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The Political Science major prepares students to be active, informed citizens in our increasingly complex and interdependent world. By studying American and international politics, comparative governments, law, and political theory, students are able to understand and evaluate various political systems and ideologies. Political Science majors examine the foundations of local, state, national, and international politics while analyzing world events to explore the relationship between theory and practice. As they investigate the multiple forces – economic, geographic, cultural, philosophical, historical – which affect the success of political systems, they develop tools for improving governance and diplomacy at home and abroad. Through opportunities on and off campus, they participate in political processes and promote awareness of some of the most pressing issues facing their country and the world.
Political Science majors apply what they learn through countless opportunities, gaining practical knowledge while forging valuable relationships with professionals in the field. Depending on their interests, students may choose to intern in government offices, law firms, nongovernmental organizations, embassies, consulting and lobbying firms, or other politically relevant settings. Graduates emerge with a profound knowledge of politics and enhanced critical thinking, speaking, analytical, and writing skills which aid them in launching significant careers and ensure success in law schools, graduate programs, or any number of important fields in our evolving global society.
Possible careers include:
Activism and Advocacy | <urn:uuid:d4793f70-1804-4528-93c2-324a369808b1> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://catalog.endicott.edu/preview_entity.php?catoid=28&ent_oid=1574&returnto=919 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141186761.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126055652-20201126085652-00163.warc.gz | en | 0.912125 | 269 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Science Has Found the Oldest Pieces of the Earth
Guys, these things are seriously older than dirt.
Unless you believe Jesus rode around on dinosaurs, the Earth is pretty darn old. It’s hard to learn about the Earth’s formation now that pretty much everything here has undergone massive changes since then, which is why scientists are so excited to have found the oldest surviving fragment of the Earth ever in the form of a tiny zircon crystal.
Geologists have been mining tiny fragments of zirconium from Jack Hills in Australia, and they were just recently able to confirm that the mineral samples are the oldest discovered surviving fragments of the early Earth. They date back 4.375 billion years (with a margin of error of 6 million), which means they formed very shortly after the Earth itself did 4.54 billion years ago.
What’s interesting about the zircons is that would have come from water-rich rock sources, which means that the Earth cooled enough for surface water to form relatively soon after its initial formation and the formation of the moon. That means that ancient Earth was a lot more hospitable than previously imagined and more similar to how it is today.
Of course, when you’re looking back that far, it’s difficult to pinpoint exact ages. Science has had trouble coming up with confident dates on the zircons in the past, but the team led by John Valley of the University of Wisconsin, Madison broke down the samples and examined them atom by atom.
Being a geologist sounds like tons of fun.
They found clusters of atoms that were intact and wouldn’t have allowed outside particles to interfere, so the team could have confidence in dating their radioactive decay. Now we know a lot more about the timeline of how the Earth formed, so think of geology as a fun alternate reality in which things that are old can be really useful.
Then, you can return to the rest of the Internet, where you can and will get mocked for posting something that everyone else has known about for more than an hour.
- The ocean is turning into acid, by the way, so that’s fun
- Old age has its benefits—like a higher probability of genius
- Paleontology has taken up the mystery of dinosaur pee
Have a tip we should know? email@example.com | <urn:uuid:61421683-a34b-45df-b54d-5d3a2989e714> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.themarysue.com/oldest-pieces-of-earth/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193221.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127131802-20201127161802-00243.warc.gz | en | 0.972422 | 488 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Wasps are annoying and sometimes painful for us humans but they are even more of a problem for insects that they prey upon. One particularly creepy new discovery made by insect researchers reveals that a a newly-discovered species of wasp in the Amazon basically zombifies spiders to do its bidding.
The research, which was published in Ecological Entomology, describes how the gruesome life cycle of the wasp species relies upon “social” spiders that live in groups. The spiders first act as hosts for parasitic larva and, eventually, as a full meal.
The researchers observed the wasps’ bizarre relationship with the spiders up close. First, a female wasp targets one of the spiders and lays an egg on the arachnid. Then, when the egg hatches, the larva latches on to the spider and feeds off of it. This type of parasitic relationship isn’t uncommon in insects, but the wasp takes things a step farther.
The larva doesn’t leave the spider after growing to a certain point but instead takes over the spider’s body, causing it to carry out specific tasks. The spider is forced to leave its colony and construct a web cocoon. The larva then eats the spider and uses the newly-constructed cocoon as its home while it matures into a full-grown wasp, starting the cycle all over again.
“The wasp completely hijacks the spider’s behaviour and brain and makes it do something it would never do, like leave its nest and spinning a completely different structure,” Samantha Straus, co-author of the research said in a statement. “That’s very dangerous for these tiny spiders.”
The team doesn’t have a great explanation for how the wasp commands the spider to do its bidding but thinks it might have something to do with the larva affecting the hormones of the spider. It’s all very strange and, if you’re a spider, downright horrifying. | <urn:uuid:9e9b69ed-e488-4289-9c91-1f82135c8d9d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://bgr.com/2018/11/29/wasp-spider-zombie-parasite-study/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141187753.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126084625-20201126114625-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.940155 | 422 | 3.109375 | 3 |
Heating could be the best way to disinfect N95 masks for reuse
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, N95 face masks have been in short supply. Health care workers, in particular, desperately need these masks to protect themselves from the respiratory droplets of infected patients. But because of the shortage, many have to wear the same mask repeatedly. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have tested several methods for disinfecting N95 materials, finding that heating them preserves their filtration efficiency for 50 cycles of disinfection.
N95 masks contain a layer of "meltblown" polypropylene fibers that form a porous, breathable network. To help capture smaller particles that could slip through the holes, the fibers are electrostatically charged. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended several methods for disinfecting N95 masks, such as heating, ultraviolet (UV) radiation and bleach treatment, but so far they have not been tested extensively, especially for multiple rounds of disinfection. Yi Cui and colleagues wanted to compare five of the methods that could reasonably be used within a hospital setting to see how mask materials hold up to repeated disinfections.
In this study, instead of analyzing N95 masks—which should be reserved for health care workers—the researchers examined pieces of the meltblown fabric used to make these masks. They treated the material with a particular disinfectant and compared its ability to filter aerosol particles (resembling respiratory droplets, but lacking coronavirus) before and after disinfection. The team found that spraying the fabric with an ethanol or chlorine bleach solution drastically reduced the filtration efficiency after only one treatment, from about 96% to 56% (ethanol) or 73% (bleach).
A single steam treatment maintained filtration, but five steam treatments led to a sharp decline in efficiency. UV radiation allowed up to 20 cycles of disinfection; however, administering the exact dose of UV that kills the virus without damaging mask materials could be problematic, the researchers note. The best disinfection method appeared to be heating. For example, heating at 185 F for 20 minutes allowed the fabric to be treated 50 times without loss of filtration efficiency. But frequently donning and removing N95 masks could affect fit, which also impacts performance, the researchers point out. | <urn:uuid:9bc36502-226a-4065-87fc-52325731297d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-05-disinfect-n95-masks-reuse.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141187753.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126084625-20201126114625-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.933646 | 476 | 3.125 | 3 |
Jane T. Merritt, The Trouble with Tea: The Politics of Consumption in the Eighteenth-Century Global Economy [Studies in Early American Economy and Society from the Library Company of Philadelphia] (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016).
Americans imagined tea as central to their revolution. After years of colonial boycotts against the commodity, the Sons of Liberty kindled the fire of independence when they dumped tea in the Boston harbor in 1773. To reject tea as a consumer item and symbol of “taxation without representation” was to reject Great Britain as master of the American economy and government. But tea played a longer and far more complicated role in American economic history than the events at Boston suggest.
In The Trouble with Tea, historian Jane T. Merritt explores tea as a central component of eighteenth-century global trade and probes its connections to the politics of consumption. Arguing that tea caused trouble over the course of the eighteenth century in a number of different ways, Merritt traces the multifaceted impact of that luxury item on British imperial policy, colonial politics, and the financial structure of merchant companies. Merritt challenges the assumption among economic historians that consumer demand drove merchants to provide an ever-increasing supply of goods, thus sparking a consumer revolution in the early eighteenth century.
The Trouble with Tea reveals a surprising truth: that concerns about the British political economy, coupled with the corporate machinations of the East India Company, brought an abundance of tea to Britain, causing the company to target North America as a potential market for surplus tea. American consumers only slowly habituated themselves to the beverage, aided by clever marketing and the availability of Caribbean sugar. Indeed, the “revolution” in consumer activity that followed came not from a proliferation of goods, but because the meaning of these goods changed. By the 1750s, British subjects at home and in America increasingly purchased and consumed tea on a daily basis; once thought a luxury, tea had become a necessity. This fascinating look at the unpredictable path of a single commodity will change the way readers look at both tea and the emergence of America. | <urn:uuid:fc388fd9-132d-4cf9-97aa-4bca94a6d958> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://alcoholanddrugshistorysociety.org/2017/04/19/tea-and-the-18th-cent-global-economy-book/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193856.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127161801-20201127191801-00523.warc.gz | en | 0.92944 | 429 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Outrage in Ohio - A Rural Murder Lynching and Mystery
Publisher: Indiana University Press
On a hot and dusty Sunday in June 1872, 13-year-old Mary Secaur set off on her two-mile walk home from church. She never arrived. The horrific death of this young girl inspired an illegal interstate pursuit-and-arrest, courtroom dramatics, conflicting confessions, and the daylight lynching of a traveling tin peddler and an intellectually disabled teenager. Who killed Mary Secaur? Were the accused actually guilty? What drove the citizens of Mercer County to lynch the suspects?David Kimmel seeks answers to these provoking questions and deftly recounts what actually happened in the fateful summer of 1872, imagining the inner workings of the small rural community, reconstructing the personal relationships of those involved, and restoring humanity to this gripping story. Using a unique blend of historical research and contemporary accounts, Outrage in Ohio explores how a terrible crime ripped an Ohio farming community apart and asks us to question what really happened to Mary Secaur. | <urn:uuid:0c74eb97-af68-4501-992c-bfd4825cdc7f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.24symbols.com/book/english/david-kimmel/outrage-in-ohio---a-rural-murder-lynching-and-mystery?id=3588397 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195967.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129004335-20201129034335-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.893417 | 210 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Sweden recently unveiled its revamped Arctic policy, having gone unchanged since 2011. The strategy’s details are familiar, focusing on climate change, multilateral cooperation, and sustainable development. The overhaul comes at a time of change in the High North. Facing new geopolitical pressures, Sweden is pressing forward with clear-eyed and agile Arctic policy.
Sweden and the EU’s Arctic Outpost
The Kingdom of Sweden’s Arctic position is unique in several respects. Their European Union membership provides them with substantial funding and avenues for collaborative effort in developing and defending their northernmost territory. Though formally a non-NATO state, in practice Sweden conducts joint operations with NATO frequently.
The economic and security benefits of a unified Scandinavian approach to Russia, China, and the United States generally outweighs any desire or ability for Sweden to act unilaterally. However, a formally unified strategy is far off. Near-Arctic and Arctic states alike are still in the midst of overhauling their blueprints for the region.
Sweden’s Arctic Interests
Sweden’s primary interests revolve around its resource rich Ferroscandian territory, specifically its iron, lumber, and hydropower. The new infrastructure and regulations needed for sustainable development of these resources is a key priority for the country moving forward. Historically, Swedish Arctic development conflicted with the indigenous Samí’s traditional practices modes of sustenance, such as reindeer herding. The Samí Parliament remains largely symbolic, but cooperation and mutual development with the Finno-Ugric group was earmarked in the updated whitepaper.
Though Sweden recognizes the possibility of further Chinese encroachment, the value of their trade networks and capital (especially with regards to mineral resource development) means that no significant action against the CCP is to be expected. However, Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist recently announced the reestablishment of five northern regiments to defend the country’s Arctic sovereignty. Expecting to increase military spending 85% by 2025, the five-year defense bill outlines a policy of increased cooperation with Norway and Scandinavia. Increasing tensions with Russia prompted the decision.
Sweden’s revamped Arctic policy is fairly standard fare, focusing on mineral resource development, climate change, Samí relations and sovereignty. The Kingdom will work via Arctic and European collaborative institutions to advance its interests, and will likely take on a greater role in Arctic institutional governance moving forward. | <urn:uuid:c662bba4-5bac-424c-97f4-33577370a355> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.wallaceinstitute.us/sweden-and-the-new-high-north/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195967.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129004335-20201129034335-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.938986 | 495 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Jailing a Rainbow: The Marcus Garvey Case
Georgetown Journal of Modern Critical Race Perspectives, Vol. 2, 2009
69 Pages Posted: 8 Mar 2009 Last revised: 21 Apr 2010
Date Written: December 29, 2008
The relevance of narrative in the law continues to reemerge in legal scholarship. This article uses concepts from both Critical Race Theory and Law and Economics to reassess the conviction of Marcus Garvey, the Harlem Renaissance era civil rights activist. In this case, newly discovered evidence suggests that the manipulation of Garvey's legal narrative by his opponents played a larger role in his conviction than first thought; a role decisive enough to raise concerns of unethical judicial bias and warrant possible exoneration hearings.
This paper argues that not only was Garvey unjustly convicted of mail fraud in 1923, but this injustice was also the culmination of an unholy alliance between Garvey's political rivals and Jim Crow era government officials. Together, the legal narrative they crafted contributed to Garvey's untimely death, tainted his legacy for decades, and helped to misshape the future of the 20th century struggle for racial justice.
Many scholars have noted that legal narratives often subordinate the voices of people of color. However, this study goes further, exploring how unjust legal narratives have served to warp our collective cultural and historical narrative. This larger result has had a powerful impact on the course of political events in our country. In this case, Garvey's conviction and deportation facilitated the marginalization and silencing of his philosophy of racial justice, a strategy that focused primarily on economic empowerment for people of African descent throughout the world. As a result of the silencing of this voice, nearly a century later Blacks have obtained the political and social rights favored by Garvey's rivals, but as a whole still suffer from grave economic disparities worldwide.
The federal judiciary has a storied legacy, being peopled by men and women who have defended and fought for our highest values as a nation. This case appears to be one of the sad exceptions to that rule. But most of all, it should serve as a cautionary tale to practitioners who must learn how to identify and fight the destructive use of legal narrative in contemporary contexts.
Keywords: Law and Narrative, Legal Narrative, Legal Storytelling, African American History and the Law, Critical Race Theory, Marcus Garvey, Mail Fraud
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation | <urn:uuid:684c5969-fa3d-46a6-a904-6d145072a0ec> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1321527 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141727627.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203094119-20201203124119-00123.warc.gz | en | 0.954529 | 491 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Rocks may seem chemically inert, but carbon and oxygen constantly move between the atmosphere and the land. A new study reveals insights into tiny players in this cycle. Microorganisms can release carbon dioxide from eroding rocks to the atmosphere more quickly than researchers expected, according to the study.
Scientists previously thought that eroding mountains served as carbon sinks, pulling CO2 from the atmosphere by forming carbonate minerals. Jordon Hemingway of Harvard University and colleagues studied carbon release in the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan, which erodes quickly thanks to frequent typhoons and landslides.
They estimated that at least 67% of the organic carbon held in the bedrock had been released—presumably by oxidation to CO2.
To determine whether microbes were responsible for this oxidation, the researchers looked at the ratio of carbon-13 to carbon-12 in fatty acids present in the soil. The team knew that only bacteria could produce these fatty acids. The carbon isotope ratio matched that of the organic carbon found in the rock, indicating that the microbes were the ones oxidizing the carbon. Hemingway’s team estimates that 6.1 to 18.6 metric tons of carbon per km2 gets oxidized every year by microbes at these rapidly eroded sites (Science 2018, DOI: 10.1126/science.aao6463).
Hemingway points out that this microbial oxidation of carbon is important on the scale of millions of years. “In terms of anthropogenic climate change, the processes we looked at in our study are unlikely to have any measurable effect,” he says.
As a next step, Hemingway hopes to perform genomic analyses to determine which microbes are responsible for turning the carbon under our feet into CO2 in the air. | <urn:uuid:cfe8467f-a167-4e86-99fd-31642f06ed2b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://cen.acs.org/environment/greenhouse-gases/Microbes-help-release-CO2-eroding/96/i17?utm_source=YMAL&utm_medium=YMAL&utm_campaign=CEN&utm_content=pos3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141743438.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204193220-20201204223220-00203.warc.gz | en | 0.951609 | 356 | 4.53125 | 5 |
As the Cerrado pledge demonstrates, when governments and businesses come
together to address land-use challenges, the impact is potent. Natural climate
solutions have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated
11.3 billion tons a year – equal to a complete halt in burning oil, according
to our study. One recent study calculated that if Brazil reached zero
deforestation by 2030, it would add 0.6% of GDP, or about $15 billion, to its
economy. Communities also reap secondary benefits—such as rural regeneration,
improved food and water security, and coastal resilience – when natural climate
solutions are implemented.
Yet, despite the data
supporting better land-use decision-making, something isn’t adding up. In 2016,
the world witnessed a dramatic 51% increase in forest loss, equivalent to an area about
the size of New Zealand. We need to buck this trend now, and help the world
realize that land-use planning is not simply a conservation story.
Some countries are moving in
the right direction. The Indian government, for example, has set aside $6
billion for states to invest in forest restoration. In Indonesia, the
government created a dedicated agency to protect and restore peatlands, bogs,
and swamp-like ecosystems that have immense CO2 storage capabilities.
But they are the exceptions.
Of the 160 countries that committed to implementing the Paris climate
agreement, only 36 have specified land-use management in their
Overcoming inertia will not be
easy. Forests, farms, and coasts vary in size, type, and accessibility.
Moreover, the lives of hundreds of millions of people are tied to these
ecosystems, and projects that restore forest cover or improve soil health
require focused planning, a massive undertaking for many governments.
One way to get things moving,
especially in the agricultural sector, would be to remove or redirect subsidies
that encourage excessive consumption of fertilizers, water, or energy in food
production. As Indian government officials reminded their peers during a World
Trade Organization meeting earlier this year, meaningful agricultural reforms
can begin only when rich countries reduce the “disproportionately large” subsidies they give their own | <urn:uuid:db809cfb-91ca-4417-8332-c3bda2afcc6f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://tnc.internal.vigetx.com/content/natural-solutions-to-climate-change?intc=glob_sol.hp.author_content_list | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141743438.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204193220-20201204223220-00203.warc.gz | en | 0.902873 | 470 | 3.46875 | 3 |
In the Paleozoic Era, roughly 400 million years ago, Michigan wasn’t the chilly northern state we know it as now. It was somewhere near the equator and it was covered in a shallow, tropical sea, complete with ancient marine life.
Now, Petoskey State Park on the shore of Lake Michigan holds some of the only reminders that the Midwestern state was once an ocean. When Earth’s tectonic plates shifted and created the North American Continent out of this watery ecosystem, some of the coral life residing there came along for the ride.
The state park is named for Petoskey Stones. These are small, unremarkable rocks, only identifiable by the faint spots covering their surface. When polished though, the perfectly hexagonal pattern grows visible, revealing what they really are. These are no ordinary pebbles; they’re actually the skeletons of prehistoric coral. Each of the spots was once a coral polyp. The dark centers were mouths, and the “rays” surrounding them were tentacles. Time has scrubbed them down to a rounded rock, but combing the beach for these little fossils can offer even amateurs a connection to the very, very distant past. | <urn:uuid:30510538-7380-477f-bd01-8d3fa77264f0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/petoskey-state-park | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141168074.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123211528-20201124001528-00563.warc.gz | en | 0.962446 | 249 | 3.609375 | 4 |
Home / Articles / What Is Democracy? Liberal Institutions and Stability in Changing Societies
Is it possible to export democracy? That question underlies current U.S. foreign policy, and answering it requires an operational definition of democracy that distinguishes its essential attributes from circumstantial ones. Liberal representative government under law, sustained by a political culture that accepts open disagreement and demands accountability, provides the only form of democracy that has sustained itself over time. Democracy typically emerges from within a society, and history demonstrates the difficulty of making democracy work. Imposing it externally presents further challenges while risking a backlash. The project of spreading democracy must therefore be separated from the objective of establishing a stable order favoring American interests so that the latter end can be achieved by more modest means. | <urn:uuid:01bb0609-aa53-4976-9d62-d1e6580bb215> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.fpri.org/article/2006/01/democracy-liberal-institutions-stability-changing-societies-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141168074.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123211528-20201124001528-00563.warc.gz | en | 0.923864 | 152 | 2.71875 | 3 |
BP is apparently barring cleanup workers from sharing photos of dead animals that have washed ashore. But whether we’re seeing them or not, the bodies are starting to add up.
Late last week, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other responders issued a tally of the animals collected as of Friday in oil-impacted regions of Alabama, Florida , Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—dead and alive. Those stats are shocking: 444 dead birds, 222 dead sea turtles, and 24 mammals (including dolphins). I sent a request to the Unified Command office last week asking for data on wildlife collected over a normal time period, pre-oil-disaster, for comparison. I haven’t received a reply.
National Wildlife Federation senior scientist Doug Inkley has compiled some of the data on dolphins and sea turtles found stranded so far—meaning both dead and living animals that have clearly been harmed by their exposure to oil. He reports that the 244 sea turtles they found stranded by the spill is between six to nine times the average rate. The 29 stranded dolphins are between two and six times the normal rate for the region. The number of dead and dying critters, Inkley says, is “certainly higher” than usual.
But even these staggering totals might not be anywhere near the real figures. For starters, they don’t include the dead animals who may never be counted. Following the Exxon Valdez spill, scientists noted that many carcasses sunk and were never found, meaning the estimated deaths were probably far too low. | <urn:uuid:bd7e3ac9-0aca-4ede-8922-ff8afbdcd494> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://preprod.motherjones.com/politics/2010/06/bp-bars-photos-dead-wildlife-bodies-pile/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141181179.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125041943-20201125071943-00643.warc.gz | en | 0.955875 | 322 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Europe’s cutting-edge wind satellite should launch in 2017
Humanity is about to deepen its understanding of Earth’s winds. The European Space Agency has secured a rocket launch deal for its wind-tracking Aeolus satellite, which is now expected to enter orbit before the end of 2017. The once-problematic spacecraft (technical issues postponed its 2015 launch) will be the first to profile wind on a worldwide scale thanks to the novel use of ultraviolet lidar in space. By bouncing laser light off of atmospheric air, dust and water, Aeolus will measure everything from cyclones to the presence of aerosols.
Aeolus could have far-reaching effects. It’ll improve our grasp on atmospheric behavior, which could improve both weather forecasts and our knowledge of the human role in climate change. It should influence other projects, too, by demonstrating how lidar can offer a fresh approach to Earth studies. Even if the Aeolus launch doesn’t get you excited, it could make a significant impact on science as a whole. | <urn:uuid:b7a4d005-ef8d-4828-a443-0b63028c3dc8> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://blog.aivanet.com/2016/09/07/europes-cutting-edge-wind-satellite-should-launch-in-2017/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188800.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126142720-20201126172720-00003.warc.gz | en | 0.931973 | 217 | 2.9375 | 3 |
What Will Happen When Queen Elizabeth II Dies?
One day Queen Elizabeth II will, unfortunately, pass away, resulting in arguably the biggest funeral of the century. The preparations for the days, weeks and months after her passing, are given the code name Operation London Bridge. Upon her death, her eldest son, Prince Charles, will immediately become King. This could signal great change, not just for the United Kingdom but potentially the world. | <urn:uuid:a2877190-b355-4994-8354-b5d8c375ee0d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://thisis50.com/2019/11/06/what-will-happen-when-queen-elizabeth-ii-dies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141216897.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130161537-20201130191537-00243.warc.gz | en | 0.933781 | 89 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Smokers trying to quit often report that certain cues, such as seeing other people smoke, cause them to crave a cigarette, which typically triggers a relapse. But memory retrieval-extinction training-a technique that alters memories associated with craving-may help.
Researchers selected 72 adults (average age, 48) who smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day and randomly assigned them to undergo memory retrieval-extinction training or extinction training alone. To retrieve smoking-related memories, the first group viewed a five-minute video depicting people smoking. The others viewed a video of people washing dishes. After 10 minutes, both groups completed a 60-minute extinction training session designed to break the cue-reward cycle. Here, participants were repeatedly exposed to smoking triggers but were not permitted to smoke. The process was repeated the following day.
At one month, participants in the memory retrieval-extinction training group reported, on average, less craving than the control group and they smoked fewer cigarettes each day; seven and 10, respectively. These self-reported smoking findings were corroborated by the participants’ carbon monoxide levels, which were also assessed.
The authors, who published their findings in 2017 in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest that this approach could work well with other smoking cessation interventions. Larger studies that investigate the long-term efficacy of this technique will help clarify its true value. | <urn:uuid:1b7fb637-47a4-4b2e-8069-b40276ab5092> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.healthandwellnessalerts.berkeley.edu/topics/lung-disorders/manipulating-memories-may-help-smokers-kick-the-habit/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141745780.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204223450-20201205013450-00483.warc.gz | en | 0.963608 | 277 | 3.640625 | 4 |
Powerful advocacy for an emerging therapy.
Esty, a seasoned neurofeedback practitioner, and Shifflett (Migraine Brains and Bodies, 2011, etc.), a science and technology writer, argue that public ignorance and medical dogma plague the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injuries (used synonymously with concussion). In this primer, aimed at both lay readers and professionals, they deliver a searing indictment of the status quo and an impassioned plea for a new paradigm. The authors hook readers by opening with stories about concussion’s impact on famous figures, including Henry VIII, Mary Lincoln, Howard Hughes and Elvis Presley. This eases the transition to Esty’s client histories (using pseudonyms), which are woven throughout chapters that cover what happens physiologically during and after TBI and its manifold physical, psychological, emotional and social consequences. Their experiences personalize discussions about the frequency of misdiagnoses, overreliance on pharmaceuticals, the efficacy of neurofeedback to treat TBI and its role in conjunction with other therapies. Esty and Shifflett catalog the abundant chances for brain injury in modern life, particularly in sports, and dispel popular myths that lead to downplaying risks and tolerating repeated exposures. Citing evidence suggesting that frequent smaller injuries are as dangerous as large ones, they document how neurofeedback has brought relief even decades later, helping sufferers reduce or eliminate medications. While neurofeedback results seem miraculous, the authors avoid cure-all claims by discussing unresolved symptoms and physical distortions that brain wave treatment cannot fix. They acknowledge that science cannot yet explain why neurofeedback works—a valid source of skepticism. Critics may question whether the authors have cherry-picked examples to support their case, but the successes provided, often in clients’ own words, speak for themselves. The text is written clearly enough to engage lay readers while still providing the thoroughness and documentation demanded by professionals. They cite more than 300 references, mainly scientific journals and academic books, but they also draw from popular media to keep the discussion relevant and down-to-earth. Clear figures, photos and illustrations; a glossary; and a list of supplemental resources make the book even more user-friendly.
An eye-opener for anyone concerned about concussion—which the authors persuasively argue should include everyone. | <urn:uuid:22decbff-2333-4301-b2ab-8b94f4ac705c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mary-lee-esty/conquering-concussion/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141745780.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204223450-20201205013450-00483.warc.gz | en | 0.92981 | 477 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Earth's biggest telescope just snapped the best photo ever taken of planets forming around a baby star. The swirling disk of gas and dust looks like a colorful set of concentric rings surrounding a blazing dot hundreds of light-years away.
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a platoon of radio antennas arranged on a desolate Chilean plateau, is the only telescope capable of seeing a system like this in such detail. The protoplanetary system has concentric rings separated by clearly defined gaps, which suggests planets are already forming there.
Stars are born when clouds of dust and gas collapse under their own gravity. Planets are born when the leftover crumbs in that dust cloud also start to coalesce, growing into larger and larger rocks. As these planetisimals get bigger, they start clearing out their neighborhoods and gaps form in the dusty disk.
Scientists had developed computer models that predict this very method of planet formation, but nobody had seen it play out in real life before ALMA captured these images. You can't see this system with the Hubble Space Telescope, for instance, because Hubble images in visible light, which is blocked by gas and dust in the way. ALMA, a radio telescope, observes light in very long wavelengths allowing it to peer through the dust.
The star here is a very young one called HL Tau, no more than a million years old about 450 light-years from Earth, located in the constellation Taurus. It's a sun-like star, which means our own solar system might have looked a lot like this when it was very young.
"Such clarity is essential to understand how our own solar system came to be and how planets form throughout the universe," says Tony Beasley, director of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Charlottesville, Va., which manages ALMA for astronomers in North America. | <urn:uuid:c15d4799-4d86-479b-b7f7-5f4b3ece244f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/telescopes/a12615/the-first-picture-of-new-planets-forming-17396182/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141171077.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124025131-20201124055131-00123.warc.gz | en | 0.958935 | 378 | 3.96875 | 4 |
Also referred to as a “control board,” the circuit board essentially serves as the brains of air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces, as they coordinate the sequence of operational events that occurs with every cooling or heating cycle. Some circuit boards also monitor the operational health of HVAC systems and provide warnings when its sensors detect a potential problem. Typically included as part of the air handler, some systems include them in the condensing system. Circuit boards tend to be highly reliable, though they can be damaged by power surges and other electric anomalies. HVAC circuit board problems are usually resolved through replacement rather than repair. | <urn:uuid:947cce32-69bf-4328-bfc2-69d41a79c677> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://coolzoneinc.com/glossary/circuit-board/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141729522.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203155433-20201203185433-00683.warc.gz | en | 0.97307 | 128 | 2.96875 | 3 |
New evidence deep beneath the Arctic ice suggests a series of underwater volcanoes have erupted in violent explosions in the past decade.
Hidden 2.5 miles (4,000 meters) beneath the Arctic surface, the volcanoes are up to a mile (2,000 meters) in diameter and a few hundred yards tall. They formed along the Gakkel Ridge, a lengthy crack in the ocean crust where two rocky plates are spreading apart, pulling new melted rock to the surface.
Until now, scientists thought undersea volcanoes only dribbled lava from cracks in the seafloor. The extreme pressure from the overlying water makes it difficult for gas and magma to blast outward.
But the Gakkel Ridge, which is relatively unexplored and considered unique for its slow spreading rate, is just the place for surprises.
Robert Reeves-Sohn of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts and his colleagues discovered jagged, glassy fragments of rock scattered around the volcanoes, suggesting explosive eruptions occurred between 1999 and 2001.
They hypothesize that the slow spreading could allow excess gas to build up in pockets of magma beneath the oceanic crust. When the gas pressure gets high enough, it pops like a champagne bottle being uncorked.
With news this week that polar ice is melting dramatically, underwater Arctic pyrotechnics might seem like a logical smoking gun. Scientists don't see any significant connection, however.
"We don't believe the volcanoes had much effect on the overlying ice," Reeves-Sohn told LiveScience, "but they seem to have had a major impact on the overlying water column."
The eruptions discharge large amounts of carbon dioxide, helium, trace metals and heat into the water over long distances, he said.
The research, detailed in the June 26 issue of the journal Nature, was funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and WHOI.
- North Pole Could be Ice-Free This Summer
- Video: If a Volcano Erupts Under Water…
- Image Gallery: Scientists at the Ends of the Earth | <urn:uuid:2ca03095-1348-44ca-9beb-e7fa6cc13760> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.livescience.com/4992-volcanoes-erupt-beneath-arctic-ice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141746320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205044004-20201205074004-00043.warc.gz | en | 0.935966 | 429 | 3.75 | 4 |
The Collecting of African American Art I: Introduction
Alvia J. Wardlaw, associate professor, Texas Southern University and curator of modern and contemporary art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. For the inaugural lecture of the National Gallery of Art lecture series The Collecting of African American Art, recorded on February 10, 2008, Alvia J. Wardlaw provides an overview of the substantial history of collecting African American art. She regards the preservation of objects of cultural importance within the African American community as a holistic endeavor. Collecting was not merely about acquiring items for private holdings but also establishing a connection between African Americans and their African past, enabling families and communities to pass on traditions. Wardlaw relates the role of collectibles, including such cherished items as family photographs and Bibles, to the interest in collecting African American artworks, which arose in the 19th century. She also examines this phenomenon within the context of individual artistic careers, intellectual movements, and trends in the patronage of African American art. | <urn:uuid:233e283e-7a3c-47fd-923a-a9516624afa6> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.nga.gov/audio-video/audio/collecting-african-american-art-i.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141746320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205044004-20201205074004-00043.warc.gz | en | 0.939789 | 201 | 2.875 | 3 |
Expanding upon previous projects that laid the foundation for making music from amino acid chains, MIT scientists can now use their process to create never-before-seen proteins—especially ones with beneficial properties. Using amino acids as notes, and artificial intelligence to turn them into chords, scientists can craft proteins based on frequencies and patterns that they can hear, and lean into rhythms or loops that lend proteins preferable traits. This would assist in making synthetic versions of naturally-available materials better and ultimately easier to invent. Spider silk, for instance, is a material that’s stronger than steel and kevlar, and could have antimicrobial properties. Read more about the project and its adjacent Android app, the Amino Acid Synthesizer, at Ars Technica. | <urn:uuid:764d4ca0-14da-45db-97d1-177e008cf646> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://coolhunting.com/design/mit-scientists-turn-amino-acids-into-music/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141182794.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125125427-20201125155427-00483.warc.gz | en | 0.938709 | 151 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Steffani Jemison’s Same Time consists of a sound piece and an abstract print. The title refers to the artist’s reprisal of a speech delivered in 1970 by Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton that has been reinterpreted by Brooklyn-based R&B group Sidetrack Boyz as a vocal improvisation. By relaying Newton’s words through popular music tropes, the performers reactivate his call for the transformation of American society through direct action and strategic rebellion. The work extends Jemison’s interest in the general condition of transparency and the rhetorical possibilities revealed in repetition.
Building on a practice that places African American history and culture at the intersection of conceptual art, Jemison’s Same Time considers how inherited visual strategies both limit and expand our access to history more broadly. | <urn:uuid:c19d810a-4c04-4034-ba3d-04003d4f4541> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://5e.centre.ch/en/tag/steffani-jemison/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188947.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126200910-20201126230910-00563.warc.gz | en | 0.909798 | 170 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Christian Wolmar 416 pages hardcover
The opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830 marked the beginning of a transport revolution that would forever transform the way we live. Blood, Iron, and Gold takes us on a journey encompassing jungle, mountain, and desert, revealing the huge impact of the railroads as they spread rapidly across entire countries, and linked cities that hitherto had little reach beyond their immediate environs. The rise of the train triggered daring engineering feats, great architectural innovation, and the rapid movement of people and goods across the globe. Cultures were both enriched and destroyed by the unrelenting construction of the railroads, and the new technology quickly took on a vital role in civil conflicts and two world wars.In this beautifully illustrated book, renowned transportation journalist Christian Wolmar celebrates the vision and determination of the ambitious pioneers who developed the railways that would dominate the globe. | <urn:uuid:825f6544-cf43-4385-989d-9d05f523d224> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.ronsbooks.com/BLOOD-IRON-GOLD--HOW-THE-RAILROADS-TRANSFORMED-THE-WORLD_p_17079.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195069.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128040731-20201128070731-00643.warc.gz | en | 0.94195 | 177 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Why Were Women Not Allowed to Vote?
There were multiple arguments against women's suffrage. Common themes were that a woman's delicate constitution made her unfit for the evils of politics, that she was too occupied with domestic duties to ponder political debate, and that she was too stupid or weak to bear the responsibilities of voting.
Men of the early twentieth century argued that governing in any capacity required a measure of force. Because of their smaller stature, women were considered the weaker sex and therefore incapable of being forceful enough for any leadership role. They were also considered too frail to directly compete with men as voting required. Opponents to suffrage feared an imbalance in social roles as well. A woman's participation in the vote presupposed that men and women were equal. If this were true, men would lose their impulse to treat women in a chivalrous and compassionate manner. Another popular argument maintained that a woman did not need the vote because she already had too many responsibilities caring for her children, husband and household. According to this view, a proper and dutiful wife should devote all of her concern to these pursuits, which would leave her no time or energy to unravel the complexities of politics. Popular opinion held that a woman could trust her husband to take care of and speak for her in all things anyway, so there was no need for her to cast her own ballot. | <urn:uuid:9c2f39e8-cf08-4f50-9b9f-0f92a978d1ec> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.reference.com/world-view/were-women-allowed-vote-442e7949f34624fd | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141201836.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129153900-20201129183900-00003.warc.gz | en | 0.991088 | 277 | 3.203125 | 3 |
The Joshua Tree, Yucca brevifolia, is a member of the Agave family. Until recently, it was considered a giant member of the Lily family, but DNA studies led to the division of that formerly huge family into 40 distinct plant families. The Joshua tree is a monocot, in the subgroup of flowering plants that also includes grasses and orchids. The Joshua trees life cycle begins with the rare germination of a seed, its survival dependent upon well-timed rains. Look for sprouts growing up from within the protective branches of a shrub. Young sprouts may grow several inches in the first five years, then slow down, averaging one-half inch per year thereafter. The tallest Joshua tree in the park looms a whopping forty feet high, a grand presence in the Queen Valley forest; it is estimated to be about 300 years old! These trees do not have growth rings like you would find in an oak or pine. This makes aging difficult, but you can divide the height of a Joshua tree by the average annual growth of one-half inch to get a rough estimate.The Joshua tree provides a good indicator that you are in the Mojave Desert, but you may also find it growing next to a saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert in western Arizona or mixed with pines in the San Bernardino Mountains. Joshua Trees were named by Mormon pioneers after the biblical figure Joshua, comparing their sprawling limbs to his outstretched arms, guiding their travels. | <urn:uuid:d4e38060-5b16-4d35-a9a7-cab3ed75759e> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://fwww.protrails.com/lexicon/term/452 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141542358.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201013119-20201201043119-00083.warc.gz | en | 0.965632 | 303 | 3.59375 | 4 |
A recurring theme in Wuthering Heights is the way in which the speaker frames differences in gender, as well as the standard for each gender that characters are expected to meet. Catherine is looked kindly upon for her favorable, “feminine” qualities, like her beauty and quiet intelligence, but this is very much in spite of her less favorable, less “ladylike” qualities, speaking to her strong will and temperament. Heathcliff also insults Linton’s mother in Chapter 20, calling her a slut — yet another instance in which a man judges a woman based on characteristics perceived to be more or less feminine by societal norms at the time. This double standard is a pattern throughout the book; we can even go back to Chapter 8, for example, and examine the instance in which Catherine is looked down upon for her “unladylike temper” with Edgar, when they get into a small fight. This bit of sexism in such a dated book highlights what little value people placed on women in the age at the time, as well as the everyday ways in which women would be judged and characterized for personality, for example. | <urn:uuid:8bf158b7-b5d1-483a-982b-5bf697f3c8e1> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://c19.sunygeneseoenglish.org/2019/09/24/genders-double-standard-throughout-wuthering-heights/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141708017.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202113815-20201202143815-00163.warc.gz | en | 0.974238 | 235 | 3.4375 | 3 |
“You need to know what the habitat sounds like when it’s healthy. When the soundscape has changed, the habitat may have changed, too,” Chong Chen, a deep-sea biologist at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, tells The New York Times. This statement informs a burgeoning field of aquatic research wherein acousticians catalogue deep-sea soundscapes in order to understand and track issues in various ecosystems. The study could provide much-needed insight regarding diversity in the deep sea, a place untouched by high-quality cameras and unreachable by human divers. Hydrophones (underwater recorders) can delve into the darkness to capture the snaps, cracks, groans, grunts, clicks and meeps the sea-floor population makes. From these recordings, estimations can be made about what types of creatures inhabit the area, how many there may be and more. This information will prove especially pertinent as deep-sea mining expeditions often occur near populated areas. Read more at The New York Times.
Image courtesy of NOAA | <urn:uuid:96acec6f-c17c-4815-ad47-0d1c6d884809> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://coolhunting.com/culture/the-sonic-pulse-of-the-ocean/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141184123.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125183823-20201125213823-00043.warc.gz | en | 0.920093 | 217 | 3.421875 | 3 |
The Tales of the Heike is one of the most influential works in Japanese literature and culture, remaining even today a crucial source for fiction, drama, and popular media. Originally written in the mid-thirteenth century, it features a cast of vivid characters and chronicles the epic Genpei war, a civil conflict that marked the end of the power of the Heike and changed the course of Japanese history. The Tales of the Heike focuses on the lives of both the samurai warriors who fought for two powerful twelfth-century Japanese clans-the Heike (Taira) and the Genji (Minamoto)-and the women with whom they were intimately connected.
The Tales of the Heike provides a dramatic window onto the emerging world of the medieval samurai and recounts in absorbing detail the chaos of the battlefield, the intrigue of the imperial court, and the gradual loss of a courtly tradition. The book is also highly religious and Buddhist in its orientation, taking up such issues as impermanence, karmic retribution, attachment, and renunciation, which dominated the Japanese imagination in the medieval period.
In this new, abridged translation, Burton Watson offers a gripping rendering of the work's most memorable episodes. Particular to this translation are the introduction by Haruo Shirane, the woodblock illustrations, a glossary of characters, and an extended bibliography. | <urn:uuid:2b663d2a-58c2-462f-a1e4-4787ac5acbb7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.fictiondb.com/title/the-tales-of-the-heike~haruo-shirane~410997.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141184123.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125183823-20201125213823-00043.warc.gz | en | 0.930362 | 280 | 3.5625 | 4 |
I have loved salt marshes ever since I first stepped into one during a college wetlands class in Washington. I breathed in earthy scents. I felt mud squish beneath my boots. I watched birds fly low over the water. Now, the Bay wetlands nourish my spirit, and I am truly grateful they are the place I call home.
As the Habitat Restoration Director at Save The Bay, I am proud that my work leading volunteer and education programs can directly benefit nearby wildlife. Our efforts provide critical habitat for endangered species like the salt marsh harvest mouse. But we never lose sight of the big picture.
Recently, we collaborated with other scientists on the Oro Loma Horizontal Levee Project – an innovative levee that mimics wetland habitats. Our expert restoration team joined more than 5,000 Save The Bay volunteers to construct the site’s giant outdoor nursery and plant more than 70,000 native seedlings.
The potential benefits are profound, since wetland marshes act like sponges, soaking up water as it rises. If replicated, this horizontal levee model could provide extensive flood protection and create thousands of acres of habitat around San Francisco Bay.
Right now, our Bay faces a triple threat of pollution, sea-level rise and habitat loss. Scientists estimate it needs 100,000 acres of wetlands to be healthy and sustainable. Today, only 40,000 acres exist.
With sincere thanks,
Habitat Restoration Director | <urn:uuid:98aa0b94-7bd6-48c1-be57-809df534cebf> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://savesfbay.org/mice-and-marshes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141189038.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127015426-20201127045426-00123.warc.gz | en | 0.907905 | 297 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Digital x-rays are a more streamlined way of taking dental radiographs. Like traditional x-rays, digital versions provide an in-depth view of the structures of the mouth, helping dentists detect complications and develop effective modes of treatment. Digital x-rays are capable of revealing hidden caries, bone erosion, and even tooth decay hiding beneath restorations.
Requiring less radiation and no film to process, digital x-rays have become the standard for oral imaging. These systems produce instant digital images that can easily be enhanced and enlarged for a more accurate diagnosis. The images are captured, stored, and even transmitted via in-office computers. In fact, dentists can easily print or email copies of x-rays in just seconds.
Dental x-rays make for a better and more efficient patient experience. Office visits are faster, patients are exposed to less radiation, and radiographs can be sent to a specialist for review in a fraction of the time necessary for traditional film x-rays. | <urn:uuid:81e4baeb-6bb7-4f49-acb4-b1e357966ce2> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://lancewashburndental.com/digital-x-rays/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141652107.52/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201043603-20201201073603-00363.warc.gz | en | 0.919234 | 203 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Act out the classic folk story of The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs! This script features roles written to match different reading levels, supporting differentiation and English language learner strategies. By utilizing differentiation strategies, teachers can assign specific roles to their readers based on each student's current reading level. This feature allows everyone to get involved in the same activity, build fluency through performance, and feel successful!
While performing with others, students will practice interacting cooperatively, reading aloud, and using expressive voices and gestures to better tell the story. This script also features an accompanying poem and song to give readers additional fluency practice. This leveled script is the perfect tool for a classroom of diverse readers. | <urn:uuid:d8dc5068-39d5-41a4-8f05-c041cde7cc6d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/librarians/p/the-goose-that-laid-the-golden-eggs/11291/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141711306.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202144450-20201202174450-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.931634 | 139 | 3.453125 | 3 |
Giant animals colonizing the "Antarctic abyss" may sound like a plot out of a blockbuster horror movie. But scientists say this phenomenon is now actually happening. According to a report published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, large crabs stretching almost a meter wide have invaded the edge of the Antarctic, destroying ecosystems that took millions of years to build.
The King Crabs have colonized the "Antarctic abyss" of Palmer Deep, a basin more than 4,300 feet down, off the Antarctic Peninsula, reports the New Scientist.
Led by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the findings are shown in a video filmed at the bottom of the ocean.
Treehugger notes that the rise in temperature is mainly to blame, given it was previously too cold for the crabs to live. In short, the researchers conclude the King Crab colonization of the Antarctic is linked to climate change.
According to the Independent, scientists say the number of species in areas colonized by the crabs is a quarter of that in areas that have escaped the invasion.
The invasion of the long-legged critters doesn't come as a surprise to scientists, given three years ago they predicted the King Crabs would invade within 100 years.
Last month, a study published in the journal Science showed that climate change is driving animals to the poles in search of their more normal natural habitats. The Guardian called it "one of the clearest examples of climate change in action." In fact, the leader of the research, Chris Thomas, professor of conservation biology, told The Guardian that for the past 40 years, animals and plants have been "shifting 20 cm per hour, for every hour of the day, for every day of the year." | <urn:uuid:748b0fc7-3451-4c16-93bf-fe293555dfe9> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.huffpost.com/entry/giant-red-crab-invasion-climate-change_n_956090?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747774.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205104937-20201205134937-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.938372 | 355 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Substance use disorders and the harms associated with these diseases are a serious, growing public health problem in the United States. Almost 47,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose in 2018, which translates to 128 lives lost each day.
More than 2 million Americans suffer from opioid use disorder, but only about 25% of people receive any sort of care. For many, inpatient treatment often means leaving a job and loved ones behind to seek recovery.
Individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) struggle to get effective care: Of 2 million Americans with the illness, only 26% receive treatment. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic presents an added strain on the U.S. health care system, it is creating greater hardships for those seeking OUD treatment.
Opioid-related overdose deaths have devastated communities throughout the country. But fatalities related to psychostimulant drugs—which increase activity in the body’s central nervous system—are increasing, and complicating efforts to curb the nation’s overdose crisis.
More than 2 million Americans struggle with opioid use disorder (OUD), a chronic relapsing medical condition, but access to medication-assisted treatment remains limited. Buprenorphine helps alleviate painful symptoms associated with the disorder. But few clinicians prescribe the drug.
Opioid use disorder is a complex brain disease, but it is often still viewed as a moral failing. This stigma can keep people from accessing care for their disease, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which combines Food and Drug Administration-approved medications with behavioral therapies. Watch how MAT can help people manage their disease, a critical step in reducing the risk of overdose and improving health.
When Are Prescribers Required to Use Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs?
Prescriber use mandates are state laws that require health care providers to check the prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP)—a state-based electronic database intended to help reduce misuse and diversion of controlled substances—under specific circumstances. | <urn:uuid:d87f6722-b232-44d2-8119-e99fd6a72dbc> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www1.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/substance-use-prevention-and-treatment-initiative | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176864.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124140942-20201124170942-00243.warc.gz | en | 0.933851 | 408 | 3.28125 | 3 |
“This remarkable study of modern life expands historical archaeology in exciting, bold ways. We finally have a book that provides fresh perspectives on modernity and its everyday meanings to people living with its implications.”—Charles E. Orser Jr., author of The Archaeology of Race and Racialization in Historic America
“Innovative. Assessing how social, economic, and cultural life in the Midwest were codified and reproduced at the turn of the twentieth century, Graff elucidates the impacts of a rapidly developing industrial economy, the rise of labor unions and unrest, and burgeoning ideas of modernity.”—Deborah L. Rotman, author of The Archaeology of Gender in Historic America
“Graff has provided compelling insight into past Chicago society through the lens of archaeology, exploring that most revealing source—the trash people left behind.”—Matthew Johnson, author of Archaeological Theory: An Introduction
Through archaeological and archival research from sites associated with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Disposing of Modernity: The Archaeology of Garbage and Consumerism during Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair explores the changing world of urban America at the turn of the twentieth century. Featuring excavations of trash deposited during the fair, Rebecca Graff’s first-of-its-kind study reveals changing consumer patterns, notions of domesticity and progress, and anxieties about the modernization of society.
Graff examines artifacts, architecture, and written records from the 1893 fair’s Ohio Building, which was used as a clubhouse for fairgoers in Jackson Park, and the Charnley-Persky House, an aesthetically modern city residence designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Many of the items she uncovers were products that first debuted at world’s fairs, and materials such as mineral water bottles, cheese containers, dentures, and dinnerware illustrate how fairs created markets for new goods and influenced consumer practices.
Graff discusses how the fair’s ephemeral nature gave it transformative power in Chicago society, and she connects its accompanying “conspicuous disposal” habits to today’s waste disposal regimes. Reflecting on current plans to build the Obama Presidential Center at the site of the Chicago World’s Fair, she draws attention to the ways the historical trends documented here continue in the present.
Rebecca S. Graff is associate professor of anthropology at Lake Forest College. | <urn:uuid:6286b5c6-9f7a-4c4f-9961-23571a3917c8> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://floridapress.blog/2020/08/04/disposing-of-modernity/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141189141.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127044624-20201127074624-00403.warc.gz | en | 0.908998 | 513 | 2.921875 | 3 |
How well do you really know the last 27 books of the Bible? This quiz will help you to identify subjects such as Jesus' miracles, the epistles, and parables that you may need to brush up on. Consider the mechanics of the New Testament when taking this quiz, since it explores authorship, form, and presentation of the Bible as much as it does the specific teachings of Christ.
The New Testament is a collection of books that offer details about the life, death, and legacy of Jesus. The plethora of his moral teachings contained therein form the basis of the Christian faith. The first four books are the Gospels, which detail Jesus' life. The book of Acts chronicles the trials of the disciples and one of Christ's fiercest crusaders for the faith, the Apostle Paul. Paul's epistles immediately precede Revelation, which illustrates in graphic detail why walking the narrow path is so crucial for Christians.
If you are new to this religion or you are simply a fan of the faith, this quiz is a great way to get familiar with solid Christian concepts. Enhance your quiz experience and see how many questions you can answer correctly without peeking in your Bible! | <urn:uuid:bd278731-fd99-4908-84fe-a03b6941be02> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/the-new-testament-literacy-test?rmalg=es&remorapos=0&remorasrc=f221610f3c3c45c6ba04323676a53479&remoraregion=bottom | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195656.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128125557-20201128155557-00483.warc.gz | en | 0.941314 | 240 | 2.984375 | 3 |
A graphically stunning introduction to constellations for the youngest readers, following the meteoric rise of global bestseller Seeing Stars. This stylish, informative board book helps younger children identify six of the most recognizable animal constellations from The Great Bear to The Southern Fish. Each constellation is introduced as a cluster of stars with its connected-line shape; readers then guess the animal through a series of read-aloud clues. A full animal illustration gatefold reveals the answer, accompanied by extra information about the constellation and its important stars.
Perfect for bedtime stargazing!
- Illustrator: Sara Gillingham
- 32 Pages
- Age recommendation: 2-4 | <urn:uuid:506fbd89-9b0e-4586-81f8-16a3147d25a4> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.boutiquelittle.com/products/animals-in-the-sky | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141716970.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202205758-20201202235758-00003.warc.gz | en | 0.893732 | 137 | 2.875 | 3 |
Boasting one of Western culture's oldest and richest literary traditions, French literature has long been a pioneer of style and innovation. From the farcical comedies of Moliere to the torment of Baudelaire's verse, it has inspired writers and artists everywhere throughout the ages. This comprehensive Beginner's Guide tells French literature's compelling story from the beginning right up to today. Highlighting its distinct qualities, Carol Clark explores how the literary styles of different periods took shape and shows what we can gain from reading classic and modern French works. With translations and explanations of noteworthy extracts from celebrated writers, this is the perfect introduction for anyone who wants to discover the delights French literature offers.
Carol Clark is an Emeritus Fellow of Balliol College and former University Lecturer in French at the University of Oxford. She has translated works by Baudelaire, Proust, and Rostand for Penguin Classics. | <urn:uuid:356c26ec-bc93-422c-bb7e-09ae78c4e45f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/French-Literature/Carol-Clark/Beginners-Guides/9781780740928 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176922.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124170142-20201124200142-00523.warc.gz | en | 0.948382 | 185 | 3.453125 | 3 |
According to data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on Friday, much of Greece is at a “low” or “medium” risk level for Covid-19.
The ECDC records the epidemiological burden across Europe, and classifies either entire countries or regions, depending on their coronavirus risk level.
Unlike much of Europe, excluding areas of Central and Northern Europe, which is considered high-risk, much of Greece is at low or medium risk.
The regions of Attica, Central Greece, Macedonia, Epirus, are at medium risk, and areas of Central Macedonia belong to the high-risk category.
Southern Greece, Eastern Macedonia, and Thrace are all considered very low risk areas.
All European countries, except for Greece, Cyprus, Finland, Estonia, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are considered “stable” by the ECDC, are in a situation of “great epidemiological concern” in terms of the virus.
Although the stable countries may report an increase in cases, like Greece, they are still considered to have a relatively low risk level for young and healthy citizens.
Older people and those who belong to vulnerable groups in these stable countries are still considered to be of high risk, however.
Despite their stable designations, the situation regarding Covid-19 in the six countries should be carefully monitored, as the virus can spread quickly, increasing the countries’ risk level, according to the authorities. | <urn:uuid:a768beb0-c444-4031-9847-f6d9fb9662da> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/10/23/european-data-considers-coronavirus-risk-in-greece-mainly-low-to-medium/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141185851.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126001926-20201126031926-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.948238 | 313 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The ovarian hormone estrogen has long been used to treat the physical symptoms of menopause and to aid in the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. Cumulative evidence from basic science and clinical research suggests that estrogen also plays a significant neuromodulatory and neuroprotective role. The numerous estrogenic effects in the brain include the modulation of synaptogenesis, increased cerebral blood flow, mediation of important neurotransmitters and hormones, protection against apoptosis, anti-inflammatory actions, and antioxidant properties. These multiple actions in the central nervous system support estrogen as a potential treatment for the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common form of dementia. Evidence from epidemiological studies supports enhanced cognitive function in women with AD taking estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) as well as a reduced risk for developing AD in healthy women receiving ERT. Additional clinical evidence suggests that estrogen may modulate specific cognitive functions such as working memory and verbal learning and memory. However, results from more recent controlled trials have not consistently shown a beneficial effect of estrogen on the cognitive function of women with AD. Future research should focus on examining the influence of multiple potential mediators of ERT including the route of estrogen administration, form of estrogen (conjugated estrogens vs estradiol), duration of treatment, opposed versus unopposed estrogen and the use of estrogen analogues. Further, sensitive neuropsychological measures may provide more detailed information concerning the specific effects of estrogen on cognitive function. These important issues must be addressed in order to establish the role of estrogen for the prevention and treatment of AD in women. | <urn:uuid:50479fed-ea57-4466-a8a8-f023005d0203> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12149049/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141185851.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126001926-20201126031926-00603.warc.gz | en | 0.915349 | 322 | 2.625 | 3 |
Paris’s Gare du Nord is one of the busiest international transit centers in the world. In the past three decades, it has become an important hub for West African migrants—self-fashioned adventurers—navigating life in the city.
In this groundbreaking work, Julie Kleinman chronicles how West Africans use the Gare du Nord to create economic opportunities, confront police harassment, and forge connections to people outside of their communities. Drawing on ten years of ethnographic research, including an internship at the French national railway company, Kleinman reveals how racial inequality is ingrained in the order of Parisian public space. She vividly describes the extraordinary ways that African migrants retool French transit infrastructure to build alternative pathways toward social and economic integration where state institutions have failed. In doing so, these adventurers defy boundaries—between migrant and citizen, center and periphery, neighbor and stranger—that have shaped urban planning and immigration policy. Adventure Capital offers a new understanding of contemporary migration and belonging, capturing the central role that West African migrants play in revitalizing French urban life.
December 18th is International Migrants Day. Created by the United Nations, the day is observed “with the aim of creating more dialogues and interactions within countries and regions, as well as propelling …Read More > | <urn:uuid:f04e676d-3585-4f94-897e-d89c78140134> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520304413/adventure-capital | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195745.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128184858-20201128214858-00043.warc.gz | en | 0.919579 | 258 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Hello from zero degrees longitude
This laser projected from the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, in London, England, marks the prime meridian, dividing Earth’s Eastern and Western Hemispheres and helping travelers to chart their courses by establishing a universally adopted zero degrees longitude. The meridian itself is essentially an imaginary line, arbitrarily placed. By the early 19th century, most maritime countries had established their own prime meridians to aid in navigation. But on this date in 1884, delegates from 25 nations met at a conference in Washington, DC, where they established Greenwich as the international standard for mapping and timekeeping. The decision made sense, as the Greenwich meridian was already widely used. But there was one holdout: France abstained from the vote and used its own Paris meridian for several decades before eventually joining other countries in recognizing the Greenwich meridian.
‘Ghost Wood,’ Nienhagen, Germany | <urn:uuid:f94020a8-1407-49c8-83a1-8a79f2d1c7f9> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://majormike.us/subjects/greenwich/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141205147.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130035203-20201130065203-00123.warc.gz | en | 0.934969 | 191 | 3.625 | 4 |
Synopses & Reviews
It is widely believed that the Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity politicized religious allegiances, dividing the Christian Roman Empire from the Zoroastrian Sasanian Empire and leading to the persecution of Christians in Persia. This account, however, is based on Greek ecclesiastical histories and Syriac martyrdom narratives that date to centuries after the fact. In this groundbreaking study, Kyle Smith analyzes diverse Greek, Latin, and Syriac sources to show that there was not a single history of fourth-century Mesopotamia. By examining the conflicting hagiographical and historical evidence, Constantine and the Captive Christians of Persia presents an evocative and evolving portrait of the first Christian emperor, uncovering how Syriac Christians manipulated the image of their western Christian counterparts to fashion their own political and religious identities during this century of radical change. | <urn:uuid:52360d15-bf83-454e-b4dc-d46b7d0c691b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.powells.com/book/constantine-and-the-captive-christians-of-persia-9780520289604 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141205147.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130035203-20201130065203-00123.warc.gz | en | 0.931585 | 169 | 2.71875 | 3 |
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Radiating fire and ice, comets as a phenomenon seem part science, part myth. Two thousand years ago when a comet shot across the night sky, it convinced the Romans that Julius Caesar was a god. In 1066, Halley’s Comet was interpreted as a foreshadowing of the death of Harold the Second in the Battle of Hastings. Even today the arrival of a comet often feels auspicious, confirming our hopes, fears, and sense of wonder in the universe.
In Comets, P. Andrew Karam takes the reader on a far-ranging exploration of these most beautiful and dramatic objects in the skies, revealing how comets and humanity have been interwoven throughout history. He delves into the science of comets and how it has changed over time; the way comets have been depicted in art, religion, literature, and popular culture; and how comets have appeared in the heavens through the centuries. Comprehensive in scope and beautifully illustrated throughout, the book will appeal not only to the budding astronomer, but to anyone with an appreciation for these compelling and remarkable celestial bodies. | <urn:uuid:95bfc1c8-5b80-4fc7-b99e-0620fc6dcd17> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.bibliovault.org/BV.book.epl?ISBN=9781780238586 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00363.warc.gz | en | 0.953198 | 229 | 3.515625 | 4 |
The short story ”Konovalov" (1897) is an example of Maxim Gorky’s autobiographical writing, depicting the suicide of a quiet prisoner, Konovalov, whom Gorky decides to immortalize on the page. The narrative follows the chronological life of the main character, constructed from the memory of the narrator himself, adding a tinge of authenticity. The story brings some existentialist philosophies to mind, coating the ordinary situations with an air of nostalgia and universality, so characteristic of Gorky’s entire oeuvre.
Maxim Gorky has its place among the most talented and original Russian modern writers. A five-time Nobel Prize nominee, Gorky’s position in Russian literature is undisputable. He led a turbulent life of an exile, a dissenter, and a Bolshevik associate, which severely marked his literary endeavours. A strong supporter of Russia’s political, social, and cultural transformation, Gorky’s name still echoes in the annals of history. His best-known works include "The Lower Depths", "My Childhood,", "Mother", and "Children of the Sun". | <urn:uuid:003f6c3a-282f-48aa-b001-731e2e59533f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.bookbeat.com/be/book/Konovalov-274330 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00363.warc.gz | en | 0.903696 | 236 | 3.0625 | 3 |
An endangered sperm whale carcass was spotted on the beach recently near Juneau. It’s a rare sighting along the Inside Passage waters. Sperm whales typically feed in the open ocean.
Kate Savage, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was the lead veterinarian on the job. Normally, she’s decked out in teal scrubs teaching students how to do necropsies on much smaller marine mammals, like frozen sea lions.
But last week, she got to help lead a team to work on a 48-foot-long sperm whale.
“People were just, like, really into learning as much as we could and excited to be working on a species no one had worked on before,” Savage said.
Only two dead sperm whales have washed up on Alaska shores to study since the 1990s: one in Homer and another near Kenai Fjords National Park. So the opportunity to examine the whale was particularly exciting for local scientists.
Living sperm whales have been spotted in the Inside Passage before. But sightings are infrequent. Savage said marine biologists have theorized this young male may have been following a group and feeding on squid, based on the contents of its stomach.
A plane reported it dead last week north of Berners Bay in Lynn Canal.
Upon arrival on the scene, Savage and a team went to work trying to determine the cause of death. Immediately, they noticed long slices around the dorsal fin — injuries consistent with a vessel strike.
Savage said it looked like significant trauma.
“Just jumbled vertebrae and lots of fractures,” Savage said. “Big fractures and small fractures. I could see some of the spinal cord.”
There were other signs that indicated this whale probably wasn’t floating dead in the water before a vessel collided with it. Savage said a tissue sample will ultimately determine the whale’s time of death.
Last year, seven whales in Alaska were killed by vessel strikes.
But her team members weren’t the only ones to marvel at the strange sight. Someone took most of the whale’s lower jaw before researchers went back for their second examination.
NOAA Enforcement is asking whoever took the body part to return it. It’s illegal to possess any piece of an endangered marine mammal. | <urn:uuid:215c8c29-88d8-4321-bb85-775882bd321d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/04/05/southeast-alaska-researchers-get-rare-opportunity-to-study-a-sperm-whale/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141750841.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205211729-20201206001729-00443.warc.gz | en | 0.968551 | 481 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Behind Dunham Massey's quiet English country house exterior lie tales both personal and political: an earl who fought for the monarchy, rebellious housemaids, even an exiled emperor. Discover the complete story of Dunham Massey, a place that was both a grand, aristocratic house and home to 300 years of family drama.
Dunham Massey was built in the 18th century by the 2nd Earl of Warrington on the footprint of a much older building. It played a central role in Cheshire history; its earliest earls becoming embroiled in the politics of the English Civil War and in the downfall of King Charles I. This grand, historic house contains many reminders of its tumultuous past, from a vast collection of Huguenot silver to the portraits of politically minded family members that line the walls.
The house at Dunham Massey was restored in the 20th century by the 9th Earl of Stamford, who carefully refurbished its original architecture and interiors. The result is a perfectly preserved country house.
This engaging new guide tells the story of the owners and servants who lived at Dunham Massey, while offering a lively tour of the property, highlighting its many treasures, including the National Trust's finest silver collection. It also explores Dunham's vast gardens, including Britain's largest winter garden, and its magnificent deer park. Richly illustrated, the book is accompanied by a family tree, floorplans and bird's-eye views of the house and gardens.
Sorry, there are no reviews. | <urn:uuid:536a9dcb-467d-4be6-bb96-54e982bf262d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://shop.nationaltrust.org.uk/national-trust-dunham-massey-guidebook.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141163411.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123153826-20201123183826-00004.warc.gz | en | 0.955755 | 305 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Fermilab outside Chicago will soon begin its Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), and what it hopes to accomplish is as brilliant and confusing as the book of its namesake.
The experiment starts with accelerating protons close to the speed of light. That beam of super-fast particles is measured and then shot out through 800 miles of rock, where it will pop back up in South Dakota to be measured at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, home of the largest neutrino detectors on Earth.
All the data gathered by both facilities will be analyzed by a team of 800 scientists across 150 institutions. Hopefully some conclusions can be reached about not just the elusive nature of neutrinos, but about how stars function and even why matter exists. Regardless, the experiment itself sounds cool as hell. | <urn:uuid:822f56ba-ea54-4dc4-a5c6-4072939f2080> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://gizmodo.com/scientists-at-fermilab-are-about-to-start-shooting-neut-1768242281 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141177607.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124224124-20201125014124-00084.warc.gz | en | 0.939541 | 162 | 3.078125 | 3 |
This magnificent and abandoned fortified city of Fatehpur Sikri was built for the Mughal Emperor Akbar. It was the capital of the Mughal empire from 1571 to 1585, and is considered the best example of Mughal architecture in existence. Akbar himself oversaw the construction of the fortress, ensuring that every detail of the city was befitting of an emperor’s grandeur.
Unfortunately, the fortress was abandoned as soon as it was finished.
The grand city was comprised of several palatial courts, a harem building, a mosque, private emperor’s quarters, residential buildings, the tomb of a Sufi saint, a giant outdoor board game, a pool, and utility buildings. These were colored a rosy hue by the local red sand used as construction material.
Fatehpur Sikri is also notable for the fact that it incorporated the many cultures of the Mughal empire—the name as well as the geometric layout drew on ancient Persian influences, whereas the buildings’ decorative embellishments were classically Indian. Akbar was known for his tolerance of multi-religious culture, and the inhabitants of the city followed Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity without conflict.
Not long after the fortress was completed, the lake that provided water to the complex dried up, and life at Fatehpur Sikri was unsustainable. Emperor Muhammad Shah lived in the city between 1719 and 1748, and the Marathas warriors occupied the city for a short time after that. Once the British invaded India, their army used the fortress as a barracks, during which time it was badly damaged.
What remains of Fatehpur Sikri is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A town has grown up to the west of the ruins, and still uses the mosque for worship. Archaeological excavation has indicated that the significance of the site dates way earlier than Emperor Akbar and Fatehpur Sikri. Thousand-year-old Jain statues and buildings have been unearthed beneath the city, suggesting that some lost culture existed there prior to the Mughals. | <urn:uuid:da65894a-bdb1-4ee3-9f0c-139f0580668c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/fatehpur-sikri | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193221.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127131802-20201127161802-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.976937 | 431 | 3.4375 | 3 |
Fission vs fusion
Nuclear fission and fusion reactions harness the strong nuclear force – the phenomenal ‘glue’ which holds atoms together. To produce a fission reaction, a neutron is fired at an atomic nucleus, smashing it apart and leaving radioactive nuclei, neutrons and energy.
In a fusion reaction, meanwhile, two or more nuclei are combined; they merge into one heavy nucleus, freeing neutrons and huge amounts of energy in the process. Coaxing nuclei together requires lots of heat and pressure since their positive charges naturally repel each other.
So how do these reactions generate such epic amounts of energy? An atom’s mass is more than just the sum of its parts. Strangely enough, a significant proportion of a nucleus’s mass is made up by the strong nuclear force – the glue that binds it together.
So although the number of protons and neutrons is the same before and after a fission or fusion reaction has taken place, a minute amount of that subatomic glue – and therefore mass – is liberated.
Both fission and fusion reactions convert this mass into energy, as described by Einstein’s famous E=mc2 equation. The constant c in this formula represents the speed of light, so c2 is a pretty big number! In other words, just a tiny bit of mass can produce an extraordinary amount of energy. | <urn:uuid:6c478d66-2402-49eb-88c7-e0888bfeb422> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.howitworksdaily.com/fission-vs-fusion/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193221.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127131802-20201127161802-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.933022 | 286 | 4.28125 | 4 |
Many texts emphasize generality and abstract principles at the expense of concreteness; this text remedies that common mistake, stressing formal manipulations, intuitive appeal, and ingenuity. A two-volume treatment in a single binding, it supplements standard mathematics courses, employing physical analogies, encouraging problem formulation, and supplying problem-solving methods.
Since it addresses topics of varying complexity—from number-multiplication games and other recreational mathematics to the zeros of the Riemann zeta function and the presumed transcendence of Euler's constant—this volume can be used by readers of every background. Beginners will find it a source of useful techniques and subjects not usually taught in standard courses. They'll also discover connections between seemingly unrelated aspects of mathematics. Experienced mathematicians can rely upon the book as a source of problems and information on branches beyond their specialties. Other professionals—theoretical physicists and chemists, engineers, numerical analysts, and computer scientists—will also consider it a valuable reference.
Reprint of the John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1973 edition.
|Availability||Usually ships in 24 to 48 hours|
|Author/Editor||Z. A. Melzak|
|Dimensions||5 3/8 x 8 1/2| | <urn:uuid:ba4c9fec-7684-420a-af93-06558a90a637> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://store.doverpublications.com/0486457818.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141681209.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201170219-20201201200219-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.850735 | 259 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The outlook for tigers, a species that has nearly disappeared from the wild, got a little less dreary today.
New numbers revealed at the start of a tiger conservation conference in India show that the tiger population in the host country is actually on the rise.
Indian officials announced today (Mar. 28) that the country's tiger population has increased by 225 since 2007, the last time a comprehensive population survey was conducted.
Although the number may seem small, it marks a significant increase in India's tiger population, now said to be roughly 1,706 big cats.
The tiger count, conducted by Indian authorities and international conservation organizations, was the largest ever undertaken. Several areas in India were intensively surveyed for the first time, and a number of tigers were discovered living outside of designated tiger reserves and national parks.
"In its detail, this tiger estimation exercise shows the importance India attaches to this prime conservation issue," said Ravi Singh, chief executive of conservation group WWF's India branch. "The results indicate the need to intensify field-based management and intervention to go beyond the present benchmark, bringing more people and partners into the process."
The three-day International Tiger Conservation Conference comes shortly after the launch of the groundbreaking Global Tiger Recovery Program, a worldwide plan to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.
According to some estimates, a mere 3,200 tigers live in the wild in 13 Asian countries. Loss of habitat, poaching and a brisk trade in tiger parts have contributed to a 97 percent decline in tiger populations around the world, down from roughly 100,000 animals at the beginning of the 20th century.
"Recovery requires strong protection of core tiger areas and areas that link them, as well as effective management in the surrounding areas," said Mike Baltzer, head of WWF's Tigers Alive Initiative. "With these two vital conservation ingredients, we can not only halt their decline, but ensure tigers make a strong and lasting comeback."
The Global Tiger Recovery Program was forged in November 2010 at the world's first international tiger conservation meeting, in St. Petersburg, Russia. | <urn:uuid:1df56c75-56fd-43b3-8022-5d87ee0f9bd7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna42309111 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141737946.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204131750-20201204161750-00644.warc.gz | en | 0.950706 | 425 | 3.46875 | 3 |
A peer-reviewed study “Harnessing a decade of data to inform future decisions: Insights into the ongoing hydrocarbon release at Taylor Energy’s Mississippi Canyon 20 site,” was published in Marine Pollution Bulletin on May 11, 2020. The paper was authored by a team of eight scientists who have been studying the MC-20 site for over a decade.
The release of oil and gas at Mississippi Canyon Block 20 into the Gulf of Mexico has vexed response officials since 2004 when a regional seafloor failure toppled the Taylor Energy Company platform. Despite the completion of nine intervention wells, releases continue from the seafloor, mostly captured by a recently installed containment system. Toward informing resolution, this work applies chemical forensic and statistical analyses to surface sheens, sediments, and reservoir oil samples. Our results indicate sheens are chemically heterogeneous, contain remnant synthetic hydrocarbons likely discharged from well interventions prior to 2012, and require mixing of multiple chemically-distinct oil groups to explain observed variability in diagnostic ratios. Given the respite and opportunity afforded by containment we suggest leveraging ongoing collection activities to assess release dynamics, as well as engaging the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, to evaluate potential solutions, associated risks, and to consider policy ramifications. | <urn:uuid:15e88391-2c7e-4b03-977c-2b1cea140a36> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://mc20science.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141164142.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123182720-20201123212720-00284.warc.gz | en | 0.941707 | 260 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Published May 04, 2009In 2005, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology announced that the long-extinct Ivory-Billed Woodpecker had been discovered in the swamps of eastern Arkansas, sparking excitement and hope from bird enthusiasts and researchers alike. Denizens of the nearby community of Brinkley embraced the idea with enthusiasm, driven by the potential rejuvenation of their deteriorating, Wal-Mart-dominated economy from the anticipated influx of tourists. The media joined the cause as well, preaching the miracle of a resurfaced species despite the fact that the only evidence was a blurry video.
Eventually, those removed from the event began to take a closer look at the facts, discovering that in all likelihood, the videotape showed a Pileated Woodpecker, whose colourings are similar to that of the extinct bird. Subsequently, funds utilized for preserving living birds in danger of going extinct were expended on trying to prove the existence of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, thus reinforcing the human cycle of wilful ignorance, rather than the acceptance of unflattering realities and responsibility.
There is an overwhelming sadness throughout Ghost Bird that echoes the very core human anxieties of annihilation and meaninglessness, along with blind hope as a means of coping with the undeniable but often ignored reality that everything ends. People would much rather believe in an unlikely miracle than acknowledge their place as a destructive species whose fleeting existence ultimately means very little. Sadly, this denial creates only a cyclic pattern of destruction, as blind ignorance may help with pesky feelings of doubt but does little to help humanity progress and learn from its mistakes.
The documentary is smart and insightful, expertly interweaving interviews and archive footage in a way that never stops short of being captivating. Appropriate parallels are drawn between dying species and communities, while everyone involved turn a blind eye, seeking only immediate gratification.
It's sharp criticism, not only of our current environmental crisis but also of a culture so afraid of feeling sad that realities are ignored and progress is stunted. (Small Change) | <urn:uuid:ec15473d-fb0c-4d8e-aaf0-94e783e6d107> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://exclaim.ca/film/article/ghost_bird-directed_by_scott_crocker_2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141187753.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126084625-20201126114625-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.963276 | 423 | 2.515625 | 3 |
One Nation Under Coyote, Divisible
“It’s certainly not all disgust, as a beautiful piece on coyotes by Lisa Couturier amply demonstrates.”
—Open Letters Arts and Literature Review
Anthologized in Trash Animals: How We Live with Nature’s Filthy, Feral, Invasive, and Unwanted Species, edited by Kelsi Nagy and Phillip David Johnson II
Why are some species admired or beloved while others are despised? An eagle or hawk circling overhead inspires awe while urban pigeons shuffling underfoot are kicked away in revulsion. Fly fishermen consider carp an unwelcome trash fish, even though the trout they hope to catch are often equally non-native. Wolves and coyotes are feared and hunted in numbers wildly disproportionate to the dangers they pose to humans and livestock.
In Trash Animals, a diverse group of environmental writers explores the natural history of wildlife species deemed filthy, unwanted, invasive, or worthless, highlighting the vexed relationship humans have with such creatures. Each essay focuses on a so-called trash species—gulls, coyotes, carp, cockroaches, magpies, prairie dogs, and lubber grasshoppers, among others—examining the biology and behavior of each in contrast to the assumptions widely held about them. Identifying such animals as trash tells us nothing about problematic wildlife but rather reveals more about human expectations of, and frustrations with, the natural world.
By establishing the unique place that maligned species occupy in the contemporary landscape and in our imagination, the contributors challenge us to look closely at these animals, to reimagine our ethics of engagement with such wildlife, and to question the violence with which we treat them. Perhaps our attitudes reveal more about humans than they do about the animals.
Header image: “Kojote2010″ by JoernHauke – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – | <urn:uuid:0c0b37ce-20a5-4174-bda4-edb08ae2202c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www.lisacouturier.com/writing/one-nation-under-coyote-divisible/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195967.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129004335-20201129034335-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.879953 | 437 | 3.109375 | 3 |
On August 24, 1939, the world held its collective breath as Hitler and Stalin signed the now infamous nonaggression pact, signaling an imminent invasion of Poland and daring Western Europe to respond.
In this dramatic account of the final days before the outbreak of World War II, award-winning historian Richard Overy vividly chronicles the unraveling of peace, hour by grim hour, as politicians and ordinary citizens brace themselves for a war that could spell the end of European civilization.
Nothing was entirely predictable or inevitable. The West hoped that Hitler would see sense if they stood firm. Hitler was convinced the West would back down. Moments of uncertainty alternated with those of confrontation; secret intelligence was used by both sides to support their hopes. The one constant feature was the determination of Poland, a country created only in 1919, to protect its newfound independence against a vastly superior enemy.
1939 documents a defining moment in the violent history of the twentieth century. | <urn:uuid:65234e35-a572-481c-ae96-33ce88c39b7d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781400188673-1939 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195967.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129004335-20201129034335-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.962543 | 191 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Color is one of the most powerful, and complex, tools at the artist's disposal. Bridging the divide between color theory and color practice, this course distills the essentials of color mechanics into workable studies and projects. Students explore color through creative digital exercises using collage and paint to understand color and how to use it effectively. Tutorials and visual presentations explain the role of light, the psychological impact of color, and how such factors as hue, value and intensity affect design. Additional presentations address the historical background of the use of color. Through the process of experiencing the interface of color theory and color application, guidelines toward developing a personal palette are given. Mastery of color is essential in the work of artists, illustrators, craftspeople and designers, making this course an ideal starting point. | <urn:uuid:514128ea-2e02-4685-9f96-9981ed21bda4> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://cereg.risd.edu/search/publicCourseSearchDetails.do?method=load&courseId=1029401 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141181179.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125041943-20201125071943-00644.warc.gz | en | 0.900056 | 160 | 3.703125 | 4 |
In the last half of the nineteenth century, yellow fever plagued the American South. It stalked the region's steaming cities, killing its victims with overwhelming hepatitis and hemorrhage. Margaret Humphreys explores the ways in which this tropical disease hampered commerce, frustrated the scientific community, and eventually galvanized local and federal authorities into forming public health boards. She pays particular attention to the various theories for containing the disease and the constant tension between state and federal officials over how public funds should be spent. Her research recovers the specific concerns of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century South, broadening our understanding of the evolution of preventive medicine in the United States.
Sign up for more information on JHUP Books | <urn:uuid:26e515aa-40ad-4453-bfad-32bc6211e143> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/yellow-fever-and-south | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188800.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126142720-20201126172720-00004.warc.gz | en | 0.916155 | 142 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Goldfish Can Get Depressed, Too
Don’t believe what Pixar is trying to sell you: Fish are not exactly brimming with personality. In aquariums, they tend to swim in circles, sucking up fragments of food and ducking around miniature treasure chests. To a layperson, fish don’t appear to possess concepts of happy, or sad, or anything in between—they just seem to exist.
This, researchers say, is not quite accurate. Speaking with The New York Times, Julian Pittman, a professor at the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Troy University, says that fish not only suffer from depression, they can be easily diagnosed. Zebrafish dropped into a new tank who linger at the bottom are probably sad; those who enthusiastically explore the upper half are not.
In Pittman’s studies, fish depression can be induced by getting them “drunk” on ethanol, then cutting off the supply, resulting in withdrawal. These fish mope around the tank floor until they’re given antidepressants, at which point they begin happily swimming near the surface again.
It’s impossible to correlate fish depression with that of a human, but Pittman believes the symptoms in fish—losing interest in exploring and eating—makes them viable candidates for exploring neuroscience and perhaps drawing conclusions that will be beneficial in the land-dwelling population.
In the meantime, you can help ward off fish blues by keeping them busy—having obstacles to swim through and intriguing areas of a tank to explore. Just like humans, staying active and engaged can boost their mental health.
[h/t The New York Times] | <urn:uuid:ab38af6d-3a34-43c5-b815-ee89a977f62d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/519803/goldfish-can-get-depressed-too | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141216897.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130161537-20201130191537-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.948126 | 340 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Native Florida plant: Sweet acacia
Sweet acacia is one of those plants with both a good side and a bad side. The good side is the heavenly perfume that wafts through the air from the yellow pompon flowers. Abundant stamens, which produce and release pollen, cause the flower’s puffy appearance. After being drawn in by the scent, someone beginning to caress the feathery leaves would encounter the bad side: paired spines at the base of each leaf.
Technically, these spines are “stipular spines” because they were modified from stipules, small appendages that may function to protect the leaf bud. Stipules likely evolved to be pointy as a means of defense against ravenous herbivores. In Florida, the potential herbivore may be white-tailed deer, but additional species could be a threat throughout the rest of its range.
Besides Florida, sweet acacia ranges through the Southern U.S. to California and south through tropical America. Across oceans, this tree is also present in Africa, Asia, and Australia. With such prevalence, one may wonder exactly where sweet acacia originated. Many of us associate the spiny, spreading branches with African savannahs, but research points toward Central America as the point of origin.
Then, is sweet acacia truly a Florida native? Many experts consider it so, which would mean sweet acacia reached Florida by natural range expansion. View sweet acacia, and delight in its floral scents this winter, in the created Hardwood Hammock at Naples Botanical Garden.
— Andee Naccarato, Department of Education and Conservation, Naples Botanical Garden | <urn:uuid:b9516950-e93e-4041-94a4-563d4b2e44f9> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.news-press.com/story/news/2013/12/15/native-florida-plant-sweet-acacia/1576794/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141745780.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204223450-20201205013450-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.936859 | 348 | 3.375 | 3 |
The passing of architect, I. M. Pei in May of 2019 marked one of the greatest losses in the creative world. This distinguished Chinese-American Architect died at age 102. In the wake of his six-decade career, Pei blessed the world with a legacy of over 80 projects including the Louvre Pyramids, the National Gallery East Building, The John F. Kennedy Library, The Bank of China, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. His diverse work affected a myriad of countries across the globe including France, China, the USA, Taiwan, Qatar, and Japan.
I. M. Pei’s dazzling design style was characterized as Modernist with significant Cubist themes. Many of his buildings incorporated designs based off of simple geometric patterns and exquisite glass work. His interest in urban renewal programs led Pei to create structures that both reflected their angular, urban environment as well as traditional Chinese motifs of nature and harmony. To quote Pei, “The talk about modernism versus postmodernism is unimportant. It’s a side issue. An individual building, the style in which it is going to be designed and built, is not that important. The important thing, really, is the community. How does it affect life?”
Pei’s most iconic and recognizable contribution was the five Louvre Pyramids. The pyramid at the grand entrance of the Louvre was constructed to accommodate the growing number of museum visitors. It was built in the exact same dimensions as the Pyramids of Giza, reflecting the grandeur of the Egyptian collection housed at the Louvre. Surrounding the main pyramid is three smaller glass pyramids which filter light into the exhibits below. Lastly, Pei constructed an inverted pyramid underground. The suspended structure plays with the viewer’s sense of ground and visually flips the space in which it exists.
Upon its construction in 1989, the glass and steel Pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre created a controversial stark contrast to the surrounding plaza and palatial structures. Initially, like most great French landmarks, the Great Pyramid was hugely unpopular. Today, however, these Pyramids serve as an iconic symbol of French Nationalism on par with the Eiffel Tower. These magnificent feats of architecture illustrate Pei’s philosophy, “To be a good architect there is something about pushing the limit…I would like to think I push myself to the limit.” | <urn:uuid:cbe544e8-7581-42e3-b5a7-2945268a0985> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://jeanmarcfray.com/a-tribute-to-i-m-pei/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141171077.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124025131-20201124055131-00124.warc.gz | en | 0.954896 | 505 | 3.203125 | 3 |
In most cases, people in Illinois struggling with mesothelioma developed this rare, often deadly form of cancer due to contact with asbestos on the job. Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and other organs. While it is caused by asbestos exposure, mesothelioma may develop 10 to 40 years after the initial exposure. Because the disease can take so long to develop, many people already have advanced mesothelioma by the time the malignancy is discovered. Few treatments have been effective in combatting this form of cancer, although medical research aims to find improved solutions.
Phototherapy offers hope for some mesothelioma sufferers
People with pleural mesothelioma, the form of cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, may benefit from near-infrared phototherapy, according to scientists at Nagoya University in Japan. The study found that this type of phototherapy, which uses a type of light that is not visible to the naked eye but is capable of penetrating the skin, may have benefits for mesothelioma patients. Other studies have previously pointed to the potential of this powerful light therapy for other forms of cancer.
Treatment targets protein found in mesothelioma
In many cases, mesothelioma is diagnosed due to high levels of a protein, podoplanin, often found in cancer cells. The near-infrared treatment targets podoplanin in combination with antibodies that bind to cells containing the protein. These antibodies allow the cells to absorb light energy, leading to ruptures in the tumor cells.
People with mesothelioma may experience a range of painful symptoms, including shortness of breath, swelling of the arms, nausea, weight loss and fatigue. In many cases, this cancer was caused by exposure at a job site, despite companies’ knowledge of the dangers of asbestos. An attorney might help mesothelioma victims and their families to pursue compensation for their suffering. | <urn:uuid:a1d4a8d8-6477-44ab-996f-e2f46441c3b7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.wcklaw.com/blog/2020/10/light-therapy-could-help-fight-mesothelioma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141182776.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125100409-20201125130409-00204.warc.gz | en | 0.952269 | 410 | 3.1875 | 3 |
How can we maintain a strong national identity without going too far? Having pride in one's country, its history and values, is important, but what happens when that is threatened by new immigrant groups? When a country becomes more diverse, whether it's race, ethnicity, or religious faith, does the nation's identity expand to accommodate those changes or does it become more rigid, setting the stage for an "us" and "them" conflict? Through diverse perspectives from countries around the world, this volume explores facets of national identity. Readers will analyze its purpose, benefits, dangers, and its future in a changing world. | <urn:uuid:08b01ede-3ce5-4bf1-82d5-9b5ec2bf6241> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://greenhavenpublishing.com/title/National-Identity | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141194982.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128011115-20201128041115-00364.warc.gz | en | 0.936468 | 124 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Although the exact etymology is a bit murky, the word vandalism is indelibly associated with an East Germanic tribe best known for the sacking of Rome in 455 AD.
The unflattering connotation is also a matter of debate among scholars. The Vandals, not unlike the Celts and other nomadic people in Europe, failed to chronicle most of their records. As a result, Roman scribes typically labeled them “barbarians,” as did later ecclesiastical accounts, providing yet another example of how the winning side often writes history.
Recent archeological discoveries have challenged previously held notions about the Vandals being merely uncivilized brutes. That said, let’s take a look at this much-maligned group who may or may not have torched a few chariots and tossed eggs at Roman soldiers.
This is an encore of one of our previous lists, as presented by our YouTube host Simon Whistler. Read the full list! | <urn:uuid:ae2d7213-539c-476b-8ac8-9f7302b40d2b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.toptenz.net/fascinating-facts-about-the-vandals.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141197593.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129093434-20201129123434-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.967371 | 202 | 3.125 | 3 |
Bala Chandran's research into evaluating particle-suspension reactor designs for Z-scheme solar water splitting via transport and kinetic modeling garners some attention in the January 2018 edition of Energy and Environmental Science where it's featured on the journal's inside front cover.
The research paper delves into the idea that sunlight-driven water splitting to produce hydrogen and oxygen provides a pathway to store available solar energy in the form of stable, energy-dense chemical bonds. It investigates a tandem, particle-suspension reactor design comprising micron-scale photocatalyst particles suspended in an aqueous solution with soluble redox shuttles for Z-scheme solar water splitting. Results from this work provide a quantitative understanding of the device-scale transport and kinetic processes, and its impacts on the solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies for the proposed reactor design.
Click here to read the full paper. | <urn:uuid:27d0cb1a-b3db-4b49-8fd4-9ae0cd91ab6a> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://me.engin.umich.edu/news-events/news/bala-chandrans-paper-published-energy-and-environmental-science | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141486017.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130192020-20201130222020-00524.warc.gz | en | 0.9005 | 183 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Historians in England have a rare archaeological mystery on their hands thanks to the discovery of an anomalous ancient coin which has some researchers scratching their heads in wonder. The Chinese coin from the Song Dynasty was found in the Vale Royal area of Cheshire in northern England and appears to be around 900 years old. No other Chinese coins from that era have been found in the United Kingdom, making this one a truly strange case.
There is currently some dispute over just how truly anomalous the discovery of the coin might be. Some historians argue that the coin could simply me an historical artifact which made its way into the hands of a private collector before it was lost or discarded. Britain’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, a website which allows members of the public to catalogue archaeological finds, writes that it is “doubtful that this is a genuine medieval find (i.e. present in the country due to trade and lost accidentally) but more likely a more recent loss from an curated collection.” Still, other historians aren’t so convinced that this coin doesn’t represent an unknown chapter in British history.
However, University of Cambridge archaeologist Caitlin Green writes that the coin may be “evidence for a degree of contact between people from East Asia and Britain in the medieval era,” although without further evidence, it remains impossible to draw any definitive conclusions. On her blog, Green cites a number of other examples of ancient Chinese artifacts turning up in Medieval excavations throughout England, possibly suggesting that Chinese sailors or traders had more contact with the West than is currently thought.
Chinese skeletons have been found in Roman-era graves in London, while other ancient Chinese burials have been found as far west as Peru. Chinese historians have long suggested that ancient Chinese peoples were far more advanced than the rest of the world or what is currently known in history books. Will these archaeological discoveries prove them right? | <urn:uuid:d86b5875-eec7-4341-b685-c1ca83032347> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2018/04/medieval-mystery-as-ancient-chinese-coin-found-in-england/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141486017.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130192020-20201130222020-00524.warc.gz | en | 0.967001 | 387 | 3.28125 | 3 |
The concept of global jusitce is premised on the belief that all poeple are entitled to certain fundamental human rights solely by virtue of being memebers of the human community. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was a seminal step toward this vision; for the first time, states agreed to uphold the fundamental rights and liberties of their citizens. Enforcement of these human rights guarantees, however, has been severly constrained by the nearly impregnable doctrine of state sovereignty. International law, traditionally limited to regularting behavior between states and not between individuals and a state, reinforced this state-centric view of human rights. This article was written by Janet Benshoof for the Encyclopedia of Global Studies in 2012. | <urn:uuid:7062042a-9b82-4515-bc36-6bbda88e0179> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://globaljusticecenter.net/publications/articles/688-global-justice-and-legal-issues | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141692985.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202052413-20201202082413-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.954614 | 149 | 2.890625 | 3 |
“Living lightly on the earth”: Building an Ark for Prince Edward Island, 1974–76
by Steven Mannell
Dalhousie Architectural Press,
116 pages, $39.95
A part of the Canadian Modern series from Dalhousie Architectural Press, “Living lightly on the earth” offers a comprehensive chronicle of the rise and fall of the Ark, a self-sustaining “bioshelter” built on Prince Edward Island in the 1970s.
Author Steven Mannell, founder of Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability and a practising architect, uses numerous primary sources, including interviews with the Ark’s architects, to detail the theory behind and the making of the pioneering project. His book includes an abundance of architectural drawings, diagrams, and photographs that effectively illustrate the structure and its component systems from nearly every angle — inside and out.
The book also succeeds in relating the spirit of the era, capturing the ecological optimism of the New Alchemy team and the federal government’s enthusiasm regarding the project, as exemplified by former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
While the Ark was ultimately a short-lived experiment, much of its technology — such as integrated renewable-energy production, organic agriculture and aquaculture systems, and passive solar heating — is still relevant. This book could serve as both a reference and an inspiration for today’s “green” architects. | <urn:uuid:1e5db23a-cc3c-4d34-a712-82a722887d82> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/books/living-lightly-on-the-earth | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141182794.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125125427-20201125155427-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.933214 | 304 | 2.75 | 3 |
Mark My Words (First Peoples: New Directions Indigenous)
Dominant history would have us believe that colonialism belongs to a previous era that has long come to an end. But as Native people become mobile, reservation lands become overcrowded and the state seeks to enforce means of containment, closing its borders to incoming, often indigenous, immigrants.
In Mark My Words, Mishuana Goeman traces settler colonialism as an enduring form of gendered spatial violence, demonstrating how it persists in the contemporary context of neoliberal globalization. The book argues that it is vital to refocus the efforts of Native nations beyond replicating settler models of territory, jurisdiction, and race. Through an examination of twentieth-century Native women’s poetry and prose, Goeman illuminates how these works can serve to remap settler geographies and center Native knowledges. She positions Native women as pivotal to how our nations, both tribal and nontribal, have been imagined and mapped, and how these women play an ongoing role in decolonization.
In a strong and lucid voice, Goeman provides close readings of literary texts, including those of E. Pauline Johnson, Esther Belin, Joy Harjo, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Heid Erdrich. In addition, she places these works in the framework of U.S. and Canadian Indian law and policy. Her charting of women’s struggles to define themselves and their communities reveals the significant power in all of our stories.
We would LOVE it if you could help us and other readers by reviewing the book | <urn:uuid:588a8f8d-10a0-4e49-a9d9-4af99c1fcdb9> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://booksrun.com/textbooks/9780816677917-mark-my-words-first-peoples-new-directions-indigenous-1st-edition | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188947.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126200910-20201126230910-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.940253 | 319 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Spiders are everywhere and Georgia is no exception. Very few species are dangerous and these eight-legged allies are one of the most reliable and cheapest forms of pest control, gobbling up insects that carry diseases, infest homes and damage crops. Learn to recognize many kinds of spiders with this durable laminated twelve-panel guide that folds up conveniently to fit in a pocket or pack.
Perfect for the casual observer, gardener, homeowner or curious naturalist, it serves as both a general introduction and a useful reference. Colorful photographs illustrate 100 spider species, including several of both male and female, in side-by-side comparisons with descriptive text highlighting size, habitat, and web type. Representative webs are also shown, together with information about silk, venom and hunting techniques. A small section features other arachnids, such as the Scorpion, Harvestman and Ticks. | <urn:uuid:899de78f-ce1c-4748-b441-279eee88a9c7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.quickreferencepublishing.com/spiders-of-georgia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188947.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126200910-20201126230910-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.927804 | 178 | 2.859375 | 3 |
by Gemma Tate, UNA-SNY YP Social and Humanitarian Affairs Committee
Water is a human right. So why were residents of Flint, Michigan, forced to drink dangerously contaminated water for so long? One word: greed.
In Flint, government officials believed that cutting costs was worth putting the people's health in danger. An unthinkable betrayal of public trust, the emergency has drawn widespread condemnation and sparked nationwide dialogue. In March, a group of women change-makers gathered at the United Nations Foundation to voice their opinions on the matter.
The panel discussion, "Women's Responses to Water Crises in the U.S.," was organized by the United Nations Association Southern New York State Division Young Professionals and the Alpha Kappa Alpha (Tau Omega) Chapter. Speakers offered takeaways on effecting change in communities across the country.
"What is happening in Flint is devastating and criminal," said Melissa Mays, a Flint resident and the founder of the woman-run initiative WaterYouFightingFor. "Our disaster is a shining example of what happens when water is treated like a commodity, and profit is more important than people. At the end of the day, people have died, and this is happening in other cities all across the world. If this practice of greed and apathy is not stopped, you'll see thousands of Flints everywhere with more lives destroyed and lost."
For many Americans, Mays' comments underpin a serious concern: Could a similar tragedy be repeated in your city? Is your drinking water truly safe? What can you do to ensure it is?
Speakers emphasized the importance of education and unity. One person can easily be ignored, but a giant collective cannot. According to Lesha Witmer, chair of the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development & Water, it's crucial for everyone to band together to demand clean water in their daily lives. "Most people still take water for granted," she said. "[I]t is not. We have to be vigilant and active and willing to invest to keep our waters safe.” | <urn:uuid:29630be4-59e8-4a20-81f9-735a35d6dc6d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.unasny.org/blog/water-is-a-human-right | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141542358.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201013119-20201201043119-00084.warc.gz | en | 0.959671 | 420 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Redlining has shaped East Dallas. Over at The Advocate, the talented Will Maddox—who we have since poached to cover healthcare, our apologies!—put together this interesting feature that mapped the neighborhoods that the federal government steered mortgage loans to during the New Deal era. He then compared them to current housing prices, racial makeup, and poverty levels. What emerges is perhaps not terribly surprising. The parts of East Dallas that were deemed “best” or “still desirable” are whiter and the homes are more expensive.
Those designations were packed into federal law after the Great Depression as appraisals for the likelihood that mortgage loans would be paid back. In practice, these color-coded 250 American cities, and essentially muscled out areas that had concentrations of black or brown people. In areas deemed “hazardous,” lenders wouldn’t touch. Those areas were almost all minority communities.
As Will finds, parts of Old East Dallas and the area around Baylor were red-lined. Lakewood, the M Streets, and Wilshire Heights got “best” designations and areas just south got “still desirable.” As you get closer to downtown, the maps dipped into “declining.” You’ll never guess which parts of East Dallas sport higher prices per square foot for homes or which schools have more kids in poverty.
Redlining, combined with segregated public housing and the federally-incentivized white flight to the suburbs, have gutted American cities and created an unequal and unfair distribution of wealth among races. Remember, this was federal policy for nearly 34 years, until the Civil Rights Act of 1968 put a stop to it. Last year, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition released citywide charts that overlaid the redlining demographics with the existing economic conditions of neighborhoods. The map below includes the redlining designations in the various colors—green for “best,” blue for “still desirable,” yellow for “still declining,” and red for “hazardous”—but overlays it with data from the 2010 Census. The gray areas, enclosed in dashes, are majority-minority parts of town. The dots indicate where the median family income was below 80 percent.
As Council member Philip Kingston tells Will, “the future is mixed income. But it requires diligence and not losing political will.” And part of that is understanding how we got here in the first place. | <urn:uuid:6e2249ef-2545-4151-915e-7cece626bc4b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2018/11/read-this-advocate-report-about-redlining-in-east-dallas/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141708017.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202113815-20201202143815-00164.warc.gz | en | 0.965792 | 513 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Native to the Americas, the silky-flycatchers are medium-sized songbirds with soft, silky plumage and long, slender tails. They often have conspicuous bristles around the base of their short, broad bills. Most are dark-colored, and most have crests. They typically inhabit tropical and subtropical environments, and only one species is regularly found north of Mexico. They are fairly social and may nest in loose colonies. Small flocks form in the non-breeding season and wander in search of food. Silky-flycatchers eat many insects, but fruit, especially berries, is their main staple. They are typically monogamous, and both sexes help raise the young. | <urn:uuid:cdf3605d-c21d-4ac9-9f92-41b928f1d41a> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://nesting.birdweb.org/birdweb/family/ptilogonatidae | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141732835.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203220448-20201204010448-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.965 | 143 | 3.359375 | 3 |
What prevented revolution in Britain during the French revolutionary era? How did George III's monarchy withstand republican challenges? This book examines the British monarchy--and the values, beliefs, and images attached to it--during the contentious decade of the 1790s. Through a wide-ranging exploration of loyalist and reform propaganda, newspapers, political caricatures, sermons, and records of prosecution for sedition and treason, Marilyn Morris arrives at a new perspective on the forces of social stability in Britain that prevented revolution and preserved the Crown.
Morris reassesses the significance of the ideological exchange in Britain during the French revolutionary period, showing that the so-called failure of the reform movement did not result simply from a stubborn disregard for the reality of the situations in France and Britain. She considers the problems created for reformers by the government's exaggeration of the threat to the monarchy, as well as the influence that reformist arguments had on loyalist ideology. The monarchy, though tradition-bound, continually had to reinvent itself, Morris contends, and its modern incarnation emerged in the later years of George's reign with a style stressing personality, empathy, and domesticity, and a legitimacy based on the monarchy's embodiment of the nation's history. Morris's analysis of the monarchy's image and its incorporation into political argument during a time of upheaval provides new insight into the ways different institutions of the state protected and supported one another. Her discussion also places in perspective speculation about the imminent demise of the monarchy in the 1990s. | <urn:uuid:9355259f-bd7b-4913-a9f7-1e9e85569e98> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://bookshop.org/books/the-british-monarchy-and-the-french-revolution/9780300206456 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747323.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205074417-20201205104417-00324.warc.gz | en | 0.936426 | 301 | 3.640625 | 4 |
This article addresses the fascist leagues' policies and philosophies regarding the political role of women, particularly the question of female suffrage. Unlike the parliamentary Right, which did not attempt to mobilize women until 1935, the fascist leagues envisioned women as key political players as early as 1924. Often invoking female work and sacrifice during the war, as well as women's supposedly superior moral aptitude, the leagues presented themselves as the forces that truly respected women's potential and importance in the state. To the leagues the domestic identities and concerns of women were not only compatible with fascist notions of politics, but rendered women potentially better fascists and citizens. Leaders of the organizations expected women to be wives and mothers, producing more children for France, while at the same time the leagues advocated that women engage in national politics and world affairs. | <urn:uuid:cc50e431-2749-4ee3-9670-57b8edbb5d5c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.berghahnjournals.com/search?access_0=all&f_0=author&pageSize=10&q_0=Daniella+Sarnoff&sort=relevance&t_0=Sociology | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747323.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205074417-20201205104417-00324.warc.gz | en | 0.973502 | 159 | 3 | 3 |
When plants absorb sunlight, they convert carbon dioxide into energy-rich organic compounds. What if humans could do the same thing? What if we could pull CO2 out of the air and use it to build organic molecules? This revolutionary idea is still just that — an idea. But organic chemists at UNC are laying the groundwork for turning it into reality. | <urn:uuid:0031d355-bb9d-4d69-a838-46f2dde5e513> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://endeavors.unc.edu/tag/organic-chemistry/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141184123.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125183823-20201125213823-00044.warc.gz | en | 0.937942 | 71 | 2.75 | 3 |
During the month of September, students have been connecting with old friends and making new ones. We kicked off the year with a project that incorporated writing skills, technology, and also gave them a chance to showcase their artistic side. While writing the Bio Poem, students were able to review parts of speech and share information about what makes them unique. Students then typed their poems and created a miniature version of themselves. Look for them in the 4th-grade hallway!
4th Graders Create Bio Poems
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 | <urn:uuid:dab1c56c-4a6b-4d1a-97a2-8508a321eb69> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.mendhamboro.org/article/139553?org=mendham-borough-school-district | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141189038.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127015426-20201127045426-00124.warc.gz | en | 0.974145 | 109 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Red blood cells are the key to life. They are constantly traveling through your body, delivering oxygen and removing waste. If they didn’t do their job, you would slowly die.
Red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin that gives blood its red hue. Hemoglobin contains iron, which makes it an excellent vehicle for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide.
As blood passes through the lungs, oxygen molecules attach to the hemoglobin. When the blood passes through the body’s tissue, the hemoglobin releases oxygen to the cells. The empty hemoglobin molecules then bond with the tissue’s carbon dioxide or other waste gasses to transport them away.
Over time, red blood cells get worn out and eventually die. The average life cycle of a red blood cell is only 120 days. But don’t worry! Your bones are continually producing new blood cells. | <urn:uuid:a2b0ba53-ac37-4d50-b8c4-581396473ef0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.fi.edu/heart/red-blood-cells | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195417.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128095617-20201128125617-00204.warc.gz | en | 0.923746 | 179 | 3.875 | 4 |
Ticks' DNA Data May Someday Help Us Control Them
When ancient military strategist Sun Tzu counseled his readers to “know thy enemy,” he was almost certainly not talking about ticks. But for many Americans, especially those with Lyme disease, ticks are the enemy. And now we know a whole lot more about them, because scientists have sequenced the tick’s genome. The results were published today in the journal Nature Communications.
Like bedbugs, whose DNA also got a closer look recently, deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) continue to spread across the United States. A recent survey found them in nearly half of U.S. counties—a huge increase from the last tick inventory. But it’s not just the ticks that are spreading. Where they go, disease follows: Lyme disease, yes, but also human granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and the deadly Powassan virus.
In other words, understanding the little bloodsuckers has become pretty important to a lot of people. The tick genome project was a massive undertaking, involving 93 scientists from 46 institutions.
"Genomic resources for the tick were desperately needed," lead author Catherine Hill said in a press release. They were also difficult to come by. The tick’s DNA would not give up its secrets easily. The tick’s genome is smaller than those of humans, but just as complex, and peppered with redundant sections that made it harder to parse.
But even these tricks were no match for an army of determined scientists. And once the genome was decoded, it revealed all kinds of useful tidbits. The researchers found proteins in the tick’s salivary glands that help transmit disease-causing bacteria to its host.
They also found hormones that affect tick growth and sexual maturity. Researchers say that manipulating those hormones via a tick “birth-control pill” may be a viable form of tick control in the future.
"The genome provides a foundation for a whole new era in tick research," Hill said in the press release. "Now that we've cracked the tick's code, we can begin to design strategies to control ticks, to understand how they transmit disease, and to interfere with that process." | <urn:uuid:38967713-0b9c-4469-8fd0-945d047eed63> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/75179/ticks-dna-data-may-someday-help-us-control-them | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195417.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128095617-20201128125617-00204.warc.gz | en | 0.966023 | 469 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Last weekend,”Silent Sam,” the Confederate memorial located on McCorkle Place, was spray painted with “KKK,” “Black Lives Matter,” and “Murderer” with an arrow pointing to the Confederate soldier above. The monument was covered before being cleaned a few days later.
The incident highlights Silent Sam’s place in the ongoing discussion of race, campus landmarks and spaces, and university history. It also reflects the renewed push against the display of Confederate symbols since the racially-motivated attack in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17.
However, while the action was timely given these current contexts, it isn’t a first. Most strikingly, in early April 1968, as the country was gripped by grief and unrest following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Silent Sam was splashed with red paint and its base covered with words and symbols. | <urn:uuid:cddfed80-bc82-43c0-8944-fd0bf7548b33> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://blogs.lib.unc.edu/uarms/2015/07/09/graffiti-on-silent-sam-1968-and-2015/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141711306.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202144450-20201202174450-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.972896 | 189 | 2.640625 | 3 |
- Cole Brown
The Dismantling Bias: Antisemitism, White Supremacy, and Inequality Virtual Lecture Series explores the origins of racist ideologies and the construction of bias; examines the evolution and repercussions of antisemitism and white supremacy throughout history; and deconstructs the ways in which stereotypes, misconceptions, and prejudices shape contemporary society and culture.
Led by renowned historians, authors, and activists, the Dismantling Bias Virtual Lecture Series confronts the devastating consequences of racial bias while encouraging viewers to access and challenge their own bias. Through critical conversations and open dialogue, participants will consider their role in the antiracism movement and everyday actions they can take to dismantle inequality.
Raised in the City of Brotherly Love & Sisterly Affection, Cole Brown is a Philly kid at heart.
While spending childhood summers between Ethiopia and the Midwest, Cole matured in Philadelphia’s predominately white private schools and neighborhoods, an experience that delivered an awareness of race and class from a young age.
After graduating high school, Cole moved to Washington D.C. to attend Georgetown University as a finance major. Landmark events such as the death of Michael Brown caused Cole to rethink his original plans. Cole graduated from Georgetown with a major in Justice and Peace Studies and a passion for storytelling.
During his time at Georgetown, Cole was inspired to begin penning his first book, Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World.
Greyboy is a collection of introspective essays that follows the journey of Black identity when subsumed in an environment of white privilege.
Thanks to the generosity of H‐E‐B, this event is available at no cost to attendees, but registration is required. | <urn:uuid:dfab38fd-6485-4a50-a205-f48ddf20431d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://hmh.org/events/a-conversation-with-cole-brown-author-of-greyboy-finding-blackness-2020-11-11-18:00:00/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141711306.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202144450-20201202174450-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.924365 | 351 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Author: Marilyn Yalom
“Everyone knows that the queen is the most dominant piece in chess, but few people know that the game existed for five hundred years without her. It wasn’t until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king’s fierce warrior and protector.
Birth of the Chess Queen examines the five centuries between the chess queen’s timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.” – Publisher | <urn:uuid:2ab7d58e-ada0-4957-a725-eded24e64dd2> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://gamestudies101.com/the-birth-of-the-chess-queen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747774.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205104937-20201205134937-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.947725 | 205 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Going for a routine eye exam is essential to check the health of your eyes, and skipping out on this important examination could have detrimental effects on your health. This is because your eyes aren’t just the windows to your soul—they offer up valuable information about your overall health. More specifically, your eye doctor can tell how your circulation is doing.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University suggest that changes in the eye’s retina could help doctors find people who are at risk for narrowing of large blood vessels in the legs. This condition is known as peripheral artery disease (PAD).
Heart specialist Dr. Samy Selim explained, “PAD is estimated to affect approximately 8.5 million Americans above the age of 40 years and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and quality of life impairment…Physician screening for PAD is not satisfactory, to say the least.”
Eye exams can reveal circulation problems
The research team investigated nearly 9,400 adults who were tracked for over 19 years. Over the course of the study, over 300 individuals developed PAD, which required surgery to open up the narrow arteries.
Of the PAD group, 92 percent of patients developed a severe form known as critical limb ischemia, which can create ulcers that require amputation in some cases.
After adjusting for other risk factors that could contribute to PAD, the researchers found that patients with tiny blood vessels of the retina had over double the risk of developing PAD compared to those with normal blood vessels. The link between abnormal blood vessels of the retina and PAD risk was highest among diabetes, according to researchers.
Selim added, “Looking at the back of the eye’s retina can be done in primary care offices as part of a routine clinical exam. Hopefully one day, a look at the eye will hold clues to the future of the legs — which will be an alert to the heart outcome and a signal to start effective prevention and treatment.”
The study reaffirms the importance of going for regular eye exams, as spotting changes to the eye could be the difference between life and death. If PAD is discovered early, treatment can take place and prevent complications. Unfortunately, if PAD is not discovered early on, it can progress and may lead to amputation of the limb. | <urn:uuid:7ec3adc0-66ae-47bd-bcd3-8aad94c1acdc> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.belmarrahealth.com/never-skip-eye-exam/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747774.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205104937-20201205134937-00604.warc.gz | en | 0.952088 | 473 | 3.078125 | 3 |
By Erika, age 13
Have you ever been to a museum and seen a particular display that you like? Perhaps you wanted to know what it was, and looked at the plaque, only to see something unexpected? Maybe you saw a fiery orange coyote-looking creature called Vulpes vulpes, or a big cat called Panthera pardus. If these names confused you, you’re in the right place, because today’s topic is Aristotle, Linnaeus, and binomial nomenclature!
Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms, and more than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle created his own system. He started by classifying organisms as either in the plant kingdom or in the animal kingdom. He then split up the animals based on where they lived: on land, in the sea, or if they flew. He divided the plants based on their size and structure. Later on, scientists found too many problems with this system. For example, frogs were animals, but they lived in water and on land, and there was no classification for that.
This problem leads us to Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist and physician. In 1753, Linnaeus created an improved classification system called binomial nomenclature, where organisms are classified based on body structures and systems, size, shape, color, and methods of getting food. Organisms are divided into Kingdoms, Phylums, Classes, Orders, Families, Genuses, and Species. Binomial nomenclature uses Latin names, and is written using the “formula” Genus species. Scientists prefer to use Linnaeus’s system to avoid confusion with common names. For example, there are three different birds which all have the common name robin, but are all in entirely different Genuses (Turdus migratorius, Erithacus rubecula, and Eopsaltria australis).
Carolus Linnaeus developed and improved taxonomy after Aristotle. We’re still using his system today! If you ever want to study a field of science involving living and nonliving organisms, make sure you have an understanding of taxonomy. | <urn:uuid:14471376-4304-474f-9367-3b0473f1920d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://kidsneedenrichment.com/2016/06/02/binomial-nomenclature/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176864.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124140942-20201124170942-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.948351 | 451 | 3.8125 | 4 |
GLP-1 agonists drugs are typically used to treat type-2 diabetes, but new findings have uncovered gaps in knowledge surrounding these drugs. The researchers have found incomplete information regarding GLP-1 and their effectiveness for treating type-2 diabetes.
One particular finding found GLP-1 had the potential to activate glucagon, which promotes the release of sugar into the bloodstream. This is an aspect GLP-1 agonists drugs are intended to prevent.
Although the findings are in their preliminary stages, additional research needs to be conducted in order to confirm their initial findings. The researchers do not believe GLP-1 agonist drugs are harmful for patients, but they do feel additional testing and analysis needs to be conducted.
The research team came from the University of Cambridge and the University of Warwick. Dr. Graham Ladds from the University of Cambridge said, “GLP-1 agonists clearly benefit many patients with type-2 diabetes and there is no reason to presume that our findings outweigh those benefits. Nevertheless, we clearly lack a full picture of their potential impact. Understanding that picture, and being able to consider all the components of target cells for such treatments, is vital if we want to design drugs that have therapeutic benefits for diabetes patients, without any unwanted side effects.”
Diabetes sufferers experience high blood sugar levels which can lead to complications. The World Health Organization estimates that worldwide, 347 million people suffer from diabetes.
GLP-1 agonist drugs are injectable and often prescribed to individuals who cannot control their diabetes through lifestyle changes. GLP-1 agonist drugs work to mimic the naturally-occurring hormone glucagon-like peptide (GLP). They can help regulate blood sugar by stimulating the release of insulin, and by signaling the brain that the body is full as a means to promote weight loss.
The research findings suggest instead of GLP-1 agonists working to activate receptors, it may actually bind to them instead.
Dr. Ladds concluded, “The work shows that, contrary to our previous assumptions, glucagon receptors can potentially be activated by anti-diabetic treatments. To date, very little work has been done on RAMPs, but they clearly play an important part in the process of regulating blood sugar, which is core to helping people with diabetes. The study shows that there is a critical need to take this into account when designing new therapeutics.” | <urn:uuid:17b5a6f2-325d-485d-9cdb-583bcad97652> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.belmarrahealth.com/new-study-highlights-possible-side-effects-of-glp-1-agonists-drugs-for-type-2-diabetes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176864.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124140942-20201124170942-00244.warc.gz | en | 0.947665 | 496 | 3.0625 | 3 |
About the Exhibition
Featuring changing displays of works from the Skirball’s permanent collection of Judaica—one of the largest in the world—this historically illuminating exhibition chronicles the struggles and achievements of the Jewish people over a span of 4,000 years.
Travel through the many lands and civilizations where Jews have lived and discover how ancestral visions continue to shape modern values. The Visions and Values galleries—Beginnings, Journeys, Holidays, Lifecycle, Synagogue, Passage to America, Nation of Immigrants, Struggle and Opportunity, the Holocaust, the State of Israel, and At Home in America—take the visitor on an unforgettable voyage of learning and discovery.
A recent addition to the exhibition showcases a series of audiovisual excerpts from Holocaust survivors, produced in collaboration with The Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education at USC. A companion exhibit features an interactive media kiosk where visitors can listen to and view full-length versions of the featured testimonies as well as nearly 1,000 other stirring testimonies.
Two recnetly reinstalled cases in the exhibition highlight American Jews’ notable engagements with Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Come learn the story of the Seixas family, whose members embraced the American Revolution and promoted the ideals of equal opportunity and religious freedom upon which the US was built. Then delve into the history of General Ulysses S. Grant’s notorious Order No. 11, an anti-Semitic decree issued in the midst of the Civil War and swiftly revoked by President Lincoln. Notable objects on view include facsimiles of Moses Mendes Seixas’s correspondence with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s handwritten note regarding Grant’s order, Manfred Anson’s Liberty Bell Hanukkah lamp celebrating the contributions of Jews to the American Revolution, and a life mask of President Lincoln cast in 1861. | <urn:uuid:a7a8a792-8217-498f-a44b-73736a25a198> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://dev.skirball.org/exhibitions/visions-and-values | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141184870.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125213038-20201126003038-00324.warc.gz | en | 0.905521 | 389 | 3.203125 | 3 |
It's always difficult being the first, especially when you're going into space. The Apollo program encountered many difficulties on its trip to the Moon, ranging from mechanical to astrophysics. The issue of the Van Allen belt and its radioactivity was a particularly serious concern while planning the mission.
Fortunately, it was a problem with a solution, one that involved skirting the most dangerous parts of the belt, and making sure the astronauts got through it as quickly as humanly possible.
Curious Droid takes a deeper look at the issue.
Scientists are still learning more about the Van Allen belts. In 2013, researchers were studying how their electrons approach astonishing speeds, near the speed of light. In 2014, a paper was published revealing a barrier within the belt itself. In 2016, a paper looked at the electron rainfall, called drop-outs, that occurs when intense bouts of solar radiation interfere with the Earth's magnetic environment. While scientists have figured out how to get around them, the Van Allen belts still hold a lot of secrets for something so close to home. | <urn:uuid:e4b1069f-9cf1-4b61-8faa-bf334ff80d43> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a24678/nasa-van-allen-belts-explainer/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141189141.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127044624-20201127074624-00404.warc.gz | en | 0.975951 | 214 | 4.03125 | 4 |
Researchers led by Edward H. (Ted) Sargent of the University of Toronto have built the first colloidal quantum dot solar cells certified to convert sunlight into electricity with greater than 10% power conversion efficiency (Nano Lett. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.6b01957). Although quantum dots have played a role in solar cells with efficiencies better than 11%, the nanoscopic spheres in those cases are used only as a light-absorbing material, says Oleksandr Voznyy, a researcher in Sargent’s group. The new cells use thin films of lead sulfide quantum dots deposited from solution as light-sensitive layers that also conduct electric charges between electrodes. Using these multitasking quantum dots unlocks simpler design approaches for this brand of solar cell, but the team will need to continue improving the efficiency to compete with or complement other promising materials, such as perovskites, Voznyy says. To beat the 10% benchmark, the researchers tweaked the surface chemistry of their quantum dots. The dots were initially capped with oleic acid to prevent clumping. But the organic compound traps charges, which undermines efficiency. By adding methylammonium iodide to the quantum dot solution before deposition, the team swapped out oleic acid for iodine, which inhibits charge trapping. | <urn:uuid:3d1a164b-83dd-405e-9ebb-1d41f81ecd4a> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i28/Quantum-dot-solar-cells-hit.html?utm_source=YMAL&utm_medium=YMAL&utm_campaign=CEN&utm_content=pos2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195656.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128125557-20201128155557-00484.warc.gz | en | 0.914201 | 276 | 3.3125 | 3 |
We measure the physical properties that lead to molecular behavior and reactivity. Through a combination of state-of-the-art facilities and the interdisciplinary nature of our program, researchers explore physical chemistry in solids, liquids and gases, and the interfaces where they meet.
Research groups in this area probe the intermolecular forces that drive the self-assembly of new energy-storage materials and the thermodynamics and phase behavior of novel macromolecules. Lasers are used to study the physics of electron transfer events that capture solar energy and chemical changes on time scales from femtoseconds to days. Our graduate students use nuclear spins to map the structures of massive proteins, and mass spectrometry to discover acids and bases with phenomenal reactivities. Microwave photons uncover the structures of ions and molecular clusters that react in the Earth's atmosphere, while lasers and sophisticated ion optics probe bare and partially ligated metal clusters that underlie the development of modern catalysts. Electron and scanning probe microscopes bring the molecular world into vivid focus, revealing growth mechanisms of nanoscopic particles and hybrid materials. | <urn:uuid:53ec4b32-f6b6-4955-b8a1-94da5b16fcc1> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://cse.umn.edu/chem/experimental-physical | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141203418.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129214615-20201130004615-00564.warc.gz | en | 0.889996 | 223 | 2.546875 | 3 |
SpaceX has been pioneering reusable rockets for years, NASA is contemplating selling its soul to the highest bidder, and a Russian startup is building a nuclear engine for future rockets. But amid all these shakeups and innovations in the space sector, you might have missed the one Silicon Valley startup whose new technology should probably receive more attention.
Bloomberg Businessweek reports on Apollo Fusion, a new company designing a propulsion system for rocket engines that would use mercury as a fuel. Mercury has promise in this field, sure. But launching any rocket using this system would entail the risk of spreading a toxic substance through the atmosphere.
The idea of using mercury as a spacecraft fuel is not exactly new. NASA experimented with mercury in the '60s, during the SERT missions. The two spacecraft in this series, SERT-I and SERT-II, were designed to test the concept of ion propulsion.
With an ion engine, powerful magnets in the spacecraft push away small charged particles at high speeds, generating thrust. Today's ion engines commonly use krypton or xenon. For example, the recently deceased Dawn spacecraft used a xenon engine to zip from place to place in the asteroid belt. During the SERT test missions, however, the satellite engines used mercury.
Mercury is much heavier than either xenon or krypton, so spacecraft carrying them would be able to generate more thrust. Of course, mercury is also a dangerous neurotoxin, so NASA stopped using it after SERT.
Apollo Fusion is planning to bring mercury back, at least according to a collection of industry insiders talking to Bloomberg. If they’re successful, they could provide low-cost, high-power ion engines for satellites and spacecraft. But if they’re not, they could risk showering the atmosphere with toxic mercury.
For all our sakes, we just have to hope Apollo Fusion decides to pick a different fuel, or that it’s extremely careful during launches. If they’re not, we could all suffer the consequences. | <urn:uuid:caed5c79-60e9-4b52-b9ea-432b4e5dae7f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a25242578/apollo-fusion-mercury/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141716970.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202205758-20201202235758-00004.warc.gz | en | 0.940682 | 414 | 3.5 | 4 |
Using nanostraws, scientists can now sample cell contents without disrupting a cell's natural processes. The new tool was developed by researchers at Stanford, and it is hoped that the new technique will help uncover mysteries about how cells function.
The new system uses 600 tubes smaller than a strand of hair to sample a single cell by penetrating the outer membrane and drawing out proteins and genetic matter.
Given the nanostraws' ability to sample cells without disturbing functioning, the tools may also prove a valuable aid in medical therapies since cells can be monitored over time. One possible application would be to look at how cancer cells respond to chemotherapy, which would allow doctors to alter treatments accordingly. Over the long run, a deeper understanding at the cellular level could also help in drug development. | <urn:uuid:9b648d72-daf3-4997-b42c-903ffa98a1bc> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.aiche.org/chenected/2017/02/nanostraw-tool-samples-cells-without-destruction | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735395.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204071014-20201204101014-00084.warc.gz | en | 0.947159 | 156 | 3.609375 | 4 |
From scouting promising athletes to debating over the best way to help gifted children reach their full potential, society’s focus on talent is ubiquitous. Identifying talent is beneficial to developing a person’s skills, and in organizations, it’s essential in matching employees to the right jobs. Effectively recognizing and nurturing talent allows businesses to develop leaders and reach growth targets.
However, despite the validity of psychological testing, there is still some apprehension in accepting talent evaluations. This is especially true when that evaluation is in conflict with our self-perception of our skills. We don’t like to hear that we aren’t as talented as we think we are. Self-delusional bias allows us to overestimate our abilities and competencies, while downplaying our weaknesses. This bias often carries over to the way we view others. Whether it’s seeing ourselves as more compassionate or hard-working, we tend to rate ourselves higher than we rate others.
Though talent evaluations might not always foresee future performance and development with 100% accuracy, they are often correct because our decisions are predictable. | <urn:uuid:a2c16086-d4dc-48c7-af56-eb84f592d31a> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.hoganassessments.com/you-might-not-be-as-talented-as-you-think/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735395.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204071014-20201204101014-00084.warc.gz | en | 0.945088 | 225 | 2.78125 | 3 |
The oldest woodworking shop in America has been discovered virtually untouched in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The extremely rare find reveals an 18th century joiner’s shop with the date ‘1789’ painted in the rafters. University of Delaware professor Ritchie Garrison came upon the historic structure on the site of a preschool, bringing several experts out to verify its age. Craftsmen used the shed to create intricate woodwork.
Though the preschool had been using the woodworking shop for storage, not realizing its historic value, it’s still in remarkably good shape. The woodworking benches and tables are still in excellent condition. According to Garrison, the shop is filled with clues as to how it was used. Some benches were covered in paint while others bear saw marks, testifying to the variety of tasks that were performed there.
Evidence of a removed fireplace makes it clear that the woodworkers were doing tasks that required warmth, like using glue. The type of glue used during that time had to be heated to a certain temperature. Bill Flynt, a former colleague of Garrison, tested the wood of the shop and found that it is second- or third-generation wood, meaning that New Englanders had already cut down and replanted lots of trees by that time.
While reports don’t identify the type of wood used, it’s highly possible that some of it is Eastern White Pine, which was heavily in use at the time in Massachusetts. Growing all over New England, Eastern White Pine has a long history in early American architecture, furniture and other types of construction. | <urn:uuid:b572b636-a71b-4f7b-9b39-34ec2f3a9bfb> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://easternwhitepine.org/this-week-in-wood-untouched-18th-century-woodworking-shed-discovered/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141748276.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205165649-20201205195649-00164.warc.gz | en | 0.975784 | 325 | 3.265625 | 3 |
A meta-analysis of climatic and chemical controls on leaf litter decay rates in tropical forests.
Although tropical forests occupy a small fraction of the earth’s total land area, they play a disproportionately large role in regulating the global carbon cycle. Yet controls on both primary productivity and decomposition in tropical forests are not well-studied in comparison with temperate forests and grasslands, despite their extreme biogeochemical heterogeneity. To evaluate the relative importance of climate and foliar chemical variables in driving decomposition in tropical forests, I performed a meta-analysis of reported leaf litter decay rates throughout tropical forest ecosystems. Using a model selection procedure based on Akaike’s Information Criterion, I found that temperature and precipitation played little direct role in regulating decomposition rates, except in montane forests where cool temperatures slowed decay. Foliar concentrations of calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were important predictors of mass loss rates, although each of these factors explained a very small amount of variance when considered in isolation. The large amount of unexplained variation in decomposition rates observed both within and across tropical forest sites may be due to other factors not explored here, such as soil biota or complex plant secondary chemistry. Carbon cycling in tropical forests seems to be modulated by the availability of multiple nutrients, underscoring the need for additional manipulative experiments to explore patterns of belowground nutrient limitation across the biome. Because models of decomposition developed in temperate ecosystems do not appear to be generalizable to wet tropical forests, new biogeochemical paradigms should be developed to accommodate their unique combination of climatic, edaphic, and biotic factors.
Waring, B.G. Ecosystems (2012) 15: 999. | <urn:uuid:d4a3e715-3b64-475e-9e3e-69bfe57f1bd8> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/biology_facpub/1082/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141191511.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127073750-20201127103750-00684.warc.gz | en | 0.898738 | 352 | 2.90625 | 3 |
To elucidate the co-evolutionary relationships between phloem-feeding insects and their secondary, or facultative, bacterial symbionts, we explore the distributions of three such microbes--provisionally named the R-type (or PASS, or S-sym), T-type (or PABS), and U-type--across a number of aphid and psyllid hosts through the use of diagnostic molecular screening techniques and DNA sequencing. Although typically maternally transmitted, phylogenetic and pairwise divergence analyses reveal that these bacteria have been independently acquired by a variety of unrelated insect hosts, indicating that horizontal transfer has helped to shape their distributions. Based on the high genetic similarity between symbionts in different hosts, we argue that transfer events have occurred recently on an evolutionary timescale. In several instances, however, closely related symbionts associate with related hosts, suggesting that horizontal transfer between distant relatives may be rarer than transmission between close relatives. Our findings on the prevalence of these symbionts within many aphid taxa, along with published observations concerning their effects on host fitness, imply a significant role of facultative symbiosis in aphid ecology and evolution. | <urn:uuid:2669705d-6066-43af-a313-8762dabbf47c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12753224/?dopt=Abstract | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141191511.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127073750-20201127103750-00684.warc.gz | en | 0.942101 | 239 | 3.015625 | 3 |
After studying Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanack,” Upper School students in Ms. Tyndall’s American Literature class created an almanac of their own but with a little twist. Students had to make an almanac for 2020, capturing the full weight of a unique year. The class was divided into four groups and asked to relay events in their assigned quarters. With the months remaining in the year, they based their predictions on the events that have already taken place. Students chose categories to highlight as a class, including health, entertainment, sports, humor, and politics. The final presentations included details on the history of the almanac and an explanation of its relevance today. | <urn:uuid:b6beecec-db8a-4c8c-86db-2de83c9c82c9> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.glenelg.org/news-detail-2020?pk=1379648&fromId=254510 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195745.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128184858-20201128214858-00044.warc.gz | en | 0.977318 | 146 | 3.25 | 3 |
Curious Creatures in Zoology: Illustrated Legends and Myths from Around the World
By John Ashton
This richly illustrated volume offers a feast for the imagination with its fascinatingly odd menagerie of creatures both real and imaginary. Victorian author John Ashton assembled historical accounts of everything from centaurs and unicorns to narwhals and wolves by authors such as Pliny, the ancient Roman naturalist, and Edward Topsell, a 17th-century English clergyman. These credulous treatments provide abundant amusement for modern readers. The compilation ranges from the more familiar creatures such as dragons, griffins, and mermen to now-obscure beings: the lamia, the lamb-tree, the moon woman, and the circhos, to name a few. Some tales offer unusual takes on swans, bears, cats, and other ordinary animals. Since underwater exploration was impractical until the 20th century, a particularly rich vein of folklore centers on sea creatures. Dating from approximately 1890, this fascinating volume is profusely illustrated with 130 images. A detailed index provides easy reference.
Reprint of the Cassell Publishing Company, New York edition. | <urn:uuid:91e50070-a7a2-4505-8c5f-cf3148f316df> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.weirdprovidence.org/store/p362/Curious_Creatures_in_Zoology%3A_Illustrated_Legends_and_Myths_from_Around_the_World.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195745.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128184858-20201128214858-00044.warc.gz | en | 0.891139 | 242 | 2.875 | 3 |
Music is usually about what you hear, not what you see. But beginning in the early 20th century, musicians and artists began questioning the division of sight and sound–a transition John Cage described by saying, “If this word music is sacred and reserved for 18th- and 19thh-century instruments, we can substitute a more meaningful term: organization of sound.”
Cube With Magic Ribbons, a visual sequencer for live performances, induces synesthesia by charting rhythms and harmonies in a 2-D paper space that pivots and changes with the music. Developed by the U.K. musician and programmer Simon Katan, the app shows us the evolution of a single tape-head (the square) into a layered composition. He built the whole thing using SoundCircuit and, in case the reference wasn’t clear, named it after an M.C. Escher painting that shows a series of surfaces within a polygonal cubic framework.
The Escher influence is obvious, but Cube With Magic Ribbons is also a visual takeoff on the circuit diagrams of middle-school physics classes. Each new effect takes the form of a different diode or resistor–the fuzzy, crackling sounds mirror the reference. “As the piece unfolds, the nature of this already confusing space reveals itself to be increasingly elastic and complex, yet inexorably intertwined with the musical form,” Katan says. “As the tape-heads travel through the resultant network, the topological layout of the tracks comes to directly influence the macro form of the music.”
Right now, Cube With Magic Ribbons is Katan’s personal creation–but he’s contemplating developing it for public consumption after the response he received online. His hesitation stems from the ambiguity between sight and sound–he’s not sure whether it’s a tool or a piece of his own art. “Everybody keeps asking me the same thing,” he explains over email. “I’m undecided as to whether the interface is the music or not. If I release the app, will I be selling a new tool or an interactive version of my music?”
Check out Katan’s website for more info. | <urn:uuid:f67fefc6-b822-406d-990d-6d67fe398fec> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.fastcompany.com/1672321/a-music-machine-that-acts-like-a-circuit-diagram | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141205147.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130035203-20201130065203-00124.warc.gz | en | 0.925451 | 466 | 2.59375 | 3 |
In South Side Girls Marcia Chatelain recasts Chicago’s Great Migration through the lens of black girls. Focusing on the years between 1910 and 1940, when Chicago’s black population quintupled, Chatelain describes how Chicago’s black social scientists, urban reformers, journalists and activists formulated a vulnerable image of urban black girlhood that needed protecting. She argues that the construction and meaning of black girlhood shifted in response to major economic, social, and cultural changes and crises, and that it reflected parents’ and community leaders’ anxieties about urbanization and its meaning for racial progress. Girls shouldered much of the burden of black aspiration, as adults often scrutinized their choices and behavior, and their well-being symbolized the community’s moral health. Yet these adults were not alone in thinking about the Great Migration, as girls expressed their views as well. Referencing girls’ letters and interviews, Chatelain uses their powerful stories of hope, anticipation and disappointment to highlight their feelings and thoughts, and in so doing, she helps restore the experiences of an understudied population to the Great Migration’s complex narrative. | <urn:uuid:30781a8d-9ca0-4a53-b8c7-1ab9a0431405> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://historyofblackgirlhood.org/2015/06/04/south-side-girls/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00364.warc.gz | en | 0.946511 | 241 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Animals maximize fitness by modulating sleep and foraging strategies in response to changes in nutrient availability. Wild populations of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, display highly variable levels of starvation and desiccation resistance that differ in accordance with geographic location, nutrient availability, and evolutionary history. Further, flies potently modulate sleep in response to changes in food availability, and selection for starvation resistance enhances sleep, revealing strong genetic relationships between sleep and nutrient availability. To determine the genetic and evolutionary relationship between sleep and nutrient deprivation, we assessed sleep in flies selected for desiccation or starvation resistance. While starvation resistant flies have higher levels of triglycerides, desiccation resistant flies have enhanced glycogen stores, indicative of distinct physiological adaptations to food or water scarcity. Strikingly, selection for starvation resistance, but not desiccation resistance, leads to increased sleep, indicating that enhanced sleep is not a generalized consequence of higher energy stores. Thermotolerance is not altered in starvation or desiccation resistant flies, providing further evidence for context-specific adaptation to environmental stressors. F2 hybrid flies were generated by crossing starvation selected flies with desiccation selected flies, and the relationship between nutrient deprivation and sleep was examined. Hybrids exhibit a positive correlation between starvation resistance and sleep, while no interaction was detected between desiccation resistance and sleep, revealing that prolonged sleep provides an adaptive response to starvation stress. Therefore, these findings demonstrate context-specific evolution of enhanced sleep in response to chronic food deprivation, and provide a model for understanding the evolutionary relationship between sleep and nutrient availability. | <urn:uuid:89802956-feeb-48a9-a588-381ddcde3aec> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26147198/?dopt=Abstract | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00364.warc.gz | en | 0.921454 | 318 | 2.90625 | 3 |
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