 (0)203 219 3315 Medical studies have shown that over a third of all patients suffering with cancer experience moderate to severe pain; this rises to 66% in patients who have advanced stage disease. Cancer pain is usually caused by the presence of tumours (abnormal growths of tissues) that can press on surrounding organs, nerves or bones. If the tumours grow, this can increase the pressure on the surrounding structures and make the pain worse. There are a number of approaches that can be used to treat cancer pain and greatly improve quality of life: This can be achieved by surgery (removing of all or part of the tumour), chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or hormonal-targeted treatment, depending on the size, type and location of the tumour. Even though this may or may not cure the cancer itself, reducing the tumour’s size (or removing it completely), can relieve the pressure on the surrounding structures and ease pain. This can be achieved through a number of methods including: • Painkilling medications that either provide long-acting pain relief for chronic pain, or faster-acting pain relief for ‘breakthrough’ cancer pain (a sudden increase in pain) • Other medications such as antibiotics that are used to treat concurrent infections, steroids to reduce swelling and relieve pressure, and some types of anti-depressants can also treat nerve pain caused by compression or damage • Radiotherapy can help reduce pain originating from tumours. It provides pain relief in an average of two to three weeks for 60% of patients. High energy X-rays are targeted to the disease site, causing DNA damage and cell death • Nerve block procedures that target specific nerves with injections or anaesthetic to stop them sending pain signals • Neuromodulation procedures, such as spinal cord stimulation or peripheral nerve stimulation, which use electrodes to block pain signals sent by the nerves • Lesional procedures, such as cingulotomy (a neurosurgical treatment to the part of the brain associated with feeling chronic pain) or cordotomy (surgery to the selected pain-conducting tracts in the spinal cord). These involve using small wires (electrodes) to deliberately destroy parts of the brain or spinal cord carrying pain signals to reduce awareness of pain. The mainstay of most cancer pain treatment is the use of opioid-type painkilling medications (like morphine or similar). These can be very effective at managing pain. However, they do have some side effects such as drowsiness, constipation, nausea and dependence. People can also build up tolerance to them, meaning that they need increasing doses to get the same pain relief over time. The most effective cancer pain treatment procedure is likely to depend on the type, location and stage of cancer, as well as other general health factors. For example, neuromodulation is effective in treating pain caused by nerve damage (also known as neuropathic pain). Pain caused by tumours or metastases (areas of cancer spread) in bones can be best treated using medications called ‘bisphosphonates’ (that help to strengthen the bones) and targeted radiotherapy. If the pain is caused by a tumour pressing on a nearby organ, then surgery to remove all or part of the tumour can help. All of the treatments for cancer pain can have side effects. For example: • Opioid-type medications can often make people feel drowsy, nauseous and constipated • Radiotherapy can make people feel nauseous and tired, as well as cause some soreness in the skin over the target site (similar to sunburn) • Any surgical procedure will come with its own risks and side effects that must be weighed up beforehand. This includes a recurrence of any tumour which is being removed • Neuromodulation procedures can cause some problems related to the insertion of the small wire electrodes, as well as device failure, pain at the insertion site or damage to nearby structures. Many of the common side effects associated with cancer pain treatments, such as nausea, fatigue and constipation, can also be treated with additional medications, physiotherapy and simple measures such as ensuring adequate hydration. Why choose The London Clinic? Treatment cost Make a Self-Pay enquiry Protecting your information
18 Things You Didn't Know About Dog Paws black and white dog with its front paws outstretched and its head on one paw Raphael Kugel / 500px / Getty Images While the eyes, ears, and tail of your dog may get most of the attention for expressiveness, don't underestimate the power of paws. Aside from just being awfully sweet, the paws are wonderfully designed appendages that enable canines to perform their feats of doggie derring-do. Whether slender and elegant, bold and athletic, or floppy and furry, a dog's trotters are a fascinating study in anatomy and adaptation. Consider the following 18 things that you may not know about dog paws. Anatomy of the Paw 1. Of the 319 bones, on average, that comprise a dog's skeleton, a handful of those (so to speak) are dedicated to the paws. Along with bones, dog feet include skin, tendons, ligaments, blood supply, and connective tissue. 2. Paws are made up of the following five components: Parts of dog paw labeled: claws, digital pads, metacarpal pad, dewclaw, carpal pad Illustrated with the paw of a 4-week-old puppy. Eric Isselee / Shutterstock, text by Treehugger 3. The digital and metacarpal pads work as shock absorbers and help protect the bones and joints in the foot. The carpal pads work like brakes, of sorts, and help the dog navigate slippery or steep slopes. 4. Paw pads have a thick layer of fatty tissue, but that doesn’t mean your pooch can’t sustain an injury from walking on a surface that’s too hot or cold. Scientists believe that domestic dogs first evolved in colder environments before spreading out into other climates. The thick pads allow dogs to develop a tolerance to temperature extremes. However, in cold weather, dogs can suffer from cracked or bleeding paws and in hot weather, walking on hot sand or sidewalks can cause their paws to blister. 5. The pads also offer protection when walking on rough terrain. Dogs that are outside a lot and exposed to rough surfaces have thicker, rougher paw skin; dogs that stay in more and walk on smoother surfaces have softer pads. The pads also help the dog distinguish between different types of terrain. Pads of a dog's paws lying on the grass mikroman6 / Getty Images 6. The inner layer of skin on the paw has sweat glands, though they are not effective in cooling a dog on a hot day. You might notice paw prints as your dog’s paws exude moisture; dogs get sweaty hands, just like we do. 7. Dogs are digitigrade animals, meaning that their digits — not their heels — take most of their weight when they walk. Because of this, dogs' toe bones are very important. 8. Dog's toes are equivalent to our fingers and toes, although they are unable to wiggle them with the ease that we do. 9. Dewclaws are thought to be vestiges of thumbs. Dogs almost always have dewclaws on the front legs and occasionally on the back. Front dewclaws have bone and muscle in them, but in many breeds, the back dewclaws have little of either. Because of this, dewclaws are often removed to prevent them from getting snagged. However, opinions on the necessity of this procedure are mixed. 10. Although they don't provide much function for traction and digging, dogs do use their dewclaws; they help the dog get a better grip on bones and other things the dog may like to chew on. Front dewclaws also provide traction when dogs are running at high speeds. Dewclaws of a Beauceron Pleple2000 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 11. Great Pyrenees still use their rear dewclaws for stability on rough, uneven terrain and often have double dewclaws on the hind legs. Among show dogs, the Beauceron breed standard is for double rear dewclaws; the Pyrenean shepherd, briard, and Spanish mastiff are other breeds that have double rear dewclaws listed for show standards as well. Shape and Size 12. Breeds from cold climes, like St. Bernards and Newfoundlands, have wonderfully large paws with greater surface areas. Their big, floppy paws are no accident; they help these breeds better tread on snow and ice. Black Newfoundland dog on the ground with its front paws outstretched Newfoundland dogs have extra large paws. Seherzada Cehic / Getty Images 13. Newfoundlands and Labrador retrievers are known for their long toes. Both breeds also have webbed feet, which helps make them excellent swimmers. Other breeds with webbed feet include the Chesapeake Bay retriever, Portuguese water dog, field Spaniel, and German wirehaired pointer. 14. Some breeds have what are called "cat feet." These dogs have a short third digital bone, resulting in a compact feline-like foot; this design uses less energy to lift and increases the dog's endurance. You can tell by the dog's paw print: the prints of cat feet are round and compact. Akita, Doberman pinscher, giant schnauzer, Kuvasz, Newfoundland, Airedale terrier, bull terrier, keeshond, Finnish spitz, and Old English sheepdog all have cat feet. A single hare-like paw of a greyhound dog in a human hand Marianne Perdomo / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 15. On the other hand — er, paw — some breeds have "hare feet," which are elongated with the two middle toes longer than the outer toes. Breeds that enjoy hare feet include some toy breeds, as well as the Samoyed, Bedlington terrier, Skye terrier, borzoi, and greyhound. Their paw prints are more slender and elongated. Paw Odor 16. And then there's "Frito feet." If you notice the distinct smell of corn chips emanating from your dog's paws, resist salivating. Sometimes the aroma is due to bacteria and fungi, but generally, the odor doesn't lead to complications for the dog. 17. Do you love having your hands massaged? So does your pup. Paw massage can relax your dog and promote better circulation. Try rubbing between the pads on the bottom of the paw, and then rubbing between each toe. 18. Although the exact etymology isn't known, the word "paw" was first used in the 14th century to mean the foot of a four-legged animal.
BEYOND SCIENCE – A Mathematical Proof of the Existence of God A challenging book for the reader as it is over 500 pages long although there is no need to read the whole book. It is a sort of dip in where you like book. Jethro wrote this book when he was challenged by Professor Fenton from Queen Mary College, London. When Jethro showed Professor Fenton various examples of his Gematria he was told that he could be seen as “cherry picking”. This would mean that Jethro had failed to make connections with many attempts and only showed the ones which he had not failed in. So Jethro decided to prove this was not the case. He chose to match scientist with what they invented or discovered or their main field of research or the book they wrote that contains their discoveries using Gematria. By this time Jethro had many systems to use but although using many systems would increase the chances of finding a match the probability of finding a match could not be 1. There was such a wide range of values that the probability was going to be a fraction. However, if there were to be many failures at finding a match then this would mean that a match was most likely a coincidence. This books shows that out of 208 scientists Jethro failed just 8 times and even then this was because he had used a different system to the other 200 and thus considered them as failures. An example of a failure is the use of Hebrew which he needed to use for two Israeli scientist. Since the connection could not be made in English for the probability calculations Jethro considered these scientists as failures. Here are a few examples. Using the Placement Values (PV) where A = 1, B = 2…Z = 26 we have FIRST SOLID STATE AMPLIFIER = 6 + 9 + 18 + …. + 5 + 18 = 285 (PV) Now we use the Normal Values (NV) where A = 1, B = 2…J = 10, K = 20…S = 100, T = 200… Z = 800 JOHN BARDEEN = 10 + 60 + 8 + …. + 5 + 5 + 50 = 285 (NV) John Bareen was one of the team that invented the first solid-state amplifier. Andrew Alm Benson is known for his work in understanding the carbon cycle in plants. Arthur Scherbus invented the Enigma cipher machine. Using NV ENIGMA = 5 + 50 + 9 + 7 + 40 + 1 = 112 (NV) Now, you have to be able to decipher in order to discover that! As you can see, the books does not just contain connections between Scientists and their discoveries but a host of other things. There are appendices that contain interesting subjects ranging from Heat and Elementary Particles and there is a whole chapter on probability in which Jethro gives the mathematics of how probable finding 200 out of 208 connections really is. The mathematics used is that of ‘A’ level standard but explanations are given. A book to challenge the Atheist as if the chances of finding these connections are so small how comes they exist!? Is history and the lives of people encoded in the English language? Does LEONARDO = 84 = MONA LISA (PV) mean that Leonardo was destined to paint this painting? Beyond Science
Culture, Events, Tourism Carnival, is a festive season and the main events are usually during February (seven weeks before Easter Sunday). Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party. People often dress up during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. In Asturias, Carnival is called ‘Antroxu’, although depending on the region the name can have some variations. For instance, in Aller and Quirós, it is called ‘Antroxo’. This Asturian terms have its etymological basis on the ancient Spanish word ‘Antruejo’, which is also derived from the Latin word ‘introitos’, which means ‘entrance’, since it is just before Lent. (FOTO: La Nueva España) (FOTO: Guiastur) Carnival was forbidden for a long time in Spain in the 20th century and it was regained with the arrival of democracy in the 1980’s. Nowadays’ Carnival preserves the essence of the primitive ‘antroxu’ although the ways and the costumes have been polished along the years. The desire of inverting order still involves irrational acts, exorbitant humour and ‘folixas’ (parties). Irony, satire and couplets are specially wicked against public characters and their job. (FOTO: Guiastur) (FOTO: Guiastur) The immediate precedent of the arrival of the Antroxu is the Comadres Thursday, which is a day in which women are accustomed to meet with a festive aim full of feminine complicity. In these days, previous to Don Carnal’s defeat and the sullen Lent’s 40 days long reign, the Asturian people have a mind to mutate into new identities. Traditionally, this metamorphosis comes with lavish caloric dishes in the hardest stage of the winter. During Carnival days, we usually eat meat, preferably pork, since this kind of meat was forbidden during the seven weeks of Easter that followed the secular celebrations. The most typical dishes in Asturian Carnival are the desserts, such as ‘frixuelos’, ‘casadiellas’ and ‘torrijas’. ‘Frixuelos’ are similar to pancakes but they are much more thinner. They are made with eggs, flour, milk, salt and sugar. ‘Casadiellas’ are also a typical Christmas dessert and they are like a long pasty made with wheat flour dough flavoured with anisette and filled with walnuts and sugar. They are generally fried but, if they are made of puff pastry, they can also be baked. As regards ‘torrijas’, we have to say that they are typical of Carnival but also of Easter. They are fried slices of bread soaked in milk and, sometimes, wine and flavoured with cinnamon and sugar. In the following photo, you can see 'frixuelos' and 'casadiellas'. In Asturias, most of the cities and villages celebrate their own carnival. The most important ones are the ones in Oviedo, Gijón and Avilés, which are the biggest cities in Asturias. In Avilés it takes place the ‘Descenso Internacional y Fluvial de la Calle de Galiana’ (Internacional and Fluvial Descent of Galiana Street). It consists on an itinerary of floats and all kind of gizmos decorated with naval motifs. The crew members go down Galiana street on Carnival Saturday while the street is full of water and foam which are thrown from the vehicles and the buildings. Watch the following video and you'll see how funny it is! Asturian Carnival ends with the Sardine’s Funeral. The Sardine represents the abstinence, the mortification and fasting of Ash Wednesday. This funeral, like all the Carnival celebrations, has a satirical nature and is the perfect climax to several days of festivities. In Mieres, one of the biggest towns in Central Mountain (Montaña Central), they celebrate the funeral of the 'Truchona del Caudal' (Caudal River's big trout) instead. We hope you come and discover all the amazing things we can offer you during these celebrations. See you soon! Most rated Most commented • Este post tiene premio Este es un post muy especial, ya llevamos 100 posts en nuestro blog “La mirilla”. Para daros las gracias por seguirnos, a los 10 primeros comentarios en este post les enviaremos un premio y a todos los que nos seguís GRACIAS por estar ahí. [Leer más] • Rutas de senderismo destacadas en la Montaña Central de Asturias Aprovechando que esta semana se celebran los Encuentros de Senderismo de Valle del Turón y las XXIII Jornadas Internacionales de Montaña de Mieres te presentamos algunas de las rutas de senderismo que se pueden disfrutar en nuestra comarca. ¡Toma nota! Son aptas para todos los públicos, así que no hay excusa. [Leer más] • Mi bici I La bicicleta es un medio de transporte sano, ecológico y económico que se puede usar en ciudad y en zonas rurales. Se disfruta tanto para pasear como para hacer deporte. Tiene grandes cualidades como medio de transporte y aporta beneficios para la salud como deporte al aire libre. A lo largo de una serie de post os iremos dejando varias ilustraciones, (infografías) curiosas y explicativas sobre la bicicleta. [Leer más…] Leave a comment Fields marked with (*) are required In order to continue type the characters in the image Captcha It contains (6 characters) Descubre la Montaña Central All data of accommodation, shops, services, cultural and natural resources of Central Mountain Blog La Mirilla Welcome to Walk the Region, the videoblog of Montaña Central where you can watch recordings of the beautiful scenery you can find visiting "La Puerta de Asturias: Montaña Central". Rutas y Sendas See our trips recommended by other people. You can also create a new trip and share it with us. Planifica tu visita Find activities and tracks that best suit your tastes and needs and plan your visit to the region.
run by 'BitLife Host' An explanation of site hosting As its name hints, web hosting is a solution, which involves hosting online content. There are different varieties and types of web hosting, based on the purpose and on the functions. In spite of that, they all refer to hosting files, which, once hosted, are made accessible throughout the Internet. A host is actually a server that is linked to the World Wide Web and has its very own IP address, which permits people to gain access to it via the Web. The web server's configuration and its resources are subject to the type of hosting service it's going to be utilized for. What are the various types of web hosting? Depending on the goal, the professional hosting service may be: File Hosting - this type of hosting allows the customers to lodge their files on a particular web server. With the customary file web hosting solution, the files that are hosted may only be accessed by the client that's using the service. This hosting solution usually applies to backups of personal computers , documents, personal files and even other servers. This solution may also have certain limitations in relation to the server storage and the root privileges. There may also be bandwidth quota limitations, but that is dependent on the actual web hosting provider. Warez Web Hosting - the so-called warez web hosting service is very similar to the previous web hosting service type. Even so, in contrast with the file storage web hosting service, the warez web hosting service is used for propagating patented materials without the blessing of the licence holder. In short - it is related to the forbidden distribution of files and docs. There are lots of methods for this to be realized, but the 2 main ways are - through simple HTTP downloading and via peer-to-peer connections. The first way involves either a particular web site, or, most often, just a directory on a hosting server that's been made available for everybody to access it and thereby download proprietary content free of charge. The second way involves a P2P connection, making use of the so-called Torrent web servers, via which users transfer files between each other. There are a few web page hosting vendors that allow such form of hosting on their web servers, mainly due to all the judicial predicaments that it involves. Typically such web pages are hosted on private dedicated web hosting servers that are registered by third-party enterprises either in the Middle East or in Asia. Electronic Mail Hosting - this solution is used with both shared web space hosting and dedicated servers, depending on the user's wish. If you desire to launch your own personal SMTP server, then you will need either a VPS web server or a dedicated server that provides the level of access needed to complete such an operation. For ordinary email web hosting ends, though, you can open an ordinary shared web page hosting account, to which you can point the mail exchanger records of your domain. This is not a solution that's widely used, because the website hosting and the electronic mail hosting services are being served by two different servers, usually belonging to different hosts. Site Hosting - the most widely spread and extensively used hosting service these days. It's used for hosting web site files, whose sort is determined by the OS the web hosting server is using - Linux or Windows. Different sorts of files need concrete web server OSs, otherwise they won't be shown correctly on the Internet. This form of web hosting may have data storage space and traffic limitations, root access and central processing unit usage restrictions. Depending on the purpose and on the usage, the customer should pick the kind of hosting server that he needs for his project, and, of course, the web space hosting firm that's going to furnish it. There are several sorts of web servers, depending on the specifications and the webspace hosting services that they offer. These are: Shared Hosting Server - a shared web site hosting server provides a smaller quantity of system resources, which, of course, reflects on the cost of the service. It can be used for hosting small and medium scale web portals, which do not require big quotas of server storage and traffic. Semi-Dedicated Hosting - they perform on the same principle as the shared web servers. Yet, there are much fewer users hosted on the same web server. Therefore, each of them will enjoy a bigger quota of the hosting server's resources like RAM, disk storage space, traffic and CPU. Ideal for hosting popular web sites that do not require complete server root access. VPS hosting - the private virtual web hosting servers are ideal for medium web sites, which do need root access to the web hosting server's configuration files. Commonly, there are a number of private virtual server hosting accounts located on the same physical server. However, each of them is insulated from the others and runs its own Operating System. Dedicated Server Hosting - a completely dedicated server configured and accessed by you and solely you. It guarantees a colossal amount of resources. It also includes root-level access, which renders it a perfect solution for any kind of web page that necessitates a site hosting solution. The sole question that's left is: Which web site hosting corporation should I choose? As mentioned, there are very few web hosts providing warez web hosting services because of legal entanglements. Such web hosting companies are being closed down practically every month. Therefore, if you want to start such a service, you should do it on your very own computer. The shared web site hosting solution is the most widely spread kind of hosting service. Hence, every web site hosting firm offers it. Not all of them, however, provide solutions such as virtual servers, semi-dedicated web servers and dedicated web hosting servers. Most of the small sized web site hosting vendors do not have the means needed for offering those solutions. For that reason it's invariably best to select a bigger hosting company that can supply its clients with all the solutions that they request. You can effortlessly identify such web hosting companies by the kinds of solutions that they are making available and by the manner in which they introduce them to the clients. For instance, certain hosting companies permit you to kick off with a smaller web space hosting account and afterwards move to a more powerful one, if you find it obligatory to do so. This is extremely convenient, because you do not have to relocate sites between servers and there is no risk of suffering outages because of all the complications that may arise. Companies like BitLife Host offer all types of solutions and have the necessary web server resources and staff to assure that their customers will not suffer any troubles when swapping services, which is what a top hosting provider is actually all about.
Religious Preference in Death and Dying essay ReligiousPreference in Death and Dying Ritesof passage portray the major characteristics of any religion. Areligion finds a platform to stamp its authority through rites ofpassage among its believers. The rituals performed at birth,initiation, marriage, death, and after the death of an individual`salways conform to the religious beliefs of such an individual. Forinstance, Hindus have specific views and rituals on marriage whencompared to Islam, and Christians have different views on death whencompared to Buddhists. In this paper, I will base my argument on theHinduism, and briefly look at the religion as a whole, describe howHindus viewed health care at end times, and conclude by explainingthe rituals they performed during and after death. Hinduismis considered to be the third largest religion on earth afterChristianity and Islam (Fowler, 1996) however, it greatly differsfrom other monotheistic religions. Unlike Christianity and Islam, itdoes not recognize a single person as the founder of the religion(Fowler, 1996). In addition, it does not have a specific structure ofthe theological system it does not have a holy text like the Bibleamong Christians and Quran among Muslims, it lacks a known system ofmorality, a centralized religious authority, and also religiousprophets. These differences have made Hinduism to stand out as aunique religion globally. Interms of age, Hinduism is among the oldest religions in the world(Reinhart, 2014) Hindus believe that it has no beginning hence itsroots cannot be traced even historically. Like Christianity, Hinduismis also divided into denominations, which are four in number namelySaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and Smartism (Fowler, 1996). Hindusbelieve that Karma is the rule of cause and effect and that one`sdeeds, determine his or her final destiny (Sharma, 2000). Basing onthis belief, souls reincarnate and evolve through many generations tomake sure that no soul is deprived of its destiny. They also believein the sacred nature of life all life is sacred and should,therefore, be revered, respected, and protected at all costs. Likeother religions, they also believe in one Supreme Being who is thecreator of the universe and all that is in it (Sharma, 2000). TheSupreme Being is depicted as immanent, transcendent, omnipresent,unmanifest reality, and omnipotent. They, therefore, strive to createdominion with Him through personal devotions, temple worships, andalso sacraments. Religion’sView on HealthCare Fromthe general discussion above, it is clear that sanctity of life is atthe core of Hindus’ teachings from the family level, allindividuals are encouraged to take good care of others (Sharma,2000). It is a family responsibility to take care of the sick and theelderly. They are also obligated to pay visits to the sick inhospitals. Major decisions concerning the healthcare of family memberare made by senior persons or the eldest son in the patient’sfamily. Hindus’belief in Karma also renders them helpless as far as a person’sdestiny is concerned. According to them, use of artificial means toprolong one’s life equate to interfering with his natural destiny(Reinhart, 2014). In cases where the patient is too ill, they willoppose certain measures like intubation, artificial feeding, andextensive care systems in cases of the terminal diseases. All theseconditions are contrary to their traditions and the patients shouldbe left to face their destinies. Theissue of the reincarnation of the soul in many births has also facedout some healthcare activities among the Hindus issues like organdonation and autopsy are discouraged (Reinhart, 2014). An autopsy iscompletely discouraged unless the demand is from the legal systems.As per their beliefs, interfering with the dead body equate tointerfering with the soul hence, preventing it from moving onward.Organ transplant is also discouraged unless if certain conditionsmake it necessary. They believe that the part of the body donatedespecially, if it is a major body part like the heart and the kidneylives on and carries the karma of the donor with it to therecipient`s body. This transfer of karma interferes with thereincarnation process. This notion is taken into consideration byfamily members when donating body parts like the kidney, heart, andliver when making final decisions. Spiritualityis also an evident feature when it comes to Hindus healthcare(Sharma, 2000) priests are called upon to perform certain rituals.Sacred Tulsi leaf is also tied in a patient’s mouth. Patients alsorecite prayers and listen to religious music, and are also offeredchaplaincy services in hospitals. Ritualsat death and after death Traditionally,Hindus preferred to die at home this had religious significance(Fowler, 1996). When it is evident that a person is about to die, heis placed at the entry of the house facing east, and persuaded tofocus on his mantra. Afterwards family members keep vigil until hisdeath he body is then cleaned by family members preferably theeldest son leading. Incense is burnt and a small lamp may be lit bythe family members. Jewelry, sacred threads, and other religiousitems on the body are left intact unless if the healthcare advisorscall for their removal. Thefire ritual is usually conducted after death, and is led by a specialfuneral priest. (Fowler, 1996). The deceased is then carried to thecremation spot, and females are not allowed within the site. It ispassed three times around the pyre and then laid on it for cremation.After cremation, the relatives return home clean themselves and thehouse as a sign of cleansing. During this impurity period, relativesdo not attend feasts and festivals, and they do not visit otherpeople. Twelvehours after cremation the remains are gathered, water is splashed onthem, and then collected and preserved. Memorials are then held onthe 3rdday, 31stday, and one day after the cremation of the deceased. Inconclusion, it is clear from the above discussion that Hinduism is aunique religion and has its specific views towards healthcare. It isalso evident that they have certain rituals they perform on the deadand even after death. Fowler,J. (1996).Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices.London. Oxford University Press. Reinhart,R. (2014). ContemporaryHinduism: Ritual Culture and Practice. London.Oxford University Press. Sharma,A. (2000). ClassicalHindu thought. London,Sussex Academic Press.
Measuring Atopic Eczema Severity Currently, there is no "gold standard" (meaning one agreed upon laboratory or serological test) for assessing the severity of atopic dermatitis. There are several scales that a healthcare provider will use to guide their assessment and determine severity. How do doctors determine eczema severity? Examples of factors that a healthcare provider may use during their clinical assessment and diagnosis include: • Clinical signs (visible skin changes that are associated with disease activity) • Extent of the disease (the area of skin affected) • Patient reported symptoms (examples include itching and sleep disturbance) • An overall assessments of the disease activity this can be either by the physician, child or parent • Amount and strengths of treatment used • Impact of the disease on the quality of life (self-reported by either patient or parent.)1 After a healthcare provider assesses the patient, they will categorize atopic eczema in a severity category (examples include: mild, moderate and severe), these categories will help the doctor determine the best course of treatment. There are a number of scales that help measure the severity of the above parameters. What scales measure atopic dermatitis severity? There are many different clinical features that have been suggested as important indicators of atopic eczema's disease intensity and therefore there is a lot of variation in what clinical features are included in different severity scales. For example, some scales include redness, swelling, and vesiculation (which typically occur in the acute phase) and leave out dryness and lichenification features, which tend to occur in the chronic atopic eczema stage. Some measurement scales only assess the most severely affected area of the body while others provide assess each body site for each of the clinical features.2 While there are many assessment tools, the EASI and SCORAD (currently) are the most valid and reliable instruments to assess clinical signs of atopic eczema.2 EASI - Eczema Area and Severity Index In 1998, an American group proposed the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) to grade the severity of atopic eczema. The EASI scoring assessment multiplies the percentage of the affected area (of four specific skin regions) and then adds this number to the severity scores of the four specific symptoms. The EASI does not include a subjective measure of pruritus (intense itch), which is a key component of atopic eczema. It also does not grade dryness or scaling. EASI Index: Area score The area score is documented for each of the four regions of the body. The score is the percentage of skin affected by atopic eczema. • Region 1: Head and neck • Region 2: Trunk (including genital area) • Region 3: Upper limbs • Region 4: Lower limbs (including buttocks)3 EASI Index: Severity score Severity score is documented for each of the four regions of the body listed above. The severity score is the sum of the intensity scores for four symptoms and is scored on a scale of 0-3. The four symptoms used as part of the severity score are: • Redness (erythema, inflammation) • Thickness (loss of elasticity/pliability,swelling) • Scratching (excoriation) • Lichenification (skin thickening).3 SCORAD - Severity Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis The SCORAD is the only severity scale that has undergone testing for validity, reliability, sensitivity, and acceptability. The SCORAD was published in 1993 after 3 years of work by the European Task Force. The SCORAD takes into consideration both objective signs of atopic dermatitis (such as severity and extension), as well as subjective ones (like pruritus/itching and loss of sleep) when measuring severity. Dermatologists may use this tool before and after treatment to determine whether the treatment has been effective.4 SCORAD Index: Extent measure To measure the extent of severity the healthcare provider conducts a physical exam and and documents the affected areas by shading in the percentage of the body that is impacted on a drawing of a body. The rule of 9 is used to calculate the affected area as a percentage of the whole body. After evaluation, a percentage is given to the spread/extent. A breakdown of the rule of 9 in adults and older children is included below: • Head and neck 9% (4.5% of the front of the head/neck and 4.5% of the back of the head/neck) • Upper limbs 9% each (4.5% of the front of the limb and 4.5% of the back of the limb) • Lower limbs 18% each (9% of the front of the limb and 9% of the back of the limb) • Anterior trunk 18% (Chest/stomach) • Back 18% • 1% for genitals.4 SCORAD Index: Intensity measure The healthcare provider chooses an area of the body that is a representative area of the extent of atopic eczema. In this area, the intensity of several symptoms (shown below) is assessed using the following scale none (score of 0), mild (score of 1), moderate (score of 2) or severe (score of 3). • Erythema (Redness) • Edema (Swelling) • Oozing/crusting • Scratch marks • Skin thickening (lichenification) • Dryness (this is assessed in an area where there is no inflammation)4 Subjective symptoms (such as itch and loss of sleep) are also scored by the patient or family member/caregiver of a child using a scale where 0 is no itch (or no sleeplessness) and 10 is the worst imaginable itch (or sleeplessness). TIS - Three-Item Severity Score The SCORAD, while one of the best-validated tools, is great for clinical trials as it provides a detailed and comprehensive assessment but may not be best for routine practice and screening and oftentimes the Three-Item Severity Score (TIS) is used, which is based on the evaluation of erythema, edema and excoriation (scratch marks) on a scale of 0-3. What tool did your doctor use? So the next time you are at the dermatologist's office and you get asked a series of questions or see them completing an assessment, ask them what tool they use to determine your atopic eczema severity! Join the conversation or create an account to comment.
Quick Answer: Does Cooking In Aluminum Cause Alzheimer’S? What is the number one food that fights dementia? Vegetables, especially leafy greens, rose to the top. In general, fruit didn’t, though berries made the list.. How does peanut butter detect Alzheimer’s? The peanut butter test According to the 2013 study, Alzheimer’s patients have a significantly poorer olfactory ability with their left nostril than with their right. The researchers attribute this to the fact that the left half of the frontal lobe of the brain is affected more by Alzheimer’s disease. How do Alzheimer patients die? Can you put aluminum foil in microwave? It can be safe to use small amounts of aluminum foil in a microwave oven. Microwaves cannot pass through metal but are absorbed by food. No food completely covered by aluminum foil or in a covered metal pan should be put in a microwave oven because food wouldn’t be available to absorb the microwaves. Why do we wrap food in Aluminium foil? Which is worse dementia or Alzheimer’s? Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. Alzheimer’s is a specific disease. Dementia is not. Is it safe to cook with aluminum? Is Alzheimer’s more common in males or females? Women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Nearly two-thirds of the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s are women and two-thirds of the more than 15 million Americans providing care and support for someone with Alzheimer’s disease are women. Who is prone to Alzheimer’s? Age is the biggest risk factor for Alzheimer’s. It mainly affects people over 65. Above this age, a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease doubles about every five years. One in six people over 80 have dementia – many of them have Alzheimer’s disease. Can you grill on aluminum foil? Place aluminum foil on the preheated grill with non-stick (dull) side toward food. Place food on foil. The foil will get hot; never touch it which your bare hands. Make sure to use pot holders when removing it from the grill. Is Aluminium linked to Alzheimer’s? Is it true that Alzheimer’s skips a generation? The disease might skip a generation, affect people on both sides of the family, appear seemingly from nowhere or not be passed on at all. More than 20 gene variants (or regions within the DNA) have now been identified which affect – to different degrees – the chances of a person developing Alzheimer’s disease. Has anyone survived Alzheimer’s? Almost 20 years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Christine Bryden has defied all odds and stumped medical professionals by defying the disease and living a normal successful life. Does a person with Alzheimer’s know they have it? What are the 5 worst foods for memory? What are the 5 foods to never eat? What are the five foods that cause Alzheimer’s? A new study suggests that mixing sugary snacks, starchy foods, and processed meat may significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease….’What’s good for your heart is good for your brain’olive and nut oils.fruits and vegetables.whole grains and legumes.less highly processed sugars and red meats. How does aluminum affect the human body?
1. Srila Prabhupada’s idea of welfare work Another time Prabhupada was staying at the house of a very wealthy business man of Bombay and the man himself was not so wealthy but his wife was from a very wealthy family. And the head of that wealthy family used to conduct eye clinics to help poor people and sadhus. Prabhupada was very critical. He said, "When they get their eyesight what will they see? Better we give them that knowledge with which they can see even without these eyes." Prabhupada just didn't give an inch. His idea of welfare work was only one thing: directly giving love and knowledge of Krsna. From a talk by Tamal Krishna Goswami 8-24-2000, Hungary
Question: What Are 3 Interesting Facts About Mexico? What alcohol is from Mexico? After beer, tequila, a distilled spirit made from the blue agave plant, is the second most popular alcoholic drink among Mexicans, with production amounting to 309 million liters in 2018. Enjoyed by 68.7 percent of men and 71.8 percent of women who drink alcohol, tequila is most consumed by young adults.. What is Mexico’s real name? Estados Unidos MexicanosThe official name of the country is the “United Mexican States” (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos), since it is a federation of thirty-two states. The official name was first used in the Constitution of 1824, and was retained in the constitutions of 1857 and 1917. What are some interesting facts about Mexican culture? 15 Cool Culture Facts You Didn’t Know About Mexico#1 : Without Mexico there’d be no pizza.#2: A Mexican inventor created the world’s first birth control.#3: Mexico has 59 endemic corn varieties.#4: 68 indigenous languages are spoken in Mexico.#5: Mexico is home to one of the most unique agricultural systems in the world.More items…• What is unique about Mexico City? Mexico City’s system is the largest in Latin America and the cheapest in the world. Another popular mode of transportation is the bicycle. The city has a public bike service available in 42 suburbs in three boroughs out of the 16 that make up the capital. What are 5 facts about Mexico? Mexico Facts for KidsThe official name of for Mexico is the United Mexican States.Mexico is the 11th most populated country in the world with around 117 million people (as of July 2012).Mexico is the 14th largest country by land area.There are 31 states in Mexico as well as the capital city (Mexico City).More items…• What is the drink of Mexico? Paloma: The National Drink of Mexico. What is Mexico best known for? What is Mexicans favorite beer? How old is the Mexican culture? First inhabited more than 10,000 years ago, the cultures that developed in Mexico became one of the cradles of civilization. During the 300-year rule by the Spanish, Mexico was a crossroads for the people and cultures of Europe, Africa, and Asia. What is Mexico’s national dish? Mole sauceMole sauce, which has dozens of varieties across the Republic, is seen as a symbol of Mexicanidad and is considered Mexico’s national dish. What is a famous Mexican drink? A Guide to Mexico’s Best DrinksTequila. A friend and a foe to many, tequila is the liquor of choice in Mexico. … Margarita. Mexico’s most well-known cocktail is a deceptively simple combination of tequila, triple sec and lime juice, served with salt on the rim of the glass. … Paloma. … Michelada. … Horchata. What are 10 facts about Mexico? Mexico is also the Latin American country most familiar to Americans and Canadians. They come here for affordable dental work. They vacation at the resorts of Cancún, Cabo San Lucas, and Puerto Vallarta, and elsewhere. They drive RVs down to snowbird communities all over the Pacific coast and Baja Peninsula. What do Mexican people eat? Don’t leave Mexico without trying…Chilaquiles. This popular traditional breakfast dish features lightly fried corn tortillas cut into quarters and topped with green or red salsa (the red is slightly spicier). … Pozole. … Tacos al pastor. … Tostadas. … Chiles en nogada. … Elote. … Enchiladas. … Mole.More items…
By now, you’ve probably figured out that the skin wrapping your body is serviced entirely by the nervous system. Therefore, chemical imbalances related to mood disorders can cause reactions in the skin, even chronic skin symptoms. Some chronic skin symptoms are itchy (such as eczema), annoying (like acne), dangerously contagious (like herpes), or extremely painful (like shingles). Many people are very much aware of the fact that when they have been under a great deal of stress, or have been plagued by anxiety, chronic skin symptoms occur, often causing them to break out in hives or acne. Very few people know, however, that stress-related skin issues have their very own field of research – “psychodermatology.” Psychodermatology addresses the relationship between an individual’s emotion and how it relates to the skin. Rather than just addressing the dermatology side of the equation, researchers and doctors are finding that so many of these issues are related to the “mind connection.” Through an integrated approach, psychodermatology allows for new treatments such as antidepressants, relaxation therapy and counseling with a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist. The skin is our bodies’ first line of defense and every day it is bombarded by bacteria, viruses, fungi and others that are constantly present in our environment. Herpes Simplex and Herpes Zoster (shingles) are common skin infections, which can be painful. Normally, when we are healthy and at peace, our immune system can ward off the vast majority of infectious attacks, even the bad guys with the “simplex” names. Ongoing stress, depression and anxiety, however, can wear down the immune system and leave the skin more vulnerable to whatever microbes happen to land on it. When the immune isn’t functioning properly, the patient is not only subjected to greater suffering, but runs the risk of the condition becoming chronic and systemic. Even something as normal as an acne breakout in teens or adults can be directly related to stress. When you’re suffering chronic tension, your body release stress hormones that are directly related to the skin’s oil production. At the farther end of the scale, doctors are finding that auto-immune diseases such as lupus are STILL directly related to stress levels, and the body’s “attack” on healthy cells occur far more regularly when that individual is under chronic stress conditions. The best treatment is prevention by maintaining the balance of neurons that supply the skin. If you have chronic, recurring and otherwise unexplained skin symptoms, assume there is a neurochemical imbalance somewhere behind that symptom. My goal is to treat it as such until or unless proven otherwise. There is nothing to lose – and potentially a lot to gain – using the diagnostic treatment approach to ongoing skin conditions. Call me at (949) 481-0118, or complete our online form to discuss your symptoms. Imagine clearing these issues from your system!
Civil law (legal system) This article is about civil law as opposed to common law. For law that is not criminal law, see Civil law (common law). For other uses, see Civil law (disambiguation). Historically, a civil law is the group of legal ideas and systems ultimately derived from the Codex Justinianus, but heavily overlaid by Napoleonic, Germanic, canonical, feudal, and local practices,[3] as well as doctrinal strains such as natural law, codification, and legal positivism. Conceptually, civil law proceeds from abstractions, formulates general principles, and distinguishes substantive rules from procedural rules.[4] It holds case law to be secondary and subordinate to statutory law. When discussing civil law, one should keep in mind the conceptual difference between a statute and a codal article. The marked feature of civilian systems is that they use codes with brief text that tend to avoid factually specific scenarios.[5] Code articles deal in generalities and thus stand at odds with statutory schemes which are often very long and very detailed. The purpose of codification is to provide all citizens with manners and written collection of the laws which apply to them and which judges must follow. It is the most widespread system of law in the world, in force in various forms in about 150 countries,[6] and draws heavily from Roman law, arguably the most intricate known legal system dating from before the modern era. Where codes exist, the primary source of law is the law code, which is a systematic collection of interrelated articles,[7] arranged by subject matter in some pre-specified order,[8] and that explain the principles of law, rights and entitlements, and how basic legal mechanisms work. Law codes are simply laws enacted by a legislature, even if they are in general much longer than other laws. Other major legal systems in the world include common law, Halakha, canon law, and Islamic law. Legal systems of the world[9] Civil law traditions in Europe. Austro-German law Mixed (local + Napoleonic/Austro-German) Scandinavian law Mixed (common law + Roman law) Civilian countries can be divided into: A prominent example of a civil-law code would be the Napoleonic Code (1804), named after French emperor Napoleon. The Code comprises three components: the law of persons, property law, and commercial law. Rather than a compendium of statutes or catalog of caselaw, the Code sets out general principles as rules of law.[7] Unlike common law systems, civil law jurisdictions deal with case law apart from any precedent value. Civil law courts generally decide cases using codal provisions on a case-by-case basis, without reference to other (or even superior) judicial decisions.[10] In actual practice, an increasing degree of precedent is creeping into civil law jurisprudence, and is generally seen in many nations' highest courts.[10] While the typical French-speaking supreme court decision is short, concise and devoid of explanation or justification, in Germanic Europe, the supreme courts can and do tend to write more verbose opinions supported by legal reasoning.[10] A line of similar case decisions, while not precedent per se, constitute jurisprudence constante.[10] While civil law jurisdictions place little reliance on court decisions, they tend to generate a phenomenal number of reported legal opinions.[10] However, this tends to be uncontrolled, since there is no statutory requirement that any case be reported or published in a law report, except for the councils of state and constitutional courts.[10] Except for the highest courts, all publication of legal opinions are unofficial or commercial.[11] Civil law is sometimes referred to as neo-Roman law, Romano-Germanic law or Continental law. The expression civil law is a translation of Latin jus civile, or "citizens' law", which was the late imperial term for its legal system, as opposed to the laws governing conquered peoples (jus gentium); hence, the Justinian code's title Corpus Juris Civilis. Civil law practitioners, however, traditionally refer to their system in a broad sense as jus commune, literally "common law", meaning the general principles of law as opposed to laws peculiar to particular areas. (The use of "common law" for the Anglo-Saxon systems may or may not be influenced by this usage.) The civil law takes as its major inspiration classical Roman law (c. AD 1–250), and in particular Justinian law (6th century AD), and further expounding and developments in the late Middle Ages under the influence of canon law.[12] The Justinian Code's doctrines provided a sophisticated model for contracts, rules of procedure, family law, wills, and a strong monarchical constitutional system.[13] Roman law was received differently in different countries. In some it went into force wholesale by legislative act, i.e., it became positive law, whereas in others it was diffused into society by increasingly influential legal experts and scholars. In the end, despite whatever resistance to codification, the codification of European private laws moved forward. Codifications were completed by Denmark (1687), Sweden (1734), Prussia (1794), France (1804), and Austria (1811). The French codes were imported into areas conquered by Emperor Napoleon and later adopted with modifications in Poland (Duchy of Warsaw/Congress Poland; Kodeks cywilny 1806/1825), Louisiana (1807), Canton of Vaud (Switzerland; 1819), the Netherlands (1838), Italy and Romania (1865), Portugal (1867) and Spain (1888). Germany (1900), and Switzerland (1912) adopted their own codifications. These codifications were in turn imported into colonies at one time or another by most of these countries. The Swiss version was adopted in Brazil (1916) and Turkey (1926). In the United States, U.S. states began codification with New York's "Field Code" (1850), followed by California's Codes (1872), and the federal Revised Statutes (1874) and the current United States Code (1926). Because Germany was a rising power in the late 19th century and its legal system was well organized, when many Asian nations were developing, the German Civil Code became the basis for the legal systems of Japan. In China, the German Civil Code was introduced in the later years of the Qing Dynasty emulating Japan. In addition, it formed the basis of the law of the Republic of China, which remains in force in Taiwan. Furthermore, Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria, which were the colonies of Japan, has been strongly influenced by the Japanese legal system. Differentiation from other major legal systems Common law Civil law Socialist law Islamic law Lawyers Judges act as impartial referees; lawyers are responsible for presenting the case Judges dominate trials Judges dominate trials Secondary role Judges' qualifications Career lawyers (appointed or elected) Career judges Career bureaucrats, Party members Religious as well as legal training Degree of judicial independence High High; separate from the executive and the legislative branches of government Very limited Ranges from very limited to high[14][15] Juries Provided at trial level May adjudicate in conjunction with judges in serious criminal matters Often used at lowest level Allowed in Maliki school,[15] not allowed in other schools Examples Australia, UK (except Scotland), India, Cyprus, Nigeria, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, USA (except Louisiana), Canada (except Quebec), New Zealand, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh All European Union states (except UK and Ireland) and European states, All of continental South and Middle America (except Guyana and Belize), Quebec, All of East Asia (except Hong Kong), Congo, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Iraq, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Madagascar, Lebanon, Switzerland, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand Soviet Union and other communist regimes Many Muslim countries have adopted parts of Sharia Law. Examples include Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, UAE, Oman, Sudan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Yemen. Civil law is primarily contrasted with common law, which is the legal system developed first in England, and later among English-speaking peoples of the world. Despite their differences, the two systems are quite similar from a historical point of view. Both evolved in much the same way, though at different paces. The Roman law underlying civil law developed mainly from customary law that was refined with case law and legislation. Canon law further refined court procedure. Similarly, English law developed from Norman and Anglo-Saxon customary law, further refined by case law and legislation. The differences of course being that (1) Roman law had crystallized many of its principles and mechanisms in the form of the Justinian Code, which drew from case law, scholarly commentary, and senatorial statutes; and (2) civilian case law has persuasive authority, not binding authority as under common law. The term civil law comes from English legal scholarship and is used in English-speaking countries to lump together all legal systems of the jus commune tradition. However, legal comparativists and economists promoting the legal origins theory prefer to subdivide civil law jurisdictions into four distinct groups: However, some of these legal systems are often and more correctly said to be of hybrid nature: The Italian civil code of 1942 replaced the original one of 1865, introducing germanistic elements due to the geopolitical alliances of the time.[17] This approach has been imitated by other countries including Portugal (1966), the Netherlands (1992), Brazil (2002) and Argentina (2014). Most of them have innovations introduced by the Italian legislation, including the unification of the civil and commercial codes.[18] The Swiss civil code is considered mainly influenced by the German civil code and partly influenced by the French civil code. The civil code of the Republic of Turkey is a slightly modified version of the Swiss code, adopted in 1926 during Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's presidency as part of the government's progressive reforms and secularization. Louisiana private law is primarily a Napoleonic system. Louisiana is the only U.S. state partially based on French and Spanish codes and ultimately Roman law, as opposed to English common law.[19] In Louisiana, private law was codified into the Louisiana Civil Code. Current Louisiana law has converged considerably with American law, especially in its public law, judicial system, and adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code (except for Article 2) and certain legal devices of American common law.[20] In fact, any innovation, whether private or public, has been decidedly common law in origin. Likewise, Quebec law, whose private law is similarly of French civilian origin, has developed along the same lines, having adapted in the same way as Louisiana to the public law and judicial system of Canadian common law. By contrast, Quebec private law has innovated mainly from civilian sources. To a lesser extent, other states formerly part of the Spanish Empire, such as Texas and California, have also retained aspects of Spanish civil law into their legal system, for example community property. The legal system of Puerto Rico exhibits the same tendencies that of Louisiana has shown: the application of a civil code whose interpretations are reliant on both the civil and common law systems. Because Puerto Rico's Civil Code is based on the Spanish Civil Code of 1889, available jurisprudence has tended to rely on common law innovations due to the code's age and in many cases, obsolete nature. Several Islamic countries have civil law systems that contain elements of Islamic law.[21] As an example, the Egyptian Civil Code of 1810 that developed in the early 19th centurywhich remains in force in Egypt is the basis for the civil law in many countries of the Arab world where the civil law is used is based on the Napoleonic Code, but its primary author Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri attempted to integrate principles and features of Islamic law in deference to the unique circumstances of Egyptian society. Japanese Civil Code was considered as a mixture of roughly 60 percent of the German civil code and roughly 30 percent of the French civil code and 8 percent of Japanese customary law and 2 percent of the English law.[22] The code includes the doctrine of ultra vires and a precedent of Hadley v Baxendale from English common law system. See also 1. Washington Probate, "Estate Planning & Probate Glossary", Washington (State) Probate, s.v. "common law", [htm], 8 Dec. 2008, retrieved on 7 November 2009. 5. “The role of legislation is to set, by taking a broad approach, the general propositions of the law, to establish principles which will be fertile in application, and not to get down to the details. . . .” Alain Levasseur, Code Napoleon or Code Portalis?, 43 Tul. L. Rev. 762, 769 (1969). 6. "The World Factbook". 8. "Glossary of Legal Terms", 12th District Court – Jackson, County, MI, retrieved on 12 June 2009: 10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reynolds 1998, p. 58. 11. Reynolds 1998, p. 59. 12. "Roman Law and Its Influence". Retrieved 2011-08-18. 13. Kenneth Pennington, "Roman and Secular Law in the Middle Ages", Medieval Latin: An Introduction and Bibliographical Guide, edd. F.A.C. Mantello and A.G. Rigg (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press of America, 1996), 254–266; [html], available at , retrieved 27 August 2011. 14. 1 2 Badr, Gamal Moursi (Spring 1978), "Islamic Law: Its Relation to Other Legal Systems", The American Journal of Comparative Law, The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol. 26, No. 2, 26 (2 [Proceedings of an International Conference on Comparative Law, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 24–25, 1977]): 187–198 [196–8], doi:10.2307/839667, JSTOR 839667 15. 1 2 Makdisi, John A. (June 1999), "The Islamic Origins of the Common Law", North Carolina Law Review, 77 (5): 1635–1739 17. "Towards a civil code: the italian experience". 18. ""On the Legal Method of the Uniform Commercial Code" by Mitchell Franklin". 20. "Louisiana – Judicial system". Retrieved 2011-08-18. 21. "Civil Law". Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2009. Archived 2009-10-31. 22. 和仁陽「岡松参太郎――法比較と学理との未完の綜合――」『法学教室』No.183 (Japanese) P.79 External links Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Civil Law.
Today the ancient city of Polonnaruwa remains one of the best planned archaeological relic sites in the country, standing testimony to the discipline and greatness of the Kingdom’s first rulers. Its beauty was also used as a backdrop to filmed scenes for the Duran Duran music video Save a Prayer in 1982. The ancient city of Polonnaruwa has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO. Near the ancient city, there is a small town with several hotels (especially for tourists) and some glossy shops, and places to fulfill day-to-day needs. There are government institutions in a newly built area called “new town,” about 6 km away from the town and the main road. The largest school in the district, Polonnaruwa Royal Central College is situated at new town. Polonnaruwa is the second largest city in North Central Province, but it is known as one of the cleanest and more beautiful cities in the country. The green environment, amazing ancient constructions, Parakrama Samudra (a huge lake built in 1200), and attractive tourist hotels and hospitable people, attract tourists. Another draw for tourists is the city’s population of toque macaques. The monkeys have been living in the ruins since human occupation and continue to thrive here long after the humans left. Translate »
Scientists Built A Device To Generate All Possible Futures By , in Sci/Tech on . Tagged width: If you’ve seen the Avengers: Infinity War, then you’ve also seen the scene in which Dr. Strange was looking into 14 million possible futures to search for one single timeline in which the heroes would come out winning. Quantum computers seem to be really handy these days for such a task, according to the latest reports. just revealed that a team of researchers from Hanyang Technological University in Singapore and Griffith University in Australia had built a prototype quantum device. The great thing about this is that it can generate all possible futures in a simultaneous quantum superposition. “When we think about the future, we are confronted by a vast array of possibilities,” said Assistant Professor Mile Gu of NTU Singapore, who led the development of the quantum algorithm. Mile Gu continued and explained that “These possibilities grow exponentially as we go deeper into the future. For instance, even if we have only two possibilities to choose from each minute, in less than half an hour there are 14 million possible futures. In less than a day, the number exceeds the number of atoms in the universe.” Examining possible futures What the experts have realized is that a quantum computer can examine all possible futures by placing them in a quantum superposition – this is somewhat similar to the Schrödinger’s famous cat. Check out the theory online if you’re not familiar with it. The team implements a specially deviced photonic quantum information processor in which the “potential future outcomes of a decision process are represented by the locations of photons – quantum particles of light.” The expert proved then that the stated of this quantum device was a superposition of more potential futures which were weighted by their probability of occurrence. One impressive thing that this machine was able to prove was that it measures how much our bias towards a specific choice in the present will be impacting the future.
• English • Dutch The Maeslant Barrier The Maeslant Barrier is a storm surge barrier that was taken into operation in 1997 and that is located where two waterways meet near Hook of Holland (Het Scheur and Nieuwe Waterweg). Building work on the Maeslant Barrier started in 1991 and it was inaugurated by Queen Beatrix on 10 May 1997. On this day, the barrier was closed for the very first time at 4.30pm. This storm surge barrier is part of the greater Europoort water defences, the final part of the Delta Works. The storm surge barrier consists of 2 arched steel sector doors, each consisting of a retaining wall and a half-timbered arm, which turn up the river from a parking dock at high tide. By ballasting the sector doors with river water, the retaining wall sinks on the threshold construction. “The Maeslant barrier is part of the Europoort barrier, the last part of the Delta Works. Thanks to the storm surge barrier approximately one million people in South Holland are protected from the sea.” Two enormous barrier gates The barrier is made up of two enormous barrier gates. These barrier gates are basically two floating pontoons that can be positioned across the waterway while they are empty. Once they are in place, the gates are filled with water to create massive barriers. When the gates need to be opened again, the water is pumped out and they are moved outwards. When fully open, the gates are stowed in two dry docks on either side of the waterway. These docks are closed by dock gates. Once the barrier gates have been retracted back into their respective dry docks, the dock gates are closed and water is pumped out of the dry dock. Water is pumped out to keep the barrier gates dry, so as to prevent corrosion. Autonomously closing of entire barrier In the event of potential high water levels, a computer system called the Decision and Support System (BOS by its Dutch initials) decides automatically whether or not the barrier needs to be closed. The system will close the barrier when water levels in Rotterdam are threatening to exceed 3 metres above NAP or water levels further down river in Dordrecht are threatening to exceed 2.90 metres above NAP. What is special about this computer system is that it closes the barrier entirely autonomously, even when there is no personnel around. Double redundant Besides the Maeslant Barrier, this computer system also operates the Hartel Barrier. Seeing as the barriers are closed automatically, without human intervention, the computer system has to meet very strict requirements. It is a double redundant system to prevent outages as much as possible. If the computer were to be down completely, the decision to close the barrier will have to be made by operating staff. The barrier gates (circle segments of 22 metres high and 210 metres long, which float because they are hollow) will then turn towards each other. At the point where they (nearly) make contact in the centre of the waterway, water is let into the barrier gates to make them sink to the river bed and almost hermetically block the river (Nieuwe Waterweg). To prevent the gates from getting damaged, a small opening of approx. 80cm is left between the gates. This opening is so small that only a small amount of water will flow through. The world’s largest ball points The hinges of the two barrier gates were a major engineering challenge during the building project. Not only do they have to enable the barrier gates to open and close, they also have to allow the barrier gates to be raised and lowered. In the end, these hinges were made using the world’s largest ball joints; the balls have a diameter of 10 metres. These ball joints were built especially for this storm surge barrier. Horizontal movement The horizontal movement of the barrier gates is powered by redundant 6-cylinder oil pressure motors for each gate, whereby four motors is sufficient. This technology was chosen because of its great reliability, while it also delivers constant force, irrespective of the speed. The motors turn a rack rail along the top of the barrier gate outwards or inwards using cogwheels. The motors themselves are positioned vertically so that they can operate regardless of the water level. Building of the Maeslant Barrier As a consortium in “Bouwcombinatie Maeslantkering”, Hollandia has supplied, among other things, the 2 steel ball hinges with the jack construction, 26 upper cupboards for the retaining wall, various parts for the 2 lattice arms and the movement works for the doors. The lattice arms, each with a length of 240 meters, release the water pressure against the retaining wall to two ball joints placed on the bank. The ball joints each have a diameter of 10 meters and can transfer a load of 35,000 tons. The sector doors are set in motion by a hydraulic movement mechanism, the so-called “Locomobile”. Revising gates in 2016 and 2019 Since Hollandia was involved in the building of the Maeslant Barrier in 1997, Rijkswaterstaat also commissioned Hollandia Services to revise the southern dock gate in 2016 and the northern dock gate in 2019. Thanks to this revision, the functioning of the dock gates is guaranteed for the coming 20 years. Testing every year To test its functionality, the Maeslant Barrier is closed once every year in what is referred to as a ‘functionality closure’. So far, this was always done on a Saturday in late September or early October (i.e. at the start of the storm season). Functionality closures are open to the general public. Anyone who wants to can watch the barrier being closed from the site around the barrier house (Keringhuis). This is the only time that the general public can see the storm surge barrier being closed.
5 Oral Signs You May Have Diabetes Letting diabetes go unnoticed and untreated can be very harmful to your health. General symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and dizziness are commonly known, but there are also other symptoms that can give you signs. 1. Dry mouth If your mouth is constantly dry no matter how much water you are drinking or how much you clean your teeth, it may be a sign of diabetes. The dryness is caused by an excess of glucose in the body. More water is needed to process the sugar through your body, which makes you more dehydrated. 2. Periodontitis Rates of gingivitis/periodontitis are very high among people with diabetes. It has also been studied that periodontitis and diabetes together make both diseases progress more quickly than if you only had one or the other. 3. Inflamed gums If your gums are puffy and bleed easily, it may be a sign that you have diabetes. Be gentle when brushing your teeth and make an appointment with your dentist to rule out anything else. 4. Odd or lack of taste If you notice that food doesn’t taste quite right or everything is lacking in flavor, it may be a sign of diabetes. Diabetes can cause you to taste food differently than someone who is non-diabetic. 5. Bacterial Infections (which leads to bad breath) If you can’t get rid of your bad breath even when you brush your teeth, gargle and floss, you may have a fungal or bacterial infection in your mouth. Although diabetes doesn’t cause these infections, they are more prevalent in people who are diabetic. If you have any of these issues, visit your dentist right away. The faster you seek treatment, the less damage will have to be undone. Dr. Lorraine Burio of Candlewood Dental Care has been treating and educating patients for over twenty-five years. Our office serves the New Fairfield, New Milford, Danbury, and Sherman areas of CT and Pawling, Patterson and Putnam Lake of New York. You can call us at 203-746-1200.
E-Cigarettes: The New Face of Tobacco E-cigarettes are handheld devices that produce an aerosolized mixture from a solution typically containing nicotine, flavoring chemicals, and propylene glycol that is inhaled by the user. E-cigarettes are rapidly rising in popularity in the United States and, with approximately 2 million U.S. high school students reporting e-cigarette use, are the most common tobacco product among youth. With flavors, design, and marketing that appeal to children and adolescents, e-cigarettes threaten to addict a new generation of youth to nicotine and reverse more than 50 years of progress in tobacco control. In the November issue of Pediatrics, my colleagues and I summarize the latest scientific evidence regarding e-cigarettes and detail the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) policy recommendations toward their regulation. Despite the claims of e-cigarette companies, there is no scientific evidence that their products are “healthier” and “safer” than conventional cigarettes. Instead, a growing body of evidence points to their harms. Nicotine, the major psychoactive ingredient in e-cigarette solution, is highly addictive and toxic. At least 1 child has died from acute nicotine poisoning after unintentionally ingesting e-cigarette solution. Additionally, the secondhand aerosol emitted from an e-cigarette is not “harmless water vapor;” known toxins and carcinogens have been found in e-cigarette emissions. Finally, health claims of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids are currently unsupported by scientific evidence. Smokers interested in quitting should seek and be referred to proven treatments, including behavioral counseling and appropriate medications. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has broad authority to regulate tobacco products, and the AAP supports the agency’s efforts to expand its jurisdiction to include e-cigarettes, liquid nicotine, and all other tobacco products. Youth access to e-cigarettes should be restricted through a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes to people younger than 21 years (the AAP recommends age 21 as the minimum legal age of purchase for all tobacco products). Prohibition of e-cigarettes should be included as part of tobacco-free and smoke-free laws and policies. Finally, the AAP strongly advocates for the federal government to require child-resistant packaging for liquid nicotine refills as well for the FDA to ban tobacco flavors and advertising that target children and adolescents. New studies and reports about e-cigarettes are emerging daily, and policy measures will need to adjust based on the appropriate evidence. In the meantime, lack of evidence regarding the science of this product should not be mistaken for lack of clarity in terms of the steps needed for its regulation.
Latest News Leading FGM Campaigners Say Practice Could Be Eradicated By 2030 Two of the world’s leading campaigners in the fight against FGM say that a ‘tipping point’ is being reached, meaning that the practice of female genital mutilation could end by 2030. Nimco Ali and Dr Leyla Hussein were both honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours with OBEs, and dedicated their honours to fellow campaigners seeking an end to the practice, which has affected over 200 million girls and women worldwide, many of whom are in Africa and the Middle East. 137,000 reside in the UK. Both women have experienced FGM themselves, and have campaigned for a decade to end FGM. Despite the banning of the practice in 2003, where it became an offence to take girls out of the UK to undergo the FGM, they have both seen evidence of its prevalence across British communities. In 2006, Ms Ali visited a class of 15 British-Somali girls in Bristol, of whom 13 disclosed that they had been victim to the practice. All were EU or Bristol-born. In February, it was announced that all secondary school pupils in the UK will be taught about the dangers of FGM, widely referred to as ‘cutting’, as part of the new compulsory sex and relationships education. What is Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)? FGM involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other damage to the genital organs, for supposed cultural, religious or non-medical reasons. FGM (also known as female circumcision, ‘cutting’ and ‘sunna’) can affect females from birth to pregnancy. It inflicts severe physical and psychological damage which can last a lifetime. While there is some intelligence to suggest FGM is being physically performed in the UK, most victims are usually taken abroad, commonly on flights in the holiday periods of Easter, summer and Christmas. More information about FGM, including warning signs that someone may be at risk of undergoing, or is a victim of this harmful practice, can be found on our FGM page. Refuge is a countywide service which provides support to women, men and children experiencing domestic violence in Warwickshire. This includes culturally specific services, including support to victims of FGM, honour based violence and forced marriage. %d bloggers like this:
Copper’s New Role: Germ Killer A new study shows that replacing common hospital objects with those made of copper greatly reduces risk of infection. We’ve already got hand sanitizer at every entrance and waiting room, signs in the bathrooms to remind us to wash our hands when we leave, and signs in the hallway reminding us to cover our mouths when we cough. What more could hospitals possibly do to cut down on infection? Replace all that stainless steel with copper. A recent study, led by Dr. Michael Schmidt of the Medical University of South Carolina, did just that. In intensive care unit rooms, objects near patients such as bed rails, meal tray tables, IV stands, and nurse call buttons were replaced with ones made of antimicrobial copper. Followup assessments showed a 97 percent decrease in the amount of bacteria and a 41 percent decrease in the rate of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). The researchers presented the findings in late October at the conference of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Boston, and will be submitting the study results to the US Environmental Protection Agency for review. Hospitals can use all the help they can get. So populated with contagions and people with compromised immune systems, one almost has to wonder sometimes if a trip to the hospital is worth the risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one out of every 20 patients will contract an infection related to their care at the hospital. The number’s even higher for Intensive Care Units where 30 percent of patients get an infection. And the infections can be quite deadly as one in 20 who get an infection die as a result. The so-called hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease, strokes, and cancer. Each year in the US 2,000,000 people contract HAIs and 100,000 die. In addition to lives, HAIs inflict an economic cost to hospitals that reaches $45 billion annually. Copper’s effectiveness as a clinical disinfectant has been known for some time. In labs, copper kills 99.9 percent of bacteria within two hours, including bad bugs such as S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeurginosa, E. coli and its cousin Enterobacter aerogenes. It also kills methicillin-resistant S. aureas (MRSA) which accounts for a large proportion of hospital-acquired infections. Think you’ll be okay if you just douse up on the hand sanitizer even more? A recent warning from the FDA will put an end to that nonsense. Despite claims to the contrary by hand sanitizer companies, the antiseptic gels do not prevent infection from MRSA. Letters were sent out from the FDA to several companies, saying they had 15 days to change the claims on their products. Not only do you like the powerful bronze sheen, you feel good about making your kitchen cleaner, healthier. The germ killing power that copper has shown in labs prompted US regulators to clear the sale of copper alloys for antimicrobial use back in 2008. But until very recently, however, most studies were limited to labs. Human trials remain scarce, and the current study is one of the first to show that copper is effective as a “passive infection control,” that is, a disinfectant that doesn’t require any special actions by the hospital staff or their patients. However, we should see a lot of data in the near future. Right now clinical trials to test copper’s ability to reduce bacterial transmission in clinical settings are underway in the US, the UK, Japan, Germany, and Chile. So, is “antimicrobial copper” any different from the copper found in our pennies and our pipes, and how exactly is it able to kill bacteria? The answer to the first question is no. There’s nothing chemically different about the copper that is in the IV post, except that now you can buy copper in the shape of an IV post – you wouldn’t call the copper in your pocket antimicrobial, although I suppose you wouldn’t be incorrect to do so (I’m guessing you still shouldn’t put coins into your mouth). And just as your pennies aren’t pure copper, the antimicrobial equipment currently being tested in hospitals are copper alloys, as pure copper is soft. The answer to the second question isn’t as straightforward. The Wall Street Journal paraphrased “Mr.” Schmidt as explaining it this way: “All living things generate electricity, and when bacteria come in contact with a copper surface, the metal siphons off their electrons, leaving them without energy.” I’m sure kryptonite works the same. The website,, offers more detail. Aside from keeping the good stuff in and the bad stuff out, cells need to keep a voltage difference across their membrane. Put another way, cells – not just bacteria but neurons, skin cells, all cells in fact – are charged. Copper is one of the more conductive elements, so when bacteria come in contact with it, their all important charge dissipates and the membrane ruptures. With the innards of the cell exposed, copper ions stream into the cell to wreak havoc on the enzymes that make the bacterium’s metabolism go. At least, this is the best guess at the moment. Because copper works so fast it has been a challenge for researchers to get that telltale microscopic snapshot. But scientific curiosity about copper’s antimicrobial effects will become less essential if the upcoming human trials show the benefits of the current one. At a time when vitamins and minerals and other daily supplements seem to be letting us down, it’s nice to see copper casting itself into this new role of hospital sanitizer, and life saver. [image credits: CopperForHealthCare and Mountains Edge Copper Art] image 1: copper cart image 2: overbed table image 3: counter Follow Peter:
How A Jet Boat Works The way a jet boat works is the same as how a jet ski works. In fact, most jet boats use jet ski engines. To demonstrate how a jet boat and their engines/drives work, I’ve compiled pictures and described them in this article. How A Jet Boat Works Picture 1 As we can see from picture 1 above, the rear of a jet boat is quite different than other boats. We have the intake, nozzle, and the reverse bucket. This is also a twin-engine jet boat, but a single-engine is very similar. When you turn the engine on, the impeller that is tucked away starts to spin. Water is sucked up from the intake and pushed out the nozzle. The nozzle can be moved left or right; this is how you steer the jet boat. The reverse bucket is what controls the forward and reverse direction of the jet boat. Right now, the buckets are in a neutral position, which is between forward and reverse. If the bucket is up, it would be in the forward position, and if the bucket were down, it would be in the reverse position. You can read more about this in our article about jet boats having reverse and neutral. This system is much simpler and has less to go wrong when compared to a regular boat. A typical boat will have a transmission that shifts in and out of gears. Thus a regular boat has more moving parts and more things to go wrong. Jet Boat Intake Picture 2 Picture 2 above gives us a better look at the intake and pump of a jet boat. The impeller sucks in water from the intake grate which is the 3 metal bars. The intake grate is for keeping big items like rocks from being sucked up and destroying the jet pump. Why No Protective Mesh Screen? Something I get all the time is the question of why don’t they put a mesh screen in front of the intake to stop sand and rocks being sucked up? Since a jet boat is essentially a super powerful vacuum, anything in front of the intake will get sucked up. The reason why they don’t do a mesh screen is that it would significantly slow down the boat. The more stuff you have in front of the intake, the harder the engine has to work, and the slower you go. Even the slightest of mesh will significantly slow down the boat. The intake grate they have on there is the best compromise they can make. When The Engine Is On In picture 2, you can also see part of the drive shaft. The driveshaft is the metal rod that connects the engine to the jet pump. When it comes to jet boats, if the engine is on the impeller is spinning. Since jet boats are a lot simpler, they don’t have transmissions that slip the propeller in and out of gears. Jet boats do have neutral, but its the sweet spot between forward and reverse. It’s so fine-tuned that most people don’t even realize their jet boat doesn’t have a “true” neutral. We can also see the jet pump in picture 2 above. The jet pump is about the size of a small bucket. The jet pump contains the impeller, wear ring, and bearings. The Wear Ring It’s a very tight fit between the impeller and the wear ring. It needs to be tight to make a perfect seal to push water through. The purpose of the wear ring is to protect the jet pump housing from damage as It’s cheaper to replace. Some manufacturers go with plastic wear rings because it’s cheaper than metal. But some go with metal because it holds up better than plastic. Both are right, but the plastic ones are becoming just as strong as the metal ones, so they’re starting to take over. Unlike the name “wear” ring, it’s not a wear and tear item. It’s not like your tires on your car that need to be replaced every so many miles. You only replace a wear ring when it gets destroyed. You’ll know you need to replace it when the jet boat doesn’t take off like it used to or shakes like crazy. Cooling System At the top of picture 2, we can see a metal plate that is right above the words “Driveshaft”. That metal plate is unique to Sea-Doo and Scarab jet boats. That metal plate is the radiator as those two boats use a closed-loop cooling system. This means they don’t take in lake or ocean water to cool the engine. If they’re supercharged, they will still take in water to cool that and the exhaust too, but the engine itself never sees water. The engine uses coolant, much like your car, to keep it at the perfect temperature. Yamaha jet boats and many other older jet boats use lake or ocean water to cool the engine. This is not bad unless you drive in a lot of saltwater. Saltwater corrodes engines and parts quicker than regular water. Can You run a jet boat out of the water? Since all jet boats take in water to cool the exhaust, you can’t run them out of the water for too long. You want to stay under 30 seconds max. Going above 30 seconds without having your jet boat in the water will destroy and melt very critical parts. Note: Sea-Doo does not make jet boats anymore since 2012. Scarab bought the Sea-Doo Jet Boat division and still use Sea-Doo watercraft engines. If you ask me, Scarab is nicer than the old Sea-Doo’s, and they get the perks of Sea-Doo engines, which are the best. Yamaha jet boats are not bad; they do lead in the jet boat market, it’s just that I find Sea-Doo’s engines and tech a lot better. Leave a Comment
Gaius Marius: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Saviour Written by Marc Hyden, Gaius Marius focuses on the fascinating life of the Roman by the same name. I will admit that prior to reading this book, I had not heard of Gaius Marius (157 - 86 BCE). Let alone, the very vital but important role he played in shaping Rome’s early history. What is just as interesting is that through marriage Marius will eventually be uncle to the infamous future Roman ruler, Julius Caesar. Author Marc Hyden displays a unique and wonderful talent, that is, he knows how to tell a story. The book begins by painting a picture of the social, political (corruption and all), and economic climate of the Western Mediterranean.The reader is introduced not only to the Roman world of the 2nd century BCE but also the struggles faced by the now powerful and very influential empire, just after the Roman-Carthaginian Punic Wars. The reader is also given insight into the everyday lives of the Roman citizen, from the elite all the way down to the lowly peasant. Marius first comes into the picture from humble beginnings. Born a simple man in the town of Arpinium located in southern Latium from a simple and non-influential family, Marius would eventually strive and climb to the top of the Roman social and political ladder. The earliest documented resources introducing Marius’ exploits begin during his young adult life during the war against the barbarians in Numantia (i.e. Spain). From his successes abroad, Marius would earn a great reputation back home and his humble background would earn him the respect of the plebeians (i.e. the commoners). This early support would kick off his political career via the cursus honorum (or courses of offices); that is, the order of public offices an aspiring politician held under the Roman Republic. The publication highlights the many successes of Marius but also sheds light on his failures. It portrays Marius as an imperfect man and rightly so. At times he comes across as a just and righteous individual worthy of Rome’s recognition and praise while at others, he is the exact opposite; earning both political and foreign enemies along the way. The book follows the very detailed life of Marius, through his every documented exploit in both the Republic and on the battlefield, protecting Rome from some of its most threatening enemies bordering its empire. Even after his death, the book continues with the story that immediately follows and the legacy Marius left behind to influence that history. I was very impressed with Hyden’s attention to detail. He has done a wonderful job in putting this topic to words. Through his words, the reader is able to visualize a lot of the content within, although a few images would have also helped. Aside from the maps at the beginning of the book, the book contains no additional photographs. Regardless, this was an excellent book depicting an excellent historical figure. I highly recommend it. By Petros Koutoupis
Contemporary Issues: The Death Penalty 1948 Words8 Pages Contemporary Issues: The Death Penalty Contemporary Issues: The Death Penalty The death penalty is said to be the greatest deterrent to crime in the United States. However, in recent years those states, which still use the death penalty, have seen a marked increase in crimes where death is a punishment. Is the threat of being put to death still an effective deterrent? According to FBI statistics (2008), the national murder rate per capita was 5.4 in 2008. With a national population of over 304 million people, that is around 16,000 murders for 2008 alone. Admittedly, not all of these murders occurred in states where the death penalty is in use, however, of the ten states with the highest murder rates, eight of them are death penalty states (FBI, 2008). It is true that violent crime trends have decreased over the past five years, however, it is important to remember that the violent crimes being committed the most are in areas where the criminal is risking death at the hands of the state. This alone shows that criminals have no regard for a state’s policy on the death sentence, which proves that the penalty has lost its effectiveness as a deterrent. The death penalty has been the most severe punishment for crimes since the 18th century BCE, when King Hammurabi of Babylon held 25 crimes by which a criminal could be put to death. By the 7th century BCE, the Draconian Code of Athens demanded that all crimes committed be punishable by death. Throughout history, criminals have been put to death by such means as crucifixion, hanging, drowning, beating, stoning, burning, impalement, firing squad, electrocution, chemical asphyxiation, and lethal injection. Throughout the history of criminal justice, society has used death as a means of subverting crime and eliciting cooperation. In the 10th century CE, society, especially Britain, had become so More about Contemporary Issues: The Death Penalty Open Document
Societys Influence On Self Image 1698 Words7 Pages What is beauty? What does it mean to feel beautiful, to be beautiful and to act beautiful? Beauty is the face of the mind. In the society of today, the world is full of preconceived notions, judgements and idealistic expectations as to what beauty is. Society influences women, men and children into a manipulation process forcing them to examine flaws in the comparison of physical appearance. The depiction of “the perfect appearance” becomes an unrealistic and unattainable aim which women, men and children strive for in order to feel satisfied with their physical appearance. Key pieces of society greatly influence how the world perceives themself through comparisons, expectations and judgements. Stuck in a world of comparison, one is constantly comparing themself to others through examination of the physical beauty which is becoming more and more deteriorating year after year. One is pressured under the expectation to be perfect and to obtain the ideal beauty. And one is constantly judging themself and others through the depiction of physical flaws and beauties. Thus, Society forces one to constantly criticize their every aspect with the pressure to be perfect in order to be satisfied. First off, the ideal image is the striving unattainable and unrealistic beauty that society proclaims “perfection” which causes women, men and children to feel pressure and dissatisfaction with their self-observation. The media plays a major role in society’s portrayal of the ideal beauty through television, magazines, billboards and commercials. The unrealistic ideal beauty is placed throughout advertisements to persuade people into the use of their products. Such as…… (this, this and this). The media makes the world believe the ideal beauty to be unattainable which causes constant dissatisfaction with physical appearances. The media places unrealistic tall and thin models into More about Societys Influence On Self Image Open Document
What Does Your Radiator Do Lets face it. Most of us don’t know a hoot about the workings of our car. We know there’s an engine in there… and maybe a fuel tank… but that’s about it. So Fiix is doing an article series where we teach you about your car, one part at a time, starting with your radiator. Your radiator Engines create a lot of heat in their operations - they’re powered off of miniature explosives! To prevent your engine from overheating, your car pumps coolant through your engine - fluid that receives heat, and carries it away from the engine block. The coolant takes the heat generated by your engine, and moves it to your radiator, which blows air across the liquid - cooling it down and exchanging heat with the air outside your car. The radiator works by passing your coolant through thin metal fins, which allow the heat to flow to the air outside your car much more easily. Sometimes, there is a fan that blows air across the radiator in order to carry the hot air out of your car. Radiators come in many different shapes, sizes, and designs, but their primary function remains the same. In essence - a radiator cools the coolant, which then cools your engine. Parts of a Radiator Core: The core is the largest part of the radiator and provides its primary function. It consists of a large metal block with small metal fins that allow the coolant to vent heat to the air surrounding the radiator (this air is expelled in your grill at the front of your car.) There are many types of cores, for example, one-core, two-core, or even three-core radiators. Pressure cap: Your car’s coolant system is continually under pressure. This is because it allows the coolant to become much hotter without boiling than it would normally, which allows the system to be much more efficient. The pressure cap creates this pressure by using a spring to create pressures up to 20 PSI. It’s important not to remove the pressure cap while the coolant is hot, or you can cause serious burns. Outlet and Inlet Tanks: The inlet and outlet tanks help the radiator move coolant from the hot parts of your engine to the radiator. Transmission cooler: Your car likely uses the same coolant that your engine uses to cool your transmission. Transmission fluid moves through your engine through steel pipes, which are surrounded by coolant that conduct heat away from them. This coolant is also cooled within the radiator; as serious heat is generated through automatic transmission. Sometimes, there is a separate radiator to cool down your transmission fluid, if serious stress is generated by your transmission, but it is much more common to see a single radiator for both these functions. Why is your radiator important? A radiator is important because it is the chief way your engine vents heat during operation. A malfunctioning radiator may cause significant engine damage caused by overheating - most cars you see billowing smoke on the side of the road are actually caused by malfunctioning radiators! The most common cause of radiator malfunction is physical damage, which warrants a replacement of one or all of its components. Radiator function can be impaired by expired coolant or lacking coolant levels, which can be fixed via a coolant flush. Fiix performs radiator replacements, and we can top-up your coolant during other repairs. Get a quote today! Related articles 5 Ways To Keep Your Car Cool This Summer Learning about your OBD II port Why Your Car Might Squeal When You Turn OBD II Trouble Code P0860 Gear Shift Communication Circuit How To Check Your Oil Level 4 Reasons Why Your Car Might Be Vibrating More Related Articles 5 Reasons Why Your Car Won't Start 5 Reasons Why Your Car Won't Start You never really realize how important something is until it's gone. This is especially true for your car! You may use it for driving your kids to school, driving to work, getting groceries, and more. So when it stops working all of a sudden, it's a huge pain. Read more 4 Reasons Why Your Car Might Be Overheating 4 Reasons Why Your Car Might Be Overheating Let’s face it - you might love summer weather, but you don’t want it to feel like the sun is inside your car. But a hot car that just won’t seem to cool down might be a bigger of a problem than you think. Your car relies on being at the right temperature. Read more Does My Car Qualify To Drive For Uber Does My Car Qualify To Drive For Uber Read more
Edit Story Are U.S. Roads Built For An Autonmous Vehicle Future? Selika Josiah Talbott Readying Infrastructure for Autonomous Vehicles (This piece was co-written with Dr. Martin Adler an economist and co-founder-partner at Hoag+Co as well as a researcher at VU University Amsterdam). Reducing traffic accidents and saving lives on roads is a top priority for governments everywhere. With staggering annual numbers of fatalities and injuries, 39,000 fatalities alone in the US, the proliferation of autonomous vehicles (AVs) promises to deliver substantial improvements1. Currently, traffic safety depends on factors such as an individuals' safe-driving behavior and government actions such as speed limits and the provision of adequate infrastructure. Just a few weeks ago, the Biden cabinet announced their 2 trillion Dollar infrastructure proposal as one of their first policy goals2. The new administration is not the first to promise a remedy to the US’s chronic shortfall in infrastructure investment in the past 30 years. Nonetheless, it is promising that the size of the new proposal matches the problem3 Given the Democrats wish to address the climate emergency, the proposal is structured around investment goals into green energy as well as sustainability. While the auto industry is mentioned briefly, AVs and the faltering road infrastructure find no mention. However, herein lies the mistake as AVs are directly linked with achieving sustainability goals in the form of renewable energy propulsion, reduced energy consumption from technologies such as platooning and increased shared transport alternatives. For these essential environmental benefits to take place, Self driving vehicles require adequate infrastructure. According to market research by H+C, a mobility advisory firm, 74% of consumers perceive roads as not ready for self-driving cars, and only around 11% consider the opposite to be true, see figure4. Road authorities, regulators and other experts tend to agree with this negative assessment of AVs preparedness5 The crux is, the adoption speed of autonomous vehicles is directly linked to infrastructure readiness.With that in mind, substantially more effort is necessary to increase uptake in the coming years so as to reap the expected benefits of vehicle automation, not the least of which is reduced roadside fatalities. Road infrastructure is already expensive, with the average Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development country spending somewhere between 1-2% of GDP on construction and maintenance6. Currently built roads are meant to last for at least two decades, well into predicted high deployment rates of AVs. Hence, time is of the essence in order to avoid cost intensive aftermarket upgrades for making roads compatible with new mobility. There is one problem. As of yet, there is no consensus on what AVs readiness precisely means among experts. There are a number of ongoing test projects worldwide. For example, Canada is evaluating turning an Ontario highway toll road into an AVs test road7. The European Union is evaluating at least a dozen projects dealing with AVs roads at the moment, from Vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) using 5G to road markings8. Asia might be considered the contemporaneous leader in these transformations as China plans to dedicate two entire lanes of a highway between Beijing to Xiong exclusively to AVs scheduled to open this Summer9. In the US, Cavnue, a subsidiary of Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners and the State of Michigan are working together in a public-private partnership to test a road corridor exclusively dedicated to AVs. How and or why should the government prepare for AVs if the general public is not themselves ready for AVs? Governments and their institutions have a strong effect on goods and services used to fulfill the needs of the people. This Political Economy skews heavily in favor of low-lying attainable initiatives that have both keen public interest and support. Where we see little support or interest from the public and without a tremendous push from the private industry, the government has been somewhat indifferent to an investment in AVs. The U.S. government is often motivated by the most moneyed. At times, the most vocal can create a momentum for movement in policy issues especially when that will have strong repercussions benefitting society as a whole and there is a strong economic value. Educational campaigns that enumerate the many possible improvements from urban to rural communities and everything in between will have an impact on increasing the understanding of AVs. Despite some pessimism, one should not overestimate the opportunities to enhance almost every aspect of life, including safety. At this stage in the progression of AVs we seem to be at the crossroads of a public-private partnership. Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring into the industry in startups and OEMs alike. Government is being encouraged by industry lobbyists as well as safety and advocacy groups who all see the benefits from the technology. A more sustainable, safe and equitable transportation system is being promised. This seems to finally have gotten attention from the necessary stakeholder groups who will be able to thrust the promise of AVs into the forefront for almost every group needed to obtain this breakthrough in technology. Political will is just as important as public sentiment and we ultimately need both to make widespread use of AVs a reality but attention to the failing infrastructure has to be at the forefront of this work. In addition, the increasing adoption of Electric Vehicle (EV) technology will necessitate significant investments in charging infrastructure in order to support what globally is the new direction of mobility. On top of that planification and finance requires long-term foresight and complex decision making under uncertainty over matters such as future demand for road space and the technological requirements. While the regulatory challenge is daunting, ramifications to industry providers of infrastructure, mobility and everything in between is of equal proportion, thus necessitating sharp attention to the Political Economy of AVs and EVs. Compatibility of conventional vehicles with autonomous vehicles on roads will be a question for the foreseeable future. Once in widespread use autonomous vehicles will still share the roadways with conventional vehicle users. What remains to be seen is how we create an ecosystem of autonomous vehicles and human driven that are not centered around the privileged who can own the most expensive, latest in automobiles. The hope is that we construct in an intentional manner, a transportation network that is equitable. A lack of federal autonomous vehicle framework means that the U.S. is currently operating in a patchwork of laws from State to State and in some instances, city to city. This does hamper the development of a nationwide autonomous vehicle transportation network as the regulatory framework is inconsistent between jurisdictions. Conversely throughout many European and Asian countries there has been more of a nationlistic approach to both AVs and EVs allowing for swifter progress in these areas. How infrastructure is handled must be a part of the equation if the U.S. wants to be on par globally in the AVs arena. Too often city and road planners build for the constructs of today or a period in near-term and do not plan for future technology and future benefits. The paradigm shift for future AVs technology and infrastructure needs to avoid the ills from early planning in aviation. The lesson in aviation came from not creating an appropriate tax structure because they wanted to encourage innovation but in the long run they created bad policy. What would help is addressing, lanes, lighting, jobs, tax revenue and citizen perception, confidence and comfort in the technology as part of our infrastructure preparation with long-term impact as a focus. While regulators in the U.S. may initially be reluctant to institute dedicated lanes in its infrastructure to support AVs, governments in many European and Asian countries not only promote dedicated lanes, but their citizenry overwhelmingly supports the notion. As popular as the idea is overseas, that groundswell of support can likely spread to the U.S. If that becomes the case, then political players will be hard pressed to create a quick transition to the adoption of dedicated infrastructure to new transportation technology. The notion of widespread use of AVs is not entirely a partisan issue but more a commonsense solution. People need transportation in order to have mobility. That mobility brings them to jobs, homes, food and healthcare and vice versa. With an increase in mobility, AVs will give our citizenry increased freedom, access to healthy food, healthcare maintenance, better paying jobs and affordable homes. Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn I am an innovative strategist, thought leader and speaker, helping to set the future direction of the transportation industry. I consult and advise regulators, startups, I am an innovative strategist, thought leader and speaker, helping to set the future direction of the transportation industry. I consult and advise regulators, startups, vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders on the Political Economy of Autonomous and Electric Vehicles. I lecture, research and educate on policy regarding autonomous and electric vehicles, and alternative fuels. From AVs to politics, I write and speak about policy regarding transportation and innovation. I am passionate about Equity in Transportation. Former U.S DOT Senior Advisor, Deputy Administrator State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission with over 18 years experience as an attorney.
Like many, you might enjoy a glass of wine at home in the evening. You probably buy your wine from a supermarket. You might choose a red or a white, a Chardonnay, or a Pinot Grigio, a Merlot or a Rioja, from France or Spain, Italy or New Zealand. But whatever you choose, it will more than likely come in one size – the 75cl bottle. Unlike almost every other product on supermarket shelves, the vast majority of wine comes in only one size. Aside from the interesting question of why this bottle size is near universal – another question we ask is whether the size of a bottle affects how much we drink. Would smaller bottles reduce how much we drink – or might it increase the amount? Either way, how small would we have to go for bottles to have an effect? The larger the portion or package, the more people eat. Based on the results of a review of 69 experiments on food and non-alcoholic drinks, we estimated that if every time an adult in the UK encountered food, it was a standard – rather than larger – portion or package, this would reduce the number of calories consumed by between 12% and 16% per day. A huge effect. At the time of this review in 2015, no studies had experimentally altered size in relation to alcohol – the size of glasses, servings, cans or bottles. A few studies have now looked at the impact of glass size and serving size on how much alcohol people consume. But still no studies have examined the impact of the size of containers – cans, boxes or bottles. Would smaller wine bottles reduce how much we drink? The answer might seem intuitive: with less in a smaller bottle, there is less at hand to drink, so less will be drunk. This assumes that people will stop at one bottle. What happens if the amount in a smaller bottle is not considered enough and a second bottle is opened? Will people end up drinking more than they otherwise would have? Or what if smaller bottles encourage people to open a bottle in situations where they probably wouldn’t have? In the first study to address these questions, we recruited 186 households that regularly consumed wine. During the first of two 14-day study periods, households were randomised to buy their usual amount of wine in either standard 75cl bottles or smaller 50cl bottles. They then purchased the same amount of wine in the alternative bottle size in the second 14-day study period. Households sent photographs of their bottles so volume and rate of consumption could be assessed. Based on the results from 166 households that completed the study, drinking from 50cl bottles – compared with 75cl bottles – reduced the amount of wine drunk by 4.5%. It also slowed down the speed of consumption by almost 6%. Why might smaller bottles help people drink less wine at home? There are various possible explanations. It might be that finishing a bottle signals to people that they should stop drinking. So, with less wine in smaller bottles, less is drunk. Also, when drinking from smaller bottles, additional intake arguably requires more effort – the effort of opening a second or third bottle. But not all smaller bottles might work in the same way. In our study, we used 50cl bottles, two thirds the size of a standard 75cl bottle. As such, they might have been large enough to count as a bottle of wine. But what about half bottles? The results of a small pilot study, which compared how drinkers respond to 75cl and 37.5cl bottles, highlighted the possibility that the amount held in the smaller bottles might be considered too small, potentially making people drink more. But this remains to be tested further. The extent to which smaller bottles influence how much wine people drink is also likely to depend on the size of the glass they drink from. Larger wine glasses increase wine sales in restaurants but not bars. More wine is sold by the bottle in restaurants, with bottles allowing free pouring of wine, leading to more generous servings with larger glasses. We also know that the size of wine glasses has dramatically increased over the last three decades. It, therefore, seems likely that the households in our study were using glasses that maximised rather than minimised their consumption. Had all households used smaller wine glasses, we might have seen even less being drunk with the smaller bottles. The combined influence of both bottle size and glass size on how much people drink also remains to be tested. There are two significant barriers to people switching from 75cl to 50cl bottles: the extremely limited availability of non-premium wines in 50cl bottles, and the pricing of wine sold in 50cl bottles. At the time of conducting the study, less than 2% of the wine stocked by the retailer we used was in 50cl bottles. Since then, the range in this size has been reduced even further, probably reflecting a failure to bring in new wine consumers and therefore increase profits. In our study, people generally reported liking the smaller bottles for helping them drink less but disliked them for their poor value for money, being proportionally more expensive than the same amount in 75cl bottles – £8.60 per litre for 50cl bottles compared to £8 per litre for 75cl bottles. If people are to switch to 50cl bottles, they need to be offered ‘like for like’ options, options that are also proportionally priced in relation to 75cl bottles. This could be achieved by increasing the alcohol tax on 75cl bottles relative to 50cl bottles. Making 50cl bottles no more or less expensive for equivalent volume than 75cl bottles is likely to increase their sales and decrease those of 75cl bottles. This could in turn lead manufacturers and suppliers to increase the availability of wine in 50cl bottles. Increasing the price, reducing the availability and restricting the marketing of alcohol remain the three most effective ways of reducing alcohol consumption across populations. The results of this study suggest that reducing the size of containers in which it is sold could add a further measure to help people drink less at home, where most wine is drunk, and tackle one of the leading causes of premature death worldwide. Given many of the wine drinking nations across the world are staying at home in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, drinking at home is likely to be on the increase. Perhaps this a vital time to introduce measures – such as using 50cl wine bottles – to keep our drinking in check. Written by Eleni Mantzari & Theresa M Marteau, from the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge. The paper ‘Impact of bottle size on in-home consumption of wine: a randomized controlled cross-over trial‘ was written by Saphsa Codling, Eleni Mantzari, Olivia Sexton, Georgia Fuller, Rachel Pechey, Gareth J. Hollands, Mark Pilling and Theresa M. Marteau and published in Addiction.
Friday, January 22, 2021 WHO warns Africa in danger of being left behind in covid-19 vaccination The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that Africa is in danger of being left behind in Covid-19 vaccination as prices spike due to competition in other regions. Matshidiso Moeti, the agency’s Regional Director for Africa, gave the warning during a briefing on Thursday. Moeti stated that Guinea was the only low-income country on the continent to have received doses, with only 25 people vaccinated so far. According to her, Seychelles is the only country on the continent where a national Covid-19 vaccination campaign has started. She said the story was different in wealthier continents where the vaccines had been administered in 50 nations so far. “Health workers and vulnerable people in Africa need urgent access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines,” Moeti said.
This text deals with arguments against the possibility of so-called strong artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on the Chinese Room Argument devised by philosopher John Searle. We start with a description of the thesis that Searle wants to disprove. Then we describe Searle’s arguments. Subsequently, we take a look at some objections to Searle by other influential philosophers. Finally, I conclude with my own objection that introduces a more accurate definition of strong artificial intelligence which renders Searle’s arguments invalid. Along the way, we will dispose of some common misconceptions about artificial intelligence. Searle’s Argument The Semantic Argument In his essay Can Computers Think? [11], Searle gives his own definition of strong artificial intelligence, which he subsequently tries to refute. His definition is as follows: One could summarise this view […] by saying that the mind is to the brain, as the program is to the computer hardware. Searle’s first attempt at refuting the possibility of strong artificial intelligence is based on the insight that mental states have, by definition, a certain semantic content or meaning. Programs, on the other hand, are purely formal and syntactical, i.e. a sequence of symbols that do not have a meaning in themselves. Therefore, a program could not be equivalent to a mind. A formal reconstruction of this argument looks as follows: • Syntax is not sufficient for semantics • Programs are completely characterized by their formal, syntactical structure • Human minds have semantic contents • Therefore, programs are not sufficient for creating a mind Searle emphasizes the fact that his argument is based solely on the property that programs are defined formally, regardless of which physical system is used to run the program. Therefore, it does not state that it is impossible for us today to create a strong artificial intelligence, but that this is generally impossible for any conceivable machine in the future, regardless of how fast it is or which other properties it might have. The Chinese Room Argument In order to make his first premise more plausible (“Syntax is not sufficient for semantics”), Searle describes a thought experiment – the Chinese Room. Assume there were a program that is capable of answering Chinese questions in Chinese. No matter which question you pose in Chinese, it gives you an appropriate answer that a human Chinese speaker might also give. Searle now tries to argue that a computer running this program doesn’t actually understand Chinese in the same sense as a Chinese human being understands Chinese. To this end, he assumes that the formal instructions of the program are carried out by a person who does not understand Chinese. This person is locked in a room, and the Chinese questions are passed into the room as a sequence of symbols. The room contains baskets with many other Chinese symbols, along with a list of formal instructions, which are purely syntactical rules that tell the person how to produce an answer to the question by assembling the symbols from the baskets. The answer generated by these instructions are then passed out of the room by the person. The person is not aware that the symbols that are passed into the room are questions and the symbols that are passed out of the room are answers to these questions. He just blindly carries out the instructions strictly and correctly. And these instructions generate meaningful Chinese sentences that are answers to the questions which couldn’t be distinguished from the answers a real Chinese speaking person would give. Now Searle raises attention to the fact that the person in the room doesn’t understand Chinese simply by following formal instructions for generating answers. He continues to argue that a computer running a program that generates Chinese answers to Chinese questions therefore also doesn’t understand Chinese. Since this experiment could be generalized to arbitrary tasks, Searle concludes that computers are inherently incapable of understanding something. Replies to the Chinese Room Argument There are numerous objections to the Chinese Room argument by various authors. Many of these arguments are similar in nature. In the following, I will present the most commonly presented ones, including answers to these objections by Searle himself. The Systems Reply One of the most commonly raised objection is that even though the person in the Chinese Room does not understand Chinese, the system as whole does – the room with all its constituents, including the person. This objection is often called the Systems Reply and there are various versions of it. For example, artificial intelligence researcher, entrepreneur and author Ray Kurzweil says in [5] that the person is only an executive unit and that its properties are not to be confused with the properties of the system. If one looks at the room as an overall system, the fact that the person does not understand Chinese doesn’t entail that this also holds for the room. Cognitive scientist Margaret Boden argues in [1] that the human brain is not the carrier of intelligence, but rather that it causes intelligence. Analogously, the person in the room causes an understanding of Chinese to arise, even though it does not understand Chinese itself. Searle responds to the Systems Reply with the semantic argument: Even the system as a whole couldn’t go from syntax to semantics and, hence, couldn’t understand the meaning of the Chinese symbols. In [9], he adds that the person in the room could theoretically memorize all the formal rules and perform all the computations in its head. Then, he argues, the person is the entire system, could answer Chinese questions without help and perhaps even lead Chinese conversations, but still wouldn’t understand Chinese since it only carries out formal rules and can’t associate a meaning with the formal symbols. The Virtual Mind Reply Similar to the Systems Reply, the Virtual Mind Reply states that the person does not understand Chinese, but that a running system could create new entities that differ from both the person and the system as a whole. The understanding of Chinese could be a new entity of this sort. This standpoint is argued for by artificial intelligence researcher Marvin Minsky in [15] and philosopher Tim Maudlin in [6]. Maudlin notes that Searle didn’t provide an adequate answer to this reply thus far. The Robot Reply Another reply changes the thought experiment in such a way that the program is put into a robot that can perceive the world through sensors (like cameras or microphones) and interact with the world via effectors (like motors or loudspeakers). This causal interaction with the environment, the argument goes, is a guarantee that the robot understands Chinese, since the formal symbols are endowed with semantics this way – namely objects in the real world. This view presupposes an externalist semantics. This reply is raised, for example, by Margaret Boden in [1]. Searle answers to this argument in [17] with the semantic argument: The robot still only has a computer as its brain and couldn’t go from syntax to semantics. He makes this more plausible by adapting the thought experiment such that the Chinese Room itself is integrated into a robot as its central processing unit. The Chinese symbols would then be generated by sensors and passed into the room. Analogously, the symbols passed out of the room would control the effectors. Even though the robot interacts with the external world this way, the person in the room still doesn’t understand the meaning of the symbols. The Brain Simulator Reply Some authors, e.g. philosophers Patricia and Paul Churchland in [2], suggest that one should imagine that instead of manipulating the Chinese symbols, a computer should simulate the neuronal firings in the brain of a Chinese person. Since the computer operates in exactly the same way as a brain, the argument goes, it must understand Chinese. Searle answers to this argument in [10]. He argues that one could also simulate the neuronal structures by a system of water pipes and valves and put it into the Chinese Room. The person in the room then has instructions on how to guide the water through the pipes in order to simulate the brain of a Chinese person. Still, he says, no understanding of Chinese is generated. The Emergence Reply Now I present my own reply, which I have coined the Emergence Reply. I grant that Searle’s arguments prove that a mind can not be equated with a computer program. This is immediately obvious from the semantic argument: Since a mind has properties that a program does not have (namely semantic content), a program can not be equal to a mind. Hence, it refutes the possibility of strong artificial intelligence by his own definition. However, one can phrase another definition of strong artificial intelligence which, as I will argue, is not affected by Searle’s arguments: A system exhibits strong artificial intelligence if it can create a mind as an emergent phenomenon by running a program. I explicitly include any type of system, regardless of the material from which it is made – be it a computer, a Chinese Room or a gigantic hall of falling dominos or beer cans that simulate a Turing machine. I will not try to argue for the possibility of strong artificial intelligence according to this definition. It is doubtful whether this is even possible. However, I will argue why this definition is not affected by Searle’s arguments. Non-Applicability of the Semantic Argument In my proposed definition, no analogy between the program and the mind created by the program is demanded. Therefore, the semantic argument becomes obsolete: Even though a program as a syntactical construct doesn’t create semantics (and therefore couldn’t be equal to a mind), it doesn’t follow that a program can’t create semantic contents in the course of its execution. Moreover, this definition doesn’t state that the computer hardware is the carrier of the mental processes. The hardware is not enabled to think this way. Rather, the computer creates the mental processes as an emergent phenomenon, similarly to how the brain creates mental processes as an emergent phenomenon. So, if one considers the question in the title of Searle’s original essay “Can Computers Think?”, the answer would be “No, but they might create thinking.” How a mind can be created through the execution of a program, and what sort of ontological existence this mind would have, is a discussion topic of its own. In order to make this more plausible, imagine a program that exactly simulates the trajectories and interactions of elementary particles in a brain of a Chinese speaker. This way, the program does not only create the same outputs for the same inputs as the Chinese’s brain, but proceeds completely analogously. There is no immediate way to exclude the possibility that the simulated brain can’t create a mind in exactly the same way as a real brain can. The only assumption here is that the physical processes in a brain are deterministic. There are some theories claiming that a mind requires non-deterministic quantum phenomena that can’t be simulated algorithmically. One such theory is presented by physicist Sir Roger Penrose in [7], who has founded the Penrose Institute to explore this possibility. If such theories turn out to be true, then this would be a strong argument against the possibility of strong artificial intelligence. Non-Applicability of the Chinese Room Argument As regards the Chinese Room Argument, it convincingly shows that the fact that a system gives the impression of understanding something doesn’t entail that it really understands it. Not every program that the person in the Chinese Room could execute in order to converse in Chinese does in fact create understanding. This is an important insight that refutes some common misconceptions, like the fact that IBM’s Deep Blue understands chess in the same way as a human does, or that Apple’s Siri understands spoken language. Deep Blue just calculates the payoff of certain moves, and Siri just transcribes one sequence of numbers into another (albeit in a sophisticated way). This definitely doesn’t create understanding or a mind. Moreover, the Chinese Room Argument shows that the Turing Test is no reliable indicator of strong artificial intelligence. In this test, described by Alan Turing in [12], a human subject should converse with an unknown entity and decide whether it is talking to another human or a computer, solely based on the answers that the entity gives. If the computer repeatedly manages to trick the subject, we call it intelligent. This test only measures how good a computer is at giving the impression of being intelligent without making any restrictions as to how the computer does it internally, which, as we argued already, is an important factor in determining whether a computer really exhibits strong artificial intelligence. Additionally, Searle’s argument shows that it is not the hardware itself that understands Chinese. Even if a hardware running a program creates a mind that understands Chinese, the person in the Chinese Room is the hardware and doesn’t understand Chinese. It does not, however, refute the possibility that the hardware can create a mind that understands Chinese by executing the program. Assume there is a program that answers Chinese questions and creates mental processes that exhibit an understanding of the Chinese questions and answers. This assumption can not be refuted by the Chinese Room Argument. If we let the person in the room execute the program via pen and paper, it is correct that the person doesn’t understand Chinese. But the person is only the hardware in this case. Its mind does not equal the mind that is created by the execution of the program. It might seem intuitively implausible that arithmetical operations carried out with pen and paper could give rise to a mind. But this can be made more plausible by assuming, as before, that the neuronal processes in the brain are simulated in the form of these arithmetical operations. The fact that a mind could not arise in such a way may be a false intuition. There is no immediately obvious logical reason to exclude this possibility. Similar things hold for Searle’s system of water pipes, beer can domino or other unorthodox hardware. If one assumes that a computer hardware can create a mind, one must grant that this is also possible for other, more exotic mechanical systems. Whether it is indeed possible to create a mind by the execution of a program is still an open question. Maybe Roger Penrose turns out to be right that consciousness is a natural phenomenon that can’t be created by the deterministic interaction of particles. Are organisms really just algorithms? How can the parallel firing of tens of billions of neurons give rise to consciousness and a mind? As of now, neuroscience has not the slightest idea. However, I would say with some certainty that this question cannot be answered by thought experiments alone. If you liked this article, you may also be interested in my article Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem And Its Implications For Artificial Intelligence. [1] Boden, Margaret A: Escaping from the Chinese Room. University of Sussex, School of Cognitive Sciences, 1987. [2] Churchland, Paul M und Patricia Smith Churchland: Could a Machine Think? Machine Intelligence: Perspectives on the Computational Model, 1:102, 2012. [3] Cole, David: The Chinese Room Argument. In: Zalta, Edward N. (Herausgeber): The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Summer 2013. sum2013/entries/chinese-room/. [4] Dennett, Daniel C: Fast thinking. 1987. [5] Kurzweil, Ray: Locked in his Chinese Room. Are We Spiritual Machines: Ray Kurzweil vs. the Critics of Strong AI, 2002. [6] Maudlin, Tim: Computation and consciousness. The journal of Philosophy, pp 407–432, 1989. [7] Penrose, Roger: The Emperor’s New Mind (1990). Vintage, London. [8] Russell, Stuart Jonathan et al.: Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Prentice hall Englewood Cliffs, 1995. [9] Searle, John: The Chinese Room Argument. Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, 2001. [10] Searle, John R: Minds, brains, and programs. Behavioral and brain sciences, 3(03):417–424, 1980. [11] Searle, John R: Minds, brains, and science. Harvard University Press, 1984. [12] Turing, Alan M: Computing machinery and intelligence. Mind, pp 433–460, 1950.
Circuits of Digital Instruments The course is not on the list Without time-table Code Completion Credits Range Language A0B38OCP Z,ZK 5 2+2L Czech Department of Measurement Basic types of circuits and blocks of digital measuring instruments are described and analysed. Range and linearity for analogue circuits and interfaces for digital circuits are analysed in detail. Finally, individual projects including block design, model realisation and parameters verification are solved. Syllabus of lectures: 1. General structure of digital measuring devices and signal generators 2. Directly coupled amplifiers and attenuators, insulating and modulating amplifiers 3. Mean value and RMS converters (knowledge extension to 38EM), peak detectors 4. Analogue time-continuous filters and filters with switched capacitors, oscillators, mixers 5. Reference voltage and current sources, harmonic and function generators 6. Relations between analogue measuring blocks - signal ranges, linearity and noise. Switching and coupling circuits 7. Time and amplitude signal discretisation, samplers, errors 8. Analogue-to-digital converters (knowledge extension to 38EM) 9. Digital-to-analogue converters, signal reconstruction 10. Frequency and phase digital measurement blocks, phase synchronization, direct digital synthesis 11. Interface circuits for standard buses and interfaces 12. Rules for design of analogue and digital parts from the point of view on electromagnetic compatibility 13. CAD of measuring circuits - simulation and its pros and cons 14. Blocks of virtual instrumentation, advantages and disadvantages of virtual instrumentation Syllabus of tutorials: 1. Introduction, safety, organization. Input circuits of measuring devices - dynamic parameters 2. Input circuits of measuring devices - disturbance immunity 3. Generators of testing signal. Direct digital synthesis 4. Measuring voltage and current amplifiers 5. Mean value and RMS converters, non-linear amplifiers 6. Analogue time-continuous filters, switched capacitor based filters 7. Oscillators and mixers 8. Project - design of measuring block, model development and parameter comparison with professional solution 9. Project: block design 10. Project: model part I 11. Project: model part II 12. Project: model part III 13. Project: parameter comparison with professional solution 14. Presentation and evaluation of individual projects' results Study Objective: Study materials: [1] Vedral, J., Fischer, J.: Elektronické obvody pro měřicí techniku, Vydavatelství ČVUT, Praha 2004 (in Czech) [2] Regtien, P. P. L.: Measurement science for engineers. London, Kogan Page Science, 2004, ISBN 1-9039-9658-9 [3] Witte,R.A.: Electronic Test Instruments. Analog and Digital Measurements. 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall PTR, 2002, ISBN 0-13-066830-3 Further information: No time-table has been prepared for this course The course is a part of the following study plans: Data valid to 2021-03-07 For updated information see http://bilakniha.cvut.cz/en/predmet12602904.html
Personal Finance News and insurance rates locally and nationwide! How do banks work? By \| Leave a Comment how mortgage rates work When you are ready to get a home loan, chances are that you will head to the nearest bank and apply for a mortgage. Understanding how banks work, at least in general terms, is a good idea if you want to understand more about the mortgage process. Bank deposits and loans The idea behind a bank is that it is a safe place to keep your money. Most of us wouldn’t want a large amount of money sitting in the house; it would make us targets for thieves. Keeping money in a bank can ease many transactions, and you generally feel comfortable with the idea that the money is safe. Additionally, in some cases, you can earn a return on the money you leave sitting in the bank. A bank earns money by taking your money and then lending it out to others as interest. Let’s say you put $10,000 in a savings account. The bank pays you 1% APY to keep your money in the bank. However, that money doesn’t physically stay in the bank. Instead, the bank uses that money to make money for itself. A bank might take $8,000 of that $10,000 of yours and lend it to someone else to buy a car. The bank might charge an interest rate of 5% APR on the car loan, meaning that the bank’s return, after subtracting what it owes you in interest, is 4%. This is a very simple example to show you how banking generally works. However, it’s important to note that banks can often lend out more money than they have in deposits to back the loans. In fact, banks themselves often borrow from other banks or from the Federal Reserve in order to lend more money to consumers. One of the reasons that you are paid a higher yield on savings products, such as savings accounts and CDs, is due to the fact that there are limitations on how often you can access your money. The bank knows that it is likely to sit there, and help the balance sheet. Your checking account, however, often fluctuates, so it’s not money the bank can truly count on. That’s why, if you do receive interest on your checking balance, it’s usually a very small amount. It can be unnerving for some consumers to think about how banks’ balance sheets might work. That’s why the government offers FDIC insurance. Banks pay premiums to the FDIC, and the FDIC, in turn, guarantees that consumers can get their money, up to certain limits, from a bank if the bank fails. The idea is to help maintain faith in the banks and the banking system so that we don’t end up with a complete loss of confidence, as what happened during the Great Depression and other banking scares in the early 1900s and the 1800s. Banks borrow from others Banks don’t just rely on the deposits they have from savers to make loans out to others. If you look at how much people generally save, and compare that to how much is being borrowed, it’s easy to see that it would be difficult for banks to lend enough to meet demand if all they did was rely on their supplies of deposits. Instead, banks borrow from others, as well as relying on the money that consumers entrust to them. Banks can borrow from each other, and from the Federal Reserve, at very low rates. The expectation is that the bank will then go out and lend more money to consumers. If a bank can borrow money from the Federal Reserve at 0.25% and then lend it to a home buyer at 3.75%, the bank still makes a decent enough return on the money. Here are two of the ways that banks can borrow in order to lend more to consumers: Warehouse line of credit: Most bank borrow from others on a short-term basis. A warehouse line of credit is a short-term line of credit that a mortgage banker can draw on to fund purchases of mortgages. There are a number of mortgage lenders that rely more on warehouse lines of credit than they do on bank deposits, since there are lenders that don’t operate as retail banks. When a mortgage lender draws on the warehouse line of credit, the term lasts until the loan is paid off. The mortgage note acts as collateral. The mortgage lender can keep servicing the loan, or the lender can sell the loan on the secondary market or to someone else. Warehouse lending is a vital part of the mortgage loan industry, since it frees up capital to keep moving through the system, allowing borrowers to buy homes. This increased capacity is one of the reasons that it’s possible for first-time homebuyers to make purchases, and why it’s possible for struggling homeowners to refinance their loans. Repurchase and reverse repurchase: These are transactions that often take place via the Federal Reserve. The idea is that a dealer can buy government securities now and then sell them again the next day. Repurchase agreements are those in which the dealers receive collateralized loans from the Federal Reserve. A reverse repurchase is one in which the Fed borrows from dealers. In most cases, the term is overnight, although the terms can be longer. The main point of these types of transactions is to offset bank reserve swings. That way, banks and other financial institutions can manage the swings in their reserves so that they remain at an acceptable level with regard to how much is outstanding. You can learn more about these types of agreements from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Mortgage rates As you might imagine, mortgage rates can be influenced by all of this action. Treasury bills are generally used as collateral in the Fed transactions, so it makes sense that Treasury rates can influence mortgage rates. Additionally, spreads between what a mortgage banker pays to a warehouse lender, and what the lender can receive from borrowers also matter. By paying attention to what is happening with mortgage rates, and understanding some of the factors that influence mortgage rates, it’s possible to determine when the best time for you to buy a home might be. About Miranda Marquit Search locally or nationally Compare banks for mortgage, auto, savings and CD rates.
How to Effectively Manage Your Pharmacy Budget :: The primary function of a pharmacy is to dispense medications and help patients in their use. But pharmacies are businesses as well, and to keep a pharmacy functioning smoothly, a pharmacy manager needs to know how to handle the financial end of things. Having a problem with cash flow is usually a symptom of some underlying financial trouble. To get a handle on cash flow problems, it is necessary to look at the business’s financial fundamentals. These are laid out in three different reports that make up the overall financial statement, which shows where the money came from, where it went, and where it is now. The Balance Sheet This tells you what your assets and liabilities are. Assets are items of value owned by a company that can be converted into cash or already is cash. Liabilities are what the company owes, its debts. The balance sheet tells the financial position of the company at a specified date. Income Statement This shows how much revenue a company earned over a certain period of time and what expenses were over the time period. Net income is revenue minus costs. This can tell you whether you made a profit over a certain time period. Cash Flow Statement This is a record of the money that goes in and out in the course of operating the pharmacy. It tells whether the company generated or lost cash over a certain time period. The cash-flow statement includes operating activities, such as the revenue from the sale of goods or services, and payment to employees. It also shows investing activities, which are changes in the amount of cash from the purchase or sale of property or equipment. And it shows financing activities, the changes in cash amounts resulting from the purchase of stock, issuance of bonds, payments of interest, and dividends to shareholders. It is important to recognize, according to financial professionals, that the balance sheet gives you a financial picture at a certain point in time, while the other statements give you information covering a period of time. It is also important to remember that profit and cash are not the same. Profit is a projection or expectation of what you hope to achieve, while cash is something real and tangible you have now. Here is a scenario that shows the difference between the two. You want to increase profit and plan to increase sales to do that. But instead of increasing profit by bringing in more cash, you might boost profit more effectively by cutting the amount of cash going out through expenses. Financial decisions become clearer cut when you understand that the function of both an expense and an asset is to increase income, while the function of a liability is to buy an asset. There are three questions that should guide all financial decisions: 1. Do you need it? 2. Can you buy it at another place more cheaply? 3. Is it necessary? When putting together a budget, it is helpful to use the profit and loss statement from the previous year as a reference point, and also factor in other past information, such as how sales are going. If you are a pharmacist or pharmacy technician looking for work, Cameron and Company can help you. We provide temporary pharmacy professionals to healthcare organizations nationwide. With over 45 years of experience, we have the expertise and knowledge to help you find a challenging position. Give Cameron and Company a call today. Leave a Reply
Skip to Main Content Neoplasia is an abnormality of cell growth and multiplication characterized by the following features: (1) excessive cellular proliferation that typically but not invariably produces an abnormal mass, or tumor; (2) uncoordinated growth occurring without any apparent purpose; and (3) persistence of excessive cell proliferation and growth even after the inciting stimulus that evoked the change has been removed—ie, neoplasia is an irreversible process. At a molecular level, neoplasia is a disorder of growth regulatory genes (proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes). It develops in a multistep fashion, such that different neoplasms, even of the same histologic type, may show different genetic changes. Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain neoplasia, many of them reflecting or in response to advances in the basic sciences current at the time. For example, hypotheses of the viral cause of neoplasia coincided with the demonstration of transmission of certain animal neoplasms by ultrafiltrable agents (Rous sarcoma, 1908; Shope papilloma, 1933; Bittner milk factor, 1935). Immunologic hypotheses came to the fore after experiments involving tumor transplantation in animals (Ehrlich, 1908; immune surveillance, Burnet, 1950s). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) mutations as a cause of neoplasia were proposed after the discovery of DNA structure and function (Watson and Crick, 1950s). Several of these hypotheses have enjoyed a phase of respectability, followed by a period of discreditation and then reemergence in modified form. Two general types of origins have been proposed for neoplasms. Monoclonal Origin According to the concept of monoclonal origin, the initial neoplastic change affects a single cell, which then multiplies and gives rise to the neoplasm. The monoclonal origin of neoplasms has been clearly shown in neoplasms of B lymphocytes (B-cell lymphomas and plasma-cell myelomas) that produce immunoglobulin and in some other tumor types by isoenzyme studies (Figure 18-1). Figure 18–1. Methods of characterization of cell populations as monoclonal or polyclonal. A: Immunoglobulin light and heavy chain distribution in a B lymphocyte population. B:Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) isoenzyme studies may be used in some female patients. G6PD isoenzyme inheritance is X-linked. In heterozygous females, one X chromosome codes for the A isoenzyme and the other for the B isoenzyme. Because one X chromosome is randomly inactivated in the adult cell, an adult cell will contain only one of the isoenzymes. A polyclonal population will be composed of cells containing both isoenzymes in approximately equal amounts, whereas a monoclonal population will be composed of cells that express only one isoenzyme. Note that as a neoplasm progresses, further subclones may evolve from the initial clone as a result of additional ongoing genetic changes (multiple hits; see below). Field Origin A carcinogenic agent acting on a large number of similar cells may produce a field of potentially neoplastic cells. Neoplasms may then ... Pop-up div Successfully Displayed
Politics – Valdai Discussion Club These countries refuse pointblank to be punished by the international emission control rules for pursuing their national development goals. This is one of the few issues in which India and China are in solidarity. In May 2015, the leaders of the two states issued a joint statement, pointing out that the developed and developing countries bear “differentiated responsibilities” for climate change. They called for the leadership of developed countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and providing finance, technology and capacity building support to developing countries. There are models that make it possible to assess the level of responsibility of different countries for global warming, proceeding from their historical contribution to greenhouse emissions. According to one of them, created by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), as of 2010, the US accounted for 37 percent of this responsibility, the EU (with the UK) for 24 percent, Russia for 7 percent, Japan for 5 percent, China for 2 percent and India for 0.1 percent. A fair solution of the global warming problem would imply proportionate efforts of the states concerned. It is no surprise that people in the developing countries are very enthusiastic about such calculations. Moreover, a considerable part of the developing countries’ emissions are sent to advanced states as a carbon footprint. This amounts to “the outsourcing of emissions.” The authors of the report The Carbon Loophole in Climate Policy (2018) note that a quarter of all produced emissions are being exported, with China being the largest exporter and the US the biggest importer. “Of course those countries are correct that they have produced very little CO2 and so should not have to pay much toward the solution. Of course the rich countries should assume most of the costs,” says Richard Lachmann, adding, “However, poor countries should realize that today green energy is cheaper to install than power plants that use carbon fuels. Poorer countries’ decisions to build carbon fuel plants are the result of corruption not rational planning.” By way of example Lachmann mentions the business empire of Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. According to him, Adani used long-term ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to receive loan guarantees, subsidies and benefits for the coal electric power station Mundra Thermal Power Plant. “Green power entrepreneurs in South Asia now will have to compete against subsidised coal power,” notes Lachmann. In early 2020, Adani declared that he intends to make his company a world leader in solar energy by 2025 and in renewable energy sources by 2030. In simple terms, the strategy is aimed at first making money on “dirty” energy and then investing into “clean”. This strategy is bound to receive understanding in the Government. Yet, it is the developing countries that are threatened with the most destructive consequences of global warming. “It is the poorer countries of the world that are going to be the worst affected by climate change, and earlier than anyone else,” notes Anatol Lieven, “whether due to their greater geographical exposure to floods and droughts; the fact that many of them are already suffering from severe water shortages; the lack of adequate disaster prevention and relief facilities; over-population; and ethnic, religious and social strains which are likely to be worsened by mass migration due to climate change. They therefore have vital national interests of their own in the effort to limit climate change.” In fact, the leaders of many developing nations are facing today the “survival vs development” dilemma, which is aggravated by electoral considerations. Claims to leadership on behalf of the Western countries are probably one of the most consistent parts of their climate agenda. “Experts are increasingly often talking about ‘environmental neocolonialism’ when advanced countries are denying the poorest states the right to development,” Oleg Barabanov notes. “For the most part, the poorest states reduce the problem to asking for money and that’s it. But there are indicative exceptions: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are ahead of the whole planet in promoting the ideas of blue economy,” he says. [embedded content]Tiny SIDS control about 30 percent of all seas and oceans by means of their exclusive economic zones. This is why the policy that is called “green” on the ground goes under the name of “blue” in their case. One of its instruments is “blue bonds” that are used to finance projects aimed at preserving the oceans. The Seychelles placed the first blue bonds under the World Bank’s free loan guarantees in 2018. They are designed to expand protected marine areas, control over fishing zones and development of the insular economy. The new financial instrument was welcomed by the market and now Indonesia is going to follow suit. Climate riots and climate migrants As a result of unprecedented drought, grain harvests in Russia in 2010 dropped by 35 percent and an embargo on wheat exports was introduced. Egypt had been one of the biggest importers of Russian grain since the start of the 21st century. By that time, Russian grain was a market leader owing to its competitiveness. Production and supply of cheap bread to the people played a key role in ensuring social stability in the country: a system of food aid covered almost 70 percent of the Egyptian population. Lack of bread due to Russian supply shortages became one of the reasons for the popular unrest that led to the end of the 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak. Experts believe it was the 2010 heat wave that prompted Russian society to realise the importance of climate change, while Egypt offered an example of how climate may influence political processes. Bread and water are two vital resources access to which is threatened by the global warming. “Food riots have taken place in history many times,” recalls Igor Makarov. “The lack of fresh water is more recent. However, in the 1990s a number of water riots took place in Bolivia, Tanzania, and Argentina, to name a few. Of course, there is every reason to believe that the number of such riots will increase in the future,” he predicts. Can conflicts over base resources become international? “Former World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin made a famous prediction, ‘If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water.’ However, this prediction is not coming true,” Makarov notes. “Water is an important issue of differences between many countries but an armed conflict will break out only if this factor is aggravated by ethnic, territorial or other contradictions.” In 2019-2020, tensions escalated in the dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan over the Nile. Ethiopia is building the Hidase hydroelectric power station (the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) that is supposed to be the most powerful in Africa. Its capacity is enough to meet all electricity requirements of the nation of 100 million inhabitants. At the same time, it threatens water supplies to Egypt, which also is home to 100 million people. The expected reduction in the water flow in Nile may cut down fresh water reserves, cause the disappearance of thousands of hectares of irrigated land and a drop in electricity generation at Egypt’s largest Aswan power plant. Egypt demands that Ethiopia fill the Blue Nile reservoir with water for ten years and that it be under the control of the states located downstream. Ethiopia is blatantly against this. The countries are holding talks on a Nile water agreement but there has been no progress in the offing and observers warn that Egypt may try to resolve this problem by force. However, this situation is more an exception than a rule. “At least in the near to medium term, I don’t think that war between states is the greatest threat,” Anatol Lieven says. “This will only be the case if things become truly desperate. Rather, the danger is of increased conflict within societies, leading to internal and international migration.” Leave a Reply
By now you probably know how phishing emails work, if not you can read about it here. However, do you know the difference between spear-phishing and a phishing attack? I will try to explain it in a few sentences. As you know, a phishing attack is commonly conducted through mass emails sent to a bunch of users with the intent that somebody will click a link or open an attachment. The final objective is to leak a set of credentials from the end-user. What is a Spear-Phishing Attack? However, the spear-phishing attack, which uses the same delivery method, is slightly different. This type of attack target a specific user, such as a CEO or a senior manager. Therefore, the content of the email will be specifically crafted for the target. This means, if you are a Port Adelaide fan, the phishing email may contain content related to this topic with the likelihood that you open it, click on links and open attachments. This was a recent spear-phishing attack where Australia’s top universities stemmed from a single email that was only previewed. After some investigation, it was found that the attacker was inside the University’s network for 6 weeks, from November of last year. However, the university did not discover the intrusion until May of this year. How did this happen? Well, when you open an email, and the email has any sort of image which is linked to a place on the Internet, the email will retrieve it in order to show you the content. Depending on the application you are using to read emails, you can disable this feature or not. In this scenario, the end-user downloaded, without knowledge, some malicious code to the computer and from there, a door to the University network was opened. In order to minimize the likelihood of this happening to you please pay attention to any unsolicited emails, be careful when clicking links and opening attachments. Keep all your systems updated, including your operating systems and applications. And as always, be safe out there until the next Malware Monday. Share This Post Share on facebook Share on linkedin Share on twitter Share on email Subscribe To Our Newsletter More To Explore Find out what our team can do for your business.
Bowl of African red slip ware - ROM2010_11670_37 Bowl of African red slip ware Medium:African red slip ware, earthenware Geography: Tunisia Date: 120-180 AD Period: Roman Imperial period 22.2 cm Object number: 975.182 On view Gallery Location:Eaton Gallery of Rome: Roman pottery DescriptionAfrican red slip ware was manufactured in Africa Proconsularis (especially modern Tunsia) from about AD 50 to AD 650. Inspired by Arrentine and Samian wares, it is characterized by a fine orange-red slip over a smooth clay. Mould-made appliqué ornaments were added between AD 200 to 400; and from about AD 250 to 575, floral and figurative motifs were stamped into the moist clay before firing. By AD 250 it became the dominant table ware pottery used in the Roman world. Roman World
Monday, December 9, 2013 Aerial acrobats Black-tailed trainbearer, Lesbia victoriae Black-tailed trainbearer, Lesbia victoriae With more than 300 species worldwide, hummingbirds come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. One thing they all have in common is their ability to amaze us with their acrobatic skills. A few of them, such as the trainbearers and racket-tails, have extra-long tails that act as counterweights, allowing them to make some remarkably fast mid-air twists and turns. Booted racket-tail, Ocreatus underwoodii Sparkling violet-ear, Colibri coruscans Tyrian metal-tail, Metallura tyrianthina Purple-bibbed white-tip, Urosticte benjamini Shining sunbeams, Aglaeactis cupripennis
Increasing Sustainability in the Organization’s Supply Chain 0 / 5. 0 Increasing Sustainability in the Organization’s Supply Chain Category: Compare and Contrast Essay Subcategory: Management Level: College Pages: 5 Words: 1375 Teacher’s name The title of your Article (always use title capitalization)-don’t bold. Supply chain management refers to the streamlining of the supply side of the business to build on its competitive advantage and maximize the value to consumers. The primary focus of this paper is to see whether the General Motors and the products it offers are sustainable, suggest an approach to increase sustainability in the organization using the 10 step method, and come up with a detailed implementation of the 10 step method to GMC thus help in maximizing the value to the organization. General Motors primarily deals with the sale and distribution of motor vehicles to the consumers through their various dealerships all around the world. Among the major brands in under General Motors include Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Opel and others. General Motors is a well-known company due to its making of products that are of high quality thus meeting the consumers’ needs in the automotive industry. Last year, GM was ranked the 2nd largest automaker in the world after Toyota. GM also integrates efforts of environmental sustainability through the complying with the regulations and laws about the environment and business, monitoring the performance of GM to its criteria of environmental performance, and conforming to other dominant performance indicators. Other primary practices carried out by GM to enhance sustainability include waste and pollutant reduction, recycling materials and conserving resources, and continual assessing the impact of the products and manufacturing plants to the communities and environment thus operating with the aim to improve these plants and products (Environmental Principles & Management). These points portray General Motors as a company that is quite sustainable. The chains of supply are built on trusted, transparent, and strong partnerships that are paramount in ensuring product availability, affordability, and quality to the end consumers (Waters p.37). These partnerships help build competitiveness in business and also lower the risks in business. The basic supply chain flow of General Motors is from the parts suppliers, followed by the GM’s module and component suppliers, and then the car assembly plants, the GM’s car dealerships, and finally the consumers who are the car buyers. This chain of supply is quite sustainable both in the procuring process and the distribution of the product down to the final consumer. The wave of green sourcing begun when several electronic companies decided to abide by the environmental regulations, consumer needs, and competitive realities that impact their businesses in this new era. The ten steps process can be helpful in improving the sustainability of the company even further than where it is currently. The first step is to know where the organization stands. In this step, the company ought to keep abreast the facts of spending patterns, consumption patterns of the target market, and the supply chain concerning sustainability practices. When looking at GM under these aspects, the majority of the company’s expenditure goes to the procurement of parts to be used in the assembly process, the distribution of the assembled cars to the various dealerships across the board, the salary payment of the vast staff that GM employs, and the marketing and advertisement costs. The supply chain is basic starting from the sourcing of parts, down to the assembly lines, and finally the distributions of the finished products to the dealerships where the consumers have access to test drive and buy the automobiles. Determining the consumer patterns is done in the consumption stage by keeping a record of the bestselling products in the market, whether it is the SUVs, coupes, or sedans thus making an informed decision on the number of units to be produced to meet the consumer demand. The second step is to have the plan to achieve the pre-defined sets of goals and also monitor the metrics to track the progress being made by the company. Some of the goals may include: waste reduction, source reduction, increasing efficiency, and even incorporating the element of going green to the company (Kenny p.24). General Motors can also manage the lifespan of their vehicles through increasing the available and modular components of the vehicles, and also creating a simple path to upgrade the vehicles that the consumers have already purchased. The third step in the process is for General Motors to have a single point of sustainability. GM ought to have officers whose primary duty is to check on the sustainability of the company’s supply chain. These officers are paramount in managing the procurement functions and monitoring the supply chain to improve the strategies of the supply chain and also the procurement function thus resulting in the maximizing of the organization’s value. This single accountability point also needs to be given the relevant powers to effect the required changes thus increasing the company’s sustainability. The 4th step involves communicating the company’s progress both externally and internally. This step involves getting the word out and thus encourages people to get involved. It comes about from sharing the company’s goals, the metrics for tracking progress, also the failures and successes that the company gets both with the organization and to the world (Crane, Andrew, and Dirk p.98). The 5th step involves incorporating the plans for sustainability into the organization’s existing processes. Sustainability can be increased in the procurement and sourcing processes via including some green criteria in the procurement proposals. These proposals should be detailed meaning they should disallow harmful chemicals, specify preferred materials that help in source reduction like recyclable and rechargeable batteries, and also products that are biodegradable to assist in waste elimination. The cars made during the assembly process should also have features that reduce the emission of carbon gasses and manage the consumption of fuel thus assisting in the increasing of efficiency and reducing pollution. The 6th step involves educating the suppliers of GM on the sustainability practices of the company. This step involves giving the suppliers clear expectations of the supply base and continually monitoring the compliance of the suppliers to said expectations. This can help in eliminating the incompliant suppliers and getting suppliers that adhere to the pre-set expectations like conserving materials, using less toxic chemicals, and supplying of easily disassembled products for reuse, recycling, waste reduction, and waste elimination via scraping and dumping. Step 7 involves staying updated with global regulations. General Motors ought to keep aware of sustainability regulations like the RoHS in Europe tends to impact the functions of GM’s supply chain. Other regulations to be aware of include the bans of PBDE and mercury in many states with Seattle having regulations about the reduction of paper-based manuals and recycling that is mandated. Since GM is a multinational organization, it should have a team that knows about all the relevant regulations in various zones it conducts business. The 8th step involves knowing the new technologies, processes, and materials. Significant actions are being taken come up with better approaches to address the opportunities for green initiatives in a cost effective manner. General Motors should increase its investment in R&D activities and employ more qualified staff in this department to formulate better systems for their vehicles thus reduce the emission of carbon compounds and come up with materials help in waste management. Step 9 requires General Motors to start with the easy processes first but also not forget the hard stuff. This step would help GM avoid an overhaul of the supply chain to measure the gains resulting from the efforts of sustainability. This process of focusing on quick wins first would include GM improving its energy efficiency and even negotiating buy back or leasing options from the provider of electronics to ensure that the computer hardware returns to the manufacturer for recycling during instances of upgrades (Aras p.56). Thus, this step ensures the building of momentum for GM when it checks on the metrics of performance leaving only a few rigorous processes that it can focus on later in time. The final step of this process is for GM to get people involved in its initiatives. When any broad initiative is rolled out, it is next to impossible to accomplish and impact the whole organization if it depends on only the efforts of one area. GM should involve all its branches and departments including sales, design, finance, and engineering to achieve the pre-set goals. In conclusion, General Motors ought to act on this detailed ten step process to make sure that it will be well-placed to minimize the risks, maximize the returns, reduce waste, increase the efficiency, and also increase sustainability through the green initiatives it takes. Works Cited Aras, Gu. Business Strategy and Sustainability. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald, 2012. Print. Crane, Andrew, and Dirk Matten. Business Ethics: Managing Corporate Citizenship and Sustainability in the Age of Globalization. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. Print. “Environmental Principles & Management.” GM Sustainability Report. General Motors. 14 Dec 2015. Kenny, Michael. Planning Sustainability. London: Routledge, 2002. Print. Waters, C. D. J. Global Logistics New Directions in Supply Chain Management. 6th ed. London: Kogan Page, 2010. Print. Read more
Perhaps it’s for the best that you don’t have a memory of yourself centuries ago as you looked proudly around your community—a community deeply embedded in a habitat. This is where you first made love, learned to swim, caught your first fish, perhaps even fought a first battle against belligerent neighbors. Practically everybody in your community knows the names of the flora and fauna of your habitat, where the berries are, when the birds leave and return. There is a common history that is told and re-told. Most of you have felt a kinship with the totality of your habitat—its weather patterns, rocks, streams, mountains and its unique smells and sounds—the singular music of your home. In short, you have a sense of place, you belong. These are all my relations, you will exclaim, as you look around. * * * Living as anarchists is in our blood. Since the first dawn we have been free, living in genuine communities embedded in bio-regions. Our feelings of indifference to our potential habitats grew over time, out of an imposed separation from our habitats as our homes. Imposed by a world view that seems to have resulted from a series of errors, coincidences and aberrations affecting a few human cultures throughout the so-called Paleolithic era. This is where we find the beginning of our systematic self-enslavement and self-alienation. The developments usually associated with the Neolithic revolution (urban living, a reliance on agriculture, etc.) have ultimately led to the present mega-technological civilization. Over the centuries, myths have permeated civilized societies in order to make seem natural the ideologies that civilization is predicated on. These myths include the necessity of coercive authority, a belief in Progress, the notion of nature as hostile and the belief that economics (exchange rather than gift giving) are inherent in all human societies. Preceding urban civilization, many changes must have occurred within these cultures’ collective psychic experience, for instance the emergence of symbolic mediation (language, art, time, etc.) that made domestication more likely to occur. These destructive upheavals and changes led to sedentary lives and the domestication of formerly wild plants and animals, breaking age-old, organic life-ways and creating a permanent cycle of increasing separation from our natural surroundings. No matter the chronology, or whether there actually is an original source of domination, our contemporary predicament is most characterized by lack of access to a habitat within which to freely live in self-reliant ways. Restoring or reclaiming genuine habitats means the liberation of geographical areas from the rule of the state and capital, as well as renewing our kinship with nature. Free people living in free communities in harmony with the biosphere need to locate their communities within real habitats that are understood and valued by all members. If we can push the project for social freedom and harmony with the biosphere toward one initially dedicated to the liberation of geographical areas, then several things become possible. For instance, a movement of genuine and stable communities can begin to establish itself. Once this begins to occur, with its tastes of authentic community bonds, freedom, self-reliance, organic self-direction, etc., our ability and motivation to resist will be much stronger. While the rule of capital and centralized power might seem omniscient, they actually aren’t. The enemy does not occupy every inch. There are many blind spots, openings, frontiers where the sentinels and soldiers are few. We can take advantage of these. Our struggle for individual and collective freedom isn’t hopeless or so overwhelming as to make total surrender appear reasonable or inevitable. For instance, because so much of our captivity relies on internalized cops, on the daily reproduction of social misery by our own compliance with the various roles expected of us (worker, citizen, soldier, intellectual, consumer, activist, tourist, artist, man, woman, etc.), the weakest point in our opponents armor is probably our ability to refuse these roles. It is through withdrawal from scripted roles and cultural constructs that we will get to know our neighbors and comrades as more complex individuals (subjects) and thereby be able to create the communities of resistance that we need in order to form the bases of our offensives. Most non-native radicals are admirably fighting against specific forms of oppression and injustice or even trying to find ways to oppose all forms of domination, but few are fighting for a community and the territory it depends on. This is because so many non-natives of North America are still visitors or settlers; they haven’t made this place home yet. Not enough of us apparently have either deep bonds with our surroundings or with those who live within them. Our insurgency should be focused on the liberation of territory as potential habitats from the rule of the market and statist forces so that our nascent communities can become authentic communities, thereby gaining the strength to be genuinely effective forces for authoritarians to reckon with. Non-native rebels should be aiming for a time when they too will be defending real communities and their habitats/territories. I take great inspiration from our comrades in Chiapas, Mexico, who, in defense of their territories and communities, took the first shot, and to a large degree, have won. With the realization that indeed we have nothing to lose but our false freedom, false wealth and false community, we too could be preparing ourselves for secession from the nation states and ideologies that hold us captive, wherever we live. Much of North America consists of territory still claimed by the descendants of earlier tribal/clan/extended family peoples, and anti-authoritarian rebels need to acknowledge this when going native where we live. It’s important for us to educate ourselves about the indigenous folks who lived in our area before contact with empire and its civilized soldiers and citizens, and to reach out to the traditionalists, our natural allies, among them. Many anarchists and other rebels still seek anarchy through the creation of large political organizations, by winning converts and taking over the levers of production. They want us to manage civilization for ourselves rather than abolishing it and creating a total transformation of our life-ways. Many syndicalists, for instance, while having the laudable goals that all anarchists have, namely equality and freedom through the abolition of both the state and capitalism, are still primarily focused on achieving self-management of industry, not the abolition of the industrial mode of living. Their vision still includes cities, factories, a productivist rather than a subsistence ethic, an overarching infrastructure (transportation, research, development, etc.), large scale agriculture, etc. This doesn’t mean that anti-authoritarian rebels like them and other pro-civilizationist anarchists aren’t the allies of those who want to re-wild. It just means that while we might have kinship with individuals from within these movements, we don’t share a kinship with the movements themselves. I nevertheless retain a strong affinity with most anarchist currents. Those at the levers of production can play a pivotal role in our liberation, not by kicking out the bosses and instituting self-management, but by destroying the productive apparatus of the bosses, thereby opening the doors for new life-ways to emerge. What I am suggesting is the creation of organically self-organized subsistence movements that are aimed at asserting access to land. Of course we could likely expect that the cops would be sent in, either immediately or eventually, but that’s what anarchist insurgency is, reclaiming our lives! When local folks, without the intermediary of parties or experts, collectively reclaim the ability to self-organize and self-provide within a specific territory this is called rebellion. Community defense is a different topic than discussions around violence and non-violence. It is a question of our willingness to defend our gains, our communities, our territories and our habitats as we create them. Based on conditions specific to their time and place, some attempts at community self-organizing will experience more repression, more violence, more prison time. Regardless, we need to offer solidarity to both the armed comrades and the commune drop outs, indigenous direct actionists as well as the playful bioregionalist wanderers. If we want a diverse world, we will need diverse ways to get there. But history has shown that the foundations of power won’t be quietly dissolved through withdrawal alone. Organized defense isn’t wrong or futile, it’s necessary. Unions may have been reasonably good defense organizations in the past for many within the proletariat, but no longer have that role. Some indigenous activists have warrior societies, but these grew out of specific cultural experiences that most non-natives don’t share. Many fighting movements, like the IRA, ETA, etc. over the last century have focused on national liberation and the recognition of a homegrown elite while rarely, if ever, talking about truly autonomous territories for local populations. However there have been many movements that are inspiring that had a libertarian basis, the Zapatistas, for example, with their cry of Land and Liberty. I can imagine a local mutual aid network that also facilitates martial arts training and the teaching of eco-defense skills. The ‘warrior’ skills and training are only brought forth when necessary. In the meantime green freedom-loving radicals concentrate on creating/asserting some habitat in a peaceful manner. In fact creating these mutual aid networks with a community defense skills component could be seen as an integral part of creating communities of resistance. Let’s liberate spaces so that we can once again live in harmony with each other and our surroundings and be ready and willing to defend them.
Importance of Recycling as A Way to Save the Environment May 7, 2020 by assorted plastic bottles in black plastic bucket Photo by Jasmin Sessler on Unsplash Do you get worried about the result when you dispose of away waste? All kinds of waste material need to be handled with utmost care. It’s because some are quite infectious and pose a threat to the environment. Some wastes, if not handled properly, may transmit some deadly diseases. It is for the reasons why we need recycling mechanisms. The following are some exciting health and environmental benefits of recycling. • To conserve natural resources Almost all-natural resources are finite, with its supply limited. In a real sense, the process of recycling wood and paper helps protect the trees and our forest cover. Some individuals will argue that it is possible to plant new trees, but you should be aware of ancient virgin trees that once cut down, they are lost forever. When you recycle metals, then you reduce the risk, expense, and damage that are caused in the process of extracting new metal ores. Similar to glass as it saves you the hassle to acquire new sand material to make new ones given the fact sand deposits around the world have significantly reduced. • Protection of the ecosystem and wildlife The effective recycling process renders valueless the need to extract new material. In the long run, you have fewer disruption occurrences in the natural setting. There will be less forest cut, less wildlife is displaced or harmed, no or reduced pollution of the air, water, and soil, among other harmful acts on the ecosystem, are reduced. One leading cause of distortion to the environment is the unsafe disposal of plastic wastes that end up being washed into rivers and water systems. The situation ends up being a menace to every individual. • Recycling reduces the demand for the supply of raw material With new advancements in technology and what have you, we have experienced trends of increased demand for new commodities. The most vulnerable in society are displaced, as some are rendered homeless. One such scenario is when communities living in the forests find themselves without shelter when people have to go in search of timber. Equally, rivers become contaminated with industrial wastes affecting the natural ecosystem. You are advised that it is much safer to recycle waste by using skip bin hire than causing harm to someone else out there. Protect the parcels of land even when in pursuit of new raw material by thinking “recycling” as a better option. • Recycling saves energy The recycling process uses less energy compared to the manufacturing of new products. For instance, when you manufacture aluminum from re-used materials, you end up saving up to 95% energy, unlike you would have used by manufacturing from scratch. Steel recycling process saves at least 70% energy while paper saves 40% of energy, which would have been consumed had used wood fiber. Similarly, studies have shown that the energy saved from recycling glass bottle can light up a 100-watt bulb for more than 4 hours among other energy saves. • Reduced greenhouse effects Recycling reduces the amount of energy consumption required to produce new materials. It, therefore, implies low carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Waste materials that keep emitting methane are kept off the environment. It is such a vital measure to limit harmful climate change. • It is a cheaper process. When you recycle, you save six times more than you would dispose of. In the real sense, the more you recycle, you save a lot of money, which can later be used to sort out other demanding household and business-related bills, among others. For instance, when you recycle green waste, you will generate compost manure that can be used to grow crops and have good yields while saving on money that you would use to purchase in-organic fertilizers. • Recycling creates new employment opportunities. If a recycling target of 70% can be achieved, then over 45% of new employment opportunities are created. It is something that can be achieved whereby over 30% will be directly absorbed in the recycling process, with the rest engaged in the logistic bit of supply chain. We need to develop the habit of recycling what we can to limit wastages and ultimately aid waste management challenges faced across the globe. When we have combined efforts towards achieving the target, we will have many employment opportunities. Why should you recycle? As a smart person, you should exercise due diligence and adopt recycling measures. It is a safer way to ensure you have a beautiful environment while taking to heart the welfare of other persons or creatures existing in the system. An ideal measure will ensure you put your needs a priority while minimizing loss of life due to negligence. Anyone who carelessly disposes of wasted is at high risk of getting ill, harmed, or infected. However, when you use skip bin hire for safe and hygienic disposal of waste such that it is later recycled; hence you minimize the chances of any harm or injuries. By Sarah Williams Leave a Reply
What does human-centered AI even mean? A very meta conversation with Josh Lovejoy. “When a system begins to remember us forever, and wherever we go…. we will not be our true selves. We will be the self we know it’s okay to remember.” — Josh Lovejoy, Principal design manager, ethics and society at Microsoft. AI and Machine Learning systems are quickly becoming an integral part of how we work with, understand, and socialize with each other. Although this new technology is extremely exciting and offers a new wave of technological advancement, with it comes many ethical issues concerning discrimination, undermining human emotion, breaking social contracts and more. Sheana Ahlqvist talks to Josh Lovejoy, Principal Design Manager at Microsoft, specializing in the Ethics and Society sector. Josh believes that human-centered design thinking can change the world for the better; that by seeking to address the needs of people- especially those at the margins- in ways that respect, restore and augment their capabilities, we can invent forms of technological innovation that would have otherwise been invisible. • Why do corporations want to know what people are thinking and feeling? • Forming trust relationships using AI systems. • What is a design ethicist? • What kinds of things can impartial AI autonomous systems do better than humans. • How do autonomous AI systems take advantage of consumers? • What is predictive policing and how does it relate to AI ethics? • What are some examples of misapplications of Machine Learning systems. • What is a deepfake? • What is a mean opinion score and how does it apply to voice automation? • Josh’s opinion on how AI tools should be developed. • What happens when you give up personal data in exchange for a more personalized experience? • Who should have the authority to make consequential decisions about AI? • How will AI and Machine Learning systems shape our knowledge and create change for the future? • How do you create machine learning systems that are unbiased but still function effectively for the user? • Youtube • Spotify • AI • Machine-Learning Algorithms • Predictive Policing • Google • Reddit • Terminator • Deepfake • Eric Horvitz • Microsoft Research • Google Duplex • Brad Smith • Wavenet • Deep Mind • Adobe • Mean Opinion Score • Moritz Hart • Kate Crawford • Stanford • Star Trek • Facebook • Meredith Whittaker • AI Now • Nick Bostrom • Super Intelligence • Joy Buolamwini • Google Clips When bad data leads to social injustice, featuring David Robinson Can AI really change the world? Or are its developing algorithms formalizing social injustice? When these highly-technical systems derive patterns from existing datasets, their models can perpetuate past mistakes. In this episode of the Innovation For All Podcast, Sheana Ahlqvist discusses with David Robinson the threats of social bias and discrimination becoming embedded in Artificial Intelligence. • What is the role of technological advances in shaping society? • What is the difference between Machine Learning vs. Artificial Intelligence? • Social Justice Implications of Technology • What are the limitations of finding patterns in previous data? • How does should government regulate new, highly technical systems? • The need for more resources and more thoughtfulness in regulating data • Examples of data-driven issues in the private sector. • Removing skepticism of regulatory agencies in examining data models. • Authorities should remember that there are limits to what AI models can do. David is the co-founder of Upturn and currently a Visiting Scientist at the AI Policy and Practice Initiative in Cornell’s College of Computing and Information Science. David touches on how government regulatory agencies should examine new AI models and systems, especially as the technology continues to creep its way into our day-to-day lives. David discusses the importance of “ground truthing.” David emphasizes looking at a technology’s capabilities and limits before deciding on whether decision makers should implement it. If you enjoy this episode on AI and ethics, you might also enjoy WHEN ARE “FAIR” ALGORITHMS BETTER THAN ACCURATE ONES? When Are “Fair” Algorithms Better Than Accurate Ones? with Osonde Osoba Artificial Intelligence continues to penetrate our lives. As it does so, we should be wary of its ethical and social implications. Listen in iTunes Listen on Stitcher Listen in-browser Osonde Osoba, an engineer at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School, joins Sheana Ahlqvist in today’s episode of Innovation For All Podcast to talk about fairness in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. AI has the ability to seriously impact our lives, which is why Osonde is pushing for systems that are accurate, unbiased, and flexible. Discover what areas we should be wary when handing over the decision-making to AI’s, why this isn’t just a technical issue, but also political, and who should we put in charge of these systems. Learn also the importance of accountability, ethics, privacy, and regulation in AI systems. • The difference between Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence • Should AI systems intentionally be made to ‘align with our comfort’? • What roles do the legislators, policy makers, etc. do? • Strategies to protect Data Privacy in AI and ML models • Regulatory rules between the developers and the users • If technology changes so rapidly, how can regulators keep up? • How can we build accountability into AI & ML? Others Mentioned
Link to the University of Pittsburgh Jesus College, University of Cambridge Keyword: Sexuality The word sexuality is first recorded in English at the end of C18. It is based on the adjective sexual, and ultimately on the noun sex. Sex came into the English language in lC14 as a borrowing partly from French and partly from Latin; for most of its history in English, its primary, default meaning has been “Either of the two main categories (male and female) into which humans and many other living things are divided on the basis of their reproductive functions”; until recently, it also commonly referred to such differences in their social and cultural aspects— uses in which gender is now the much more usual term. Already in C16 phrases such as “the fair sex” and even “the sex” are found referring specifically to women in literary and general discourse. The earliest uses of the corresponding adjective sexual (another borrowing from Latin) in eC17 are also specifically in the meaning “characteristic of or peculiar to the female sex; feminine” (uses which survived until eC19). However, sex and sexual were also important terms in the language of science, in reference to the reproductive differences between male and female animals and humans, and to their reproductive behavior. From this specialist discourse, expressions such as sexual intercourse (mC18) gradually worked their way into general usage; as Raymond Williams astutely noted in his entry for sex in Keywords, “this seems to be a case . . . of the relatively learned or scientific word being adopted and generalized in the period in which it became more acceptable to speak or write of such matters at all openly.” Such a process appears to have happened at least twice in the interesting history of the derivative noun sexuality. This is an abstract noun formed on the adjective sexual, probably on the model of post-classical Latin sexualitas. This Latin word was probably also coined not earlier than the second half of C18, and, although it may not actually have been used by the great Swedish naturalist Linnaeus, it occurs early with reference to his work on biology, and especially botany. The corresponding English sense is defined by the OED as “The quality of being sexual or possessing sex. Opposed to asexuality n.” The earliest example for this sense comes from the third edition of John Walker’s Elements of geography, and of natural and civil history (1797): “The Linnaean system . . . is founded on the sexuality of plants.” This sense has remained in use by biologists ever since; the areas of contestation and ambiguity in the word’s contemporary use stem from its application to humans. The earliest sense in OED used in reference to humans is attested in 1833, and defined as: “Sexual nature, instinct, or feelings; the possession or expression of these.” Sexuality as so defined is something usually assumed to be inherent in all normally functioning human beings, although usage differs considerably according to the user’s standpoint on a number of social and cultural issues. This sense has long been found in general as well as technical use; OED’s earliest example is from a collection of traditional tales from Scotland, Andrew Picken’s Traditionary Stories of Old Families (1833): “This, like most matters of love and sexuality, became the bitter bottoming of many sorrows.” Before looking at this sense in further detail, the second major sense of sexuality as applied to human beings should be considered. This sense is first attested in 1897, and is defined in OED as “a person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which he or she is typically attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; sexual orientation.” This use probably arose on the model of the words homosexuality and heterosexuality. It is not common in the first half of C20, and appears to have taken some time to break through into non-technical use. However, a use with this meaning in a New York Times book review from 1958, quoted by OED, points toward a characteristic pattern of contemporary usage: “Torn between his love for an intelligent, sympathetic French girl, Solange, and a haunting attraction to his top sergeant . . . he is held captive by . . . a brutal reality demanding that he define his own sexuality or face damnation.” Two of the most frequent collocations of sexuality in general corpora of contemporary English tend to be (i) human sexuality and (ii) modified by a possessive pronoun, e.g., their sexuality, his sexuality, my sexuality. The collocation human sexuality correlates closely with the meaning defined as “Sexual nature, instinct, or feelings; the possession or expression of these.” The word is used with this meaning by people with a wide variety of different social, political, moral, and religious standpoints, and these differing standpoints will affect how different individuals conceptualize human sexuality. The term labels a concept that is at the center of a key battlefield in contemporary social and cultural debate. However, the mapping between word and concept is itself relatively uncomplicated: what is at issue is how different individuals define or conceptualize “sexual nature, instinct, or feelings,” as well as, crucially, what they take to be “normal,” “natural,” or part of the expected or accepted spectrum of human feelings and behavior. In the case of use modified by a possessive pronoun, e.g., their sexuality, his sexuality, my sexuality, use of the word sexuality may map to either of OED’s main senses, “Sexual nature, instinct, or feelings; the possession or expression of these” or “A person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which he or she is typically attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual; sexual orientation.” However, there is an interesting tension among these uses. When used in the second meaning, the construction typically refers to a particular sexual identity to which a person is (usually if not uncontroversially) taken to belong categorically; uses typically refer to recognition, suppression, repression, or acceptance of ones sexuality. Overwhelmingly, usage refers to homosexuality: if a man is described as “hiding his sexuality,” this nearly always means that he is hiding the fact that he is gay (however this is construed), not that he is hiding his heterosexuality. But alongside this usage, sexuality modified by a possessive pronoun is also used frequently in the meaning “sexual nature, instinct, or feelings.” Examining contemporary usage shows that, for instance, “he/she [struggles/attempts/is obliged/is forced/is expected] to suppress/repress his/her sexuality” is found frequently in reference to gay people who attempt to “suppress” their sexual identity, but also not uncommonly in reference to heterosexual men who attempt to “suppress” or “control” their sexual instincts in a particular behavioral situation. Such uses are often, but not always, from contexts with clear echoes of psychoanalytical discourse, e.g.,: “Early on, he had learned to repress his sexuality in response to his rejecting wife” (from Anne C. Heller’s Ayn Rand, 2009); or “Eugène Rougon . . . attempts to repress his sexuality by finding other means of powerful sexual sublimation. He thus achieves the pinnacle of success . . . by avoiding the charms of a femme fatale” (from A. Gural-Migdal and R. Singer’s Zola and Film, 2005, 35). Individuals (or perhaps, different individuals) are thus conceptualized as possessing a sexuality in two distinct but overlapping meanings: one is a matter of group membership (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual); the other a question of sexual urges or instincts and how these affect behavior. The expression sexual orientation exists as a synonym in the first meaning, but sexuality appears to be the term preferred by many (perhaps because of connotations it carries of an inherent, non-volitional quality). In the second meaning, sexual instinct is perhaps the likeliest substitute, but occurs only relatively rarely; however, the richly developed vocabulary of sexual desire and lust is only a small step away. Coexistence of the two meanings in parallel constructions is surprising, since the danger of ambiguity is real and the meanings occur in a semantic area that is generally regarded as highly sensitive, where ambiguity may lead to intense embarrassment or social difficulties. Whether the two meanings continue to coexist, and continue to occur in such similar constructions, may be revealing about changing social attitudes in coming decades.
The Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most famous telescopes in the world. Oops, excuse me—one of the most famous telescopes built. Hubble, after all, is certainly not in this world. Unless you call the universe the “world,” it’s about as far from being in this world as you can get. It’s in space. Hubble isn’t that different from an ordinary, ground telescope. It’s only as big as a bus. There are bigger optical telescopes. Its mirror is 2.4 m across—hardly an achievement by modern-day standards. Palomar Observatory, which was the biggest telescope in the world when it was built, has better optics than Hubble, meaning its images are a bit crisper. But that doesn’t keep astronomers from continuing to use Hubble. In fact, if you want to use Hubble, you have to get in line—it hardly has time to complete all the projects astronomers ask of it, even observing the night sky 24/7. So why is Hubble so useful? Continue reading Radio Astronomy: Limitations radio astronomy.jpg The atmosphere does. Improved Telescope Mirrors When it comes to telescopes, bigger is always better. Bigger means more light-gathering power and better resolution. And a longer telescope—meaning, a longer focal length—can actually do wonders for your magnification power. Light-gathering power, by the way, just means how much light a telescope can gather—and it works the same way as rain in a bucket. The bigger the bucket, the more rain you can collect. And resolution means how much detail you can see in an image. It goes hand in hand with light-gathering power—more light means more detail. So bigger, for serious astronomers, is the way to go. Until your mirror starts sagging. Yeah…that’s a bit of a problem. But nowadays, we can fix it. Continue reading Telescope Powers Have you seen one of these guys before?
Plumbing is public health, now and in the future. Just as Vaccination Protects Individuals and the Community. Plumbing Protects the Whole Community, and Individually Plumbers Protect the Health of the Nation. plumbing is public health at whywait plumbing The plumbers at Whywait Plumbing every day protecting your health Albert Einstein towards the end of his life in 1954 wrote “If I would be a young man again and had to decide how to make my living, I would not try to become a scientist or scholar or teacher. I would rather choose to be a plumber.” Einstein, like many others, recognised that plumbing is public health, now, and in the future. A survey of 11000 doctors by the British Medical Journal in 2007 voted hands down that the world’s greatest medical milestone since 1840 was sanitation. Despite all the tremendous medical breakthroughs and scientific advances, the seemingly mundane advance of reliable sewage and reliably clean water supply was judged the most significant medical advance. The recognition of reliable sewage and water supply is a testament to the strength of plumbing laws, standards, and licensing in not only Australia but also in Europe and North America. This is because doctors recognised the best measure of medical advance is not its complexity, but what it does for the average person concerning the length and quality of our lives. The average life expectancy has increased 35 years since 1840, and roughly 30 of those years are attributable to the advances in sanitation and living conditions. For most of us in Australia, plumbing is something we take for granted. We have never known what it is like not to have on-demand clean running water inside our homes or a fully functional sewer system to take away the used water. Close to 90% of us live in an urban environment, and for that, we can thank plumbing, that allows us to do so safely, without fear of contracting waterborne diseases. Yet even plumbers fail to understand the impact that they have on modern urban society and that their work is essential as plumbing is public health. Whywair plumbing promote plumbing is public healthClean potable water is the basis for life and without it the risk to public health and the population as a whole increase. The cost to the community of plumbing failures are substantial and always have been. Plumbing is and always has been a significant part of the public health system. This was first learnt by the Romans, who were the first civilised society over 2000 years ago to realise the requirements to have an integrated plumbing system to pipe in clean water and dispose of used water. In Asia alone, some 2 billion people, which is over 60% of the population of Asia, live without adequate access to sanitation such as toilets. In many places, open sewers are the norm. This would not be tolerated in Australia, and we are protected from it by our plumbing laws. Recent natural disasters here in Australia and internationally are essential reminders of the role plumbing plays in modern life. Homes in Brisbane during the recent floods were made uninhabitable with the loss of plumbing. This is further reinforced by the earthquakes in Christchurch, the tsunami in Japan, cyclones in North Queensland, and the floods in Victoria where homes were not suitable to be lived in again until full plumbing services were reinstalled. In all of these natural disasters, the restoration of plumbing was a significant component of the recovery process. As with everything in life, change is the constant and this is undoubtedly true of plumbing. As we solve one problem, another one arises. Diseases related to water always have required vigilance in preventing their spread. This is as true today as it has always been. As always, this is where the plumbing will once again prove to be a significant part of the solution. The mosquito has always been a significant source of transmission of serious diseases such as malaria, ross river fever, dengue fever, to name a few. New arboviruses such as Chikungunya are increasingly a threat to Australia. These emerging infectious diseases are all spread by mosquito and are dependant on water. This intimate dependency on water increase risk without high plumbing standards of becoming endemic in Australia. With the increasing threat to the community from the mosquito-spread of waterborne strong plumbing, practices are essential. Plumbers have a continuing obligation to the community to use their knowledge and experience to demonstrate the impact that poor plumbing could have in the future because plumbing is public health. Call Now ButtonCALL NOW
Taking learning online in ecology and evolution Guest Editors: Christopher Lortie, Sehoya Cotner, Marcus Lashley To provide a rapid outlet to share timely innovations and discoveries for online teaching and learning in ecology and evolution. Dear Colleagues, These are challenging times. Uncertainty and adaptation is key in ecology and evolution, including how we teach, communicate, and do research. The current global crisis, sparked by COVID-19, has highlighted this uncertainty and demanded we adapt. At Ecology and Evolution, we want to provide the community with an opportunity to discuss and capture the challenges, but also celebrate the successes of online teaching, communication, and collaboration in our discipline. We welcome submission for a Special Issue entitled ‘Taking learning online in ecology and evolution’. We envision articles that describe tools, techniques, strategies, engagement plans, technology development and use, challenges, and successes. We are particularly interested in contributions that address mechanisms to promote equity, diversity and inclusion through online teaching and distributed learning, and examples of technology and distributed approaches that promote engagement within one another and natural systems. Papers can include research articles, case studies, and perspectives that address these contemporary challenges and solutions. Short and concise contributions are welcome and encouraged. Warm regards, Drs Chris Lortie, Sehoya Cotner and Marcus Lashley Contribution Ideas 1. Meetings in the COVID era. How can conferences in ecology and evolution change and adapt to balance the needs of early-career researchers to connect, present, and develop their careers but also mitigate the risks and ecological costs of travel? 2. Online scientific products. How can online and distributed teaching and learning promote a reset in how we value online contributions to learning? 3. Open science. How can online and distributed teaching promote open science? 4. Changes in pedagogy. New teaching and learning strategies that work/do not work. 5. Tips, tools, and tricks. Github, Moodle, Blackboard, Google, etc. What works? How can educators best leverage these tools? For these articles, please provide resources for speedy adoption–links, worksheets, grading rubrics, etc. 6. Equity. How best to deliver online teaching to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion. 7. Strategies for adapting field courses or field exercises for online instruction. Using virtual field spaces, databases, etc. 8. Backyard ecology and citizen science. Please ensure suggested strategies allow for appropriate social distancing. 9. Other tools and strategies. Tools and strategies that can be used to promote online science communication to general audiences. Questions? Please contact: Dr. Gareth Jenkins ( or Dr. Chris Foote ( Follow this link for manuscript submission, and please specify in your cover letter that you are submitting to this Special IssueThe deadline for submissions is 30th June. We look forward to reading your contributions! Ecology and Evolution Ecology and Evolution is a journal with a difference. Our overriding philosophy is to be “author friendly” and our editing practice is to “looks for reasons to publish”. Ecology and Evolution is one of the fastest growing journals in ecology and evolution, publishing a diverse-range of articles in these broad disciplines of biology, as well as a special and highly popular category established in 2017 called Academic Practice. Academic Practice articles relate to the application of scholarly approaches to the myriad roles we undertake in our professions as ecologists and evolutionary biologists – including taking learning online.
One day soon, United Launch Alliance could be operating a fleet of "trucks" in Earth orbit. Image source: Getty Images. The news is out, and the internet tubes are practically vibrating with excitement: Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) are building a space truck. We actually first told you about this nearly half a year ago. But lately, a lot of other media outlets have discovered the story and begun writing about United Launch Alliance's (ULA, which is Boeing and Lockheed's joint space venture) plan to convert second-stage launch rockets into reusable space vehicles -- "space trucks" that can tool around the solar system under their own power. Naturally, in the perpetual motion machine that is the internet, this revived attention got our attention and inspired us to do a bit more digging into exactly how this will all work. How this will work The first step to understanding how ULA's plan will work is to understand how it won't work. Currently, there are two major paths to get to space: launching with a "disposable" rocket (such as Boeing and Lockheed, Orbital ATK (NYSE:OA), and Airbus(OTC:EADSY) Arianespace all use); or launching with a "reusable" rocket, a la SpaceX. The disposable path requires the construction of a brand-new rocket for each launch, which is discarded to burn up in the atmosphere after launch. It's worked well so far for ULA, which earned $400 million in operating profit last year. The reusable path hopes to produce even more profits -- by shedding costs and recovering launched rockets for later reuse. Focusing on the latter, there are currently three major theories on the best way to make rockets "reusable," with the goal of making space launches inexpensive. The first, pioneered by NASA's Space Shuttle and now being reborn at Airbus, launches a rocket vertically, then lands it back on earth horizontally -- like an airplane. A second approach, practiced by SpaceX (and soon to be imitated by Blue Origin) launches a rocket vertically, then attempts to land the first stage of that rocket vertically upon its own jets. Both of these approaches attempt to recover and reuse only the first stage of a rocket, which comprises about 70% of the total cost of the rocket. Boeing and Lockheed aren't taking either of these approaches with the "space truck" idea. Second verse, similar to the first Instead, ULA's "space truck" plan focuses on a means of reusing a rocket's second stage -- in space. (ULA also hopes to recover its first-stage rockets through a different process. I'll talk more about that in a later article.) ULA's space truck plan goes like this: In 2019, ULA plans to introduce a new launch vehicle called "Vulcan," comprised of a "Next Generation Launch System" first stage and utilizing an existing "Centaur" second stage. Four years later, ULA will replace Centaur with a more powerful second stage called "Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage" -- "ACES," for short. ACES, says ULA, will give Vulcan lift capability similar to that of "today's Delta IV Heavy rocket" (and superior to ULA's Atlas V). Additionally, the ACES second stage will form the basis for ULA's "space truck" project. Featuring a lightweight electrical system, insulated body, and four thrusters for maneuverability, an ACES space truck will function first as an ordinary second-stage rocket, lifting a payload into orbit. Once there, though, ACES will remain in orbit and assume its new role as an off-planet space truck -- accepting replenishment with additional fuel, and perhaps itself refueling other satellites in orbit, "towing" off-course satellites back into their proper orbits, or even shuttling cargo back and forth to the moon. (And if you're thinking at this point that ULA's space truck idea sounds a lot like Orbital ATK's Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), which is scheduled to begin operations in late 2018, I had that same thought, too.) Like Orbital's MEV, ULA notes that ACES will have the ability to turn off and turn on its engines an "almost unlimited" number of times, allowing it to operate in orbit for "weeks." Indeed, ULA CEO Tony Bruno says that once in orbit, ACES could conceivably continue to operate in space "forever." And with its new capabilities, ACES can earn Boeing and Lockheed additional revenue from the rocket -- which otherwise would have been discarded as a mere used-up second stage. Where's the nearest gas station? Of course, in order for ACES to perform any of these missions -- particularly the turning on and turning off parts -- it will need fuel. But since ACES' fuel is currently located on Earth and needs to be brought up by rocket, doesn't that make orbiting "space trucks" superfluous? Where's the advantage in sending up one ACES rocket, loaded with fuel, only to transfer that fuel to an identical ACES in orbit? Curious to find the answer, I reached out to ULA for an explanation. What they told me was that an ACES designed to operate as a "space truck" would be specially fitted out with an "extended duration kit." Ordinary ACES would launch without such a supplement. And as for the economics of bringing up additional fuel, ULA clarified that this would not necessarily be brought up especially to fuel space trucks (at a current cost of $164 million per refueling mission, plus the cost of the fuel). Rather, a launch designed primarily to put one payload in space (a satellite, for example), if it had excess capacity, might fill out that capacity with extra fuel, sent up at "near zero" marginal cost -- then transferred to a waiting space truck. A far distant future That's the near-term plan. Further out, in the days when ULA envisions "1,000" humans living and working in space 30 years from now, ULA hopes to find more fuel that doesn't need to be lifted off Earth first to be used. Water ice extracted from the moon or asteroids, for example, could be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen and used to refuel ACES space trucks. It's discovering that fuel, and perfecting the space trucks to transport it and burn it, that will really enable the space economy to take off.
Next Article in Journal Comparative Analysis of Four Calypogeia Species Revealed Unexpected Change in Evolutionarily-Stable Liverwort Mitogenomes Next Article in Special Issue Genome Size Diversity and Its Impact on the Evolution of Land Plants Previous Article in Journal Study of mcr-1 Gene-Mediated Colistin Resistance in Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Humans and Animals in Different Countries Previous Article in Special Issue Comparative Analysis of the Complete Chloroplast Genome of Four Known Ziziphus Species Open AccessArticle Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Male and Female Conelets and Development of Microsatellite Markers in Pinus bungeana, an Endemic Conifer in China Key Laboratory of Resource Biology and Biotechnology in Western China, Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. These authors contributed equally to this work. Genes 2017, 8(12), 393; Received: 28 September 2017 / Revised: 11 December 2017 / Accepted: 12 December 2017 / Published: 19 December 2017 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Evolution and Biodiversity of the Plant Genome Architecture) The sex determination in gymnosperms is still poorly characterized due to the lack of genomic/transcriptome resources and useful molecular genetic markers. To enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the determination of sexual recognition of reproductive structures in conifers, the transcriptome of male and female conelets were characterized in a Chinese endemic conifer species, Pinus bungeana Zucc. ex Endl. The 39.62 Gb high-throughput sequencing reads were obtained from two kinds of sexual conelets. After de novo assembly of the obtained reads, 85,305 unigenes were identified, 53,944 (63.23%) of which were annotated with public databases. A total of 12,073 differentially expressed genes were detected between the two types of sexes in P. bungeana, and 5766 (47.76%) of them were up-regulated in females. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enriched analysis suggested that some of the genes were significantly associated with the sex determination process of P. bungeana, such as those involved in tryptophan metabolism, zeatin biosynthesis, and cysteine and methionine metabolism, and the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways. Meanwhile, some important plant hormone pathways (e.g., the gibberellin (GA) pathway, carotenoid biosynthesis, and brassinosteroid biosynthesis (BR) pathway) that affected sexual determination were also induced in P. bungeana. In addition, 8791 expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSRs) from 7859 unigenes were detected in P. bungeana. The most abundant repeat types were dinucleotides (1926), followed by trinucleotides (1711). The dominant classes of the sequence repeat were A/T (4942) in mononucleotides and AT/AT (1283) in dinucleotides. Among these EST-SSRs, 84 pairs of primers were randomly selected for the characterization of potential molecular genetic markers. Finally, 19 polymorphic EST-SSR primers were characterized. We found low to moderate levels of genetic diversity (NA = 1.754; HO = 0.206; HE = 0.205) across natural populations of P. bungeana. The cluster analysis revealed two distinct genetic groups for the six populations that were sampled in this endemic species, which might be caused by the fragmentation of habitats and long-term geographic isolation among different populations. Taken together, this work provides important insights into the molecular mechanisms of sexual identity in the reproductive organs of P. bungeana. The molecular genetic resources that were identified in this study will also facilitate further studies in functional genomics and population genetics in the Pinus species. Keywords: Pinus bungeana; sexual recognition; population structure; SSR marker; transcriptome Pinus bungeana; sexual recognition; population structure; SSR marker; transcriptome 1. Introduction In plants, totipotent meristematic cells usually experience a long development period, and then undergo the reproductive stage to form flowers, which are complex sexual organs [1]. The sexual dimorphism of plants (including hermaphrodite, monoecious, and dioecious, etc.) is related to morphological and physiological characteristics that differentiate male and female plant reproductive organs [2,3]. Generally, differential gene expression is considered as an important factor for sexually dichotomous phenotypes. The development and maintenance of sex-specific phenotypes are under a series of metabolic pathways and regulatory genetic networks where various connected sex differences in expression genes, transcription factors (TFs), and other regulators are associated [4,5]. Based on the recently detected genomic/transcriptome information resources, the morphological differences between the sexes are considered to be largely affected by the sex differences in the gene regulatory and expression pattern [6,7]. Some studies have suggested that the determinants of sex differentiation in plants (i.e., Salix suchowensis and cucumber) are significantly involved in the expression of sex chromosomes and sex determination genes [8,9]. Some other studies have found that plant hormones signal transduction (e.g., ACS, ASR1, IAA2, and AUX gene networks) also affected the gender differentiation and plant development process [10]. Recently, the transcriptome analysis for the complete flowers of cucumber showed that the genes participating in sexual differentiation were significantly related to the ethylene synthesis, carotenoid, and auxin biosynthesis pathways [8]. In addition, the downstream metabolic pathways and genetic networks that are essential for sex differentiation in plants may be controlled by upstream sex-determining genes [4]. However, up to now, many studies of the determinants of sexual identity have mainly focused on the model angiosperms species [7,11], and the molecular genetic mechanisms of sex recognition of gymnosperms are largely unclear. In general, the gymnosperms have long generation times, large effective population sizes, and complex genomes, and these characteristics have hindered the accurate investigation and characterization of the sex differentiation genes at a genomics level [6,12]. In recent years, with the advance of next generation sequencing technology, transcriptome sequencing has proven to be an efficient and rapid method for determining the expression of different sexes. For example, expression pattern analysis has suggested that the TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1)-like genes played an important role in the development process of reproductive organs and sex determinations of gymnosperms [13]. In addition, comparative transcriptome analysis of the two Pinus tabuliformis sexes indicated the occurrence of a sex-biased expression pattern in gymnosperms [7,11]. However, some other metabolism pathways that are affecting sex differentiation in gymnosperms still remain unknown. Pinus bungeana Zucc. ex Endl., belonging to Sect. Parrya Mayr, is an economically and ecologically important soft conifer species, with a key role in local forest ecosystems. This species is mainly distributed in the mountain areas in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan Provinces with an altitude of 500–1800 m, and is an endemic conifer in China. It is one of the main conifer species that have adapted to calcareous loess and mild saline soil in coniferous species. In addition, P. bungeana has strong resistance to sulfur dioxide and soot pollution in nature. In recent years, due to the over-cutting and fragmentations of natural habitats, the wild resources of P. bungeana populations have increasingly declined. Meanwhile, P. bungeana is outcrossing, anemophilous, and has different development positions of male and female conelets. These characteristics make this tree species an excellent model for studying differential gene expression and sexual recognition between the two sexes in conifer species. Most previous studies on P. bungeana have mainly focused on its phylogenetic position [14,15,16], physiological ecology, and phylogeographic structure [17]. Meanwhile, some researchers have also investigated the genomic/transcriptome information and population genetics of P. bungeana [15,17]. On the other hand, the development and application of molecular genetic information is fundamental for the conservation of the wild species. In recent years, transcriptome sequencing provides a rapid and powerful tool for the development of molecular genetic tools, such as co-dominant simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers [8]. These transcriptome-based markers have been widely used to research phylogenetic evolution and species conservation of organisms [18,19]. In this study, we characterized the transcriptomes of male and female conelets of P. bungeana using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology. This study was designed to enrich the molecular genetic resources for P. bungeana, to identify new candidate genes that are involved in sex determination and differentiation, and to detail the different expression patterns between the sexes. Furthermore, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that are involved in metabolisms were further determined and analyzed. In addition, a set of novel expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSR) markers were developed from the transcriptome data. To effectively manage the wild resources of P. bungeana, the population genetic diversity and structure were also evaluated for the six sampled populations across most ranges of its natural distributions, using these new developed EST-SSR markers. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Plant Materials Pinus bungeana is a monoecious conifer species, which produces male and female cones during March–May. Three male and three female conelets (female conelet 1, female conelet 2, female conelet 3, male conelet 1, male conelet 2, and male conelet 3) were separately collected from three normal trees at the campus of Northwest University, China in April 2013. We selected expanded (but un-pollinated conelets), that were frozen in liquid nitrogen for RNA isolation. In addition, we sampled fresh needles from six natural populations (Table 1, Figure S1) across most of the distributional ranges of P. bungeana to investigate the polymorphism of microsatellite primers and population structure. 2.2. RNA Isolation and Quality Assay The TRIzol Reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA) was used to extract the total RNA of the samples, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The quantity and quality of RNA were assessed by 1% gel electrophoresis and NanoPhotometer® spectrophotometer (IMPLEN, Westlake Village, CA, USA). The RNA integrity was accurately assessed by the RNA Nano 6000 Assay Kit of the Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100 system (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). 2.3. Transcriptome Sequencing Individual isolated RNA was used to construct cDNA libraries for transcriptome sequencing. In brief, mRNA was enriched using the NEBNext Poly(A) mRNA Magnetic Isolation Module (E7490, NEB, Ipswich, UK) from 3 µg of total RNA. Double-stranded cDNA was synthesized, and sequencing adaptors were ligated according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). The ligated products were then purified with AMPureXP beads (Beckman Coulter, Brea, CA, USA) and were amplified for the construction of cDNA libraries. Library insert sizes ranged from 100 to 200 bp. The completed libraries were sequenced on the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. The original RNA-seq data was deposited into the Sequence Read Archive (SRA) of the National Centre of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under the accession numbers SRR6015000, SRR6015001, and SRR5832159 to SRR58321162. 2.4. Data Processing and Assembly Clean data (clean reads) were generated by removing reads containing adapters and poly-A as well as low quality reads from the raw data (raw reads) [20]. All of the downstream analyses were based on clean data of high quality. De novo assembly was carried out with the program Trinity using clean reads [21]. The high-quality transcripts were obtained after filtering and assembling. These transcripts were utilized for the further process of sequence clustering with Corset to create unigenes [22]. Next, a follow-up analysis was carried out with these unigenes, which were assembled from scratch. The published transcriptomes of other Pinus species from the NCBI non-redundant (Nr) [23], nucleotide sequences (Nt), protein family (Pfam), protein sequence database (Swissprot, [24], Gene Ontology (GO) [25], euKaryotic Ortholog Groups (KOG) [26], and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases [27] were used as references to obtain functional annotation information of unigenes by performing BLASTX with a cut-off E value of the best hit of ≤10−5. 2.5. Differential Expression Analysis (DEG) Read counts of genes were calculated using RNA-Seq by Expectation-Maximization (RSEM) software [28]. The above results were translated into FPKM values (expected number of Fragments Per Kilobase of transcript sequence per Millions base pairs sequenced), which is currently the most commonly utilized method for estimating gene expression levels [29]. Differential gene expression between the two different libraries (female and male) was analyzed by DESeq [30]. The false discovery rate (FDR) was adjusted by q-values. The thresholds value of differentially expressed genes was set as q < 0.005 and log2 (fold change) > 1. The GO and KEGG functional enrichment analysis of DEGs was implemented to show the main biochemical and signal transduction pathways. 2.6. Identification of Expressed Sequence Tag-Simple Sequence Repeats (EST-SSRs) We used the program MIcroSAtellite (MISA) [31] to detect potential EST-SSRs from unigenes in P. bungeana. The determining criteria were as follows: at least five repeats for the di-, and four repeats for the tri-, tetra-, penta- and hexanucleotide motifs. In addition, we used the software Primer 3 [32] to design the EST-SSR primer pairs. The setting parameters were the product size of PCR ranging from 100 to 300 bp, GC content of the primer from 40–60%, the length of primer ranging from 18–25 bp, and melting temperature from 50–65 °C. PCR amplification of SSR markers was performed in a 10 μL reaction volume, including 30–50 ng template DNA, 5 μL 2× Taq PCR Master Mix (Runde, Xi’an, China), 1 μL 2.5 μM of each primer, and 4 μL sterile water. The PCR procedure included an initial denaturation of 94 °C for 4 min, followed by 32 cycles of 45 s at 94 °C, 40 s at an annealing temperature of 50–60 °C for each primer, and 45 s at 72 °C, ending with a final extension of 5 min at 72 °C. We detected and validated the PCR products using silver-stained nondenaturing polyacrylamide gels [33]. In addition, we determined the allele sizes of each SSR genetic marker using the program Quantity One (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). 2.7. Validation of EST-SSR Markers and Population Genetic Analysis To assess the polymorphism of EST-SSR primers in P. bungeana, we randomly selected 84 pairs of primers to amplify genomic DNA. We used MICROCHECKER v2.2.3 to test the presence of null alleles for all loci [34]. The program ARLEQUIN v.3.11 [35] was implemented to detect loci violating assumptions of neutrality. The population genetic parameters, including the number of alleles (NA), observed heterozygosity (HO), and expected heterozygosity (HE) were calculated using the software POPGENE v.1.32 [36]. We also used the software GenAlEx 6 [37] to detect the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). The source of genetic variation was analyzed with AMOVA (Analysis of Molecular Variation) in ARLEQUIN v.3.11 [34]. The UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging) analysis that was based on Nei’s (1987) [38] genetic distances among populations was performed using Mega software [39]. In addition, STRUCTURE was used to infer the population structure with an admixture model based on the Bayesian clustering approach [40]. The population genetic clusters (K) ranged from 1–10, and 10 independent runs were performed for each K with 10,000 burn-in and 100,000 Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) replicates. The most likely number of K clusters was estimated using the ΔK statistics method with the program STRUCTURE HARVESTR [41]. 3. Results 3.1. Transcriptome Sequencing and De Novo Assembly of Pinus bungeana A total of 39.62 Gb high quality sequencing data (clean reads) were generated from six samples (female conelet 1, male conelet 1, female conelet 2, male conelet 2, female conelet 3, and male conelet 3) in P. bungeana. Among the sequencing datasets of female and male types, more than 96.14% and 96.59% of bases had a q-value > 20. The mean GC contents were 44.63% and 44.33% for female and male conelets, respectively, which suggests that the results of sequencing were relatively good (Table 2). Using the Trinity software to assemble clean reads, we obtained a total 85,305 unigenes that were assembled with a mean length of 1199 bp and an N50 value of 1942 bp for P. bungeana, and the GC content was 44.48%. Most of the genes were relatively longer, with 34,343 (40.26%) unigenes greater than 500 bp. The size distribution of assembled unigenes was presented in Figure S2. The above results suggested that the quality of transcriptome sequencing and de novo assembly was relatively good, which were good enough to be used to carry out the subsequent bioinformatics analysis. 3.2. Gene Annotation of Pinus bungeana The assembled unigenes of P. bungeana, of which 53,944 (63.23%) were aligned and annotated with Nr, Nt, Pfam, Swissprot, KOG, GO, and KEGG databases, where 45,381 (53.19%), 36,988 (43.35%), and 34,319 (40.23%) unigenes had significant matches in Nr, Nt, and a manually annotated and Swissprot, respectively. Among all of them, 8030 unigenes could be common mapped by Nr, Nt, Pfam, GO, and KOG (Figure 1). The top-hit species in the annotated distribution was Picea sitchensis (18,903), followed by Amborella trichopoda (5203), and Nelumbo nucifera (3280) (Figure S3). The remaining 31,361 potential unigenes showed no homology to known sequences that are deposited in these databases. Based on the alignments, a total number of 10,620 (12.44%) annotated unigenes were identified from KOG. The database represents an attempt at phylogenetic classification of proteins encoded in complete genomes. Among the 25 KOG categories, the cluster in the assembly of male and female libraries for “General function prediction only” represented the largest group, followed by the “Posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones”, “Translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis” and “RNA processing and modification” clusters (Figure 2). Furthermore, analysis of the GO categories showed that most of the unique sequences (35,187, 41.24%) were mapped to biological processes, followed by the molecular functions, and the least was the cellular component. The cellular process (19,470, 55.33%), binding (20,269, 57.60%), and cell (10,112, 28.74%) were the largest highly represented categories in these three main ontologies (Figure S4). All of the assembled unigenes were further annotated based on KEGG pathways. There were 15,721 (18.82%) unigenes that were divided and mapped into 19 functional pathways, with the ‘Metabolism’ cluster representing the largest group (Figure S5). 3.3. Analysis of Differently Expressed Genes in Male and Female Conelets of Pinus bungeana We tested the global quality of the RNA-seq dataset by checking the reproducibility between each pair of samples (female and male conelets) [42], and found that reproducibility among the technical replicates of the gene expression was generally high (Figure S6). Through the screening of differentially expressed genes (standard = 2X and FDR < 0.05), 12,073 unigenes were identified as differentially expressed between male and female conelets, which was comprised of 5766 unigenes that were up-regulated and 6307 unigenes that were down-regulated (Figure S7). Differential expression analysis indicated that there were more significant differences between the inter-gender than intra-gender variations by the three biological replicates from the female and male conelets, respectively (Figure S8). Moreover, we performed an enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG terms for these genes. For the GO term enrichment of DEGs, the six most highly represented terms were ‘metabolic process’, ‘catalytic activity’, ‘single-organism process’, ‘single-organism metabolic process’, ‘oxidation-reduction process’, and ‘oxidoreductase activity’ (Figure S9). To further investigate the biological pathways that are active in sexual dimorphism, KEGG enrichment was performed based on the DEGs. The results indicated that 981 DEGs were significantly enriched in the top 20 KEGG pathways (q-value < 0.05), such as the 113 unigenes distributed in plant hormone signal transduction, the 132 unigenes allocated in starch and sucrose metabolism, and the 110 unigenes assigned to photosynthesis metabolism (Figure S10). DEGs in plant hormone signal transduction encoding the Arabidopsis response regulators (ARR), small auxin-up RNA (SAUR), and ethylene response factor (ERF) participated in the regulation of several hormone homeostasis and reproductive processes. These DEGs were involved in tryptophan metabolism (Ko00380), zeatin biosynthesis (Ko00908), cysteine, methionine (Ko00270), gibberellin (GA) pathway (Ko00904), carotenoid biosynthesis (Ko00906) and brassinolide (BR) pathway (Ko00905) (Figure S11, Table S2). Furthermore, we found that the female-biased cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CRR) (EC: was enriched in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathways (Ko00940) (Figure S12, Table S2). The general phenylpropanoid components have been well shown to affect pollen development and male sterility [43]. Overall, these annotations provided a substantial resource for investigating specific processes, functions, and pathways during sexual determination. 3.4. Polymorphism of EST-SSR Markers and Population Genetic Structure With the purpose of developing novel molecular markers, the 85,305 unigenes of P. bungeana were used to mine for potential SSR markers. In total, 8791 SSRs were detected in 7859 unigenes. The most abundant repeat types were mononucleotides (5019), followed by dinucleotides (1926) and trinucleotides (1711). The dominant classes of the sequence repeat were A/T (4942) in the mononucleotides and AT/AT (1283) in the dinucleotides (Figure 3). To verify the reliability of these SSR primers, we randomly selected 84 pairs of primers to amplify the genomic DNA of P. bungeana. Sixty-four individuals of six natural populations of P. bungeana were sampled to determine the polymorphism of these microsatellite markers. Among these, 84 primer pairs, 40 resulted in successful PCR amplification and showed the predicted PCR products, 19 of which showed polymorphisms among 64 individuals (Table 1 and Table S1, Figure S1). We found no evidence for the existence of null alleles. Two EST-SSR loci (1314 and 22,642) departed significantly from the simulated FST distribution, indicating that they could be under disruptive selection or linked to a locus under selection. These two loci were therefore removed in subsequent analysis. The mean number of alleles (NA), observed heterozygosity (HO), and expected heterozygosity (HE) ranged from 1.333–3, 0.033–0.492, and 0.067–0.455 for each loci, respectively (Table 3). For each population, the mean value of the number of alleles (NA), observed heterozygosity (HO), and expected heterozygosity (HE) ranged from 1.579–1.842, 0.112–0.256, and 0.168–0.240, respectively (Table 3 and Table 4). The probabilities of deviation from the HWE proved that most of the EST-SSR markers significantly violated the HWE (Table 3). Population genetic differentiation was also significant across all loci (FST = 0.252 **) (Table S3). An Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) dendrogram that was based on Nei’s genetic distance showed that all of the populations were divided into two different clusters, cluster I for populations W, A, Q, and Y, and cluster II, for populations C and L (Figures S13 and S14). For the population genetic structure of P. bungeana, the most likely population cluster K was two with the STRUCTURE analysis (Figure S13). The six populations of P. bungeana were assigned into two distinct groups: one group included the populations W, A, Y, Q, and C, while the other included only population L (Figure 4). At K = 4, samples from population C were further subdivided into an independent group. This is consistent with the UPGMA dendrogram. 4. Discussion 4.1. Transcriptome Characterization Transcriptome sequencing is an effective and rapid method to identify genomic resources for non-model plants [7], especially for the conifer species, which possess complex and large genomes [6,13]. In this study, a total of 39.62 Gb clean reads were obtained from the transcriptome sequencing of the conifer species P. bungeana. The total number of assembled unigenes (85,305) was more than that of the other conifer species P. tabuliformis (46,584 unigenes) [11], also the N50 length of the unigenes, 1942 bp, was longer than that of P. tabuliformis (N50 = 744 bp) [11], which suggested that the assembly procedure for P. bungeana had good quality in this study. Intriguingly, few unigenes (1124, 2.48%) were annotated for an important Pinus species, P. taeda. This difference indicated the potential to discover novel genes that are specific to P. bungeana. Additionally, Pinus taeda belongs to Subgen. Pinus, whereas P. bungeana belongs to the Subgen. Strobus (Sweet) Rehd. The two Pinus species were divided into different groups, as well as different wild geographic distributions of two conifer species, which might lead to interspecific differences between them. 4.2. The Pathway Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes 4.2.1. The Plant Hormones Pathway Analysis Plant hormones are endogenous regulators with multiple signal functions that affect nearly all aspects of plant growth and development [44,45,46]. Some studies have indicated that various phytohormones were likely to participate in the regulation of sex-determining genes and developmental pathways in unisexual flowers [47]. For example, some researchers have found that plant hormones and gibberellins (GAs) could promote early flowering in conifers and enhance the regularization of seed production [48,49,50]. In addition, the auxin-responsive protein (IAA), ethylene, and kinetin could also elicit a feminization effect on the sex of hemp [51]. In our study, the signaling pathways of several hormones, including auxin (Tryptophan metabolism, Ko00380), ethylene (cysteine and methionine metabolism, Ko00270), and cytokinin (zeatin biosynthesis, Ko00908), steroid hormones (brassinolide pathway, Ko00905) were enriched by pathway-based analysis (Figure S10). The characterization and future analysis of critical genes responsible for plant hormone production and signaling would greatly facilitate studies on the complex genetic network of sexual differentiation in P. bungeana. 4.2.2. Tryptophan Metabolism Tryptophan (TRP)- dependent metabolism (Ko00380) is considered to be one of the main pathways of auxin (IAA) biosynthesis [52]. The primary auxin response genes consisted of members of three gene families, the auxin influx carrier (AUX/IAA), small auxin up RNA (SAUR), and gretchen hagen3 (GH3) [53], which may participate in sex differentiation in P. bungeana (Figure S11, Table S2). The auxin-signaling pathway, as mediated by AUX1 and auxin response factor (ARF), was up-regulated in female conelets of P. bungeana. The auxin influx carrier (Cluster-2735.16335 (3.2832)) (belonging to the AUX1 LAX family) has been demonstrated to encode a high-affinity auxin influx carrier and plays a major role in many aspects of plant growth and development [54]. ARF (Cluster-2735.24659 (2.3325)), such as ARF6 and ARF8 were required to promote inflorescence stem elongation and late stages of petal, stamen, and gynoecium development in Arabidopsis thaliana [53]. In addition, it also has a conserved role in controlling the growth and development of vegetative and flower organs [55]. Therefore, the function of this auxin influx carrier (Cluster-2735.16335 (3.2832)) and auxin response factor (Cluster-2735.24659 (2.3325)) in sex differentiation is worthy of further study and exploration. 4.2.3. Cysteine and Methionine Metabolism Ethylene has an extensive regulation role in the plant growth and development process, especially in the aspect of sexual differentiation [56,57]. In this pathway (Ko00270), one unigene assembly (Cluster-2735.8266 (-1.8084)) was annotated to serine/threonine-protein kinase (CTR1), which showed an even closer similarity to the A.s thaliana CTR1 gene (Figure S11, Table S2). The ethylene receptor (ETR2) acts upstream of CTR1, coding for a Raf-related protein kinase, which is ubiquitously expressed and has a higher level of expression in some tissues, including inflorescence, floral meristems, petals, and ovules [58]. 4.2.4. Zeatin Biosynthesis Cytokinins (CTK) are another key plant hormone to affect plant gender expression, which comes from zeatin biosynthesis (Ko00908) (Figure S11). The cytokinin signal is perceived by three membrane-located receptors named Arabidopsis histidine kinase 2 (AHK2), AHK3, and AHK4/CRE1 [59]. These receptors in the sporophyte are indispensable for anther dehiscence, pollen maturation, the induction of pollen germination by the stigma, and female gametophyte formation and maturation [60]. In our study, the histidine kinase 2-like (Cluster-2735.33324 (3.6499)), histidine kinase 3 (Cluster-2735.50860 (5.7972)), histidine kinase 4 isoform X2 (Cluster-2735.21997 (3.1149)), and the histidine kinase 4 isoform X1 (Cluster-2735.22398 (6.2557)) were identified and up-regulated in females. Furthermore, the histidine-containing phosphotransfer protein (AHP) (Cluster-2735.25394 (7.0138)) was also up-regulated in females, which was the mediator in a multistep phosphorelay pathway for cytokinin signaling [61]. It also negatively regulates the thickening of the secondary cell wall of the anther endothecium [61]. These results suggested that CTK was expected to play important roles of inducing female in the sexual differentiation of P. bungeana. A total of 15 unigenes encoding ARRs were enriched (Table S2). There was a functional overlap among the ARRs, which can act as positive regulators of cytokinin signal transduction [62]. These genes might be useful in identifying the system that induced sexual differentiation and possibly respond to the levels of cytokinin established P. bungeana. 4.2.5. Other Important Plant Hormones Carotenoid is a precursor of abscisic acid (ABA), which plays an extremely important role, as well as gibberellin, on regulating plant growth and development [63]. Research has shown that ABA has certain effects on affecting the plant sex expression [64,65]. As two types of receptors of ABA, PYRABACTIN RESISTANCE1 (PYR1)/PYR1-LIKE (PYL) (Cluster-2735.52019 (–11.2) and Cluster-2735.52803 (–8.8097)) were up-regulated in males. In addition, Type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) (Cluster-2735.44601 (–7.1102) and Cluster-2735.38390 (–1.6378)) were also increased in males, which are vitally involved in ABA signaling (Figure S9, Table S2) [66]. ABA binds to PYR1, which, in turn, binds to and inhibits PP2Cs [66]. In summary, ABA perception by PYR/PYLs plays a major role in the regulation of seed germination and establishment, the basal ABA signaling that is required for vegetative and reproductive growth, stomatal aperture, and transcriptional response to the hormone [67]. Gibberellin (GA) derived from the diterpenoid biosynthesis pathway (Figure S11) is expected to influence plant sexual development. For example, in the monoecious species of Buchloe dactyloides, GA showed a dual effect with the induction of males and inhibition of females [68]. GA could increase the male-induced trait as the concentrations increased in the seedling of Spinacia oleracea [69]. Gibberellin is perceived by its nuclear receptors GA INSENSITIVE DWARF1s (GID1s), which then trigger the degradation of downstream repressors DELLAs [70]. In our study, the gibberellin receptor GID1 (Cluster-2735.41544 (4.7043)) was up-regulated in female conelets. The functional study of GID1 mutant combinations confirmed that GID1A plays a major role during fruit-set and growth, whereas GID1B and GID1C have specific roles in seed development and pod elongation, respectively [69]. GID1A was expressed throughout the whole pistil, while GID1B was expressed in ovules, and GID1C was expressed in valves. In our study, we observed that the gibberellin receptor GID1C (Cluster-2735.47107 (–3.2955) were up-regulated in male conelets (Table S2). GA perception by GID1 causes slender rice1 (SLR1) protein degradation involving the F-box protein GID2; this triggers GA-associated responses, such as shoot elongation and seed germination [71]. There were four genes that were annotated as F-box proteins GID2 (Cluster-2735.64327 (1.9978), Cluster-2735.21997 (3.1149), Cluster-2735.60058 (Inf), and Cluster-4222.0 (Inf)) were up-regulated in female conelets. The brassinosteroids (BR) are the most important discovery after GA as plant growth regulators [72]. BR signaling establishes an unexpected genetic pathway in the floral-regulating network [72]. Two genes encoding protein brassinosteroid insensitive 1 (BRI1) (Cluster-2735.63413 (2.7201) and Cluster-2735.44795 (1.7374)) of P. bungeana were involved in the brassinolide synthesis pathway and both showed high levels of expression in female conelets (Figure S11, Table S2). BRI1 was found to have the predominant function as a flowering-time enhancer, and also exhibited the elevated expression of potent floral repressor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) [73]. Jasmonate (JA) was synthesized by the free α-linolenic acid through the lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway [74], which is necessary for the normal development of floral organs. The biosynthesis and signal transduction process of jasmonate directly influences the developmental status of the flower organ. These studies have shown that jasmonate is mainly involved in the regulation of plant development of stamens in male flower organ [75,76,77,78,79,80]. Transcription factor MYC2 (Transcription factor MYC2-like, Cluster-2735.41360 (2.4305)) that is involved in the pathway of jasmonate synthesis was identified [80], which was up-regulated in female conelets in P. bugeana (Table S2). MYC2 is involved in JA-regulated plant development, lateral and adventitious root formation, flowering time, and shade avoidance syndrome [81]. Another of its notable functions is to regulate the crosstalk between the signaling pathways of JA and those of other phytohormones, such as ABA, GAs, and IAA [81]. This study preliminarily explored the co-expression of various hormones through multiple metabolic pathways and mechanisms in P. bungeana. In conclusion, each type of plant hormone did not independently regulate plant sexual differentiation, but a variety of hormones formed a network control mode to influence each other (Figure S11). Nearly all kinds of plant hormones could affect gender differentiation to a certain extent. However, it is important to note that the hormone role of plant sex expression is also not absolute. For example, plant hormones are hardly involved in Silene (Silene latifolia) flower development [82]. In addition, the regulation of plant hormones in female or male organs is related to the plant species, but the same hormones could have completely opposite effects in different plants [83,84]. 4.2.6. Photosynthesis Metabolism Pathway We also found numerous genes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway (Ko00940) that were differentially expressed between the two sexes (Figure S12, Table S2). Significant male expression occurred in genes encoding caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE, EC: 3.1.1), and ferulate-5-hydroxylase (F5H, EC: Several genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway also exhibited significantly higher transcript abundance in females, including shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT, EC: and cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR, EC: (Figure S10, Table S2). Two genes that were annotated as F5H (Cluster-2735.14069 (-3.2707) and Cluster-2735.56444 (-Inf)) were significantly up-regulated in male conelets. Over-expressing F5H in a line of Arabidopsis lacking caffeic acid O-methyltransferase induced a new type of lignin enriched 5-hydroxy-guaiacyl units, which had a profound impact on plant growth and development and cell-wall properties, and resulted in male sterility due to the complete disruption of the formation of the pollen wall [85]. The differential expression of numerous genes (cinnamoyl-CoA reductase, CCR) and enzymes (shikimate O-hydroxycinnamoyltransferase, HCT; caffeoyl shikimate esterase, CSE) that are involved in lignin biosynthesis and metabolism in the phenylpropanoid pathways could be used to further reveal the link between the biosynthetic pathways of lignin and the pollen wall-forming sporopollenin [43,86]. 4.3. Polymorphism of EST-SSR Markers and Population Structure of Pinus bungeana In this study, 84 primer pairs of P. bungeana were randomly selected from 8791 primer pairs that were successfully designed for EST-SSR loci. Within these primer pairs, 40 (47.6%) resulted in successful PCR amplification and showed clear bands with the predicted PCR products, and 19 (22.6%) primers showed polymorphism among the sampled 64 individuals. As the Pinus species are generally diploid plants [8], the failed amplification of EST-SSR markers might be primarily due to the highly repetitive sequences and unsuitable primer sequences in conifer species (e.g., Reference [6]). Furthermore, the average number of alleles (NA) of 1.723 across the six populations of P. bungeana was lower than that reported for other gymnosperms (Table 4). These results suggested that the polymorphism level of the 19 EST-SSR markers that was developed in this study was low to moderate when compared with other conifer species [87,88]. Generally, the patterns of genetic variation and population structure are the basis of species evolution [89,90]. The evolutionary potential and adaptive ability of a natural species are largely dependent on the levels and distributions of its genetic diversity [91,92]. In this study, we detected a low level of genetic variability (an average value of HO = 0.206, HE = 0.205) at the species level for the endemic conifer. The reason for the low diversity may be due to the limited sample size of P. bungeana in this study. In addition, the dramatic changes of population size, genetic drift, and long generation time of species might have caused the low genetic diversity [93]. In a previous study, Yang et al. [17] concluded that the natural populations of P. bungeana experienced dramatic range fluctuations based on three nuclear genes. In the evolutionary history of Pinus, genetic drift and population size changes that were caused by climatic oscillations and geological events may have caused the low genetic variability. Meanwhile, the long generation time of the Pinus species and evolution process with low mutation rate may have led to the low level of diversity of P. bungeana [90]. On the other hand, in recent years, habitat fragmentation and human over-cutting may also have affected the genetic variation of natural populations of P. bungeana [17]. In addition, the management and protection of wild natural populations are very important to the endemic conifer species. Priority should be placed on conserving populations with high levels of genetic diversity; for example, population Y of P. bungeana (HO = 0.255, HE = 0.240, with an average value of HO = 0.206, HE = 0.205), which had the highest diversity should be of the highest priority (Table 4, Figure 4). In addition, the cluster analysis revealed two distinct genetic groups for the sampled six populations in this endemic species, which may have been caused by the fragmentation of habitats and long term geographic isolation among the different populations. According to the STRUCTURE results, samples from population C were further subdivided into an independent group at K = 4, which was consistent with the UPGMA dendrogram. It seems that although a distinct genetic structure was identified in P. bungeana, we also need to further estimate genetic diversity and population structure to obtain accurate conclusions based on more samples from different natural populations. Supplementary Materials The following are available online at Figure S1: The geographical distributions of natural populations of Pinus bungeana. Figure S2: Length distributions of Pinus bungeana transcripts and unigenes. Figure S3: The number and distribution of homologous unigenes in Pinus bungeana. Figure S4: Gene Ontology (GO) classification of Pinus bungeana unigenes. Figure S5: KEGG functional classification of Pinus bungeana unigenes. Figure S6: Spearman correlation matrix of experimental replications of transcriptome sequencing datasets of Pinus bungeana. Figure S7: Analysis of differential unigenes expression. In total, 12,073 unigenes were identified as differentially expressed between male and female conelets, which comprised 5766 unigenes that were up-regulated and 6307 unigenes that were down-regulated. Figure S8: Venn diagram of differential expression unigenes within three biological replications from male and female conelets, respectively. Figure S9: Analysis of differential unigenes expression. Figure S10: KEGG pathways enriched for differentially expressed genes of male and female conelets in Pinus bungeana. Figure S11: Plant hormone signal transduction in Pinus bungeana was adapted from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway. Figure S12: Cysteine and Methionine metabolism pathway was adapted from the KEGG. Figure S13: Results of the Bayesian assignment analysis of Pinus bungeana using the program STRUCTURE. Figure S14: Dendrogram for natural six populations of Pinus bungeana based on 17 SSR loci. Table S1: Information of SSR Primers of Pinus bungeana used in this study. Table S2: Differently expressed genes in plant hormone signal transduction and photosynthesis metabolism pathways. Table S3: Results of the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) performed on six populations in Pinus bungeana using 17 microsatellite markers. We are very grateful to Aureliano Bombarely and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. This work was co-supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41101058, 31470400) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (PCSIRT, No. IRT_15R55). Author Contributions Z.-H.L. designed and conceived the work. D.D., Y.J. and J.Y. performed the experiments. Z.-H.L., D.D., Y.J. and J.Y. contributed materials and analysis tools. D.D. and Z.-H.L. wrote the manuscript. D.D., Y.J. and Z.-H.L. revised the manuscript. All authors finally approved the manuscript. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. 1. Walbot, V.; Evans, M.M.S. Unique features of the plant life cycle and their consequences. Nat. Rev. Genet. 2003, 4, 369–379. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 2. Wellmer, F.; Graciet, E.; Riechmann, J.L. Specification of floral organs in Arabidopsis. J. Exp. Bot. 2014, 65, 1–9. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 3. Harkess, A.; Mercati, F.; Shan, H.Y.; Sunseri, F.; Falavigna, A.; Leebens-Mack, J. Sex-biased gene expression in dioecious garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis). New Phytol. 2015, 207, 883–892. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 4. Chawla, A.; Stobdan, T.; Srivastava, R.B.; Jaiswal, V.; Chauhan, R.S.; Kant, A. Sex-biased temporal gene expression in male and female floral buds of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides). PLoS ONE 2015, 10, e0124890. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 5. Rocheta, M.; Sobral, R.; Magalhães, J.; Amorim, M.I.; Ribeiro, T.; Pinheiro, M.; Egas, C.; Morais-Cecílio, L.; Costa, M.M.R. Comparative transcriptomic analysis of male and female flowers of monoecious Quercus suber. Front. Plant Sci. 2014, 5, 599. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 6. Nystedt, B.; Street, N.R.; Wetterbom, A.; Zuccolo, A.; Lin, Y.C.; Scofield, D.G.; Vezzi, F.; Delhomme, N.; Giacomello, S.; Alexeyenko, A.; et al. The Norway spruce genome sequence and conifer genome evolution. Nature 2013, 497, 579–584. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed][Green Version] 7. Niu, S.; Yuan, H.; Sun, X.; Porth, I.; Li, Y.; El-Kassaby, Y.A.; Li, W. A transcriptomics investigation into pine reproductive organ development. New Phytol. 2016, 209, 1278–1289. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 8. Guo, S.G.; Zheng, Y.; Joung, J.G.; Liu, S.; Zhang, Z.; Crasta, O.R.; Sobral, B.W.; Xu, Y.; Huang, S.; Fei, Z. Transcriptome sequencing and comparative analysis of cucumber flowers with different sex types. BMC Genom. 2010, 11, 384. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 9. Liu, J.; Yin, T.; Ye, N.; Chen, Y.; Yin, T.; Liu, M.; Hassani, D. Transcriptome analysis of the differentially expressed genes in the male and female shrub willows (Salix suchowensis). PLoS ONE 2013, 8, e60181. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 10. Wu, T.; Qin, Z.; Zhou, X.; Feng, Z.; Du, Y. Transcriptome profile analysis of floral sex determination in cucumber. J. Plant Physiol. 2010, 167, 905–913. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 11. Chen, J.; Uebbing, S.; Gyllenstrand, N.; Lagercrantz, U.; Lascoux, M.; Källman, T. Sequencing of the needle transcriptome from Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst L.) reveals lower substitution rates, but similar selective constraints in gymnosperms and angiosperms. BMC Genom. 2012, 13, 589. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 12. Syring, J.; Farrell, K.; Businský, R.; Cronn, R.; Liston, A. Widespread genealogical nonmonophyly in species of Pinus subgenus. Strobus. Syst. Biol. 2007, 56, 163–181. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 13. Liu, Y.Y.; Yang, K.Z.; Wei, X.X.; Wang, X.Q. Revisiting the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) gene family reveals cryptic FLOWERING LOCUS T gene homologs in gymnosperms and sheds new light on functional evolution. New Phytol. 2016, 212, 730–744. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 14. Wang, X.R.; Tsumura, Y.; Yoshimaru, H.; Nagasaka, K.; Szmidt, A.E. Phylogenetic relationship of Eurasian pines (Pinus, Pinaceae) based on chloroplast rbcL, matK, rpl20-rps18 spacer, and trnV intron sequences. Am. J. Bot. 1999, 86, 1742–1753. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 15. Wang, B.S.; Wang, X.R. Mitochondrial DNA capture and divergence in Pinus provide new insights into the evolution of the genus. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 2014, 80, 20–30. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 16. Hao, Z.Z.; Liu, Y.Y.; Nazaire, M.; Wei, X.X.; Wang, X.Q. Molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary history of sect. Quinquefoliae (Pinus): Implications for Northern Hemisphere biogeography. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 2015, 87, 65–79. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 17. Yang, Y.X.; Wang, M.L.; Liu, Z.L.; Zhu, J.; Yan, M.Y.; Li, Z.H. Nucleotide polymorphism and phylogeographic history of an endangered conifer species Pinus bungeana. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 2016, 64, 89–96. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 18. Zhang, L.; Yan, H.F.; Wu, W.; Yu, H.; Ge, X.J. Comparative transcriptome analysis and marker development of two closely related Primrose species (Primula poissonii and Primula wilsonill). BMC Genom. 2013, 14, 329. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 19. Wu, J.; Cai, C.F.; Cheng, F.Y.; Cui, H.L.; Zhou, H. Characterisation and development of EST-SSR markers in tree peony using transcriptome sequences. Mol. Breed. 2014, 34, 1853–1866. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 20. Cox, M.P.; Peterson, D.A.; Biggs, P.J. Solexa QA: At-a-glance quality assessment of Illumina second-generation sequencing data. BMC Bioinform. 2010, 11, 485. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 22. Davidson, N.M.; Oshlack, A. Corset: Enabling differential gene expression analysis for de novo assembled transcriptomes. Genome Biol. 2014, 15, 410. [Google Scholar] [PubMed] 23. Kitts, P.A.; Church, D.M.; Thibaud-Nissen, F.; Choi, J.; Hem, V.; Sapojnikov, V.; Smith, R.G.; Tatusova, T.; Xiang, C.; Zherikov, A.; et al. Assembly: A resource for assembled genomes at NCBI. Nucleic Acids Res. 2016, 44, D73–D80. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 24. Schneider, M.; Lane, L.; Boutet, E.; Lieberherr, D.; Tognolli, M.; Bougueleret, L.; Bairoch, A. The UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot knowledgebase and its Plant Proteome Annotation Program. J. Proteom. 2009, 72, 567–573. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 25. Young, M.D.; Wakefield, M.J.; Smyth, G.K.; Oshlack, A. Gene ontology analysis for RNA-seq: Accounting for selection bias. Genome Biol. 2010, 11, R14. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 27. Mao, X.; Cai, T.; Olyarchuk, J.G.; Wei, J. Automated genome annotation and pathway identification using the KEGG Orthology (KO) as a controlled vocabulary. Bioinformatics 2005, 21, 3787–3793. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 28. Li, B.; Dewey, C.N. RSEM: Accurate transcript quantification from RNA-Seq data with or without a reference genome. BMC Bioinform. 2011, 12, 323. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 29. Trapnell, C.; Williams, B.A.; Pertea, G.; Mortazavi, A.; Kwan, G.; Van Baren, M.J.; Salzberg, S.L.; Word, B.J.; Pachter, L. Transcript assembly and quantification by RNA-Seq reveals unannotated transcripts and isoform switching during cell differentiation. Nat. Biotechnol. 2010, 28, 511–515. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 30. Anders, S.; Huber, W. Differential expression analysis for sequence count data. Genome Biol. 2010, 11, R106. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 31. Thiel, T.; Michalek, W.; Varshney, R.; Graner, A. Exploiting EST databases for the development and characterization of gene-derived SSR-markers in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Theor. Appl. Genet. 2003, 106, 411–422. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 32. Untergasser, A.; Cutcutache, I.; Koressaar, T.; Ye, J.; Faircloth, B.C.; Remm, M.; Rozen, S.G. Primer3—New capabilities and interfaces. Nucleic Acids Res. 2012, 40, e115. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 33. Chen, X.B.; Xie, Y.H.; Sun, X.M. Development and characterization of polymorphic genic-SSR markers in Larix kaempferi. Molecules 2015, 20, 6060–6067. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 34. Van Oosterhout, C.; Hutchinson, W.F.; Wills, D.P.; Shipley, P. MICRO-CHECKER: Software for identifying and correcting genotyping errors in microsatellite data. Mol. Ecol. Notes 2004, 4, 535–538. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 35. Excoffier, L.; Laval, G.; Schneider, S. Arlequin (version 3.0): An integrated software package for population genetics data analysis. Evol. Bioinform. Online 2007, 1, 47–50. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 36. Yeh, F.C.; Yang, R.C.; Boyle, T. POPGENE. Microsoft Windows-Based Freeware for Population Genetic Analysis Release 1.31; University of Alberta: Edmonton, AB, Canada, 1999. [Google Scholar] 37. Peakall, R.; Smouse, P.E. GenAlEx 6: Genetic analysis in Excel. Population genetic software for teaching and research. Mol. Ecol. Notes 2006, 6, 288–295. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 38. Nei, M. Molecular Evolutionary Genetics; Columbia University Press: New York, NY, USA, 1987. [Google Scholar] 39. Tamura, K.; Peterson, D.; Peterson, N.; Stecher, G.; Nei, M.; Kumar, S. MEGA5: Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis using Likelihood, Distance, and Parsimony methods. Mol. Biol. Evol. 2011, 28, 2731–2739. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 40. Pritchard, J.K.; Stephens, M.; Donnelly, P. Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics 2000, 155, 945–959. [Google Scholar] [PubMed] 41. Earl, D.; vonHoldt, B. STRUCTURE HARVESTER: A website and program for visualizing STRUCTURE output and implementing the Evanno method. Conserv. Genet. Resour. 2012, 4, 359–361. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 42. Conesa, A.; Madrigal, P.; Tarazona, S.; Gomezcabrero, D.; Cervera, A.; Mcpherson, A.; Szcześniak, M.W.; Gaffney, D.J.; Elo, L.L.; Zhang, X.G.; et al. A survey of best practices for RNA-seq data analysis. Genome Biol. 2016, 17, 13. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 43. Van der Meer, I.M.; Stam, M.E.; van Tunen, A.J.; Mol, J.N.; Stuitje, A.R. Antisense inhibition of flavonoid biosynthesis in petunia anthers results in male sterility. Plant Cell 1992, 4, 253–262. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 44. Gray, W.M. Hormonal regulation of plant growth and development. PLoS Biol. 2004, 2, e311. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed][Green Version] 45. Papadopoulou, E.; Little, H.A.; Hammar, S.A.; Grumet, R. Effect of modified endogenous ethylene production on sex expression, bisexual flower development and fruit production in melon (Cucumis melo L.). Sex. Plant Reprod. 2005, 18, 131–142. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 46. Little, H.A.; Papadopoulou, E.; Hammar, S.A.; Grumet, R. The influence of ethylene perception on sex expression in melon (Cucumis melo L.) as assessed by expression of the mutant ethylene receptor, At-etr1-1, under the control of constitutive and floral targeted promoters. Sex. Plant Reprod. 2007, 20, 123–136. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 47. Diggle, P.K.; Di Stilio, V.S.; Gschwend, A.R.; Golenberg, E.M.; Moore, R.C.; Russell, J.R.W.; Sinclair, J.P. Multiple developmental processes underlie sex differentiation in angiosperms. Trends Genet. 2011, 27, 368–376. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 48. Pharis, R.P. Manipulation of flowering in conifers through the use of plant hormones. In Modern Methods in Forest Genetics; Springer: Berlin, Germany, 1976; pp. 265–282. [Google Scholar] 49. Pharis, R.P.; Kuo, C.G. Physiology of gibberellins in conifers. Can. J. Forest Res. 1997, 7, 299–325. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 50. Pharis, R.P.; Ross, S.D.; Wample, R.L.; Owens, J.N. Promotion of flowering in conifers of the Pinaceae by certain of the gibberellins. In ISHS Acta Horticulturae 56: Symposium on Juvenility in Woody Perennials; ISHS: Leuven, Belgium, 1976. [Google Scholar] 51. Galoch, E. The hormonal control of sex differentiation in dioecious plants of hemp (Cannabis sativa). The influence of plant growth regulators on sex expression in male and female plants. Acta Soc. Bot. Pol. 1978, 47, 153. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 52. Mano, Y.; Nemoto, K. The pathway of auxin biosynthesis in plants. J. Exp. Bot. 2012, 63, 2853–2872. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 53. Hagen, G.; Guilfoyle, T. Auxin-responsive gene expression: Genes, promoters and regulatory factors. Plant Mol. Biol. 2002, 49, 373–385. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 54. Péret, B.; Swarup, R. AUX/LAX genes encode a family of auxin influx transporters that perform distinct functions during Arabidopsis development. Plant Cell 2012, 24, 2874–2885. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed][Green Version] 55. Liu, N.; Wu, S.; Van, H.J.; Wang, Y.; Ding, B.; Fei, Z.; Clarke, T.H.; Reed, J.W.; van der Knaap, E. Down-regulation of auxin response factors 6 and 8 by microRNA 167 leads to floral development defects and female sterility in tomato. J. Exp. Bot. 2014, 65, 2507–2520. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 56. Boualem, A.; Fergany, M.; Fernandez, R.; Troadec, C.; Martin, A.; Morin, H.; Sari, M.A.; Collin, F.; Flowers, J.M.; Pitrat, M.; et al. A conserved mutation in an ethylene biosynthesis enzyme leads to andromonoecy in melons. Science 2008, 321, 836–838. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 57. Iqbal, N.; Khan, N.A.; Ferrante, A.; Trivellini, A.; Francini, A.; Khan, M.I.R. Ethylene role in plant growth, development and senescence: Interaction with other phytohormones. Front. Plant Sci. 2017, 8, 475. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 58. Sakai, H.; Hua, J.; Chen, Q.G.; Chang, C.; Medrano, L.J.; Bleecker, A.B.; Meyerowitz, E.M. Etr2 is an etr1-like gene involved in ethylene signaling in Arabidopsis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1998, 95, 5812–5817. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 59. Bartrina, I.; Jensen, H.; Novak, O.; Strnad, M.; Werner, T.; Schmülling, T. Gain-of-function mutants of the cytokinin receptors AHK2 and AHK3 regulate plant organ size, flowering time and plant longevity. Plant Physiol. 2017, 173, 1783–1797. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 60. Kinoshita-Tsujimura, K.; Kakimoto, T. Cytokinin receptors in sporophytes are essential for male and female functions in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Signal. Behav. 2011, 6, 66–71. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 61. Jung, K.W.; Oh, S.I.; Kim, Y.Y.; Yoo, K.S.; Cui, M.H.; Shin, J.S. Arabidopsis histidine-containing phosphotransfer factor 4 (AHP4) negatively regulates secondary wall thickening of the anther endothecium during flowering. Mol. Cells 2008, 25, 294–300. [Google Scholar] [PubMed] 62. Irish, E.E.; Nelson, T. Sex determination in monoecious and dioecious plants. Plant Cell 1989, 1, 737–744. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 63. Richards, D.E.; King, K.E.; Ait-Ali, T.; Harberd, N.P. How gibberellin regulates plant growth and development: A molecular genetic analysis of gibberellin signaling. Annu. Rev. Plant. Physiol. Plant. Mol. Biol. 2001, 52, 67–88. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 64. Friedlander, M.; Atsmon, D.; Galun, E. Sexual differentiation in cucumber: The effects of abscisic acid and other growth regulators on various sex genotypes. Plant Cell Physiol. 1977, 18, 261–269. [Google Scholar] 65. Rudich, J.; Halevy, A.H. Involvement of abscisic acid in the regulation of sex expression in the cucumber. Plant Cell Physiol. 1974, 15, 635–642. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 66. Park, S.Y.; Fung, P.; Nishimura, N.; Jensen, D.R.; Fujii, H.; Zhao, Y.; Lumba, S.; Santiago, J.; Rodrigues, A.; Chow, T.F.; et al. Abscisic acid inhibits type 2C protein phosphatases via the PYR/PYL family of START proteins. Science 2009, 324, 1068–1071. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 67. Gonzalez-Guzman, M.; Pizzio, G.A.; Antoni, R.; Vera-Sirera, F.; Merilo, E.; Bassel, G.W.; Fernández, M.A.; Holdsworth, M.J.; Perez-Amador, M.A.; Kollist, H.; et al. Arabidopsis PYR/PYL/RCAR receptors play a major role in quantitative regulation of stomatal aperture and transcriptional response to abscisic acid. Plant Cell 2012, 24, 2483–2496. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed][Green Version] 68. Yin, T.; Quinn, J.A. Tests of a mechanistic model of one hormone regulating both sexes in Cucumis sativus (Cucurbitaceae). Am. J. Bot. 1995, 82, 1537–1546. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 69. Ei-Gizawy, A.M.; EI-Oksh, I.; Sharaf, A.; EI-Habar, M. Effect of gibberellic acid and alar on flowering and seed yield of spinach. Egypt. J. Hortic. 1992, 19, 191–200. [Google Scholar] 70. Gallego-Giraldo, C.; Hu, J.; Urbez, C.; Gomez, M.D.; Sun, T.; Perez-Amador, M.A. Role of the gibberellin receptors GID1 during fruit-set in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 2014, 79, 1020–1032. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 71. Ueguchi-Tanaka, M.; Hirano, K.; Hasegawa, Y.; Kitano, H.; Matsuoka, M. Release of the repressive activity of rice DELLA protein SLR1 by gibberellin does not require SLR1 degradation in the gid2 mutant. Plant Cell 2008, 20, 2437–2446. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 72. Benschop, J.J.; Millenaar, F.F.; Smeet, M.E.; van Zanten, M.; Voesenek, L.A.; Peeters, A.J. Abscisic acid antagonizes ethylene-induced hyponastic growth in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 2007, 143, 1013–1023. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 73. Domagalska, M.A.; Schomburg, F.M.; Amasino, R.M.; Vierstra, R.D.; Nagy, F.; Davis, S.J. Attenuation of brassinosteroid signaling enhances FLC expression and delays flowering. Development 2007, 134, 2841–2850. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 74. Vick, B.A.; Zimmerman, D.C. The biosynthesis of jasmonic acid: A physiological role for plant lipoxygenase. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1983, 111, 470–477. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 75. Stintzi, A.; Browse, J. The Arabidopsis male-sterile mutant, opr3, lacks the 12-oxophytodienoic acid reductase required for jasmonate synthesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2000, 97, 10625–10630. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 76. Ishiguro, S.; Kawai-Oda, A.; Ueda, J.; Nishida, I.; Okada, K. The DEFECTIVE IN ANTHER DEHISCENCE1 gene encodes a novel phospholipase A1 catalyzing the initial step of jasmonic acid biosynthesis, which synchronizes pollen maturation, anther dehiscence, and flower opening in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 2001, 13, 2191–2209. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 78. Park, W.; Li, J.J.; Song, R.; Messing, J.; Chen, X. CARPEL FACTORY, a dicer homolog, and HEN1, a novel protein, act in microRNA in metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana. Curr. Biol. 2002, 12, 1484–1495. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 79. Chung, H.S.; Howe, G.A. A critical role for the TIFY motif in repression of jasmonate signaling by a stabilized splice variant of the JASMONATE ZIM-domain protein JAZ10 in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 2009, 21, 131–145. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 80. Song, S.; Qi, T.; Huang, H.; Ren, Q.; Wu, D.; Chang, C.; Peng, W.; Liu, Y.; Peng, J.; Xie, D. The Jasmonate-ZIM domain proteins interact with the R2R3-MYB transcription factors MYB21 and MYB24 to affect Jasmonate-regulated stamen development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 2011, 23, 1000–1013. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 81. Kazan, K.; Manners, J.M. MYC2: The master in action. Mol. Plant 2013, 6, 686–703. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 82. Dellaporta, S.L.; Calderon-Urrea, A. Sex determination in flowering plants. Plant Cell. 1993, 5, 1241–1251. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 83. Harvey, C.F.; Gill, G.P.; Fraser, L.G.; McNeilage, M.A. Sex determination in Actinidia. 1. Sex-linked markers and progeny sex ratio in diploid A. chinensis. Sex. Plant Reprod. 1997, 10, 149–154. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 84. Yang, Q.; Ren, L.; Du, G. Effects of ethephon, GA3 and nutrient elements on sex expression of Chinese chestnut. Sci. Horti. 1985, 26, 209–215. [Google Scholar] 85. Weng, J.K.; Mo, H.; Chapple, C. Over-expression of F5H in COMT-deficient Arabidopsis leads to enrichment of an unusual lignin and disruption of pollen wall formation. Plant J. 2010, 64, 898–911. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 86. Matsuda, N.; Tsuchiya, T.; Kishitani, S.; Tanaka, Y.; Toriyama, K. Partial male sterility in transgenic tobacco carrying antisense and sense PAL cDNA under the control of a tapetum-specific promoter. Plant Cell Physiol. 1996, 37, 215–222. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] 87. Liu, L.; Zhang, S.; Lian, C. De novo transcriptome sequencing analysis of cDNA library and large-scale unigene assembly in Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora). Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16, 29047–29059. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 88. Sun, R.X.; Lin, F.R.; Huang, P.; Zheng, Y.Q. Moderate genetic diversity and genetic differentiation in the relict tree Liquidambar formosana Hance revealed by genic simple sequence repeat markers. Front. Plant Sci. 2016, 7, 1411. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 89. Mayr, E. Systematics and the Origin of Species; Columbia University Press: New York, NY, USA, 1942. [Google Scholar] 91. Gao, J.; Wang, B.; Mao, J.F.; Ingvarsson, P.; Zeng, Q.Y.; Wang, X.R. Demography and speciation history of the homoploid hybrid pine Pinus densata on the Tibetan plateau. Mol. Ecol. 2012, 21, 4811–4827. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 92. Wang, B.; Zhao, W.; Wang, X.R.; Mao, J.F.; Gao, J. Colonization of the Tibetan Plateau by the homoploid hybrid pine Pinus densata. Mol. Ecol. 2011, 20, 3769–3811. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] 93. Wright, S.I.; Gout, B.S. Molecular population genetics and the search for adaptive evolution in plants. Mol. Biol. Evol. 2005, 22, 506–519. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] Figure 1. Venn diagram of annotation against the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) non-redundant (Nr), nucleotide sequences (Nt), Protein family (Pfam), Gene Ontology (GO) and euKaryotic Ortholog Groups (KOG) databases for the Pinus bungeana unigenes. Genes 08 00393 g001 Figure 2. KOG functional classification of P. bungeana unigenes. Figure 2. KOG functional classification of P. bungeana unigenes. Genes 08 00393 g002 Figure 3. The numbers and motifs of simple sequence repeats (SSR) of P. bungeana unigenes. Genes 08 00393 g003 Figure 4. Bayesian clustering analysis of population structure of P. bungeana. Genes 08 00393 g004 Table 1. Information on the geographical distribution of wild populations of Pinus bungeana. CodeLocationLongitude (E)Latitude (N)Altitude (m)N WWuzi Mountain, Shaanxi107.8332.937009 AAnkang, Shaanxi108.9432.9757710 YHuozhou, Shanxi111.8736.609008 QQinyang, Henan112.7935.229729 CTaiyuan, Shanxi112.3237.7211008 LMianyang, Sichuan105.0932.2277820 Note: N = number of individuals. Table 2. Results of quality statistics of transcriptome database of Pinus bungeana. SampleRaw Reads Clean Reads Clean Bases (bp)Q20 (%)Q30 (%)GC (%) Female 156000000549518786.87G96.1492.2544.26 Male 153506322527123066.59G96.6493.3644.05 Female 256000000552621926.91G96.7493.4844.28 Male 254024824530898566.64G96.6393.2844.32 Female 341215900395282725.93G96.6991.8445.35 Note: Q20 = the percentage of bases with a phred value >20; Q30 = the percentage of bases with a phred value >30. Table 3. The parameters of genetic diversity of the 17 expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSR) primers of P. bungeana. 7309641.8331.5280.2940.2080.021 10335641.51.1080.0870.0330.000 * 733176421.5680.3500.4890.009 72763641.51.320.1890.2080.033 * 665386421.1690.1120.0450.000 *** 34533641.6671.4940.2620.4130.049 * 33255641.3331.3140.1610.1580.000 *** 10373641.51.2050.1300.1350.025 * 11371641.6671.1910.1170.0560.000 * 19808641.8331.5830.3390.4920.008 7028641.6671.0960.0830.0890.000 *** Mean 1.7541.3830.2050.206 Note: N = number of individuals; NA = number of alleles; NE = number of effective alleles; HE = expected heterozygosity; HO = observed heterozygosity; P = Tests for Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (* P < 0.05, P < 0.01, * P < 0.001). Table 4. Genetic diversity parameters of six natural populations of P. bungeana. Mean 1.7541.3830.2050.206 Back to TopTop
Anumloca, Anumlocā: 5 definitions Alternative spellings of this word include Anumlocha. In Hinduism Purana and Itihasa (epic history) [«previous next»] — Anumloca in Purana glossary Source: Puranic Encyclopedia Anumloca (अनुम्लोच).—An apsaras. (Harivaṃśa 326). Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: The Purana Index 1a) Anumlocā (अनुम्लोचा).—Resides in the sun's chariot during the month of bhādrapada.* • * Viṣṇu-purāṇa II. 10. 10. 1b) The apsaras presiding over the month nabhasya. (nabho-nabha).* • * Bhāgavata-purāṇa XII. 11. 38; Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa II. 23. 10; III. 7. 15. Purana book cover context information Discover the meaning of anumloca in the context of Purana from relevant books on Exotic India Languages of India and abroad Sanskrit dictionary Anumlocā (अनुम्लोचा):—[=anu-mlocā] [from anu-mluc] ([Harivaṃśa]) f. Name of an Apsaras. [Sanskrit to German] (Deutsch Wörterbuch) Anumlocā (अनुम्लोचा):—(von mluc mit anu) f. Nomen proprium einer Apsaras [Harivaṃśa 12475.] — Vgl. pramlocā . context information Discover the meaning of anumloca in the context of Sanskrit from relevant books on Exotic India See also (Relevant definitions) Relevant text Like what you read? Consider supporting this website:
Mahadathika Mahanaga, Mahādāthika-mahānāga: 1 definition In Buddhism Theravada (major branch of Buddhism) [«previous next»] — Mahadathika Mahanaga in Theravada glossary Source: Pali Kanon: Pali Proper Names Younger brother of Bhatikabhaya and king of Ceylon for twelve years (67-79 A.C.). He made a courtyard of kincikkha stones on plaster round the Maha Thupa, and built the Ambatthala thupa, making it firm at the risk of his own life. He placed chairs for the preachers in all the viharas of Ceylon, and laid out the grounds round Cetiyagiri, holding a great celebration called the Giribhandapuja (q.v.). From the Kadambanadi to Cetiyagiri he laid carpets for the comfort of pilgrims. He built the Maninagapabbata, the Kalanda, the Samudda, and the Culanagapabbata Viharas, and gave land for the use of monks in Pasanadipaka and Mandavapi Viharas in gratitude for favours shown him by novices of these monasteries. He had two sons, Ananda gamani Abhaya and Kanirajanutissa, both of whom succeeded to the throne. Mhv.xxxiv. 68ff.; xxxv.l.9; Dpv.xxi.34. He had a queen called Damiladevi (apparently a Tamil lady) who died young. AA.i.13. context information Discover the meaning of mahadathika mahanaga in the context of Theravada from relevant books on Exotic India See also (Relevant definitions) Relevant text Like what you read? Consider supporting this website:
In October 1962, President John F. Kennedy was informed that the Soviet Union was in the process of stationing nuclear missiles off the coast of the United States. The event would come to be known as the Cuban missile crisis, and the closest the world would ever come to all out nuclear war. After the announcement that the Soviets were positioning nukes capable of striking the United States, Kennedy was faced with a series of options. He could strike Cuba and give the U.S. the upper hand if a nuclear war broke out, or he could refrain from nuclear escalation at the risk of putting the U.S. at a disadvantage in any conflict. Kennedy saw the forest through the trees. While his military experts unanimously advised him to attack Cuba, Kennedy refrained from direct action because he saw the human suffering that would eventually come from escalating the conflict. He risked an immediate threat to the U.S. because he knew there were consequences his advisors were not adequately weighing. Soon, Governor Evers will also need to see the forest through the trees. State health experts have accurately advised him of the dangers of the coronavirus, but it is impossible to quantify the costs of preventative measures. Hundreds of thousands have filed for unemployment in Wisconsin, and each one represents a life, a livelihood, a family that has been upended in a matter of weeks. People who have spent decades building profitable businesses are preparing to file for bankruptcy. The mental health effects of social isolation will not be seen for months or years. Drastic social distancing has flattened Wisconsin’s curve, but each day of isolation has real costs to everyone. Soon, Governor Evers must return Wisconsin to work. The dignity of work and the prosperity of our economy must be taken into account as he decides his policies. Banning cars would save many lives, but no one has ever seriously recommended doing so. We must accept a certain amount of risk to continue our lives during these times. Social distancing must be integrated into everyday life until we have a vaccine. Restaurants, bars, and retail should be opened again, even if their capacity is limited. Churches should be opened to help our communities cope with this crisis. Parks and golf courses should be opened because state lands held for public use should never be closed. Wisconsin deserves a measured approach to preventing severe outbreaks that can coincide with our daily lives. We face a once-in-a-generation crisis. To navigate it, and to succeed, we must all see the forest through the trees. — Magnafici, R-Dresser, represents the 28th Assembly District. Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Tuesday, May 6, 2014 Illustrated English Fairy Tale - Buried Moon The moon protected humanity from evil monsters with it's light. But in this story it's captured and so must be rescued by humans. This is an experiment, I'm trying to find out if people are interested in seeing more of these illustrated fairy tales. So please let me know. You can read the whole fairy tale after the illustrations. But when she didn't shine, out came the Things that dwelt in the darkness and went about seeking to do evil and harm; Bogles and Crawling Horrors, all came out when the Moon didn't shine. Well, the Moon heard of this, and being kind and good—as she surely is, shining for us in the night instead of taking her natural rest—she was main troubled. "I'll see for myself, I will," said she, "maybe it's not so bad as folks make out." "Drat thee!" yelled the witch-bodies, "thou 'st spoiled our spells this year agone!" "And us thou sent'st to brood in the corners!" howled the Bogles. And all the Things joined in with a great "Ho, ho!" till the very tussocks shook and the water gurgled. And they began again. "We'll poison her—poison her!" shrieked the witches. And "Ho, ho!" howled the Things again. "We'll smother her—smother her!" whispered the Crawling Horrors, and twined themselves round her knees. And "Ho, ho!" mocked the rest of them. And again they all shouted with spite and ill-will. And the poor Moon crouched down, and wished she was dead and done with. And there lay the poor Moon, dead and buried in the bog, till some one would set her loose; and who'd know where to look for her. "Well," said she, after looking in the brewpot, and in the mirror, and in the Book, "it be main queer, but I can't rightly tell ye what's happened to her. If ye hear of aught, come and tell me." So they went their ways; and as days went by, and never a Moon came, naturally they talked—my word! I reckon they did talk! their tongues wagged at home, and at the inn, and in the garth. But so came one day, as they sat on the great settle in the Inn, a man from the far end of the bog lands was smoking and listening, when all at once he sat up and slapped his knee. "My faicks!" says he, "I'd clean forgot, but I reckon I kens where the Moon be!" and he told them of how he was lost in the bogs, and how, when he was nigh dead with fright, the light shone out, and he found the path and got home safe. "It's dark still, childer, dark!" says she, "and I can't rightly see, but do as I tell ye, and ye 'll find out for yourselves. Go all of ye, just afore the night gathers, put a stone in your mouth, and take a hazel-twig in your hands, and say never a word till you're safe home again. Then walk on and fear not, far into the midst of the marsh, till ye find a coffin, a candle, and a cross. Then ye'll not be far from your Moon; look, and m'appen ye 'll find her."
As thrilling and satisfying nighttime snacking may be, there’s no denying the fact that it not only contributes to weight gain, but also adversely impacts the brain and teeth while adding to numerous health problems like liver damage, high blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. We tend to have this illusion that we can work and eat at any time of the day we want. But it is not as simple as that. The circadian rhythm follows a 24-hour cycle, regulating our body’s organs and releasing hormones apprising us when it is time for bed. Disturbing this cycle of sleep-wake is bad news, as it brings along many health problems including immune system issues and type-2 diabetes. Furthermore, it negatively impacts cognitive function, especially memory mechanism and learning. Another reason what late night snacking does is compromise your oral health. If you regularly wake up in the middle of the night to chomp down some food and then go back to sleep, here is why you need to stop and step back from that fridge right now! You just enjoyed a Mars bar, but now you are too lazy to go and brush your teeth again, or weirdly enough, you would rather sleep with your mouth still tasting like chocolate means a grand feast for bacteria feeding on your teeth. ‘So, all I need is to do is brush my teeth again and I am good to go?’ Not entirely. When we usually brush our teeth, there still remain certain sugars and tiny food bits that have not been thoroughly wiped out. That’s when our saliva comes in and removes the little particles and acids. After dark, however, our body produces less saliva and so it may not be a great backup, encouraging bacterial build-up. Furthermore, nighttime is the period of rest and restoration for your teeth when, after the day’s wear and tear, they will finally have a time to remineralize. Disturbing this resting cycle with food is bad for your teeth. Considering the above problems, it is best to avoid eating at night altogether. However, if you must, snack on healthy foods like baked tortilla chips, non-buttered popcorn and celery. For more information, Contact Us Or Book An Appointment Now!
There is a difference between having an occasional drink and being an alcoholic. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, approximately 18 million American adults are alcoholics or have alcohol problems. They associate four main features with alcoholism. They are: craving, loss of control, physical dependence, and tolerance. Alcoholism can have detrimental effects on one’s life, not only in regards to their health, but in other aspects as well. Alcoholism and the Workplace Drinking alcohol can affect a person’s performance at work. It can not only affect their safety on the job, but impact their ability to perform up to standards or show up regularly. The United States Commission on Civil Rights notes that reports have shown that between 10 and 25 percent of Americans are “sometimes on the job under the influence of alcohol or some illicit drug.” Does this mean that these people should lose their jobs? Not necessarily. Many courts stand by the ruling that alcoholism is a disability. And like other disabilities, people should be protected from discrimination and given reasonable accommodations. It is within their rights for employers to prohibit the use of illegal drugs and alcohol at the workplace. They must comply with federal rules and regulations and ensure a safe work environment. But they also cannot discriminate against someone who is a recovering alcoholic and has previously undergone treatment, or is currently undergoing treatment. How does the Americans with Disabilities Act apply to alcoholics? One of the requirements of the ADA is to provide qualified individuals with disabilities with reasonable accommodations. Since many courts uphold that alcoholism is a covered disability, these people are often protected under the ADA. Some courts specify that alcoholism must impair an individual’s major life activities and rule on a case-by-case basis, while others simply rule it as a covered disability. Even though a person with alcoholism is often considered to have a disability, their employer can still require that they do not use alcohol at work or come to work under the influence of alcohol, and hold them to the same employment standards as other employees. However, they must also provide them with reasonable accommodations. Reasonable Accommodations under the ADA Alcoholics can still be disciplined for misconduct or performance problems. Their disability does prevent them from having to follow employer policies. However, knowing that an employee suffers from alcoholism, an employer could provide them with a modified work schedule, allowing them time off to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Or, they could grant them a leave of absence in order to seek treatment at an executive rehab facility to deal with their addiction. The employer does not have to provide a rehabilitation program or opportunity for rehabilitation, however. But these options would fall under reasonable accommodations. It is the responsibility of the employee to ask for accommodations though, and to admit that they have a disability. Why seek treatment? Alcoholism is a disability that can be overcome. With the appropriate support and treatment, a person can learn to manage their addiction and return to living a more normal and productive life. Employers cannot discriminate against an applicant or employee simply because they have undergone drug or alcohol rehabilitation. As long as the person can perform the essential functions of the job and is not a safety threat, they should have an equal chance as someone without a history of addiction. Giving employees time off to treat their alcoholism at an executive rehab facility is one way employers can support the efforts of individuals who are actively seeking to improve their lives and recover from addiction. Addiction does not have to rule your life. If you or a loved one are looking to improve your life and career and overcome addiction, contact Chapters Capistrano today to see how we can help. Talk with one of our Treatment Specialists! Call 24/7: 949-276-2886
Need to create function to add 5 to randomly generated numbers I created a set of randomly generated numbers and now I need to add five to each number. I know I need to create a function, but I cannot see to get it right. Any help for this budding researcher? Could you show us the code of what you've done so far? A good way to do that is via a REPRoducible EXample (reprex)? A reprex makes it much easier for others to understand your issue and figure out how to help. Base R and packages offer a number of ways to generate random numbers. An introduction here A good tidyverse way to update a vector of numbers in a table is with dplyr's mutate. For example, col1 = 1:5 ) %>% col1 = col1 + 5 #> # A tibble: 5 x 1 #> col1 #> <dbl> #> 1 6 #> 2 7 #> 3 8 #> 4 9 #> 5 10 Created on 2021-02-12 by the reprex package (v0.3.0) These are the steps I have done so far: To create the random numbers: rnorm(1000, mean = 5, sd = 10) To create a variable: randomNumbers <- rnorm(1000, mean = 5, sd = 10) To find the mean: mean(randomNumbers) To find the max number within the 1000: max(randomNumbers) Now step 5 is to add five to all the numbers? (Sorry, I'm a first year Phd and just learning R. I truly appreciate any help!) randomNumbers + 5
Call/WhatsApp: +1 914 416 5343 Battery management system- Important aspects Battery management system- Important aspects Write a research paper which discuss battery management system (BMS), the paper shall mainly focuses on an important aspect of BMSs, which is the realization of effective fast charging protocols of Li-Ion batteries. It shall presents a comprehensive survey on the advancement of fast charging battery materials and protocols. Additionally state-of-the-art approaches of optimizing the configurations of concurrent fast-charging protocols to maximize the Li-Ion batteries life cycle. Also you shall discuss in the research paper 1. the Methods to increase the lifetime of Lithium-ion battery ( where you should discuss the Battery Management System and how it increase the lifetime of battery) 2. How battery management system can Help Increase the Life and Reliability of Battery 3. the Working principle of battery management system and the components of the battery management system 4. how to integrate battery management system with battery, 5. Effects of fast charging on the battery 6. How The BMS can balance the cells 7. Fast charging strategies 8. Types of charging protocols. “you can use and reference the attached paper” Battery power administration program (BMS) is any electrical method that deals with a standard rechargeable electric battery (mobile phone or battery load), for example by shielding battery from working outside its safe operating location[clarification necessary], tracking its state, establishing supplementary information, reporting that data, controlling its setting, authenticating it and / or controlling it.[1] Battery power pack created along with a battery power control system with an outside communication data coach is a great electric battery load up. A brilliant electric battery pack has to be billed by way of a smart battery pack battery charger. Electric battery energy control methods could be either passive or energetic, and also the cooling medium sized may either be oxygen, fluid, or some sort of stage modify. Oxygen chilling is useful within its simplicity. Such techniques can be unaggressive, relying only in the convection of the around air, or lively, making use of followers for air flow. Commercially, the Honda Understanding and Toyota Prius both use energetic oxygen cooling down with their battery power systems.[2] The key problem with atmosphere air conditioning is its inefficiency. Huge amounts of power must be used to use the air conditioning system, far more than productive water air conditioning.[3] Any additional aspects of the air conditioning system also include weight to the BMS, decreasing the efficiency of battery packs utilized for transportation. Liquefied air conditioning carries a increased natural cooling prospective than air flow cooling down as liquefied coolants tend to have greater energy conductivities than air. The electric batteries may either be directly immersed within the coolant or coolant can stream with the BMS without directly getting in contact with battery. Indirect cooling down offers the possible ways to generate large energy gradients over the BMS as a result of greater length of the air conditioning channels. This is often lessened by working the coolant faster from the process, making a tradeoff between pumping pace and thermal regularity.[3] Computation In addition, a BMS may compute values in accordance with the above things, for example:[citation needed] Voltage: minimum and greatest cellular voltage Status of charge (SOC) or range of discharge (DOD), to reveal the cost amount of battery Health (SOH), a variously-described way of measuring in the outstanding potential in the battery as Percent of your authentic potential Condition of strength (SOP), the amount of strength accessible for a identified time period because of the current potential consumption, heat along with other circumstances Condition of Safety (SOS) Optimum fee present like a fee recent limit (CCL) Greatest discharge current as being a release current reduce (DCL) Power [kWh] supplied since very last cost or fee cycle Interior impedance of your cellular (to ascertain wide open circuit voltage) Demand [Ah] delivered or stored (sometimes this characteristic is referred to as Coulomb counter-top) Overall power provided since very first use Complete working time since first use Full quantity of periods Communication The key controller of the BMS communicates internally with its equipment running at a cell levels, or externally with higher degree components for example notebooks or even an HMI.[clarification essential] High level external communication are simple and use several methods:[citation needed] Different types of serial communication. CAN coach communications, frequently used in auto environments. Several types of Wi-fi communication.[4] Lower voltage central BMSs mostly do not possess any inside communications. They calculate cellular voltage by level of resistance separate. Dispersed or modular BMSs must apply certain reduced degree inside mobile phone-control (Modular design) or controller-control (Distributed design) conversation. These kinds of communication are difficult, especially for substantial voltage systems. The thing is voltage change between tissue. The initial mobile ground signal could be numerous volts greater than other mobile phone floor sign. Aside from software program protocols, the two main known ways of equipment interaction for voltage switching systems, Optical-isolator and wifi interaction. Another restriction for inside communication is definitely the greatest variety of cells. For modular structures most computer hardware is limited to maximum 255 nodes. For high voltage solutions the searching for duration of all tissues can be another restriction, reducing bare minimum tour bus rates and shedding some components choices. Value of modular techniques is very important, because it could be corresponding to the cellular price.[5] Mix of software and hardware limitations effects to become a couple of selections for internal conversation: Separated serial communication wireless serial communications Safety A BMS may guard its battery power by preventing it from running outside its safe functioning place, such as:[citation required] More than-current (might be diverse in recharging and discharging settings) Over-voltage (during asking), specifically necessary for lead–acid and Li-ion tissue Below-voltage (during discharging) Above-heat Beneath-heat Above-strain (NiMH electric batteries) Terrain fault or loss recent recognition (system checking that this great voltage battery is electrically disconnected from your conductive item touchable to utilize like automobile system) The BMS may stop procedure outside the battery’s risk-free working place by: Including an internal move (for instance a relay or strong express product) that is opened up if the electric battery is managed outside its safe working area Asking for the products that the battery is connected to lessen or even terminate utilizing the battery. Actively governing the atmosphere, like through heaters, fans, air conditioner or fluid air conditioning.
Call/WhatsApp: +1 914 416 5343 The modern world-system The modern world-system 1. What is the modern world-system? What are its origins? What are cores, semi-peripheries, and peripheries? Where do most of the cultures we have studied fit into the scheme of things? Provide three examples each, representing countries in the core, semi-periphery, and periphery. What is globalization? What is transnationalism? What is the relationship of globalization and transnationalism to popular culture? Essay 1: 2. Kottak (2019: 74) discusses the HIV/AIDS pandemic in “The Deadliest Global Pandemic of Our Time” in Chapter 4, “Applying Anthropology” (pp. 61-80). The HIV/AIDS pandemic began around 1981, nearly forty years ago. With 34-40 million people are living with the disease today and 35 million people have died from the disease, it is still a large, ongoing pandemic. HIV, primarily transmitted through sexual contact, is managed by those who are infected through taking a variety of drugs and has no cure. The highest concentration of cases is in sub-Saharan Africa. We are currently besieged by a COVID-19 global pandemic, transmitted by close human interactions through respiratory droplets. According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 dashboard, there are nearly 68 million confirmed cases and 1.5 million deaths. The US has the highest number of cases and the highest number of deaths. Although there are COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, which are currently undergoing review for approval and distribution, there are substantial surges in cases throughout the world due in part to limited masking, social distancing, and handwashing, exacerbated by humans being in enclosed spaces during the colder months. This has led infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci to recommend that restaurants and bars be closed to curb current surges until vaccines are administered in the US. Here are variety of questions to consider in your essay: • What are your personal experiences with the pandemic? Your extended family? Your friends? • Have you been able to follow CDC guidelines regarding masking, social distancing, handwashing, and engaging in activities out of doors? • What role does public health play in mitigating the pandemic? Medical anthropology? • Have you had good access to public health literature on COVID-19? • Is testing readily available to you? • Are you willing to take a vaccine? • When and how do you think the COVID-19 pandemic will end to that you can resume your everyday life? What form will that take? • How would you compare the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 Entire world-systems theory (also referred to as world-methods examination or even the entire world-methods point of view)[1] can be a multidisciplinary, macro-level procedure for world past and societal transform which emphasizes the globe-program (rather than nation states) as the main (yet not unique) unit of societal assessment.[1][2] “Entire world-system” refers back to the inter-local and transnational section of effort, which divides the world into primary countries around the world, semi-periphery nations, and the periphery nations.[2] Core countries around the world center on increased ability, money-rigorous manufacturing, and all of those other planet concentrates on very low-skill, effort-rigorous generation and extraction of natural resources.[3] This constantly reinforces the dominance of the central places.[3] Nonetheless, the system has powerful features, in part on account of revolutions in transport modern technology, and person says can gain or shed their primary (semi-periphery, periphery) status after a while.[3] This construction is unified from the section of work. It is actually a planet-overall economy rooted inside a capitalist economy.[4] For a time, certain nations get to be the world hegemon over the last few ages, as the planet-method has prolonged geographically and intensified economically, this standing has gone by from the Holland, to the United Kingdom and (recently) to the us.[3] Community-solutions theory is evaluated by many people politics theorists and sociologists to describe the reasons for your rise and drop of says, revenue inequality, social unrest, and imperialism. Immanuel Wallerstein has continued to evolve the best-recognized model of world-techniques evaluation, beginning in the 1970s.[5][6] Wallerstein remnants an upswing of your capitalist entire world-economic system from your “extended” 16th century (c. 1450–1640). The growth of capitalism, within his view, was an accidental upshot of the protracted problems of feudalism (c. 1290–1450).[7] Europe (the To the west) used its benefits and acquired power over most of the entire world overall economy and presided on the advancement and spread out of industrialization and capitalist overall economy, indirectly contributing to unequal development.[2][3][6] Though other commentators refer to Wallerstein’s venture as planet-methods “theory”, he consistently rejects that phrase.[8] For Wallerstein, community-systems assessment is a mode of evaluation that strives to transcend the structures of knowledge inherited through the 1800s, especially the definition of capitalism, the divisions throughout the social sciences, and those in between the social sciences and history.[9] For Wallerstein, then, community-techniques examination is really a “information movement”[10] that seeks to identify the “totality of the items continues to be paraded within the tags in the… human being sciences as well as well past”.[11] “We have to invent a whole new terminology,” Wallerstein insists, to transcend the illusions of your “3 supposedly distinctive arenas” of culture, economic system and nation-wide politics.[12] The trinitarian framework of knowledge is grounded in yet another, even grander, modernist design, the difference of biophysical worlds (which include those within body) from interpersonal kinds: “One particular question, as a result, is whether or not we can rationalize some thing referred to as social science from the twenty-initial century as being a different sphere of information.”[13][14] Various other scholars have added substantial function in this “expertise movements”. Entire world-techniques theory remnants come about within the 70s.[1] Its beginnings can be obtained from sociology, however it has created right into a highly interdisciplinary field.[2] Entire world-solutions theory was hoping to replace modernization idea, which Wallerstein criticised for 3 motives:[2] its pinpoint the land condition as being the only model of examination its supposition that there is simply a individual pathway of evolutionary advancement for those countries around the world its disregard of transnational buildings that constrain community and national advancement. You will find three key forerunners of world-solutions idea: the Annales institution, the Marxist practice, and also the dependence hypothesis.[2][15] The Annales Institution custom (displayed most notably by Fernand Braudel) inspired Wallerstein to focusing on long-term functions and geo-environmental areas as unit of evaluation. Marxism additional a anxiety on social discord, a pinpoint the money build up approach and competing school struggles, a concentrate on a related totality, the transitory nature of social kinds as well as a dialectical sense of movements through turmoil and contradiction. Entire world-systems idea was significantly influenced by dependency hypothesis, a neo-Marxist description of advancement procedures. Other affects about the community-systems hypothesis come from scholars including Karl Polanyi, Nikolai Kondratiev[16] and Joseph Schumpeter (particularly their study on organization periods and the methods of three fundamental settings of monetary company: mutual, redistributive, and marketplace modes, which Wallerstein reframed into a dialogue of mini solutions, planet empires, and entire world economies). Wallerstein notices the introduction of the capitalist community economic climate as detrimental into a sizeable proportion of your world’s populace.[17] Wallerstein opinions the time considering that the 1970s for an “ages of move” that can give way to a future planet system (or planet techniques) whose configuration should not be decided beforehand.[18] World-techniques thinkers incorporate Oliver Cox, Samir Amin, Giovanni Arrighi, Andre Gunder Frank, and Immanuel Wallerstein, with main efforts by Christopher Run after-Dunn, Beverly Metallic, Volker Bornschier, Janet Abu Lughod, Thomas D. Hallway, Kunibert Raffer, Theotonio dos Santos, Dale Tomich, Jason W. Moore and others.[2] In sociology, a primary alternative perspective is Entire world Polity Concept, as formulated by John W. Meyer. World-methods examination strengthens upon but in addition varies fundamentally from addiction concept. While taking world inequality, the world market place and imperialism as basic attributes of historical capitalism, Wallerstein broke with orthodox dependency theory’s main proposal. For Wallerstein, primary countries around the world do not make use of poor nations for 2 fundamental reasons. For starters, central capitalists exploit employees in all of the zones of your capitalist community economic climate (not just the periphery) and therefore, the crucial redistribution between central and periphery is surplus worth, not “wealth” or “assets” abstractly put together. Additionally, key says will not make use of very poor states, as dependency concept suggests, because capitalism is organised around an inter-local and transnational department of effort rather than an international section of labour. During the Commercial Trend, as an example, British capitalists exploited slaves (unfree staff) from the cotton areas of the American Southern, a peripheral region within a semiperipheral region, United States.[19] From your largely Weberian perspective, Fernando Henrique Cardoso explained the key tenets of addiction theory as follows: There is a economic and engineering penetration from the periphery and semi-periphery places by the designed capitalist core places. Which produces an unbalanced economical framework within the peripheral communities and between the two along with the central places. Which leads to restrictions upon self-suffered rise in the periphery. That helps the appearance of particular patterns of course associations. They demand alterations inside the function from the condition to assure the working of your economy along with the governmental articulation of any society, which contains, inside alone, foci of inarticulateness and structural imbalance.[20] Dependency and entire world system concept suggest that this poverty and backwardness of bad countries are due to their peripheral position inside the overseas division of labour. Considering that the capitalist planet system evolved, the difference between your core and the peripheral suggests has expanded and diverged. In knowing a tripartite routine in department of work, planet-techniques evaluation criticized dependency concept with its bimodal method of just cores and peripheries. Wallerstein characterizes the world system as a set of mechanisms, which redistributes surplus value from the periphery for the core. In their vocabulary, the central will be the developed, industrialized portion of the community, and the periphery may be the “underdeveloped”, generally uncooked resources-exporting, very poor section of the world the market getting the indicates where the core exploits the periphery. Besides them, Wallerstein specifies four temporal features around the world method. Cyclical rhythms represent the quick-phrase fluctuation of economic climate, and secular tendencies mean much deeper long term inclinations, including standard economic development or decrease.[1][2] The expression contradiction signifies a general dispute in the system, normally regarding some temporary versus long term tradeoffs. For example, the issue of underconsumption, where the driving a vehicle down of income improves the profit for capitalists for the short term, but in the long run, the minimizing of earnings could have a crucially damaging outcome by reducing the requirement for the merchandise. The final temporal feature may be the problems: a crisis comes about if a constellation of scenarios brings about the end of your system. In Wallerstein’s perspective, we have seen three forms of historical solutions across man record: “small-solutions” or what anthropologists call bands, tribes, and little chiefdoms, and 2 types of world-systems, one that is politically unified and the other will not be (solitary express entire world empires and multi-polity world financial systems).[1][2] Community-methods are greater, and are ethnically diversified. The present day community-program, a capitalist community-economy, is different in becoming the foremost and only entire world-system, which come about around 1450 to 1550, to get geographically expanded all over the complete earth, by about 1900. It is actually described, being a community-economic system, in possessing a lot of governmental products tied together being an interstate process and thru its department of labour depending on capitalist businesses.
Every one of us has seen the Iron Man movies, which has brought light to some of the most unrealistic inventions we could possibly imagine. The one thing that caught everyone’s eye was ‘The arc reactor’ with which Tony Stark replaced his heart. Replacing one’s body part with something like a reactor sounds quite futuristic, isn’t it? But it is not anymore. How it could be if we can directly transfer all the data from our brain to the computer. These things that seem to be impossible are going to happen any time soon. Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has started a neuroscience startup called Neuralink that aims to create brain to machine interface. Neuralink is a chip that is going to be inserted inside the human brain. It is like Fitbit in our skull with very tiny wires. It’ll directly connect our brain to the computer. So this brain-computer interface called the link, according to Elon Musk, is one day going to cure everything from paralysis to blindness and all the other brain and spine disabilities. Our brain is made of billions of neurons that send messages by means of electrical signals. These electrical signals travel between neurons in a chain reaction sending messages to the part of our brain that controls speech or movement. Neuralink plans to read those electric spikes. According to neuralink, rather than just having neurons sending electrical signals, those signals could be sent or received by a chip. The current version of neuralink 0.9 has about a thousand channels per link. It is 23mm by 8 mm in size so it fits nicely in your skull. The chip plugs into your brain directly by a tiny microscopic thread which is about 1/20th of the width of human hair and they connect with the neurons in your brain to receive and send electric signals. These electrodes won’t damage your brain. They are inserted very carefully by a surgical robot who actually images the brain and makes sure to avoid any veins or arteries. It’ll be a one-day surgery without a big incision or general anesthesia. You can leave the hospital within an hour after the surgery. It has an all-day-long battery life and portable charging the same way we charge our mobile phones or smartwatches. Charge the chip overnight and you are ready to go for the whole day. It can be wirelessly connected to your phone via Bluetooth with a range of 5 to 10 meters. According to Elon Musk, this whole thing will start off a little bit expensive but it’ll hopefully eventually only cost a couple of thousand dollars just like the laser eys surgery as it would be affordable to many. Elon Musk conducted a demo and brought out 3 live pigs one without a brain implant, one who had the implant and had it removed (who is completely fit and healthy, concluding the chip can be removed for up-gradation without any issues), and a third pig called Gertrud that had a chip in for two months. With the help of the chip, it is possible to get the live reading of the neurons in the pig’s brain firing in real-time, specifically the neurons that were sending and receiving messages from her snout. ( reference) This chip opens the door to pretty game-changing applications for us. Neuralimks head neurosurgeon Matthew Mcdougall said the first trial of the link would be aimed at treating things like paraplegia. There was talk of curing blindness by implanting the link in the visual cortex treating mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and addiction. Some other blowing application could be: • Unlock the hidden creativity We can create what we think, with enough electrodes in the right places. You can visualize anything and give it existence through a 3D vector model. • Create Memories Repo With neuralink, you can store your memories as a backup and restore them. You can potentially download them into a robot body. • Telepathy It takes an incredible amount of effort for us to put thoughts into a set of Words. With the neuralink, one might send true thoughts and communicate at a very high transfer rate. • Super Human Vision People having a retinal injury can plug the camera directly into the visual cortex and stimulate an enormous array of thousands of electrodes to recreate a visual image. • AI Symbiosis An AI extension of one’s self is like a tertiary layer above the limbic system and cortex. It is going to be important from an existential threat standpoint that how we co-exist with advance AI. • Disease Prediction It can pick up chemical cues in the brain and prevent the diseases ahead of time. • Connecting the link to a heads up display so you could walk around like a terminator. A lot of these ideas are huge but we didn’t get any concrete timelines or any idea how they’d actually work so while the link could be amazing for treating spinal injuries we don’t expect to turn into the terminator any time soon. Still, it is amazing to see a brain working in real-time. The future is going to be weird. Related Posts Leave a Reply
Page:The Melanesians Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore.djvu/193 From Wikisource Jump to navigation Jump to search This page has been validated. Lepers' Island. Tagaro-mbiti. found two female vui, who said they were hungry. He promised them food and brought it to them—four baskets-full. One of the women was beautiful, the other full of sores. They asked him which he would have, and he answered that he would take them both. Thereupon each gave him a stone full of mana, one to get him ten barrow-pigs, the other for ten sows; and they promised always to help him to get pigs, that he might mount to greatness in the Suqe. These women were vui, whose power lay in pigs; nevertheless, to this day, when the man's wives go down to the beach for their fishing, they find fish caught and lying ready for them. It is well worthy of notice that Merambuto and his fellows are represented not only as to a certain extent mischievous and unfriendly, but also easily deceived and ignorant. This appears clearly in the story of Merambuto and Tagaro-mbiti in the tree, where Merambuto did not know and dreaded as something unknown the conch-shell trumpet, as a Motlav story also represents a vui as afraid of the sound of a drum. On the side of Lepers' Island which is nearest to Araga the story of Suqe is told, and he is represented as always in the wrong, though he shares the work of creation with Tagaro. They two made the land, and the things upon it; when they made the trees the fruit of Tagaro's was good for food, but Suqe's bitter; when they made men, Tagaro said they should walk upright on two legs, Suqe that they should go like pigs; Suqe wanted to have men sleep in the trunks of sago-palms, Tagaro said that they should work and dwell in houses; so they always disagreed, and the word of Tagaro stood. It was Tagaro also who went to Maewo and brought back night in a shell. When he let it out and darkness crept over the sky, men wept and beat their houses. Tagaro is represented also as the father of ten sons, of whom Tagaro-mbiti, the Little, was the last, and exceedingly small. His brothers went out to work, but he stayed at home with a sore on his leg. They planted the leaves of the edible caladium, the top shoot of the banana, the vine of the yam; but when they were gone he took the crown of the caladium, the suckers of the banana, the rind of the yam,
The story begins with the character named Myriel, the bishop of Digne with his brief biography. Myriel returns his homeland as a priest, and later becomes the bishop as he encounters with Napoleon. As he moves to Digne, he discovers that the church provides him with the old palace. Simultaneously, many patients at the hospital next door lives in a unsafe environment. In the same way, Myriel was insisting to replace the house with the hospital, and would give his own salary to the city’s poorest citizens, and for charity. Myriel’s compassion towards other leads to the love of his own parishioners, and would later becomes a clergyman. Myriel was known as the voice against the prejudice in French’s society, and for general education. In addition, he is also well-known as “Bienvenu”, or “Welcome.” Later on in October 1815, there was a mysterious wanderer appears in Digne. He is desperately hungry, and was walking around all day. Furthermore, he is stopped at the major’s office, where the law asked him to show his yellow passport. The town innkeepers refused to serve him, although he is hungry and exhausted. The townpeople is afraid of him as his bad reputations are widespread for his town imprisonment. The stranger later stops at the Myriel’s house, and Myriel invited him for dinner. He later known as Jean Valjean, whom he spent nineteen years in prison. He is tried for five years for stealing a loaf of bread in attempt to help his poor family, and seventeen years for escaping attempt. Jean was surprised when Myriel treated him kindly, as opposed to the rough treatment that he experienced before. In fact, he does not recognize that Myriel is a bishop. Myriel invited to spent the night, and he agrees. Jean later filched the silverware and leave in the night. The police later in the early next day caught him. They take him back to Myriel’s house as the police discovered the silverware, hidden in Jean’s knapsack. Myriel claimed that he gave the silverware to Jean. Valjean was released by the police at the same time. He gave the candlestick to Jean, and told that he has made a vow to become an honest person. Valjean leave the town, and in the countryside, he met a boy named Petit Gervais. He took a silver coin from him and was struck by his own wicked act. The boy ran away, cried, and Valjean was attempted in vain to return the coin back. He busted in tears, for the first time in his nineteen years of life. As he realized his terrible deeds, he promised himself to be an righteous citizen, and prayed near the bishop’s house that night. I'm Piter! Check it out
Subscribe Now Contact Info 43 Bedford Street, Suite 4425 London, UK, WC2E 9HA [email protected] +1 (844) 921 50 30 Follow Us Get a personal discount on your e-mail! 100 Cause and Effect Research Paper Topics For a cause and effect research paper, you need to study why something exists or has happened. An essay writer is required to speculate about what were the causes behind a certain situation and discuss its results or effects. Finding a good topic for your research paper is one of the most important and hardest parts. You must choose a topic that personally interests you and can also develop an interest in the readers. There are many categories of research paper topics from which you can select the topic for your cause and effect research paper for example: Mental health 1. How economic recession affects mental health? 2. How does the mental state cause lower academic productivity? 3. Causes mental health problems during a pandemic? 4. What are the causes of an increase in suicide rates in developed countries? 5. What factors lead to depression in comedians? 6. How the demands of sports psychologists are increasing day by day? 7. Effects of poverty on mental health 8. Effects of eating habits on mental health? 9. What are the main reasons for having more susceptibility to greater suicide rates in developing countries? 10. Does societal pressure of scoring high grades cause eating disorders in students? 11. What are the causes of lower mental health issues in people having pets? 12. Why is there an increased use of drugs during a pandemic? 13. What are the causes of depression during a pandemic? 14. How the use of social media increases the risk of mental health issues? 15. How greatly spending time in the natural environment helps people to cope with distresses in their life? 16. Does a decline in mental health also negatively affect physical health/activity? Social media and internet 1. What are the causes of having aggressive behavior in people who play violent video games? 2. Causes of the growing popularity of video games among teenagers? 3. Does the use of social media affect the academic performance of students? 4. How does the use of the internet affect sleeping patterns in children? 5. Why does the use of social media decrease social communication skills in people? 6. How does using too much internet affect the thinking ability of people? 7. How social media has become a channel of bullying? 8. How today’s technology has affected business practices? 9. How the use of the internet decreases physical activities in young kids? 10. People tend to spend more money when shopping online 11. What are the causes and effects of cyberbullying in teenagers? 12. Does the increased use of social media is the main cause of the poor academic performance of students? 1. Why some societies prefer same-sex education for their children rather than coeducation? 2. Why do children having dyslexia and ADHD need special institutes/treatment? 3. Do same-sex classrooms tend to increase learning in students? 4. The effects of parent monitoring on the academic results of students? 5. Do Ipads or phones cause students to learn more in the classroom? 6. What is the cause of lower enrollments in art schools? 7. The effects of longer school time on learning outcomes of students? 8. The causes of American students not performing well in international tests as compared to other students? 9. How does homeschooling affect the social awareness and communication skills of young kids? 10. Impact of fine arts on students Social problems 1. What are the impacts of racism on society? 2. Why do men get paid more than women? 3. Why disabled people have to face discrimination? 4. How does poverty influence the future of children? 5. Causes of homelessness 6. How inadequate sanitation affects the community? 7. How (a particular) Non-Profit Organization helps with social problems? 8. How religious oppression affects society? (select a specific religion and country for this essay) 9. How food insecurity affects children? 1. Causes of civil war 2. What effects the U.S intervention had on the First and Second World War? 3. How American society is affected by slavery? 4. Causes and effects of the Great Depression 5. Causes of colonialism and its effects 6. Effects of racial discrimination in American society 7. What caused the increasing interest in feminism? 8. Causes and effects of the holocaust 9. Political and economic effects of the Arab Spring? 10. Social and economic impacts of Columbian drug wars 11. Impacts of Civil war on slavery 12. What triggered feminist movements in the 1960s? 13. How the invention of the printing press affected mass media? 14. Causes and effects of the French Revolution 15. How poverty triggers illegal immigration? 16. Economic effects of excessive immigration in the 20th century in the U.S. Current affairs 1. How Trump as a president of the U.S has influenced its international relations? 2. What is the effect of the Black Lives Matter Movement on racial and criminal justice? 3. What factors became the grounds for the UK deciding to exit the EU? 4. Why has the rate of unemployment increased in the U.S in the last few years? 5. Causes and effects of child abuse 6. Why there is an increased popularity of pornography? And its effects 7. The effect of domestic violence on victims 8. Causes of global warming and its impacts? 9. How is police brutality affecting the population? 10. Causes of growing rates of teen pregnancy 11. The influence of the internet on kids 12. Causes of increased drug addiction in society 1. Why should student-athletes be paid? 2. How engaging in sports develops confidence, communication, and leadership skills? 3. The positive effects of working out on brain activity and productivity 4. How sports affects the mental health of a person 5. The effects of sports on overall health 1. Causes of separation or divorce 2. Effects of separation or divorce on kids 3. Why is there a fear of commitment in men? 4. What are the causes of the failure of most long-distance relationships? 5. Effects of abortion on a relationship 6. How social media influences relationships? 7. Causes of sibling rivalry 8. The effects of feminism on relationships 9. Effects of a happy marriage on a person’s mental health 10. In what ways family vacations influences family relations Health care 1. Causes and effects of obesity 2. Causes of AIDS in Africa 3. The effects of cancer treatment 4. Effects of birth control on women’s health 5. The effects of stress on overall health 6. Why people avoid going to the doctors 7. Causes and effects of not getting children vaccinated 8. Why is HIV/AIDS so difficult to eliminate? 9. The effects of regular medical check-ups 10. How exercise helps in improving health? You can choose any of these topics that interest you for your cause and effect paper. If you have selected a topic but are unsure that you can craft a perfect essay on that topic. Moreover, you also can’t afford to lose grades then you must take help from a professional. There are different online sites offering a reliable essay writing service. Choose a reliable one and get a high quality customized essay written by a professional academic writer delivered to you.
What Can the Carbon Trading Debate Teach Us About Global Climate Governance? Image by Geralt / Pixabay licence As international issues go, climate change is unique in that it will, without exception, impact every single country on Earth. The responsibility for it is therefore shared widely among countries, and the crisis can only be effectively mitigated if there is global cooperation and a unified response. With the threats posed by climate change becoming increasingly perilous, the need for effective carbon reduction policies on a global scale is paramount, yet there remains an alarming absence of such legislation worldwide. Emissions trading is one policy that, on a national level, has proven effective, with the systems being implemented in China, New Zealand, and the European Union, among many others. Emissions trading was a central tenet of the 2015 Paris Agreement, with Article 6 setting the groundwork for global trading which, if successful, would surely have a huge impact in reducing carbon emissions. However, negotiations on Article 6 dramatically collapsed at COP25 in 2019 and, as we look toward COP26 in Glasgow this year, international emissions trading can tell us a lot about what is required to implement successful international climate policies. The challenge of achieving environmental unity The failure of COP25 and one of the biggest challenges facing negotiators in Glasgow relates to multiple energy exporting states who, despite being signatories to the Paris Agreement, have worked to stifle its effectiveness. One example of this was when Russia, Australia, and Saudi Arabia (to name a few) made demands deemed completely unreasonable by the EU, such as the inclusion of carbon credits from the previous Kyoto mechanisms, contributing to the negotiation stalemate. It could be argued that this disruptive tactic was only effective due to the decision-making rules of the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, which require decision by consensus, effectively giving veto powers to each and every country. Although such an arrangement was originally favoured by the developed countries of the West to ensure they weren’t outvoted on budgetary issues, this has eventually led to a long series of weak and diluted climate agreements, with little to no legal protections. In comparison, one international institution that does have power in this regard is the European Union. When analysed through the lens of carbon trading, the EU boasts the most wide-ranging, long standing, and effective trading system established to date. As of 2021, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) covers the 27 member states and 3 European Economic Area states, as well as being linked to the Swiss system. It is now into its 4th Phase of expansion, covering everything from the aviation to petrochemicals sectors, with expansive targets for 2030. Since its inception in 2005, emissions from installations covered by the system have reduced by 35%. Although ETS is by no means perfect and at times struggled with low CO2 prices and an oversupply of permits, its longevity and scope, coupled with its real emissions reductions across 30 countries make it a prime example of successful international climate cooperation. That then brings us to the question of why the EU has been able to so effectively facilitate international cooperation on reduction policies where the UN has failed? International law that binds Firstly, and most obviously, the European Union has legitimate legislative powers, originating from the Maastricht Treaty, which gives it ability to make laws on an EU wide issues. The EU ETS was established through a series of directives, which are updated with each new phase, meaning that it is enshrined in law and that non-compliance is a criminal offence. Secondly, the EU ETS has double layered legal protections, first through the national laws under the directives, and then through the European Court of Justice (ECJ) acting as the legislation’s final arbiter. The ECJ has settled many high-profile and low-level disputes in relation to the ETS, such as when Germany and the UK queried their initial carbon credit National Allocation Plans. The specific rulings in relation to the ETS are less important, but what is key is that the countries involved accept and abide by the court rulings, meaning that it acts as a final judicial body. Again, a comparable legal mechanism is sorely lacking at the UNFCCC level, meaning that when a country fails to comply with climate agreements, the most common ‘punishment’ is to be ‘named and shamed’. This lack of a legal process and a deterring punishment mechanism for non-compliance again directly correlates with ballooning global emissions. Despite 189 ratifications of the Paris Agreement ‘committing’ to tackling climate change, this means nothing if there is no international enforcement procedure. The future of climate governance As we look towards COP26, it is clear that the current UN processes are not effective in bringing about real climate reduction polices on a global level, and thus a new approach is needed. The emissions trading example, comparing the UN and the EU, highlights what governance features are needed to implement international climate policies, with legislative powers and legal protections being paramount. One proposal would be for a World Trade Organization style mechanism, where countries agree to a legally binding set of climate standards and policies, which will be implemented domestically to reflect national differences. The policies should be tied to trade, ensuring there is an economic incentive to join, but also as a reflection of the globalised world economy and nature of the climate problem. Like the WTO, there would be an accepted dispute resolving mechanism, therefore any risks of non-compliance should be diminished. Due to its position as the primary platform for global climate negotiations, discussions to establish such a mechanism can certainly begin at the UNFCCC, and it will undoubtedly play a large role in building a ‘coalition of the willing.’ However, it is crucial that its design avoids the consensus trap that has so badly hindered the UNFCCC agreements, and therefore, it should be established through an alternative process. With the EU Green deal, the new Biden Presidency, and continued commitments from China, there is renewed international momentum for climate policy, and with the Covid-19 recovery, a real window of opportunity for a new cooperative approach has opened. For the sake of everyone on the planet, it is critical that this opportunity is taken! Stuart Best Originally from Northern Ireland, Stuart Best is a Junior Associate at FOGGS, where he specialises in climate governance, global sustainability and international cooperation. He has recently completed his MA in International Political Economy at the University of Groningen and is still based in the Dutch city. Would you like to share your thoughts? Your email address will not be published.
Britain has gotten more stressful in recent years for many people. Everywhere we look, there’s a new statistic to tell us just how miserable, burnt out, and fundamentally abandoned we are: one recent survey reported that only 13 per cent of people in the UK would say they are in good mental health. Let’s put some context in that statistic. The current UK population stands at 67,613,395. If, on average, only 13 per cent of the population feels as though they are enjoying a good level of mental health, that means a whopping 58,823,654 people are dealing with below-average mental health. What about in the workplace? Well, looking at a hypothetical company of 50 employees, if only 13 per cent are happy in their current mental health, there are around 43 employees who are struggling with less-than-great mental health. Clearly, there’s a need to support and cultivate good mental health practices in the workplaces of Britain. But how can employers and employees go about doing this? As with any problem, the first step is to identify exactly what it is… Mental health vs mental illness: What’s the difference? Though the terms are often used interchangeably, mental health and mental illness are very different issues. Both need to be handled in the workplace with equal levels of respect and understanding, and in many cases, both are manageable for a person in order to perform as well as their co-workers who suffer neither mental illness nor poor mental health. But it is important to understand the difference in order to deliver the best level of management within your workplace. On his recent visit to South Africa, the Duke of Sussex defined the two matters best by saying: Everyone deals with mental health every day, in much the same way as they deal with physical health. Some people are physically healthy, while some people have physical illnesses they deal with on a daily basis. An external factor can impact your physical health — for example, someone who is physically healthy walks into a room filled with smoke. They start coughing, and their physical health decreases in that situation. But for someone with a physical illness they deal with every day, a flare-up of symptoms can cause their physical health to decrease without any outside cause (like the smoke!). But, if that person were to walk into the same room of smoke, they would start coughing like the physically healthy person would, only to a heightened degree. The same can be said for mental health compared to mental illness. Someone who is mentally healthy might have a bad day at work. This causes their mental health to decrease — and it’s an understandable reaction to a negative event. But someone with mental illness may feel that way without any obvious outside influence (like the bad day at work scenario). Again, should the person with mental illness have a bad day at work too, they might feel the impact of this outside influence to a much greater degree. Of course, that’s not to say that’s always the case — someone with a mental illness can be mentally healthy and coping well. Someone without a mental illness can be mentally unhealthy and not coping. Correctly supporting mental health and mental illness at work As cliché as it sounds, a happy workforce is a productive workforce. Businesses can do several things to not only support employees coping with mental illness, but also support positive day-to-day mental health across the workforce. Often, these processes go hand-in-hand, but there are a few things companies can do to specifically tailor to one or the other. Education at work Holding talks can be hugely beneficial to creating a sense of openness and understanding in the workplace. Many people may erroneously think a mental illness automatically disqualifies someone from working or think that poor mental health is a sign of weakness. Both of these viewpoints can be wildly detrimental to other employees, who may not have spoken openly about their struggles and fear to do so upon hearing this from their colleagues. Encourage a better-enlightened mindset for your workplace. There are numerous charities and experts who would be more than happy to come into the workplace to give a talk on the realities of mental health and mental illness, and help to disperse any stereotypes or falsehoods regarding the issues. Why not make a day of it? You don’t have to wait for an national day to raise awareness — host an expert for a workshop on mental health in the workplace, and set aside some time in the canteen after for people to ask questions and discuss the matter. You could make a coffee morning of it with an array of cakes on offer, hot beverages, or an iced coffee machine if you’re hosting in the summer months! This type of event will make for a much more open and supportive network among staff. They will learn how to approach co-workers they may be concerned for, or how to reach out if they themselves are dealing with a difficult time. Offer flexibility There are processes that can be built into a company to help ease pressure on mental health. The goal is to make the office environment as relaxed as possible — the work itself might be stressful, but the environment should balance out to avoid natural stress becoming unmanageable anxiety. After all, a comfortable worker can tackle a difficult task better than an uncomfortable one. Be sure to look at your workplace’s processes and layouts too. For example, open-plan offices are popular in the workplace right now, and it certainly has its benefits. It prevents silo-working, encourages communication, and dispels some of the hierarchal feeling that can develop in cubicle-style work. People can ask for feedback easier in an open-plan office, and this can promote a more efficient creativity. However, for someone with anxiety or autism, open-plan offices can prove challenging. The sense of being in a crowd can be uncomfortable for some, and people with anxiety disorders or autism can struggle in noisy, chaotic environments — too much noise, from office music or chatter, can overwhelm an employee with autism, for example, due to auditory sensitivity. An anxious employee might find it difficult to work in an open-plan office, but not impossible on a good day. But on a bad day, it could be overbearing. Having the option to work away from the open-style office could be a beneficial perk to some employees, whether this is a dedicated “quiet room” for intensive tasks that require a lot of concentration, or the option to work from home on days when a person’s mental health isn’t at its best. The fact is many people are working while dealing with bad mental health or a daily struggle with mental illness. Many people do so perfectly successfully too! But it is beneficial to both employers and employees to ensure flexibility and support are on hand at work to help everyone when needed. Number correct as of 24th September 2019 Author's Bio: Brooke McDonald is a junior copywriter for Mediaworks, a digital marketing agency that creates excellent content for a variety of clients operating in different industries. A dedicated and passionate writer, Brooke writes content for her client, Snowshock, on a regular basis.
Write about monsoon classical theory of employment Thus saving must equal investment. After the last of the summer showers in May the new leaves of koliari Bauhinia purpurea become a part of the menu in most homes. classical theory of unemployment pdf These factors should help in the recovery of domestic growth momentum. Similarly investment is determined not only by rate of interest but by the marginal efficiency of capital. This, in fact, led to the Great Depression. This early rain, however, is intermittent and does not become fierce and incessant till about April. classical theory of employment in kannada Thus, flexibility of real wage rate ensures full employment. When there is a cut in the money wage, the real wage is also reduced to the same extent which reduces unemployment and ultimately brings full employment in the economy. Unemployment results from rigidity in the wage structure and state interference in the working of the free market economy. The shoots of various bamboos and about thirty species of fish from the streams and the rice fields are the other treats. Long-Run Analysis: The classical economists provided long-run analysis. Then there is a painting that shows a lady being coaxed to come indoors by her maid while the rest of the scene remains by and large the same as described above. Lack of automatic adjustments Keynes and other critics argued that the economy is not always self-regulating. Walker not only made an indelible mark in Indian monsoon research, but also changed the way meteorology was practiced. Classical theory of employment wikipedia Thus the classical theory of employment is unrealistic and is incapable of solving the present day economic problems of the capitalist world. While rain making by drums and horns and cymbals is not exceptional to the subcontinent, the extraordinary poetic meanings invested in the season are certainly special. At the full employment level, ON, the corresponding full employment output is OY. Some of the most cherished miniature paintings in the Ragmala series and Rasleela series have rain as the motif. Instead, there is serious advocacy of expensive and environmentally disastrous ideas like interlinking rivers, which was even advocated by a former President and a former Prime Minister. Indeed, pilgrims had been the largest contingent of fellow travellers since Govindghat falls on the Rishikesh-Joshimath-Badrinath route. But Walker changed this. The reference to the scent of the earth in the verse brings us to another link to the monsoon and the persistence of the monsoon in popular memory. Coupled with failure of monsoon they resulted in widespread starvation and large number of deaths. If the quantity of money increases, the MV curve will shift to the right as M1V curve. An early 19th century French Economist, J. According to the classicists, what is not spent is automatically invested. According to Pigou, the tendency of the economic system is to automatically provide full employment in the labour market when the demand and supply of labour are equal. This year too we come across the usual guesses, based on statistics. Rated 7/10 based on 106 review The Classical Theory of Employment: Assumption and Criticism
Hits: 12157 The nose performs various functions like Parts of the nose The nose is generally divided into Nasal polyps Nasal polyps/polypons is nothing but an effect of long standing allergy on the nasal lining. It can be treated with medicines in the initial stages but generally require, surgical removal followed by long term anti–allergic treatment to prevent recurrence. Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery (FESS) FESS stands for Functional Endoscopic Sinus Surgery. Like many parts of the body the sinuses can now be tackled by use of rigid nasal endoscopes which can be negotiated into minor crevices of the nasal cavity to remove the nasal pathology and restore the function of nose. Epistaxes (Nose Bleed) Epistaxes on nasal bleeding can occur due to various conditions, the most common being hypertension foreign bodies, infections and tumors. In order to stop bleeding at home one can pinch the nostrils tightly and do some ice fomentation locally before consulting a specialist.
Alpine Ibex in 2012 Have you seen a real Alpine Ibex? Or do you even know it? Alpine Ibex; (scientific name Capra Ibex) is actually related to goats. It is a species of wild goats that are usually found in the highest mountain of European Alps. Its color varies according to season changes but its natural color is somewhat dark brown with some grey hair all over the body. It’s the same cycle with its coat length, it varies according to season, and this is their way in adjusting and protecting their body from the season change. They have tall horns that can grow up to one meter which is their key weapon against their enemy or the predators. The most interesting feature of an Alpine Ibex is its ability to climb in even the most difficult and highest slopes. They surely have gifted feet to climb on. Alpine Ibex will it be extinct Alpine Ibex will it be extinct? Rare Animal? Alpine Ibex is surely a rare animal. You can’t just find it anywhere as it can only be found in selective places. It mostly survives in Gran Paradiso massif (Valle d’Aosta region, Italy), which was reported that it was protected there and was conserved. It can also be found in countries like Switzerland, Italy, Austria, France, Slovenia and Germany. Unfortunately, the number of Alpine Ibex is decreasing due to some human population and the worse, “hunting”. In the recent generation, people are hooked in hunting animals. There are even organizations that pay to groups that hunt the rarest animals. The pictures below will show you some people who poorly killed an Alpine Ibex (for hunting purposes). Should hunting be stopped? Is this right? What’s sad about this is that, we are losing our special Earth creatures and some now are only found in pictures or in books. Alpine Ibex is not yet close to extinction. However, if hunting persists, time can only tell if we can still see them if the future.
Retinitis pigmentosa Book an appointment. Tell us what date and time you prefer Up to probability of transmitting the disorder via dominant inheritance research projects focussing on the genes involved are currently underway More than genes are involved and more than 2,000 mutations identified Retinitis pigmentosa What is retinitis pigmentosa? Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common hereditary disease of the retina that affects about 1 in every 4,000 people and is characterised by the gradual degeneration of the retinal photoreceptor cells: the cone and rod cells. What causes this? Due to the degeneration of the retinal photoreceptor cells, there is a gradual decrease in sight. How can it be prevented? There is no treatment at present and its seriousness makes it one of the ocular pathologies of genetic origin on which the most research is being conducted. The first symptoms are night blindness or being unable to adapt to darkness and loss of peripheral vision, resulting in tunnel vision. In more advanced stages, glares and cataracts are also commonplace, which can appear as a consequence of the process. The degree of severity and progression that the pathology can reach is variable and depends on the mutated gene in each person and his/her family, because retinitis pigmentosa is a hereditary disease and it is therefore essential to know the patient’s family background. Finding the mutated gene in each case, from among more than 50 that can cause this pathology, requires a correct prior clinical diagnosis so that, in this way, customised and a precise genetic diagnosis can be made to determine the kind of heredity and transmission of the disease and identify the pre-symptomatic and carrier relatives. The genetic diagnosis is also the first step required to apply gene therapies, based on replacing the defective gene with another functional one. Generally, these therapies are conducted by means of a modified virus that contains the functional gene and acts as a vector to be inserted in the patient’s retinal cells. Although still in an experimental stage, gene therapies are showing very encouraging results and are opening a new possibility for patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that has no cure at the moment. Another of the research lines in process is cell therapy, one of the main novelties presented at the II Trends in Surgical & Medical Retina. As explained by the North American doctor, Marco Zarbin, at the international congress held at IMO last June, recent phase I studies on humans have proven that the use of stem cells to replace damaged cells of the retina leads to improvement of patients’ visual acuity. Therefore, what is being achieved with this therapy is the replacement of the patient’s atrophic photoreceptor cells, which will not be regenerated, for embryonic or pluripotent stem cells extracted from the skin or other parts of the eye. The latter, after being modified, can perform the same function as the retinal cells before they were damaged. You may be interested in
Choosing Classroom Materials Is Complicated. Here's What Principals and District Leaders Can Do to Support Teachers (The 74) Teenager attending online lesson at home, photo by SetsukoN/Getty Images Photo by SetsukoN/Getty Images Even pre-pandemic, teachers were creative when choosing instructional materials to use with students. When presented with a recommended or even required curriculum, RAND research has found, teachers exercised great autonomy in modifying teaching materials and finding additional resources to supplement them. So, what do teachers want when it comes to instructional materials, particularly now? Knowing the answer to this question can help district and school leaders select online materials that teachers are more likely to use and guide curriculum developers to create resources with these features in mind. As many districts face the likelihood of continuing online schooling, part- or full-time, for many more months, the answer is more important than ever. To find out, we recently conducted a survey and interview study of middle and high school English language arts and mathematics teachers through the American Instructional Resources Survey (AIRS) Project and learned that the most valued instructional materials have three key dimensions: they are engaging and appropriately challenging for students, and easy to use for teachers. Of course, engaging, challenging, and easy to use can all be defined in different ways. Here's how the teachers defined each term: Share on Twitter The teachers described engaging materials as appropriately challenging for students—neither frustratingly difficult nor too easy—and are interactive or collaborative. Games, quizzes, and hands-on activities are especially sought. Materials connected to the real world and to students' interests—say, using a baseball-related example to work through a math problem—are also important. In addition, the teachers said they value multicultural content, to make sure all students are represented, and that the visual appeal of content is critical; web pages that are too busy or dense can disengage students easily. Appropriately Challenging The teachers prefer materials that progress in difficulty and/or have entry points for students of different skill levels (“scaffolded”). This way, students can build to a higher level of difficulty as they progress. Teachers said materials should be written in contemporary English, feature text that matches students' vocabulary levels and focus on appropriately mature topics and themes. But they shouldn't overwhelm students with too much information. Teachers especially prefer digital resources that are easily accessible—a tough find, as engaging materials such as quizzes and activities are prone to technical difficulties or don't always work on all devices. They also said they appreciate different options for advanced students and those who struggle, including those learning English. Finally, the teachers noted that they looked for materials that are editable or easy to modify according to their classroom formats (online or print) and their own students' needs. In the survey and interviews, teachers reinforced the idea that they regard themselves not as passive curriculum implementers, but as active educational decisionmakers. They often talked about making choices about what materials to use or how to modify or supplement them based on the characteristics of their students, class, school, and community (student interests, proportion of English learners, school priorities for the year, current events). So how can principals and district leaders best support their dedicated, knowledgeable, and independent-minded teaching workforce in materials selection? The findings in our study suggest there are five things to try: • Prioritize the three characteristics. Consider engagement, appropriateness of challenge, and usability when helping to select materials. • Elicit teacher input. Teachers usually know what they want and need for their students, so include them in materials previews or piloting. • Remember that diversity can support student engagement. How well do the materials address diverse students' interests and experiences? Consider developing a library or list of supplemental materials that are connected to students' interests and cultural backgrounds and, if needed, find ways to support teachers in integrating content that students identify with. • Support teachers by providing guidance on how they can supplement and modify required and recommended materials so they are accessible to all students. This can be done through professional development. Schools and districts can develop guidelines to help teachers find or modify high-quality supplemental materials while ensuring academic rigor. Teaching coaches can provide guidance on differentiation. • Find materials that invite modification. Finding easily editable materials for your teaching staff can lessen the time they need to spend on this task. Of course, online accessibility right now is especially important: While teachers prefer easily accessible digital materials in the time of school shutdowns, they may also need to know whether all their students have secure, reliable technological devices and network access. Elaine L. Wang is a policy researcher, Andrea Prado Tuma is an associate social scientist and Julia Kaufman is a senior policy researcher at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. This commentary originally appeared on The 74 on February 10, 2021. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Cunard Transatlantic Crossings By Ship : The History and The Heritage Cunard is the only cruise company with a regular scheduled Transatlantic Crossing Service using an Ocean Liner. This article explores the history of transatlantic crossings and Cunard. Cunard Queen Elizabeth 2 New York with the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in the background. Cunard Queen Elizabeth 2 New York. Photo by: Cunard is the only line in the world that still runs a regular scheduled Transatlantic Crossing service. Today they use the unique and iconic Queen Mary 2, which was designed to be able to cope with the harshness of the route. This makes Cunard different, and unique, to all other cruise lines in the world. Doing a “Crossing” is seen by cruising fans as an important journey. It remains a “must-do” trip for anyone passionate about cruising and ships. It is, I believe, one of the ultimate experiences in travel. A “Crossing” harks back to the “golden age” of liner travel, something that Cunard has ensured that it has retained as an essential part of what makes Cunard distinctive and unique. In my view, there are 5 key ages of transatlantic crossings: #1: The Pioneering of Crossings: Crossings of the Atlantic before the 19th Century were infrequent and more like expeditions and were undertaken by sail boats. The development of steamship technology made crossings more regular and scheduled. Samuel Cunard was a major pioneer in the development of regular and scheduled crossings, when he won the contract to carry mail from the UK to the United States. He ran the service by forming the rather cumbersome titled “British and North America Royal Mail Steam-Packet Company”. From this base, Cunard developed and expanded and for about 30 years offered the fastest way to cross the Atlantic. It became the “Cunard Steamship Company” in 1879, though by then Cunard had lost its edge. It was struggling against lines like the White Star Line (eventual owner of “Titanic”) who had better ships and technology, as well as from the effects of national pride driving the United States, Germany, Italy and France to develop and build transatlantic liner technology and ships. Cunard emerged to leadership again in the 1930s after the UK government forced a merger with the struggling White Star Line, and helped fund building the Queen Mary, which along with Queen Elizabeth came to represent the flagship of transatlantic crossing. #2: National Pride and The Need For Speed (“Blue Riband”) In the 1930s through to the 1950s, the focus was on how fast your liner could cross the Atlantic. The aim was to get passengers across the Atlantic as fast as possible. Cruise companies, encouraged by and usually funded by their national governments, focused on how to design and build liners that could do the crossing as fast as possible. Ships battled to win the “Blue Riband”. This is an unofficial award and recognition that has its origins in horse racing. While ships competed to record the lowest average speed on the Eastern crossing from Europe to New York, in order to win the “Blue Riband” they also needed to be the fastest crossing westerly against the push of the Gulf Stream. There was also the less famous Hales Award, which was open to any type of ship and not just passenger ships. 35 different Atlantic liners held the Blue Riband, with 25 being British. A staggering 13 Cunard ships held the Blue Riband with the most recent being the Queen Mary (in both 1936 and 1938). The last official holder of the Blue Riband though is the “United States” in 1952. Nowadays, crossing the Atlantic is more about the experience, and taking a more leisurely and indulgent journey. #3: Transatlantic Crossings During War Transatlantic liners were integral to both of the World Wars, and also the Falklands War when Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth 2 was used to transport troops to the islands. In fact much of the liner ship building sponsored by governments was partly driven with an eye to possible military application in the event of war. The sinking of Cunard’s Lusitania on 7 May 1915 by German Submarines during the First World War killed 1198 out of 1959 people on board, and the public outrage was so great it is attributed with leading to the United States entering World War I. Cunard lost many liners in German submarine attacks in the First World War, including the Franconia (1916), Ausonia (1918), Laconia (1917) and the Andania (1918). In the Second World War, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were used to ferry two million troops between the USA and Europe, mostly taking American servicemen to Europe when the USA entered the war. They were attributed by Winston Churchill of shortening the war by at least a year as they were so fast they were able to outrun German submarines and so enabled getting so many troops for the Allied Forces. #4: Transatlantic Death By Jet Liner After the Second World War, the transatlantic business boomed as people on both sides of the Atlantic wanted to explore each other continents, and the glamour of Crossings was driven by the rich, famous and other celebrities who travelled extensively across the Atlantic by ship. Then in October 1958 everything changed when scheduled jet liner services started making the crossing faster and offered a new, modern and exciting alternative. By the mid 1960s, it was possible that crew out numbered passengers. Like other companies, Cunard was forced to scale back crossings. They withdrew both the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth from service in the mid 1960s. The Queen Elizabeth 2 entered service in 1969, and was the only liner that maintained a regular service, positioning it as a glamourous and exclusive form of travel. #5: One Scheduled Transatlantic Service: Queen Mary 2 Running a regular Transatlantic Crossing is a major commitment. It requires a ship designed and built as an Ocean Liner. One that can manage the harsh conditions and battering that the North Atlantic throws at it. The Queen Mary 2 is the only such ship in service today. It is a once off design, and as an Ocean Liner is unlike any other cruise ship in the world. Other cruise companies will only run a transatlantic service at the start and end of the European Summer season to reposition their ships, usually from Europe to the Caribbean or perhaps as part of a World Cruise route. The Queen Mary 2 can cross the Atlantic in significantly fewer days that it runs its schedule on! When the Queen Mary 2 came into service it offered 6 night crossings to and from Southampton and New York. This was also the length that the Queen Elizabeth used to offer. In 2011 these were increased to 7 nights, and in 2013 these will increase to be 8 nights for many crossings. The reason is the spiralling costs of fuel. Fuel is a major factor affecting what it costs a cruise ship or liner to complete a journey. By slowing the Queen Mary 2 down it takes less fuel to do the journey and so costs less. Cunard found that the increase in on-board spending from the longer trip time helped make the economics work even better. Last thought on Cunard and Transatlantic Crossings Maintaining a scheduled Transatlantic Crossing is core to the Cunard brand, and it is an amazing experience and a classic journey. I have been on crossings on the Queen Elizabeth 2 and the Queen Mary 2. They are remarkable experiences. I am off again in 2 weeks on one again. You should add it onto your “must do”list! Queen Mary II Apr 22 2004 – 1st time into NY Harbour. Photo by: Read my other tips for travellers articles on Cunard: Leave a Reply
The Nazi Titanic Cap Arcona Nazi Titanic The Cap Arcona docked during one of her cruises. In its heyday during the 1920s and ’30s the Hamburg-based ocean liner Cap Arcona was one of the most recognizable ships in the world. Built between July 21, 1926 and October 29, 1927, the 676-foot-long ship was modeled, in large part, on the ill-fated HMS Titanic, setting new standards in terms of luxury and engineering. So it’s no surprise that on its maiden voyage—to South America in November 1927, the first of ninety-one transatlantic crossings—the passenger manifest was filled with people from moneyed families around the world, with American actor Clark Gable among the most recognizable names on board. Or that the Cap Arcona would soon earn the nickname “Queen of the South Atlantic,” owing to its status as the largest and most celebrated ocean liner traveling to and from South America. But when World War II broke out the Cap Arcona was commandeered by the German navy and utilized as a floating barracks. Then, in 1942, it was cast as the “star” of an epic, big budget propaganda film, Titanic—a movie commissioned by German minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels—hence the nickname the Nazi Titanic. Though the ship was near-perfect for its role in Titanic, the film—both the production process and the final product—was a colossal failure in the eyes of Goebbels, hardly what he had in mind when he authorized a budget of four million reichsmarks (roughly $180 million in today’s dollars), making it the most expensive movie made to date. More notably, still, Titanic ended the career—and life—of director Herbert Selpin, who died under very suspicious circumstances while in the custody of the Gestapo after a tense face-to-face meeting with Goebbels. But the story doesn’t end there. Near the end of the war the Cap Arcona was utilized as an evacuation ship and floating concentration camp. And when the Nazis realized the war was all but lost, they devised a plan to scuttle the ship with the prisoners aboard. But they didn’t get the chance, as the liner was mistakenly bombed by the Royal Air Force. In the recent book “The Nazi Titanic” (DaCapo), author Robert P. Watson tells the life story of the Cap Arcona, from its construction at the Blohm+Voss shipyards to the day it capsized and burned in the Bay of Lübeck in the southwestern Baltic Sea. In the following Failure Interview, Watson explains why British pilots accidentally bombed the ship and why the tragedy of the Cap Arcona—not to mention Herbert Selpin’s Titanic (1943)—have largely been forgotten by history. Why isn’t the Cap Arcona tragedy better remembered? A couple things: Days earlier Adolf Hitler committed suicide, and just days afterward came VE Day—the end of the war in Europe. So it was sandwiched between these two momentous events that sucked up all the media coverage. Second, as soon as the war ended [in Europe], all eyes were focused on Japan. We had the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and then you had the looming, pending crisis of millions of displaced people throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. So people were distracted by other things. But the main reason we missed the story is because the British sealed the records. It appears that they were so embarrassed by this event—perhaps the worst example of friendly fire in world history—that they sealed the records in the basement of their national archives. Scholars and veterans of the war didn’t know where the documents were, and didn’t make the kind of requests necessary to get access to them. Who built the Cap Arcona and was it modeled after Titanic? It was built by a German company named Blohm+Voss, which is still in business today and one of the world’s greatest ship builders. And it was operated by Hamburg-South America, which is known as Hamburg Süd, which is also still in business. They modeled the ship after Titanic, though they put more lifeboats on the Cap Arcona and it had a much stronger hull. They also made it to look [similar to] Titanic, although there is a one funnel difference in terms of the smokestacks. The two ships were also similar in opulence. Wealthy families from Argentina to Canada, not to mention monarchs from Europe—a real Who’s Who—sailed on the Cap Arcona. But when World War II broke out, all German all ships were commandeered by the Kriegsmarine. The Cap Arcona was sent to the Polish coast in 1939 after the Nazis invaded Poland and it was used as a floating barracks and naval training platform, rusting away during the war. Then in 1942 it was spruced up and played the role of Titanic in director Herbert Selpin’s movie. I understand the filmmakers didn’t plan to utilize a real ocean liner until it became clear that the sinking scenes would not look realistic without a full-size ship. They had their best model makers make models of Titanic, but the scenes didn’t look realistic enough. At one point Selpin requested that Germany build a replica of Titanic. Then it dawned on the Nazis that they already had a ship that could star in the movie. Towards the end of the war the Cap Arcona was used to evacuate soldiers and civilians, right? It had two roles at the end of the war. The first was Operation Hannibal. While the Red Army was marching from the east, Admiral Karl Brennans sent ships to the Polish coast and loaded them up with over two million soldiers and civilians and raced them across the southern Baltic into Nazi occupied territory. Cap Arcona was one of these ships. These must have been harrowing missions because there were Russian submarines sitting in the Baltic waiting for them. And then at the end of the war Cap Arcona became, in effect, a floating concentration camp? In March 1945 Hitler informed Heimlich Himmler and Goebbels that they had to “destroy the concentration camps and their inmates rather than allow them to fall into enemy hands.” The following month Himmler released his own decree. It read “To all Commanders of concentration camps. There will be no surrender. The camp has to be evacuated immediately. No prisoner may fall into the hands of the enemy alive.” Meanwhile, Himmler concocted a plan to move tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors. He couldn’t move them south, east, or west, because the Allies were coming. The only place not overrun yet was north-central Germany. What he wanted to do was to give the prisoners to Dwight Eisenhower and Bernard Montgomery in exchange for his own life and the possibility of a separate negotiated surrender on the western front so the Nazis could move their troops to the eastern front and fight the Russians. Prisoners were first moved to Neuengamme, near Hamburg, in north-central Germany, and from there they were marched sixty kilometers north to the Baltic coast. There were thousands of concentration camp survivors at the port [where the Cap Arcona and other ships were anchored] and there was little food or water so prisoners were dying by the dozens or hundreds a day. There were also thousands of prisoners aboard the Cap Arcona who had little food and water. That’s when the Nazis recognized that the British were only days away from overwhelming the coast and decided to load as many prisoners as they could aboard the ship before sinking it. That way they would kill all the prisoners, like Hitler wanted, and deny the Allies from getting the Cap Arcona. But before they could scuttle the ship British planes bombed it. Why did they make that mistake? Anyone would recognize the difference between an ocean liner and a warship but there had been rumors swirling that the Nazis were going to try to make a run for it and make one last stand. The most obvious scenario would be that they would load everyone up on ships and flee to Norway. The Nazis still held Norway, and the geographic isolation—the mountains, the deep fjords, the cold winters—would make Norway the perfect place to dig in. The British had seen U-boats fleeing to Norway, so the pilots may have felt that the Cap Arcona was set to transport soldiers.
IMPORTANTTo read the national and local advice about coronavirus, please click Open Hours Bell Pharmacy Bow What is it and how do we get it: You can become infected with the polio virus if you come into contact with the poo (faeces) of someone with the infection, or with the droplets launched into the air when they cough or sneeze. You can also get the infection from food or water that has been contaminated with infected poo or droplets. The incubation period for polio is commonly 6–20 day. Symptoms of Polio: Surprisingly, 95% of all individuals infected with polio have no apparent symptoms. A small number of people will experience a flu-like illness. In less than 1% of cases, the polio virus attacks the nerves in the spine and base of the brain. This can cause paralysis, usually in the legs. The paralysis isn't usually permanent, and movement will often slowly return. However, some people are left with persistent problems. About 1 in every 200 people with the infection will have some degree of permanent paralysis, such as: muscle weakness, shrinking of the muscles (atrophy), tight joints (contractures), deformities, such as twisted feet or legs. Childhood/ Routine Immunization program in the United Kingdom: It is given in Five doses – the first when the child is 8 weeks (part of 6 in 1 injection), 12 weeks (part of 6 in 1 injection), 16 weeks (part of 6 in 1 injection), 3-8 years (part of 4 in 1 injection) and at 14 years (part of 3 in 1 injection). Polio vaccine is usually given in combination of other vaccines such as Diphtheria (bacteria) and Tetanus (Bacteria). Travellers going to destinations with Polio outbreaks: Travellers who had 5 full doses before and you received the last dose less than 10 years ago You are good to go Travellers who had 5 full doses before and you received the last dose more than 10 years ago You are good to go but depending on destination you might want to have a booster Travellers who had less than 5 doses before Should have an extra dose before departure Travellers not sure if they had any doses before They should be given 1 dose before departure Inclusion and Exclusion list: For patients above age of 6. There are inclusion and exclusion list that will be discussed with you during your appointment. You will be asked to fill in an assessment form with all your vaccination history details as well as any medical condition. Also we will go through any allergic reactions you might have. You can download the form here or you can fill it in during your appointment. Name of the Vaccines subject to availabilities: Name of the Vaccine Type of Vaccine Schedule (see notes above) Price per schedule including consultation Revaxis Mixture of Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and Inactivated Polio Virus (IPV) 1 dose £32 Side effects: The most common side effects are local reactions (pain, erythema, induration and oedema) within 48 hours after vaccination, and persisting for 1-2 days. Very common (more than 1 in 10 persons) As above also pain, redness, hardening of the skin, swelling of the nodule, Dizziness (vertigo), feeling sick and being sick, headache. Please visit http://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations.aspx, after putting your destinations, this website will advise you which vaccines are needed. This website is regularly updated and is 534 Roman Rd, Tower Hamlet, London, Greater London E3 5ES 020 8980 8853 Contact Us Mr David Jones (1234567) Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Terms And Conditions Copyright 2021 Shopping Cart In Store
Is Every Country In The World In Debt? Who owns the World debt? The United States, Japan and China report the biggest shares of overall global debt. Using data from the IMF, the Visual Capitalist report states that the U.S. reports having $20 trillion in government debt, which is nearly a third of the overall global debt pool.. How much is China’s debt? How Much Is America worth? Why did Greece go broke? Why is Japan’s debt so high? Japan’s debt began to swell in the 1990s when its finance and real estate bubble burst to disastrous effect. With stimulus packages and a rapidly ageing population that pushes up healthcare and social security costs, Japan’s debt first breached the 100-percent-of-GDP mark at the end of the 1990s. Does every country owe money? All countries currently have debts because all contemporary fiat money is backed by government debts. If there were no (government) debts, there would be no money. It is important to note that those national debts are backed by future outputs i.e. their taxable portions, and not by other government assets. Which country is best? What country has the highest debt 2020? United StatesListRankCountry/RegionDate1United States31 March 20202United Kingdom31 December 20173Germany31 March 20204Japan31 March 202074 more rows Is Singapore a debt free country? Taking into account our assets, we have in fact no net debt. … The Singapore Government in fact has a strong balance sheet with assets well in excess of our liabilities. This makes us a net creditor country, not a net debtor country. Is China a third world country? What country is the richest? Who owes America? Is Canada richer than USA? What’s the poorest country ever? What happens if a country has no debt? By being in a little debt, the countries that we owe money to would defend us in war because they don’t want to lose their investment. … If we were to have no debt, other countries would have no vested interest in us, and we would not have the same influence we did on other countries. What countries have no debt? Which countries have the most debt?
What Did The Dutch Trade? Is Holland Rich or poor? Who is the richest person in the Netherlands? When did the Dutch steal the spice trade? February 25, 1603Casus belli. At dawn on February 25, 1603, three ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) seized the Santa Catarina, a Portuguese galleon. Where did the Dutch establish a successful spice trade? This, combined with the fact that Portugal united with Spain in 1580 motivated the Dutch to enter the spice trade because the Dutch Republic was at war with Spain at that time. The first permanent Dutch trading post was established in 1603 in Banten, West Java, Indonesia. Today this area is Batavia, Indonesia. How did the Dutch get so rich? Dutch benefited the most from slavery and harsh human conditions. They trade slaves from all parts of the world and it was the last European country to abolish slavery. Loads of people got rich in investing in the stock market with VOC — Which is considered the wealthier company in the world ever. What caused the decline of the Dutch Republic? When did the Dutch rule the world? Why did the Dutch surrender New Amsterdam without a fight? The Dutch Republic wanted some of that action, too. Around the time English settlers were putting down roots in places like Virginia and Massachusetts, there was another colony taking shape in what is now New York. … So, in 1664, four English ships landed in New Amsterdam and demanded that New Netherland surrender. When did the Dutch take over the Spice Islands? 1601Dutch take over spice trade In 1601, the Dutch – who also began to build ocean-going ships – defeated the Iberians in Indonesian waters in a battle despite being heavily outnumbered. Why did the Dutch leave India? Where do the rich live in Netherlands? How much would the Dutch East India Company be worth today? Dutch East India Company, established in the early 17th century, would be worth $7.9 trillion in today’s dollars. What made New Netherland successful? What caused the Dutch Golden Age? The Dutch Golden Age (17th century) was a period of great wealth for the Dutch Republic. The Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) caused trade to expand quickly, which attracted immigrants and stimulated the growth of the main cities and ports. When did Dutch leave India? Dutch presence on the Indian subcontinent lasted from 1605 to 1825. Merchants of the Dutch East India Company first established themselves in Dutch Coromandel, notably Pulicat, as they were looking for textiles to exchange with the spices they traded in the East Indies. What did the Dutch West India Company trade? These possessions, which remained Dutch until 1872, made it possible to control the Guinea trade for a long period. Between 1623 and 1674, the company shipped more than 320,000 ounces of gold and an unknown quantity of ivory, wax, and other tropical products to the Dutch Republic. What did the Dutch trade in the 1600s? How did the Dutch get rich? The Company received a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade, which it would keep for two centuries, and it became the world’s largest commercial enterprise of the 17th century. Spices were imported in bulk and brought huge profits due to the efforts and risks involved and demand. How did the Dutch get slaves? Between 1612 and 1872, the Dutch operated from some 10 fortresses along the Gold Coast (now Ghana), from which slaves were shipped across the Atlantic. The trade declined between 1780 and 1815. The Dutch part in the Atlantic slave trade is estimated at 5-7 percent, or some 550,000-600,000 Africans. Why did the Dutch come to America? Many of the Dutch immigrated to America to escape religious persecution. They were known for trading, particularly fur, which they obtained from the Native Americans in exchange for weapons. What goods did the Dutch trade? These goods included, but were not limited to: Scandinavian wood, means for shipbuilding, iron, copper, wheat, rye, North Sea Fish, and English wool. The Dutch faced the pressure of competition with several growing competitors. How did the Dutch treat the natives? From an Indian viewpoint, the Dutch were seen as not being hospitable for they gave few presents and charged for repairing guns. Regarding the Indians, the Dutch generally followed a policy of live and let live: they did not force assimilation or religious conversion on the Indians. Why are the Dutch rich? Why did the Dutch East India Company fail? Toward the end of the 18th century the company became corrupt and seriously in debt. The Dutch government eventually revoked the company’s charter and in 1799 took over its debts and possessions.
NEW YORK (CBS) – Pushing that “door close” button won’t make your next elevator trip any faster. The head of the National Elevator Industry, Karen Penafiel, confirmed to The New York Times in a recent article that functional close-door buttons have been phased out since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990 (Door open buttons still work). Federal law requires that the doors stay open long enough for those with crutches or a wheelchair to get in the elevator. “The riding public would not be able to make those doors close any faster,” Penafiel told The Times. And the newspaper notes this is not the only example of placebos “that promote an illusion of control but that in reality do not work.” Signs may tell pedestrians to push a button and wait for the walk signal, but The Times reports that most of those buttons were deactivated more than a decade ago as computer-controlled traffic signals became more popular. Additionally, some workplaces have installed “dummy thermostats,” according to The Times, and that has cut down on complaints about the temperature in the office. So why does placebo technology exist? It all comes down to mental health, one local expert says. “Perceived control is very important,” Harvard University psychology professor Ellen Langer tells The Times. “It diminishes stress and promotes well being.”
Building Materials The paper presents the results of laboratory research of indicators of composite thermal-insulation boards filled with irretrievable spinning flax and cotton. As the matrix of the composite used UF binder with various additives. UF binder has advantages and disadvantages: is cheaper but less waterproof than other synthetic binders. The work assessed the properties of the binder and the influence of the composition of the binder on the physical and mechanical properties of the thermal-insulating material. The IR spectrum of the binder, the dependence of the degree of curing of the UF binder on the type and proportion of the hardener additive are given. The results were obtained that the degree of curing and water resistance of the UF binder depends on the type and proportion of the hardener additive and the curing temperature. The physical and mechanical properties and the coefficient of thermal conductivity of the boards on the UF binder were determined. It is shown that the type of additive in the UF binder affects the physical and mechanical properties of thermal-insulation composite boards from spinning flax and cotton. The paper summarizes the results of the determination of the physical and mechanical parameters of boards from plant waste, and proposed a rational combination of factors for the production of composites. The type of additive in the binder does not have a significant effect on the thermal conductivity of the material. Composites have a coefficient of thermal conductivity required for thermal-insulation materials.
TOC \| Rheumatology Acute Monoarticular Arthritis Pretest Probabilities Diagnostic Strategies In virtually all cases of monarthritis, joint aspiration and synovial fluid analysis are essential to making a definitive diagnosis for infectious and crystal-induced arthritis (Table 3). A clinical history of gout and identification of a tophus may provide near certainty without a joint aspirate. The serum uric acid is a poor test for the presence or absence of gout. A Gram stain and culture should be obtained in the elderly or chronically ill patient, regardless of crystal examination results. Gram stain of synovial fluid is fairly sensitive for nongonococcal joint sepsis. Gonococcal arthropathy is rapidly responsive to antibiotic therapy. A therapeutic trial may be the only method to confirm the diagnosis. In a previously healthy young woman with monarthritis, gonococcal disease should be presumed present if gout cannot be proved by crystal examination. Although Gram stain or cultures of joint fluid are positive in less than 25% of cases, the chance of a bacteriologic diagnosis is vastly improved by culturing the blood, urinary tract, and all other possible sources of gonococcal bacteremia (1). A prompt response (48 to 72 hours) to appropriate antibiotics supports the diagnosis. A similar strategy applies to young men, unless they have a tophus or more than four criteria for the diagnosis of gout. In healthy older men and postmenopausal women, gout becomes more likely. In the absence of a diagnosis supported by crystal examination or Gram stain, five or more clinical criteria strongly suggest gout, especially if clinical features of disseminated gonococcal disease are absent. In the absence of five or more criteria for gout, empiric treatment for gonococcal disease may be given as a therapeutic and diagnostic maneuver, anticipating prompt response to antibiotics or confirmation by culture results. In the elderly or chronically ill patient with acute monarthritis, joint sepsis should be suspected even in the absence of fever and leukocytosis. Treatment for joint sepsis should be initiated unless crystals are identified and the Gram stain is negative. The presence of hyperuricemia (which may be due to renal insufficiency, salicylates, or diuretics) is difficult to interpret in this group and should not influence therapy. Differential Diagnosis of monoarticular arthritis: Infectious or Septic Arthritis Historically, gram-positive organisms (particularly Staphylococcus aureus) have been the most common etiologic pathogens in patients with septic arthritis. The spectrum of septic arthritis has changed gradually. Gram-negative, mycobacterial, or fungal infections, which were previously rare causes of joint space infections, are now seen more commonly in clinical practice. This change in disease expression is likely due to the presence of comorbid diseases or aberrant immune surveillance in seriously ill patients. Most cases of bacterial arthritis develop because of transient bacteremia and secondary hematogenous spread of pathogens (for example, following dental or urologic procedures) or because of sustained intravascular sepsis (for example, in an immunocompromised host). Fungal or mycobacterial pathogens should be considered in immunocompromised hosts with new-onset synovitis or in patients with unexplained monoarticular arthritis. Diagnosis usually requires synovial biopsy with appropriate diagnostic stains and cultures. Infection with the recently characterized etiologic agent of Whipple's disease (Tropheryma whippelli) may result in multisystem disease, including a peripheral arthritis that may antedate signs or symptoms of intestinal malabsorption; synovial biopsy or jejunal biopsy may be useful in establishing the diagnosis of this disorder. Psoriatic Arthritis The patterns described include: (1) a symmetric polyarthritis similar to seronegative RA, which is seen in about 25% of all patients with psoriasis and arthritis; (2) monoarticular or pauciarticular arthritis, which may include sausage digits; (3) spondylitis or sacroiliitis, which occurs more often in the patients who also have arthritis of pattern 2 than it does as an isolated entity; (4) distal interphalangeal joint arthritis, which frequently accompanies psoriasis of the corresponding nails; and (5) a severe destructive arthritis ("arthritis mutilans"), with ankylosis of some joints and dissolution of juxta-articular bone at others. This is the most severe type, but rare. Other CrystalsOther Crystals Associated with Arthritis Acute arthritis, including podagra, bursitis, and tendonitis, has been associated with calcium oxalate crystals due to primary oxalosis or oxalate accumulation secondary to end-stage renal failure. Although cholesterol and other lipid crystals are frequent in rheumatoid synovial and bursal effusions, they have recently been suggested as a rare cause of acute monoarthritis, bursitis, and unexplained polyarthritis. Eosinophilic monoarticular synovitis following minor trauma in allergic patients has been linked to the presence of Charcot-Leyden crystals. Other rare causes that have been hypothesized to result in crystal-induced arthritis include crystals due to immunoglobulin, cystine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, and aluminum phosphate. Of 117 patients followed for a mean of 2 years, 17 developed monoarticular or polyarticular arthritis, usually in the setting of advanced HIV infection. "Rheumatic symptoms and human immunodeficiency virus infection. The influence of clinical and laboratory variables in a longitudinal cohort study." Arthritis Rheum. 1991:34:257-63.
Disinfo: Reactionary circles of Western Europe had a deadly plan to inspire a war between Nazism and Bolshevism Some reactionary circles of Western Europe had a deadly plan to inspire a war between Nazism and Bolshevism – in this war, they would have exhausted each other or Germany would have destroyed the USSR. This plan should have been realized using Czechoslovakia. It had a goal to focus the entire attention of Nazi Germany on Eastern and Central Europe, turning this region into an anti-Communist bastion, which would then be occupied for years. It was also possible that the reactionary circles of Western democracies could have directly supported Germany in its war with Russia. In this situation, Hungary and Poland would do everything to help Germany attack the Soviet Union. This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to erode the disastrous historical role of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by the statements that the USSR was forced to sign this pact; other European countries signed various international agreements with Adolf Hitler, Munich Agreement triggered WWII and various historical conspiracies saying that the Western democracies wanted to inspire a war between Nazism and Communism. The Munich Agreement (September 30, 1938), indeed, permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia. The policy of appeasement towards Adolf Hitler was heavily criticised in Europe and proved to be a disastrous move. World War II began in Europe one year later, on 1 September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. The signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a mutual decision of two totalitarian regimes (Nazi Germany and the Stalinist USSR) aimed at the division of Eastern and Central Europe between these two powers. It is a proven historical fact that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact contained the Secret Supplementary Protocol, which assumed the division of Poland and other Eastern European countries between the USSR and Germany. Thus, the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact enabled the German and Soviet military aggression against Poland in September 1939, which resulted in the occupation of this country by Germany and USSR, triggering the beginning of WWII. Read similar examples of the Russian historical revisionism concerning this issue - Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact thwarted the UK’s expansionist plans in Europe, The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact did not violate the rights of the Polish state, The shift of all blame for WWII outbreak at the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact the best example of manipulation of history. • Reported in: Issue 182 • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22/01/2020 • Outlet language(s) Polish • Country: Slovakia, UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Russia • Keywords: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, West, Historical revisionism, USSR, WWII, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Conspiracy theory, Nazi/Fascist see more A number of governments distort their countries’ Holocaust past, including Lithuania, Poland and Hungary, but there are “vocal minorities in other places as well”, where people insist that the Germans, not they themselves, were responsible for all anti-Jewish violence. […] Current Polish authorities try to wipe clean history to make it look more convenient. A recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative on anti-Semitism and an attempt to depict EU member states as anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism is a tragic part of European history, and few countries can claim never to have hosted anti-Semitic sentiment. There is also no doubt that the manifestations of anti-Semitism still can be encountered on in the European public discourse. EU and all member states have at several occasions clearly denounced anti-Semitism and committed to combating it. The West is trying to destroy Russia by destroying the very understanding of truth The West is trying to destroy Russia by destroying the very understanding of truth. The West is attempting to justify itself, because the West gave birth to the worse ideology ever to exists in the present, past, and possibly the future also – nazism. Nazism is absolute evil and is an absolute product of the West. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West rewriting history. Examples of similar disinformation narratives include Poland lies about WW2 to weaken Russia's position or Revision of the WW2 history is the state position of Warsaw. Those narratives appear in the context of the approaching 75th anniversary since the end of the WW2. European Union justifies Nazism By passing resolutions that equate the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, the West is trying to acquit itself of the fact that it gave rise to the most terrible ideology that ever existed on earth – Nazism. Recurring disinformation narrative that attempts to portray the USSR's role in World War II as non-aggressive. This programme also contains the recurring pro-Kremlin narrative claiming that Western countries are Nazis or support Nazis. The European Union was set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. The Nazi and fascist ideology and the EU are based on opposite values and principles. The European Union provides a consistent policy to combat racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance. Article No. 2 of the Treaty on European Union declares that "The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail." This is reflected in the Vienna Declaration (1993) to establish "the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance". It deals with issues related to fighting racism, discrimination (on grounds of “race”, ethnic/national origin, colour, citizenship, religion, language, sexual orientation and gender identity), xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and intolerance. On 25 October 2018, the European Parliament demanded the ban on neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups in the EU. In a resolution passed with 355 votes to 90 and 39 abstentions, MEPs denounced the lack of serious action against these groups which enabled the current xenophobic surge in Europe.
Encyclopedia of Southern Italy – D Da Guardiagrele, Nicola: (b. Guardiagrele [CH]) (fl. AD 15th Century). Artist. He is considered one of the best Abruzzian sculptors and goldsmiths. Although he probably received his native Guardiagrele, a noted center for gold and iron working, his works reveal a definite Tuscan influence. Among his works is a 1431 silver processional cross with enamel and filigree which survives at Guardiagrele. Daedalus (or Daidalos): A hero of Greek mythology. A native of Athens, he gained fame as an accomplished architect, inventor and craftsman. After designing the famous Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete to house the Minotaur, Daedalus aided the hero Theseus to defeat that monster and successfully escape. The enraged Minos had Daedalus and his son Icarus imprisoned in the Labyrinth. The two prisoners escaped using wings designed the inventor, flying from Crete out over the sea. Icarus disobeyed his father’s warning and flew too close to the sun. The wax binding the feathers on his wings melted and the boy plunged to his death into the sea. Daedalus, unable to save Icarus, continued on his own flight, coming to rest finally in Sicily. He came to reside in Camicus (or Inycus), at the court of Cocalus (Kokalos), a Sikan king. Minos set out with a fleet to find the fugitive. Upon reaching Sicily, Minos used a ruse to discover where Daedalus resided. The Cretan king offered a rich reward for anyone who could perform the seemingly impossible feat of passing a thread through a spiral seashell. Desiring this prize for himself, Cocalus approached Daedalus for a solution. Daedalus simply tied a thread to an ant and had the insect pull it through the shell. When Minos learned that the problem had been solved, he knew that only Daedalus could have achieved it. Minos demanded that Cocalus turn the fugitive over or be attacked by his forces. Cocalus knew that he could not defeat Minos but did not wish to give Daedalus up to his fate. Instead, he pretended to cooperate and invited Minos into Camicus to dine before taking away his prisoner. As Minos relaxed in the customary bath prior to the meal, he was murdered by the daughters of Cocalus. With Minos dead, his leaderless forces withdrew and Daedalus was saved. There are several places in Sicily that are associated with Daedalus. The River Platani (Halykos), which winds its way through the Sikanian Kamico Mountains to a mouth midway between Agrigento and Sciacca, was part of Cocalus’s kingdom. The name of ancient Eraclea Minoa, located near Montallegro and the mouth of the river Platani, appears to be inspired by Minos. The mythographer-historian Diodorus Siculus claimed that Minos was buried here. In reality the city was named by its Greek founders after the Greek island of Minoa. Some sources say that Daedalus landed at Cumae instead of Sicily, and that he built a temple there in honor of Apollo. This version, however, may have been the result of mistaking the name of Camicus for Cumae. D’Agnese, Ercole: (fl. late 18th Century). Statesman. Member of the provisional government of the Parthenopean Republic. He served as President of the Executive Commission (April 15 to June 5, 1799) and President of the Executive Directory (June5-23, 1799). D’Aguillo, Corradino: (b. 1868 in Agnone). Composer. Having received his training at the Naples Conservatory, he traveled to Buenos Aires in South America for the first time in 1888. After returning to Italy for a time, he made a second trip to Buenos Aires in 1892, this time settling there permanently. He became a professor of harmony at the Cattelani Conservatory and later was a professor of piano at St. Cecilia Institute. Among the operas he composed were Il Leone di Venezia and La Zingara. Dahlgren (aka DeRohan), William: (b. Philadelphia; fl. mid-19th Century). American sea captain and soldier of fortune. Admiral in the Italian Navy. Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family, he became involved in the expedition of Garibaldi against the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Using his own money he purchased 3 ships (the Franklin, the Washington, and the Oregon) at the French port of Marseilles which he used to transport troops, ammunition and supplies to Garibaldi’s expedition in Sicily. Over three-quarters of Garibaldi’s reinforcements were transported on these ships in July, 1860. Dahlgren appears to have represented important, if understated, American participation in Garibaldi’s campaign. His ships carried American papers secured at the American consulate at Genoa and flew under American colors. Daippos: An athlete of ancient Kroton. He was victor in boxing at the Olympian Games in 672 BC. Dalbono, Edoardo (Eduardo): (b. Naples, 1843; d. 1915). Painter. He specialized in landscapes, as well as historical and mythological scenes. Having received his training at Rome and Naples, he traveled throughout Europe, earning a fine reputation in Italy, France, Austria, and even the United States. D’Alcamo, Cielo: (fl. 1st half of 13th century). Poet. He was part of the Sicilian School of poetry. His best-known work is a constrasto (a poetic dialogue or dispute) which is known from its first line Rosa fresca aulentissima. Typical of the Italian troubadours of the time, his writing combined the local Sicilian dialect with French and Provençal. Damarata (Damareta): (fl. 3rd century BC). Syracusan noblewoman. A daughter of Hieron II and Philitis, she married Adranodoros, leader of the pro-Carthaginian faction in Syracuse. After Adranodoros was killed (214 BC) in an unsuccessful attempt to seize power in Syracuse, Damarata, her sister Heraclia, and her mother Philitis, were killed by a mob. Damareteia: A large 10-drachmae coin-medallion of ancient Syracuse, named for Damareta, the wife of the tyrant Gelon I (r 485 BC– 478 BC). According to Diodorus Siculus, the coin had been struck from the metal of a gold crown given to Damareta by the Carthaginians in gratitude for her interceding of their behalf after the battle of Himera. Other sources believe that its metal came from the Carthaginian loot captured by the Syracusans after that battle. Damasus I, St.: Pope. (r Oct. 1, 366-Dec 11, 384). Damasus II: Pope. (rJuly 17-Aug 9, 1048). Darius Painter: (fl. 340-330 BC). Vase-Painter. An artist centered in ancient Apulia, he decorated vases using the red-figure technique. His actual name is unknown and he is identified from a vase from Naples depicting Darius, the Persian king. The Darius Painter worked on some very large vases, one of the earliest artists to do so. Some of these are over 3 feet in height. He depicted scenes from mythology, some of which were unique in choice. He appears to have been greatly influenced by theatrical productions. Dasà (VV): A commune in the province of Vibo Valentia. Dasius: (b. Brundisium; fl. late 3rd century BC). Soldier. In 218 BC, during the 2nd Punic War, he served as commander of the garrison at Clastidium. After accepting a bribe from Hannibal, he surrendered the town to the Carthaginians. Daspuro, Nicola (aka P. Suardon): (b. Jan. 19, 1853, Lecce; d. Jan. 13, 1941, in Naples or Dec 13, 1941, in Paris). Librettist. Daunus: A mythological figure closely connected with the area of Daunia Apulia. He was said to have founded some towns in that area, including Arpi. He was the father of Diomedes (1). D’Avalos, Francesco: (b. April 11, 1930, Naples). Composer, conductor, and music teacher. Born into an aristocratic family, he began his musical education at the age of 12, studying composition with Renato Parodi and piano with Vincenzo Vitale. He later studied Philosophy at the University of Naples. After graduating with high honors from the Conservatory of San Pietro a majella of Naples, he continued his studies at Siena’s Chigiana Academy under the tutelage of Paul van Kempen, Franco Ferrara and Sergiu Celibidache and was soon conducting in Italy and abroad. During his long career he has conducted orchestras throughout Italy and the rest of Europe. His compositions include symphonies, chamber music, and piano music. He was a teacher of Composition at the Bari Conservatory (1972-1979) and at the Naples Conservatory (1979-1998). Davoli (CZ): A commune in the province of Catanzaro. Population: 5,364 (2006e). Decina (pl. decine): a sub-division of a mafia family, consisting of 10 members. Decius Mus, Publius: The name of three related noble Romans who, according to tradition, each sacrificed his life for the sake of his country. (1). Consul 340 BC. He died in battle against the Samnites in 340 BC. He was the father of (2) and grandfather of (3). (2). Consul 312, 308, 297, 295 BC. He was killed in battle against the Samnites, Gauls, and Etruscans in 295 BC. He was the son of (1) and the father of (3). (3). Consil 279 BC. He was killed in 279 BC at the battle of Asculum against Pyrrhus. He was the son of (2) and grandfather of (1). Decollati: A Sicilian cult which venerates the spirits of executed criminals. Those so-honored had been asked forgiveness for their crimes and had been reconciled with the Church prior to their executions. They are evoked to intercede on behalf of those in danger of accidents while journeying by land or by sea. They are also called upon as a protection against murder and violence. Interestingly, they also protect against haemoptysis, a condition of coughing up bloody discharge. The principal center for this cult is a plain-looking chapel of the Decollati at Palermo, where it was reputed that these spirits gathered together beneath a particular stone. Those requesting their help approached the stone to say their prayers which are said to be answered verbally. A number of other shrines to the Decollati are found in other parts of Sicily. It is not necessary, however, to go to one of their shrines to ask for their help. Decollatura (CZ): A commune in the province of Catanzaro. Population: 3,370 (2006e). Decoroso, St.: Bishop of Capua (r AD 660-689). decumanus inferiore: the second E-W street to be laid down in a Roman town or camp. decumanus maximus: the main E-W street of an ancient Roman town, castra, or colony. All other E-W streets such as the decumanus inferiore took their orientation from the decumanus maximus. At its mid-point, known as the groma, it is crossed at right angles by the Cardo or Cardus Maximus. decurionato: a term used in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies for a town council. Del Duca, Giacomo: (b. c1520, Cefalu;. d. c1601, Messina). Sculptor. A pupil of Michelangelo, he worked on some of that master’s sculptures in Rome, including The Tomb of Julius II (church of S. Pietro in Vincoli), decoration of Porta Pia, Palazzo Pia, Villa Mattei al Celio, and the Church of Madonna di Loreto. In 1588, he relocated to Messina. Principal Works: Tomb of Elena Savelli (Rome).Church of San Giovanni dei Gerolamini (Messina).Loggia dei Mercati (Messina). Delia (CL): A commune in the province of Caltanissetta. Population: 4,472 (2006e). Delianuova (RC): A commune in the province of Reggio Calabria. Delicato (FG): A commune in the province of Foggia, located 43.3 km from Foggia. Population: 4,028 (2006e); 4,117 (2001); 4,304 (1991). Population Designation: Delicetani. deme: an ancient Greek village. Demeter: Ancient Greek goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread. In Italy she was identified with Ceres. Her name appears to derive from da (= “earth”) and meter (= “mother”). The island of Sicily was considered especially sacred to Demeter and her daughter Kore (Persephone), where they were usually worshipped in unison. By the Hellenistic period many of the myths concerning them were connected with sites in Sicily. For example, Kore’s Rape and abduction were said to have taken place in a meadow near Enna. Her abductor, Hades, brought her underground at the spring of Cyane near Syracuse. Each year the Syracusans held a festival there in her honor. This was one of many such festivals to the “Two Goddesses”; held in Sicily during the times of harvest and sowing. The mystery cult of Demeter was one of the most important in the ancient world. While her most famous shrine was located at Eleusis, on mainland Greece, centers dedicated to the goddess were established through Sicily as well. It was here that she was called Ceres, the name by which she came to be known in Roman times. She had important shrines at Syracuse, Gela, and Enna. On mainland Italy other shrines were established at Locri Epizephyrus and Hipponium. Demeter’s shrines were called Megara, and were usually located in sacred groves outside of the towns. Her cult promised a path to a happy afterlife accessible only to initiates into her mysteries. So sacred were the rites of initiation into her cult that no record of them survives. More is known about her many festivals which tended to be orgiastic in nature and centered on symbols of fertility. Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, and thus one of the principal Olympian deities. More than any of the other principal gods, she is has the most direct long-term effects on the earth and on humans. She rules over the seasons and over human sustenance. Demeter was the mother several children, the most famous of whom was Kore-Persephone. The myth of the abduction of this beloved daughter by Hades is closely associated with ancient Sicily. It was said that the abduction took place while Kore was gathering flowers with her friends in the meadows near Enna. The sacred spring of Cyane was said to mark the spot were Hades entered the underworld with her. Demetrius: (fl. 2nd half of the 6th century AD). Ecclesiastic. Bishop of Naples. He was directed by Pope Gregory I (rAD 590-604) to receive with compassion any doubters into the Church. In 590, Demetrius was deposed from his see because of several crimes which he had committed. Denarius (pl. denarii): an ancient Roman silver coin. At its Under the Emperor Diocletian, it had been reduced to a small copper coin having a nominal value of 756 to one gold aureus. Dentice, Fabrizio: (b. 1530, 1539, or 1550, Naples. d. 1581 or 1593, Parma). Composer. Dente di lupo: “Wolf’s tooth”: incised triangular design on local Elymian ware. Desiderius: King of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy (r 757-774). Having attacked papal territory, he was ultimately deposed by Charlemagne. Despot: a Byzantine court title, second in rank only to the Emperor. It was normally held by the sons or brothers of a reigning emperor, but was also awarded to others, such as the semi-independent rulers of the Byzantine Morea and of the southern Balkans. A Despot may be a vassal of another ruler or completely independent. The term derives from the Greek despotes (= master). Di Bianco, Giuseppe: (b. 17 Oct, 1969, Naples). Composer. Diamante >(CS): A commune in the province of Cosenza. Population: 5,359 (2006e). Diana (Dia Anna): In her original pre-Roman form, she was an Italic deity associated with the moon, the forest and the hunt, and with childbirth. Because of these characteristics, she was eventually identified with the Greek Artemis. According to some sources, she was originally called Dia Anna, which the Romans later changed to Diana. Her name is associated with the Indo-European dyw- = “the bright one.” Diana had an important shrine on Mt. Tifata (= “holm-oak grove”). At Aricia, in Latium, her worship was associated with the nymph Egeria and an obscure Italian god named Virbius. Dicaearchia (mod. Pozzuoli): An ancient Greek colony on the coast of Campania. Captured by the Romans during the 2nd Punic War, it was renamed Puteoli Dictator: Originally the title for a special Roman magistrate chosen to lead the state during times of crisis. A Roman dictator had near-absolute authority but held it only for a limited term. Didyma: One of the seven principal islands of the Aeoliae Insulae (Aeolian Islands), off the N coast of Sicily. Dikon: an athlete of ancient Kaulonia. He was victor in the Boys’ Stadion at the Olympian Games in 392 BC. He was paid by the citizens of Syracuse to represent them in future competitions and, under their sponsorship was victor in the Diaulos (or Race in Armor) and the Stadion in 384 BC. Diocese: A religious jurisdiction over a specific geographic area. Diocles (Diokles) (1): (fl. late 5th Century BC). Politician. From c413 to 408 BC he was the leading political leader in Syracuse. In 412 BC he revised the Syracusan constitution, replacing the system of politeia, a form of restricted democracy, with a radical democracy. In 409 BC, while serving as a general, he refused to go to the aid of Selinus when it was threatened by the Carthaginians. He was later defeated at Himera and forced to give up that city to the Carthaginian general Hannibal. he appears to have been responsible for the banishment of Hermocrates from Syracuse. Having opposed the latter’s recall, he was himself put on trial and banished in 408 BC. Diocles (Diokles) (2): (b. Rhegium; fl. 4th century BC). Courtier. A member of the court of Alexander the Great, he proposed turning Mt. Athos in Greece into a giant statue of Alexander. Diocletian: (b. c AD 245, at Dioclea, Dalmatia; d. AD 313, Salona, Dalmatia). Roman Emperor (rAD 284-305). Although known to Christians chiefly as the perpetrator of the “Great Persecution”, Diocletian must be credited with the reorganization and resulting recovery of the Roman Empire. Of humble birth, he entered the army at a young age and rose through the ranks thanks to his natural talents for leadership and organization. Diodati, Giuseppe Maria: (fl. 1786-1817). A librettist active in Naples. Diodorus Siculus: (Diodorus of Sicily). Sicilian historian who lived under Caesar and Augustus, he was born in Agyrium (Agira) in Sicily. His great work was a world history, Bibliotheke (Library), from mythic times to 60 BC. Of the 40 original books, numbers 1 thru 8 and 11 thru 20 have survived completely extant, while only fragments remain of the remaining books. A supporter of Julius Caesar, it would appear that he had intended to extend his work down to 46 BC. The political instability following Caesar’s assassination, however, convinced him that 60 BC was a better ending point. Diodorus seems to have visited Egypt in c60 BC, remaining there until 56 BC. It was during this period that he began to research his great work. Moving to Rome, he utilized the libraries of that city to continue his Library, finally publishing it in 30 BC. Diognetos: An athlete of ancient Kroton. He was victor in the Stadion at the Olympian Games in 548 BC. Diomedes (1): A mythological Pelasgic chief often named as the founder of several towns in Daunia. Often mistaken with Diomedes (2), he was the son of Daunus. Diomedes (2): A mythological Homeric Greek hero. He figures in both the Iliad of Homer and the Aeneid of Vergil. In the latter’s work, as well as in many other legends, he is considered to be a king in Daunia. He is often mixed up with Diomedes one as the founder of many towns in Daunia. Dionysius I “the Elder”: (Tyrant of Syracuse r405 – 367 BC). He was the father of Dionysius II “the Younger.” Dante, in the Divine Comedy, places Dionysius, along with Alexander the Great, in the first round of the 7th Circle of Hell, along with other Tyrants. Dionysius II “the Younger”: Dionysius, St.: Pope. (rAD July 22, 259-Dec 30, 274). He was a native of Greece. Dionysodoros: An athlete of ancient Taras. He was victor in the Stadion at the Olympian Games in 380 BC. Dioscorus: Antipope (r530). Dipignano >(CS): A commune in the province of Cosenza. Population: 4,320 (2006e). Dirillo, River: An early name for the river Acate in Sicily. Disasters in Southern Italy, Greatest: AD 63 Earthquake in Campania damages Pompeii and Neapolis (Naples). AD 79 Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius destroys Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and other settlements in Campania. (Dec 5) Earthquake strikes the southern Italian mainland from Naples to Brindisi. 30,000 killed. (Jan 11) Earthquake strikes the southern Italian mainland and E. Sicily. c60,000 killed. (Feb 4-5) Earthquakes strike Calabria and E. Sicily. c50,000 killed. Diso (LE): A commune in the province of Lecce. Population: 3,201 (2006e). Dittaino, River: (anc. Chrysas). A river in Sicily. Djirdjent: Arabic name for Agrigento. Doge (Eng. Duke): A nobleman of high status. The ruler of a duchy (ducato) could be a vassal of another, higher ranking ruler like an Emperor, or a sovereign prince in his own right. Dogliola (CH): A commune in the province of Chieti. Population: 405 (2006e). Domanico >(CS): A commune in the province of Cosenza. Population: 980 (2006e). Domicella (AV): A commune in the province of Avellino. Population: 1,753 (2007e); 1,756 (2006e). Dominj al di la del Faro: (“Kingdom beyond the lighthouse”). A name used during the time of the Two Sicilies to refer to the insular portion of the Regno, i.e. the “Kingdom of Sicily.” The faro (= lighthouse) referred to was the one which stood on the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina. Dominj di quà del Faro: (“Kingdom this side of the lighthouse”). A name used during the time of the Two Sicilies to refer to the mainland portion of the Regno, i.e. the “Kingdom of Naples.” The faro (= lighthouse) referred to was the one which stood on the Sicilian side of the Straits of Messina. Don: a title of Spanish origin introduced into Sicily and southern Italy in the 16th Century. Originally meant as a distinction for a nobleman, it eventually came to be applied to any man of high status. donativo: an exceptional tax voted by the Parliament of Sicily during the Aragonese and Spanish periods. Donatus, St.: (fl. AD 7th Century). Ecclesiastic. Born in Ireland, where he was probably called Donagh, he accompanied his brother, St. Cathaldus, to Italy where they settled in Apulia. Donatus became the first bishop of the new see at Lupia/Aletium (mod. Lecce). He and his brother lived for several years as hermits. Donus: Pope. (rNov 2, 676-Apr 11, 678). doppio: a gold coin (5.869 grams) minted by the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It was equal to 4 ducati or 18.32 lire. It was also known, at various times, as the doppia napoletana or the doppia napoletana di don Carlos. Dragoni (CE): A commune in the province of Caserta. Population: 2,173 (2006e). Drapia (VV): A commune in the province of Vibo Valentia. Drepanum: Ancient name for the city of Trapani, on the far W coast of Sicily. The name derived from the Greek word for “sickle” and was so-named because of the shape of the promontory where the city was located. Ancient mythology identified the promontory as either a tool dropped by the goddess Demeter or the weapon used by Cronus to castrate his father, Saturn. Both myths would have had their supporters since Demeter was one of the most popular deities in ancient Sicily, while Saturn was the chosen patron god of the city. Drogo de Hauteville: (d. 1o Aug. 1051). Count of Apulia and Calabria (r1046-1051). He was the son of Tancred of Hauteville and Muriella. Drogo was ambushed in the chapel of his castle at Monte Ilaro (mod. Montella) by a band of assassins led by a warrior named Risus. In the ensuing struggle Drogo and several of his followers were killed. While this attack was taking place several other prominent Norman leaders were also attacked and killed, suggesting that Drogo’s assassination was part of a much larger conspiracy attempting to destroy Norman power in southern Italy. Dryad: In Greek mythology, a tree nymph. du’ botta: A traditional double base diatonic accordion of Abruzzo. ducat: A coin, minted in both gold and silver issues, used by many European counties in past centuries. The first coined ducats in Europe appeared in the kingdom of Sicily during the 12th Century, and bore the inscription: Sit tibi Christe, datus, quem Tu regis, iste Ducatus. It was from the last word Ducatus (=duchy) that the coin derives its name. It was suppressed by the Italian government in 1865. ducato: See ducat. Dugenta (BN): A commune in the province of Benevento. Population: 2,712 (2007e); 2,686 (2006e). Duke of Abruzzi (Duca degli Abruzzi): See Luigi Amedeo: Duni, Egidio Romualdo: b. 11 February 1708, Matera. d. 11 June 1775, Paris. Composer. Durante, Francesco: b. March 31, 1684, Frattamaggiore (NA). d. Sept. 30, 1755, Naples. Composer. He worked for a short time in Rome, but spent the majority of his life at Naples. He specialized in sacred and instrumental music and became a major influence on the music of Italy as a teacher and directory of several conservatories in Naples. Among his many students were such figures as Giovanni Pergolesi, Giovanni Paisiello, and Niccolo Piccini. His works include 24 Masses, 5 Requiems, 33 Psalm settings and many other vocal pieces. He was the innovator of the “sacred drama”, a technique which attempted to put religious subjects into operatic settings. Unfortunately, these never caught on with his contemporaries and only one such work of his, “San Antonio di Padona” (1753), has survived. He was, however, the inspiration for later operatic composers like Richard Wagner (“Parsifal”), Arthur Honegger, and Olivier Messiaen. Durazzano (BN): A commune in the province of Benevento. Population: 2,164 (2007e); 2,164 (2006e). Duronia (CB): A commune in the province of Campobasso. Population: 454 (2006e). Duronius, Lucius: A Roman praetor who served in Apulia in c.182 BC (Livy 40.18).
Question: At What Age Does Memory Start To Decline? Does memory deteriorate with age? As all of us get older, our memory naturally starts to get a little worse. It may take us longer to learn and recall information. This age-related memory loss doesn’t necessarily cause people too much bother, provided they are given enough time to learn and remember things.. How do you prevent memory loss as you age? How do you know when memory loss is serious? Serious memory problems make it hard to do everyday things like driving and shopping. Signs may include: Asking the same questions over and over again. Getting lost in familiar places. What is the 30 question cognitive test? What is the 6 item cognitive impairment test? The Six-item Cognitive Impairment Test (6CIT) was designed to assess global cognitive status in dementia. Developed in the 1980s as an abbreviated version of the 26-item Blessed Information-Memory Concentration Scale, the 6CIT is an internationally used, and well-validated, screening tool. What can cause memory loss in your 20s? Reversible causes of memory lossMedications. Certain medications or a combination of medications can cause forgetfulness or confusion.Minor head trauma or injury. … Emotional disorders. … Alcoholism. … Vitamin B-12 deficiency. … Hypothyroidism. … Brain diseases. What are the 10 warning signs of dementia? How does peanut butter detect Alzheimer’s? Why do psychiatrists ask you to spell words backwards? An abnormal attention span can indicate attention deficit disorder (ADD), as well as a wide range of other difficulties. Your examiner may ask you to count backward from a certain number or spell a short word both forward and backward. You may also be asked to follow spoken instructions.
Gallbladder cancer From WikiProjectMed Jump to navigation Jump to search Gallbladder cancer Illu pancrease.svg SpecialtyGeneral surgery, oncology SymptomsNone, abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, vomiting[1] ComplicationsSpread to other parts of the body[2] Usual onset>65 years old[3] TypesAdenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma[1] CausesOften unknown[4] Risk factorsInflammation of the gallbladder, salmonella typhi, isoniazid, radon, smoking, obesity, primary sclerosing cholangitis, inflammatory bowel disease[1] Diagnostic methodBlood tests, medical imaging, biopsy[2] Differential diagnosisCholecystitis, bile duct tumors[1] TreatmentSurgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy[1] PrognosisFive-year survival rate ~19% (US)[5] Frequency11,740 (2017 US)[1] Deaths3,830 (2017 US)[1] Gallbladder cancer is a type of cancer that begins within the gallbladder.[2] Symptoms may vary from none, to right sided abdominal pain, yellowish skin, weight loss, and vomiting.[1] Complications may include spread to other organs such as the liver.[2] The cause is often unknown.[4] Risk factors include gallstones, gallbladder polyps, and congenital biliary cysts, as these can result in inflammation of the gallbladder.[1] Other risk factors include long-term infection by salmonella typhi, isoniazid, radon, smoking, obesity, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and inflammatory bowel disease.[1] Diagnosis may be based on blood tests, medical imaging, and biopsy.[2] Early stage disease may be curable with surgery.[1] In certain cases chemotherapy or radiation therapy may be used.[1] The overall five year survival rate in the United States is 19%, though this varies from 62% for early disease to 2% if the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.[5] Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon, with fewer than 2 new cases per 100,000 people per year in the United States.[6] Females are more commonly affected than males.[2] Those affected are generally over the age of 65.[3] It occurs more commonly in South America, India, Pakistan, Japan, and South Korea, with rates as high as 10 per 100,000 in Chile.[1][7] It also affects certain ethnicities more frequently including Native Americans.[1] It was first described in 1777 by Maximilian de Stoll.[7] Signs and symptoms Of note, Courvoisier's law states that in the presence of a palpably enlarged gallbladder which is nontender and accompanied with mild painless jaundice, the cause is unlikely to be gallstones. This implicates possible malignancy of the gallbladder or pancreas, and the swelling is unlikely due to gallstones due to the chronic inflammation association with gallstones leading to a shrunken, non-distensible gallbladder. However, Ludwig Georg Courvoisier's original observations, published in Germany in 1890, were not originally cited as a law, and no mention of malignancy or pain (tenderness) was made. These points are commonly misquoted or confused in the medical literature.[8] Risk factors • Gender— approximately twice as common in women than men, usually in seventh and eighth decades • Obesity • Chronic cholecystitis and cholelithiasis • Primary sclerosing cholangitis[9] • Chronic typhoid infection of gallbladder; chronic Salmonella typhi carriers have 3 to 200 times higher risk of gallbladder cancer than non-carriers and 1–6% lifetime risk of development of cancer[10] • Various single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been shown to be associated with gallbladder cancer; however, existing genetic studies in GBC susceptibility have so far been insufficient to confirm any association[11] • Gall bladder polyps[12] • Calcified gallbladder wall (porcelain gallbladder)[12] • Congenital abnormalities of the bile duct such as choledochal cyst[12] Early diagnosis is not generally possible. People at high risk, such as women or Native Americans with gallstones, are evaluated closely. Transabdominal ultrasound, CT scan, endoscopic ultrasound, MRI, and MR cholangio-pancreatography (MRCP) can be used for diagnosis. A large number of gallbladder cancers are found incidentally in patients being evaluated for cholelithiasis, or gallstone formation, which is far more common.[13] A biopsy is the only certain way to tell whether or not the tumorous growth is malignant.[14] Differential diagnosis Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) is a rare form of gallbladder disease which mimics gallbladder cancer although it is not cancerous.[15][16] It was first discovered and reported in the medical literature in 1976 by J.J. McCoy, Jr., and colleagues.[15][17] If detected early in a stage where it has not spread, gall bladder cancer can be treated by surgery. Surgery for gallbladder cancer is called radical cholecystectomy or extended cholecystectomy. It entails the removal of gall bladder along with adequate removal of its liver bed to the healthy tissue. The lymph nodes in the vicinity are also removed. Sometimes removal of a large part of the liver called hepatectomy is required to completely remove the tumor. The bile duct if involved also needs to be removed.[12] However, with gallbladder cancer's extremely poor prognosis, most patients will die within a year of surgery. If surgery is not possible, endoscopic stenting or percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) of the biliary tree can reduce jaundice and a stent in stomach may relieve vomiting. Chemotherapy and radiation may also be used with surgery. If gallbladder cancer is diagnosed after cholecystectomy for stone disease (incidental cancer), re-operation to remove part of liver and lymph nodes is required in most cases. When it is done as early as possible, patients have the best chance of long-term survival and even cure.[18] • Gallbladder cancer is relatively rare, affecting fewer than 5000 people in the United States per year[19] • Gallbladder cancer is more common in South American countries, Japan, and Israel; in Chile, gallbladder cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths. • 5th most common gastrointestinal cancer • Up to 5 times more common in women than men depending on population (e.g. 73% female in China[20] • The age adjusted incidence rates of gall bladder cancer is highest in Chile, followed by in the state of Assam in India[21] The prognosis still remains poor. The cancer commonly spreads to the liver, bile duct, stomach, and duodenum. 1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Recio-Boiles, A; Kashyap, S; Babiker, HM (January 2020). "Gallbladder Cancer". PMID 28723031. Cite journal requires \|journal= (help) 2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Gallbladder Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version - National Cancer Institute". 24 March 2004. Retrieved 16 February 2021. 3. 3.0 3.1 "Risk Factors for Gallbladder Cancer". Retrieved 16 February 2021. 4. 4.0 4.1 Hoppe, Richard; Phillips, Theodore L.; Roach, Mack (2010). Leibel and Phillips Textbook of Radiation Oncology - E-Book: Expert Consult. Elsevier Health Sciences. p. 829. ISBN 978-1-4377-3775-2. 5. 5.0 5.1 "Gallbladder Cancer - Statistics". Cancer.Net. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2021. 6. "CDC - Gallbladder Cancer Incidence and Death Rates". 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2018-12-10. 7. 7.0 7.1 Barreto, Savio George; Windsor, John A. (2018). Surgical Diseases of the Pancreas and Biliary Tree. Springer. p. 392. ISBN 978-981-10-8755-4. 8. Fitzgerald, J Edward F; White Matthew J; Lobo Dileep N (Apr 2009). "Courvoisier's gallbladder: law or sign?". World Journal of Surgery. United States. 33 (4): 886–91. doi:10.1007/s00268-008-9908-y. ISSN 0364-2313. PMID 19190960. 9. Folseraas, T; Boberg, KM (February 2016). "Cancer Risk and Surveillance in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis". Clinics in Liver Disease. 20 (1): 79–98. doi:10.1016/j.cld.2015.08.014. PMID 26593292. 10. Ferreccio, C. (2012). "Salmonella typhi and Gallbladder Cancer". Bacteria and Cancer. pp. 117–137. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2585-0_5. ISBN 978-94-007-2584-3. 11. Srivastava K, Srivastava A, Sharma KL, Mittal B. Candidate gene studies in gallbladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mutat Res. 2011 Jul–Oct;728(1–2):67–79. 12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Gallbladder Cancer: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment \| Dr. Nikhil Agrawal". Dr.Nikhil Agrawal. Retrieved 2020-10-11. 13. Duffy, A.; Capanu, M.; Abou-Alfa, G. K.; Huitzil, D.; Jarnagin, W.; Fong, Y.; D'Angelica, M.; Dematteo, R. P.; Blumgart, L. H. (2008-12-01). "Gallbladder cancer (GBC): 10-year experience at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC)". Journal of Surgical Oncology. 98 (7): 485–489. doi:10.1002/jso.21141. ISSN 1096-9098. PMID 18802958. 14. "Tests for gallbladder cancer". Cancer Research UK. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2012. 18. Kapoor VK (March 2001). "Incidental gallbladder cancer". Am. J. Gastroenterol. 96 (3): 627–9. PMID 11280526.[dead link] 19. Carriaga, M. T.; Henson, D. E. (1995-01-01). "Liver, gallbladder, extrahepatic bile ducts, and pancreas". Cancer. 75 (1 Suppl): 171–190. doi:10.1002/1097-0142(19950101)75:1+<171::AID-CNCR2820751306>3.0.CO;2-2. ISSN 0008-543X. PMID 8000995.[dead link] 20. Hsing AW, Gao YT, Han TQ, et al. (December 2007). "Gallstones and the risk of biliary tract cancer: a population-based study in China". Br. J. Cancer. 97 (11): 1577–82. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6604047. PMC 2360257. PMID 18000509. 21. National Cancer Registry Programme (2013).Three-year report of population based cancer registries:2009-2011. NCDIR-ICMR, Bangalore. External links
Virtual Instrumentation Virtual instrumentation combines mainstream commercial technologies, such as the PC, with flexible software and a wide variety of measurement and control hardware. Engineers use virtual instrumentation to bring the power of flexible software and PC technology to test, control, and design applications making accurate analog and digital measurements. Engineers and scientists can create user-defined systems that meet their exact application needs. Industries with automated processes, such as chemical or manufacturing plants use virtual instrumentation with the goal of improving system productivity, reliability, safety, optimization, and stability. Virtual instrumentation is computer software that a user would employ to develop a computerized test and measurement system for controlling from a computer desktop, an external measurement hardware device, and for displaying, test or measurement data collected by the external device on instrument-like panels on a computer screen. It extends to computerized systems for controlling processes based on data collected and processed by a computerized instrumentation system. The front panel control function of the existing instrument is duplicated through the computer interface. The application ranges from simple laboratory experiments to large automation applications. Virtual instrumentation as shown in Figure 1.10 uses highly productive software, modular I/O, and commercial platforms. National Instruments LabVIEW, a premier virtual instrumentation graphical development environment, uses symbolic or graphical representations to speed up development. The software symbolically represents functions. Consolidating functions within rapidly deployed graphical blocks further speeds up development. Virtual instrumentation Figure: Virtual instrumentation combines productive software, modular I/O and scalable platforms. Another virtual instrumentation component is modular I/O, designed to be rapidly combined in any order or quantity to ensure that virtual instrumentation can both monitor and control any development aspect. Using well-designed software drivers for modular I/O, engineers and scientists quickly can access functions during concurrent operation. The third virtual instrumentation element using commercial platforms, often enhanced with accurate synchronization, ensures that virtual instrumentation takes advantage of the very latest computer capabilities and data transfer technologies. This element delivers virtual instrumentation on a long-term technology base that scales with the high investments made in processors, buses and more. In summary, as innovation mandates use of software to accelerate a new concept and product development, it also requires instrumentation to rapidly adapt to new functionality. Because virtual instrumentation applies software, modular I/O and commercial platforms, it delivers instrumentation capabilities uniquely qualified to keep pace with today’s concept and product development. Virtual Instrument and Traditional Instrument A traditional instrument is designed to collect data from an environment, or from a unit under test, and to display information to a user based on the collected data. Such an instrument may employ a transducer to sense changes in a physical parameter such as temperature or pressure, and to convert the sensed information into electrical signals such as voltage or frequency variations. The term “instrument” may also cover a physical or software device that performs an analysis on data acquired from another instrument and then outputs the processed data to display or recording means. This second category of instruments includes oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers and digital millimeters. The types of source data collected and analyzed by instruments may thus vary widely, including both physical parameters such as temperature, pressure, distance, light and sound frequencies and amplitudes, and also electrical parameters including voltage, current and frequency. Subscribe to our youtube channel to get new updates..! Frequently Asked LabVIEW Interview Questions & Answers A virtual instrument (VI) is defined as an industry-standard computer equipped with user-friendly application software, cost-effective hardware and driver software that together perform the functions of traditional instruments. Simulated physical instruments are called virtual instruments (VIs). Virtual instrumentation software based on user requirements defines general-purpose measurement and control hardware functionality. With virtual instrumentation, engineers and scientists reduce development time, design higher quality products, and lower their design costs. In test, measurement and control, engineers have used virtual instrumentation to downsize automated test equipment (ATE) while experiencing up to a several times increase in productivity gains at a fraction of the cost of traditional instrument solutions. Virtual instrumentation is necessary because it is flexible. It delivers instrumentation with the rapid adaptability required for today’s concept, product and process design, development and delivery. Only with virtual instrumentation, engineers and scientists can create the user-defined instruments required to keep up with the world’s demands. To meet the ever-increasing demand to innovate and deliver ideas and products faster, scientists and engineers are turning to advanced electronics, processors and software. Consider modern cell phones. Most of them contain the latest features of the last generation, including audio, a phone book and text messaging capabilities. New versions include a camera, MP3 player, and Bluetooth networking and Internet browsing. Virtual instruments are defined by the user while traditional instruments have fixed vendor-defined functionality. In a conventional instrument, the set of components that comprise the instrument is fixed and permanently associated with each other. Nevertheless, there is some software that understands these associations. Thus the primary difference between a virtual instrument and a conventional instrument is merely that the associations within a virtual instrument are not fixed but rather managed by software. Every virtual instrument consists of two parts—software and hardware. A virtual instrument typically has a sticker price comparable to and many times less than a similar traditional instrument for the current measurement task. However, the savings compound over time, because virtual instruments are much more flexible when changing measurement tasks. By not using vendor-defined, prepackaged software and hardware, engineers and scientists get maximum user-defined flexibility. A traditional instrument provides them with all software and measurement circuitry packaged into a product with a finite list of fixed-functionality using the instrument front panel. A virtual instrument provides all the software and hardware needed to accomplish the measurement or control task. In addition, with a virtual instrument, engineers and scientists can customize the acquisition, analysis, storage, sharing and presentation functionality using productive, powerful software. Without the displays, knobs and switches of a conventional, external box-based instrumentation products, a virtual instrument uses a personal computer for all user interaction and control. In many common measurement applications, a data acquisition board or card, with a personal computer and software, can be used to create an instrument. In fact, a multiple-purpose virtual instrument can be made by using a single data acquisition board or card. The primary benefits of apply data acquisition technology to configure virtual instrumentation include costs, size, and flexibility and ease of programming. The cost to configure a virtual instrumentation-based system using a data acquisition board or cards can be as little as 25% of the cost of a conventional instrument. Check Out LabVIEW Tutorials Traditional instruments and software-based virtual instruments largely share the same architectural components, but radically different philosophies as shown in Figure 1.11. Conventional instruments as compared to a virtual instrumentation can be very large and cumbersome. They also require a lot of power, and often have excessive amounts of features that are rarely, if ever used. Most conventional instruments do not have any computational power as compared to a virtual instrument. Since the virtual instrument is part of a person computer configuration, the personal computer’s computational as well as controlling capability can be applied into a test configuration. Virtual instruments are compatible with traditional instruments almost without exception. Virtual instrumentation software typically provides libraries for interfacing with common ordinary instrument buses such as GPIB, serial or Ethernet. Traditional and software based instruments Figure: Traditional instruments (left) and software based virtual instruments (right). Except for the specialized components and circuitry found in traditional instruments, the general architecture of stand-alone instruments is very similar to that of a PC-based virtual instrument. Both require one or more microprocessors, communication ports (for example, serial and GPIB), and display capabilities, as well as data acquisition modules. What makes one different from the other is their flexibility and the fact that we can modify and adapt the instrument to our particular needs. A traditional instrument might contain an integrated circuit to perform a particular set of data processing functions; in a virtual instrument, these functions would be performed by software running on the PC processor. We can extend the set of functions easily, limited only by the power of the software used. By employing virtual instrumentation solutions, we can lower capital costs, system development costs, and system maintenance costs, while improving time to market and the quality of our own products. There is a wide variety of hardware devices available which we can either plug into the computer or access through a network. These devices offer a wide range of data acquisition capabilities at a significantly lower cost than that of dedicated devices. As integrated circuit technology advances, and off-the-shelf components become cheaper and more powerful, so do the boards that use them. With these advances in technology, comes an increase in data acquisition rates, measurement accuracy, precision and better signal isolation. Depending on the particular application, the hardware we choose might include analog input or output, digital input or output, counters, timers, filters, simultaneous sampling, and waveform generation capabilities. Virtual instrumentation has achieved mainstream adoption by providing a new model for building measurement and automation systems. Keys to its success include rapid PC advancement; explosive low-cost, high-performance data converter (semiconductor) development; and system design software emergence. These factors make virtual instrumentation systems accessible to a very broad base of users. Virtual instruments take advantage of PC performance increase by analyzing measurements and solving new application challenges with each new-generation PC processor, hard drive, display and I/O bus. These rapid advancements combined with the general trend that technical and computer literacy starts early in school, contribute to successful computer-based virtual instrumentation adoption. The virtual instrumentation driver is the proliferation of high-performance, low-cost analog-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-analog (DAC) converters. Applications such as wireless communication and high-definition video impact these technologies relentlessly. Virtual instrumentation hardware uses widely available semiconductors to deliver high-performance measurement front ends. Finally, system design software that provides an intuitive interface for designing custom instrumentation systems furthers virtual instrumentation. Various interface standards are used to connect external devices to the computer. PC is the dominant computer system in the world today. VI is supported on the PC under Windows, Linux, Macintosh, Sun, and HP operating systems. All VI platforms provide powerful Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for the development and implementation of the solutions. Hardware and Software in Virtual Instrumentation Role of Hardware in Virtual Instrumentation Input/Output plays a critical role in virtual instrumentation. To accelerate test, control and design, I/O hardware must be rapidly adaptable to new concepts and products. Virtual instrumentation delivers this capability in the form of modularity within scalable hardware platforms. Virtual instrumentation is software-based; if we can digitize it, we can measure it. Standard hardware platforms that house the I/O are important to I/O modularity. Laptops and desktop computers provide an excellent platform where virtual instrumentation can make the most of existing standards such as the USB, PCI, Ethernet, and PCMCIA buses. Role of Software in Virtual Instrumentation Software is the most important component of a virtual instrument. With the right software tool, engineers and scientists can efficiently create their own applications by designing and integrating the routines that a particular process requires. You can also create an appropriate user interface that best suits the purpose of the application and those who will interact with it. You can define how and when the application acquires data from the device, how it processes, manipulates and stores the data, and how the results are presented to the user. With powerful software, we can build intelligence and decision-making capabilities into the instrument so that it adapts when measured signals change inadvertently or when more or less processing power is required. An important advantage that software provides is modularity. When dealing with a large project, engineers and scientists generally approach the task by breaking it down into functional solvable units. These subtasks are more manageable and easier to test, given the reduced dependencies that might cause unexpected behaviour. We can design a virtual instrument to solve each of these subtasks, and then join them into a complete system to solve the larger task. The ease with which we can accomplish this division of tasks depends greatly on the underlying architecture of the software. A virtual instrument is not limited or confined to a stand-alone PC. In fact, with recent developments in networking technologies and the Internet, it is more common for instruments to use the power of connectivity for the purpose of task sharing. Typical examples include supercomputers, distributed monitoring and control devices, as well as data or result visualization from multiple locations. Every virtual instrument is built upon flexible, powerful software by an innovative engineer or scientist applying domain expertise to customize the measurement and control application. The result is a user-defined instrument specific to the application needs. Virtual instrumentation software can be divided into several different layers like the application software, test and data management software, measurement and control services software as shown in Figure 1.12. Layers of virtual instrumentation software. Figure: Layers of virtual instrumentation software. Most people think immediately of the application software layer. This is the primary development environment for building an application. It includes software such as LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI (ANSI C), Measurement Studio (Visual Studio programming languages), Signal Express and VI Logger. Above the application software layer is the test executive and data management software layer. This layer of software incorporates all of the functionality developed by the application layer and provides system-wide data management. Measurement and control services software is equivalent to the I/O driver software layer. It is one of the most crucial elements of rapid application development. This software connects the virtual instrumentation software and the hardware for measurement and control. It includes intuitive application programming interfaces, instrument drivers, configuration tools, I/O assistants and other software included with the purchase of hardware. This software offers optimized integration with both hardware and application development environments.
Extraordinary Health Benefits of Black Sapote Black Sapote: The Fruit that Feels like Chocolate Pudding Nature has its way of delivering it back to us. And sometimes, it is in the shape of unimaginably delectable bonuses. Have a look at these fruits that naturally taste like pies! Black Sapote: It is nature’s variant of chocolate pudding. Black Sapote, a tropical fruit found in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and Colombia, savors like delicious chocolate pudding. The fruit has no connection with the cocoa tree and seems like a green tomato when raw and turns yellow-green when ripe. The Black Sapote “Diospyros nigra” is a class of persimmon in the group Ebenaceae. It is also termed “chocolate pudding fruit” and black snap apple. Black Sapote is tropic fruit nearly grown in Colombia, Central America, The Caribbean, and Mexico. Sapote means soft edible fruit, has no relationship with white sapote or mamey sapote. The tree are grown around to 20-25 meters in height. It is an evergreen tree but frost tender and can endure light frosts. Black Sapote unripe fruits are astringent, caustic, bitter, bothersome, and used as a fish poison in the Philippines. Tree of Black Sapote The tree leaves are elliptic-oblong, tapered, dark green, bright, and 10 to 30 long. Black Sapote tree is usually found below 600 meters. The tree generation is generally from a seed that needed 30 days to grow. It can maintain viability for many months. Some trees are seedless but and can be propagated by air-layering or protection budding. The tree that takes three to four years to develop should be aligned 10 to 12 meters apart. Normally, trees have male and female flowers. But in some instances, a tree can bear male flowers. The fruit gets 4 to 5 years from seed. The tree flowers seem in the leaf axils; solitary or small groups are tubular and small. The tropical fruit is a variety of persimmon produced from an evergreen tree belonging to eastern Guatemala, Mexico, and Colombia. Still, it is also cultivated in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Florida, Australia, the Philippines, and Hawaii. When ripe, the Black Sapote is delicious eaten raw or used as a chocolate replacement in recipes and milkshakes or combined with yogurt and lemon juice. Use Fildena or vidalista 60 to get rid of ED issues. In Mexico, the pulp is mashed with orange extract or brandy and served with cream. Black Sapote trees are usually found below 600 meters but are not accurate about soil and can endure light frosts. They are sensitive to dryness, requiring irrigation in dry regions, but are genuinely tolerant of flooding. The tree produces reasonably slowly for the first 3–4 years, maybe just 1 foot/year for the first couple of years. Sapote Nutrition and Health Benefits The black sapote just like the white sapote, is not a true sapote. It refers to the Ebenaceae species, not Sapotaceae, and is a close relation of the persimmon. The fruits form gives the relationship off. The word “sapote” originates from the Nahuatl (Aztec) word tzapotl, which explains all soft, sweet fruit. As a result, many trees providing the common name sapote are taxonomically separate. Mature black sapote trees can rise to over 25 m (82 ft) in height, but this is rare. Seedling trees are typically 6-10 m tall, while thieved trees are smaller, unique cultivars that only grow to 4 m (13 ft). Trees are beautiful, evergreen, and covered in oblong leaves reduced at both ends and colored an amazing glossy dark green. Leaves are 10–30 cm (3.9–11.8 in) long. Trees make an attractive multipurpose feature tree. It is believed that black sapote is usually dioecious. Some trees have simply male flowers, while others have only female flowers. Some trees have both and are self-fertile. Every seedling tree is planted in my area, and many have grown to provide excellent fruit. It could be down to genetics in this area; I want to understand more about it. The flowers themselves are very common looking. They look more like a green shoot, and it isn’t until you look very nearly that you realize the white-blazed petals and opening at the edge of the ‘bud’ is the flower. Boring! As said earlier, the black sapote or chocolate dessert fruit does not taste like chocolate dessert. It does, however, seem like chocolate pudding. The flesh is delicate, smooth, and deep brown. It has a pleasant mellow taste when ripe and can be consumed plain or as part of a sweet or smoothy. The fruit has a lot of health advantages but don’t they all. This is one of those fruits that experience from the hype. When you come in assuming chocolate, then the mellow flavor of the black sapote is Pretty underwhelming. But, if you go at it as a new fruit, then most people like it. Another fruit that experiences this experience is the dragon fruit though in that case, it is the fruit’s unique look rather than its name that sets unrealistic expectations. The fruit measure 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in width. It has bad skin that turns from olive to a very dull, brown greeny brown when ripe. The fruit is astringent before maturing, and most new to the fruit don’t let them ripen almost completely. The fruit should be very soft before it is consumed. The black sapote carries 4 times vitamin C than an orange! It has slight salt, fat, saturated fat, Magnesium, B-carotene, Water, Magnesium, B-carotene, Water, Vitamin C, Potassium, and Fibres. Health benefits The black sapote is generous in vitamin C with the same properties as orange, namely, a safe strength source. Tadalista and vidalista 40 are also great at impotence cure. 100 gr of black sapote will give you 25% of your regular consumption of vitamin C. It is also an excellent source of vitamin A. Its potassium aids build muscles, control the heart’s electrical action and the normal functioning of cells. It aids digestion—the transfer of oxygen into the body.
If you are getting your food delivered, picking up your grocery supply, working as a food deliverer, picking up food from a food bank, or just picking up food for a friends or family, the question remains - ‘paper or plastic?’ During our pandemic there’s another choice that many retailers and customers prefer - no bags at all Retailers recognize the added risk of customers bringing in their own bags into stores (an added risk of spreading the virus). Customers who like to use their own bags are asked to leave their cloth or reusable plastic bags in their cars bagging up merchandise when they get to their vehicles. Bringing personal bags inside stores is now considered a health risk. Retailers want customers who are well so they can purchase things..Even before the pandemics some stores frowned on bags in carts because it was thought to encourage theft. The tax on bags is for the most part been lifted during the pandemic. A fee for using supplied bags is no longer in place. This impact on stores bottom line could have an influence Whatever the reason there are many benefits to transferring merchandise back to your cart and bagging at your car. Reasons to no bag: Preventing the spread of Coronavirus The main benefit of course is helping to flatten the curve. The pandemic is fueled by how many people carry the virus and spread it to others.In the pandemic. Another reason is that it helps us to shift our thinking towards altruism (to think about our neighbors, our community, our cities, our world). Shopping is a perfect opportunity for the virus to spread. We go to a shared space, communally see and touch produce and are encouraged to communicate with others. When you bring your own bag the virus can be spread from surface to surface inside the store. The virus is also spread when baggers handle reusable bags and then handle the next customers bags. When any reusable container is brought into a store expect to be told not to use it in most stores. Other examples besides bags are reusable travel mugs and any container used for bin buying. Your fellow shoppers will appreciate how you are speeding up the checkout line. You can help put things in your cart, which is faster than having one person trying to sort your groceries (heaviest, lightest - hot - cold. ) You can quickly help the ‘bagger’ put the food back in your cart. Because 4 hands are better than two. Helping your bagger contribute to the ‘lets help each other out’ mentality The use of a stronger structure: What’s stronger than any bag? Your cart. Carts are stronger and durable than any bag. When transporting your bought items from the store to your car there is much less chance of them being damaged or squished because they are going into a large reinforced metal cart. The carts are cleaner than bags as well because they are methodically sanitized by workers at stores: A simple spray down with windex or bleach you bring yourself can also ensure shopping that is more virus free. Bags that are made available. When you shop and are dependent on bags that the store provides, your options are often limited during the pandemic.: One use Plastic bags: Some stores only have single use plastic bags.because they are less costly and encourage disposability. Disposability is considered less of a health risk because, when a bag is tossed it is assumed that if that bag was harboring the virus it will no longer be handled. It is usually not considered that plastic one use bags will most likely end up as litter because they are light weight and thought of as trash. They are intended to be not used again. They are flimsy and tear easily. Once thrown away, single use plastic bags are torn and eventually become particles. This means they will become part of the toxic soup in our oceans, an inorganic detractor in soil, ingested by wildlife, or forced to become part of an ecosystem. . Paper bags: Paper bags are made from a limited natural resource. A resource we need. As global warming escalates we should consider that trees mitigate the onset and help us sustain our planet. Double bagging: If you have purchased a heavier item you might need to ask for too paper bags as paper usually can’t hold heavier items. Doubling the the energy intake needed to make your bag.If paper bags are your choice it is very important to reuse them. Paper bags can be used to store and organize small objects that need to be kept together. Some ideas are Christmas decorations or other items used once a year.Storing pet food or dried food is also a good use for paper bags. Paper doesn’t have the toxins found in plastics that could end up dissolving into your food. Also, paper doesn’t sweat the food so the food will store longer without being dehydrated. No bags
Prof. Justin Levitt's Guide to Drawing the Electoral Lines Ideas for Reform That said, there are redistricting ideas that are worth considering — ideas that may improve the process if implemented in the right way in the right circumstances. None of these ideas are “magic bullets.” But they are worth thinking seriously about, alone or in tandem. Foster transparency Focus on communities Correct distortion by prisons Despite prevalent state law explaining that you don’t lose your residence for a temporary absence, Census data shows people in prison where they are incarcerated, and not at the addresses where they last lived. When redistricting is based on this data, districts are built on the backs of “ghost voters,” packing in people in prison who have no connection at all to the other residents of the district or its welfare. This distortion artificially inflates the representation of citizens in prison districts, skewing the incentives of politicians there — and it artificially deflates the representation of everyone else. For example, after the 2000 redistricting cycle, 1300 of the 1400 people allotted to Ward 2 of the Anamosa, Iowa, city council were in prison. This left political power completely lopsided: the few others in Ward 2 had far more leverage than any of their neighbors in town. Indeed, in districts so distorted, we’d hardly recognize what passes for democracy. In 2006, just two write-in votes were enough to elect the city councilmember for Ward 2. Counting people at their last known address before incarceration — where virtually all people return when they are released from prison — accounts for representation of whole communities without undue distortion. Several states have passed legislation to adjust redistricting for prison populations, including several just in the last few years. Many other local governments have done the same, for years. Adjust the timing In 2006, the Supreme Court decided that the federal Constitution places no limit on states’ ability to draw and redraw district lines as often as they wish, despite the potential disruption to representation and incumbents’ incentive to tweak lines for personal benefit. Many states clearly limit re-redistricting of state districts as a matter of state law; only a handful clearly limit re-redistricting of congressional districts. Redrawing the lines only once per decade helps maintain stability, so that representatives are accountable to the citizens they serve. Seek independence Elections are based on the premise that voters choose their officials. But because redistricting sorts voters into one district and out of another, incumbent legislators with control of the process have a natural impulse to draw lines by choosing which voters they like and which voters they don’t. To get at this conflict of interest, six states have opted to give redistricting authority to individuals who aren’t beholden to particular elected officials. Independence can improve the responsiveness of the redistricting process, but only if carefully managed. An independent body needs legitimacy, which means safeguards — including the body’s size — so that the body reflects the diversity of the jurisdiction. Diversity helps make sure that different interests are considered as the lines are drawn. Utilize "superdistricts"

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.