Datasets:

gair-prox

/

c4-pro

like 0

If your frequent headaches affect your life, it’s time to seek medical advice. Almost everyone has suffered a headache at some point in their lives. The experience can range from “it went away on its own” to “my head throbbed for 72 hours.” But when is it time to see a doctor for your headaches? One way to start understanding your head pain is to learn about the different types of headaches. The pain you feel during a headache can be on one side of your head or on both sides at once. It can be a throbbing pain in your forehead or feel like your head is caught in a vice. Let’s examine the different types of headaches. A tension headache is a very common type of headache; it’s estimated that up to 80 percent of adults experience them on an occasional basis. The pain is usually described as a constant band-like pain around the forehead or back of the head and neck. Other symptoms include tenderness around the scalp, neck, and shoulder muscles. A migraine headache is a painful and sometimes reoccurring headache that appears quickly, often with severe pain in the temple area on one side of the head, which may extend to the face, sinuses, jaw, and neck. Migraines can last from an hour to 72 hours. Commonly, nausea or vomiting and sensitivity to light and/or sound can accompany a migraine headache. If you are experiencing this type of headache, you should see a doctor for a migraine diagnosis and treatment options. A sinus headache is caused by an inflammation of your sinus cavities, often resulting from a cold or allergies. Sinus headaches can cause pain and pressure around the nose, eyes, forehead, and cheeks. People often confuse sinus headaches with migraines because the signs and symptoms can be similar. Now that you know a little about the different types of headaches, when should you see a doctor about them? Dr. Jessica Ailani, a neurologist specializing in headaches, suggests that if you experience headaches consistently once a week or more, you should seek the advice of a neurologist. Developing a treatment plan to reduce the frequency and severity of headaches is important, because four or more headaches per week are a risk factor for chronic migraine. If your headaches cause you distress, consider seeing your doctor to find a treatment option that works for you. When to seek emergency care: It’s up to you to decide whether your headache needs emergency medical attention. But know the warning signs that could indicate a serious condition: confusion or trouble understanding speech, loss of vision or speech, high fever, fainting, uncontrollable vomiting.

Many governments that have realised the importance of digital society and the digital economy are today still just dealing with automation of their existing bureaucratic legacy. One after another, they bring in keywords like once-only, one-stop-shop, simplifications, interoperability and open data. In reality, bureaucrats are struggling to execute the vision, IT markets are effectively pumping money from budgets, and citizens and businesses face basic services with low-usability, form-based submission and unpredictable response time. This approach to building digital governments needs to change. It is not enough to open public data (with due regard to personal privacy, of course) or provide interoperability capacity for the public sector. Instead, it is necessary to open the whole process of public service delivery. In the next few minutes of reading, I will try to describe the reasoning and direction for building a sustainable and effective e-government. First of all, there is the issue of complexity. To put it simply, a government is an arrangement to finance a certain set of legitimate initiatives, which bring benefit in the long term but would never get sufficient attention from “short-sighted” market forces seeking to profit here and now. A government is an organisation that delivers services for businesses and citizens. The core service of its regulatory role for all markets is basically paperwork: take information in as input and make decisions as an output. To keep things manageable, the structure is organised according to functional principles: public finance is managed in a Ministry of Finance, social affairs in a Ministry of Social Affairs, legislation is drafted by a Ministry of Justice, and so on. But what was simple on paper is not that simple in the digital world. Public financial management is one of the most important concerns of any government. If you cannot budget your activities and properly finance operations, you will collapse. It might seem a pretty straightforward task to build up a public finance IT system and achieve objectives like cost-efficiency and transparency. Automation of public financial management typically starts with internal processes to capture all events, accounts and monitor performance. The next phase is to develop a self-service portal for external customers of, for example, the Ministry of Finance to reduce the paper burden and improve transparency. Then, you suddenly discover that there are too many portals around, so you make a single window for your service delivery, which requires internal integration and interoperability of different processes behind that window. You thus become a little bit like Amazon, consolidating all internal and external processes, and you proudly call yourself a platform. But in an era in which everything is becoming digital, we are also trying to implement the once-only principle: once information is created, it should be seamlessly reusable by all concerned parties. This is when you discover that even the platform for public financial management is not the be-all and end-all — and has critical weaknesses. Amongst OECD countries, the tax-to-GDP ratio in 2017 was 34.2%. This effectively means that the public finance system, as a purchaser for a third of the economy in those countries, can create an effective acquisition and purchasing process that influences many businesses and the whole economy. Social contributions in the OECD countries in average are around 10% of GDP. That means again that the public finance system can influence efficiency and effectiveness of the design of the social care environment. In this way, we have a public financial ecosystem containing the domain’s core platform (budget, treasury, procurement, budget execution, national accounting) and many other related areas. Transformation and growth in one place may become a catalyser for much broader transformation across the economy. Public finance management ecosystem includes budgeting of all public funds, revenue management for those funds, and accountability. Business ecosystem is the main engine for public revenues, where decrease in cost of administrative compliance will positively influence public revenues. Combined public funds are amongst the biggest purchasing powers in a country. Social care and health are probably the biggest single area of expenditures in a public sector. Solving bottlenecks in an efficient manner in this sector improves the quality of life in society, and mitigation of risks positively influences public revenue. Justice ecosystem includes all law enforcement and justice organisations. In OECD countries, it is a considerable share of public expenditures in most of jurisdictions. Public transportation capable of providing optimal mobility with lower toxic ecological impact is probably the most important every-day public instrument on a personal level for everyone. Public finance introducing modern payment channels and facilitating end-to-end connectivity for all different transport options may ensure better social inclusion through improved mobility. Construction contributes a remarkable share of GDP in the majority of developing countries. In small countries with relatively high ratio of governmental presence, efficient public finance will again initiate increase in transparency and efficiency even in this sector. It is evident that modernisation in the digital age has great potential when you don’t only look at one narrow domain, but consider improvements across this much wider ecosystem. But this task is extremely complex. We start with automation of a simple general ledger in accounting, and end up with automating the whole universe. The second issue is that today governments transform themselves. As I mentioned, a government is an arrangement to compensate what markets are not able to deliver. Digital government at the end of the day is a software, and software development is not core governmental competence. Government is not even capable of buying it. Just look around and you’ll see. So the issue here is that a government does not have and never will have competencies to build a proper digital world of public service delivery. To overcome those issues, the whole of government work needs to be completely rearranged using technology advancements of the digital era. There should be no redundant business processes at all. Whenever possible, service delivery should be organised using a two-side market mechanism, where demand and supply-side capabilities are all provided by open market and the government is responsible only for developing a platform as set of interfaces and policies.

Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 - February 22, 1987) was a prominent American artist and a leader of the pop art movement. He used a variety of media for his art, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Among his most famous works are the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966) as well as the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67). His New York studio was a beloved meeting place for many outsiders. In accordance with Warhol's last will, his entire estate (with a few exceptions) went to create a foundation for the "advancement of the visual arts". The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was founded in 1987, the year of his death. Warhol was also a prolific filmmaker and producer who produced more than 60 films just between 1963 and 1968. Warhol was also active in the music scene and strongly influenced the new wave/punk rock band Devo and David Bowie. Warhol is believed to have had Asperger's Syndrome and is mentioned as likely autistic in The Genesis of Artistic Creativity and Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome and Creativity by Michael Fitzgerald, Asperger Syndrome and High Achievement by Ioan James as well as in Elijah’s Cup by Valerie Paradiz. Read more about his extraordinary life on his Wikipedia page.

A garden idea is the art of designing a picture layout of planting in landscapes or a garden. The garden idea is best if it comes from you, the owner, and if you are not satisfied by your own judgment it is best to seek professional advice. The professional advisers are reliable due to their level of experience as well as expertise. Most garden advisers are highly trained in the principals of horticulture and design. It is best that you explain the idea that you have in detail to the professionals. Once you present the idea to the professional adviser then he or she may ask you to draw a sketch of the garden. You as the owner of the garden are highly expected to participate in order to confirm if the garden idea you had in mind is turning into reality. The location of your garden is very important for it influences the idea. The garden location should be topographically significant with a microclimate that is suitable for the plants. A garden idea should include the fastest and easiest way to access water. The soil that is going to be used for planting should be rich soil. The quality of the soil too has influence on the achievement of the plants as well as garden. A garden seed requires sufficient soil nutrients as well as water. If the soil is not rich, there is no need to panic as you can improve the soil by amendment, which is the adding of beneficial materials in the exhumed native topsoil or subsoil. However, not all soils are to be amended as most plants also do well in impoverished soil. A garden idea requires you to think of the boundaries, as this really influences the final look of the garden. Large gardens may need internal boundaries which could be in the form of shrubs or hedges. If your garden idea is an outdoor garden, then you may need to think about the garden furniture. You may consider the patio set that consists of four to six chairs, a parasol and a table. Sunlight is a very important feature in your garden; therefore, you should select a part that has sufficient sunlight to be the garden. This is very important as it regulates plant processes such as phototropism, photoperiodism and photosynthesis. All this processes help in the growth of the plants. Therefore, when you have a garden idea remember to consider all the above factors.

The concentration of particles determines the osmotic pressure of a solution. In the diagram above, a semipermeable membrane separates a concentrated sugar solution on the left from a dilute sugar solution on the right. The pores in the membrane are small enough so that the water molecules can pass through it in both directions. The sugar molecules are too large to pass through in any direction. The water molecules pass from right to left in an attempt to make the concentrations of the equal on both sides of the membrane. This raises the water level on the left and decreases the level on the right. This difference in height causes an increased pressure in the left hand chamber. This tends to push the water molecules back to whence they came. Water molecules will move from right to left until the pressure of the column of liquid is high enough to prevent any more water molecules from entering. The pressure at this point is called the osmotic pressure. The identity of the particles doesn't matter. It is their concentration that counts. Note that a 1 mol/L solution of NaCl will have twice the osmotic pressure of a 1 mol/L solution of sugar. The NaCl dissociates to give Na⁺ and Cl⁻ ions, so 1 mol of NaCl has twice as many particles in solution. Q: What is the excited state of carbon? Q: Write the major species in the water solution of Mg(NO3)2 ,FeCl3 ?

In this article, you’ll learn about the precedence and associativity of operators when executing an expression in R. When multiple operators are used in a single expression, we need to know the precedence of these operators to figure out the sequence of operation that will take place. Precedence defines the order of execution, i.e., which operator gets the higher priority. Here, the * operator gets higher priority than + and hence 2 + 6 * 5 is interpreted as 2 + (6 * 5). This order can be changed with the use of parentheses (). It is possible to have multiple operators of same precedence in an expression. In such case the order of execution is determined through associativity. The associativity of operators is given in the table above. We can see that most of them have left to right associativity. In the above example, 3 / 4 / 5 is evaluated as (3 / 4) / 5 due to left to right associativity of the / operator. However, this order too can be changed using parentheses ().

Puppies chew out of natural curiosity and as a way to relieve some of the discomfort associated with teething. Unfortunately, puppies are not discriminating about what they chew on, so it is up to us to direct their chewing in a positive manner. Start by providing your pup with the assortment of toys you previously bought for him. Play with him with these toys and praise him for playing with and chewing on them. If you catch the pup chewing on something other than these toys, immediately tell him ‘NO’, take the undesirable object from him, replace it with one of his chew toys, and promptly praise him. If you find something chewed on after the fact, do not punish the pup. He will not remember what he has done, and it will only confuse him. Be diligent about keeping your things out of the pups reach and be generous with the toys and chew things you leave laying around for the pup. Puppies also tend to chew on people and your clothing. It is very important to curb this behavior immediately by gently, but firmly, placing your hand around the pup’s muzzle and saying ‘No Bite’. As soon as the pup releases his grip, praise him and encourage proper play by throwing a ball or giving him on of his toys to chew on. Avoid wrestling with your pup and do not in any way encourage him to play aggressively with you.

A water feature needs to be integrated into the landscape plan for the location. A well planned water feature will look like it is part of the natural environment. In addition to ensuring the design is appropriate we need to have a constant water source, electricity and drainage as part of the feature. Water features will see varying rates of evaporation depending on the size, type of flow and climate they are exposed to. In our climate water features will generally lose 1″ of water a week in hotter months (July – August) evaporation may be as much as 3″ a week. In addition to evaporation you will need to circulate the water in your feature continuously. This circulation is required to keep your water feature healthy. One of the things to be aware of that heavy rains can overfill your pond and you should have a path or overflow pipe from your water feature to divert excess water to place where it will not cause damage. There is a lot more to learn about water features. One of our main suppliers has an excellent online Academy. Visit Aquascape Academy for more info. Pump capacity should be such that it can circulate the entire volume of your pond once per hour. For example, a 2000-gallon pond requires a pump that delivers 2000 gallons per hour (gph). The pump size will be affected by the length of pipe and the height difference from the surface of the water to the spillway. Collect your pond specific information, and we will help you choose the correct pump and right size pipe. How many hours a day do I need to operate my pond pump? Pumps in ponds should run 24hrs a day, 365 days a year to maintain a healthy pond. Pumps are rated based on the delivery of water without a change in height. A 2000 gallon per hour (gph) pump will deliver 2000 gph pump will deliver 2000 gph across a level surface. The amount will be less as the height of the outlet rises. At some point the outlet will be too high for the pump and no water will flow known as pump cut-off. The pump curve is the graph that shows how much water the pump will deliver at varying heights. Should I put chemicals in my pond to keep it clean? A healthy pond is one that has vibrant natural cleansing system. Bacteria eats the waste and the bacteria feeds fish and plants. If this system is working the pond shouldn’t need any chemicals. Most urban ponds benefit from the regular addition of beneficial bacteria to support that cycle. If you have algae or other challenges, we have many natural additives that will help alleviate those problems and build a healthy ecosystem in your pond. How often do I have to add water to my pond? The short answer is regularly. The long answer is: it depends on the exposure, flow, time of year etc. A pond can lose up to 3 inches of water a week in the summer and as little as a ½ inch a week in the winter.

In the new Scientific Reports paper, the researchers report a new method to deliver curcumin, extracted from the yellow spice turmeric, directly to the back of the eye using eye drops, overcoming the challenge of curcumin's poor solubility. The team developed a novel nanocarrier, wherein the curcumin is contained within a surfactant combined with a stabiliser, both of which are known to be safe for human use and are already in existing eye products. The nanocarrier can be used in eye drops to deliver much higher loads of curcumin than other products in development, increasing the drug's solubility by a factor of almost 400,000, and localises the curcumin in the eyes instead of throughout the body. "We are now researching diagnostic uses for these eye drops alongside other ways to visualise the retina, as eye tests can be an opportunity to detect signs of neurodegeneration with a simple, non-invasive test," said co-lead author Dr Ben Davis (UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Imperial College London).

Never has the principle of risk mitigation been so much to the fore as in the past few months following the turmoil in the financial markets. Sound capital and risk management have become even more critical in recent times with a corresponding need for organisations to enhance existing frameworks or develop and implement new frameworks for enterprise-wide financial risk control. Few in the actuarial profession would argue with the view that assessing and managing risk is the central cog in the actuarial machine, but perhaps we are about to see a further chapter of actuarial diversification with increasing opportunities for actuaries in the evolving risk management market. One such area is insurance-linked securities (ILS) in the form of tradable instruments deriving from the securitisation of risks held by insurers. To the insurer, this is an opportunity to transfer risk and free up capital. To the investor, a diversification opportunity in what is still one of the newer asset classes, and independent from other traditional investments. Due to the insurance nature of the risks, actuaries are expertly placed to give qualified views on the underlying risks, and hence provide valuable input to the assessment of the transactions. I asked Jillian Williams, who is the head of portfolio analysis with Leadenhall Capital Partners, for her views on the ILS capital market, and the evolving role of the actuary in such specialist areas. What is your background and what attracted you to the ILS capital market? Most of my previous experience was gained within a broking firm environment, specialising in the P&C markets and with a particular focus on property. I was involved fairly early in my career with technical areas such as catastrophe modelling but my desire was always for a view of the bigger picture. I became involved in ILS from the perspective of tying investment strategy with insurance buying and my current role is certainly focused on the bigger picture in this market. What sort of underlying structures and risks are involved in ILS? In reality, any insurance-related risk has potential for securitisation. For example, in a typical cat bond structure, (see Figure 1) a sponsor will enter into a financial contract through something known as a special purpose vehicle (SPV), which will effectively hedge the financial contract by issuing notes to investors in the capital markets. The proceeds are invested in high-quality securities and held in trust and the investment returns are swapped in the market via a swap counterparty. Credit risk can be removed through the collateralising losses via the bond. One important feature in this structure is the choice of ‘trigger’ since it has consequences on the risk taken by the protection buyer, but also has implications for the transparency of the transaction to the investor and the degree of ‘basis risk’ for the protection buyer. How do you view the opportunity for actuaries interested in the ILS capital market? Given the diversity of risk sources in this market, there is potential for professionals with an actuarial skill-set from all sectors to play a part in the risk assessment. Knowledge about expected performance resulting from high-quality analysis is fundamental for the success of a fund. However, what is required is more than just a technical skill-set. It comes down also to the ability to think outside the box, to be clear on the risk that is being measured and how it can affect return, and to be able to communicate with investors who do not have a technical knowledge of insurance. Actuaries can play a pivotal role in providing key parties to the sharing of risk with an informed view on what might precipitate a loss or gain in the transaction, based on sound analysis. What are some of the characteristics for actuaries to be aware of when seeking out ILS capital market opportunities? For those working within large employer environments it is fairly likely that it will be a move to a smaller, more dynamic environment, with a less formal process. This sort of move will not suit everybody, but to many it represents a very positive aspect. The underlying structures involve multiple parties with different interests. There will be regulatory requirements on each individual party rather than one overall regulatory regime, and this places a greater emphasis on putting the constraints and methodologies in place relevant to your own party risk. The timing requirement for analysis is almost real-time, taking account of current conditions. This is very different from the reporting and analysis cycles within the more traditional actuarial sectors. What are the attractive features of ILS and where might the potential development be in this market? One of the attractions of the structures of typical securitisation deals from the perspective of the sponsor and the investor is that they can be constructed to deliver low correlation with traditional capital markets. This attracts investors interested in the low correlation and high relative return features of insurance-linked investments who can potentially benefit from investing in more diverse opportunities. There is already a significant global market for investors through catastrophe-linked issuances and life-linked issuances. An example of further increased activity may well be through the implementation of Solvency II regulations across European life insurers. Further market development will be strongly linked to the appetite of sponsors to transfer risk and by investors increasingly looking for more diversified opportunities away from the traditional capital markets. It is an exciting market because it is still developing. We know about existing forms of participation in the capital markets in the insurance market but there are others that have yet to evolve. It is a case of ‘watch this space’ or perhaps ‘jump into this space’.

Homework is integral to the daily pupils‘ home preparation for school typical for the Czech school environment. Many previous studies on homework were focused mostly on parents. In this paper, we focus on the concept and importance of homework from a specific perspective, through the eyes of children – pupils in a primary school. At the same time, we deal with the role of the child in home preparation, which includes the specific tasks - homework. Children are seen to be the reflexive participants, competent producers of knowledge about their lives and about everyday experiences of education (Christensen & James, 2008). This presented qualitative research was selected through a focus group on Czech children in primary education to know their attitudes to homework. Children stood in a position of active participants in a semi-structured interviews focused mainly on how children perceive their homework, what do they think and how do they feel while completing homework. Furthermore, we wondered about which strategies children develop and how do they apply these strategies in homework. According to children’s answers, it is evident, that individual case of each child and a certain diversity of child’s evaluation of homework has to be given specifically. The family lifestyle, parental involvement on the one hand, and on the other hand teacher’s attitudes to homework form their image of homework. The types and assigning homework affect the effect of homework for the next child's education. These findings show the importance of the "voice of the child" as a reflection and an effort to understand everyday school and family reality perceived by a child.

Alternative Titles: Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. Junior Johnson, byname of Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr., (born June 28, 1931, Wilkes county, North Carolina, U.S.), American stock-car driver who ranks among the most influential figures in National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) history. One of NASCAR’s most colourful characters, Johnson was a direct link back to the sport’s early connection to liquor bootlegging. Though he never won a championship as a driver, he was a team owner whose drivers did bring home the sport’s top prizes. He was also an on-track innovator whose method of “drafting” changed racing forever. The son of a bootlegger who spent nearly a third of his life in prison, Johnson grew up around both racing and illegal liquor running. He spent 11 months in prison for operating a liquor still, but he was never caught running moonshine. (U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan would later grant him a pardon for his conviction.) Spurred on by his experiences of eluding the police in his native North Carolina, Johnson began racing in the Grand National (now Sprint Cup) Series in 1955. Johnson retired in 1966 with 50 Grand National wins, the winningest driver to have never won a championship, but he began a lucrative and heralded career as a stock-car owner. His drivers, including Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough, combined to bring home six NASCAR championships for Johnson between 1966 and 1995, when he got out of the ownership game. In 2011 he briefly dipped back into ownership, as his son Robert ran in the K&N Pro Series East. Outside of NASCAR, Johnson was best known as the subject of Tom Wolfe’s landmark 1965 essay “The Last American Hero Is Junior Johnson. Yes!” (The article, credited as a key work in the burgeoning field of the “New Journalism,” coined the term good ol’ boy.) Johnson was a member of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

Here at TravelPharm, we are always on the look for new guidance to support our customers with their travel plans. Today has seen the publication of the latest UK malaria prevention guidelines. These guidelines published by the ACMP are just one of many tools we use to help our patients. 2 – The World Health Organization World Malaria Report 2015 states that 88% of global cases originate in the WHO African region. This pattern is reflected in data from the PHE Malaria Reference Laboratory which show a predominance of imported cases and almost all deaths originating from Africa. Practitioners should engage as much as possible with those planning to visit Africa to emphasize that the malaria situation there remains serious and requires rigorous application of preventive measures. 3 – ACMP has undertaken an in-depth review of malaria risk for travellers to Southeast Asia, South America, parts of the Caribbean and South Asia, using traveller data, in-country data and surveillance data from the PHE Malaria Reference Laboratory. This resulted in substantial changes to advice where the malaria risk present has been judged now to be below the threshold to advise chemoprophylaxis. 4 – All travellers should be advised to take precautions against mosquito bites, irrespective of whether it is specifically recommended for malaria. 6 – Data still suggests that travellers “Visiting Friends and Relatives” or the long-term traveller are at the greatest risk of acquiring malaria whilst away. There are still groups of individuals who will suffer severe malaria and these can include patients with complex health issues, those who are immunocompromised, pregnant travellers and the elderly. We will shortly update our website country list to include the new information.

St Anne’s Church Shandon, built in 1722, home to the famous Shandon Bells, is a landmark building and has been a place of worship for over 280 years. The Bells of Shandon first rang out across the city in 1752. Cast in Gloucesterin England, the eight bells each carry their own inscription. The tower is also home to one of the largest caged clocks in Europe installed by the corporation in 1847 and known as the ‘four faced liar’ because of its sometimes errant time telling! At the top of the tower is the gilded salmon,or ‘de goldie fish’ an old symbol of Christianity and a symbol representing salmon fishing in the river Lee. There is a spectacular view of the city at the viewing parapet at 120ft/36m. The interior of St Anne’s church, with its Victorian wooden vaulted ceiling, has a number of interesting features-it’s barley sugar twist altar rail; a baptismal font dating back to 1629, and its beautiful stained-glass windows. Our guide will tell you the history of St Anne’s Church, one of the oldest churches still in use in the city centre, show you how to ring the Shandon bells, introduce you to Bob + Joan of the Greencoat School, show you the mechanism of the famous ‘Four Faced Liar Clock’ and lead you up past the bells in the Belfry to see the amazing view of the city.

Charles Darwin’s voyage on the HMS Beagle is a gripping adventure story, and a turning point in the making of the modern world. Brought together here in chronological order, the letters he wrote and received during his trip provide a first-hand account of a voyage of discovery that was as much personal as intellectual. We follow Darwin’s adventures as he prepares for his travels, lands on his first tropical island, watches an earthquake level a city, and learns how to catch ostriches from a running horse. We witness slavery, political revolution, and epidemic disease, and share the otherworldly experience of landing on the Galapagos Islands and collecting specimens. His letters are counterpoised by replies from family and friends that record a comfortable, intimate world back in England. Original watercolors by the ship’s artist Conrad Martens vividly bring to life Darwin’s descriptions of his travels. "It's a pleasure to have the correspondence from this critical period in an accessible volume. It is fascinating to watch Darwin attempt to come to grips with the huge amount of data he collected and make sense of the patterns he observed. We get an intimate look at an adventurous young Darwin, so unlike his more familiar, sedentary older self who would write On the Origin of Species. The late Burkhardt, who founded the Darwin Correspondence Project, has filled in details and context as needed, and the introduction by Darwin biographer Browne is a joy to read." contains: 30 b/w illus. 12 colour illus. Frederick Burkhardt (1912–2007) was the founder of the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project, and the associated high-profile book series The Correspondence of Charles Darwin (Cambridge University Press, 1985- ). He was the President of the American Council of Learned Societies from 1957 to 1974, and in 2003 was awarded the American Philosophical Society Thomas Jefferson Gold Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences. This volume is the work of the Editors of the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project ().

Mass incarceration, health disparities, the achievement gap: Is the Utah governor’s Multicultural Commission helping? Jacqueline Thompson, a member of the governor’s Multicultural Commission, said this was the commission’s approach to issues facing minorities in Utah. The commission’s goals are to promote inclusiveness, cultivate trust between state government and ethnic communities, and improve educational resources regarding equity for the state. The Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs and the commission was created in 2012 when Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed an executive order. Before 2012, there was the Department of Community and Culture, which employed a director of ethnic affairs. This department had oversight of the African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Pacific Islander affair offices. Each office had employees who were responsible for listening and responding to the needs of its respective community. When the commission was created, this department and its individual offices were disbanded. The Department of Heritage and Arts now oversees the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Multicultural Commission. The Rio Grande building in Salt Lake City, home of the Utah Department of Heritage & Arts. Chavez-Houck noted that the commission was developed in the middle of an economic recession when the executive branch was looking for places to cut. Some members of the community were against the elimination of the department and individual offices. Thompson said the individual offices were able to work directly with communities one-on-one and could therefore have a more widespread impact. Jacqueline Thompson, a current member of the governor’s Multicultural Commission. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox serves as co-chair of the commission as appointed in the executive order by the governor. Thompson said Cox is “always thinking outside of the box” and is conscious of being inclusive of all voices. The 25 commissioners represent a wide variety of voices, and the large majority of them are community leaders in their respective industries, whether that be government, nonprofit, or business. Chavez-Houck is a former Utah legislator. Maria Garciaz is the CEO of Neighborworks, a nonprofit organization. Thompson is a state employee with years of experience in educational equity. Chavez-Houck said, “I still sincerely believe that there is value in consolidating issues because communities of color share a lot of common concerns.” These are things like health disparities, mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline, economic opportunity and development, and education and the achievement gap. “These things hit communities of color the same,” she said. The commission meets every two months, and the meetings are open the public. The agendas for previous meetings are available online. Recent topics of discussion include the hiring of an executive director for the Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs, the role of the commission in partnership with Intermountain Healthcare regarding work on the social determinants of health, and the Multicultural Youth Leadership Day. Commissioners listen to the issues that are presented and then respond with feedback. They work collaboratively to come up with solutions to complex issues that face our community. Those who want to join the commission must apply and be appointed by the governor. A term can be one, two, or three years long but commissioners serve at the pleasure of the governor and are subject to be removed at any time. The commissioners assisted in the development of the Senior Leader Toolkit and Participant Course Journal, programs that are currently in their pilot phase among state agencies and community organizations. The goal of these trainings is to improve cross-cultural communication and to “sensitize people more than anything,” Garciaz said. The Utah Office of Multicultural Affairs oversees the Multicultural Youth Leadership Day at the Capitol and the Multicultural Youth Leadership Summit. The commissioners offer input, consultation, guidance, and are invited to attend. About 1,000 kids of color come to listen to role models of color, but also to present on what they think is or is not working in their schools. “When these students come to the conferences, they are already born leaders. They are acting in leadership capacities. We call them future leaders, but they really are present leaders, too,” Thompson said.

You know the story…you’re right in the middle of something, and then a problem comes out of left-field. How do you react? How you face problems is one of the critical factors that helps determine how successful you will be as a manager. Many managers panic or resist problems, thinking that by ignoring it or passing it on, somehow it’s solved. Firstly, assume there is an answer out there… it just needs to be found. Worrying about it gets you nowhere; working towards the answer will get you everywhere. I’m not just referring to being positive, but the state of mind you decide to choose will play a big part in the way the problem will be handled. Now, ask yourself ‘what are the facts?’. Many problems are not as big as they seem at first, once everything is known. Also, facts will help you find a better solution, faster. Knowing this is the next step allows you to think logically about the situation. If you encounter a problem, simply begin asking questions and gather the facts. Sometimes you have dig to get to the real problem! This is where your quality questioning comes in. Consider what research you might do to solve the problem- maybe the internet could help, asking other people, or reading how others have solved the problem might help. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you know it all, and that your first instinct for an answer is necessarily the best. Bounce your ideas off other people, even if you think they know less on the subject. Sometimes the more you know, the more you can overlook the obvious. Finally, make your decision, and put it into action. Think short-term as well as long. Follow through properly. Allow yourself the time to pick the right solution and set milestones to measure its effectiveness. Monitor those solutions and make sure you have some contingencies, just in case. By following logical steps, you identify what progress you can make with specific problems and will soon have them under control.

Carbonate trial disclosure - Page 6 - Politics, News, and Hypocrisy - Chickensomething What Are You Afraid Of? Pilot forgets to turn off chemtrails while landing. The canisters will deploy blue-green and red vapor forming artificial clouds, which will allow scientists on the ground to track particle motions. Do pilots conduct air rituals? The following excerpted chapter is presented here to inform the reader of the completion and availability of the first edition of the paperback book Chemtrails Exposed: A New Manhattan Project. Along with this new ‘Conclusions’ chapter, Chemtrails Exposed contains two other new chapters titled ‘Organizations and Persons of Interest’ and ‘Solutions’ as well as a brief afterword. Coupled with the fact that the rest of the book has been extensively revised and updated, the reader should have a very informative reading experience. Evidence is mounting in favor of the answer that experts have long suspected but have only recently been capable of exploring in detail. “It’s quite clear at this point that the answer is clouds,” said Matt Huber, a paleoclimate modeler at Purdue University. Clouds currently cover about two-thirds of the planet at any moment. But computer simulations of clouds have begun to suggest that as the Earth warms, clouds become scarcer. With fewer white surfaces reflecting sunlight back to space, the Earth gets even warmer, leading to more cloud loss. This feedback loop causes warming to spiral out of control. For decades, rough calculations have suggested that cloud loss could significantly impact climate, but this concern remained speculative until the last few years, when observations and simulations of clouds improved to the point where researchers could amass convincing evidence. Now, new findings reported today in the journal Nature Geoscience make the case that the effects of cloud loss are dramatic enough to explain ancient warming episodes like the PETM — and to precipitate future disaster. Climate physicists at the California Institute of Technology performed a state-of-the-art simulation of stratocumulus clouds, the low-lying, blankety kind that have by far the largest cooling effect on the planet. The simulation revealed a tipping point: a level of warming at which stratocumulus clouds break up altogether. The disappearance occurs when the concentration of CO2 in the simulated atmosphere reaches 1,200 parts per million — a level that fossil fuel burning could push us past in about a century, under “business-as-usual” emissions scenarios. In the simulation, when the tipping point is breached, Earth’s temperature soars 8 degrees Celsius, in addition to the 4 degrees of warming or more caused by the CO2 directly.

CHICAGO – In children and adolescents with hemophilia, vigorous physical activity was associated with an elevated risk of bleeding, although it appears the absolute increase in risk may be small, according to a study in the October 10 issue of JAMA. Newswise — Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that, if untreated, causes recurrent bleeding into joints. "Vigorous physical activity is thought to increase risk of bleeds in children with hemophilia, but the magnitude of the risk is unknown," according to background information in the article. Information about risks associated with physical activity is needed to help inform decisions regarding participation in physical activity, the authors write. There were 436 bleeds, of which 336 were study bleeds (i.e., bleeding episodes without another bleeding episode in the preceding 2 weeks). Eighty-eight participants (84 percent) reported at least 1 bleed. The most frequent sites of bleeding were the knee (15 percent), ankle (14 percent), and elbow (10 percent). Compared with inactivity and category 1 activities (e.g., swimming), category 2 activities (e.g., basketball) were associated with a transient increase in the risk of bleeding (30.6 percent of bleed windows vs. 24.8 percent of first control windows; odds ratio, 2.7). Category 3 activities (e.g., wrestling) were associated with a greater transient increase in risk (7.0 percent of bleed windows vs. 3.4 percent of first control windows; odds ratio, 3.7). These odds of bleeding suggest that for most children, the absolute increase in risk associated with physical activity is low. "To illustrate absolute risk increase, for a child who bleeds 5 times annually and is exposed on average to category 2 activities twice weekly and to category 3 activities once weekly, exposure to these activities was associated with only 1 of the 5 annual bleeds," the authors write. Most bleeds associated with physical activity were present within an hour of activity. "This study confirms that physical activity is associated with an increased risk of bleeds in children and adolescents with moderate or severe hemophilia A or B. It demonstrates that the relative increase in risk is moderate. However, for most children, the absolute increase in risk is likely to be low," the researchers conclude.

We are offering Mantra Wild Seabuckthorn Concentrate that is highly rich in nutritional value and have essential fatty acids like Omega 3, Omega 6, Omega 9, and Omega 7. It is also exceptionally rich in Vitamin E with vitamins A, D, C, D and K, etc. Its active ingredients include carotene, flavonoids, antioxidants,phytosterols, serotonin, amino acids and trace elements including iron, zinc, calcium, manganese, selenium, iodine, etc., that are important for an overall good health. Mantra Wild Seabuckthorn Concentrate also neutralizes free radicals which cause neurodegenerative disorders. Free radicals have also been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimers’s disease. It is found that more than 80 diseases are related to free radicals, the most common ones include stroke, myocardial infarction, infant anemia, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, tumors, cataract, radiation damage, burn, brown spots, wrinkles, aging, arthritis, lung disease, nephritis, hepatitis, etc. Seabuckthorn fruit and leaves are quite rich in flavonoids which neutralize these free radicals. Mantra Wild Seabuckthorn Concentrate regulates and improves the immune system in different processes and at different levels, restores disturbed immune system, strengthens the body’s resistance to diseases, thus effectively preventing diseases and speeding up recovery. The same qualities are key inputs for good looking skin, hair and nails. Anti Ageing and Immunity boosting : Immunity is the ability and process of resistance of the human body against pathogens harmful to our skin and body. This is crucial to good health because it means not only freedom from diseases and pains, but also a optimal condition physically, mentally and socially. Rich in antioxidants boosting Immunity : Seabuckthorn fruit has been found rich in antioxidants like superoxide dimutase enzyme, vitamin C, E, carotenoids and flavoniods. (Yang and Kallio 2002). Rich in Vitamin C boosting Immunity : Studies have proven that the vitamin C content of Seabuckthorn is 4 – 100 fold higher than many other fruits or vegetables.(Lu Rongsen 2003). Rich source of flavonoids boosting Immunity : Seabuckthorn fruit are a very rich source of flavonoids. Flavonoids have been found to possess very strong antioxidant activity. It has been found that flavonoids improve the immunity of the body, lower the osmosis of the capillary wall and prevent oxidation of Vitamin C, control arterioscelerosis, reducing cholesterol level, turning hyperthyroidism into euthyroidism and eliminating inflammation. They have also been found effective against tumour and radiation damage. (In Mingyu et al 1998). Cancers and Healthy Skin : Carotenoids contained in seabuckthorn are a major source of Vitamin A. Carotenoids particularly B-Carotene and Cantaxathine act as anti-carcinogen and anti-swelling, therefore safeguard from some kinds of skin cancers. Seabuckthorn is therefore especially good for maintaining healthy skin. (Kertangi etal 1984). Beneficial Effects on cardiovascular function : A number of studies have been carried out on the effects of flavonoids of Seabuckthorn on cardiovascular diseases, and reveal that they have a positive inotropic effect, improve cardiac performance, decrease peripheral resistance and do not increase heart rate. Total flavonoids of Seabuckthorn have a curative effect on angina pectoris and also anti-arrhythmic effect. Seabuckthorn. extract has considerable anti-myocardial ischemiac, anti hyperlipemia and anti-fat liver effects. Radioprotective action of Seabuckthorn : Polyphenolic compounds of Seabuckthorn possess an anti-oxidant activity. They inhibit the growth of tumors and exhibit a radioprotective action. Wound Healing : Carotenoids improve the metabolic normalization and regenerate the injured tissues. Deficiency of Carotenoids in human foods leads to poor growth, weak eyesight, decreases intolerance to diseases and affects the mucus membrane of gastrointestinal tract. Carotenoids are effective remedies against burn, frostbites, ulcers and various gynaecological problems. (Mashkovski 1997) 39 different types of carotenoids have been identified in seabuckthorn alone. Helps in Stress tolerance : Carotenoids raise physical and physiological capacity to work in stress conditions. (Bogdanov et al 1986). Hepato Protection : Hydrolyzable tannins of seabuckthorn have shown significant anti-hepatotoxic action. Seabuckthorn extract has considerable anti-fat liver effects. (Hikino et al 1985).

This app uses open data in order to compare hospital statistics in Switzerland. Over the past five years studies were done to compare approximately 300 hospitals and maternity wards across the country using a range of quality indicators, such as waiting time in emergency rooms, and the types of cases handled. This data is freely available, and there is already an official Web application which can be used to run queries against the data, comparing one or more hospital/s to each other based on a selection of criteria. In this hackathon project, we started developing a mobile app which presents a more basic view into this data, with the potential of visualizing the information in innovative ways. Also see Heath Data Visualization for web-based maps of the same data. In late 2012, the project was continued as part of an internship at Apps with love GmbH. The results of this further development have been summarized and presented to the Swiss Department of Health in a short paper.

Pune is a city of India. Classical and medieval history including early classical, late classical, early medieval, and late medieval history can be connected. Pune is thought to have been founded about the 8th century CE. The 20th century including the early 20th century, early mid 20th century, mid 20th century, and late mid 20th century can be connected. The late 20th century including the early 1980s, late 1980s, early 1990s, and late 1990s can be connected. The early 21st century including the early 2000s, late 2000s, and early 2010s can be connected. The late 2010s including 2016 and 2017 can be connected. The future can be connected. Nations such as Pakistan, Nigeria, Russia, Bangladesh, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Turkey, Congo DR, Thailand, France, United Kingdom, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Burma, Colombia, Spain, Ukraine, Tanzania, Argentina, Kenya, Poland, Algeria, Canada, Iraq, Uganda, Morocco, Sudan, Peru, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ghana, North Korea, Mozambique, Taiwan, Australia, Syria, Côte d'Ivoire, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Angola, Cameroon, Romania, Chile, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guatemala, Mali, Ecuador, Cambodia, Malawi, Zambia, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Chad, Cuba, Belgium, Greece, Rwanda, Tunisia, Portugal, Czech Republic, Bolivia, Guinea, Burundi, Haiti, Hungary, Somalia, Sweden, Belarus, Dominican Republic, Azerbaijan, Benin, Austria, Honduras, United Arab Emirates, South Sudan, Switzerland, Israel, Tajikistan, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Libya, Paraguay, Jordan, Laos, El Salvador, Togo, Nicaragua, Eritrea, Denmark, Kyrgystan, Slovakia, Finland, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Turkmenistan, Norway, Central African Republic, Ireland, Georgia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Palestinian Territories, Croatia, and Lebanon can be connected. Asiatic peoples including South Asian and Oriental peoples can be connected. Indonesia can be connected. South Asian peoples such as those of India can be connected. Oriental peoples such as those of China can be connected. Western Civilization including Brazil can be connected. Anglic peoples such as those of the United States can be connected. American Indian peoples including Middle American Indian and North American Indian peoples can be connected. Brazil can be connected. Middle American Indian peoples such as those of the United States can be connected. North American Indian peoples such as those of the United States can be connected. Other communities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City, New York City, Mumbai, Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Delhi, Shanghai, Manila, Karachi, Cairo, Beijing, Osaka, Canton, Moscow, Los Angeles, Calcutta, Dacca, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Shenzhen, Lagos, Paris, Nagoya, Lima, Chicago, Kinshasa, Tianjin, Chennai, Bengaluru, London, Saigon, Donguan, Hyderabad, Chengdu, Lahore, Johannesburg, Tehran, Essen, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Ahmedabad, Chongqing, Baghdad, Hangzhou, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Santiago, Dallas, San Francisco, Quanzhou, Miami, Shenyang, Belo Horizonte, Philadelphia, Nanjing; Madrid, Houston, Xian, Milan, and Luanda can be connected. Other communities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City, New York City, Mumbai, Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Delhi, Shanghai, Manila, Karachi, Cairo, Beijing, Osaka, Canton, Moscow, Los Angeles, Calcutta, Dacca, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Shenzhen, Lagos, Paris, Nagoya, Lima, Chicago, Kinshasa, Tianjin, Chennai, Bengaluru, London, Saigon, Donguan, Hyderabad, Chengdu, Lahore, Johannesburg, Tehran, Essen, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Wuhan, Ahmedabad, Chongqing, Baghdad, Hangzhou, Toronto, Kuala Lumpur, Santiago, Dallas, San Francisco, Quanzhou, Miami, Shenyang, Belo Horizonte, Philadelphia, Nanjing; Madrid, Houston, Xian, Milan, Luanda, Pune; Singapore, and Riyadh can be connected. Social mechanics including social change, social types, and social structure can be connected.

Last weekend, the Western Hemisphere was treated to a total Blood Moon lunar eclipse. Viewing in Michigan could not have better, apart from the sub-zero temperatures, as crystal clear skies allowed for great observation of the astronomical event. But some very attentive viewers, or those with telescopes and binoculars, were potentially treated to something extra special. Apparently a meteor struck the surface of the moon near the peak of the eclipse at 11:41 pm EST. According to National Geographic, an "eagle-eyed" eclipse viewer on Reddit spotted a potential impact and reached out to the space community to see if anyone else had observed it. Several people responded saying they had seen a tiny flicker of light near the time of totality. As people began sharing images and videos of it, scientists were at first skeptical of the claims. They believing it may have been pixel effects from cameras or some other kind of natural effect. But then they realized that every single image was showing the same thing, an apparent impact on the lunar surface. Here is a video posted on YouTube by user Deep Sky Dude that shows the impact in real time, then zooms in and slows down gradually so you can see it yourself. Scientists say the next step is gathering up the documented observations to study the event in full detail. They're hoping to capture an image of the moon's new crater.

Each student need to select one of the topics described below. Types of Computers – supercomputers, mainframe, minicomputers, workstations, personal computers. What the component is called? What the component is used for? In a succinct but technically write a detailed paragraph, what happens when you turn on your computer? Your friend is interested in buying a brand-new computer, but unfortunately, he/she doesn’t know anything about computers. Your friend is working with an $900 budget and is looking for a computer that will allow him/her to run all the common and most current software applications, Windows 10 operating system software, as well as allow him/her to play video games, surf the Internet, play videos and music files, etc. Your task is to write a minimum of four paragraphs expressing an opinion on finding a computer that meets the requirements of your friend and does not exceed his/her budget. Motherboard diagram 1. What the component is called? 2. What the component is used for?

A feasibility report is filled with calculations, analysis and estimated projections of a business opportunity. Where are they located? Challenges Both business plans and feasibility studies attempt to predict future outcomes using assumptions about what is likely to happen in the business environment -- the economy and the company's competition. Business plans are blueprints for implementing actions that have already been deemed feasible by the company's management. Can a feasibility report be converted to a small business plan? The feasibility study is done to flesh out the possibilities in an initial business idea. Will you need a lawyer or an accountant? Versions Feasibility studies usually compare several possible scenarios for how a business might work. Will you need to borrow money and how's your credit rating? The business plan then fully describes the business and its financial projections. Where are they located? How much money will you need for start-up costs? The feasibility study helps determine whether an idea or business is a viable option. The business plan then fully describes the business and its financial projections. Challenges Both business plans and feasibility studies attempt to predict future outcomes using assumptions about what is likely to happen in the business environment -- the economy and the company's competition. How much will you need for working capital? The feasibility study is done to flesh out the possibilities in an initial business idea. Carry out before starting your business and analysis: To achieve this, all you need to do is incorporate your business strategies and tactics into the feasibility best ipad homework app and you are good to go. Feasibility studies are often done to decide whether to start the business or not -- whether the likelihood of success is high enough to make the financial risk worthwhile. Well, I will advice you read on to find the answers you seek. Feasibility studies are used to determine whether a proposed action has a high enough probability of success that it should be undertaken. What type of customers would be willing to pay for this product or service and where will you find them? But this environment is always changing and the assumptions a company uses in its projections of revenue or profit may prove to be incorrect. A feasibility study is carried out with the aim of finding out the workability and profitability of a business venture. While a business plan is made up of mostly tactics and strategies to be implemented in other to start and grow the business. The business plan is developed after the business opportunity is created. Assess your curriculum vitae template with picture viability: A feasibility study hr position cover letter filled with calculations, analysis and estimated projections while a business plan is made up of mostly tactics and strategies to be implemented in other to grow the business. While some say they are the same, others argue they are not. A feasibility study is all about business idea viability while a business plan deals with business growth plan and sustainability. Those in charge of conducting a feasibility study should not have a preconceived view about whether success will be attained. Business plans are blueprints for implementing actions that have already been deemed feasible by the company's management. They conduct research and let the facts lead to the ultimate opinion given in the study. Who are your competitors? Importance A business will probably fail if its feasibility best ipad homework app is done poorly the first time. Will you require any licences or permits? What are the costs for these services? This simply means that a business plan is prepared after a feasibility study has been conducted. Now there seem to be a mix up between feasibility study and business plan. A feasibility study, or business opportunity analysis, is a planning tool similar to a business plan. References University of Rochester: Who will be your suppliers? A feasibility study report reveals the profit potential of a business idea or opportunity to the entrepreneur, while a business plan helps the entrepreneur raise the needed startup capital from investors. A feasibility study is all about business idea viability while a business plan deals with business growth plan and sustainability. A feasibility report is filled with calculations, analysis and estimated projections of a business opportunity. A feasibility report is filled with calculations, analysis and estimated projections of a business opportunity. Though the process involved in developing a feasibility report and a business are similar, I will reveal to you some basic difference between conducting feasibility study and writing a business plan. They can also be used to make decisions about whether to launch a new product in an existing company, or enter a new market -- any activity where there is a question about whether the company should take the action or not. A feasibility report is filled with calculations, analysis and estimated projections of a business opportunity. Feasibility studies are often done to decide whether to start the business or not -- whether the likelihood of success is high enough to make the financial risk worthwhile. Feasibility studies may have some or many of the same elements of a business plan, including a description of the human resources required and financial projections, but all the information leads to a conclusion or recommendation.

Digital Wellness: Is Your Teen Making The Right Decisions Online? As parents we have to ask ourselves, “How safe is the digital space for teens?” Here are some tips on how we can convey digital safety and the hazards of digital life to make surfing the internet a safe and enjoyable experience for your teen. Parents are engaged in ongoing conversations with their child about his or her online life as an extension to their child’s social and academic world. The digital landscape: The rapid pace of change and advancement in technology poses a challenge for adolescents and their parents. The ability to manage oneself online with an understanding of media literacy and reputation management skills is paramount. Other challenges include time management, screen time and the risk of making poor decisions online. Time management: It can be hard to break away from the screen (e.g., phone, television, video game, etc.) to complete homework or to sleep. Unplugging can be accomplished by being proactive about setting reasonable boundaries with technology. How do teens hold themselves accountable? How can parents help? These are conversations worth exploring further. Online safety: To achieve the goals of safety, critical thinking and learning: Parents should have ongoing dialog with their children about media use (early and often!). Social media involves relationships, therefore it is important to consider safety when networking and posting online. One risk with online relationships is cyberbullying. Of note, Internet harassment happens most frequently by peers. For example, in one study, 73 percent of study participants who were victims of cyberbullying reported they knew the identity of their bully (anonymous survey, 1,400 + teens, 12-17, Juvonen & Gross). Talk to your child about cyberbullying, harassment, and even joking online. Sometimes examples are easy to identify, while others are subtler. Help your child navigate these waters by talking with him or her about the impact of his or her words. Avoid using derogatory (negative) words to describe others. Discourage teasing and put-downs (of yourself and your friends). Focus on internal qualities and effort rather than external appearance. Think about the person behind the post, rather than dehumanizing your news feed. For parents: Like in other areas of life, parents are important role models for their child. Parents have many opportunities to model digital wellness by modeling healthy behaviors such as unplugging, collaboration, using good judgment when posting, etc. Positive youth perspective: While adults fear the use of technology, youth feel participation in social networking provides literacy tools to succeed in a contemporary world (MacAurthur Study 2005-2009). New media allows for autonomy and exploration not found in the traditional classroom setting. ‘Tis the Season to be Eating … Healthy! ‘Tis the Season to be Eating… Healthy!

Though the vein structures of leaves may help identify plants, botanists seldom refer to them due to the difficulty involved in deciphering their variations. But in a study released this month, researchers found that computer vision and artificial intelligence technology can assist botanists in classifying leaves according to their vein structures. The paper, co-authored by Thomas Serre, assistant professor of cognitive, linguistic and psychological sciences, was released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Computers learned to discern certain types of leaves by shape and vein pattern based on an initial set of 7,600 digital images of plants that had been chemically enhanced to emphasize their veins. Researchers who study cancer and autoimmune disorders may benefit from a new technique developed by a team of University scientists who found a way to track cell movements within the body. In the past, scientists hoping to study cell movement used a technique called traction force microscopy. In this method, as cells move through an artificial space — a 2D surface or a 3D gel — researchers capture images that they can then use to calculate any forces the cells generate as they move. Still, for researchers to conduct calculations, they must know mechanical qualities such as the stiffness of the artificial environment. Now, through a process called “mean deformation,” scientists can make these calculations without having to know the mechanical properties of an artificial environment, thus allowing them to test the movement of cells on surfaces that better mimic the human body, said Christian Franck, assistant professor of engineering, in a University press release. Franck said that he and his colleagues plan to release the software that powers the technology for free online, so that other researchers may use the technique by uploading their own 3D images. In vitro fertilization has often been credited with the record-high rate of twin births in the United States. But earlier this month, Eli Adashi, a professor of medical science at the Alpert Medical School, argued that IVF could play a role in lowering the rate to more natural levels. Twin births may come with complications such as preterm births and low birth weight, which is why many physicians consider IVF’s artificial contribution to the rising rate of twin births problematic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a record high of 33.9 twin births per 1,000 live births in 2014. With the steep cost associated with IVF, mothers and doctors aspire to have the invasive method of fertility assistance work on the first try. Doctors implant more than one embryo into a mother, with the hope that if one dies, others will survive. This, Adashi said, is where the solution lies. To reduce twin births, he argues, states should advocate insurance coverage of IVF transfers of only a single egg. “Combining a direct path to IVF with the judicious use of superovulation/IUI should go a long way toward curtailing the national twin birth rate,” Adashi wrote in his editorial, which was published in the March volume of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The holidays are a time of being together with loved ones, festive spirits, and giving. As such, many of us are planning to knock out our holiday gifts by finding the best deals online and in stores. Of course, online shopping is a holiday favorite for those of us who are struggling to find time to find all of the gifts on our lists. However, millions of online transactions per day equates to a perfect time of year for credit card fraudsters to get to work. In an attempt to keep your credit card information safe, you may have heard of something called a virtual credit card, which may be able to keep your sensitive data safe. If you’re planning on doing some online shopping this season (or really any time of year) you should know how virtual credit cards can keep your money safe. 1 What is an anonymous virtual credit card? 2 How do I get a virtual credit card number? 3 Where can I use a virtual credit card? 4 Are there any negatives to a virtual credit card? What is an anonymous virtual credit card? A virtual credit card is a randomly generated credit card number that can be used for standard credit card purchases. It is often associated with online shopping for the purpose of keeping your card information safe from identity theft and hackers. With a substantial rise in credit card fraud and theft year over year, credit card companies are choosing to fight back. This idea was invented to protect customers and ensure that their personal information stays safe. The customer is given complete control over the virtual number, which means you can choose how much money can be spent in association with the virtual credit card number. In addition, you also have control over how long the virtual number can be used. You may set an expiration date that voids the virtual number after a certain amount of days, weeks, or months. Many companies have a limit on how long you may be able to keep the number active. Often, the maximum time limit a virtual credit card may stay active is around a year. How do I get a virtual credit card number? In order to obtain a virtual credit card number, you must first be issued an actual credit card. Not all credit card companies offer virtual credit card numbers, so you’ll want to check with your credit card provider to see if they have this service. It’s a good idea to try and plan ahead in order to keep your virtual number safe. For example, if you know that you’ll be making an online purchase (or several) during the holiday season, contact your bank ahead of time and let them know your plans. Tell them how much you’re planning to spend and when you would like the card number to expire. Once you have requested the number, your card company or bank will contact you with the details of your virtual credit card number. You will need to keep this information in a safe place to avoid it from being compromised, just as you would your traditional credit card number. However, once you have the number in your possession, it’s ready to use. Where can I use a virtual credit card? Virtual credit card numbers technically can be used anywhere that a normal credit card purchase would be made. However, you don’t get a physical credit card with your virtual number, so it’s most convenient that a virtual credit card number be used for online purchases. Most storefront shops require a physical card that can be swiped, or a chip that can be read, in order to authenticate the purchase. In the scenario above, we talked about holiday shopping, which is a great example of when to plan ahead if you’re going to shop online. Knowing what you plan to spend and/or most of the purchases that you plan to make can help you create an accurate shopping timeline and spending limit on your virtual credit card. Although, as most of us know, sometimes it’s difficult to know exactly what you’ll buy or how much you will spend, but don’t worry! If you end up going above your originally desired limit, you can always request a new number. Most banks that generate virtual credit card numbers offer this as a complimentary service to their credit card members, which means you can do so an infinite number of times. When you have multiple virtual credit card numbers being used, the card number that was used will often show on your individual purchases. This way, you can keep track of exactly that item was purchased, what the full amount of the purchase was, and which specific credit card number that was used in the purchase. You won’t have to worry about keeping track of several separate credit card numbers after they have expired, your bank will do that for you. Are there any negatives to a virtual credit card? The main downside to a virtual credit card, is the fact that it likely cannot be used in a physical store to make purchases. Although, another pain point is the fact that refunding a purchase could prove impossible with a virtual credit card. If you make a purchase and are unhappy with it, the money cannot be refunded to that number after it has expired. This could mean that you’ll have to settle for store credit instead of an actual refund. If you’re worried about running into issues regarding a product that needs to be returned, simply opt for your card number to stay active for a longer period of time that includes a window for a possible return. However, the benefits of a virtual credit card number far outweigh these slight negative points. Using a virtual credit card gives you complete power over keeping your confidential information safe. Even if the card number is compromised for one reason or another, the virtual number cannot be traced back to your actual credit card number. Your bank can deactivate the card number at a moment’s notice and all of the funds can be placed back onto your card. If the card has been fraudulently used, you may need to start an investigation with your bank. The good news is, your traditional credit card should not be restricted during this time. Purchases can be traced back to this exact virtual credit card number which is not linked to your standard credit card number. This means, you shouldn’t be cut off from other necessary transactions and payments while the investigation is ongoing. All in all, as long as you are able to plan ahead and loosely predict your purchases, you should have no trouble with a virtual credit card. You have complete power over the option of a virtual credit card number. You will know how much can be spent and when it will expire. You can rest assured knowing that you credit card information is being kept safe and that your money will stay protected at all times.

Watch the videos below to learn more about the project and how solids are processed at the Metro Plant. The Metro Plant, located southeast of downtown Saint Paul, treats 180 million gallons of wastewater every day for 66 communities and processes 850 wet tons of solids every day for 73 communities. The Metro Plant needs additional solids processing capacity to preserve existing wastewater treatment plant infrastructure and serve regional population growth. MCES proposes to construct a fourth incinerator, found to be the most cost-effective and sustainable alternative to meet the region’s wastewater needs. Wastewater solids are a renewable, carbon-based fuel source. The goals of processing wastewater solids are to reduce volume, recover energy, and reduce or eliminate pathogens. Solids at the Metro Plant are collected in settling tanks, thickened, and then dewatered before being sent to incineration. The Metro Plant has been processing wastewater solids with incineration since 1938 and with fluid bed incinerators since 2005. Incineration of wastewater solids is an efficient thermal combustion process that reduces the quantity of solids by 95% and eliminates pathogens. The Metro Plant incineration facilities can take what most people consider a waste and recover valuable energy from it. The energy recovered is used within the plant and reduces our utility bills by $2.5 million per year, ultimately passing those savings on to our customer communities. The Metro Plant incineration facilities have one of the most advanced, highest performing, and state-of-the-art air pollution control systems in the country. The existing incinerators have an exceptional track record of environmental compliance. They operate at well below the new, most stringent standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for new incinerators.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has emphasised the need for extractive industry dependent nations to focus on structural reforms to support the diversification of the economies away from the commodities. This, it noted, would put the onus on better mobilising domestic revenues, increasing the quality of public investment, and improving the business climate to promote the development of the private sector and diversify the export base beyond commodities. In a paper titled: “Weathering the Commodity Price Slump”, IMF said Nigeria and the Republic of Congo, the largest and the fourth largest oil exporters in sub-Saharan Africa, respectively, have experienced highly volatile terms of trade.According to IMF, as in the case of Nigeria, the steep fall in oil prices since mid-2014, has resulted in pronounced declines in fiscal and external buffers in the Republic of Congo, and caused economic growth to slow. It stated that many sub-Saharan African countries’ dependence on extractive commodity exports has increased in recent decades, with about half of the region’s countries now considered net commodity exporters. IMF noted that so long as commodity prices continued rising from the turn of the century onward, this proved a boom in terms of higher foreign exchange earnings, fiscal revenues, and foreign direct investment inflows— helping support the very strong growth momentum at the time. He said that the generalised decline in commodities prices, first with metal prices starting in 2011, and oil prices since mid-2014, has triggered sizable deteriorations in the terms of trade for many of these commodity exporters. “But policies have a strong role to play to help those countries weather the commodity price slump taking into account the expected persistence of the shock. For countries that are not part of a monetary union, exchange rate flexibility coupled with supportive policies should be the first line of defense. In the face of a large permanent commodity terms-of- trade shock implying durably reduced fiscal revenue from the extractive sector, countries have no choice but to undertake fiscal adjustment to close macro-economic imbalances. Fiscal and external buffers can and are being used where available to smooth the pace of the adjustment, but as these diminish, fiscal deficits can become unsustainably large and balance of payments pressures can force disorderly adjustments.

This app is written for a reader who already knows how to program in at least one programming language. After reading this app, you should be comfortable writing Rust programs. We’ll be learning Rust through small, focused examples that build on each other to demonstrate how to use various features of Rust as well as how they work behind the scenes.

The current economic downturn has us all looking for ways to cut back. In most cases, this means giving things up – that morning latte, the season’s hot new boots, a much-needed vacation. There is a way to get more for less, though: by being more energy efficient. A few simple changes to your home and your car can make them safer, greener and, perhaps most importantly, less expensive to operate. Winter demands more light and heat. Winter is one of the most trying times on people’s budgets, and not just because of all the holiday expenses hitting credit card statements this month. The harsh weather conditions and short daylight hours make winter particularly energy-intensive. The average family spends $1,400 a year on energy costs, half of which is on heating and cooling. But a few simple changes can help you stretch your energy dollar – saving you hundreds every year. Take advantage of all the post-holiday sales to get a great deal on new appliances, such as refrigerators, microwaves and dryers. But don’t buy just any new appliances; choose only those certified by the ENERGY STAR program, a joint effort of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. One of the best investments you can make is on an ENERGY STAR-qualified programmable thermostat. By helping you set temperatures low while you’re away from home and comfortable when you return, this nifty little device can save you money and reduce your home’s energy waste. Beyond rating appliances, the ENERGY STAR program also provides tips to help stamp out unnecessary heating costs and fulfill some of those sustainable New Year’s resolutions in the process. One the most effective ways to lower costs is to install more efficient heating and cooling equipment. This alone has the potential to slash a typical family’s energy bill by as much as 20 percent. Don’t forget to clean or change the air filter in your heating and cooling system – monthly, if possible. That is the surest way to keep the unit running safely and efficiently. Have a heat pump or forced air furnace? Seal up leaky air ducts and increase your home’s energy efficiency by as much as 20 percent. In fact, home sealing – closing up cracks, gaps and air leaks around the house and adding insulation – can help you save as much as 10 percent on home heating. Efficiency starts at home, but it also works on the road – in your car, that is. If you haven’t already, now is the time to make sure your car has been properly winterized. Check windshield wipers, tire treads and inflation, the air filter and fluid levels to stay safe and avoid winter-related damage to your vehicle. We all know winter weather can make commutes tough, especially when it means having to clear our driveways of snow and ice in the morning. But be careful to take the environment into consideration when preparing for your daily trek. Consider using snow shovels instead of gas-powered snowblowers to clean the walk. If you must use a snowblower, an electric model will have a reduced effect on air pollution.

Prepare your garden for cold weather to come by winterizing plants. Many of your prized garden stars survive winter without extra care on your part, but taking time to winterize paves the way for a healthy, productive garden next spring. For tender plants and new additions to the garden, winterizing is vital for cold weather survival. Start the winterizing process by mulching around landscape plants. Mulch helps insulate soil and prevent frost heave, a condition that occurs when soil repeatedly freezes and thaws—and pushes plants out of soil. When frost heave occurs, plant crowns and roots are exposed to freezing air and drying winds. When you add fall mulch, aim for a layer that’s 3 to 5 inches deep (deeper in colder regions). Use a material that won’t compact, like straw, chopped leaves or cornstalks, pine straw or clean hay. It’s especially important to mulch shallow-rooted perennials that are prone to frost heave, like blanket flower (Gaillardia), coral bells (Heuchera), pincushion flower (Scabiosa) and shasta daisy (Leucanthemum).

Tech billionaires are investing (a lot) in entrepreneurial nuclear power startups. These are tough times for nuclear power. Many plants under construction are facing serious delays, halts, cost overruns and public safety concerns, particularly since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Despite these problems, in the last 5 years, some 55 nuclear entrepreneurial startups have cropped up with a total of $1.6 billion in funding (amazing!). Today, nuclear power generates 13 percent of the world's electricity, with 30 countries worldwide operating 449 nuclear reactors for electricity generation. This old-school industry is now undergoing a period of rare entrepreneurial innovation. Terra Power: Terra Power describes itself as “an incubator and developer of technologies that offer energy independence, environmental sustainability, medical advancement and other cutting-edge opportunities.” As chairman of the board, Bill Gates has invested a large sum of his wealth to developing the company’s Travel Wave Reactor, an energy system that uses depleted uranium and only needs to be refueled every 40 to 60 years. General Fusion: This Vancouver-based company has raised $94 million and is backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The company uses high-tech hammers to trigger nuclear fusion, a process called “magnetized target fusion.” This brief video shows off the concept. Tri Alpha Energy: Paul Allen, Microsoft’s co-founder, has invested heavily in a California company called “Tri Alpha.” Tri Alpha is pursuing what it calls “friendly fusion” with a combination of particle accelerators and plasma physics. They even have an operational generator named Norman that I’m confident we will see in action in the next decade. Helion Energy: Helion is developing the “Fusion Engine,” which they say will be 1,000 times smaller and 500 times cheaper than the competition. Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, has invested in the endeavor, alongside NASA, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense. The company hopes to have a working reactor by 2019. With such high-profile investments and exciting cutting-edge technology, the future of nuclear is looking bright. Nuclear fusion reactors, if they can be made to work, promise virtually unlimited power for the indefinite future. Isotopes of hydrogen are essentially unlimited on Earth. Efforts to control the fusion process and harness it to produce power have been underway in the United States and abroad for more than 40 years. Princeton Plasma Physics Lab (PPPL): PPPL has been focusing its efforts on plasma-based nuclear fusion. Their future experiments will attempt to maintain a high-performance plasma under conditions of extreme heat and pull the electricity from the fields the plasma emits. They hope that their research will assist in the development of the world’s largest magnetically confined fusion energy system currently under construction in France. Lawrence Livermore National Lab: Lawrence Livermore has been leading the charge on alternative energ­y sources for years. They were the first lab in the world to produce a reactor that releases more energy than it takes in – solving one of the chief roadblocks to the wider use of fission. University of Washington: Researchers at UW are striving to create a plasma nuclear reactor with a new design that will significantly reduce the cost of electricity. They believe that their reactor will produce 1 billion watts of power for $2.7 billion -- about $100 million less than the same amount of power produced by a coal plant. According to the 2017 EIA International Energy Outlook, net electricity generation will need to increase by approximately 48 percent to meet this projected demand. While I’m a huge proponent and believer in the scalability and dominance of solar energy, I’m equally excited about the potential for a revolution in nuclear to rid us, once and for all, of all fossil fuels. With the existential threat of climate change ever looming, now is the time to start considering – and investing in – alternative energy sources, like nuclear.

Light is something what helps us to live and offers us energy. Individuals make use of energy during the night to find the way home or read at house and use the home as well as while the day. Nonetheless, lighting can be a type of fun and it can offer individuals plenty pleasure. Lighting is widely used in illuminating:• Buildings – buildings are normally illuminated during the night to inform consumers about it existence. However, occasionally building – arad.pl/en-arad-systems,ap19.html – are used as a cinema screen where can be displayed movies, photographs, shows and others. • Fountains• BridgesTo illuminate items, developers use specialized lighting and light sources. The most commonly used are metal halide lamps of various shades, sodium lamps and LEDs. In some cases are applied dynamically changing illuminations of shade or light intensity. While building the lighting are used computer programs which let to visual the building or object, pick the proper light, light sources and their power before installing or before the building of the item or building.Illumination is not only applied in our houses, it can be also a provider of entertainment and can impress plenty of people. It is frequently chosen when the individuals need to surprise audience, so you can find light lighting at different festivals, concerts and other events. Furthermore, in 1 city which is located in south-east part of Poland, named Bialystok has become presented light show at the starting of the October. The black, grey and ugly houses modified into colorful illuminations. In this city was introduced the illumination show which purpose was to present how colourful lighting can change the town during the night. The people were amazed by the show and said that they wait for the next event like this. The demonstration was performed in the city 1st time. Moreover, not only the buildings were illuminated, but also streets, street lights, coffeehouses, cars and many of the pedestrians had illuminating hats. Illumination can be a supply of fun and a delivery of the light, which is necessary in our houses and our lives.

The best test to assess dual task (DT)-related falls' risk is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate differences between community-dwelling fallers and non-fallers on a variety of simple task combinations. Twenty-seven adults, aged 65 years or older, took part. Forty-eight DT tests and one triple task (TT) test were conducted. Fallers had longer walking time when avoiding a moving obstacle and performing a motor task and longer walking time when triple tasking, as suggested by a measure of proportionate difference between single and DT/TT conditions (p = 0.014 and 0.044, respectively). The absolute difference in accuracy on a visuospatial task suggested that fallers were more accurate than non-fallers when combined with walking with turns and when triple tasking (p = 0.048 and 0.030, respectively). Fallers were less accurate in naming animals than non-fallers when combined with a bending task (p = 0.009). These results indicate that fallers might prioritise tasks based on perceived risk, which highlights the importance of task selection when designing tests. Despite the small sample size, the data suggest that a TT test could be used to assess risk of falling. However, this needs to be confirmed with larger prediction studies. Muhaidat, J., Kerr, A., Evans, J.J., and Skelton, D.A.

28. Because businesses use high-quality advertising to sell low-quality products, schools should give students extensive training in how to make informed decisions before making purchases. Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and I or examples from your own experience, observations or reading. This argument is untenable for two reasons. First, the claim that high-quality ads are used to promote low quality products is unsupported empirically and by common sense. Second, undue attention by schools to consumerism is unnecessary and inappropriate, especially for younger students. Regarding the first reason, empirical evidence does not suggest that high-quality advertising is used to promote low-quality products. To the contrary, companies that produce low-quality products seem to resort to low-budget, poor-quality ads, especially in broadcast media. Firms that take pride in the quality of their products are far more likely also to produce ads they can be proud of. Furthermore, high- quality products are more likely to succeed in the marketplace and thereby generate the revenues needed to ensure high production value in advertising. As for the second reason, it is not the job of our schools to breed legions of smart shoppers. Teachers should devote class time to examining the marketplace of ideas, not that of consumer goods and services, which students spend sufficient time examining outside the classroom. Admittedly, consumerism and advertising may be appropriate topics for college-level marketing and psychology courses. However, undue focus on media and materialism may give younger students a distortedly narrow view of the world as little more than a flea market. Additionally, revealing the deceptive side of the advertising business may breed unhealthy cynicism among youngsters who need positive messages, not negative ones, during their formative years. In sum, the premise that high-quality ads tout low-quality products is specious at best. In any event, for schools to provide extensive training in consumerism would be to assign them an inappropriate role and to foster in impressionable minds a distortedly narrow and unhealthy view of the world.

Soviet Space Program was scheduled to launch a Soyuz rocket as part of the Soyuz 23 mission. The launch window for the Human Exploration mission was on Thu, Oct 14th, 1976, 1:39 PM EDT from 1/5, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. The status of the launch was Success. Don’t miss this exciting rocket launch! Soyuz 23 was meant to be the second crewed flight to the Salyut 5 military space station. The mission began on October 14, 1976, 17:39:18 UTC, launching Commander Vyacheslav Zudov and Flight Engineer Valery Rozhdestvensky into orbit. They arrived at the station, but equipment malfunction did not allow docking and the mission had to be aborted Soyuz 23 returned to Earth on October 16, 1976, 17:45:53 UTC, with an unintended splashdown in partially frozen Lake Tengiz. The capsule sunk, and due to fog and other adverse conditions it took nine hours for the rescue team to recover the capsule and crew.

Stated Mission: This Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center award to Columbia University was co-funded by Divisions of Chemistry (MPS), Materials Research (MPS) and International Programs (IN). Columbia University Nanocenter conducted research to establish the foundation for new paradigms for information processing through the development of fundamental understanding of charge transport phenomena unique to nanoscale molecular structures with special emphasis on crystalline organic conductors and carbon nanotube materials. Single-molecule structures were be fabricated by the Center through a fusion of advanced semiconductor technology and tailored molecular synthesis. The research elucidated the control of charge transport through single molecules in terms of the chemical structure and also examined underlying mechanistic questions. The research program placed strong emphasis on the modulation of charge transport through molecules, with the goal of developing a molecular transistor. Scientists from Canada, Germany, Japan and Switzerland collaborated with the Center in solid state surface analysis, single crystal growth, and the determination of electron transport properties of crystalline nanomaterials. Nanoscale structures and devices were fabricated and characterized in collaboration with Lucent and IBM research facilities. In addition to electronics, these studies of molecular transport in nanomaterials had potential impact to other disciplines such as photonics, biology, neuroscience, and medicine. Through partnership with Barnard College, City College of New York, and Rowan University, the Center incorporated an innovative educational program directed toward a wide variety of students at graduate, undergraduate, and high school levels. Educational and outreach programs were designed to attract students to nanotechnology, with particular attention to groups, which have been historically underrepresented in science.

Debate on the causes of predicted global warming usually revolves around climate models scientists construct. But can those models account for all the variables the universe has to offer? Not really, according to Dr Sallie Baliunasof the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, who puts forth the sun as a variable not to forget. Baliunas points out that increases in magnetism and solar radiation at the centre of our solar system correlate quite strongly with temperature rises here on Earth. She also notes the difficulty of this scientific enterprise saying, "There are something like five million parameters that have to go into a good climate model, and it has to compute for a time longer than the age of the universe if we wanted to know something." Dr Sallie Baliunas and James Glassman recently talked in Boston about the science, the uncertainty, and the sun's overlooked influence on climate change.

Frill-necked lizards are amazing reptiles. They are bipedal and have a beautiful frill around their neck that may remind you of a prehistoric Dilophosaurus. These may not be the most commonly seen pet reptile (although the original "Jurassic Park" movie made them quite popular), but they are fascinating creatures to have as pets. These lizards are good pets for both experienced and novice lizard owners, due to their calm nature and relatively simple feeding needs. They're not the longest-lived reptiles, but what they may lack in years they make up for in personality. Frill-necked lizards are docile and low-key critters, well known for running on their hind legs to escape a predator in the wild. They will expose the frill around their neck when threatened (which is how they got their name). When feeling especially threatened, they will stand up on their hind legs, frill out their neck, open their mouth and spit, exposing tiny little teeth in their mouths. If provoked, captive frill-necked lizards may nip or bite their owner's hand. Be advised that while a frill-necked lizard with its frill fully open and on display is impressive, it generally indicates the animal is very stressed, sensing imminent danger. If your lizard is doing this in captivity, it may be a sign of a larger health issue. They don't whip their tails in defense in the wild like an iguana would (although some owners do report their pet frillies whipping their tails at them), but instead, jump at the animal and perform the aforementioned threatened routine. If breeding your frill-necked lizards, November through February are the ideal months for laying clutches of eggs. Up to 25 soft shelled eggs may be laid in a clutch and sometimes two clutches are laid in a season. The eggs must remain in soil at least five centimeters deep and kept at a minimum of 86 degrees Fahrenheit for two to three months until they are done incubating and hatch. Frill-necked lizards are originally from Australia and New Guinea where they are arboreal, meaning they spend most of their time in trees. These unique lizards cling to tree trunks and eat native insects and vertebrates. Depending on what area of Australia or New Guinea the lizard is found in, the coloration of the skin may vary to help that specific lizard fit into its environment and be better camouflaged. As pets, frill-necked lizards need an environment with 55 to 65 percent humidity and temperatures between 75 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. A combination of heat lights and UVB lights are needed to obtain optimal temperatures and appropriate UVB exposure during the day. Frill-necked lizards usually only venture out of the trees to eat or fight but you should house them in a large tank, at least a 55 gallon, to allow them to move about when they want to. Screened enclosures allow for more climbing opportunities but do not hold in humidity as a glass tank does. As with all reptiles, you should do your best to mimic a natural environment for the best possible mental and physical health of your pet. Frill-necked lizards eat a variety of foods. Crickets and super worms are the most readily available to pet owners and should be dusted with a calcium and multi-vitamin supplement every other day. Frill-necked lizards will also eat butterworms, silkworms, dark leafy greens, sweet potatoes, carrots, split peas, and green beans. Waxworms, mealworms, mice, and fruit should be offered sparingly if you decide to give some to your lizard. Providing enrichment during feeding time is not only entertaining to watch but it is also mentally stimulating for your lizard. Try attaching an empty toilet paper roll to a branch and allow your lizard to catch some insects inside the roll. Frill necked lizards will grow to be between 70 and 90 cm long, including the tail, and males are usually larger than females. While they do come in a variety of colors, there is only one documented species of frill necked lizards. The body of the lizard is darker than the frill, which is often a yellow or orange color, but as mentioned prior, colors can vary depending on which region or country yours is originally from. There is no question that these are unique, beautiful reptiles. Frill-necked lizards were even pictured on the Australian two-cent coin until 1991 and no other animal is included in the Chlamydosaurus genus. These lizards are somewhat rare among herp owners, but there are several reputable breeders who offer frill-necked lizards. This is where you want to look if you plan to acquire one. Be sure to have an exotics veterinarian do a thorough exam, including a stool check, to ensure your frill-necked lizard doesn't have any internal parasites or other ailments. Most frill-necked lizard illnesses stem from improper care. They need exposure to ultraviolet light, appropriate heat and humidity to avoid vitamin D deficiency and respiratory infections. Signs of a respiratory infection include wheezing, breathing with the mouth open, and mucus around the nasal passages and mouth. If your lizard is not accepting food, even just once, it's usually a sign of a digestive problem such as a parasite. And if you notice your frill-necked lizard is having difficulty shedding, this may be a sign of a skin infection, usually fungal in nature. Ideally, you'll establish a relationship with a veterinarian who specializes in lizards, so he or she can observe any changes in your pet's behavior or appearance that you might overlook. Although they are unique. there are other lizards like the frill-necked which are also interesting pets. For a complete overview of pet lizards, check out our other monitor lizard profiles here.

3.8.9: Jupiter Occults a Bright Star. Lots has been afoot in the Jovian system as of late. As you train that 10” Dobsonian on the ever evolving black spot gracing Jupiter’s cloud tops, I turn your attention to another unique event about to occur tonight; the occultation of a bright star by the large gas giant. The star is 45 Capricorni, which is currently crossing our line of sight with Jupiter. At about sixth magnitude, it will masquerade as a Galilean satellite over the coming days.The actual occultation begins at 23:00 Universal Time (UT) on August 3rd and lasts until 1:00 UT on the 4th. Europe, Africa, the Canadian Maritimes and extreme northern New England will be well placed to see this rare occultation; the remainder of the Americas will see 45 Cap rise with Jupiter at about 9 P.M. local. An occultation of a bright star by a planet is rare because planets are intrinsically small targets in terms of visual diameter, and stars that they can occult are constrained to those along the path of the ecliptic. Speaking of which, the four large moons of Jupiter are also currently under going a fascinating series of mutual eclipses as we transit their respective orbital planes; check out the link above for more info, and watch the occultation of 45 Cap if you get a chance. Some things to watch out for; does the star “wink in, wink out” in a step wise fashion, or fade gradually in and out? You could be seeing evidence of Jupiter’s atmosphere refracting the starlight; or perhaps this is glimpse 45 Cap’s binary companion! Also known as HIP 107302, this star is also listed as a close spectroscopic double. This will also be the brightest star that Jupiter has occulted since 1952.

With the internet at our fingertips, it’s easy to do a little Google-searching to find answers to questions we might have about a number of topics, including running. If you want to know the best method to prepare for your upcoming marathon, you could type that question into the search bar and come up with a series of tips and suggestions to help you along in your endeavors. But what happens when you don’t even know about a topic that could be useful? If you aren’t aware of it, you wouldn’t know to do any research, and your running experiences could be lower in quality than they could have otherwise been since you never came across certain suggestions for issues you didn’t realize were there. For that reason, following blogs can be incredibly useful in assisting you to become the best runner you’re capable of being because the writers of those posts could present information that’s completely new to you, even though the topics are extremely relevant in regard to running. By following these blogs then, you’re getting helpful advice and techniques before you realize something in your method could use tips for improvement. And there are plenty of running blogs to choose from to take this step—so many that you might not know where to begin with choosing which ones are right for you. One tip I’ll offer for finding the best running blogs is to think about what adjectives describe you as a runner—Vegan? Over 50? College student?—and search specifically for blogs that apply to those varieties. If you can find a blog that targets you as a runner in such a way, the information you’re given could be so precise for your needs that it’s potentially the most useful one for you online. If you find that blog, follow it—immediately! For runners in general though, there are a number of blogs that are worth following. Bigger sites like Live Strong, Runner’s World, and Runners Connect are wonderful sources of information that could be applicable to each and every runner who stumbles across them. Personally, I can vouch for the fact that these have been incredibly useful for me, and I have no plans to write them off of my source list right now! But you could also find great information on blogs that are more personal in nature—ones that are from a specific writer who is sharing their running experiences and research with you through their writing. That personal touch can add a relatable quality to the work, which can create a feeling of companionship that makes the reading process more connected. And if you can bond with the writer that way, you might get more out of reading the posts! For some of those personal blog prospects, you can check out these links! The name alone builds an atmosphere for this blog that’s approachable and friendly—and relatable! All of these aspects are reflected as well through the posts since the author doesn’t shy away from posting pictures and recounting stories of her own successes and family pictures. That level of openness hints that the writer is being genuine, and if you know personal details about someone like this, you could better understand and relate to them as people. But beyond these factors, the information on the blog covers more than just family stories. Posts deal with topics of recovery, marathons, and bad running experiences, all of which could be things that might prove useful to you as you strive to better your running. The author posts very frequently, so if you keep tabs on this one, you could be in for running stories and information on an incredibly regular basis! As you might already be able to tell from the title of the site, this one has a very informal approach in regard to providing a personal touch for valid information. The strategy used for this blog is what seems to be an honest exploration of the combination of running and parenting, so it’s a wonderful source for those among us who embrace both labels in their daily lives. That genuineness is hard to top, particularly when it’s paired with solid information and angled toward topics that are relatable for parents who run. If you aren’t a parent though, don’t worry! There are still posts that contain details and ideas that you can apply to your running lifestyle, like nutrition, treadmill use, and the process of scheduling your run. The catch? There are no visible dates for the posts, so it’s not easy to tell how frequently updates are coming your way. Even if they’re few and far between though, the topics are unique and solid enough to be worth the follow! This particular blog, while it may be less personal than the previously mentioned ones, has a series of posts that are full of applicable information for runners—like reviews of products, running goals, and specific tips. With a solid approach to information-giving, it’s hard to criticize a site for a lower number of personal stories! In addition, there’s a link on the site for giveaways and such, so your time spent on Jog Blog could allow you to gain more tangible takeaways than just the ideas presented in the posts, making the site beneficial in more than one way. One flaw though is that the site isn’t updated overly regularly, so you might have to wait a month or so between posts. But if you can be patient enough to wait, you could be in for valid, helpful facts and ideas by keeping track! This is another personal approach to the concept of a running blog, one with a more open-ended view of what’s offered for post topics since it embraces not only fitness, but recipes and a food appreciation as well. While this might sound like a not-so-fantastic strategy for gaining running information, it’s a great fit because of the relatability of having the author’s personal interests front and center from the start, and also because of the ability of the not-so-running-specific posts to add a bit of flavor (pun intended?) in between moments of running details. It seems to be a sincere look into wellness and dietary options with a lively delivery that can keep you entertained and informed. Posts come regularly, meaning you shouldn’t have to wait long for new information, and there are specific categories listed near the top of the page for organizational purposes. So if you don’t feel like looking through recipes, you can go straight to fitness and/or lifestyle posts without sorting through the rest. Even down to organization then, this is a great blog for your running endeavors!

Taking medications is not the only solution to cure sinus problems. For more effective relief of sinus problems, inexpensive homecare remedies are just as effective. One of these homecare remedies that can be done to clear the sinuses is aromatherapy, similar to how inhaling steam can help open up congested nasal passages and sinuses. Eucalyptus or menthol oils can be dropped in a bowl of hot boiled water and the patient can breathe the vapors. Another way to use eucalyptus is to simply inhale the fumes directly from the bottle. Vicks VapoRub, which contains natural aromatic decongestants, is also effective by simply dabbing a bit on the skin underneath the nose. Other aromatherapy decongestants include horseradish and Japanese wasabi mustard.

France is known globally for its famous attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, and many others. However, not many know that this incredible country has many secrets too, and one such fascinating thing is about the history of Knights Templars. The Knight Templars were a secret society whose true purpose remains unknown even up to this day. Modern archeologists have discovered many clues that were left behind by the Templars in many of the ancient documents. There are many mysteries about them though, such as whether they were sent by higher authorities to protect Christian pilgrims or for treasure hunting. By 1118 to 1119, a French Knight named Hugh des Payens found a religious military knighthood order for Christians whose members were called the Knights Templars. They were the strongest order for two centuries during the Middle Ages, and became the army of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. The organization was believed to be found by nine Knights who had a direct blood relation to one another or were related through marriage. The Knights Templars were a paradox though, as they were both monks as well as soldiers. It was also believed that as they were battling in the name of God, they would be directly sent up to heaven upon losing their lives in the battle. You could find hundreds of scattered templar sites in Europe even today. With the boom of their power, there were almost 15,000 templar houses with their connections extending from England to Egypt. France was the most important center of this society. History says that the true function of the Knights Templars was to protect the people traveling from the Mediterranean to Jerusalem. However, they also had the responsibility for protecting the holy sites of Jerusalem. In 1187, when the Muslims took hold of the holy land, the Knights Templars lost their true purpose. When the Muslims closed the walkway to Jerusalem, the Knights Templars lost their reason for existence. They were also regarded as an obstacle to the power structure, as they had a lot of wealth and political power. In 1307, King Philip ordered all the Knights Templars living in France to be arrested. He also seized all their properties and charged them with serious offenses. Since then, all the activities of the Templar society went underground and remained a puzzling mystery to the public.

This is the fifth in a series of short articles with the aim of informing colleagues in practice about diagnostic tests commonly done on our dermatological patients. This article will focus on sample collection techniques and the usefulness of carrying out a culture and sensitivity (C&S) test. Bacterial C&S is an important part of diagnosis and management of various infectious diseases in veterinary medicine. Ideal antibiotic therapy is then based on determination of the aetiological agent and its relevant antibiotic sensitivity. The effectiveness of individual antibiotics varies with the location of the infection, the ability of the antibiotic to reach the site of infection, and the ability of the bacteria to resist or inactivate the antibiotic. Empiric treatment is often started before laboratory microbiological reports are available when treatment should not be delayed due to the seriousness of the disease. If patients have recurrent skin/ear infection or they do not respond to the empiric treatment chosen it's critical to know which antibiotics will be effective against the specific microorganisms causing the problem. In house or commercial laboratory? Although there are numerous commercial diagnostic laboratories offering a range of microbiological services, some colleagues may choose to perform bacterial cultures of samples within their practices for various reasons. However, in exploiting the benefits associated with in house culture procedures, there are laboratory quality and biosafety practices that should not be overlooked. For example, laboratory-acquired infections are an important concern in diagnostic and research laboratories. Most commercial diagnostic laboratories work under strict quality control systems with experienced personnel to provide consistent and accurate results. Although not insurmountable, there can be challenges in developing a similar degree of quality control and laboratory biosafety in a veterinary clinic. How is a Culture and Sensitivity Test Done? After the swab is received in the laboratory the microbiologist will spread a sample of the infective material on to a plate of nutrient substance (usually blood agar) and allow whatever species of bacteria were present in the infected area to grow. When a sufficient population of bacteria has grown on the plate, the microbiologist will identify the species of bacteria by examining the colony characteristic (colour, texture, growth pattern, etc.) and/or carrying out Gram-staining, microscopic examination, metabolic requirement "footprints" and even DNA sequencing. Then the bacterial population sensitivity to a range of antibiotics will be determined. Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) is usually carried out to determine which antibiotic will be most successful in treating a bacterial infection. Hopefully the in vitro results should be helpful in vivo in treating the infection. Testing for antibiotic sensitivity is often done by the Kirby-Bauer method. Small disks containing antibiotics are placed onto a plate upon which bacteria are growing. If the bacteria are sensitive to the antibiotic, a clear ring, or zone of inhibition, is seen around the disk indicating poor growth. Other methods to test antimicrobial susceptibility include the E-test (also based on antibiotic diffusion). Agar and Broth dilution methods for Minimum Inhibitory Concentration determination are carried out in modern laboratories and this is nowadays considered the best test for evaluating antibiotic sensitivity. What is the goal of testing? The goal of antimicrobial susceptibility testing is to predict the in vivo success or failure of antibiotic therapy. Tests are performed in vitro, and measure the growth response of an isolated organism to particular drugs. The tests are performed under standardized conditions so that the results are reproducible. The test results should be used to guide antibiotic choice. 'The "resistant" category implies that isolates are not inhibited by the usually achievable concentrations of the agent with normal dosage schedules, and/or that demonstrate zone diameters that fall in the range where specific microbial resistance mechanisms (e.g. beta-lactamases) are likely, and clinical efficacy of the agent against the isolate has not been reliably shown in treatment studies.' (CLSI definition). Note that this definition says nothing about the chances of clinical success; in fact predicting clinical outcome based on susceptibility testing and the use of drugs shown to be in the susceptible or resistant category is imprecise. This imprecision is due to the effect of host responses, site of infection, toxin production by bacteria that is independent of antimicrobial susceptibility, the presence or absence of biofilm, drug pharmacodynamics and other factors.

A sample of the low-data rate processed magnetic field data from the Iridium satellites is shown in Figure 1. The red lines show the cross track component of the magnetic field caused by the Birkeland currents. The black arrows show the reconstructed magnetic field (using a bit of mathematics). Using the electromagnetic equation of Ampere and the magnetic data, we can reconstruct the Birkeland currents. This is shown in Figure 2. The current pattern is shown over the northern hemisphere for 23 November, 1999. There are typically two current systems, known as region 1 and region 2 (space physicists are very creative). The region 1 currents are poleward of the region 2 currents. All plots are shown in polar coordinates, viewed from above the north geomagnetic pole. Noon is toward the top, midnight at the bottom with dawn on the right and dusk on the left. Poleward latitudes map further out into space compared with the more equatorward latitudes. The region 1 current on the dawn side (right) is the blue semi-ring located near 70 degrees and flows downward toward the Earth while the dawnside region 2 current is the red ring equatorward near 65 degrees and flows up out of the ionosphere. On the dusk side the region 1 current is red (radially outward) while the region 2 current is now blue as it flows in toward the Earth here. Typical values for the peak currents are around 1 uA per square metre. Over the whole current system, this adds up to around 7 million Amps in total. Statistics of the Birkeland current patterns over the northern hemisphere show a direct correlation with interplanetary magnetic field quantities. The statistical patterns of current flowing into and out of the northern hemisphere ionosphere over the summer months is shown.

Vocational Schooling and Education (ANIMAL MEDICAL PRACTITIONER) can be called Business training and also Career and also Technical Schooling (CTE)). It receives learners all set for careers according to manual or perhaps practical routines, traditionally non-academic and the ones related with a specific business, occupation or perhaps vocation; hence the definition of, in that your learner participates. Quite often, it is named technical schooling, since the particular learner immediately develops expertise in the particular band of techniques or perhaps technology. Vocation and also career usually are used interchangeably. Vocational education could be compared to be able to education in the typically larger scientific industry. This may give attention to theory and also abstract conceptual information, characteristic or perhaps tertiary schooling. Vocational education is normally at the particular secondary or perhaps post-secondary stage. It, typically, interacts with all the apprenticeship method of expertise enhancement. Till the conclusion of the particular 20th millennium, vocational schooling concentrated about specific trades for instance, for illustration, an vehicle mechanic or perhaps welder. Consequently, it was linked to the routines of reduced social lessons. As an outcome, it was associated with a sort regarding stigma and also vocational schooling got for this traditional and also conventional apprenticeship program of studying. But because the labor industry got a lot more focused and also economies begun to stipulate higher numbers of skill, governments and also businesses started out increasingly investing in the foreseeable future of business education. That is done by means of publicly funded training agencies and economically supported apprenticeship or perhaps trainee techniques for organizations. At the particular post-secondary stage vocational education is generally provided simply by institutes regarding technology, or by district colleges. Inside the 20th millennium Vocational schooling got really diversified. It today exists inside industries for instance retail, vacation, information engineering, funeral companies and makeup products, as well such as the standard crafts and also cottage market sectors. E-learning will be classified since interactive studying. In this sort of learning the information is offered online and provides automatic feedback with a students studying activities. Online connection with genuine people may well or may not be included. Nonetheless, the goal of e-learning is generally more around the learning articles than about communication among tutors and also students.

The Catholic Church has acknowledged that studying religion in school, instead of other subjects, puts students at a disadvantage, and it is trying to insist that State-run schools make all students suffer that disadvantage. This is revealed in an article in the Irish Times by Carl O’Brien today, based on a letter obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The Catholic Bishops are trying to get the Minister for Education to withdraw a recent directive that enables students to opt out of studying religion in ETB second level schools. That directive says that ETB schools have to ask parents and students, before the school sets the timetable, whether they want to study religion. It also says that ETB schools must provide an alternative timetabled curriculum subject for students who do not want to study religion. In response, the Irish Episcopal Commission wrote to the Minister warning that students who opt out will receive an unfair advantage if they are allowed to take extra classes in examinable subjects, such as maths, Irish or English. This is an extraordinary power-grab by the Catholic Bishops. Remember, this directive is not even about the majority of Irish schools that are run by the Catholic Church. It is about the minority of State-run ETB second level schools, that are supposed to be the inclusive alternative to these denominational schools. And the directive does not even remove Catholic religious instruction and worship from these State-run schools. It merely gives students the right to have a timetabled alternative to being indoctrinated into religion. The letter is signed by Bishop Brendan Leahy, chair of the Irish Episcopal Commission, and Bishop Brendan Kelly, chair of the group’s council for education. The Catholic Bishops say that “it is crucial that students are exposed to the religious interpretation of life.” But it is clear that, where they are running the schools, what they mean is the Roman Catholic interpretation of life. This is what they promote in the majority of schools that they run, and they now want the State to impose it directly in the schools that the State itself runs. The Bishops claim that religious education being taught in ETB schools is “not religious indoctrination” but a syllabus devised by the NCCA. But documents obtained by Atheist Ireland under the Freedom of Information Act have shown that the NCCA syllabus is not objective and was heavily influenced by the Catholic Church. In addition, many ETB schools combine the State course with the guidelines for the faith formation and development of Catholic students, and do not tell parents that they are doing this. Many ETB schools also made this course a core subject, which was never the intention of the Minister, the Department, or the NCCA. One of the main aim of the State religion course is to contribute to the moral and spiritual development of all students through religion. It only acknowledges the nonreligious interpretation of life. This disrespects the human right of parents to ensure that the education of their children is in conformity with their philosophical convictions. Can you imagine how the Catholic Bishops would react if one of the main aim of the State curriculum was to contribute to the moral development of all students through atheism, while only acknowledging the religious interpretation of life? But when the NCCA tried to bring in such a course at primary level (a course that would teach objectively about Religions, Beliefs, and Ethics), the Catholic Bishops opposed that as well. The Catholic Bishops have again shown their disregard for the rights of atheist, minority faith, and secular parents and their children. It is good that they have finally acknowledged that studying religion puts students at a disadvantage. But the response should be to give all students the option of having that advantage, not to drag others back down into that disadvantage.

Fiume, abandoned by Austrian troops, was taken by Croatian soldiers on 23 October 1918. On 27 October, the town was placed under the control of the South Slavian Commmittee of Agram (Zagreb). On 4 November, an Italian ship seized the town and installed an Italian committee, replaced a few days later by an Interallied Committee; a French base was created. Several incidents happened between Italians and French, and between Italians and Serbs as well. Yugoeslavia and Italia claimed the control of the town, a dispute that was not resolved in the peace treaty signed on 2 September 1919. The poet Gabriele d'Annunzio, leading a corps of Italian volunteers, took Fiume on 12 September 1919 and created an independent goverment called Carnaro Italian Regency - Reggenza Italian del Carnaro. Under Yugoslav pressure, Italy blocked the town; the Treaty of Rapallo, signed on 12 November 1920, recognized the "perpetual independence" of Fiume. D'Annunzio declared war to Italy on 3 December 1920; Italian warships bombed the town and d'Annunzio left Fiume. A provisional government was set up Free State of Fiume - Stato Libero di Fiume) and an agreement was signed in June 1921 between Yugoslavia, Italy and the Fiume government. On 6 October 1921, an elected government was established under the leadership of Ricardo Zanella. On 3 March 1922, the Italian nationalists took the town and the autonomist Zanella was deposed and replaced by Giuriati; Fiume formally kept its independence. Zanella ruled a governemnt in exile from Yugoeslavia. In 1923, the Italian troops took Fiume. The Treaty of Rome, signed on 12 January 1924 with Yugoslavia, recognized the Italian annexion, some zones being assigned to Yugoeslavia. Fiume was returned to Yugoslavia by the Trearty of Paris, signed in 1947, and renamed Rijeka. The flag of Fiume had horizontal stripes of karmesinrot - goldgelb - kobaltblau, that is, crimson (dark red) - golden yellow -cobalt blue, "translated" into Pantone: ca. 193/200-116-300. I do not know the status of the flag up to 1918, but I believe it could have been used only as a town flag. It was the official flag of the Free State of Fiume from 2 February 1921 to 16 March 1924, and there was a version with arms. The colours of the flag derive from the arms. The war ensign was designed by Gabriele d'Annuzio, as shown in a drawing dated 27 August 1920 kept in the Rome National Library. The use of the flag is authenticated from contemporary sources. The gonfanon was created by Gabriele d'Annunzio as a vertical flag, with, in the middle, a snake eating its tail, a symbol of eternity. The snake encircles Ursa MAjor's stars; on both sides there is a scroll with the motto "QUIS CONTRA NOS?". In the lower part are the two flags of Italy and Fiume. A photo shows a flag with a different design (source). After the annexation of the town of Fiume, the Italian rulers organized in 1925 the Carnaro Province (Croatian, Kvarner). The province was granted a coat of arms and a gonfalon by King Victor-Emmanuel III in 1929. The beautifully coloured armorial patent, signed both by the King and Mussolini, is preserved in the Rijeka Museum. The coat of arms is: "Per pale, 1. Sable Roman fasces palewise or, 2. Gules seven mullets of five or arranged as the Ursa Major". The shield is crowned with a provincial crown with an olive and an oak branch. The coat of arms was also the main feature of the seal granted at the same time, and undoubtedly, used henceforward. The gonfalon is a blue silk hanging banner with three fringed and tasselled tails and bordered with golden ornament along the other three sides, containing the coat of arms in the middle and the name of the province in an arch above. There is no evidence that the gonfalon was actually produced and used, however, beside the coloured images of the coat of arms and the gonfalon in the armorial patent; there are several ink drawn construction sheets in the Museum collection. These show the flag with all the dimensions needed for the production, however the coat of arms included in the design is somewhat different - including also a red chief that contains golden fasces between an oak and an olive branch wreath tied together with a tricolour ribbon. This version of the coat of arms must have been from a project phase. The coloured drawings are signed by Luigi Bangori Machiavelli (?), presumably the designer. The flag was adopted on 28 September 1929 and abandoned on 8 September 1943.

When you have several post holes to dig, a power auger can help you make this task a lot easier. Looking down a string of holes that you need to dig for a fence, or a large deck, can be a daunting task. However, when you have a power auger ready to do most of the work for you, you can get done in half the time. A power auger does take a strong back to handle. When you do run a power auger, you should try to recruit someone to help you maneuver it around and dig the holes. You need to have a strong back, and legs, to run the power auger. Before digging any holes in the ground it is always wise to call the local utility company. You might have to wait for them to come survey your ground, but it is well worth it. Digging into a power line, water main, or sewage drain is not something you want to do. You can either cause yourself serious injury, or a serious mess. Take the extra time to wait for the local utility company to show you where the lines are. Always allow a few feet in case of error. Before plunging the power auger into the ground, test the ground with a spade tipped shovel or a posthole digger. This will ensure that you are not going to disturb anything that is buried that you do not know about. It is best to take all the pieces of the power auger out to the work site before assembling it. Once the auger is put together it will become heavy and cumbersome. Attach the auger tip with the supplied locking pins. Attach the handles and then add the gasoline mix. With the help of a friend, raise the power auger into position. Place it in the center of the area you are going to drill the post hole. With a very firm grip on the handles of the power auger, start the engine and push the auger release. This will start the auger bit spinning. Gently lower it until it begins to dig into the ground. It will want to try and twist, so keeping a firm grip on it will keep the auger from spinning out of your hand. Do not force it into the ground as you might hit rocks. Rather, let the auger pull it into the ground. If you need to take a rest while you are in the middle of a hole, then let the turn the auger off and let it set in the hole. As you continue working and digging the remaining holes, make sure you turn off the power auger before you lift it out of the hole. This will keep you safe from any accidents while the bit is still moving.

The European Union put its privacy regulation, the GDPR, into effect in 2018. But it doesn’t just apply to organizations operating within the European Union member states. Learn more about the GDPR and how it affects your business. In May 2018, the European Union passed the most powerful piece of privacy legislation ever. Called the General Data Protection Regulation, it has global implications and serious consequences for non-compliance. Google was fined 50 million Euros for failing to comply with the GDPR, which demonstrates how serious the EU is about putting data control back into owners’ hands. If your business isn’t based in the European Union, that doesn’t automatically mean you are off the hook for GDPR compliance. Read on to find out how this regulation applies to your organization and steps to take towards compliance if it does. While the GDPR is a long document, you can boil the regulation down to a few simple goals. It was designed to regulate privacy laws across the European Union and protect and empower people in terms of their data privacy. For businesses, the GDPR levels the playing field and increases customer trust in them which has the potential to boost business. Learn even more details on GDPR with our free webinar from AsTech Consulting’s CEO Greg Reber. Who Is Subject to GDPR Compliance? While the compliance requirements for the GDPR are pretty straightforward, the scope is a bit more confusing. Businesses that operate within the European Union obviously fall under this regulation, but so do many organizations in other parts of the world. Does your business process data based on activities that take place in the EU, whether or not the processing actually takes place in the EU? Do you offer paid or unpaid goods and services to EU customers? If your organization monitors the data of individuals in the EU, such as using geo-location for marketing, behavioral advertising, marketing surveys, or online tracking cookies, you also fall under the extraterritorial scope of the GDPR. Even storing the personal information of people in the EU (like names and email addresses) requires your business to comply. It is important to remember that the location of the data subjects is relevant to GDPR, while their residence, legal status, and nationality is not. The actual geographical location of the controller or processor is also irrelevant. Follow 23 easy steps towards GDPR compliance here. Still not sure if the GDPR applies to you? Here are some examples to help. A pharmaceutical company in Spain does many of its clinical trials in Africa. Their subjects are in Africa and the data from the trials is also processed there. Do they need to comply? YES! While the subjects and processor are not in the EU, the controller of the data still is. Because the company is based in Spain, the data is stored and used there, making them subject to GDPR compliance. A mobile app allows users to find inexpensive hotel deals. The app is based in Canada, but it includes information on hotels located in EU countries. Do they need to comply? YES! The fact that you can book hotels in EU countries shows that the app is clearly targeting EU individuals. As a result, this company is subject to GDPR compliance. A shop based in Tokyo receives many European customers there on vacation. The shop processes their data for payment purposes. All of the data processing and controlling is done in Tokyo. The shop does not store the personal data. Do they need to comply? NO! Even though the customers are EU citizens, their data is not controlled or processed in the EU. There is no advertising or marketing done outside of Japan. Because there is no direct connection to EU individuals besides allowing them access to the spa, they do not follow under the GDPR’s scope. GDPR compliance for US companies and others around the world can be tricky to understand. With hefty fines for noncompliance, it’s a mistake no one can afford to make. Each factor must be considered separately and with others to figure out if your organization falls under the regulation’s scope.

If you are currently designing your dream home in Georgia, you have an idea of all the planning and steps that need to go into getting your project off the ground and building it? Can you imagine if you add into the mix that you are building your dream home on Mars, the moon or beyond? Yes, you read this correctly. National Aeronautics and Space Administration “NASA” just reported the top three designs for homes on Mars. NASA is interested in making interplanetary living a reality, and they created a challenge which started in 2015 to begin to achieve this goal. The challenge, 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, has teams competing to design shelters suitable for the Moon, Mars and beyond. Recently, 11 teams were asked to create full-scale design renderings using modeling software. They each had to prepare a short video explaining their choice. The models were evaluated for architectural layout, aesthetics, scalability, and feasibility of their construction. A partnership with NASA’s Centennial Challenges program and Bradley University are managing the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The sponsors are Caterpillar, Bechtel, and Brick & Mortar Ventures to administer the competition. The challenge was developed to advance the construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and beyond. Phase 1 – Design. Completed in 2015. Each team was required to submit architectural renderings. Prize purse was $50,000. Phase 2 – Structural. Completed in 2017. Each team was required to create structural components. Prize purse was $1.1 million. Phase 3 – On-Site Habitat. Ongoing. Each team has to fabricate sub-scale habitats. The prize purse is $2 million. NASA recently announced the top three designs for homes on Mars. SEArch+/Apis Cor won first place. They are based in New York. The design was a unique twisted structure with small dotted holes to let in natural light. Team Zoperhous was runner-up. They suggested that their modular structures could be printed by an autonomous rover. The Mars Incubator, a group of engineers and artists, showed a modular design consisting of four distinct spaces. There was a pace for growing plants. President Donald Trump announced that his goal is to send astronauts where no man has gone before. The President authorized the Robert M. Lightfoot Jr., acting NASA administrator, to “lead an innovative space exploration program so that America can send astronauts back to the moon and Mars.

In addition to routine spaying and neutering, we offer an array of minor and complex surgical procedures. We are keenly focused on patient safety, pain management, and employing the most current surgical practices for the best results. We will carefully monitor your pet before, during, and after surgery. When your pet is ready to go home, we will review the postoperative care and medication instructions with you. If any questions arise after your pet returns home or at any other time during the postoperative period, call us. We welcome your questions and will do all we can to help your pet recover fully. Laparoscopy is a modern surgical technique in which operations are performed through incisions just 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide. Just as in humans, the tiny incisions in laparoscopic surgery mean a fast recovery, less risk of infection, shorter hospitalization, and significantly less pain. Laparoscopy can be used in a variety of surgical procedures, including biopsy to identify disease or cancer, ovariectomy to spay female dogs, and gastropexy to prevent stomach bloating. Whereas traditional surgery uses a scalpel or scissor to make incisions, a surgical laser uses a powerful beam of light to remove tissue and seal blood cells and nerve endings as it cuts. In this way, laser surgery reduces pain, swelling, blood loss, and risk of infection to promote a quick recovery and less trauma for your pet. Surgical laser is used in a wide range of surgical procedures, including spay and neuter, declawing, tumor removal, orthopedic surgery, and more. We recommend all non-breeding dogs and cats be spayed or neutered as early as 8 weeks old. Getting your pet spayed or neutered has many benefits besides preventing unwanted breeding. Spaying your female pet, a procedure that removes the ovaries and uterus, helps prevent uterine infections and breast cancer and eliminates messy heat periods. Neutering your male pet, which removes the testicles, prevents testicular cancer and reduces aggressive behavior and the urge to roam. Whether your pet is male or female, sterilizing your pet will also help lower the number of unwanted litters and thus lower the number of pets that have to be euthanized by animal shelters each year. Our veterinarians have extensive experience performing spay and neuter procedures, so you can rest assured that your pet will be safe and comfortable throughout the surgery and recovery process.

Christian Suttles recited a portion of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream…” speech by memory. King originally delivered his famous speech Aug. 28, 1963, during the March on Washington. Dr. King was assassinated on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis April 4, 1968. The motel is now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum, which is honoring the 50th anniversary of his death.

1. Write the difference between accuracy and precision. 2. What is meant by calibration? 3. Write the constructional requirements.: of the sine bar for accurate measurement. 4. . Write the difference between comparator and measuring instrument. 5. Derive the expression for 'Best .size of wire' in screw thread measurement . 6. Brief any two reference circle used in the Measurement of Roundness. 7. What are the. advantages of Laser in interferometry? .8. Write the features of CMM. 9. Write the principle of termperature measurement using thermocouple. 10. What are the physical characteristics of temperature measuring sensor?

Tokyo – Leading classification society ClassNK has released its Guidelines for Direct Load Analysis and Strength Assessment of hull structure. These guidelines incorporate the load and structural consistent analysis structural evaluation method. As vessels being constructed today continue increasing in size, structural strength assessments during the design stage are essential in helping ensure the safety and integrity of hull structures even in the harshest conditions of the ocean. Direct strength calculations in structural strength assessments of hulls are one of the class requirements included in both ClassNK’s “Rules and Guidance for the Survey and Construction of Steel Ships” and the International Association of Classification Societies’ “Common Structural Rules” (IACS CSR). Simplified formulae, which calculate loads according to principle ship particulars and loading conditions, are used to carry out structural strength assessments. However, these simplified formulae were developed to cover load conditions estimated from actual ships, and have not yet been evaluated for increased sizes and configurations of vessels not yet constructed. Therefore in some cases, structural strength assessment that takes the loads of each individual vessel characteristics into account is essential. Structural strength assessment methods based on “load and structural consistent analysis” take the influence of waves at sea into consideration when directly estimating loads, and are therefore able to closely replicate actual ship conditions. As a result, shipyards and design companies are widely implementing these assessment methods. In order to help ensure the safety of this new generation of larger and more advanced vessels, ClassNK developed guidelines for direct load analysis and direct strength assessment methods as essential elements of class requirements. They will be updated to reflect the latest findings from research and development initiatives. The class notation “PS-DA-DLA” and/or “PS-FA-DLA” is respectively affixed to the classification characters of a ship when strength assessments have been carried out for all cargo areas in accordance with the guidelines.

The doctrine of arcavatara (image-descent) within the Srivaisnava tradition presents difficulties for a Christian understanding of Hindu belief and practice. This essay provides an introduction to the history, ritual, and theology or arcavatara and suggests directions for a comparative approach to eucharist within Roman Catholic theology. It concludes that, while aspects of the Hindu conception resonate with a Catholic sacramental Imagination, fundamental differences preclude an easy comparison. The categories of transcendence, accessibility, relationship, and revelation gleaned from this Introduction offer points of entry for continued dialogue. For the Srivaisnava tradition of Hinduism, the God of heaven becomes present in the temple. Arcavatara, the descent (avatara) of the deity as an image (arca), emphasizes both the transcendence and the accessibility of God. Worship takes the shape of devotion to a physical object, an image that is believed to be divine. For Christianity, so shaped by prohibitions against idolatry, arcavatara presents one of the great difficulties in understanding Hindu belief and ritual practice. What can the Christian gain from this view? Answering this question begins with an introduction to arcavatara within its historical, ritual, and theological contexts. In gaining an appreciation of the Srivaisnava conception of image-descent, a Roman Catholic becomes aware of parallels not earlier noticed, differences that highlight the particular claims of Christianity, and the challenges this different view of divine presence offers to the Roman Catholic's own belief and religious practice. The Srivaisnava tradition of South India emphasizes exclusive devotion to the Lord Visnu and his consort Sri. This tradition of Hinduism became organized as a distinct and defined religious group around the eleventh century under the influence of its most important teacher, Ramanuja (ca. 1017-1137 C.E.). Not merely a fringe movement, the Srivaisnava community follows most Hindu groups in viewing the Sanskrit Vedas, the epic Ramayana and Mahabharata, and the Puranas as sacred scripture. However, Srivaisanavas also accept as revealed the poems of the alvars, who were twelve Tamil mystics of the sixth through ninth centuries. The alvars, who were "immersed" or "deep" in the love of God, sang about God (Visnu) mainly in God's manifestation as an image. Later "Teachers" (acaryas), of whom Ramanuja is recognized as the most important, commented on these poems, developing a distinctive theological and cultic tradition. A simple view of the deity's local presence predates the elaborate poetry of the alvars. In the earliest sources, the so-called cankam literature, the deity was said to live "in the katampu tree," or Visnu was said to recline "on the serpent couch." There was not yet an attempt to describe how the deity is present. The later Paripatal poetry showed a clear awareness that Visnu is transcendent and beyond space and time. However, the language of local presence remained simple. Visnu is the "owner" of the temple, "hold[s] on to it in affection," and remains "in close union." No elaborate ritual was described at this stage, nor is there any indication of a complex temple institution.

The black rectangle beneath these gold rungs is a new quantum material capable of “listening” to the brain by grabbing atoms, which the brain naturally uses to communicate. Image: Purdue University image/Hai-Tian Zhang. Thinking is a long way off, but Purdue University and Argonne National Laboratory researchers have engineered a new material that can at least “listen.” The lingua franca is ionic currents, which help the brain perform a particular reaction, needed for something as basic as sending a signal to breathe. Detecting ions means also detecting the concentration of a molecule, which serves as an indicator of the brain’s health. The edge, in this case, is strong, “correlated” electrons that make the material extra sensitive and extra tunable. “The goal is to bridge the gap between how electronics think, which is via electrons, and how the brain thinks, which is via ions. This material helped us find a potential bridge,” said Hai-Tian Zhang, a Gilbreth postdoctoral fellow in Purdue’s College of Engineering and first author on the paper. In the long run, this material might even bring the ability to “download” your brain, the researchers say. “Imagine putting an electronic device in the brain, so that when natural brain functions start deteriorating, a person could still retrieve memories from that device,” said Shriram Ramanathan, a Purdue professor of materials engineering whose lab specializes in developing brain-inspired technology. The researchers tested this material on two molecules: Glucose, a sugar essential for energy production, and dopamine, a chemical messenger that regulates movement, emotional responses and memory. Because dopamine amounts are typically low in the brain, and even lower for people with Parkinson’s disease, detecting this chemical has been notoriously difficult. But detecting dopamine levels early would mean sooner treatment of the disease. The strong affinity to hydrogen, as shown when researchers at Argonne National Laboratory created simulations of the experiments, allowed the material to extract atoms on its own – without a power source. “The fact that we didn’t provide power to the material for it to take in hydrogen means that it could bring very low-power electronics with high sensitivity,” Ramanathan said. “This could be helpful for probing unexplored environments, as well.” The researchers also say that this material could sense the atoms of a range of molecules, beyond just glucose and dopamine. The next step is creating a way for the material to “talk back” to the brain.

Can a Felon Travel to Hong Kong? This blog post will address the question of whether a felon can travel to Hong Kong. Why would felons want to visit Hong Kong? Well, for the same reasons anyone wants to travel there. Felons may have served time in prison, but they have the same interests as any other U.S. citizen. Traveling to Hong Kong is no exception. Hong Kong is a city located in the Asian continent. It borders only one country, China. Hong Kong is a dependent territory of China. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Hong Kong was at one time a fishing village that has been ruled by dynasties from many nations over the centuries. It was under British control from the 19th century through 1997. At that time, this economic giant was turned over the China where it remains as a territory to the present. Hong Kong has a large cultural influence from the Eastern and Western hemispheres. International shopping and cooking make it a popular travel spot. It is a great place for families to visit with numerous parks, temples, and museums. Going on a cruise is also a popular means of travel to Hong Kong. Open loop cruises require a passport, regardless of the starting or destination port. Regardless of the type of cruise, having a passport is important for felons in case the ship docks at a foreign port on the route to Hong Kong. Hong Kong has several requirements all U.S. citizens, regardless of whether they are felons or not, must meet in order to gain entry. First, the law in Hong Kong states that they must have at least six valid months remaining on their passport when entering the country. They must also be able to show they have adequate funds to stay in the city and to leave afterward. For felons especially, their conduct while in Hong Kong is critical. Of course they will want to stay out of legal difficulties. It is best to strictly obey all laws and be able to leave the city as planned. Families of felons who visit Hong Kong can be helpful to those felons by encouraging them to travel outside the country for a sense of peace and relaxation. A trip to Hong Kong can also be a great opportunity to re-connect with their family. Once the decision has been made to travel to Hong Kong, be supportive of their making the trip. It is important to remind them that as a traveler to a foreign city, just being there as an American will bring them under more scrutiny. For this reason and others, they must obey the laws and not draw the attention of the legal authorities to themselves. Remind them of their commitment to live an honest life and how legal difficulties while in Hong Kong will only defeat these efforts and may result in returning to prison.

Time vs Money | Which Do You Value More? Time and money. The phrases ‘I don’t have time for that’ or ‘I don’t have the money for that’ are probably two of the most common phrases in your vocabulary. Unless of course, you’re a retired billionaire. But most of us aren’t, and we often struggle to find a balance between the two. If you want to make more money you will almost always have to sacrifice some time, and if you feel you need more time, you’ll almost always have to sacrifice some money. The question is, which is more important? Is money more valuable than time simply because it helps us make our lives easier? Or is time more important than money because we can’t measure the amount of time we have? It would be easy to give a definite answer to this question, but there simply isn’t one. Despite the sentimental articles out there insisting that time is always more important than money, the reality is much more complex. Let’s explore some components of this universal problem. The idiom ‘money can’t buy happiness’ may be true to some extent, but that doesn’t mean money doesn’t have its uses. While that money sitting there in your piggy bank may not do anything to boost your mood, I dare say spending it on a nice trip away would in fact do a great deal to contribute to your overall happiness. But let’s return to our core idea of money versus time. Money can buy time, but time can’t buy money. What does this mean? Well, if you find yourself incredibly busy and you make good money, you can use this money to save yourself time in order to ensure you can focus on your most enjoyable pursuits. For example, if you work a forty hour week and make a good salary, you can use some of it to hire help for errands and housework. If not enough time is a problem for you but money isn’t, it’s easy to hire a cleaner or someone to help you with your admin. If you’re someone who has more time on their hands than the average forty hour working person, but you have no money, your situation is arguably more dire than the one above. Your additional hours of free time don’t make you richer, and sitting around musing about your financial problems will make those hours stretch far into the horizon. Thus, in these two instances, it is a much better thing to have money but not enough time than the other way around. This is by no means the final thought on the matter, though. One of the most pronounced advantages of time in the time vs money dilemma is the fact that it allows us to build memories. Sure, you can hire a cleaner to save you some time doing housework, but there are many times that money simply can’t replace the experience you miss. Got a son or daughter graduating but don’t have enough time to attend? Addressing a check to them or buying them a car is certainly not going to replace the pride you experience watching them walk up to the podium. Moreover, in their minds this memory will always sting of a parent who prioritizes your work, career or income over their achievements. Thus, it’s clear that in times of great importance, money is no substitute. If there are any milestones coming up in the life of someone you care about, make sure you let them know how much you care by being present at the event. Calling to apologize because you can’t make it shows them that on your priority ladder, they must exist on a very low rung. So, the issue becomes more complicated. Yes, money can essentially buy time in intricate ways. No, time can’t buy money. However, throwing money at a situation in order to replace your involvement or presence does little but alienate your loved ones. So be careful how you use your money when attempting to use it as a band aid for being a no show. The time, money and stress equation doesn’t require you to be a mathematical genius. If you have lots of time but no money you are going to be stressed. If you have lots of money but simply don’t have enough time in the day, you are going to be stressed. In fact, if you have your hand in a lot of investments and shares and are retired, managing your assets will still provide some unwanted stress. Stress is a fact of life, no matter how much or how little time or money you have. Your best option is to try to find some balance between the two. If you can afford it and your heart is pounding from all the stress of the daily toll, it’s time to reduce your working hours. If you can’t, it’s time to look for a job that pays more. There are always solutions to explore with regards to the time versus money conundrum. Having little time does not automatically equate to having lots of money, any more than having lots of time automatically means you’re short of cash. It is a fact of life that some people work long hours and make hardly any money, while others work very little yet make hundreds of thousands a year. These realities have always existed, and they always will.

KILAUEA POINT NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE is a regular stop on the flight path of the largest colony of seabirds on the main Hawaiian Islands. Every day, hundreds of birds come and go from the nooks and crannies of the refuge’s cliffs and hillsides. Though eight species of birds nest on the refuge, the main attraction is a 100-YEAR-OLD LIGHTHOUSE. Located on the northernmost point of the inhabited Hawaiian Islands, the lighthouse was constructed out of necessity to serve as a landfall light for merchant ships sailing from Asia. Due to lack of good roads, materials needed to be lifted from cargo boats in the ocean and carried up steep cliffs in order to build the 52-foot tower. The lighthouse’s Fresnel lens alone weighs 4 tons, floats in a vat containing more than 250 pounds of liquid mercury and is composed of hundreds of reflecting prisms. It is valued at $1 million and remains a work of art. The lighthouse has been inoperable since 1976, but thanks to a major fundraising campaign, the structure has been fully restored to its former glory. The lighthouse celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013, when it also received a new title. In a special ceremony, the lighthouse was formally renamed as the DANIEL K. INOUYE KILAUEA POINT LIGHTHOUSE in honor of the late U.S. senator, who died Dec. 17, 2012, and was a longtime supporter for conservation initiatives, including the wildlife refuge. The WILDLIFE REFUGE is one of the busiest refuges in the nation, currently ranking among the top five in annual visitation. Watch for the sign as you turn off Kuhio Highway into KILAUEA TOWN. Kilauea Point is at the end of the road.

Pelzer several times refers to this theme. Pelzer’s life story is itself an example of the difficult life led by foster children, and his touching portrait of Chris, the seventeen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy who has lived in more than a dozen foster homes, is another example of the challenges faced by such children. Dave faces real prejudice when he moves with the Marshes to a more affluent area. When he tries to befriend a local girl, her mother stops him, calling him “that little F-child” (p. 271) and a “filthy little hooligan.” Like others, she seems to blame the boy himself for his status: “I don’t know what you children do to become . . . fostered children.” Some people in the neighborhood fear that the presence of a family with foster children will lower the price of houses there. It is clear that placing a foster child is not easy. Gordon Hutchenson, Dave’s probation officer, exclaims in frustration when he is trying to place Dave, “There are never enough homes!” (p. 223). Some of the kids end up in juvenile hall simply because there are no homes to place them in. Lilian Catanze tells Dave about the prejudice people have against foster children. She tells him that as a foster child, he has to be very careful because he already has two strikes against him. Later, when Dave is in juvenile detention, she explains that people have a difficult time acknowledging the need for foster homes because if they did so they would also have to acknowledge the presence of child abuse in society, which some people are unwilling to do. It means admitting to problems such as “alcoholism, child abuse, children who run away or get into drugs.” Some people prefer to keep such things to themselves, just as Dave was told to preserve the family secret of his abuse. The memoir is really a coming-of-age narrative, following the life of an adolescent from the age of twelve to the age of eighteen. This is the period when people develop from children into adults, discover who they are, and form their own values. At the beginning of the narrative, Dave is a confused, frightened twelve-year-old who has just been taken from his mother’s home to prevent further abuse. He has to learn how to fit in with society’s rules and expectations and how to live as part of a normal family unit. Never having had proper guidance in his early years, it is not surprising that Dave makes some serious missteps; he steals from grocery stores and keeps the wrong company at school. But he is redeemed by his intelligence and persistence. He starts to read serious books, shows that he can hold down a job and show a good work ethic, and finally, with the advice of adults he trusts, he makes a good career choice by joining the U.S. Air Force. In six eventful years, full of change and disruption but also growth and learning, Dave has developed from a badly damaged child into a young man who is ready to take his place as a productive member of the adult world. Dave has spent his childhood having to deal with complete rejection by his mother and isolation in his family, not to mention the physical abuse he has suffered. He therefore views the world as a hostile and frightening place. This can be seen in his manner when he stays with Aunt Mary, his first foster parent. He is frightened, fearing punishment for any misdeed, and scared that he will be returned to his mother. At nights, instead of sleeping, he sits up holding his knees, rocking back and forth and humming to himself—clearly the actions of a boy who is dealing with severe recent trauma. It is hard for Dave to realize that others may mean him well, and it will be a long journey before he can learn to trust. But he eventually does so because quite a number of adults go out of their way to help him. He develops affection for Ms. Gold, the social worker, and for Lilian Catanze, the woman with whom he spends the longest time as a foster child. These and others show Dave what it is like to be loved and accepted rather than despised and rejected. Ultimately, it is when he is with his final foster parents, Harold and Alice Turnbough, that he learns to love and accept love unconditionally as part of a loving family. By the end of the book he can call Alice mother and Harold father without feeling awkward about it. His emotional journey has found its fulfillment; he has traveled from a dysfunctional family in which he was seriously abused to one in which he feels valued and cherished, and he is able to return those positive feelings.

BACKGROUND: The application of dental sealants is a recommended procedure to prevent and control dental caries. However, despite strong evidence for the safety and effectiveness of dental sealants, their use still remains low, especially among children from lower socioeconomic communities. The World Health Organization (WHO), Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD) strongly endorse the implementation of school based dental sealant programmes as a community-based preventive strategy to increase sealant use and reduce dental caries. However, in the WHO African Region, oral health is seen as a very low priority and this is compounded by limited technical and managerial resources. The availability of human resources and equipment are crucial for the successful placement of dental sealants. A gap in the research literature was identified for determining the effectiveness of fissure sealants placed under field conditions. AIM: To evaluate the caries preventive effect as well as retention status of a resin-based fissure sealant that was placed under field conditions as part of a school based sealant programme. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted at two primary schools in close proximity of each other in the same low socio-economic area in Beaufort West, South Africa. The study population consisted of grade two children between the ages of 7-9 years who had fully erupted first permanent molar teeth. The case group consisted of 100 learners who received dental sealants on caries-free first permanent molar teeth 12 months earlier. The control group consisted of a random selection of the same number of learners from the adjacent school. Dental caries on the occlusal surfaces of the first permanent molar teeth was detected by making use of the decayed (D) portion of the decayed, missing and filled tooth (DMFT) score, while a separate diagnosis distinguished between cavitated and non-cavitated lesions. Sealant retention was determined by a calibrated examiner who was not involved in the placement of the sealants. RESULTS: The response rate of the study was 80.0% (n=100) and 78.9% (n=356) of the fissure sealants that were originally placed were evaluated. When the sealants were placed in 2013, 52.0% of the children were female and at the 12 month follow-up, 51.3% were female. The average age of the female children at follow-up was 8 years and 4 months (99.9 months) and 8 years and 5 months (101.8 months) for the males. The standard deviation of the gender profiles differed by 1 month only and implies an equal distribution of age between female and male children throughout the study. Just less than ten per cent (7.8%) of the sealants were fully intact at the 12 month follow-up examination and 91% were totally lost, which is a higher sealant loss rate than what is generally reported on in the literature. Of the 7.8% fully retained sealants, a statistically significant proportion (p=0.044) were found on the mandibular molar teeth. The caries incidence rate in the sealed group was 7.1% versus 9.1% in the control group. Relative risk (RR) calculations was slightly lower for the sealed (RR=0.79) than the unsealed (RR=1.02) teeth. CONCLUSION: The study showed a 2% lower caries prevalence rate on the occlusal surfaces of the sealed versus the unsealed teeth. However, this does not represent a statistically significant finding (P=0.39). The study also showed a low retention rate for the resin-based sealants placed under field conditions (12 month retention rate of 7.8%). The results from this study has therefore shown that resin-based fissure sealants placed on grade 1 learners under field conditions appear to be not ideal in preventing the onset of dental caries on the occlusal surfaces of the first permanent molar teeth.

Proponents of water fluoridation said Cornwall’s overall health will suffer if the practice is abandoned. Paul Roumeliotis, the local medical officer of health, and Canada’s chief dental officer Dr. Peter Cooney, told councillors Monday too much scare mongering is taking place from critics of the practice. Cooney said one would have to drink as much as 15,000 litres of water in one sitting to get a toxic dose of fluoride. “There is a huge level of safety between what is in your water and what is toxic,” he said. But that hasn’t stopped critics from expressing concern with the issue. The acid used to fluoridate Cornwall’s water contains arsenic, said Peter Van Caulart, executive director of the Environmental Training Institute in Niagara, prior to Monday’s city council meeting. He said the 15,000 litres of hydrofluorosilicic acid in storage at the water treatment plant in Cornwall could contain as much as 800 grams of arsenic – a poisonous substance. Van Caulart arrived at this conclusion after receiving a sample of the acid, which shows it contains about 55.75 parts per million of arsenic. The material he shared with the media prior to the council meeting has also been shared with city council, he said. Van Caulart, who trains water and wastewater operators in Niagara, was asked to come to Cornwall by the union representing such operators at the Cornwall treatment plant. “The process of fluoridation is not a process to treat drinking water,” said Van Caulart. “It’s done after the water is already clean. But that is exactly what happened Monday night at city hall when Roumeliotis lobbied city councillors to return fluoride to Cornwall’s water supply. “The Cornwall area has higher rates of chronic diseases, all of which are worsened by poor oral health,” he said. “If the fluoride is not in the water (dentists) are going to be working 24-7. Many local dentists attended the Monday council meeting, and Roumeliotis said as many as 20 have signed a petition seeking a return to water fluoridation in Cornwall. He added a number of dental associations have made similar commitments. “Oral health really is a picture of our overall health. It’s (poor dental health) one of the most common chronic diseases – more common than asthma,” he said. The city has been without fluoridated water for nearly three years, after safety concerns at the treatment plant forced the city to abandon the process. Roumeliotis refuted material provided just two weeks ago from an American university professor who lobbied city council to abandon water fluoridation for good. Among reams of material filed with the city clerk for his Monday presentation is specific mention of hydrofluorosilic acid, the material added to Cornwall’s water supply in the past to create the fluoride which proponents argue results in stronger teeth. But in its pure form hydrofluorosilic acid is extremely toxic, and city environment manager Morris McCormick has even labeled it a “significant” risk to health and safety. Roumeliotis pointed to the health benefits of drinking fluoridated water, including a reduction in tooth decay of up to 40 per cent in people of all ages. He further suggests every dollar invested in fluoridating water results in a $38 savings in dental treatments. The practice of fluoridating Cornwall’s water was abandoned three years ago when health and safety concerns at the city’s water treatment plant became evident. It will cost taxpayers as much as $350,000 to fix the safety issues at the plant, and an additional $50,000 a year to operate with a fluoridated system.

For some of us, the oldest mysteries, the ones before our time, are the most compelling. Sometimes, we stumble upon an answer like a happy accident. Other times, someone just won’t let go until he or she finds the solution. Enrique Granados, a renowned Spanish composer, wrote an unpublished opera called Maria del Carmen in 1898. The story of a love triangle in Murcia, the opera was so celebrated when it opened in Madrid that the Queen of Spain gave Granados the distinguished Charles III Cross for his music. Even so, the original version of the opera was never performed again. When the New York Metropolitan Opera performed another of the composer’s works in 1916, Granados and his wife sailed to America with the only copy of Maria del Carmen. Granados hoped to persuade the Met to perform his masterpiece. When they didn’t agree, the Granados set sail to Spain via England, but a German submarine torpedoed their boat in the English Channel. The couple drowned, but the three-volume opera survived, as did their six children whom they’d left in Barcelona. Two decades later, a son who needed money sold the opera to an American musician against the wishes of other family members. For the next few decades, the music’s ownership was litigated. Before the issue was settled, the opera was supposedly destroyed in a New York warehouse fire in 1970. Finally, in 2009, the opera was found, although it had been damaged by smoke and water. Thanks to the music professor who played detective, Maria del Carmen has been restored and subsequently published by the company, Trito. For the first time since 1899, the opera will also be performed in Spain in 2015. At about 3,900 meters (13,000 ft) above sea level, the village of Arroumd sits perilously atop a huge pile of rocks in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. For over 130 years, the origin of that rock pile has mystified scientists. Most assumed the movement of a glacier deposited the rocks, but modern dating techniques point to seismic activity 4,500 years ago as the culprit. The village is located near a major tectonic fault that sits below the face of a cliff. Although a glacier probably eroded the face of the cliff, making it vulnerable to collapse, the avalanche occurred approximately 7,000 years after the glacier melted. So the glacier may have made the cliff more likely to collapse, but an earthquake was probably the actual trigger of the avalanche of rocks. In the Little House on the Prairie children’s book series, author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote that her real-life sister, Mary, was blinded by scarlet fever at age 14. The event was also dramatized on a television series based on the books. But pediatricians say the explanation for Mary’s blindness doesn’t make sense. Dr. Beth Tarini was surprised by that discovery even as a medical student. “I was in my pediatrics rotation,” said Tarini. “We were talking about scarlet fever, and I said, ‘Oh, scarlet fever makes you go blind. Mary Ingalls went blind from it.’ ” Her professor disagreed, which propelled Tarini on a detective mission to find out what really happened to Mary. Tarini and her team researched the issue for 10 years. They found that Mary had scarlet fever as a young child, but her illness at 14 was referred to as “brain fever.” There was also no reference to her having the distinctive rash of scarlet fever as a teenager. While scarlet fever had a mortality rate for children of up to 30 percent in the 1800s, most cases of blindness from the disease were temporary. After poring over historical records, including the Ingalls’ town newspaper that reported that Mary had suffered from severe headaches and partial paralysis on one side of her face, the researchers now believe that Mary contracted viral meningoencephalitis, which inflames the brain and spinal cord. By inflaming the optic nerve, it can also lead to blindness. Recently translated by Princeton University religion professor Anne Marie Luijendijk, the 1,500-year-old “Gospel of the Lots of Mary” is not a gospel describing the life and death of Jesus Christ, as everyone had assumed. Instead, it’s a sort of Magic 8 Ball to predict the future and help people solve their problems. That opening led Luijendijk to believe the book contained a standard type of gospel. However, she found that the heavily used book was made up of 37 oracles, which rarely mentioned Jesus. If a person needed help with a problem, he would ask a question of the book’s owner. Then they would select an oracle at random to solve the problem. The book’s owner would interpret the oracle’s answer. Ancient “lot books” were consulted to predict people’s futures. Overall, this book takes a positive view of what lies ahead. However, Luijendijk had never known of another lot book that was referred to as a “gospel,” which translates as “good news.” That leads Luijendijk to believe that gospels may have been viewed differently in ancient times, perhaps not solely as texts about the life and death of Jesus. In 1984, the text was donated to Harvard University by the daughter-in-law of an antiquities trader. However, no one knows how or when the family acquired the book. Palmyra was an important trading hub in the Roman Empire around 2,000 years ago. But historians could never understand how Palmyra’s 100,000 residents were able to thrive in the middle of the Syrian desert—or why they would live there in the first place. However, a team of Norwegian and Syrian researchers has finally solved the mystery. Palmyra and over three dozen surrounding (but forgotten) ancient Roman farming villages used a network of water reservoirs to make their arid steppe green. By collecting and channeling the yearly rainfall of 12–15 centimeters (5–6 in) from seasonal storms into these reservoirs, the ancient inhabitants farmed the land with a variety of crops. This gave Palmyra a stable source of food, even during droughts, making it a grand oasis of avenues, arches, and columns in a vibrant desert marketplace. The city also prospered as a major trading hub linking Eastern civilizations with Western ones. Although the Persians and Parthians controlled the East and the Romans dominated the West, there were small independent kingdoms located between the two. Each of their rulers demanded payments from travelers to use their water routes—along parts of the Euphrates and Nile Rivers, for example. Rather than pay all those exorbitant river taxes to take the direct routes, tradesmen would cut through the desert and stop at Palmyra. There, they could purchase the items and services they needed to safely complete their journeys. This greatly contributed to Palmyra’s prosperity in ancient times. For a long time, historians have been divided on whether the stones at Stonehenge had originally formed a full circle. With no stones found in the southwest area, some researchers believed the structure had never been completed. But a short hosepipe accidentally solved the mystery without excavation or expensive equipment. Tens of thousands of people had earlier overlooked the answer. When a custodian couldn’t water the grass in the entire Stonehenge area (as was usually done) due to the short hose, the grass failed to grow in the unwatered area, revealing depressions in the ground. If some of those parched areas had held stones, the circle would have been complete. Other brown patches matched areas of known archaeological excavations, confirming that the parched areas represented ground that had been intentionally disturbed. That still leaves the mystery of what happened to the missing stones. Were they used to build houses or roads in the area? No one knows, but English Heritage may purposely avoid watering some areas of Stonehenge during the next dry spell to see if the answers to other puzzles emerge. For years, historians were baffled by the mysterious disappearance of the Nazca people of Peru around A.D. 500. This was the civilization responsible for the Nazca lines, huge geoglyphs carved into the ground in that region. There have been many theories to explain the lines, but most historians agree that the Nazca probably used them as sacred pathways when practicing their rituals. In recent years, scientists have determined that the Nazca civilization caused its own destruction. By clearing so many huarango trees in their valleys for farming, they did irreparable damage to their environment. These nitrogen-fixing trees increased moisture and soil fertility. Without enough of them, the climate became too arid to grow food. Scientists believe that a major El Nino event occurred around the same time as the deforestation, triggering devastating floods due to the lack of trees. After that, the Nazca would have been unable to grow enough food for their people in that area. While serving in the Army during World War II, Warren McCauley lost or left his silver identification bracelet (“dog tag”) in Castel D’Aiano, Italy in 1945. According to an Army news release that year, war hero McCauley received the Bronze Star when he “fearlessly advanced under a hail of small-arms fire to restore communications” after the German enemy cut wire lines. While in Castel D’Aiano, McCauley stopped at the de Maria home, which the Italian family had opened to American soldiers for food and medical care. When McCauley left, his bracelet stayed behind, although no one knows if he lost it, forgot it, or left it on purpose as a kind of payment or tribute to the de Maria family. Nevertheless, Bruna de Maria, then eight years old and living there in poverty, found the bracelet and kept it as an unexpected treasure. She always lovingly cared for the bracelet but never tried to find its owner. Through a friend, Sedda contacted an American lawyer, who worked with a journalist and the Army to trace the bracelet’s ID number to McCauley. Though McCauley had died 30 years earlier, they found his 85-year-old widow, Twila McCauley, living in Buena Vista, California. Warren McCauley had shared some wartime stories with his family—like the time he fell into a river and a donkey walked over him—but he’d never told them about the bracelet. Along with the rest of her family, Mrs. McCauley was touched and grateful to have this special connection to her late husband brought home almost 70 years after it went missing. As we’ve discussed earlier, the lost army of Persian king Cambyses II has been a great historical mystery. Around 524 B.C., the king ordered 50,000 men into the Egyptian desert around the ancient city of Thebes (now Luxor). When the men disappeared, the official story from ancient historians said the army had been wiped out by a sandstorm. By piecing together information from excavations, historical records, and especially the writings of an Egyptian rebel leader (which Kaper had translated from ancient temple blocks), Kaper believes the Persian army was on its way to Dachla Oasis, where the rebel leader Petubastis III and his troops had been located. But the Persian army was ambushed by the rebel leader and suffered a crushing defeat. From his victory, Petubastis went on to reconquer much of Egypt and crown himself Pharaoh in the capital of Memphis. According to Kaper, the Persian king Darius I put an end to this Egyptian rebellion in a bloody battle two years after Cambyses was defeated. To restore Persia’s dignity, Darius covered up his predecessor’s embarrassing downfall with the sandstorm story. The promise of the Hindenburg, a hydrogen-filled airship that could cross the Atlantic in half the time of a ship at sea, exploded along with the craft itself as it prepared to land in Lakehurst, New Jersey in May 1937. Of the 100 people on board that day, 35 died. Scientists have debated the reason for the explosion for decades. They knew that a spark ignited leaking hydrogen, but they differed on the reason for the spark and the leaking gas. Theories included lightning, explosive properties in paint, and a bomb. However, in 2013, a team of experts ruled out the other theories and determined that the Hindenburg had become charged with static electricity from a thunderstorm. Either a faulty gas valve or broken wire caused hydrogen to leak into the ventilation shafts. A spark of static electricity ignited the hydrogen, which started the fire in the tail section and led to the explosion.

This is a series of test questions on Air Law. Congratulations on completing this exam …. If a Microlight pilot is intending flying 10nm off the coast, the following applies.. When Following a prominent landmark, Pilots should keep the landmark what side of the aircraft? What does this Ground Signal Mean? Pilots Licence, Aircraft Registration Document, Copy of Interception Procedures, Airworthiness Document. Aircraft Insurance, Radio Licence. Pilots Licence, Aircraft Registration Document, Radio Licence, Airworthiness Document,Copy of Interception Procedures. The traffic zone of a MATZ extends Up to _____ Ft and a Radius of ___ nm. Who Do the CAA consider to be the responsible person for the aircraft? When above 3000 ft, what clearance should you have vertically from cloud? What distance must an aircraft maintain from any person, vessel, vehicle or structure? How many hours must a pilot have flown in total since the last validation / GST? How many take-offs does a pilot need to have made since the last licence validation / GST? To retain validation, a microlight pilot must have at least 1 hour’s instruction every year. Use Runways designated by a White "L" Use Runways designated by a Red "L" What does a Double White Cross signify? What is Flight Level (FL) 100? Who Can give you a “basic service” on the Radio? An accident must be submitted to the CAA if an aircraft has an engine failure. VMC requirements stipulate that a pilot should remain how far from cloud horizontally? All Permanent structures are lit over what height? How Wide is an Airway? How many FIS Regions are there for the Scotland and England? Using a Listening Squawk is compulsory.. What does “Part-NCO” generally refer to ? In order to carry passengers, you must have completed what…. A NOTAM with a “Mauve AIC” indicates…. VFR flight is not recommended when the surface visibility is being reported as less than…..

As I mention in the June Nano Bite newsletter, lots of NISE Net partners are either planning nano-themed summer camps or using nano activities from the NanoDays kit or other sources in their camp programming. The Science Museum of Minnesota is offering "Nanotechnology: What's It All About?", a week-long summer camp for kids ages 9 - 12. Campers explore just how small a nanometer is with Exploring Measurement—Human Body, Cutting It Down to Nano, and Sizing Things Down. Then they experience the challenges and tools associated with working on the nanoscale with The Mitten Challenge Activity and How Can We See What We Cannot See? (Those last two activities were developed by our partners at the University of Wisconsin-Madison MRSEC.) They check out some of the cool properties of nanoscale materials with DNA Nanotechnology, Lotus Leaf Effect, Exploring Materials—Nano Fabric, and Exploring Properties—Surface Area. And they consider the risks and benefits of nanotechnology with Wheel of the Future. SMM camp staff have added in in-depth explorations of socks with nanosilver, ongoing dialogue with guest scientists, and more! To learn more, contact Annie Thompson, [email protected].

Through 52 paintings, the exhibition will trace the evolution of Monet’s practice from 1913, when he embarked on a reinvention of his painting style that led to increasingly bold and abstract works, up to his death in 1926. Assembled from major public and private collections in Europe, the United States, and Asia, including holdings from the Kimbell Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Monet: The Late Years will include more than twenty examples of Monet’s beloved water-lily paintings. In addition, the exhibition will showcase many other extraordinary and unfamiliar works from the artist’s final years, several of which will be seen for the first time in the United States. Majestic panoramas will be displayed alongside late easel paintings, demonstrating Monet’s continued vitality and variety as a painter. This exhibition will redefine Monet—widely known as the greatest landscape painter of the Impressionists—as one of the most original artists of the modern age. Monet: The Late Years focuses on the period when the artist, his life marked by personal loss, deteriorating eyesight, and the threat of surrounding war, remained close to home to paint the varied elements of his garden at Giverny. His worsening vision and a new ambition to paint on a large scale stimulated fundamental changes in the tonality and intensity of his palette, toward vivid color combinations and broader, more apparent, application of paint. The complex surfaces of his canvases reveal layers of activity spread out over the course of days, months, and years. The result was a remarkable new body of work with increasingly feverish, dramatic brushwork. Far removed from his earlier, more representational production, the artist’s late paintings close in on a stylistic threshold into abstraction. Thematically arranged, the exhibition opens with a prologue concentrating on scenery from Monet’s outdoor studio at Giverny. Paintings from the late 1890s and early 1900s include depictions of the Japanese footbridge, the newly created lily pond and the artist’s house as seen from the rose garden—all sources of inspiration that he would revisit in his late career. Next, the exhibition enters the period between 1914 and 1919, when Monet returned to painting anew after a hiatus in work prompted by the loss of his second wife, Alice, and his eldest son, Jean. Opening with the vibrant 1914–17 Water Lilies from the Fine Arts Museums’ collection, the section features a number of the dynamically rendered water-lily paintings from this period, juxtaposed with audacious large-scale floral studies from the evolving scenery of his garden. Continuing to study natural phenomena, the artist focused on elements that had been relegated to the fringes in earlier works, such as Day Lilies, Agapanthus, and Yellow Iris, in addition to Water Lilies, among the twenty paintings on loan from the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. Monet’s ambitions as a muralist, in contrast with his renewed activity as an easel painter, are explored next. With the completion of a vast studio building on his property in 1916, Monet was able to undertake significantly larger canvases, measuring between 14 and 20 feet wide, forming a series of mural-style paintings now known as the Grandes Décorations. In such immersive, panoramic paintings as Agapanthus from the Saint Louis Art Museum—more than 6 x 14 feet in size—the artist paralleled themes undertaken in an important series of paintings of his water-lily pond, each about 3 x 6 feet, their number rivaling the scale and ambition of his mural project. Groups of paintings from his late garden series—several on view in the United States for the first time—conclude the exhibition. During his final years, while continuing to perfect his largest panels, Monet returned to working in smaller-format paintings, on the scale of his famous series paintings of the 1890s and early 1900s. Working again in his classic serial method, he revisited familiar motifs on his property, such as the Japanese bridge and the rose-covered trellises over the path leading from his house to the edge of his flower garden. The exhibition showcases these works in greater numbers than ever before attempted: in addition to seven studies of the Japanese bridge at Giverny, six compelling portrayals of a tree with a twisting trunk and craggy outreaching branches are shown. Among these is Weeping Willow, a masterwork from the Kimbell Art Museum’s collection, painted in 1918–19 in mournful response to the tragedies of World War I. By his final years, Monet’s cataracts had affected the tonal balance of his perception. Nonetheless, as seen in Path under the Rose Arches and The Artist’s House Seen from the Rose Garden, both on loan from the Musée Marmottan Monet, the artist triumphed over this adversity by producing his most radical works yet. The expressive style of these paintings, with a complex layering of gestural strokes in red and yellow hues over blue and green, affirms Monet’s continued vitality as a painter and redefines him, in the near abandonment of subject matter in favor of increasingly rapturous execution, as a pioneer of abstraction. Monet: The Late Years is a sequel to Monet: The Early Years, which focused on the artist’s youthful pre-Impressionist years—from ages 17 to 31—when he developed his unique visual language and technique, on view in Fort Worth and San Francisco in 2016–17. Monet: The Late Years is organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, with the exceptional support of the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and a grant from the Leo Potishman Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Trustee. Promotional support is provided by American Airlines, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and NBC5.

A Japanese volcano that was used as a lair by James Bond’s nemesis has erupted, sending a plume of smoke thousands of metres into the air. Shinmoedake eruped for the first time since April on Friday, less than a week after a strong earthquake shook the west of Japan. Television images showed smoke and ash rising into the air above peak of the volcano, which was used as the setting for Ernst Stavro Blofelt’s secret lair in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice. Rock was thrown around 1,100 metres (3,609ft) from the mountain, according to TBS television. The volcano is located in Kagoshima Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, 616 miles from the Japanese capital of Tokyo. It is believed to have formed between 7,300 and 25,000 years ago. In the film, MI6 agent Bond – played by Sean Connery – is dispatched to Japan to investigate after American and Soviet manned spacecraft mysteriously disappear whilst in orbit. The Shinmoedake crater acted as a hidden base, from which Blofeld launched his own spacecraft to intercept and capture the US and Soviet shuttles. It erupted last year and has done so on several occasions this year, putting residents in the mainly rural area on notice with restricted access to the 1,421m (4,662ft) mountain. A large eruption on 6 March saw rocks and ash thrown to a height of 4,500m (14,764ft). Japan has 110 active volcanoes and monitors 47 of them at all times. In 2014, 63 people were killed on Mount Ontake – the most fatalities from a volcanic eruption in Japan for nearly 90 years. On Monday, an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude struck Osaka – Japan’s second largest city – killing five people including a nine-year-old schoolgirl.

On August 9, 2014, an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer in the city of Ferguson, Missouri. This is more than Michael Brown, this is about civilians against law enforcement, corrupt law enforcement. Brown was the forth unarmed black man to be killed in the US by police in the span of a month, and the killing sparked several days of protests in the community. The street protests and police response brought Ferguson into the national and international spotlight. Things quickly spiralled: Reports of gunshots fired from the crowds, a state of emergency was declared, the national guard was deployed and the US attorney general launched a federal investigation into the killing. So why was Michael Brown shot? And why was the authorities' response to the protests so disproportionate? Fault Lines travelled to Ferguson to witness the demonstrations and the subsequent heavy-handed police reaction - and to find out how Brown's killing sparked something bigger, exposing tensions that have been bubbling beneath the surface for years. When we made the call on August 12 to go to Ferguson, we thought we might be too late to cover the story there. We couldn't get there until the following day — the fourth night of protests over the killing of Michael Brown and after three nights of militarised responses by local law enforcement. The reason why we decided to go is because we were seeing the same kinds of images that we had seen at previous events that had developed into something big. We covered the protests in Anaheim, California, during the summer of 2012, which followed the killing of two unarmed young Latino men by police officers. It was a similar kind of scenario where there was military-style force being used in the streets. Armoured personnel carriers, SWAT teams and high-powered rifles were on display. We thought that this was going to develop into a situation that would kind of spiral. And sure enough, it did. We had heard very little about Ferguson, and I had never been to St. Louis. For Fault Lines, we've covered a lot of stories similar to this across the United States. But it wasn't until we got on the ground that we started to hear about Ferguson's legacy of what was referred to as “economic segregation”. We heard many young men say that they had far more friends who had gone to jail than had gone to college. In this community, the unemployment rate for young black males between the ages of 16 and 24 is reportedly approaching 50 percent. It wasn't until we got on the ground that we started to hear about Ferguson's legacy of what was referred to as “economic segregation”. We heard many young men say that they had far more friends who had gone to jail than had gone to college. The way that law enforcement plays into that in this part of Missouri seemed as problematic as anywhere I've been in the United States. Despite being a majority black community, out of 55 officers in the local police force more than 50 are white. African-Americans account for nearly 90 percent of the stops, searches and arrests by local police. And while I wouldn’t dare compare my experience to what residents of that community have endured for decades, while trying to cover the events of the last 10 days or so, we have seen a lack of transparency and surprising level of aggression on the part of the police. It’s a circumstance that other journalists we spoke to in Ferguson echoed. When we arrived in town, the protest we found that Wednesday afternoon was pretty calm. So it was a very surprising set of decisions on the part of the police that led to a militarised response, complete with tear gas, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets. We were with a group of peaceful demonstrators throughout the afternoon. Women, children and families had assembled in the neighbourhood where Michael Brown was shot asking for justice, asking for their message to be heard and basically raising awareness about what's been going on in their community. We saw nothing in the realm of weapons or violence on the part of the protesters. At around 6pm the police showed up in riot gear and ordered those assembled to disperse. The crowd — I’d say it was a few hundred, not a huge number of people — was blocking the street and preventing traffic from flowing. But this is not a major urban centre, it's a street through a neighbourhood. To see riot police turn up was mildly disconcerting. But then we spotted armoured vehicles rolling down the street. We saw three heavily armoured trucks; two of them had ballistic armour designed to withstand high-powered weapon fire. It was at dusk that the police started to advance. The spark was the sound of a breaking glass bottle. We didn't see anybody throw anything up to that point. In fact, some in the crowd told us later that they'd seen a police vehicle run over a bottle that was lying on the street. Immediately police officers were putting on gas masks and getting ready for what was the predictable next step: escalation of force and the firing of tear gas. It was one of the most intense, militarised police responses that I've seen — and I have covered protests like this across the United States and internationally. It felt, and looked, like a war zone. More alarming was that we saw officers firing tear gas canisters down side streets into communities. It seemed indiscriminate. It was extremely scary to be in the middle of it. As a journalist, you like to think that you're not part of the intended target. But journalists that evening were arrested and shot at and gassed, and we were no different. We got a throat full of tear gas, and it was excruciatingly painful. But it was nothing compared with what happened to some of the protesters. By that point, there was a small number of people in the crowd throwing projectiles back at the police. They told us they felt like they were under attack, and that it was hard to stop themselves from fighting back. You have a situation in Ferguson where there's a community that feels oppressed and unfairly targeted by the police. And now they were being shot at and killed. Most disconcertingly, we heard from many in the crowd that this style of policing was not particularly surprising to them. That’s tragic, when you take a step back and think about it. During our four days in Ferguson, we spoke to families, community leaders and activists — we heard from the full spectrum of voices in the community. So whether that's the state senator that we interviewed or the head of the local chapter of the NAACP or a longtime community activist who'd been organising for decades in that part of Missouri, all of them had facts and figures to back up what we were hearing from the young black males who were the most angry of the voices that we heard. The overall assessment was universally similar: things were completely out of control. You have a situation in Ferguson where there's a community that feels oppressed and unfairly targeted by the police. And now they were being shot at and killed. Michael Brown was the case in point. The way that the police treated the media lent credence to what the members of the community told us. Many of our interactions with law enforcement — and I know this is true for other colleagues in the field and those from other news organisations — were incredibly frustrating. There was very little transparency and very little accountability that you could get for any of the decisions being made. Officers would refuse to talk to us when events were unfolding. Even when we would ask for their senior commander or a representative who could talk to the press, access was denied. We saw police officers covering up their badges, refusing to identify themselves to media. These are public servants whose job it is to serve and protect a community and also to be transparent and allow the media to document what’s happening. But journalists were being actively prevented from doing their work, whether by being intentionally fired at with tear gas and rubber bullets, being arrested, or simply being stonewalled by media officers. We were wrong when we thought we deployed too late. The story in Ferguson is still developing — in fact, it may just be beginning.

Capital of Kentucky, Frankfort (population 27,741) was founded in 1786. The community is located on a double curve of the Kentucky River, which played an important role in the success of Frankfort as a viable business center. Frankfort was a hub of commerce and trade for the central Kentucky area during the 19th century. When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Kentucky was torn apart by conflicting loyalties. Officially a neutral State, brother often fought against brother as Kentucky supplied approximately 100,000 troops to the North and 40,000 troops to the South. Frankfort was briefly occupied by Confederate forces, making it the only State capitol so occupied. Frankfort celebrates its Civil War heritage by participating in the week-long Civil War Heritage Trail, a series of interpretive events and activities in several central Kentucky communities. The city further promotes heritage tourism through self-guided and escorted tours of historic sites. The city also is working to revitalize its downtown. In partnership with Downtown Frankfort, the local Main Street organization, the city has recently implemented streetscape improvements that eliminated an outdated pedestrian mall, which both helped local businesses and reopened an important historic viewshed from the Old State Capitol (1830). Historic photographs were used to determine historic streetscape features. The city has also spent $540,000 in façade improvement grants. Other ongoing preservation projects include renovation of the Grand Theatre (1928), which will bring a needed entertainment component to the downtown retail mix, and restoration of the fountain on the lawn of the Old State Capitol.

New Voices for Research: How Clean is Your Air? Yesterday, Sarah wrote about how removing lead from gasoline decreased air pollution and improved health. While lead is no longer a threat, there are still plenty of chemicals in the air. Interested to see how your city and state are doing? Check out this project by the American Lung Association, which details (and grades!) cities and counties based on ozone and particle pollution. Based in the DC metro area, I knew New Voices probably weren't breathing the cleanest possible air, but it's interesting to compare our air to the city immediately next to ours and see notable differences. How did your city do? And if you live in a failing area (as I do), what are you going to do about it? With continued investment in research and the work at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other government agencies, we can continue to find the answers we need to improve the quality of air we breathe.

Federal forecasters are expected to confirm on Monday what the energy industry already knows: Oil production is surging in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is likely to raise by a substantial amount its existing estimate that U.S. oil production will grow by 550,000 barrels per day by 2020, to just over six million barrels daily. The forecast will include new production data from developing oil fields, including the Bakken shale area in North Dakota, which could hold as much of 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil. North Dakota's output of oil and related liquids topped 500,000 barrels per day in November, meaning that the state pumped more oil than Ecuador. In fact, U.S. oil production grew faster than in any other country over the last three years and will continue to surge as drillers move away from natural gas due to a growing gas glut, experts say. The glut has sent natural-gas prices to a 10-year low. The three oil giants will post billions more in profits than they did in the fourth quarter of 2010, thanks to higher oil prices.

Homeopathy was developed in the late 1700 by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann.Today it is the second most widely used system of medicine worldwide, according to WHO (World Health Organisation). Homeopathy is different from Naturopathy and is a unique method of healing. Homeopathic medicines regulate the self healing process. It will strengthen the immune system to protect you from illness and is supportive in the treatment of chronic illness. It contains well over 4000 proven remedies and is an entire and unique system of healing. It treats every case individually, i.e. if several patients present with peptic ulcer, they would get different remedies suiting their personality. Emotional problems such as anxiety, anger, grief, insecurity, low self esteem and depression. Essential to effective Homeopathic consultation is the information you provide. Intensive questioning is required about your symptoms and what makes them better or worse. Questions about diet, sleep, lifestyle seasonal and other relevant aspects to the problem may be asked. Your emotional nature will be discussed. For chronic or ongoing problems a first consultation can take up to 1,5 hours as a complete health history of your person is taken. For acute conditions the consultation can be shorter. Follow up consultations are recommended to assess which symptoms have changed and if required, how to continue treatment. Follow up consultations can by done by skype or phone.

space agency, which had provided cryogenic engines earlier, is in a position now to do the same given that it has stopped the production of these engines. This leaves ISRO with two options: continue to develop the cryogenic technology; or, continue to rely on outside support for launching satellites. India has 30-year-old relationship with the French space agency Ariane. Since 1981, Ariane has been launching Indian satellites and could even be called as the unsung hero of India’s INSAT programme. Till date it has launched 14 satellites for India, and will launch the GSAT-10 as well in 2012. At this point it is important for India’s strategic and technological decision makers to take note of two recent events: the success of satellite technology in Operation Geronimo to kill Osama bin Laden and the failure of India’s satellite architecture to identify the location of the accident site of the helicopter carrying the Arunachal Chief Minister. Bin Laden’s killing clearly demonstrates the relevance of satellite technology in the era of asymmetric warfare. On the other hand, India missing the signature of the crashed helicopter brings to the fore the limitations of this technology while at the same time raising questions about the quality of India’s sensor technology and satellite imagery interpretation expertise. Presently, the security situation in India’s neighbourhood has become extremely complicated and Indian security agencies are likely to depend more on satellite technologies for the purposes of reconnaissance, communication and navigation. Each of the three Services needs dedicated satellites to cater for its requirements. ISRO was expected to launch a satellite for the Indian Navy in 2011. What is the future of this launch? Will ISRO’s plans, “to go back to the drawing board”, have any impact on India’s security preparedness? If so, does India have a Plan B in place?

Complexity and social evolution have dominated discussions of Mesolithic burial for the past few decades. In these, both power and society have been framed narrowly, resulting in accounts that do not realize the full potential of the archaeological evidence. If power is expanded beyond ideas of ranking, and society expanded to include non-humans, we can consider not only the effects of powerful individuals, but the power of death, of human and animal body parts, and of places in the landscape. Chantal Conneller is a senior lecturer in Early Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Manchester. Her current research interests include technology and materials and human-animal relations, in particular the processing and transformation of human and animal bodies. In recent years she has undertaken fieldwork on Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic sites in Yorkshire, East Anglia and the Channel Islands and she currently co-directs excavations at the Mesolithic site of Star Carr.

A group of Republicans attending a GOP event. The origins of political nicknames and the meaning behind them can easily get lost in the mists of history, making it difficult to remember the subject of the name. The GOP moniker for the Republican Party is an even more confusing one, since it was originally used by Southern Democrats. Today, however, the Grand Old Party sobriquet belongs firmly to the Republicans. GOP became attached to the Republican Party following an editorial in the Chicago Tribune, after the 1888 election of a Republican president and majority of Congress. The writer proclaimed his gratitude that “under the rule of the Grand Old Party,” progress stymied by Democrat Grover Cleveland’s term of office would resume. However, as the National Federation of Republican Women notes on their website, the term "gallant old party" may have preceded this as early as 1875.

Making the effort to communicate with sensitivity across cultures delivers big dividends. Taking the time to understand others, and learn about their culture is critical to organizational growth and global branding. The following checklist presents basic guidelines for improving interaction with multicultural audiences. Study Your Own Culture – Know your own customs, biases, and views, and know how they differ from those in other societies. This knowledge can help you better understand and accept the values of other cultures. Learn About Other Cultures – Education helps to alter cultural misconceptions, and reduce fears. Such knowledge prepares you to expect and embrace differences. Curb Ethnocentrism – Avoid judging others based on your personal views. Try to develop an open mind, and get over the view that other cultures are defective and primitive. Avoid Judgmentalism – Strive to accept other behaviors as different, rather than right or wrong. Strive for objectivity, and avoid justifying your culture. Look Beyond Stereotypes – Remember people are not always the same as their cultural stereotype. Probe beneath the surface and reject preconceptions. Seek Common Ground – When cultures clash, look for solutions that respect both cultures. Be flexible in proposing compromises. Observe Nonverbal Cues in Your Culture – Become more astute to the meanings of eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, and the use of time. KNOW HOW THEY DIFFER IN OTHER CULTURES. Encourage Accurate Feedback – Ask probing questions and listen attentively without interrupting. Don’t assume that a smile, and at times a yes indicates understanding.

The first Q&A in the DRMCCA internship series is with Giordano, currently interning with the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC) in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Read more about the work he’s been doing, and about his unique experience working in the direct aftermath of disaster. Hey! My name is Giordano Margaglio, I am 23 years old and I am from Rome, Italy! More than one year ago I started an amazing journey in Lund with the MSc in DRR & CCA, and now I am about to complete the third semester of the programme. So far this has been an amazing experience. At the moment I find myself in Banda Aceh, a city in the north of Sumatra, Indonesia. I arrived here two months ago, and I am going to stay until early December for an internship at the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC). In 2004, due to the terrible Indian Ocean tsunami, both the city and the region suffered an impressive amount of destruction and fatalities, which ranked Aceh as the most affected area from the disaster. For this reason, a number of professionals and scholars from the field gathered and decided to give birth to TDMRC, in order to raise awareness about the potential damages of natural hazards, make research in vulnerable areas, and enhance the resilience of a region which, due to its geographical position and proximity to the Ring of Fire, is very much exposed to many types of adverse geophysical events. As an intern, I get to work in many of the projects ongoing within the organization, ranging from international workshops and seminars to local field trips and community activities. More specifically, I work with the Tsunami Mitigation cluster, whose focus is to devise strategies and measures to withstand this type of natural hazard. So far my internship has been great! To be honest before my arrival I did not know what to expect from this experience, as I was the first intern TDMRC ever received. However, as we started cooperating in the different activities, we found a great balance and harmony in every working situation. One of the things I enjoy the most is the fact of not having any “fixed commitments”, therefore each week I speak with my supervisor and decide together the tasks I am going to complete over the following timeframe. This gives freshness, versatility and flexibility to my experience, and additionally I get to learn many different things instead of just one. I can never get bored! So far, the most valuable moment has definitely been my field trip to Palu. Last September 28th, a terrible earthquake and tsunami struck Sulawesi Island, in central Indonesia, and in particular the cities of Palu and Donggala. TDMRC decided to send a team to assess the damages of the impact and collect valuable data for future research. At the beginning I was not allowed to join the team, given the difficulties of bringing a foreign intern in an affected area, as well as the governmental permits for conducting such type of research. However I really pushed for it, and eventually I managed to fly there two weeks after the event. In Palu, we spent one week performing field assessments, conducting in-depth interviews with the local community, analyzing the types of sediments left by the wave, drone mapping the affected areas and assessing structural damages to the critical infrastructures. Honestly, I believe this has been one of the most enriching experiences of my life. The very fact of witnessing first hand such level of destruction, speaking to the local households, and bringing my knowledge and expertise on the field, made me learn much more than many years on the books. Frankly speaking, as much as I love travelling and living in different contexts, the adaptation process in Aceh has not been as smooth as in my past experiences. This was mainly due to the very high degree of cultural difference of the region with the rest of the world. Aceh, indeed, is considered as a quite radical place in terms of religion and Islam, as Sharia is acknowledged as the first law. This prioritization raises a series of rules to respect and things to get used to, such as – for instance – the closing of every shop five times a day or the full coverage of certain parts of the body. However, after some time I got used to these little things, and now I fully appreciate and make the most out of this great cultural difference. Do you see this internship fitting in with your DRMCCA studies or future professional ambitions? How so? I truly believe this internship has been a critical step in my educational process. Ever since I started, I continuously encounter concepts or tools which we have been discussing in class over the past year, and I get to apply them in a practical and useful context. At the same time, I am discovering many other notions and mechanisms underpinning the DRM world, and I am sure they will be very useful as soon as I’ll start my professional career. Additionally, over the past two months I met a number of practitioners, professionals and researchers in the field with whom I had a chance to discuss and connect with. I believe networks are one of the most critical things in life to realize any aspiration. Now, thanks to this internship, I have one as well. To conclude, I just would like to say that before getting to Indonesia I was supposed to conduct my internship somewhere else in the world, but that opportunity ended up falling through and not working out. I thought this would represent a great downside for my education in Lund, and that I was going to settle for something below my ambitions. As it turns out, this has been one of the greatest experiences of my entire life, and I could have not have learned as much anywhere else in the world. Therefore, for all of you who will live a moment of struggle during your internship quest – and trust me, that moment will come – just be as open and flexible as you can to any possibility or opportunity you get.

by English Translation & Commentary By: Jankinath Kaul "Kamal" The Narayaniya section of the epic Mahabharata (vide Santiparva, Chapters 334-351) seems to be the earliest systematisation of Vaisnavism. Other sources are: Bhagavadgita, Visnupurana, Bhagavata, Pancaratra and Vaikhanasa Agamas and Bhaktisutras of Narada and Sandilya. The basic structure of Vaisnavism as revealed in some of the earliest sources like the Narayana advocated the supremacy of Visnu-Narayana as God and bhakti or devotion to him as the chief means of moksa or liberation. However, different ways of expounding it by the various acaryas (religious teachers) gave rise, in course of time to different sects and subsects of Vaisnavism. They were the earliest Vaisnava teachers known to history. They belonged to Tamil Nadu and lived probably during the period 2nd to the 8th century A. D. Among them were saints from all castes and included a woman (Godadevi) also. Alvars taught that Visnu-Narayana was the Supreme God and bhakti or devotion to him was the means of liberation. They accepted the avataras (incarnations) of Visnu such as Rama and Krishna and advocated the importance of arca or ritualistic worship with the strong faith that God descends into the icon in a subtle form during the worship. To Ramanuja, the Brahman or Isvara of Vedanta is actually Narayana (or Visnu) inseparably associated with Sri or Laksmi. Narayana creates the world with his twofold prakrti (basic nature), the acit (insentient matter) and the cit (sentient beings, the jivas or individual souls). He sustains it and, at the end of a cycle, withdraws it. Sri or Lakshmi is his divine consort, the personification of his compassion. She intervenes with Narayana on behalf of the jivas and gets them what they want, including liberation. Bhakti or devotion to both of them is the chief means of liberation. Since Ramanuja gives equal importance to Sri (or Laksmi) along with Visnu-Narayana, his system is known as Srivaisnavism. From this philosophy of devotion to Visnu evolved the various corollaries such as ritualistic worship and devotional singing, giving rise to a regular movement of saints of devotion. Nimbarka's philosophy is known as Dvaitadvaita. Parabrahma or God is Krishna. He is the supreme independent reality. The jivatmas (individual souls) are infinite in number and are atomic in size. Prakrti is insentient nature out of which the world is made. The jivas and prakrti are dependent realities ever inseparable from Parabrahman. The relationship between them is like that of the sea and the waves or the sun and its rays. Bhakti or devotion to Krishna along with Radha, surrender to them and obedience to the guru of spiritual teacher are the chief means of liberation. Nimbarka was the first Vaisnava teacher to introduce Radha as Krishna-sakti or divine consort. Though ordained by a monk of the Ramanuja sect of Vaisnavism, Ramananda deviated from it in advocating devotion to Rama as the best means of liberation and initiated persons of all castes into his cult. Kabir (A. D. 1440-1518), barber Sena (of Maharashtra) and Padmavati, a woman, were among his group of disciples. Tulasidas (A. D. 1532-1623) was a follower of Ramananda's path of devotion. He succeeded to a great extent in spreading Vaisnavism with Rama as the central deity. Prominent among the leaders of the Bhakti movement of the Middle-Ages, Kabir (supposed to be a Muslim) was a disciple of Ramananda. Devotion to Rama, ignoring the many social conventions, was the path he accepted and preached. In course of time his followers formed a separate sect in his name and came to be known as Kabirpanthis. Originally hailing from the Telugu country (the present Andhra Pradesh) Vallabha settled down in Vrndaban. He was not only a great scholar but also a great devotee. He further strengthened the movement of Krishnabhakti. Himself remaining a householder he preached an easy path of worship of and total surrender to Krishna. Like Ramananda he too accepted disciples from all castes and even from other religions. His disciples were responsible for building temples of Krishna and spreading the sect. Pustimarga ('path of spiritual nourishment') which advocates the path of total self-surrender to God receiving proper initiation from a qualified guru is Vallabha's special contribution. Caitanya or Srikrishna Caitanya, who hailed from Bengal, is another bright jewel shining brilliantly among the leaders of Vaisnavism. Though an unrivalled scholar, especially in logic, revelling in defeating other scholars, he was totally transformed into an equally unrivalled devotee of Krishna, by Isvarapuri, a samnyasin of the Madhva Order. Group-singing of devotional songs on Krishna and dancing in his name generally called Sankirtan are his contribution. He propagated a philosophy known as Acintyabhedabheda and tried to wipe off caste distinctions in the name of Krishna. His followers consider him a combined incarnation of Radha and Krishna.

MANHATTAN — What is typically a sea of T-shirts and blue jeans was replaced by green-and-brown military fatigues in the classroom of Stefan Bossmann, professor of chemistry at Kansas State University. Bossmann recently opened K-State's organic chemistry teaching lab to 30 soldiers with the U.S. Army's 172nd Chemical-Biological-Radiological-Nuclear Company at Fort Riley. The soldiers, from the company's 2nd and 3rd Platoons, met for a day of basic training in organic chemistry. The soldiers, who specialize in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection and decontamination on the battlefield, learned the fundamental principles of organic chemistry through hands-on experiments involving recrystallization, distillation and extraction methods — including extracting caffeine from tea. Through basic exercises, the time in the lab with Bossmann could prove invaluable in combat, 2nd Lt. Andrew Owens, the 2nd Platoon leader, said. "One thing that has happened while in Afghanistan and Iraq is that we'll find clandestine labs, and we don't know whether the labs are used to manufacture explosives or drugs, or whether they are just a high school chemistry setup," Owens said. "By working with the different instruments and glassware, and doing these extraction methods in this training, these soldiers can perhaps be more familiar with how to get an appropriate sample from a setup they find, and how to go about getting a sample of a more pure product," said 2nd Lt. Keith Byers, the 3rd Platoon leader. From there, Byers said the sample could be given to experts at a civilian lab who could tell military personnel exactly what is being produced. Byers and Owens both have a bachelor's degree in science, but many of the soldiers serving in the Chemical Corps don't necessarily have a background in science, Owens said. For many soldiers, he said, being in the K-State classroom is the first time they've used actual laboratory equipment and conducted lab work since high school chemistry. The occasion also marked the first time military personnel had come to a K-State classroom for a training exercise. "We don't get this level of chemical training in the Army," Owens said. "K-State has all of the experts here on campus, and they're right next door to Fort Riley. It would be a shame not to utilize them." The training was spearheaded by Byers, who contacted Bossmann to see whether it could be done. "I was actually surprised that we didn't do this earlier; it was one of those ideas that was a really good one," Bossmann said. "K-State prides itself on working with the military, and since they contacted us, it shows that the relationship is working. "It's a very welcome change to teach a group that actually has a real interest in chemistry and will need that knowledge in the field or when they deploy," Bossmann said. "These soldiers may never extract caffeine again, but by just spending this time in the lab, they can become more familiar with what the processes are like and can consequently become more knowledgeable in their job," he said. Assisting Bossmann with the lab were David Villanueva, K-State senior in biology and pre-medicine, Baytown, Texas; Hongwang Wang, China, who is conducting postdoctoral work; and Sebastian Wendel, a visiting scientist from the University of Applied Sciences in Giessen, Germany.

Photochromic lenses are lenses that darken on exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Once the UV is removed (for example by walking indoors), the lenses will gradually return to their clear state. Photochromic lenses may be made of glass, polycarbonate, or another plastic.

When a problem as massive as substance abuse continues to rise, society requires more than one solution. There can’t be a blanket solution because substances affect people differently. Holistic addiction treatment is known to be successful in battling addiction and substance abuse. Holistic addiction treatment focuses on the concept of treating the entire person rather than merely their substance abuse problem. Holism teaches that each part of an individual is essential in its own way. If all parts of an individual are healthy, then the person as a whole can experience a happier and more fulfilling life. Many people who struggle with substance abuse fail to recognize or understand the self-destructive thoughts and behaviors that led to their problem. Holistic methods of treatment often involve various forms of counseling that can help provide insight into the reasons behind the problem. Holistic methods of treating substance abuse often involve therapeutic approaches that improve the person’s physical health. For example, exercise therapy and nutritional counseling can result in substantial health improvements over the long-term. Holistic approaches to substance abuse treatment also include stress management techniques. These techniques can prove essential for decreasing depression and teaching the individual to manage stress effectively. Effectively managing stress is one of the best ways to lower the risk of relapse. The techniques in use in holistic addiction treatment therapies can be highly effective. Quality holistic treatment centers provide a wide variety of diverse treatment protocols. There will be programs that target every part of the individual to ensure his overall well-being is of primary concern. There are benefits to both individual and group forms of therapy. On the one hand, group therapy provides opportunities to improve interpersonal and communication skills. Individual therapy often leads to the person being more comfortable about opening up regarding sensitive topics. Quality holistic treatment centers will provide access to both types of therapy for maximum benefits. Quality holistic treatment centers will have a vast array of experience behind their name. They will also have a high rate of success in providing treatment protocols that last a lifetime. They will also be more than happy to share these statistics with you if you ask for them. Quality holistic treatment centers also understand that effective treatment doesn’t end when the person leaves the facility. Effective treatment methods include careful follow-up care that lowers the risk of relapse down the line.

In arid ancient Israel, access to artesian wells made all the difference between prosperity, survival, or famine. Today, there are almost weekly accounts of the Israeli occupation forces destroying Palestinian wells, farms and orchards. Destroying wells, sources of life, is always a very effective enemy action, leaving aridity and poverty. Barbara Brown Taylor popularised this question: What is saving your life, right now? Prayer and scripture and communal worship is certainly part of it. But other things are keeping me alive too: long, slow, contemplative walks out of doors with my beloved collie Jake, my body getting into a rhythm of movement, my mind relaxing, still as a pool, until I am no longer thinking, but just being, and then suddenly a golden carp of thought pops up, unexpected and welcome. And travel, which is complete relaxation. My mind rests from conscious thought, planning, strategizing, worrying. I shrug off my to-do list, and my uneasy Puritan imperative of ambition and must-achieve. I am just am, and am purely happy and relaxed, wandering the streets of a beautifully preserved medieval town like Troyes, France, which we visited last week, just looking, or wandering aimlessly on the alpine meadows of Switzerland, to which we drove earlier this month. Blogging is saving my life, in that it pushes me to think, to observe, to express, to strive for beauty. But life has blocked up several life-giving wells for me, as for all of us. And I am opening up these wells. Before I married, I was a voracious reader. Reading was my escape from the world, and my greatest source of joy, and I felt I needed to be alone to really disappear into a book leaving the world behind me, and I found that hard while living with other people. I have been steadily reading less through the 23 years of our marriage, though I have recently re-launched a reading recovery programme—reading 1 page more each day than I did the day before, aiming to hit 45 pages a day, or a book a week. Concurrently, as a back-up plan since I have many books on the go, I aim to finish each book in 1 day less–30 days for book 1; 29 days for book 2, etc. This plan gets anyone to reading a book a week in 23 months. And with reading, I have lost other sources of joy. As a child, I loved myth and legend and fairy tales and children’s stories. Sadly, I have not read much in these genres as an adult, because, well, I was an adult and thought I should be reading serious, grown-up stuff. It’s strange that I didn’t realize that children’s stories and fairy tales and myths and legends were invented by adults, who were putting themselves back in touch with the sources of joy and delight. And we can step there with them, if we give ourselves permission to. On holiday earlier this month in Switzerland, Italy and France, it was as if God switched a switch on in my brain, and children’s stories poured out of me, two and three a day. And writing children fiction–ah bliss, gives me “permission” to read it. Poetry was something else I loved to read as a child, and the first genre I wrote in as an adult. My masters in creative writing was in poetry. But then, making the correct or incorrect assessment that I probably would not have a career as a poet, I gave it up in my late twenties. It is something else I would love to resume, first reading it exhaustively, then writing it. Our large garden was a huge source of joy as a child. I have a large garden now, even larger than my childhood garden, but in fact, though I write looking at it, it is hard to recover the habit of working in it consistently. I would like an extraordinary garden, and would love to make time to work in it every day, for an hour, like I used to. But I have made peace with the fact that when it comes to it, I prefer writing to gardening. So, since it is better to take just a few steps in the direction of one’s dreams than none at all—I am gardening just once every few days for now. What will re-open the wells of life and joy for us? What is saving your life now? Are there wells of joy which have closed for you? Tell us in the comments. Here are Stephen King’s answers to universal writerly questions. King does not bother about being cool in this book on writing. So he will tell you prescriptive things that cool writers wouldn’t. Read a lot. How much is a lot? I have kept lists of the books I’ve read each year since I was 12—and the most I’ve ever completed in a year was 62 (not counting academic books, which one reads rapidly, selectively). And probably another 25 or so on tape, on a good year for audiobooks. Of course, I am a promiscuous speed-reader, and buy many books (non-fiction or spiritual) with the intention of ripping the heart and marrow out of them, rather than reading every page. Well, Stephen King reads or listens to 70-80 books a year, including about a dozen audiobooks. How much should a writer write? How many words a day? Another uncool question. Well, King aims at 2000 words every morning, with revisions and reading in the evening. Some days he’s done by 11.30 a.m., some days by 1.30 p.m., and sometimes, rarely, it takes till tea. He keeps fit with long walks–well, until recently. His teacher asks him about an early attempt at Sci-fi, “What I don’t understand, Stevie, is why you’d write junk like this? You are talented. Why do you want to waste your abilities? He does three drafts, the first getting it all down fast; the last one closer to polishing. Second Draft= First Draft -10%. “On some days, the writing is a pretty grim slog. On others, I feel that buzz of happiness, that sense of having found the right words and put them in a line. It’s like lifting off in an airplane: you are on the ground, on the ground, on the ground… and then you’re up, riding on a magical cushion and prince of all you survey. That makes me happy because it’s what I was made to do. I love writing and blogging: watching something shapely, and sometimes beautiful, emerge from a jumble of thoughts. What helps then? Reading, reading a lot, ideally something like what I want to write, until the rhythm of words beats in my bloodstream, and ideas explode in my brain, and I yearn to get them out on the page. And what when it comes to prayer, and I feel numb, a lifeless thing without joy, or love, or thought? But I have made a commitment to pray, so pray I will. I now practice eucharisteo–giving thanks for all the beautiful and lovely things in the world, and in my life. I give thanks, and give thanks while the plane of my emotions slowly slides down the runway, and inches into the blue, sunny skies of praise and joy.

Last night i notice the moon was different from normal moon, and i dont know that its a wolf moon.. and then wen i try to reserch about the wolf moon its much interesting than the normal full moon tho we always saw the full moon but some of them are normal and the wolf moon have some meaning. Last night, there’s set to be a rare “” from 9:36 p.m. EST to 3:30 a.m. EST. Despite the werewolf undertones of its name, a “super blood wolf moon” is not as spooky as it sounds. Really, a “super blood wolf moon” is just a LUNAR ECLIPSE that occurs on the first full moon of the year — but it’s still a powerful, TRANSFORMATIVE time. The night of Jan. 21 is a big one for anyone who’s interested in the cycles of the moon. On that night, we’ll get a glimpse of the first full moon of the year, and it’s going to be a special one: it’s also a total lunar eclipse, making it a Super blood moon (meaning, the moon will appear to have a red tint due to the shadowing caused by the lunar eclipse). If the sky is clear, this exciting lunar event will be visible to everyone in the Northern, Central, and Southern Hemispheres, and it’s not something you want to miss out on. But whether you get a glimpse of this moon or not, one thing is for sure: it’s going to have some sort of effect on you, and it’s better if you know exactly what that is. The moon will affect some more than others. The light coming through Earth is heavily filtered, with our atmosphere taking much of the brunt of filtering the light hitting the day side. When it gets to the thickest parts of the atmosphere, only the red band is “long” enough to make it through, with yellow and blue absorbing into the atmosphere. This effect gives the moon its reddish tint during an eclipse. WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR THAT? Staring at the moon is not like staring at the sun. THE ECLIPSE IS DIFFERENT FROM FULL MOON? Not really, but that term, as metal as it sounds, comes from astrologers and conspiracy theorists. Everyone uses the term, but it doesn’t mean anything scientifically. Some Christian theorists have long associated Blood Moons with a bad omen and end of time prophecies found in the Bible’s Book of Joel and the Book of Revelations.

The only vegetable that makes you cry, happens to be an important source of quercetin, an antioxidant, that boosts the immune system. Antioxidants scavage unhealthy particles in the blood stream, known as free radicals that damage cells membranes, and tamper with DNA. Consuming onions on a regular basis has beneficial effects against adverse health conditions, such as cancer, asthma, allergies, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Onions are high in vitamin C, provide a good source of dietary fiber, and folic acid. They contain calcium and iron, are low in sodium, and have no fat. The quercetin and phytochemicals in onions inhibit the growth of breast, ovarian, bladder, colon, gastric, and lung cancer. Quercetin is a potent anti-inflammatory helpful for managing rheumatoid arthritis. Onions have antiviral and antibiotic properties. The quercetin found in onions raises good cholesterol (HDL). Yellow onions are white on the inside, and have a strong, pungent flavor. The have a brown papery outer skin. Red onions are white on the inside., and have a mild to sweet flavor. They have a dark red papery outer skin. White onions are white on the inside, and have a milk flavor. They have a white papery skin. Examples of white onions are Walla Walla, and Vidalia.

Ants can be hard to control, there are so many of them and so many varieties. With big nests and a healthy appetite for plants, ants can be a real problem. Go pest is called upon many times to eliminate ants from around homes and in commercial applications. Call Go Pest when you see an ants nest around the yard. We can treat the nest and do a thorough inspection around your home and treat any other infestations and put in place a Go Pest management plan to keep your yard free of ants.

Credit cards are an easy way to manage your monthly expenses, and get through a day without having to carry much cash. But they can also be the gateway for all sorts of financial difficulties if you are not careful. 1. I can always pay this off when I graduate or find a better job. Ah, the power of wishful thinking. Daydreams are great ways to get through a boring afternoon at work but they are really lousy for money management. But this is typical of the lies that we tell ourselves when we dont want to face our credit card balances. That balance will only go away if you are honest with yourself, and take corrective action now. Every day that you delay the inevitable, its costing you more money, making it even more difficult to dig out of the financial hole that you are in. 2. I love shopping at this store anyway, why shouldnt I get a percentage off my purchases if I use their card? Each time that you open a new credit account with a retailer, an inquiry about your credit-worthiness is made with the credit bureaus, and if your credit is spotty, they may refuse to issue the card which the credit bureaus will view as a mark against your score. Plus, each new card that you acquire is viewed by the credit bureaus as an opportunity to overspend, and that counts against your credit rating as well. As long as you only pay the minimum each month, it will only be OK with the credit card companies, because they will be making as much money as possible on you from this decision. If you only pay the minimum, it will take years to pay down that balance and cost you many thousands of extra dollars to do so. Even if you can only afford to pay an extra $25 this month, pay it. The minimum is mostly applied to the finance charges and very little of it is allocated against the balance. This is a huge mistake and very common. Most of us are impulse buyers to one degree or another, and credit cards make it all too easy to indulge our whims. The problem here is that this is exactly how people who get into trouble with credit cards do it. We work hard at our jobs, why shouldnt we treat ourselves occasionally? Unless you are certain that you can you can pay off those treats in full next month, this is no treat at all, and its spending beyond your means. People slowly spend themselves into huge credit card debt one pair of shoes or one pricy lunch at a time. Unless you are ready to ask yourself, Is this a want or a need? Each time that you reach for the plastic, keep that card in you wallet. 5. My credit scores OK, it wont matter much if I miss this months payment. This is a catastrophic decision. It most definitely matters if you miss this months payment. 35% of your credit rating is based on the timely payment of bills. This is the single biggest factor that goes into determining your credit rating. If you blow off just one month, it will take you a few years of steady payment to recover from this one decision, and one missed payment opens the door to additional fees and skyrocketing interest rates that make it even harder to dig out. 6. I havent used this card in years, I will just call them and cancel it. On the surface, this seems like a wise thing to do. But, when you cancel a credit card, it lowers your debt to credit limit ratio which the credit bureaus view as an increased risk for default. This is yet another factor that can lower your credit rating making it harder to borrow money at a lower interest rate. If you do decide to cancel an old account that you never use, make sure that you request in writing that the lender lets the credit bureaus know that it was canceled voluntarily. Unless you do this, they will determine that the account was cancelled by the lender, which will adversely affect your credit rating. If you didnt get to the bank before close, you may need that cash now but bear in mind that once that ATM spits out your cash, the interest begins to accrue on that advance immediately and usually at a much higher rate. Also, you may be subject to different cash advance fees, and those charges add up quickly as well. ATMs are everywhere, and credit card companies love it when you use the cash advance option, because they can make even more money from cash. 8. If I lose my job, I can live on my credit cards for a month or two. If you find yourself out of work for any reason, this is a very tempting but altogether ruinous decision financially. If you are in a position where you cannot pay off the balance in full every month, you start the downward spiral of borrowing money to pay bills, and your short-term solution will end up costing you a lot more in the long-term. 9. Yeah, the interest rate is higher on this card but I love the perks. Bear in mind that, on average, only 1 cent of each dollar that you charge on your credit card will be applied towards your frequent flyer miles or whatever the rewards on your card may be. So, thats a 1% reward on a card with a 19% interest rate. Unless you spend a ton each month and pay your balance in full each month, you are much better off going with a card that offer no perks but has a much more agreeable interest rate. 10. I can always borrow against the value of my home to pay my credit cards. This is risky. Depending on your situation, it may look attractive to borrow against the equity that you have built up in your home to pay off high interest credit card balances. But if you go this route, you are one stroke of misfortune (car repair, illness, etc.) away from possibly losing your home. Thats a doom and gloom scenario, but it happens to people all the time. If you miss a payment on your home equity line of credit, not only does it give them the green light to hike your rates, it also sets in motion the possibility of foreclosure. I can always pay this off when I graduate or find a better job. Ah, the power of wishful thinking. Daydreams are great ways to get through a boring afternoon at work but they are really lousy for money management. But this is typical of the lies that we tell ourselves when we dont want to face our credit card balances. That balance will only go away if you are honest with yourself, and take corrective action now. Every day that you delay the inevitable, its costing you more money, making it even more difficult to dig out of the financial hole that you are in. I love shopping at this store anyway, why shouldnt I get a percentage off my purchases if I use their card? As long as I make the minimum payment, I will be OK As long as you only pay the minimum each month, it will only be OK with the credit card companies, because they will be making as much money as possible on you from this decision. Failing to consider wants vs. needs This is a huge mistake and very common. Most of us are impulse buyers to one degree or another, and credit cards make it all too easy to indulge our whims. The problem here is that this is exactly how people who get into trouble with credit cards do it. My credit scores OK, it wont matter much if I miss this months payment. This is a catastrophic decision. It most definitely matters if you miss this months payment. 35% of your credit rating is based on the timely payment of bills. This is the single biggest factor that goes into determining your credit rating. I havent used this card in years, I will just call them and cancel it. On the surface, this seems like a wise thing to do. But, when you cancel a credit card, it lowers your debt to credit limit ratio which the credit bureaus view as an increased risk for default. This is yet another factor that can lower your credit rating making it harder to borrow money at a lower interest rate. But I need this cash advance NOW If you didnt get to the bank before close, you may need that cash now but bear in mind that once that ATM spits out your cash, the interest begins to accrue on that advance immediately and usually at a much higher rate. If I lose my job, I can live on my credit cards for a month or two. If you find yourself out of work for any reason, this is a very tempting but altogether ruinous decision financially. If you are in a position where you cannot pay off the balance in full every month, you start the downward spiral of borrowing money to pay bills, and your short-term solution will end up costing you a lot more in the long-term. Yeah, the interest rate is higher on this card but I love the perks. Bear in mind that, on average, only 1 cent of each dollar that you charge on your credit card will be applied towards your frequent flyer miles or whatever the rewards on your card may be. I can always borrow against the value of my home to pay my credit cards. This is risky. Depending on your situation, it may look attractive to borrow against the equity that you have built up in your home to pay off high interest credit card balances. But if you go this route, you are one stroke of misfortune (car repair, illness, etc.) away from possibly losing your home.

In addition to a poor diet and lifestyle habits, how you live is likely another reason why you’re always feeling sluggish and sickly. According to a recent study, the high costs of housing are taking a toll on most Americans’ health, with 11 percent of U.S. households (or one in 10) feeling severely burdened and stressed. In the 2019 County Health Rankings, more than 800,000 homes spent at least 50 percent of their monthly earnings on housing alone. The poor health is notable in communities where housing costs are higher, as this makes them less likely to be able to afford healthy food or to buy the right amounts for nourishment. Areas with high mortgage rates and rents were also found to have higher child poverty rates. Between home owners who are still paying off their mortgages and those who are renting, it is latter who is more stressed because more of their income is delegated to rent. Race also appears to be a major factor in this difference, with black households having a median income of just $33,000, as opposed to white households which log $56,000. In fact, during the 2008 recession, it was the black homeowners who had it worse than white homeowners. As of the latest figures, around 120 million American households own homes (64 percent), while 36 percent rent. On average, those who rent have lower household incomes, and such people have limited savings and wealth. With nothing much to draw on, especially in times of emergencies, renters are heavily burdened by housing costs. This creates a domino effect that leads to poor health and food insecurity. The same study also warns that families that have a low income and spend over 50 percent of their income on housing are at risk of being homeless.

Air transport allows thousands of Canadians to connect with families and explore other parts of the world. It is also at the core of Canada’s economic future. To remain a leader in the aerospace industry and keep air travel safe and enjoyable for all Canadians, we need to invest in leading-edge technologies. Today, the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced the launch of the new Centre for Air Travel Research. The new centre, managed by the National Research Council of Canada, is the world’s first and only facility to study the air travel experience from start to finish; from check-in to terminal, to security, boarding, flying, and deplaning. All businesses involved in the air travel experience, including airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and cabin equipment and systems suppliers need the right research platforms and technologies to develop and test their solutions to real-world challenges. The Centre for Air Travel Research provides the aerospace industry with a flexible, collaborative space to develop, integrate, and evaluate aerospace technologies, systems and materials. With expertise across a wide range of disciplines, the National Research Council supports the aerospace industry in tackling various air travel challenges. Located next to the Ottawa International Airport, this unique facility will allow companies to evaluate a passenger’s complete air travel experience to improve safety, efficiency and comfort for Canadian travellers and visitors. In 2017, over 140 million passengers travelled through Canadian airports. Last year the aerospace industry made a significant contribution to Canada’s economy through more than 188,000 direct and indirect quality jobs and over $24.5 billion in gross domestic product. The Centre for Air Travel Research has five laboratories that simulate and study a passenger’s complete air travel experience.

We are all born with the ability to pay attention. Some of us better than others. People with ADHD don't have a lack or 'deficit' of attention; they have an inability to sustain and direct their attention at will. Attention is a skill that can be practiced and improved given the right tools. Play Attention uniquely allows you to see your attention on the computer screen. You can actually control the computer exercises by attention alone! Without this feature, you're simply guessing whether you're paying attention or not. Visual Processing is the brain's ability to see, analyze, and think with mental images. People with ADHD frequently have a very difficult time with visual processing as they only take in bits and pieces of data that they view. Play Attention teaches visual processing by specifically teaching pattern recognition governed by attention. Using BodyWave technology, you activate a visual sequence, analyze it, and then repeat it back to the computer which in turn offers you a more difficult sequence upon successful completion. Short-term memory or working memory is the ability to hold information in your mind while you simultaneously perform a mental operation or calculation. Students with short-term memory or working memory problems may need to have directions repeated or have problems following multi-step instructions, and quickly lose track of immediately pressing tasks. Auditory processing refers to the brain's ability to process, analyze, and comprehend incoming sounds, and information. This is a critical skill when working at the office or in the classroom. Play Attention features a terrific Auditory Processing game to enable you to follow multiple step instructions, follow a conversation with your spouse, and perform well in the classroom or workplace. Current research clearly demonstrates that the brain is always changing (adjusting our neural networks) due to learning and our environment. This process is termed neuroplasticity. Simply put, the brain constantly changes when we learn something new. The brain is an amazing instrument that also has the ability to compensate when it's not fully functioning. Play Attention students actually train themselves to control the conductor that controls attention! The brain will change if we instruct it to. This is the foundation of all teaching and learning from pre-school to post graduate. Heretofore, attention was nearly impossible to teach because it is not tangible - not something that is concrete like a pencil. Play Attention students can see their attention in real-time by controlling the computer screen with their attention alone. Now, attention is concrete and controllable. Play Attention allows students to practice attention until they master it. Play Attention also teaches them skills they don't have because of attention difficulties. Problems with organization, finishing tasks, filtering out distractions, watching the teacher, and memory are also addressed in Play Attention. We now understand that the brain communicates to its various component parts via networks. You may imagine them as being similar to the network that connects your computer to all other computers on the Internet. However, instead of metal wires, the brain's wiring is done by cells with long branches that reach out to other cells forming a chain that links to other portions of the brain. This "wiring" allows the brain to function. Among many other activities, neural networks allow us to be able to see, think, hear, and pay attention.

on the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming a big thing. His famous ability to forecast the evolution of emerging technology weaves a picture of sensors embedded in walls and doors and doorknobs. It makes today’s humble offerings – the likes of remote operation of your house security and appliances or fitness bands that connect to a mobile device and the cloud – seem kinda silly. Marc Andreessen stretches out that belief a little further with his opinion that cell phones will become obsolete. In his perspective a single point of contact such as a cell phone is a limiting vision. He conceptualizes that screens will pervade many more surfaces so much that having to carry your own electronic portal seems a bit ridiculous. That’s an intriguing perspective from an expert on the subject. Goodness knows that a home phone or a pay phone seems quite antiquated today; even paying for a phone call is becoming upended. It’s becoming possible to speak to anyone in the world with an Internet connection and a choice of free apps. So what happens to the countries …or continents … that are amassing mobile service by leaps and bounds but still lagging far behind? Are they going to be left even further behind …again? Will the technology gap drop those that can’t afford the latest and greatest? Africa for example doesn’t have as many mobile devices per capita as the rest of the world, but they do use mobile phones in the din of the more remarkable remote locations. Their mobile technology isn’t so much smart as functionally adaptive, performing the most cursory and vital functions, such as currency, in more creative ways than more technologically adapted regions. So how could it be possible this makes Africa a better candidate to take a technology leap than further advanced countries? Let’s looks at that. In 2008 Intel reported on their self-developed “Technology Metabolism Index” – a map of what countries adapt technology relative to economics. What they found was that those that “have” don’t necessarily beat out the “have nots” to adopting new technology. The United States had a relatively low index in consideration of the greater resources, access and availability of new technology. Intel’s Dawn Nafus, a Cambridge PhD, conducted the study in order to better determine the potential of emerging markets versus mature markets. Her team found a couple of surprises. The first is a bit counter-intuitive. Population size is actually a constraint on technology adoption, just the sheer number of connections between people seems to slow adoption. The research also supported that foreign direct investment, or how much money foreign firms pour into a country’s economy, can actually constrain how fast technology is adopted. Again, it’s not what you’d think, when more money usually portends resources and capabilities. So let’s look at another technology adaptor story – Colombia. For years, Colombia was known for illegal drug activity that held it hostage. By investing in technology growth its economy has tripled from what it was 10 years ago and its middle class has increased 50%. The country’s remarkable make over has attracted US businesses, increasing import from the US to Colombia by nearly 400% since 2003. Google, Facebook and Microsoft have established presence in country, and of course, Starbucks is there as well to fuel the creativity. The advances are attributed in great part to fostering entrepreneurship in tech hubs such Ruta N in Medellin and Bogoda’s HubBOG, a 5-year-old tech campus. These hubs are a common theme worldwide. According to the TMI index map, a case could be made for South America, Africa, Eastern Europe or the Far East to make Big Data a turn-around industry for any of these regions or countries within. The availability of Big Data is an inevitable global factor that grows exponentially continuously. Because it is ubiquitous and open source, in Africa or any of the other emerging regions, Big Data is a tremendous opportunity. Big Data is already deployed in multiple directions: competitive industry, government interest and non-government action. Where there is a will, there is a Big Data way. Training and deployment of all levels of Big Data tools are ubiquitous, given connectivity. Big Data has a relatively low cost of entry as well. Africa already has a healthy network of these centers. The number of technology centers in Africa has increased dramatically over the past couple of years. More than half of African countries have a technology hub and leader South Africa has nineteen. According to World Bank, more than half of African nations have at least one tech hub, totaling around 90. In 2014, investment in tech hubs has gone from $12 to $26 million. A wide variety of participants are needed to make Big Data work. The Big Data industry has an extreme shortage of data scientists and technicians. Even the occupation “data scientist” is actually not as straight forward as it would seem. This is opportunity to find a niche or create a new one. The volume, velocity and variety of data accumulating are a worldwide phenomenon. Perhaps it is relative size, but every person in every country is creating more and more streams of information. In the same thread, every business creates and has access to tremendous amounts of data, but who uses it varies greatly. It’s not a necessity now for entity differentiation, but it is rapidly becoming so. Those that don’t adapt to utilizing Big Data will get left behind – corporation or country. We are in a global economy ecology as well. In a post 9/11 world, we can’t leave others behind and hope for the best. We’ve got to create the rising tide to lift all boats. Bring on the Big Data.

Los Angeles is truly a global metropolis, with a mosaic of cultures from around the world spanning its neighborhoods. For centuries, the city has welcomed a myriad of religions - some of LA's most historic and important buildings are houses of worship. Read on for landmark religious buildings and sacred spaces in Los Angeles. The majestic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (COLA) rises 11 stories above Temple Street, a short walk from Grand Park and the Music Center. Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Rafael Moneo, the state-of-the-art building is renowned for its Modernist look. The cathedral opened to the public in 2002, the first Roman Catholic Church to be built in the western United States in 30 years. Famed sculptor Robert Graham created the cathedral's massive bronze doors and the 8-foot statue, Our Lady of the Angels, which stands above them. Natural light floods the cathedral interior, thanks to 33,500 square feet of alabaster windows, the largest single use in the world. The Mausoleum features Baroque Revival-style stained glass windows, while the Meditation Garden offers a serene place to rest. COLA is a favorite gathering place for the Latino community of Los Angeles, and is also the official chair of L.A.’s Mexican-born Archbishop, José Horacio Gómez. The cathedral hosts a full schedule of events during Holy Week. On Easter Sunday, celebrate Mass at 7:30am and 10am - the latter will be streamed live online. Domingo de Pascua (Spanish) and a bilingual Mass follow at 1pm and 3pm, respectively. The parish church in the Plaza Historic District of Downtown LA, La Placita Church was founded as La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de Los Ángeles ("The Church of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels") on Aug. 18, 1814. The structure was completed and dedicated on Dec. 8, 1822. A replacement chapel, named La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (“The Church of Our Lady of the Angels") was rebuilt in 1861 using materials from the original church. La Placita Church was one of the first three sites designated as Historic Cultural Monuments by the City of Los Angeles, and has been designated as a California Historical Landmark. 535 N Main St, Downtown L.A. Founded in 1912, Koyasan Beikoku Betsuin (aka Koyasan Buddhist Temple) is one of the oldest existing Buddhist temples in the North American mainland. The temple is a branch of the Koyasan Shingon Buddhism and is the North American regional headquarters. Japanese art and religious objects, such as Buddha statues and stone lanterns, are displayed in the entryway. The altar inside the temple contains decorative objects of Buddhist symbols such as twin mandalas, scrolls and banners. Open daily to visitors, the temple hosts a wide range of weekly and monthly services, activities and cultural festivals. The temple is also home to Boy Scout Troop 379, which was formed in 1931 and is one of the oldest troops in California. Star Trek icon and gay rights activist George Takei was one of the troop's members. In 1912, the temple established its first location in a storefront near Elysian Park. The temple was moved in 1920 to a larger building on Central Avenue. To commemorate the move, a tree was planted by temple members in front of the new building. Today it's known as the Aoyama Tree, a Little Tokyo landmark - the Japanese American National Museum stands at the temple's second location. The temple's third and current building was built on East 1st Street in 1940. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor a year later, the new temple was closed while its members were forcibly relocated to internment camps. During World War II, the temple was mostly used for storage space for internees. When it reopened in 1946, the temple had to rebuild its congregational base after families and residents of Little Tokyo were scattered outside Los Angeles. Located in historic Chinatown, Thien Hau Temple is a Taoist temple dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea and the patron saint of sailors, fishermen, and those whose cultures are associated with the ocean. Shrines at the temple venerate Mazu, Guan Yu (god of war) and Fu De (god of the earth). The temple building was originally a Christian church that was purchased in the 1980s and transformed into a small Taoist temple. Following two years of construction, a larger temple was completed next door in September 2005. The temple was officially dedicated on March 25, 2006. Known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, Wilshire Boulevard Temple is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles. The current Wilshire Boulevard Temple opened in 1929, joining other significant places of worship in the Wilshire Center district. The temple's Sanctuary building was designed by architect Abram M. Edelman, the son of the congregation's first rabbi, Abraham Edelman. Over the years, the temple has welcomed everyone from the Dalai Lama to the LA Phil. The Moorish-style building was designated a City of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in March 1973 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in December 1981. Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the massive Byzantine revival dome is 100 feet in diameter, with its top at 135 feet above the street. The Warner Memorial Murals were painted by Hugo Ballin, who also painted murals at the Griffith Observatory, LAC-USC Medical Center, and the former Los Angeles Times building. Commissioned by the Warner brothers, the founders of their namesake movie studio, the murals depict key moments in Jewish history and measure 320 feet long and 7 feet high. Considered among the finest examples of stained glass in the country, the triple lancet windows on the east and west walls were funded by MGM co-founder, Louis B. Mayer. Tours of the historic Sanctuary are available by appointment only. Contact the tours department at 213.835.2195. Founded in 1872, First African Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest church in Los Angeles founded by African Americans. The church was established under the sponsorship of Biddy Mason - an African American nurse, real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist - and her son-in-law, Charles Owens. The organizing meetings were held in Mason's home on Spring Street, and she donated the land on which the first church was built. First AME has grown to a congregation of more than 19,000 members and several dozen ministries within 13 corporations. The current church is located in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of the historic West Adams district. It was designed by renowned African American architect, Paul R. Williams in 1968. Located in the historic West Adams District, the Peace Awareness Labyrinth & Gardens (PALG) is a nonprofit spiritual center that opened in 2002. PALG was founded by, and is the headquarters and learning center of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), a non-denominational, ecumenical church. Visitors are invited to "unwind the mind" by walking the stone labyrinth, modeled after the famous Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France. The Asian-themed meditation garden features 16 water fountains, a koi pond and several intimate seating areas for reflection and meditation. Docents are available to give tours of the historic Guasti Villa, built in 1910-14 by Secundo Guasti, an Italian immigrant whose namesake Southern California winery was at one time the largest in the world. The grand villa was designed by the architectural firm of Hudson & Munsell (Frank Dale Hudson and William A.O. Munsell), renowned for landmark buildings such as the original 1913 Building of the Natural History Museum, and Fire Station No. 23 (featured in the original Ghostbusters). The mansion was declared a Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Monument in 1990. Founded on Sept. 8, 1797, Mission San Fernando Rey de España was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish missions established in Alta California, the region that included the modern states of California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. Named for Saint Ferdinand and located in the community of Mission Hills, the mission is the namesake of the San Fernando Valley and the nearby city of San Fernando. The mission was secularized in 1834 and returned to the Catholic Church in 1861. It became a working church in 1920. Today the mission grounds function as a museum. The church is a chapel-of-ease (a church building other than the parish church) of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The Convento Building, known for its iconic arched portico or colonnade, was built between 1808 and 1822 and is the mission's only remaining original building. It was the largest adobe building in California and the largest original building at any of the California missions.The Convento Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The San Fernando Mission Cemetery is the final resting place of notable figures such as entertainer Bob Hope and his wife Dolores, singer Ritchie Valens, and actor William Frawley. One of the largest Buddhist temples in the Western Hemisphere, Hsi Lai Temple is a mountain monastery located on a 15-acre site in Hacienda Heights. Spanning more than 102,000 square feet, the temple was completed in 1988 after a ten-year planning and construction process. The temple's architecture, gardens and statuary are modeled after ancient Chinese monasteries from the Ming and Ching dynasties. Meaning "coming to the West," Hsi Lai is affiliated with Fo Guang Shan, a Buddhist organization from Taiwan. The temple serves as a spiritual and cultural center for those interested in learning more about Buddhism and Chinese culture. A wide range of classes and retreats that promote Humanistic Buddhism are offered at Hsi Lai, including an extended retreat program for those who want to experience monastic life for a longer period of time. There are also recurring monthly services and annual ceremonies. A vegetarian lunch buffet is served daily to visitors. Self-guided and weekend guided tours are available. The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine is tucked away on a lush, ten-acre site in the Pacific Palisades a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Founded by Paramahansa Yogananda in 1950, the Lake Shrine offers a lakeside meditation garden with shrines and waterfalls, a hilltop temple with weekly services and meditations, a retreat for silent renewal, and an ashram for Self-Realization Fellowship monks. The Mahatma Gandhi World Peace Memorial is a "wall-less temple" that features a thousand-year-old stone sarcophagus from China, which holds a portion of Gandhi's ashes in a brass and silver coffer. Less well-known than the Lake Shrine, the Self-Realization Fellowship International Headquarters is located northeast of Downtown LA at the top of Mount Washington. Originally opened in 1909 as the Mount Washington Hotel, the "Mother Center" is the administrative center of the SRF headquarters. The public is invited to wander the grounds, which include gardens, meditation areas and babbling brooks. The exquisite Wayfarers Chapel (aka “The Glass Church”) is located in Rancho Palos Verdes, situated on cliffs above the Pacific Ocean. Architect Lloyd Wright, son of the legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, conceived of Wayfarers Chapel as a “tree chapel,” a natural sanctuary set in the middle of a forest. Lloyd Wright’s design is regarded as one of the foremost examples of Organic Architecture, which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. A popular wedding venue because of its spectacular design and location, the Wayfarers Chapel was featured prominently on The O.C. and appeared in other TV series like 90210.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is an absolutely terrible skin disease. The cause of the disease is unknown. It is a chronic condition, meaning that the disease lasts for a long time or recurs often instead of getting better. This disease is a pus-like inflammation of the sweat glands. The sweat glands involved are not all of the sweat glands on a person but just the “apocrine” sweat glands. Those glands are located in the armpit area, the external genitalia and perianal area (to name a few). The result of the blocked glands include: blackheads; bumps; lumps and sores. The blackheads are the least of the problems which hidradenitis suppurativa causes. The bumps can be painful and when enlarged can break open. When the lumps break open, often they leak pus with an unpleasant oder. The bumps may also be accompanied by itching, burning and sweating. The lumps generally form under the skin and may become painful. Sometime the lumps remain for years. The sores are well, sores. When active, the sores can ooze pus. Hidradenitis suppurativa has no cure. It is treated by conservative measures such as antibiotics along with other types of medications. When all else fails, it can be treated with surgery during which the diseased tissue is removed and in its place healthy skin is grafted. Hidradenitis suppurativa can interfere with a person’s ability to work. This occurs mainly because of restrictions in the use of arms (caused by disease occurring under arms or in the folds of the breasts) and in the inability to sit for a long period of time (caused by the disease occurring in the external genitalia and perianal areas). There is also a social isolation component of the disease caused by the appearance and oder of the bumps and sores. The Social Security Administration acknowledges that hidradenitis suppurativa can be debilitating enough to serve as the basis for an award of federal disability. As is true with other conditions, diseases and injuries the fact of being diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa does not alone qualify a person for disability benefits. The condition must not only exist but be judged to be severe. So, in the case of hidradenitis suppurativa, the skin lesions caused by the disease must be extensive, involve the relevant areas (usually on both sides of the body) or the perineum and importantly persist for at least three months even after continuing treatment. Of course, even if the condition is not severe enough to meet or equal Listing 8.06, it may still support an award of disability if it prevents a person from performing his/her past relevant work and the restrictions from the condition eliminates so many other jobs that there are not substantial number of jobs in several regions throughout the country that the person can perform.

If you are outside and look down there is a good chance you will see this plant as it grows everywhere. This is a perennial plant that can be both spreading or erect.It forms a basal rosette,with a persistent taproot and can grow to a height of 50cm tall and around 20cm wide. The leaves are lanceolate in shape (hence the name) and can grow between 10cm-20cm long and 1cm to 3cm wide. It has very distinguishable parallel veins (3-7) that run the length of the leaf. The plantain produces a wiry stem from the centre of the rosette, this can be around 5cm-40cm in size. On top of this stem sits a spike of flowers around 1cm-7cm in length and are white to cream in colour. The leaves and seeds can be eaten. The leaves can be eaten raw in salads but can be a little bitter, as the leaves grow the veins become more prominent making the larger leaves almost unpalatable unless they are removed. The leaves can also be cooked and added into soups etc. The seeds can be cooked and used like sago. If you have the patience to can even gather the seeds, grind them down and add them flour. Plantain has been used to treat: coughs, insect bites, infections, constipation, conjunctivitis, digestive issues, thrush, cystitis, sores and ulcers.

What IRS Form Is Used When Deducting Payroll? What Happens if a Company Enters a W-4 Wrong? What If a Company Refuses to Provide a W-9? The Internal Revenue Service requires all new hires to complete a Form W-4. Payroll employees review every W-4 to catch any errors that could cause problems with the IRS, and withhold taxes from the employee's paycheck based on the information on the W-4. When mistakes occur, the responsibility may rest on the payroll department or on the employee depending on the circumstances. Employees complete a W-4 form to let their employers know the amount of money that they should withhold from each paycheck for federal and state taxes. Employers adjust the amount of withholding taxes based on the number of allowances that an employee claims. The more allowances that an employee claims, the less money an employer takes out in withheld taxes per paycheck. As an employee, you can claim one allowance for yourself, one for your spouse, and one for each child or another dependent who you claim on your tax return. In some instances, employees can claim that they are exempt from withholding, which means employers do not withhold any federal taxes from their paychecks. However, the IRS has strict rules about who qualifies for an exemption. Typically, you need to have had no income tax taken out in the year before the one in which you claim an exemption, and you must also not anticipate owing any taxes in the existing year for which you are claiming an exemption. There are only two ways that a W-4 form is entered incorrectly: the employer makes a mistake in transcribing the information for payroll purposes, or an employee makes an error when filling out the form. As a result of the mistake, the employer could withhold fewer taxes than the employee owed, which means the employee owes the government money at the end of the year. If this occurs, it is the responsibility of both the employer and employee to inform the IRS about the error. The employee must fill out Form 4669 Statement of Payments Received, which details all payments that the employee received without having federal taxes withheld. The employer then completes a Form 4670 Request for Relief from Payment of Income Tax Withholding. This form informs the IRS that the employer is seeking relief from failing to withhold required federal taxes for an employee. The employer includes the Form 4669 and sends off both documents to the IRS. After reviewing the documents, the IRS sends a notice to the employee listing the amount of back taxes owed. It is the employee's responsibility to pay these outstanding taxes. The reason the employer sends Form 4670 is to request relief from liability for payment of the taxes that the employee owes.

Keith Whittle: I was interested in speaking with you because obviously you have a wide range of experience of working in the local art-scene in Hong Kong, and you are representative both of what is going on here from the point of view of being an artist, but also as someone who has been specifically involved in the management and development of Videotage in Hong Kong. The first thing that I would like to kind of know is maybe if you could describe a little bit about your background; your involvement with Videotage and how you work both as an artist producing your own work and how that fits in with this organisation that you effectively set up. That’s quite a big question, I know. Ellen Pau: Actually I started off working with many different media when I studied at Polytechnic, and I was a stage actor. I was also an organiser of pop concerts and an editor of pop music magazines. I had many different experiences at Polytechnic and then, in my final year, I started to make my own Super8 films (I had done photography at Secondary school). But I wanted to meet people or do things together with other people, so I started to play with other media. After working with Super8, I decided I wouldn’t do drama again, but after my graduation I joined Zuni Icosahedron where I began to do experimental drama, or rather visual theatre. At the same time I explored a lot of experimental film, trying to understand what the medium is, what the concept is, and I started to realise that there’s a whole bunch of visual artists that have moved to another field doing experimental film, like Louis Bunuel – those kind of people who were doing painting, sculpture etc. So then I realised that there’s no definite field that you have to stay in. You can cross over. But the most attractive thing for me – and this was the first encounter of my art experience - was the accidents occurring through experimenting a lot and the accidents in re-forming yourself. All these ideas on one hand were very romantic for me, but on the other hand they were also very appealing because the process was very inspiring. So I had this on my mind all the time and that is actually the motive why I opened this group called Videotage, so that other people can enjoy the creativity during the production – a real hands-on experience of enjoying the production – and also get support from each other, and keep the idea that we have to re-form and experiment. Keeping the idea that we, as artists, collectively help each other. Also, having a collective we can do a lot of lobbying or bargaining with the government or whatever art body. So I felt this was an advantage when I first started Videotage. Of course the vision can be very big, because there’s only one person concerned – the person doing it. So not a lot of higher goal lobbying has been done, but we can manage an annual screening, or showcase what is happening in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong market’s response to products is harsh: in those times Super8 went down rapidly within one year and then suddenly there was a gap in the market (now, the increased speed means there would not be that gap). I bought my first video camera in a shop for tourists so it was an American standard video camera. There is a domestic video market now, but at that time we didn’t have any domestic video recorders and cameras because the middle-class was a small proportion of society. I guess right now about 40 or 50 percent of the people are middle-class and so we have an abundance of all this hardware. Back then, I used a tourist camera, and the first moment I picked it up, I already viewed Hong Kong at a distance – like a tourist – because I needed to do conversion. It all reinforced the idea that I am a tourist and doing video. This was a very important point. But at the same time, when I did video I also did a lot of exchange because I was sending my works to overseas and international events to showcase them. My understanding was that the international community was better at networking, even though it was not very effective or efficient because there was no Internet at that time – in ’85 it was quite primitive. Then a lot of things were done still via the fax and so the information flow is not like now. It was old fashioned then. Because I had this experience of going abroad to see my work, I saw the development of a lot of Super8 or video festivals changed to become New Media Festivals. I don’t really care whether I should stay in the same media. For me, I only explore what is experimental. Naturally I followed the trend and then my attention was drawn to new media. So that is why at Videotage, when we first started out, we only managed to do an annual showcase and in the middle years we had public funding and we managed to do much exchanging with other people, and now in recent years we are doing much more of the new media stuff. KW: When you established Videotage, was that out of necessity because no one else was doing that, or was it because you wanted to create an independent organisation and you didn’t want this affiliated with an existing institution? EP: There was no organisation that I wanted to affiliate with. There were none. Yes, so I tried to run a one-person organisation at that time. This is extra! KW: So you seem to have two different roles. One is that you are an artist and you have your own practice, but also you were an art director as well and you established Videotage? KW: What would you call yourself first and foremost? An artist or...? EP: An artistic director. I always think that an artistic director is better than an artist, maybe because an artistic director is more sensible to talk to, I don’t know! Well, of course an artistic director can always become an artist. It’s like a bagatelle. So I really like to be called an artistic director rather than an artist, but most people like to be called an artist, I think. KW: Could describe your primary goal or main objective as an art director? EP: Well actually we have a goal to re-form. Last year we had a re-form and we do now have an artistic director, but during the period when I was the artistic director I was trying to... well first I was very keen in looking at all the designs that the group is generating. I would be very keen on the quality control, like which artists are coming into our programmes and selecting work: sort of like a semi-curator role, but together also as a mentor for a lot of artists that are coming to work here and trying to be friendly to them. I won’t say that I am really a mentor, but trying to talk to them, to share what I have done. Even like giving a printer, if I have one that I can spare, I will just give them a printer. It’s that kind of help that I can provide. So, yes my role is really more businesslike: it’s more the image to nurture each new generation. KW: Can you talk a little bit to describe the type of activities and the programme Videotage run? EP: Yes. We have tried many different things, like we have tried to provide six months of lectures, and a series of workshops for the public to understand what new media art is. Every week we will have public lectures in the Visual Art Centre. We will have definite course content and we will have definite hands-on workshops for the people, so they can enjoy the practical side of doing new media work, but at the same time understanding the theory behind it and understanding how to appreciate new media art. I guess that is a very impressive programme for me because it’s long and substantial lectures done by a lot of good people, and also the standard of the workshops are very high. I see it as the first dedicated new-media workshop for the public and I guess the School of Creative Media, which is doing a lot of new media stuff in Hong Kong; it opened only in 1999, so it’s a fairly new institution. So actually before that we were doing a lot of preparation. Before that we are like other groups, that we organised Microwave and the International New Media Art Festival. Microwave has gone through several phases of development. For the first two years of Microwave, because the budget was so small, we only managed to do a screening programme in CD-ROM exhibitions. Now it’s getting bigger and bigger including for example a seminar or a conference, or the artists will give talks at the conference. We will have school tours and we will bring kids to the exhibition space and tell them how to look at the work. Of course we have resident artists during the festival that will hold one or two workshops for the public. So actually the programme has expanded. The exhibition part has expanded quite a lot. They are not only presenting computer work: CD-ROM work – now they are also presenting more installation-type work that require higher technology skills. So Microwave has developed through phases up to the point it is now, and now we have decided we had to work harder in our curatorial techniques and so now we are trying to reform Microwave to see whether we should hire an artistic director or a curatorial director so that we will have very clear and complete ideas for curatorial processes. We are still having these kinds of discussion, but you know discussions can go on for a long time. But anyway, we are having this kind of discussion and I think that it will happen maybe this year or next year that we will definitely reform the whole Festival. The programme may not only fit to only what I have already told you of. KW: And Videotage itself, is it currently government funded? EP: Yes, it’s 99% government funded. KW: What about the 1%? EP: Actually, it is 90% government funded and 10% director funded. KW: Okay. So how many years was the organisation in existence before it received government funding? EP: Almost ten years and then we have had ten years funding. KW: So before that it was self-financing? KW: The work that you do both as an artist and also with your involvement with Videotage, and more generally the art scene in Hong Kong; do you undertake that work in relation to a growing body of knowledge which is research related, new-media art related, curating or looking at theories of media? Or is it just your personal endeavours, in that you are interested in actually making things happen? EP: As I said before, I had organised these 6-month workshops and lectures. I guess a project like that is responding to the quest of knowledge and doing research, but at the same time I am very clear that I am not trying to compete or try to place myself in any academic network. So it will be more of a loose discussion and a loose encounter with artists so that we can generate new ideas. I prefer to have new ideas, rather than just gaining new knowledge because for me, I appreciate developing the ideas with other people, rather than just studying. Actually, Hong Kong has, from the 80s when I first started Videotage, undergone quite a big change. Even though economically the change started from the 60s, it applies to media art, technology, or even to the domestic technology market – it’s like what I said about starting from VHS/BETAMAX to Video8, Super8, High8 and then it goes on to the computer. So actually you see the change in technology over the last 20 years. The Internet plays a very, very important role and all these changes are something that Videotage – and even me – is quite aware of. Then politically Hong Kong has changed too – there was a very important change in ’97. So it has had so many changes that we are responding to and I don’t think that we are only driven by the idea in media art or academic studies, or theoretical ideas. We want to get engaged in the social and political climate in Hong Kong. Of course with the change of artistic practice – we all want to respond to these changes. KW: So do you find that, for example with the Microwave Festival, do you find that you are increasingly having an international audience that is attending the Festival and not just from say mainland China, Japan or Korea? EP: Definitely. I want to see Microwave have more of an international audience, but I don’t see it happening right now. It’s very difficult to draw international audiences to come to the Microwave Festival usually because the budgets are really, really small. It’s difficult to bring overseas artists. It’s not enough to commission. Also the people who are doing presentable, international standard work in Hong Kong in new media are only a handful. So if you are presenting one artist this year, then you have to look – you will be repeating artists work every three or four years. So I don’t think that we have such big resources right now for an international show, but I also see from what’s happened before, is that if Microwave had the vision to show Asia Pacific or even Chinese new media art, then this kind of work also would have to draw national audiences. But the money is being cut every year. We have the vision to do that, but we don’t have the money-people right now. So we are still waiting. The reason why we are trying to improve our curatorial ideas is to try to write very good explanations of how people can appreciate the artwork so that more business sponsors will come in once they understand what is being presented or what the show is about. When they are more interested in being presented as sponsors of a show then we will have extra money. Then if we have extra money, we will manage to find a person who would do research in those kinds of areas and then bring artists to Hong Kong – but that will take a long, long time and now I think we are starting on the first step only, trying to target and reach businesses. KW: Having spent time visiting those festivals you mention outside of Hong Kong, has that given you a sense of the differences between the media art that has been created in other countries and what’s being created in Hong Kong. Do you see there being a distinct difference? EP: I see too much difference, and a difference of the budget. Yes, for people who are doing animation... yes, I think their skills are more or less the same, whether they are talking about the content, or content-wise. Usually Hong Kong people are very good in working with technology – the hardware really – but with the software, and the content for instance, then maybe they’re a little bit weak. I would say technology wise or the visual outputs and concerns, or the quick response to what’s happening in the technology world, all these are really amazing things that Hong Kong people can learn. Yes, so I guess there is a special difference … even with movies, if you compare Hong Kong style, then it is very callous and ruthless. Those kinds of people are not gangsters, but they are very free-spirited, anti-hero type of people and I guess this is happening in the new media world also. You won’t see people talking very high culture, but low pop culture, with very loose ideas. They like to mock people and they like to criticise people – this is the attitude, and I guess you can hate us, but at the same time that is more interesting than people who behave very well, like in Singapore or Japan. Those people have their own characters, but Hong Kong people have this ‘pop culture character’. KW: I was interested in asking, the Videotage is in its 20th year this year? What are your ambitions for both Videotage and also your own practice for the next 5 years? EP: Not too long, because I have to think about my retirement. No, but I guess it is very important to sustain the practice in Hong Kong because, as I said to you, if you stop working here, then nobody really can find a window to see and find new media art in Hong Kong. So I guess it’s a very important practice. Videotage for the next 10 years will be maturing. We will do more work there, more substantial work. For example, we definitely won’t do glamorous openings and those kinds of thing. We are not too keen to do this. For me, I don’t believe that art openings are really for art – but for the sponsor. I think I have to learn what other people are doing in promotion and administration. What Videotage needs most in the next 10 years, is to do a really good art promotion and administration. But we are also having to do more grounded work such as building up a very good media library with artists’ catalogues, with festival catalogues, academic books or fun books. We try to change ourselves and every year we will try to complete some work. Before, in the early Videotage years, we could use the The Best of Videotage, which is a video compilation. Actually there are one or two versions and we will have a definite curatorial statement, but some of them are really loose in choosing the work that we collect in the two years. We then put it into a compilation, but because we have done six compilations – you will see it in our catalogue – it actually demonstrates a change and also you see the great diversity of styles that we have collected. But that is only for video and right now we really want to do more groundwork for new media explorations. Actually, going back to your last question about the difference between Hong Kong new media art and international work is that usually the Hong Kong work is really, really cheap. The production fee is really low. But for overseas work, which is usually being funded or sponsored by a University or a research centre, usually we can’t compete with that. We don’t have a great big budget like the institutions. So, the five-year plan. The groundwork will be the workshop – a very important workshop – and the artists exchange. It is our goal to do something that really represents new media art in Hong Kong. Also, to get in touch with overseas and international art practices is very important for Hong Kong people. It is so interesting, always touching the edge of the international, but at the same time at the edge of the primitive (laughter). EP: For me, actually for the last two years I have really hated teaching, but I think I really want to get more academic knowledge so that I can be a better curator. But at the same time, I really want to learn marketing skills and how to do better parties. Actually we have a plan that has not yet been approved by the directors, that we turn this space into a launch. So every Friday night of the first week of the month, we have a new media launch and then we have a sort of party, but at the same time we need the artists to share ideas. It hasn’t yet been approved but for me, the programme gives me a lot of opportunities to host the work as a moderator for the workshop. So I guess, I feel that I want more knowledge so that I can be a better moderator.

Website operators have to configure a dizzying number of security properties for their website: protocol versions, TLS ciphers, certificate hash algorithm, and so on. Most of these properties provide an individual benefit: when you configure your server to require secure protocol versions and strong ciphers, connections to your website are immediately made more secure. It doesn't affect your website's security if some other schmuck is still using SSLv3 with RC4 and 1024 bit Diffie-Hellman on their website. However, other security properties, particularly those related to certificates, provide more of a collective security benefit, where everyone's security is determined by the security of the lowest common denominator. A timely example is the hash algorithm used in certificate signatures. Until recently, SHA-1 was the most common algorithm. Unfortunately, SHA-1 is dangerously weak so the Internet is transitioning to the more secure SHA-2. Under the current deprecation schedule, certificate authorities must stop issuing SHA-1 certificates on January 1, 2016, and SHA-1 certificates that are issued before then must not be valid past January 1, 2017, which means that on January 1, 2017, browsers can stop trusting SHA-1 certificates. Unfortunately, since this is a collective security property, there's nothing an individual website operator can do in the meantime to improve the security of their site. This site, www.agwa.name, uses a SHA-2 certificate, but the truth is that it's no more secure than a site using a SHA-1 certificate. That's because an attacker who can generate a SHA-1 collision can forge a SHA-1 certificate for www.agwa.name. Since so many websites still use SHA-1 certificates, and it's not 2017 yet, web browsers will accept the forged certificate and be none the wiser. None of us will be more secure until certificate authorities stop signing, and web browsers stop accepting, certificates with SHA-1 signatures. For this reason, I was dismayed by the recent proposal from Symantec to allow certificate authorities to issue SHA-1 certificates through the end of 2016, because some of their "very large enterprise customers" can't complete the migration in time. Although their proposal would not change the date on which browsers would stop trusting SHA-1, it would extend the period during which new collisions could be created. This was troubling enough when the proposal was made last week, and is even more troubling in light of the research released today that estimates the cost of finding a SHA-1 collision on EC2 to be between just $75,000 and $120,000. "These customers" accept the risk? As I explained above, the use of SHA-1 is a collective risk shared by the entire Internet, not just the "very large enterprise customers" who want to keep using SHA-1. What about the rest of the Internet, who want their TLS connections to be secure and who have dutifully migrated to SHA-2 in time for the deadline? Did anyone ask them? I sure as hell don't accept the risk. The statement is therefore vacuous and thoroughly unpersuasive to anyone who understands how certificates work. But to someone who doesn't understand or isn't reading too closely, it makes the proposal seem less bad for the Internet at large than it really is. I hope that the other members of the CA/Browser Forum see through this and reject the proposal.

Literal Translation: His mouth is honey; his heart is a sword. This kind of metaphor would be very confusing for foreigners. If you want to say some one is “口蜜腹剑，笑里藏刀”, the better expression is “with honey on one’s lip and murder in one’s heart” or “honey-mouthed but dagger-hearted”. A more direct translation is: He is an evil man who has a mouth that praises and a hand that kills. Someone translate it into: If you neglect study when you are young, what may happen to your old age? This would be extremely confusing for foreigners as they do not know the concept that being good at study means being successful, neither do they think that you would be misterable if you are not good at study. They tend to say “Studying / working hard can lead you to a brighter / more promising future. (努力用功会带给你光明的前程。)” when they want to encourage their children to work hard. If you don’t make progress, you will fall behind.