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What We Teach
The Humanities Department at The Girls’ Middle School integrates language arts with social sciences, an approach that encourages students to develop an awareness of themselves, their community, and the world. Beginning in sixth grade, students investigate what it means to be a member of a community, broadening their perspective and helping them to understand commonalities in the human experience. In seventh grade, students make connections between key literary works and major concepts in United States history, placing special emphasis on the relationships between race, identity, and class. In eighth grade, students look through the lens of justice to study history, literature, and culture around the world. Through the process of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, students become independent and critical thinkers.
Why We Teach It
The GMS Humanities Department prepares our young women to become powerful communicators, deep thinkers, and positive contributors to a just society. The curriculum encourages students to think critically and make connections to a wide range of texts and disciplines. We nurture and support creativity, growth, and expression, and students develop the ability to communicate their ideas thoughtfully and fluently throughout the process. | <urn:uuid:7299f3e7-f9dc-4579-a7d3-e6f507a12d20> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.girlsms.org/programs/humanities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00364.warc.gz | en | 0.950268 | 232 | 3.234375 | 3 |
The death of Galápagos tortoise Lonesome George this summer was thought to mark the extinction of a subspecies, but a new study hints that the reptile may not have been the last of his kind after all.
Researchers from Yale University recently trekked to the northern tip of Isabella Island, the largest of the Galápagos, and collected DNA from more than 1,600 giant tortoises. The genetic samples showed that 17 of these tortoises were hybrids that had a parent like Lonesome George from the subspecies Chelonoidis abingdoni.
What's more, five of those hybrids were juveniles, suggesting purebred C. abingdoni tortoises may still be roaming a remote part of the island.
"Our goal is to go back this spring to look for surviving individuals of this species and to collect hybrids," Yale ecology researcher Gisella Caccone said in a statement. "We hope that with a selective breeding program, we can reintroduce this tortoise species to its native home."
But even if examples of C. abingdoni are found on Isabella Island, how did they get there? Lonesome George's species is native to Pinta Island, 37 miles (60 kilometers) across the seas from the Volcano Wolf area on Isabella Island where the hybrid samples were collected.
These tortoises are massive, reaching nearly 900 pounds (408 kilograms) and almost 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length, and the researchers don't think ocean currents carried them between the islands. The team does suspect, however, that 19th-century sailors did.
Volcano Wolf is near Banks Bay, where naval officers and whalers marooned giant tortoises picked up from other islands after they were no longer needed for food. Researchers have previously found other hybrid turtles in the region with genetic ancestry of another tortoise, C. elephantopus, which was thought to be lost. This species was native to Floreana Island, where it was hunted to extinction some 150 years ago. But the new evidence suggests several members must have been brought to Isabella Island, where they mated with C. beckitortoises.
The new findings are detailed in the journal Biological Conservation.
Follow LiveScience on Twitter . We're also on and . | <urn:uuid:f178cf63-6e22-4d5d-8679-6ace995f3865> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna49855031 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00364.warc.gz | en | 0.967395 | 480 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Taking to the high seas to plunder and pillage is about as old as seafaring itself. The first historical evidence of piracy dates back to 1400 B.C., beginning with the Lukkans, based in what is now Turkey, who made were a great annoyance to early Egyptian empires. Then there were the mysterious Sea People, who lurked the Agean Sea and the coast of Egypt conducting raids. A famous tale from antiquity relating to piracy is the capture of a young Julius Caesar by Cilican pirates. After a ransom was paid, the story goes, the future emperor raised a navy and exacted revenge upon his captors. From ninth-century Viking raiders to the European and Muslim pirates that operated the waters during the various Crusades, piracy’s history runs deep and wide.
However, when most people think of pirates today, thanks to books and movies, they’re immersed in the Golden Age of Piracy. Between 1650 and 1726, as European colonies grew and international trade expanded across the globe, so did the opportunity to secure a lifetime of riches in one fell swoop. Infamous figures shrouded in legend, such as “Calico” Jack Rackham, early travel novelist William Dampier, Mary Reed, William Kidd (a standout who appears all over the place), Raïs Hamidou, and Blackbeard, rewrote the history books and left an indelible mark on culture in less than a century. Some were true outlaws on the high seas, while others were commissioned by their home nations to plunder rivals as privateers. Many were both, and for all their mystique, their victims saw them as little more than merciless bandits. Stories of their reign and exploits have continued to leave a mark on culture for centuries.
Throughout the Caribbean, Barbary Coast (how Europeans referred to the Atlantic coast of North Africa), coastal North America, the Indian Ocean, and beyond, these salty marauders lurked. Some met ghastly ends, relegating their tales of adventure and plundered riches to folklore and historical mysteries, many of which remain unsolved. A precious few retired. Here are 14 places across Atlas Obscura’s database of wondrous places that best reflect this age and influence, when lore was a currency unlike any other, and crafting a good legend meant a shot at immortality. | <urn:uuid:d28db847-f496-4731-b386-6962676ec227> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.atlasobscura.com/lists/obscura-academy-pirates?mapview=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141177607.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124224124-20201125014124-00085.warc.gz | en | 0.966258 | 481 | 3.15625 | 3 |
In the American imagination, no figure is more central to national identity and the nation’s origin story than the cowboy. Yet the Americans and Europeans who settled the U.S. West learned virtually everything they knew about ranching from the indigenous and Mexican horsemen who already inhabited the region. The charro—a skilled, elite, and landowning horseman—was an especially powerful symbol of Mexican masculinity and nationalism. After the 1930s, Mexican Americans in cities across the U.S. West embraced the figure as a way to challenge their segregation, exploitation, and marginalization from core narratives of American identity. In this definitive history, Laura R. Barraclough shows how Mexican Americans have used the charro in the service of civil rights, cultural citizenship, and place-making. Focusing on a range of U.S. cities, Charros traces the evolution of the “original cowboy” through mixed triumphs and hostile backlashes, revealing him to be a crucial agent in the production of U.S., Mexican, and border cultures, as well as a guiding force for Mexican American identity and social movements. | <urn:uuid:1ec1f6b6-a4af-46bb-8dbf-f52ca51da750> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://americanstudies.yale.edu/publications/charros-how-mexican-cowboys-are-remapping-race-and-american-identity-american | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141186761.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126055652-20201126085652-00165.warc.gz | en | 0.937315 | 231 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Study Shows Smokers at Greater Risk for Hearing Loss
Smoking is associated with increased risk of hearing loss, according to a study of over 50,000 participants over 8 years in Nicotine & Tobacco Research, published by Oxford University Press.
Researchers analyzed data from annual health checkups, which included audio testing performed by a technician and a health-related lifestyle questionnaire completed by each participant. They examined the effects of smoking status (current, former, and never smokers), the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and the duration of smoking cessation on the extent of hearing loss. Even after adjusting for factors including occupational noise exposure, researchers noted a 1.2 to 1.6 increased risk of hearing loss among current smokers compared with never smokers.
While the association between smoking and high-frequency hearing loss was stronger than that of low-frequency hearing loss, the risk of both high- and low-frequency hearing loss increased with cigarette consumption. The increased risk of hearing loss decreased within 5 years after quitting smoking.
"With a large sample size, long follow-up period, and objective assessment of hearing loss, our study provides strong evidence that smoking is an independent risk factor of hearing loss," said the study's lead author Dr. Huanhuan Hu of Japan's National Center for Global Health and Medicine. "These results provide strong evidence to support that smoking is a causal factor for hearing loss and emphasize the need for tobacco control to prevent or delay the development of hearing loss." | <urn:uuid:baa7bd76-761c-4557-abc9-3cdfd5843b4c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://arkansashearingaid.com/latest-news/study-shows-smokers-at-greater-risk-for-hearing-loss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141186761.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126055652-20201126085652-00165.warc.gz | en | 0.960705 | 296 | 2.890625 | 3 |
They swirl. They dance. They ripple. They pulsate. Sometimes they look like curtains, other times like long, ghostly trails in the sky. Mostly they're green, but on rare occassions they can be tinged in red or purple. No wonder people in ancient times thought the northern lights were myth or magic.
So what causes this amazing natural phenomenon?
The northern lights (aurora borealis) occur when solar flares release charged particles into space that collide with atoms in the earth’s atmosphere near the magnetic poles. The results of these collisions are glowing emissions that are visible only on clear winter nights at high northern latitudes, especially around the Arctic Circle, making the Nordic region a prime viewing area.
Depending on factors like the type of atoms involved and the pull of earth’s magnetic forces, the lights can take on various shapes and colours — the more intense the solar activity, the brighter the lights will be. Each short-lived display is one of a kind with ripples, flashes or steady glows of green (most common), violet or reddish hues.
Even with the rational scientific explanation for what’s going on, the northern lights never cease to amaze us — no matter how many times we've seen them.
Pro tip: The best months for viewing the northern lights are October through late March, and peak visibility is usually December through February. Oh, and remember that since these lights are naturally occurring, they don't always appear during your tour. | <urn:uuid:39c4acc0-0fd7-4ea2-ac94-ed1eea6a4eea> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.nordicvisitor.com/blog/northern-lights-spectacle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141211510.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130065516-20201130095516-00405.warc.gz | en | 0.948366 | 308 | 3.578125 | 4 |
Noise deters birds from eating young crops, irks neighbors
The emergence of young crops on valley farmlands brings with it a noticeable increase in noise levels, leaving many local residents confused, concerned or simply irritated.
Carrie Corcoran, Sublimity finance manager and city recorder, said the office has been receiving multiple phone calls regarding the sound effects.
"We have a pretty quiet community, so people don't know what's going on," she said. "We're getting a lot of questions about what the booms are, where they're coming from and why."
Those booms are actually the sounds of propane air cannons, commonly used by farmers to protect their crops. Fueled by propane and timed to cyclically fire, the cannons produce sound blasts similar to that of a large shotgun, effectively scaring away grazing geese and other birds or wildlife.
Though permits are required to use fireworks to haze birds from crops, or to harass threatened or endangered species, no permit is required to scare migratory birds (per OAR 635-043-0105). The regulation does state, however, "Any harassment of non-threatened or non-endangered migratory birds must not result in the take of migratory birds, their eggs or their nests."
While this protective practice may not be a pleasant experience for neighbors or pets, the resulting decrease in damages to crops is substantial, making your wallet very happy. | <urn:uuid:26e90b2b-5a3e-4a1e-92c0-47b0345234e7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/stayton/2014/04/24/noise-deters-birds-eating-young-crops-irks-neighbors/8130667/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141211510.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130065516-20201130095516-00405.warc.gz | en | 0.944664 | 295 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Image: Hubble's twisted galaxy
Gravity governs the movements of the cosmos. It draws flocks of galaxies together to form small groups and more massive galaxy clusters, and brings duos so close that they begin to tug at one another. This latter scenario can have extreme consequences, with members of interacting pairs of galaxies often being dramatically distorted, torn apart, or driven to smash into one another, abandoning their former identities and merging to form a single accumulation of gas, dust and stars.
The subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, IC 1727, is currently interacting with its near neighbor, NGC 672 (which is just out of frame). The pair's interactions have triggered peculiar and intriguing phenomena within both objects—most noticeably in IC 1727. The galaxy's structure is visibly twisted and asymmetric, and its bright nucleus has been dragged off-center.
In interacting galaxies such as these, astronomers often see signs of intense star formation (in episodic flurries known as starbursts) and spot newly-formed star clusters. They are thought to be caused by gravity churning, redistributing and compacting the gas and dust. In fact, astronomers have analyzed the star formation within IC 1727 and NGC 672 and discovered something interesting—observations show that simultaneous bursts of star formation occurred in both galaxies some 20 to 30 and 450 to 750 million years ago. The most likely explanation for this is that the galaxies are indeed an interacting pair, approaching each other every so often and swirling up gas and dust as they pass close by. | <urn:uuid:d820fdf7-4f29-4131-a237-70e7e7184ead> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://phys.org/news/2017-08-image-hubble-galaxy.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141681209.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201170219-20201201200219-00485.warc.gz | en | 0.939761 | 319 | 3.953125 | 4 |
A Swarm, A Flock, A Host: A Compendium of Creatures
A collaboration between a contemporary painter and an award-winning poet, this twenty-first-century bestiary is a spellbinding artistic meditation on the mystery and diversity of the animal kingdom.
Originating in the Middle Ages, bestiaries were illuminated volumes that described various animals—some real, some mystical. The natural history and illustration of each beast were usually accompanied by a moral lesson. In this beautifully illustrated book, painter Darren Waterston and poet Mark Doty come together to breathe new life into the medieval genre. Waterston’s lush and haunting silhouettes depict species from insect and bird to mammal, captured in motion as they hunt their prey, build their nests, or protect their young. Accompanying the illustrations are Doty’s poetic observations on the animal world—its panoply of sounds and shapes, its dignity, and its cruelty. Lovers of art, animals, and poetry will delight in this elegant volume that captures nature’s exquisite and terrible beauty. | <urn:uuid:09ef0ff2-0294-4a9e-8fd0-3497a880cd31> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.famsf.org/about/publications/swarm-flock-host-compendium-creatures | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141681209.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201170219-20201201200219-00485.warc.gz | en | 0.954037 | 217 | 2.609375 | 3 |
In a move many see as retaliation for the February recognition of independence for Kosovo, both houses of Russia’s parliament voted unanimously to recognize the independence of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Though not legally binding, the vote urges Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to officially recognize them and establish full diplomatic relations.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry condemned the vote as a continuation of “Russian aggression” and a violation of Georgia’s sovereignty. Yesterday, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili vowed to rebuild his shattered military and reclaim the enclaves. Earlier this month, the Bush Administration reiterated its commitment to Georgia’s “territorial integrity.”
Both enclaves have enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy since 1992, and tensions with the Georgian government have led to intermittent violence. This all came to a head earlier this month, when the Georgian government launched an offensive against South Ossetia, shelling its capital city of Tskhinvali. The Russian military, along with thousands of Abkhaz and Ossetian volunteers, swept into Tskhinvali, and advanced into parts of Georgia. Though a cease-fire has been declared, Russian troops remain in and around certain strategic Georgian cities.
In February, the breakaway province of Kosovo, long part of Serbia, declared independence with United States backing. At the time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the move would affect Russia’s policy toward Abkhazia and South Ossetia’s long-standing independence claims.
compiled by Jason Ditz | <urn:uuid:7a650fc5-9c5a-4c9e-b0ff-610345a6f995> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://news.antiwar.com/2008/08/25/russian-parliament-unanimously-backs-independence-for-abkhazia-south-ossetia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141718314.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203031111-20201203061111-00565.warc.gz | en | 0.935277 | 325 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Temperatures across the United States plummeted today, with parts of the Midwest experiencing wind chills of 40, 50, even 60 degrees below zero—and that’s in Fahrenheit. As if frozen pipes and frostbite weren’t dangerous enough, some folks are learning about one of the rarer, scarier side effects of super-cold weather: cryoseisms, or “frost quakes.”
A cryoseism occurs when an area of land that’s been saturated with water experiences a very sudden drop from above-freezing to subzero temperatures. This drastic temperature change causes the groundwater to freeze—and therefore expand—so suddenly that its surroundings can’t shift to accommodate it, causing pressure to build under the surface. The pressure continues to build until the rocks and dirt can’t take it anymore and, well, explode, usually with a startlingly loud crack or boom. It’s less scary than it sounds: unlike the earthquakes they’re often mistaken for, cryoseisms are very localized and relatively low-energy. Unless you’re right on top of the epicenter, the noises are the worst of it.
Frost quakes have already been reported in Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania; with the forecast promising even colder temperatures tomorrow, it’s likely that more are on the way. If you hear any loud cracking noises, try not to panic. After all, it’s not the end of the world—the ground is just cold enough to explode. | <urn:uuid:7b8a3810-da85-4928-999e-92f65a687315> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://lifehacker.com/what-are-frost-quakes-1832208339 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141187753.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126084625-20201126114625-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.915868 | 318 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Dentists across the country have noticed increases in cracked teeth and jaw pain. (Unsplash)
With the added stress of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, there’s been a cascading effect on many people, specifically involving cracked teeth, jaw pain, and other dental health issues.
According to Bremerton dentist Dr. Peter Ruff, he’s been seeing more and more instances of patients with cracked teeth and complaining of jaw pain, a direct result of frequent teeth-grinding.
“This is a stressful time, and we are seeing more issues,” Dr. Ruff told KIRO Radio.
Patients found to have lingering COVID symptoms for months after illness
That’s a trend that’s been consistent not just in Washington too, with one Winnipeg dentist describing a “huge increase” in patients who grind their teeth, seeing as many as three or four people a week with jaw pain and headaches.
A dentist in San Diego has seen similar problems among his patients too — prior to the pandemic, Dr. Paul Koshgerian told CNN he was treating roughly one cracked tooth a day. Nowadays, he sees anywhere from two to five cases a day. Iowa dentist Dr. Derek Peek spotted the same trend, treating twice as many cracked teeth in August and September as he did in those months last year.
To mitigate grinding and jaw pain, Dr. Ruff recommends preventative dental care, something he says many people have put off since the pandemic began.
“If early detection of the problem is available, then early treatment relates to less pain, less discomfort, and less expense,” he advised. | <urn:uuid:615e3d1f-9236-4f51-b790-297e0f3c745c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.hanielmasri.com/bremerton-dentist-seeing-more-cracked-teeth-jaw-pain-due-to-stress-over-pandemic.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141187753.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126084625-20201126114625-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.967369 | 347 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Crocodiles are majestic, powerful creatures that can grow up to 23 feet long. Oh, and they could pretty much snap you in half with one well-timed munch. It's one thing to admire these animals at ground level, where you can keep an eye on them. It's another to imagine them dangling above you in a tree canopy. As it turns out, crocs and alligators have a hunger for heights.
The news of the proclivity for these large aquatic reptiles to shimmy up trees comes from a team of researchers and their paper titled "Climbing behavior in extant crocodilians" from the journal Herpetology Notes.
The scientists gathered data on crocodile climbing behaviors from anecdotes, previously published sources, and new observations. The conclusion is that, "...climbing behaviour is common among crocodilians and might have multiple functions." Those functions may include basking to regulate body temperature and surveillance of the area. Scaring the wits out of some people is just an unintended side effect.
So why haven't we been alerted to this before? It turns out that the tree-climbing reptiles are shy. When approached, they plop into the water, meaning you really have to sneak up on them to observe the behavior.
The revelation that crocs go climbing may help scientists gain a greater understanding of the behaviors of extinct animals. Just because an ancient croc-like skeleton fossil doesn't look like it would have crawled up a tree trunk, doesn't mean it didn't wander up into the leaves from time to time.
If it's any consolation, the scientists note that smaller and less heavy reptiles are most likely to go climbing, while the big bruisers stay grounded. The paper concludes that, "Despite lacking any morphological adaptations for climbing trees, crocodilians are capable of entering arboreal environments within the limits of their locomotory abilities, and in some cases might spend considerable time high above ground." | <urn:uuid:e531b67b-a61f-4bd4-94d3-14f5827195a0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.cnet.com/news/heads-up-crocs-like-to-go-climbing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141727627.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203094119-20201203124119-00125.warc.gz | en | 0.954712 | 403 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Government data is growing exponentially. Its volume, velocity and variety require advanced data analytics capabilities to empower informed decision-making, but many agencies are unequipped to manage such a largescale task.
Behind the scenes, federal agencies use metadata and data analysis to detect fraud, waste and abuse of federal programs and citizen services. Understanding and acting on these analytical insights derived from government data resources has the potential to support agency objectives in new and varied ways.
Additionally, fraudsters and cybercriminals are constantly outsmarting the overworked human personnel trying to thwart them. With the everyday bustle of modern government IT departments, it’s difficult for teams to adapt to the changing tactics of nefarious entities attempting to take advantage of systematic weaknesses.
Fortunately, new technology is available to assist these efforts. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are the way forward as the amount of data continues to grow alongside the shifting threat landscape.
This GovLoop e-book explains how AI and ML are applied at the federal level to combat cyberattacks and prevent fraud. The following pages also contain interviews with federal leaders about the use of AI and ML in cybersecurity efforts. Finally, we’ll interview experts who are successfully helping governments implement AI and ML technologies. | <urn:uuid:6993f8a7-46d2-4961-91f5-ae6306bb33e2> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.govloop.com/resources/how-artificial-intelligence-combats-fraud-and-cyberattacks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141743438.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204193220-20201204223220-00205.warc.gz | en | 0.927945 | 255 | 2.640625 | 3 |
As spring and summer approaches, allergy sufferers are bemoaning the ever-increasing pollen count. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, an estimated 30 percent of adults and nearly 40 percent of children have at least one allergy, including seasonal allergies. And the trend is on the rise.
There are many theories about why peoples' immune systems run haywire when exposed to otherwise harmless substances like pollen. One pervasive idea is known as the Hygiene Hypothesis, which suggests that sterile-like environments and limited exposure to bacteria and allergens could cause the immune system to be overly sensitive. This idea could explain, in part, why the prevalence of allergies is increasing worldwide in developed countries.
Moreover, the theory suggests exposure may be the key in acclimating the immune system so that they are less likely to attack when exposed to pollen, food, or other allergens. Indeed, scientists recently revised their recommendation, encouraging people to eat peanut butter earlier in order to help nut allergies in adulthood. Perhaps then seasonal allergies could also be helped with early exposure to pollen too? Watch the video to find out. | <urn:uuid:c9f30aa2-31e2-4b95-a9ef-35f31c6cc32c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.labroots.com/trending/videos/9725/seasonal-allergies-can-too-much-hygiene-be-blame | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141168074.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123211528-20201124001528-00565.warc.gz | en | 0.962141 | 231 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Christopher explains that he sees all the little details around him, which is why he doesn’t like being in new places, because he has to take in everything there is to see. Most people only glance at their surroundings and think about other things while they’re glancing. Christopher recalls standing in a field on the way to France for a vacation, and he can still remember all the tiny details of the field, such as a squashed can with a snail on it.
This hypersensitivity to detail helps explain Christopher’s extreme reactions to crowds and new places. Furthermore, this chapter forces the reader to appreciate what Christopher is going through as he takes on this journey with so many elements in it that are new to him. It also makes Christopher’s narration that much more credible, since he really does remember any detail he writes down.
Christopher draws the exact patterns of a cow he saw in the field, which reminds him he knows a joke about a cow. The joke involves an economist, a logician, and a mathematician who draw different conclusions from seeing a brown cow in Scotland, and it proves that mathematicians think most clearly and don’t assume anything they don’t know for sure.
Christopher already lives like the exemplary mathematician of the joke. Even if he makes hypotheses about what could have happened to Wellington or to his mother, he never takes anything as truth before he has proof to support it.
When Christopher goes somewhere new, his brain gets overloaded by everything he has to see. It’s even worse when there are many people around and they try to interact with him, because he has to anticipate what they might do. In these situations, Christopher covers his ears and groans so that he can remember what he’s supposed to be doing. However, his power of observation also makes him good at chess, math, and logic.
Once again, Christopher’s description of how he experiences the world makes it that much more impressive for him to take on a journey to London. He doesn’t see his hypersensitivity only as a difficulty, however. He also is aware that it gives him an advantage in certain areas that he values. | <urn:uuid:12643f85-747e-4e51-8193-7d87548f841c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/chapter-181 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141181179.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125041943-20201125071943-00645.warc.gz | en | 0.984041 | 449 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Led by Túpac Amaru, Túpac Katari, Tomás Katari, and others, the pan-Andean uprising from 1780 to 1782 was the largest and most radical indigenous challenge to Spanish colonial rule in the Americas since the conquest. Whole insurgent armies were organized in the heart of Peru and Alto Peru (today Bolivia) over the course of two years. Ancient and populous cities such as Cuzco, La Paz, Chuquisaca, Oruro, and Puno were besieged and occupied. Extensive rural areas in Charcas, the provinces in the high Andean plateau bordering Lake Titicaca, and the southern Peruvian sierras, fell under the complete control of the rebel forces. These forces occasionally relied on the direct support of creoles and mestizos. Although Túpac Amaru, the self-proclaimed new Inca king, would become the primary symbol of the rebellion, the insurgent uprisings combined multiple regional uprisings, each with its own history and dynamic. This article explores the similarities and differences among these uprisings in terms of ethnic ideology, social composition, leadership structure, and insistent demands for change. | <urn:uuid:88e7f372-d84f-430f-8f88-d29684bd4d54> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://oxfordre.com/latinamericanhistory/search?btog=chap&f_0=keyword&q_0=La%20Paz | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141194634.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127221446-20201128011446-00085.warc.gz | en | 0.929299 | 242 | 4.15625 | 4 |
The new type of material will stay in the Earth’s rock record forever, according to a new study, and will one day act as a geological marker for humanity’s impact on the planet.
The research from the University of Western Ontario in Canada has revealed plastiglomerates form when melted plastic rubbish on beaches mixes with sediment, lava fragments and organic debris to produce a whole new type of rock.
So far the material has only been found at Hawaii’s Kamilo beach, which is considered one of the dirtiest in the world, but the unique geological material likely exists in many other locations, as Joseph Castro reports for LiveScience.
Research on the plastiglomerates from Kamilo Beach have found there are two types: In situ and clastic. The results are published in GSA Today.
The in situ variety is rarer, and forms when “plastic melts on rock and becomes incorporated into the rock outcrop,” lead author Patricia Corcoran told LiveScience. Clastic plastiglomerates (pictured above) instead form as loose rocky structures, when a combination of shells, coral, basalt, woody debris and sand are glued together by melted plastic.
Plastiglomerate was first discovered by oceanographer Captain Charles Moore, who thought that molten lava had melted the plastic to create the new rock material. But, as LiveScience reports, the researchers revealed that the lava hadn’t flowed since before plastics were first invented, suggesting our waste was definitely to blame.
It’s not great news, especially given the fact today is World Environment Day. Hey Earth, to celebrate, we’ve made you a new type of rock that will NEVER break down. You’re welcome. | <urn:uuid:a53f5a4d-ef69-4221-9479-66d4bf120a4e> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://projectoceanus.wordpress.com/tag/plastic-waste/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141194634.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127221446-20201128011446-00085.warc.gz | en | 0.937717 | 364 | 3.90625 | 4 |
Torrential rain events and the flooding they cause are nothing new. Global warming, however, is helping to make them more likely.
According to the most recent National Climate Assessment, heavy precipitation events have increased in both frequency and intensity across the United States. While there are seasonal variations with different regions, the greatest increases have been observed in the northeast.
Climate scientists attribute this increase in heavy precipitation to our warming world. As greenhouse gases warm the atmosphere, the air is able to hold more water vapor. More specifically, according to the Clausius–Clapeyron relation, for every increase of 1°F, the saturation level of the atmosphere increases by about 4%. That means there is more evaporation from oceans, rivers, and lakes, and therefore more water vapor available to condense and fall as precipitation.
Heavy rain events have a number of consequences, including an increased risk of both flash floods and river floods. This, in turn, is a threat to life and property. Over the long-term, it also affects insurance rates and property values. According to NOAA, individual billion-dollar flooding events (excluding tropical cyclones) in the U.S. have added up to $39 billion in losses since 2010.
As our global temperature continues to rise, experts say we should expect to see more extreme rain events, even in areas where overall precipitation is projected to decrease. In other words, when it rains, it will likely pour. | <urn:uuid:dbd92dab-4acc-434e-9a6f-fc5d6166d8fc> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.weathergamut.com/2018/04/17/why-heavy-rain-events-are-becoming-more-common/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141197278.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129063812-20201129093812-00165.warc.gz | en | 0.946529 | 294 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Haley Reading Group: “Thirty Million Gallons Under the Sea”
[The Best American Science and Nature Writing (2016)]
Cynthia A. Campbell
Antonia Juhasz’s article “Thirty Million Gallons Under the Sea” focuses on the impact of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Juhasz illuminates how the thirty million gallons of oil remaining on the ocean floor is affecting the ecological balance. Ultimately, the article speaks to the continued efforts of oil companies to extract oil from the ocean despite the risk of further disasters.
Juhasz’s discussion of the phytoplankton was especially enlightening. At one point, Juhasz notes that “[this] sea vegetation...produces about half of the planet’s oxygen.” This point indicates the vital importance of a healthy ocean ecosystem.
After reading Juhasz’s article, what was one point concerning the destruction of sea organisms that viewed as especially important to consider? Why? Please provide a page number citation. | <urn:uuid:ca92effe-61ef-4468-b5df-2929881445b2> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www.culturalfront.org/2017/11/haley-reading-group-thirty-million.html?showComment=1513014933622 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141686635.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202021743-20201202051743-00325.warc.gz | en | 0.901927 | 234 | 3.4375 | 3 |
This Article exposes a surprising doctrinal distortion that has unfolded since the Supreme Court first established the Sixth Amendment standard for the right to a jury selected from a fair cross-section of the community. A significant number of courts are erroneously applying the test for a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee to Sixth Amendment claims. As a result, criminal defendants are being deprived of the unique Sixth Amendment fair cross-section right, which encompasses more than just protection from discrimination. Under the Sixth Amendment, a defendant need not allege that any state actor discriminated in the jury selection process. Instead, a defendant can establish a prima facie violation by showing that the underrepresentation of a distinctive group in the jury pool is inherent in the selection process, whether by accident or design. The equal protection clause, in contrast, demands evidence of discriminatory intent. This Article reveals that at least ten federal circuits and nineteen states have erroneously denied defendants’ Sixth Amendment claims for failure to satisfy the Fourteenth Amendment’s discrimination requirement. This Article also uses an original survey of federal and state cases to explore the potential scope of the problem. In over one-third of the relevant cases, courts denied defendants’ fair cross-section claims for failing to meet equal protection standards. In contrast to scholarship arguing that the underpinnings of the fair cross-section standard need to be revisited, this Article asserts that the key to enforcing the cross-section guarantee is not to change the standard, but to apply it consistently with the Sixth Amendment and Supreme Court doctrine.
Nina W. Chernoff,
Wrong About the Right: How Courts Undermine the Fair Cross-Section Guarantee by Confusing It with Equal Protection,
64 Hastings L.J. 141
Available at: | <urn:uuid:73d09444-557a-43cf-9fb4-4ff8066163d2> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://repository.uchastings.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol64/iss1/4/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141686635.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202021743-20201202051743-00325.warc.gz | en | 0.910522 | 388 | 2.65625 | 3 |
On two separate days in August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of these cataclysmic bombings draws near, American and Japanese citizens are seeking new ways to memorialize these events for future generations. In Discordant Memories, Alison Fields explores—through the lenses of multiple disciplines—ongoing memories of the two bombings. Enhanced by striking color and black-and-white images, this book is an innovative contribution to the evolving fields of memory studies and nuclear humanities.
To reveal the layered complexities of nuclear remembrance, Fields analyzes photography, film, and artworks; offers close readings of media and testimonial accounts; traces site visits to atomic museums in New Mexico and Japan; and features artists who give visual form to evolving memories.
According to Fields, such expressions of memory both inspire group healing and expose struggles with past trauma. Visual forms of remembrance—such as science museums, peace memorials, photographs, and even scars on human bodies—serve to contain or manage painful memories. And yet, the author claims, distinct cultures lay claim to vastly different remembrances of nuclear history. Fields analyzes a range of case studies to uncover these discordant memories and to trace the legacies of nuclear weapons production and testing. Her subjects include the Bradbury Science Museum in Los Alamos, New Mexico; the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan; the atomic photography of Carole Gallagher and Patrick Nagatani; and artworks and experimental films by Will Wilson and Nanobah Becker.
In the end, Fields argues, the trauma caused by nuclear weapons can never be fully contained. For this reason, commemorations of their effects are often incomplete and insufficient. Differences between individual memories and public accounts are also important to recognize. Discordant Memories illuminates such disparate memories in all their rich complexity. | <urn:uuid:66d6cdad-54ce-4ebe-a16d-50d68f95a093> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.oupress.com/books/15322645/discordant-memories | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141727782.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203124807-20201203154807-00405.warc.gz | en | 0.910663 | 378 | 2.5625 | 3 |
A combination of narrative and analysis, the book documents Perdomo's experiences in Colombia and Ecuador and offers valuable insights into the social history of medicine during the Great Transformation in nineteenth-century Latin America. Reactions to Perdomo also illuminate the conflicts between colonial and modern and between religious and secular belief systems in Latin America during this time. This era pitted the norms of colonial Latin America against forces of change that shaped contemporary Latin America. Perdomo's practice of medicine demonstrated a strong religious influence that liberals thought were incompatible with a modern, secular society.
But Perdomo also had his detractors. Physicians, formally trained medicos, and those who supported scientific modernization were critical of Perdomo's practice of Hispanic medicine, even though it was part of the medical system of the day. Blending Catholic healing beliefs with indigenous and African medical ideologies, Hispanic medicine challenged the innovations occurring in the professional medical community. | <urn:uuid:3d8dba21-0ce6-47a4-874d-eed47c1b3895> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781461645757 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141197593.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129093434-20201129123434-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.966171 | 183 | 3.15625 | 3 |
Widespread public health campaigns in Michigan have highlighted the dangers of distracted driving. Many of these efforts have focused on the use of handheld phones, including calling and texting while driving. Similarly to overall trends in communication, fewer drivers are talking on handheld phones while behind the wheel. However, drivers are 57 percent more likely to use their phones for texting, internet browsing or email, even when operating their vehicles.
Even drivers who refrain from mobile device use while moving may be tempted to pick up a phone and text or surf while stopped at a red light. However, even stopped distracted drivers can contribute to dangerous car accidents, being ill-prepared to move in an emergency situation or even when the light changes to green. These results came in a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an organization supported by the insurance industry that aims to improve roadway safety and decrease accident risks.
The report noted that distracted driving remained relatively steady between 2014 and 2018 but that different types of distraction are posing increased threats. Rather than holding a phone to converse, drivers are choosing to text instead. Researchers warned about this trend, noting that actively typing and otherwise manipulating a phone is linked to more serious crashes than simply holding the phone while talking. Studies indicate that people are 66 percent more likely to have a fatal crash when using a mobile phone or tablet. In 2017, over 800 deaths were linked to surfing or texting while driving.
The consequences of distracted driving can be devastating to others on the road, leading to catastrophic injuries, brain trauma or organ damage in severe motor vehicle accidents. A personal injury lawyer might help accident victims to pursue compensation for their damages, including pain and suffering, lost wages and medical bills. | <urn:uuid:64142220-e83f-45e5-b495-1d6f28941db7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.michiganautoaccident.com/blog/2019/01/texting-while-driving-on-the-rise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141197593.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129093434-20201129123434-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.959802 | 340 | 3.125 | 3 |
Volcanoes are common occurrences along the boundaries of Earth’s tectonic plates. These boundaries allow super-heated molten rock called magma, along with ash and gases, to rise through Earth’s crust and emerge on the surface, often dramatically. Since many plate boundaries are submerged, around three-quarters of all volcanic activity on Earth actually occurs underwater.
Even though most submarine volcanoes do not produce the spectacular eruption events of some of their land counterparts, undersea volcanic activity is a constant process that shapes the features of the ocean. When magma reaches the level of the seafloor, it meets cold ocean water and quickly cools to form basaltic rock, often termed “pillow lava” due to its rounded shape. This pillow lava, along with slower-cooling magma beneath it, forms the vast majority of oceanic crust.
Frequent eruptions along divergent plate boundaries such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge form new ocean bottom in a process known as seafloor spreading. This process occurs slowly (1-15 centimeters per year) yet relentlessly, moving the plates—and the ocean floor and continents above them—further apart. Halfway around the world, along the Pacific Ring of Fire, volcanic activity occurs as plates converge on each other, creating subduction zones.
Continued volcanism in one area can build up to form underwater mountains called seamounts or even islands that breach the ocean surface. Many examples of island chains throughout the Pacific, such has the Hawaiian Islands, are formed as one volcanic hotspot erupts over millions of years while the Pacific plate drifts above it.
Submarine volcanoes are also interesting because of the unique habitats they create. Seamounts are often areas of high biological diversity; their shape acts to deflect food-carrying currents upward, attracting a variety of sessile fauna and the crustaceans and fish that feed upon them. In the late 1970s, scientists were shocked to discover that some animals can even metabolize inorganic compounds emitted during volcanic activity, forming unique communities around hotspots of hydrothermal venting (similar to geyser activity on land). | <urn:uuid:16546b76-acad-48ed-9583-12a709a8d853> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.saltwaterpimp.com/ocean-facts/can-volcanic-eruptions-occur-underwater/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141197593.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129093434-20201129123434-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.946591 | 444 | 4.5625 | 5 |
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute and the University of Stuttgart in Germany have developed a method to create high-resolution ultrasound fields, a capability which may improve the effectiveness of ultrasound therapies and tailor them for individual patients. The technique involves passing ultrasonic waves through water, where hydrogen bubbles help to transform the waves into desired shapes.
High-power ultrasound therapy is currently used to destroy tumor tissues, including prostate and uterine tumors. However, the technique can also damage healthy tissue, since it generates a great deal of heat, so the ultrasound field must be tightly controlled to restrict it to the tumor as much as possible. This is particularly difficult for brain tumors, as the skull distorts the field.
Current methods to control ultrasound fields involve creating several individual sound sources, which are then shifted to strengthen or weaken each other. However, this technique is limited and can only produce about 1,000 pixels. The newly invented approach, published in journal Nature Communications, can generate as many as 10,000 individual pixels.
“In order to modulate the sound pressure profile, we take advantage of the different acoustic properties of water and air,” said Zhichao Ma, a researcher involved in the study. “While an ultrasonic wave passes through a liquid unhindered, it is completely reflected by air bubbles”.
The researchers developed a thumbnail-sized chip on which they can split water to form hydrogen bubbles in a specific pattern. They can then send an ultrasonic wave through the chip, and when it encounters the bubbles it transforms to form a desired shape. Creating a different profile is as simple as wiping the hydrogen bubbles away and producing a different pattern.
“In this way, we can use much more powerful ultrasonic transducers”, said Kai Melde, another researcher involved in the study. “Thanks to a chip with 10,000 pixels that modulates the ultrasonic wave, we can generate a much finer-resolved profile.”
The researchers have demonstrated the precision of their new system by arranging microparticles into different letters. Check it out in the video below.
Study in Nature Communications: Spatial ultrasound modulation by digitally controlling microbubble arrays
Via: Max Planck Institute | <urn:uuid:556dcade-bf78-44f8-8814-2198694bf4b4> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.medgadget.com/2020/10/high-resolution-ultrasound-for-accurate-tumor-ablation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Medgadget+%28Medgadget%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141486017.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130192020-20201130222020-00525.warc.gz | en | 0.936225 | 456 | 3.984375 | 4 |
Snake Venom Could Open New Treatments for Cancer
Besides helping to manage our mouse and rodent population, it may be hard to think of anything beneficial about snakes – especially poisonous ones. Yet there may be a surprising silver lining to slithery serpents: innovative new treatments for cancer.
Just ask Steve MacKessy of the University of Northern Colorado. He’s been collecting and studying snake venom for decades, freeze-drying the venom to retain its properties. He still works with samples gathered as many as 40 years ago, sharing, “A lot of other protein drugs are inherently unstable, but venoms in particular are designed to be stable under bad conditions.”
Because the toxins in the venom bind very specifically to the receptors of its prey, they have the potential to target only the cancer cells themselves, unlike current treatment options like chemotherapy.
An additional study, led by Dr. Nicholas Casewell of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, concurs, taking it a step further. “Our results demonstrate that the evolution of venoms is a really complex process. The venom gland of snakes appears to be a melting pot for evolving new functions for molecules, some of which are retained in venom for killing prey, while others go on to serve new functions in other tissues in the body,” he explains.
In addition to its potential in treating cancer, this study expands the possible benefits to other chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Because of the lethal toxins in snake venom, making them safe for consumers is a challenge. Researchers have discovered that snakes may possess nontoxic versions of their venom, opening new doors for safer testing.
Hired Hands Homecare, providers of the professional elderly care Santa Rosa seniors need, is committed to staying on top of the latest trends in treatments for cancer and other health diagnoses, in order to offer the highest possible level of care. Our care staff are fully trained and experienced in a wide range of services to make life better for those in need of care at home. Contact us at (866)-940-4343 to see if our services are available in your area, and to find out how we can help you! | <urn:uuid:a778f070-8ebd-4abf-a506-84c89b8965ad> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www.hiredhandshomecare.com/snake-venom-could-open-new-treatments-for-cancer/?shared=email&msg=fail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141729522.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203155433-20201203185433-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.94494 | 447 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Robert Byron (1905-1941) was a noted British traveler, art critic, and author trained as a Byzantinist. Byron is often credited with introducing an educated reading public to the importance of Islamic and Byzantine art. His most celebrated work, The Road to Oxiana, is an account of his journey through Iran and Afghanistan in 1933-1934. Also a talented photographer, Byron thoroughly documented the buildings (many now altered or destroyed) about which he wrote. His photographs now comprise an invaluable resource for the study of Islamic architecture and offer a rich visual companion to his writings. The Conway Library at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London has generously granted Archnet the rights to publish a selection of Robert Byron images, documenting numerous Seljuk, Timurid, Safavid, and other Islamic monuments in Iran and Afghanistan. | <urn:uuid:d63970f3-18df-40c0-a500-fc2c6fa22bec> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.archnet.org/collections/33/collections/18 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141729522.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203155433-20201203185433-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.94876 | 170 | 2.5625 | 3 |
If managed properly, natural resource exploration could be beneficial to communities where extractive activities take place, either directly through transfer of resource revenues and corporate interventions or through the promotion of local content. However, communities also bear the disproportionate costs of resource extraction from environmental hazard and other socio-economic effects. Effective resource management, therefore, involves maximizing benefits from resources while minimizing the costs imposed on the host communities. Nigeria currently performs below average in managing local impacts of resource extraction. Particularly, the Nigeria Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) conducted a robust assessment of the performance of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector against the 12 precepts of the Natural Resource Charter, detailing the relevant findings in their Benchmarking Exercise Report (BER) 2017. Major issues relating to managing local impacts of extractive activities were captured in precept 5. This brief provides actionable policy recommendations that can enhance the management of local impacts of resource extraction, especially in response to the challenges identified in the BER 2017.
The Natural Resource Charter is a set of principles on how to best harness the opportunities created by extractive resources for development for governments and societies rich in non-renewable natural resources. | <urn:uuid:94d9b0f3-d5b3-4999-b7e1-e6ffe1755f07> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://cseaafrica.org/managing-local-impacts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141746320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205044004-20201205074004-00045.warc.gz | en | 0.899659 | 233 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Study Assesses Medicament Released Using Chewing Gum Delivery
A University of Bristol study assessed how much xylitol is released in medicated chewing gum by using a robot to replicate human chewing motion. This development may provide opportunities to refine drug release from gum via this delivery method. The study, “Development of a Chewing Robot with Built-in Humanoid Jaws to Simulate Mastication to Quantify Robotic Agents Release from Chewing Gums Compared to Human Participants,” published in IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, observed whether a chewing robot with built-in humanoid jaws — complete with artificial saliva — could assess the volume of medicament delivered. “The chewing robot demonstrated a similar release rate of xylitol as human participants,” researchers wrote in the study.
When the team compared the amount of xylitol remaining in the medicated gum after chewing for 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes, the team found the greatest release of xylitol occurred during the first 5 minutes of chewing, with a small amount of xylitol remaining after 20 minutes, regardless of the subject group. | <urn:uuid:bfd7d2e1-bbd6-4c42-8fdf-e6d8d022e7f0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://decisionsindentistry.com/2020/09/study-assesses-medicament-released-using-chewing-gum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141746320.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205044004-20201205074004-00045.warc.gz | en | 0.917322 | 228 | 2.671875 | 3 |
White-nose syndrome has been spreading through U.S. bat populations since 2006 and has caused mass die-offs in various regions of the country. The syndrome is caused by Pd (Pseudogymnoascus destructans), a fungus that invades the skin of bats while they hibernate. USDA Forest Service wildlife biologists Roger Perry and Phillip Jordan conducted a study to calculate the survival rates of tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) in the Ouachita Mountains of west-central Arkansas. The research helps satisfy the need for robust estimates of population data amid the WNS outbreak. The scientists chose to study the tricolored bat because it is common across North America and has suffered substantial declines due to WNS. The research highlights the importance of maintaining and protecting small hibernation sites as they may be critical to the conservation of the tricolored bat species.
Invasive Species Resources
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USDA. FS. Southern Research Station. CompassLive.
Purdue University. News. (Indiana). | <urn:uuid:cb314408-a620-473f-8b82-b6020fee0e80> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/resources-indexed?f%5B0%5D=field_location%3A89&f%5B1%5D=field_subject%3A220&f%5B2%5D=field_subject%3A240&f%5B3%5D=field_location%3A99&%3Bf%5B1%5D=field_location%3A133&%3Bf%5B2%5D=field_source%3A70 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141171126.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124053841-20201124083841-00405.warc.gz | en | 0.906319 | 222 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Political Fallout - Nuclear Weapons Testing and the Making of a Global Environmental Crisis
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Political Fallout is the story of one of the first human-driven, truly global environmental crises—radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War—and the international response. Beginning in 1945, the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union detonated hundreds of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, scattering a massive amount of radioactivity across the globe. The scale of contamination was so vast, and radioactive decay so slow, that the cumulative effect on humans and the environment is still difficult to fully comprehend.
The international debate over nuclear fallout turned global radioactive contamination into an environmental issue, eventually leading the nuclear superpowers to sign the landmark Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT) in 1963. Bringing together environmental history and Cold War history, Toshihiro Higuchi argues that the PTBT, originally proposed as an arms control measure, transformed into a dual-purpose initiative to check the nuclear arms race and radioactive pollution simultaneously. Higuchi draws on sources in English, Russian, and Japanese, considering both the epistemic differences that emerged in different scientific communities in the 1950s and the way that public consciousness around the risks of radioactive fallout influenced policy in turn. Political Fallout addresses the implications of science and policymaking in the Anthropocene—an era in which humans are confronting environmental changes of their own making. | <urn:uuid:bda1313b-ae2d-4b73-8fd2-5a9ae5cd36f7> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.24symbols.com/book/english/toshihiro-higuchi/political-fallout---nuclear-weapons-testing-and-the-making-of-a-global-environmental-crisis?id=3406912 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195069.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128040731-20201128070731-00645.warc.gz | en | 0.894345 | 279 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Per capita potato consumption dropped to an all-time low recently. To boost consumer interest, American potato breeding programs are selectively breeding smaller, more colorful varieties.
The flashier hues mean more phytonutrients, compounds linked to a variety of health benefits, and their compact size means shorter cooking times.
Breeding those traits takes 12 to 14 years, says Texas A&M program director J. Creighton Miller Jr., but you won’t have to wait that long to see one of the program’s newest creations, a variety called peppermint. It sports white skin speckled with red, and it could arrive in stores later this year.
Don’t worry; the name only reflects the potato’s color, not its flavor.
[This article originally appeared in print as "Stylish Spuds."] | <urn:uuid:5ce64ffd-0dc8-464c-bb7b-93f234d47dd1> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/potato-breeders-create-colorful-spuds | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141732835.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203220448-20201204010448-00245.warc.gz | en | 0.93219 | 174 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Obverse: IVLIA MAESA AVG; Draped Bust of Julia Maesa Facing Right
Reverse: PVDICITIA; Pudicitia Seated to the Left, Holding a Sceptre
Women, though often overlooked, played an intriguing role during the height of the Roman Empire, often pulling the strings from offstage when the emperor was too young to rule or especially gullible to the influences of an ambitious empress. Julia Maesa, sister of Julia Domna and grandmother to Elagabalus and Severus Alexander, is one such powerful plotter who altered the course of history. It is believed that she is largely responsible for igniting the rebellion that toppled Macrinus and the restored the Severan Dynasty to the throne. When her older grandson Elagabalus went mad and became uncontrollable, he was assassinated and the more obedient Severus Alexander was installed. Although she may or may not have directly ordered his murder, she clearly benefited from Elagabalus’ demise. However, by the time Alexander donned the purple, she was already quite old and eventually died just a few years into his reign.
How many hands have touched a coin in your pocket or purse? What eras and lands have the coin traversed on its journey into our possession? As we reach into our pockets to pull out some change, we rarely hesitate to think of who might have touched the coin before us, or where the coin will venture to after it leaves our hands. More than money, coins are a symbol of the state that struck them, of a specific time and location, whether contemporary currencies or artifacts of a long forgotten empire. This stunning hand-struck coin reveals an expertise of craftsmanship and intricate sculptural detail that is often lacking in contemporary machine-made currencies. Today, this coin is an ancient memorial to a powerful woman passed from the hands of civilization to civilization, from generation to generation. | <urn:uuid:2ca0226e-c32d-4f77-a73c-f99ebd5dc212> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www.barakatgallery.com/store/index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/CFID/131141206/CFTOKEN/73101417/CategoryID/48/SubCategoryID/645/ItemID/12959.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176049.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124082900-20201124112900-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.969863 | 391 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Researchers at University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) have taken a new approach to remove drug-resistant bacteria from wounds and skin infections: using light to trigger the controlled release of nitric oxide. According to a university press release, a photoactive compound was developed that releases nitric oxide when exposed to light. This compound was loaded into a porous material that could be applied as a sprayable powder. The team, led by Pradip Mascharak, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UCSC, and graduate student Brandon Heilman, published its results in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
According to the research, nitric oxide has antimicrobial effects and promotes wound healing. Gaseous nitric oxide has been used to treat infected wounds but handling the toxic and reactive gas poses challenges. Thus, researchers sought other means to deliver nitric oxide as an antibiotic. Mascharak's lab developed a photoactive manganese nitrosyl to rapidly release nitric oxide when exposed to light.
As the carrier for this compound, the researchers used a porous silicate material known as MCM-41, which traps the photoactive compound inside its pores. They also tested a related aluminosilicate material (Al-MCM-41), which reportedly holds the photoactive compound even more tightly. Clinical tests showed that illumination of the material causes a steady release of nitric oxide, which could be stopped and started repeatedly by turning a light off and on.
This novel method of controlled release suggests an interesting delivery method for cosmetic actives or other ingredients, given the right lighting conditions. | <urn:uuid:33b02b00-6db4-4557-9c3d-0e23d8d42c35> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/research/techtransfer/158434205.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176049.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124082900-20201124112900-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.956623 | 328 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease that seemingly hampers the ability of an individual to breathe. A latest study claims that COPD patients with systemic inflammation and dysregulated immune function have heightened chances of being diagnosed with herpes zoster. Known to be caused due to the virus that triggers chicken pox, herpes zoster appears as a painful, blistering skin rash.
Investigators conducted a cohort study by analyzing data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. Cox regressions were performed to compare the hazard ratio (HR) of herpes zoster in the COPD cohort and in an age- and sex-matched comparison cohort. Patients suffering from COPD were segregated into three groups on the basis of steroid medications put to use. A total of 8,486 patients and 33,944 matched control patients were included in the investigation.
Scientists also considered potential confounding factors while ascertaining the risk of herpes zoster. Yang, K-H Wang from the Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University and colleagues found that incidences of herpes zoster were on a rise among COPD patients who did not take steroid medications. Having adjusted HR of herpes zoster, scientists registered a slightly greater risk for patients with COPD who inhaled corticosteroids only. The threat of herpes zoster appeared highest among those who used oral steroids.
In conclusion, it was asserted that COPD patients have more chances of herpes zoster and those employing oral steroids are under the greatest threat. | <urn:uuid:2db5c93d-7605-4083-990e-a2475c88981c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.healthjockey.com/2011/02/25/copd-patients-reportedly-have-increased-risk-of-herpes-zoster/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176049.8/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124082900-20201124112900-00685.warc.gz | en | 0.949199 | 316 | 2.859375 | 3 |
NASA scientists have just released the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012. This nighttime look at our home planet, dubbed the Black Marble, provides researchers with a unique perspective of human activities around the globe. By studying Earth at night, researchers can investigate how cities expand, monitor light intensity to estimate energy use and economic activity, and aid in disaster response.
NASA scientists are releasing new global maps of Earth at night, providing the clearest yet composite view of the patterns of human settlement across our planet. You can download the image at a good resolution (8 MB jpg) or at a great resolution (266 MB jpg) to explore at your leisure. | <urn:uuid:1cc44198-55a0-487a-817d-d9d52afd21c4> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://geographyeducation.org/2017/04/19/lights-of-human-activity-shine-in-nasas-image-of-earth-at-night/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195417.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128095617-20201128125617-00205.warc.gz | en | 0.903951 | 135 | 3.421875 | 3 |
The rocket looked like it was out of a science fiction movie. A gleaming white pyramid resting on four spindly legs, the experimental craft was NASA’s ticket into a new era of space exploration.
With a series of built-in rockets on its underside, the ship could rise from the ground and touch back down again vertically — the first of its kind.
The Delta Clipper Experimental, or DC-X, could have formed the basis for a new generation of spacecraft. Indeed, a string of successful tests in the desert during the mid-1990s bore that promise out, hinting at future missions to low-Earth orbit and even the moon.
Today, spaceflight companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are flying rockets based on the same vertical launch and landing concept that DC-X pioneered. The ability to reuse rockets in this way, rather than have them crash into the ocean, promises to bring costs down exponentially.
But almost 25 years ago, that dream of reusable spacecraft seemed quite far away. The DC-X, NASA’s futuristic spacecraft, ended its life in a fiery explosion on the launchpad.
Spacecraft for the Future
The DC-X was born in an era focused on space exploration. NASA’s space shuttle program had made dozens of successful flights to orbit, helping to bring legacy projects like the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope to life.
But there were drawbacks to the shuttles as well. Seven crew members died in 1986 when a gasket on the space shuttle Challenger failed. The shuttles also weren’t as reusable as expected.
Looking for a more sustainable option, DC-X began as a U.S. Air Force project with aerospace manufacturer McDonnell Douglas. | <urn:uuid:b3661dc8-3033-4e68-afec-e99c95fee05a> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://p4-r5-01081.page4.com/_blog/2019/10/31/13883-raumfahrt-dc-x-the-nasa-rocket-that-inspired-spacex-and-blue-origin/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141711306.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202144450-20201202174450-00445.warc.gz | en | 0.954612 | 356 | 3.65625 | 4 |
This attitude is harmful because high school offers so many unique, formative experiences. In order to benefit from this time of unparalleled personal growth, students should not allow the process of shaping a polished college application persona to supplant the process of self-discovery.
High school is an ideal time to pursue budding interests. South offers several sports and countless clubs—which range from the Academic Team to World Languages—that allow students to both explore emerging passions and develop important skills. Students can even propose new clubs if none of those offered serve their interests. However, many students primarily view these activities as opportunities to boost their resumes, engaging in what might appear most impressive rather than what appeals to them most.
College mania’s ubiquitous presence in high school also affects course selection. South offers a wealth of options for electives. Students can choose classes in all areas from art to business and technology. Unfortunately, some may be dissuaded from enrolling in courses that could expand their horizons or stir their passions if doing so would prevent them from scheduling another Advanced Placement class. For many, high school transcripts have become trophy cases for APs instead of road maps for academic exploration.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, identity development is a milestone of adolescence; teenagers make crucial strides in developing their personalities and opinions. Students deny themselves this transformative experience when they prioritize college acceptance over self-knowledge.
As students, we need to reevaluate the purpose of high school. Weiss wrote, “Colleges tell you, ‘Just be yourself.’” Though, as she attests, this does not guarantee acceptance to every college, it turns out to be very sage advice. | <urn:uuid:28cb8e92-b77a-4bc0-976d-79967fc17a1b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://southerner.greatneck.k12.ny.us/index.php/2013/12/09/high-school-is-not-a-four-year-college-audition/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747774.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205104937-20201205134937-00605.warc.gz | en | 0.962658 | 344 | 2.578125 | 3 |
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have shown that cells from children with NGLY1 deficiency—a rare disorder first described in 2012—lack sufficient water channel proteins called aquaporins. The discovery was published in Cell Reports and may help explain the disorder’s wide-ranging symptoms—including the inability to produce tears, seizures and developmental delays—and opens new avenues to find therapies to treat the disorder.
“Our findings uncover a new and completely unexpected ‘job’ for NGLY1, which was originally thought to only cleave sugars from proteins,” says Hudson Freeze, Ph.D., director and professor of the Human Genetics Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys and senior author of the study. “This new information, which includes the molecular signals NGLY1 uses to drive aquaporin production, fundamentally shifts how we approach drug development. Most immediately, we can begin to screen for existing FDA-approved drugs that may increase aquaporin levels.”
The first patient with NGLY1 deficiency, then-four-year-old Bertrand Might, was diagnosed in 2012. The condition occurs when both copies of the NGLY1 gene contain mutations. As a result, children with NGLY1 deficiency produce little or no N-glycanase1—a protein that removes sugars from proteins during the cell’s regular recycling process. Today, approximately 60 people in the world have been identified with NGLY1 deficiency. There is no cure, and existing treatments only address a few of the disorder’s symptoms.
“This discovery is a giant leap forward in our understanding of NGLY1 deficiency and our ability to find a drug for the condition,” says Matt Might, Ph.D., Bertrand Might’s father and chief scientific officer of NGLY1.org, which funded the research. “In addition to exploring new treatment avenues, we can immediately start to test currently available drugs to see if they may help Bertrand and other children living with NGLY1 deficiency.” | <urn:uuid:7968293d-138b-47c6-a111-bb83ceefbbbb> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.ngly1.org/why-cant-bertrand-might-cry-scientists-offer-an-answer-missing-water-channels/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141747774.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205104937-20201205134937-00605.warc.gz | en | 0.942044 | 431 | 2.953125 | 3 |
What is the role of biodiversity information on environmental policy in the Tropical Andes?
Thanks to a generous grant from the JRS Biodiversity Foundation, NatureServe will set out to answer this question, investigating the link between scientific data and policy formulation, implementation and monitoring. Our study will focus on four countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
These countries share a wealth of natural diversity, but they have very different political contexts. Our comparative policy analysis is an opportunity to identify both common challenges and unique approaches to effectively using biodiversity data in policy development. The lessons learned in Latin America can inform efforts to strengthen conservation and land use policies in other biodiverse countries.
This study will build on NatureServe’s recently completed situational analysis developed for the CEPF’s Profile of the Tropical Andes Hotspot (Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund), based upon a review of key biodiversity data, threats, environmental policy and civil society, to understand how policies determine the production, type and use of biodiversity data and knowledge. Using an approach that focuses on the entire policy cycle, the study will document the generation and uptake of biodiversity information by stakeholders from both supply and demand perspectives.
“We are thrilled to address the important connection between biodiversity data and effective national policies,” said Mary L. Klein, former President of NatureServe. “We expect that our findings will help to bridge the gaps between policy needs and available biodiversity information in these four countries—some of the most biodiverse regions of the world.”
The study will be led by researcher Dr. Carmen Josse, a conservation ecologist with deep roots in the region whose previous work has informed conservation investments throughout Latin America. She will conduct the study with Sigrid Vásconez, an Ecuadorian consultant specialized in environmental policy, with experience in these Andean countries.
Learn more about the project at the JRS Biodiversity Foundation project page. | <urn:uuid:b70aa93e-da1f-4983-ae1e-708683ba4665> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://natureserve.org/connect/news/natureserve-receives-important-new-grant-work-latin-america | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141672314.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201074047-20201201104047-00645.warc.gz | en | 0.907962 | 398 | 2.625 | 3 |
The Fatimids ruled much of the Mediterranean world for over two centuries. From the conquest of Qayrawan in 909 to defeat at the hands of Saladin in 1171, the Fatimid caliphate governed a vast area stretching, at its peak, from the Red Sea in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the West. Their leaders – the Ismaili Shi‘i Imam-caliphs – were distinctive in largely pursuing a policy of tolerance towards the religious and ethnic communities of their realm, and they embraced diverse approaches to the practicalities of administering a vast empire. Such methods of negotiating government and diversity created a lasting pluralistic legacy.
The present volume, edited by Farhad Daftary and Shainool Jiwa, brings together a series of original contributions from a number of leading authorities in the field. Based on analyses of primary sources, the chapters shed fresh light on the impact of Fatimid rule. The book presents little explored aspects of state-society relations such as the Fatimid model of the vizierate, Sunni legal responses to Fatimid observance, and the role of women in prayer. Highlighting the distinctive nature of the Fatimid empire and its legacy, this book will be of special interest to researchers in mediaeval Islamic history and thought. | <urn:uuid:1a5db05d-70c2-44e6-860e-89865f59c6f5> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.iis.ac.uk/publication/fatimid-caliphate-diversity-traditions?qt-publications=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141672314.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201074047-20201201104047-00645.warc.gz | en | 0.925807 | 265 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The international community is being urged to increase the role of young people in negotiating and implementing peace agreements, in line with a resolution adopted unanimously by the Security Council on Wednesday.
The 15 ambassadors called on the UN Secretary-General and his Special Envoys to take young people’s views into account in security-related discussions and to facilitate their participation at decision-making levels.
They also asked countries to protect educational institutions and to ensure they are accessible to all youth, in addition to taking measures to address young women’s right to education.
The wide-ranging resolution was tabled by Sweden and Peru.
In introducing the draft, Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog said it underlines the contribution young people can make to peace and security if they are actively engaged.
They are also crucial to forging an inclusive vision of a shared future, Peru’s Ambassador Gustavo Meza-Cuadra stated following the vote.
Recognizing that the marginalization of young people is detrimental to building sustainable peace and countering violent extremism, the Council called on all relevant parties to consider ways to increase their representation when negotiating and implementing peace agreements.
The resolution also placed importance on creating policies for youth that would “positively contribute” to peacebuilidng efforts, such as in the areas of social and economic development.
Other examples cited include supporting projects designed to grow local economies, or those that provide youth employment opportunities and vocational training, or which promote youth entrepreneurship and constructive political engagement. | <urn:uuid:2fb2626a-f7a1-420c-a967-d54ec3955303> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/06/1011581 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735395.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204071014-20201204101014-00085.warc.gz | en | 0.955357 | 307 | 2.78125 | 3 |
This product is currently sold out.
Discover the real history behind the Mayflower in this illustrated nonfiction storybook for kids ages 7 to 9, timed to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ famous voyage to the Americas.
Step on board the Mayflower and meet the amazing crew and passengers, from burly sailors to pilgrims, servants, orphaned children, and animals. Discover who the pilgrims were and why they chose to risk their lives to make the treacherous journey across the Atlantic, relive the ferocious storms as the Mayflower crested gigantic waves, find out what life was really like on board for the 102 passengers, and discover the secret history of the second ship, the Speedwell. Learn the real story of the Pilgrims’ fateful landing on the shores of what is now Massachusetts. What happened when they met the tribes native to the area and how much truth is there in the Thanksgiving legend? Discover the hardships faced by the Pilgrims on their quest for a new life, and appreciate the sad reality of what happened in the devastating winter that followed their long and dangerous voyage.
Beautifully illustrated with incredible cutaway diagrams of the ship, comprehensive maps, storylike narrative, and detailed timelines, this book brings the history of the Mayflower to life for a whole new generation.
Recommended age: 7+
SAFETY WARNING: This item is intended for children over the age of 3 and may contain small parts that could be considered a choking hazard. | <urn:uuid:65289e15-ab19-4809-bcd9-e4ed5a9e04ae> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://weebeebox.com/products/the-mayflower | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735395.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204071014-20201204101014-00085.warc.gz | en | 0.939918 | 305 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Director of Research in Evolution and Cancer at the University of Cambridge, Dr Duncan Odom, has recently suggested that moon rocks may shed valuable insight into our planet’s biological past. He purports that craters of lunar poles may potentially hold the key to explaining how complex, multi-cellular organisms evolved on Earth roughly hundreds of millions of years ago.
It is thought that the most likely locations to find well-preserved DNA coming from Earth would be the craters at the lunar poles which maintain eternal darkness. The Shackleton crater, which is based at the south pole, has existed for over three billion years, a period of time covering the vast majority of Earth’s living history. Additionally, as it is shielded from the sun’s intense radiation, it may have ‘captured biological samples from every major asteroid impact in Earth’s history’. Further, given its cold and shadowed interior, the crater is said to possibly act as a ‘preservation chamber’. Yet, merely being kept in the dark does not necessarily guarantee the survival of genetic material. Though protected from direct solar radiation, the samples would still be exposed to possibly ‘harmful cosmic radiation from the galaxy’ which could destroy molecules such as DNA easily.
However, genetic material which has been sufficiently embedded within or under boulders or lava flows, is thought to possibly have had a reasonable chance of remaining considerably intact and of being protected. Any DNA which is preserved in the lunar poles is deemed to be of incalculable value for understanding the true history of Earth’s life. Although perhaps less likely, Dr Odom suggests we may also identify candidate precursor organisms to current life forms on Earth, aiding us in tracing evolution in a more detailed manner. Further, there may be an exceptionally remote chance that sufficiently protected DNA samples of vertebrates, including dinosaurs for example, could provide a blueprint allowing scientists to potentially resurrect such extinct species.
Applicants for Natural Sciences, including those with an interest in tracing evolution, can explore this research further, considering how space exploration might facilitate scientists in unearthing our past and ancestry. | <urn:uuid:ce70230a-d6dd-4323-a4e6-52a8fa013479> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://oxbridgeapplications.com/kyc/moon-rocks-and-resurrecting-extinct-species/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141748276.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205165649-20201205195649-00165.warc.gz | en | 0.955661 | 436 | 4.3125 | 4 |
Wheat and barley fields across Iraq and Syria are ablaze following attacks by Islamic State militants. Although the terrorist group is largely defeated in both countries, remaining fighters are burning farmland to further damage the war-weary region.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in its weekly newsletter, and warned of more throughout the summer. Since fighting began in 2014, the group has targeted basic infrastructure that delivers water, electricity, and food, including canals, power stations, and oil wells.
The fires are especially devastating after this season’s promising growing season, which was set to produce the best harvest in years.
Growing conditions for winter cereals were “exceptionally positive” due to well-timed and abundant rains, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization noted earlier this year. The flourishing harvest was hampered somewhat when heavy flooding struck parts of Iraq at the end of March, but good yields were still anticipated.
A strong harvest is now less likely. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that 74,000 acres (30,000 hectares) of farmland in Hassakeh, Raqqa, and Aleppo provinces have been burned. In Iraq, local reports say hundreds of fields were torched, with some fires raging for days. Dozens of civilians and firefighters have been killed or injured while trying to extinguish the blazes.
The fires are yet another misfortune in a region that has suffered years of drought and violence.
“The life that we live here is already bitter,” Hussain Attiya, a farmer in northern Iraq, told the Associated Press. “If the situation continues like this, I would say that no one will stay here. I plant 500 to 600 acres every year. Next year, I won’t be able to do that because I can’t stay here and guard the land day and night.”
Kayla Ritter is a recent graduate of Michigan State University, where she studied International Relations and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She is currently based in Manton, Michigan. Kayla enjoys running, writing, and traveling. Contact Kayla Ritter | <urn:uuid:3cae32aa-8473-41eb-92ce-fae90a320e96> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.circleofblue.org/2019/hotspots/hotspots-h2o-islamic-states-scorched-earth-tactics-devastate-promising-harvests/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141748276.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205165649-20201205195649-00165.warc.gz | en | 0.972368 | 435 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Recovering Buddhism in Modern China
Jan Kieley and J. Brooks Jessup (eds.) – 2016
Modern Chinese history told from a Buddhist perspective restores the vibrant, creative role of religion in postimperial China. It shows how urban Buddhist elites jockeyed for cultural dominance in the early Republican era, how Buddhist intellectuals reckoned with science, and how Buddhist media contributed to modern print cultures. It recognizes the political importance of sacred Buddhist relics and the complex processes through which Buddhists both participated in and experienced religious suppression under Communist rule. Today, urban and rural communities alike engage with Buddhist practices to renegotiate class, gender, and kinship relations in post-Mao China. This volume vividly portrays these events and more, recasting Buddhism as a critical factor in China's twentieth-century development. Each chapter connects a moment in Buddhist history to a significant theme in Chinese history, creating new narratives of Buddhism's involvement in the emergence of urban modernity, the practice of international diplomacy, the mobilization for total war, and other transformations of state, society, and culture. Working across an extraordinary thematic range, this book reincorporates Buddhism into the formative processes and distinctive character of Chinese history. | <urn:uuid:55be6a5c-e738-49c3-bc56-2761d5383e83> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www.geas.fu-berlin.de/publications/books/Jessup/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141717601.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203000447-20201203030447-00285.warc.gz | en | 0.883967 | 243 | 2.609375 | 3 |
A prerequisite for holding any election is deciding who’s going to vote where. This is usually done by drawing geographical boundaries. Contrary to what we’re told and how the lines dart all over the map, the drawing of borders is anything but indiscriminate. In fact, the most common dirty trick used by opportunists to steal an election is to subvert the necessary process of districting and redistricting. Unscrupulous political parties draw district lines, often in seemingly nonsensical shapes, in order to flagrantly affect voting results and guarantee their candidate’s win. This is gerrymandering, a word coined in 1812 when, to suit his own political purposes, Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry crafted a district that looked like a salamander.
How powerful is this border-drawing stuff? Incumbents in the U.S. House of Representatives use tactics such as packing, cracking, and kidnapping to ensure a 98% retention rate. So even though we still get to speak up, when what we’re saying doesn’t suit the tyrants’ needs, they shuffle us around so we drown each others’ voices out. Regardless of the short-term gain, it’s a net loss for all of us, as the ultimate effect of gerrymandering is to further dilute our collective say in how our government is run.Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2015 The Vote Sizing Institute's Corruption.Wiki (and Blog) | <urn:uuid:2bdc36c3-14a1-44a0-9bf7-ebcfd047fc3b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://corruption.wiki/n/chapter-2-tyranny/sneaky-subversion/gerrymandering/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00365.warc.gz | en | 0.947637 | 305 | 3 | 3 |
Prior to colonization, tobacco was among the most widely exchanged materials in the Americas. Later, it became the first currency in the North American colonies, used by the British settlers to leverage wages, taxes, and fines. However, “in Indigenous economies, tobacco was not simply a trading commodity,” notes Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill, a Métis artist and writer who lives and works on the unceded lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Projects: Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States, brings together works made primarily with tobacco, alluding to the plant’s complex Indigenous and colonial histories.
“The Indigenous economic life of tobacco has survived colonization, criminalization, and the brutal imposition of capitalism,” Hill observes. “Tobacco continues to circulate among Indigenous peoples, passing from hand to hand, traveling along the highways that themselves follow the pre-colonial trade routes.” This exhibition features sculptures and drawings, including several new works, constructed from tobacco along with other materials, such as pantyhose and Crisco, as well as wildflowers and various small objects collected from Hill’s Vancouver neighborhood.
Organized by Lucy Gallun, Associate Curator, Department of Photography. | <urn:uuid:95d144a9-c7c6-46e1-8ed3-d2042f459524> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5222 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141735600.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204101314-20201204131314-00365.warc.gz | en | 0.953141 | 294 | 3.3125 | 3 |
Spanning more than 3000 km from northeast to southwest, the Japanese archipelago comprises four major islands and thousands of rocks and islets that stretch from Taiwan to the Russian Far East, and encompasses a wide range of habitats. Thus, Arctic landscapes and Alpine meadows in the north give way to subtropical forests in the south. These varied environments are home to some of the most dramatic and least-known birds in Asia, such as Steller’s Sea-eagle and Blakiston’s Eagle-owl on frozen Hokkaido. Some of the world’s rarest seabirds like Short-tailed Albatross and Bryan’s Shearwater breed on the country’s furthest-flung outposts, whilst the number of wintering cranes is of international importance. Exciting endemics like Lidth’s Jay, Amami Woodcock and Okinawa Rail are found on the southern islands, and a suite of summer visitors ranges from the spectacular Fairy Pitta to the enigmatic Ijima’s Leaf-warbler. Few countries possess the ornithological allure of Japan! | <urn:uuid:4df9edfe-8735-457c-9d22-cd07b107d993> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.llibreriahoritzons.com/es/libro/birds-of-japan_24955 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141163411.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123153826-20201123183826-00006.warc.gz | en | 0.897102 | 235 | 3.015625 | 3 |
At the core of competitive debate lies discourse and education. Through debate, students are encouraged to broaden their understanding of the world, including their comprehension of today's most prevalent issues. From discussions on electoral college to those on minimum wage, every student can learn something through debate. The activity empowers students to not only explore important controversies, but also to find their own voice through advocacy.
It comes as no surprise that research shows debate promotes critical thinking, logical reasoning, problem solving, innovative thinking, and interpersonal communication. On average, debaters achieve higher GPAs, higher standardized test scores, better college admissions outcomes, among countless other advantages. Perhaps most importantly, debaters become more informed citizens, increasing civic engagement and leadership. Bottom line: debate transforms lives. | <urn:uuid:6fbb9749-8e39-4ca5-ab3c-a544d9eaca92> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.potomacoaktutoring.com/debate | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141163411.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123153826-20201123183826-00006.warc.gz | en | 0.952894 | 152 | 3.578125 | 4 |
This study aims to portray the complex diversity of the Mexican Mestizo population, which represents 98.8% of the entire population of Mexico. We compiled extended haplotype data of the Y chromosome from populations in the Central Valley of Mexico (CVM), which we compared with other Mestizo and parental (Amerindian, European, and African) populations. A complex ancestral relationship was found in the CVM population, suggesting cosmopolitan origins. Nevertheless, the most preeminent lineages point toward a European ancestry, where the R1b lineage was most frequent. In addition, important frequencies of Amerindian lineages were also found in the Mestizo sample studied. Interestingly, the Amerindian ancestry showed a remarkable substructure, which was represented by the two main founding lineages: QL54 (× M3) and M3. However, even within each lineage a high diversity was found despite the small number of sample bearers of these lineages. Further, we detected important genetic differences between the CVM populations and the Mexican Mestizo populations from the north and south. This result points to the fact that Mestizo populations present different ancestral proportions, which are related to the demographic events that gave origin to each population. Finally, we provide additional forensic statistical parameters that are useful in the interpretation of genetic analysis where autosomal loci are limited. Our findings illustrate the complex genetic background of the Mexican Mestizo population and reinforce the need to encompass more geographic regions to generate more robust data for forensic applications.
Santana, Carla; Noris, Gino; Meraz-Ríos, Marco Antonio; Magaña, Jonathan J.; Calderon-Aranda, Emma S.; Muñoz, Maria De Lourdes; and Gomez, Rocio
"Genetic Analysis of 17 Y-STRs in a Mestizo Population from the Central Valley of Mexico,"
4, Article 5.
Available at: | <urn:uuid:af529c07-b253-4144-9195-2009bf67dc12> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol86/iss4/5/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141186761.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126055652-20201126085652-00166.warc.gz | en | 0.892397 | 420 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Leather has been produced by a variety of methods throughout human history, providing researchers unique insight into multiple facets of social and economic life in the past. Archaeologically recovered leather is often fragile and poorly preserved, leading to the use of various conservation and restoration efforts that may include the application of fats, oils, or waxes. Such additives introduce exogenous carbon to the leather, contaminating the specimen. These contaminants, in addition to those accumulated during interment, must be removed through chemical pretreatment prior to radiocarbon (14C) dating to ensure accurate dating. DirectAMS utilizes organic solvents, acid-base-acid (ABA) and gelatinization for all leather samples. Collagen yield from leather samples is variable due to the method of production and the quality of preservation. However, evaluating the acid-soluble collagen fraction, when available, provides the most accurate 14C dates for leather samples. In instances where gelatinization does not yield sufficient material, the resulting acid-insoluble fraction may be dated. Here we examine the effectiveness of the combined organic solvent and ABA pretreatment with gelatinization for leather samples, as well as the suitability of the acid-insoluble fraction for 14C dating. | <urn:uuid:5c282358-e6ef-433d-8a72-db603e72059b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://core-cms.prod.aop.cambridge.org/core/search?filters%5BauthorTerms%5D=Jonathan%20Tate&eventCode=SE-AU | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193221.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127131802-20201127161802-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.927871 | 248 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The first serious study of his discourse in nearly a quarter century, John F. Kennedy and the Liberal Persuasion examines the major speeches of Kennedy's presidency, from his famed but controversial inaugural address to his belated but powerful demand for civil rights. It argues that his eloquence flowed from his capacity to imagine anew the American liberal tradition-Kennedy insisted on the intrinsic moral worth of each person, and his language sought to make that ideal real in public life. This book focuses on that language and argues that presidential words matter. Kennedy's legacy rests in no small part on his rhetoric, and here Murphy maintains that Kennedy's words made him a most consequential president. By grounding the study of these speeches both in the texts themselves and in their broader linguistic and historical contexts, the book draws a new portrait of President Kennedy, one that not only recognizes his rhetorical artistry but also places him in the midst of public debates with antagonists and allies, including Dwight Eisenhower, Barry Goldwater, Richard Russell, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy. Ultimately this book demonstrates how Kennedy's liberal persuasion defined the era in which he lived and offers a powerful model for Americans today. | <urn:uuid:81639331-14b5-4bfe-8920-1a469f9e69a1> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/john-f-kennedy-and-the-liberal-persuasion | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193221.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127131802-20201127161802-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.968978 | 236 | 3 | 3 |
The processes of vicariance and dispersal are central to our understanding of diversification, yet determining the factors that influence these processes remains a significant challenge in evolutionary biology. Caves offer ideal systems for examining the mechanisms underlying isolation, divergence, and speciation. Intrinsic ecological differences among cavernicolous organisms, such as the degree of cave dependence, are thought to be major factors influencing patterns of genetic isolation in caves. Using a comparative phylogeographic approach, we employed mitochondrial and nuclear markers to assess the evolutionary history of two ecologically distinct groups of terrestrial cave-dwelling springtails (Collembola) in the genera Pygmarrhopalites (Arrhopalitidae) and Pogonognathellus (Tomoceridae) that are codistributed in caves throughout the Salem Plateau—a once continuous karst region, now bisected by the Mississippi River Valley in Illinois and Missouri. Contrasting phylogeographic patterns recovered for troglobiotic Pygmarrhopalites sp. and eutroglophilic Pogonognathellus sp. suggests that obligate associations with cave habitats can restrict dispersal across major geographic barriers such as rivers and valleys, but may also facilitate subterranean dispersal between neighboring cave systems. Pygmarrhopalites sp. populations spanning the Mississippi River Valley were estimated to have diverged 2.9–4.8 Ma, which we attribute to vicariance resulting from climatic and geological processes involved in Mississippi River Valley formation beginning during the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene. Lastly, we conclude that the detection of many deeply divergent, morphologically cryptic, and microendemic lineages highlights our poor understanding of microarthropod diversity in caves and exposes potential conservation concerns.
- Mississippi River
- cryptic diversity
- short-range endemism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Nature and Landscape Conservation | <urn:uuid:fbd8d0fa-b6d6-4c89-aae1-53b5093ff933> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/at-the-confluence-of-vicariance-and-dispersal-phylogeography-of-c | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141718314.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203031111-20201203061111-00566.warc.gz | en | 0.876277 | 407 | 3.46875 | 3 |
Nobody's really sure why we humans have an appendix, and some biology textbooks still refer to the pinkie-size organ, located near the juncture of the large and small intestine, as a "vestigial organ."
But lately, researchers have been closing in on the function of the appendix: William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., has suggested the organ functions as a critical "safe house" for gut bacteria.
According to the safe-house hypothesis, during times of infection when dangerous microbes overrun the intestinal tract, the appendix releases beneficial gut bacteria after the immune system has eliminated the invading microbes.
The possible need for an appendix is gaining additional support among medical researchers, and the evidence is coming from evolutionary biology.
A team of researchers, including Parker and Heather F. Smith, an evolutionary biologist at Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz., have found that an organ like an appendix has independently evolved at least 32 different times in different mammals across the evolutionary tree.
Their report, published in the latest issue of Comptes Rendus Palevol, strongly suggests that the once-dismissed appendix does in fact play an important role in mammalian health.
Though the scientific community is still unsure of the exact nature and function of the appendix, many agree that this research is an important step toward understanding the still-mysterious organ.
"I salute the authors for creating an extraordinary database," Randolph Nesse, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, told Science. "The conclusion that the appendix has appeared 32 times is amazing." | <urn:uuid:b1c568af-82b3-43d9-87d5-c796c56c4a4d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.livescience.com/27147-appendix-evolved-mammals.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141718314.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203031111-20201203061111-00566.warc.gz | en | 0.945397 | 329 | 3.890625 | 4 |
New York, Nov 30 (IANS) Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have devised a novel circuit design that enables precise control of computing with magnetic waves — with no electricity needed.
The discovery ignites hope towards practical magnetic-based devices, which have the potential to compute far more efficiently than electronics.
The new circuit design offers a path to “spintronic” devices that use little electricity and practically generate no heat.
Spintronic devices leverage the “spin wave” — a quantum property of electrons — in magnetic materials. Until now, modulating spin waves has required injected electrical currents using bulky components that can cause signal noise and effectively negate any inherent performance gains.
“People are beginning to look for computing beyond silicon. Wave computing is a promising alternative,” said Luqiao Liu, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS).
“By using this narrow domain wall, we can modulate the spin wave and create these two separate states, without any real energy costs. We just rely on spin waves and intrinsic magnetic material,” explained Liu, also principal investigator of the Spintronic Material and Device Group in the Research Laboratory of Electronics.
The MIT researchers developed a circuit architecture that uses only a nanometer-wide domain wall in layered nanofilms of magnetic material to modulate a passing spin wave, without any extra components or electrical current.
In the future, pairs of spin waves could be fed into the circuit through dual channels, modulated for different properties, and combined to generate some measurable quantum interference — similar to how photon wave interference is used for quantum computing.
Researchers hypothesize that such interference-based spintronic devices, like quantum computers, could execute highly complex tasks that conventional computers struggle with.
The researchers now hope to build a working wave circuit that can execute basic computations. | <urn:uuid:54c02d63-7954-4c41-bb0d-44e307528fb5> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://newsd.in/magnetic-wave-driven-computing-with-no-heat-in-the-offing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141737946.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204131750-20201204161750-00646.warc.gz | en | 0.874394 | 388 | 3.59375 | 4 |
There are no kangaroos in Austria. We're talking about Australia, the world's smallest continent. That being cleared up, let's dive right in! Australia is a sovereign state under the Commonwealth of Nations, which is in turn overseen by Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. The continent was first sighted and charted by the Dutch in 1606. Captain James Cook of Britain came along in the next century to claim it for Britain and name it "New South Wales." Shortly thereafter it was declared to be a penal colony full of nothing but criminals and convicts, giving it the crap reputation you may have heard at your last cocktail party. This rumor ignores 40,000 years of pre-European human history, especially the Aboriginal concept of Dreamtime, an interesting explanation of physical and spiritual reality. The two biggest cities in Australia are Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney is more for business, Melbourne for arts. But that's painting in very broad strokes. Take a whirl around the panoramas to see for yourself! Text by Steve Smith. | <urn:uuid:e5b3099b-1aee-4510-98b2-d2d493348ad0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.360cities.net/ja/image/first-snow-on-the-farm-duckmaloi-nsw-australia?pano_detail=true&portfolio_view=false | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141164142.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20201123182720-20201123212720-00286.warc.gz | en | 0.953238 | 230 | 2.75 | 3 |
The Mace of the House of Representatives symbolizes order and authority
The Mace of the House of Representatives symbolizes order and authority.
The present Mace, created in 1841, replaces the original one that the British destroyed in 1814.
Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives
Passion and Deadlock, 1858
Fighting broke out over slavery—on the House floor. The violent slavery disputes among settlers in “Bloody Kansas” provoked passions in Congress. During a late-night House session in 1858, South Carolina’s Laurence Keitt called Pennsylvania’s Galusha Grow a “black Republican puppy.” Grow responded by knocking down Keitt. Suddenly, dozens of members were pushing, punching, and wrestling on the House floor.
The Speaker and the Sergeant at Arms, wielding the clublike Mace, tried to restore order. They failed. The brawl finally ended when one member dramatically snatched his opponent’s wig. Peals of laughter calmed tempers; everyone shook hands and resumed debate. But the incident seemed an ominous sign of troubled times. Representative Alexander Stephens of Georgia concluded, “The Union cannot or will not last long.” | <urn:uuid:77921689-1049-4cfd-b43e-34f234a0fee5> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.visitthecapitol.gov/exhibitions/timeline/image/mace-house-representatives-symbolizes-order-and-authority | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141193856.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127161801-20201127191801-00526.warc.gz | en | 0.923715 | 246 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Interplay: Material, Method and Motif in West African Art
explores the dynamic intersections of materials, methods and motifs in four West African contexts. Beginning with the Yoruba of Nigeria, the first section illustrates how artists have applied a single material, indigo, as both a dye and a pigment, to reference core concerns of the social, political and spiritual realms. The Cameroon Grasslands segment of the exhibition brings into focus the use of specific motifs to reinforce messages about the royal court and its leadership across a wide range of media. Similarly, examples from the royal arts of the Akan (including the Asante and Fante of Ghana and the Baule of the Ivory Coast) demonstrate how the majority of motifs allude to a common corpus of verbal expressions, which communicate important cultural maxims. The final section of Interplay
examines Bamana bogolanfini
(mud cloth) in Mali and the interrelationship between traditional-style cloths and more contemporary forms.
The majority of arts on display in this exhibition were not meant to be viewed in isolation; instead, they were conceived as active components of thriving communities. For example, when appearing in public, an Akan chief would display all of his regalia (stool, swords, jewelry and textiles, etc) together. For the Akan, this amalgamation of diverse art forms and their attendant proverbs would amplify, not obscure, the aesthetic and socio-political power of a single object. By juxtaposing art forms that share common elements, Interplay
invites viewers to consider the ways in which understanding the relationships between different objects enhances wider appreciation of the richness of West African arts.
Pieces displayed in this gallery are from the University of Iowa Museum of Art's permanent collection, and will be on view through October 21, 2012. | <urn:uuid:2bca9cc3-9148-4d59-a6a4-a15450ba7a3f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://figgeartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/view/tj-dedeaux-norris-presents-the-estate-of-tameka-jenean-norris/206/view/georgia-okeeffe-flower-abstraction-1924/7/view/interplay-material-method-and-motif-in-west-african-art/131 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141213431.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130100208-20201130130208-00686.warc.gz | en | 0.937276 | 373 | 2.515625 | 3 |
March 29, 2018
This article was originally posted by FHI 360.
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately one in five youth ages 15 to 24 are neither working nor in school. Yet, companies across the region are struggling to fill entry-level positions because young professionals lack the skills they need. This disconnect is due in large part to the gap between the skills that youth learn in school and the skills that private-sector employers need.
With funding from the FHI Foundation, FHI 360 and Results for Development conducted a 10-month investigation of the school-to-work transition in Colombia, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador. The study aimed to better understand the pervasive skills gap across the region and to identify innovative education models and mechanisms that are making youth more employable. Building on the regional study, FHI 360 developed in-depth reports on the skills gap in Colombia and the Dominican Republic. A report for El Salvador is pending.
This infographic highlights the study’s main components, including the education and employment context in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as key research findings and policy recommendations to improve communication and collaboration among educators and employers. | <urn:uuid:79abf298-44f4-41ec-b828-3ca8f4c85592> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://crowd360.org/11005-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141727627.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203094119-20201203124119-00126.warc.gz | en | 0.948929 | 236 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Arthritis can affect any of your joints, and the TMJ is no exception. According to the National Institutes of Health, 27 million people live with osteoarthritis, which causes the deterioration of cartilage in joints. The Merck Manual suggests that arthritis can affect the TMJ because the cartilage is not as strong, but it mostly occurs when the disc is missing or deformed. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that causes pain and inflammation in many joints, and the Merck Manual says that 17 percent of people with RA have their TMJ affected as a secondary condition.
Treatment for osteoarthritis of the TMJ involves resting the jaw, analgesics for pain and possibly a splint to relieve muscle tightness. Symptoms may subside, but your ability to open your mouth might be limited. When RA affects your TMJ, you may be treated with the same RA drugs used for any joint, along with NSAIDs for pain. Keeping the TMJ mobile is important; therefore, your doctor may recommend physical therapy and a splint to relieve muscle tightness. In rare cases, surgery may be needed to replace the joint.
Temporomandibular joint anatomy is intricate, and problems can arise. If you ever have jaw pain or trouble opening your mouth, see your dentist right away. If your dental office doesn't handle TMJ issues, you will be referred to a practice that does. Don't despair! Many TMJ disorders are temporary and simple treatments will have you chewing and talking normally in no time. | <urn:uuid:9ac7948d-bf61-4b35-a5e1-3dd0933b03fc> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/temporomandibular-disorder/temporomandibular-joint-anatomy-and-3-common-complications | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141727627.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203094119-20201203124119-00126.warc.gz | en | 0.943788 | 318 | 2.8125 | 3 |
While genetics do play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D), researchers also believe that environment contributes as well. There is no singular cause of T1D, and all of its risk and protective factors are yet unknown. However, one study is striving to build a comprehensive understanding of diverse environmental factors and the role they may play in children developing T1D.
Researchers launched The Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity (ENDIA) several years ago and recently received an additional $8.25M in funding to keep it going for another three years. Over the past seven years, they have enrolled 1,500 participants, which includes babies ranging from pregnancy up to six months in age who have at least one immediate relative with T1D. The babies are seen every three to six months until they reach at least age three.
The study looks at a wide range of environmental factors in an effort to gain a better understanding of what increases or decreases risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Factors include “growth during pregnancy and early life, the method of delivery (natural birth versus caesarean section), the mother’s nutrition during pregnancy, infant feeding (breastfeeding and/or formula), the duration of breastfeeding and the child’s nutrition, the child’s immune system and when the child received vaccines and exposure to viruses during pregnancy and early life.”
Not only did it take a long time to recruit participants, it will take several years to gather and analyze the long-term data in order to identify potential risk or protective factors and how each child was affected. With millions of people living with T1D, this study may help to improve treatment and prevention in the future, possibly leading to a vaccine one day.
Diabetes Research Connection (DRC) will continue to follow this study and see how results progress and what discoveries are made. In the meantime, the organization provides critical funding for early career scientists pursuing research on various facets of T1D. Studies are focused on preventing or curing diabetes, as well as reducing complications and improving quality of life for individuals living with the disease. Visit to learn more about current projects and support these efforts. | <urn:uuid:7d85d867-0b03-44f5-af98-e2590b454e93> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://diabetesresearchconnection.org/studying-environmental-factors-related-to-type-1-diabetes/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141743438.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204193220-20201204223220-00206.warc.gz | en | 0.960102 | 457 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Women are better at multitasking and men are better at directions? Yeah, we rolled our eyes at these stereotypes, too—but a recent study in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences presents neurological findings to corroborate many of these common beliefs.
The study of nearly 1,000 men and women finds that women’s brains tend to have stronger neural connectivity between the left and right hemispheres, suggesting that they are more adept at linking analytical and intuitive thought. Whereas analytical thinking relies on reasoning and goal achievement, intuitive thinking utilizes a more abstract approach that is less goal-oriented. Women, therefore, exemplify a more holistic approach to problem solving, the study says.
Men, on the other hand, have stronger neural connections between the front and back of the brain, signaling a stronger connection between perception and coordinated action—useful for fine motor skills and navigating directions.
Women’s neural regions also demonstrated a higher degree of communication amongst one another. “When women are given a task, several different parts of the brain get engaged, versus men where single parts of the brain tend to be engaged,” says study coauthor Ragini Verma, PhD, of the the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Keep in mind, though, that this research doesn’t mean that all men can only do one thing at a time or that all women are wonderful at multitasking. “[Our study] does not mean that there isn’t individual variability,” Dr. Verna stresses.
More from Prevention: Are You A Sexist? | <urn:uuid:16a1abf4-be61-4a01-b126-5303a8309a9f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.prevention.com/life/a20463855/the-real-difference-between-male-and-female-brains/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141743438.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204193220-20201204223220-00206.warc.gz | en | 0.930712 | 328 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Tree Health Care | Grand Rapids, MI | Chop Tree Service
Powdery mildew is one of the most common varieties of plant fungi. It affects almost every kind of plant life. However, powdery mildew is host specific. If a tree is infected, you don’t have to worry about your rose bushes becoming infected, too. If left unchecked, the fungus can spread up tree branches, causing them to wither and occasionally die.
The mildew’s powdery appearance derives from millions of small fungal spores, which spread via air currents to other trees in order to establish new areas of infection. The fungus tends to be most active in warm, dry climates. Unlike other bacterial or fungal tree infections, powdery mildew does not need damp surfaces to grow. It does, however, require relatively humid air in order to encourage the spore germination process.
Preventative measures include allowing for greater air circulation by not crowding plants and making sure to thoroughly prune areas of dense foliage in order to create the right conditions. Other proven methods include utilizing slow-release fertilizers that allow for controlled growth and removing infected areas to limit the chances of an outbreak the following year. For treating established infections, spraying the area with wettable sulfur has proven to be a successful course of action. However, be sure to follow the recommended rate specified by the instructions provided. Finally, the regular application of a fungicide can help stop the spread of powdery mildew; apply every 10 to 14 days for the best results. | <urn:uuid:9e3ae380-7260-42fd-ab76-c3edf511f65f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.we-chop.com/tree-health-care/powdery-mildew/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141743438.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20201204193220-20201204223220-00206.warc.gz | en | 0.935262 | 316 | 2.625 | 3 |
Active learning begins with curiosity! The Curious George STEM Collection is a great way to help young children understand science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts, such as measuring, building, and simple machines. Lesson plans with Curious George videos offer hands-on investigations and exciting new learning opportunities that will inspire children to explore the world around them. As students ask questions, predict outcomes, share observations, and formulate theories, they establish the science skills and “habits of mind” that lead to academic success and lifelong learning. You may also want to check out the interactive whiteboard games specifically designed for teachers! | <urn:uuid:fe6fb241-48dd-42e4-848f-b61bca5e094b> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.stemhub.nv.gov/online_resources/curious-george-stem | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141181179.12/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125041943-20201125071943-00646.warc.gz | en | 0.940759 | 126 | 3.75 | 4 |
After repurposing facial recognition and deepfake tech to study galaxies and the Higgs boson, physicists think they can help shape the responsible use of AI.
A new experiment on how rapidly atoms can tunnel through a barricade revives a physics debate about how time passes on the quantum scale.
Companies and universities have long relied on seminars to reduce racism, despite lackluster results. Maybe institution leaders can salvage the format.
Microbes are well known for working together in stressful environments. Scientists wanted to see how they would fare at a labyrinthine brain teaser.
A Toronto lab recycles carbon dioxide into more useful chemicals, using materials it discovered with artificial intelligence and supercomputers.
Fast laser pulses produce a shock wave in air that pushes water vapor aside. That clears channels in clouds for transmitting optical data from satellites.
Using beams of X-rays and electrons, researchers are creating a moving model of the coronavirus in order to discover its weaknesses.
Computer scientists reconstructed the image of a whole room using the reflection from a snack package. It’s useful for AR/VR research—and possibly spying.
Topological quantum computing has long been a beautiful dream. Two top scientists are now facing off over whether it will exist by 2030.
She mapped Apollo 11’s path to history. Now, her legacy lives on in the trajectories of future spaceflights—including the moon landing planned for 2024. | <urn:uuid:b6a649df-9773-453d-a707-2aa9fbf02613> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://coronavirus.anthropiatry.com/author/sophia-chen/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188800.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126142720-20201126172720-00006.warc.gz | en | 0.894165 | 290 | 2.71875 | 3 |
The Blade, Sept. 17
Few concepts remain as intriguing and exciting as space exploration. From the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969 to the Curiosity rover reaching Mars in 2012, the United States’ achievements when reaching toward the cosmos is a point of national pride.
Many have hoped the next triumph could come in the form of a manned mission to Mars or the construction of a lunar base. But these projects have taken a backseat to NASA’s proposed Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G).
According to NASA officials, the outpost would orbit the Moon and serve as a staging area for missions deeper into space. The idea has been endorsed by the Trump administration. During a speech last month at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Vice President Mike Pence said the administration hopes to have an American crew aboard the LOP-G by 2024.
But critics have emerged with pointed criticisms of the project. Many have noted that the proposal lacks a clearly defined scientific goal.
NASA still does exciting and helpful work — the launch of the Parker Solar Probe in August would be a good example. But the questions surrounding the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway are significant enough that NASA should revisit the usefulness of the project. | <urn:uuid:ede788ea-2f91-4884-af6a-47fe0d43f5bd> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.sidneydailynews.com/opinion/editorials/118719/editorial-roundup-76 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188800.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126142720-20201126172720-00006.warc.gz | en | 0.938465 | 249 | 3.4375 | 3 |
An entangled polarization state of ten photons sets a new record for multiphoton entanglement. Quantum computing requires multiple qubits entangled together. So far, only a handful of qubits have been coupled together successfully. A new experiment raises the bar with the entangling of ten photons, two more than the previous photon record. While still a ways off from what’s needed to make quantum computers competitive with classical ones, the entanglement of this many photons might be sufficient for certain quantum error correction codes and teleportation experiments.
Entangling photons typically relies on a nonlinear crystal, which converts a small fraction of incoming photons into a pair of entangled photons. In the case of the β?-barium borate (BBO) crystal, the two photons have opposite polarizations—one being horizontal, the other vertical—and they are emitted in different directions. Researchers therefore use a variety of optical devices to collect the photon pair, which can then be entangled with pairs from other BBO crystals.
Previous multiphoton entanglement experiments had relatively low collection efficiencies of around 40%. Xi-Lin Wang from the University of Science and Technology of China and colleagues have developed a system with 70% collection efficiency. Rather than using a single BBO crystal to create pairs, they utilize two closely spaced BBO crystals separated by a polarization-rotating plate. This “sandwich” configuration generates entangled pairs of photons traveling in the same direction with the same polarization. The boost in efficiency from this output alignment means Wang and colleagues can achieve a high count rate with relatively low input power. To create ten-photon entanglement, the team placed five sandwich structures in a row and illuminated them all with a 0.57-W laser. They then used polarizing beam splitters to combine the photon pairs from each BBO crystal together. | <urn:uuid:7db012aa-9b5f-41d8-a60e-72483d1a9332> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://quantum.ustc.edu.cn/web/index.php/node/336 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141194634.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127221446-20201128011446-00086.warc.gz | en | 0.858924 | 374 | 3.421875 | 3 |
Researchers have spotted the formation sites of planets around a young star resembling our Sun. Two rings of dust around the star, at distances comparable to the asteroid belt and the orbit of Neptune in our Solar System, suggest that we are witnessing the formation of a planetary system similar to our own.
The Solar System is thought to have formed from a cloud of cosmic gas and dust 4.6 billion years ago. By studying young planetary systems forming around other stars, astronomers hope to learn more about our own origins.
Tomoyuki Kudo, an astronomer at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and his team observed the young star DM Tau using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Located 470 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, DM Tau is about half the mass of the Sun and estimated to be three to five million years old.
“Previous observations inferred two different models for the disk around DM Tau,” said Kudo. “Some studies suggested the radius of the ring is about where the Solar System’s asteroid belt would be. Other observations put the size out where Neptune would be. Our ALMA observations provided a clear answer: both are right. DM Tau has two rings, one at each location.”
The researchers found a bright patch in the outer ring. This indicates a local concentration of dust, which would be a possible formation site for a planet like Uranus or Neptune.
“We are also interested in seeing the details in the inner region of the disk, because the Earth formed in such an area around the young Sun,” commented Jun Hashimoto, a researcher at the Astrobiology Center, Japan. “The distribution of dust in the inner ring around DM Tau will provide crucial information to understand the origin of planets like Earth.”
Quelle: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan | <urn:uuid:c5a7531e-8998-4b69-90c0-80155937768c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://p4-r5-01081.page4.com/_blog/2019/03/15/12162-astronomie-alma-observes-the-formation-sites-of-solar-system-like-planets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141216897.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130161537-20201130191537-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.9229 | 389 | 3.828125 | 4 |
What compelled those who settled North Dakota’s vast prairies? Summers are characterized by heatwaves, drought, and violent thunderstorms. Winter is harsh, with crippling temperatures and surprise blizzards.
North Dakota is a land of extremes, creating a unique, raw, and dangerous beauty. As the railroad industry flourished in the late 1800s, the Northern Pacific Railway quickly built its way west across the northern Dakota Territory, birthing new towns as it went. A strong advertising campaign and the promise of land attracted flocks of workers and immigrants.
Business was booming, and Dakota Territory was growing. By the mid-twentieth century, new technology rendered many of the once vibrant railroad towns useless. Residents trickled out as employment prospects dwindled and once lively communities were left to decay, alone in the elements.
This book is a photographic journey that documents these remains. It showcases images that tell haunting tales of another time, reminding us how illusory human permanence truly is.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Zachary Hargrove is a meteorologist and photographer who resides in Bismarck, North Dakota, with his wife and three children. As a boy, Zachary became fascinated with extreme weather after a tornado nearly struck his home in northern Georgia. While attending college in North Carolina, studying meteorology, he took up the hobby of storm chasing, which led him into the world of photography. He began teaching himself photography theory and technique, aiming to capture the drama of the extreme weather he witnessed in a single frame. After graduating in 2012, Zachary married his college sweetheart and they moved across the country to North Dakota. It was here where he began to take his hobby to a new level and expand it to a new passion: rural exploration and abandoned photography. | <urn:uuid:819b79eb-a441-49e9-90db-ab4bc9193f29> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.through-time.com/products/abandoned-north-dakota-weathered-by-time | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141216897.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20201130161537-20201130191537-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.970777 | 367 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Humans aren’t the only ones under a lockdown for health reasons. Pygmy hogs, the world’s smallest and rarest wild pigs, are also currently under lockdown, but it’s because of an outbreak of African swine fever in India. Much like the coronavirus, there is no cure or vaccine for the contagious disease, and it’s already killed over 16,000 domestic pigs in the country, AP reports.
Pygmy hogs are wild pigs living in the foothill plains south of the Himalayas. They are 12 inches tall and have the particularity to build nests out of dry grass where entire families live.
The pygmy hogs were on the brink of extinction in the 1960s due to habitat loss, though conservation efforts from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and a captive breeding program have helped the species rebound. But scientists are afraid the swine fever could devastate the population of 300 pigs that live in the northeastern Indian state of Assam if appropriate measures aren’t taken.
At breeding centers in Nameri and Guwahati, the 82 pigs are getting used to their own “new normal.” Scientists have built security fences, and their diet has shifted away from root vegetables to fruit and grains since the virus lives longer in soil. Staff members working at the facility are now required to leave their shoes at the entrance, shower, wash hands and feet, and dip their feet in a viral solution before going inside.
The disease has already started spreading among wild boar populations in the area, making the outbreak difficult to contain. | <urn:uuid:c7ae041b-f68d-4e10-87dc-f62895fa8396> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://matadornetwork.com/read/worlds-smallest-wild-pigs-virus-lockdown/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141686635.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202021743-20201202051743-00326.warc.gz | en | 0.960669 | 332 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Looking at the long views from the Hubble space telescope might be good for you.
In December of 1995, astronomers around the world were vying for a chance to use the hottest new tool in astronomy: the Hubble space telescope. Bob Williams didn’t have to worry about all that. As the director of the institution that managed Hubble, Williams could use the telescope to observe whatever he wanted. And he decided to point it at nothing in particular.
Williams’s colleagues told him, as politely as they could, that this was an awful idea. But Williams had a hunch that Hubble would see something worthwhile. The telescope had already captured the glow of faraway galaxies, and the longer Hubble gazed out in one direction, the more light it would detect.
So the Hubble telescope stared at the same bit of space, nonstop, for 10 days—precious time on a very expensive machine—snapping exposure after exposure as it circled Earth. The resulting image was astounding: Some 3,000 galaxies sparkled like gemstones in the darkness. The view stretched billions of years back in time, revealing other cosmic locales as they were when their light left them and began coasting across the universe. | <urn:uuid:61b64c2e-19e0-4b76-8dc7-366fc59be349> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/toc/1962/06/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141686635.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202021743-20201202051743-00326.warc.gz | en | 0.972613 | 244 | 3.296875 | 3 |
Listen In aims to stimulate community discussion, promote understanding, and reduce conflict and prejudice by sharing the stories of San Diegans. The videos below feature local residents sharing their personal experiences: who they are, where they come from, what discrimination feels like, and how common stereotypes are often wrong and hurtful.
Listen In also serves as a companion to SDCL's Human Library events. The Human Library is a concept developed in Denmark as a friendly way to build bridges among diverse populations. Living Books (people who represent different groups of people) are made available for customers to check out for conversations about what it's like to be transgender, HIV+, blind, living with mental illness, and more.
Listen In represents the mission of public libraries throughout history, supporting intellectual freedom and the importance of providing free, unencumbered access to information.
This project is supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian. | <urn:uuid:611f47cc-4031-4705-b8fa-43a202ecabf4> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.sdcl.org/listen-in.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141727782.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20201203124807-20201203154807-00406.warc.gz | en | 0.944768 | 205 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Harking back to the harmonious forms of ancient Greece and Rome, neoclassical architecture emerged in the mid-18th century, a marked contrast to over-the-top Baroque and Rococo styles. It is characterized by simplicity, symmetry, and grandeur, with towering columns, triangular pediments, and domed roofs among its most recognizable elements. It is a style that suits imposing public buildings very well—consider the U.S. Capitol, the Panthéon in Paris, or the Prado in Madrid. But it doesn’t have to be monumental to be beautiful, as these neoclassical homes from the AD archives prove. Take a tour of some of our favorites. | <urn:uuid:4437d567-1187-415a-aba3-f84f8d068d9c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/neoclassical-homes-from-the-ad-archives | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141171077.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124025131-20201124055131-00126.warc.gz | en | 0.922534 | 145 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Nobel bias noted
It appears that Nobel Prizes are being unequally awarded across scientific fields.
A new study has found that from 1995 to 2017, work that was awarded a Nobel Prize in Medicine, Physics, or Chemistry clustered in just a few scientific disciplines.
The Nobel Prize recognizes work that has remarkable impact. While most work in natural sciences or biomedicine could theoretically be eligible, it appears that the academy behind the prizes considers certain fields more deserving.
To clarify whether Nobel prizes tend to go to certain fields, Stanford University researchers selected the key Nobel prize-related paper published by each scientific laureate honoured from 1995 through 2017.
Then, they noted where each of these publications falls in a map of scientific fields created from 63 million papers published in the same timeframe. The data came from Scopus, a comprehensive database of scientific publications.
This analysis revealed that, out of 114 scientific fields, five (particle physics, atomic physics, cell biology, neuroscience, and molecular chemistry) account for more than half of the Nobel prizes awarded during the study period - even though those fields account for only about 10 percent of all papers mapped.
Also, almost all Nobel prize-related papers were cited less extensively than many other papers published around the same time.
The authors acknowledge that citations may not give a full picture of impact, and that a few of the 114 fields, such as law or philosophy, may not be appropriate for a Nobel Prize in Medicine, Physics, or Chemistry. Fields with no Nobel prizes included ophthalmology, emergency medicine, and environmental engineering.
The reasons why certain fields receive greater Nobel recognition remain unclear. However, the authors note that Nobel prizes may influence which fields receive greater funding and prestige, perhaps making the same fields more likely to be honoured again, while other fields remain neglected.
“It is likely that different subdisciplines in science have different achievements, even if all well-done scientific work is worthy,” says lead researcher Dr John Ioannidis.
“However, it is interesting that while in some subdisciplines 1 out of 1000 publishing scientists may get a Nobel prize, in other subdisciplines no scientist may ever be honoured, even though many tens of thousands of scientists work diligently in that subdiscipline.” | <urn:uuid:552b963d-2810-4105-a577-47459018ea6e> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | http://www.executivecareer.net.au/archived-news/nobel-bias-noted | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188899.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126171830-20201126201830-00286.warc.gz | en | 0.942696 | 467 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Russians from all walks of life poured into the streets of the imperial capital after the February Revolution of 1917, joyously celebrating the end of Tsar Nicholas II’s monarchy. One year later, with Lenin’s Bolsheviks now in power, Petrograd’s deserted streets presented a very different scene. No celebrations marked the Revolution’s anniversary. Amid widespread civil strife and lawlessness, a fearful citizenry stayed out of sight.
In Crime and Punishment in the Russian Revolution, Tsuyoshi Hasegawa offers a new perspective on Russia’s revolutionary year through the lens of violent crime and its devastating effect on ordinary people. When the Provisional Government assumed power after Nicholas II’s abdication, it set about instituting liberal reforms, including eliminating the tsar’s regular police. But dissolving this much-hated yet efficient police force and replacing it with a new municipal police led rapidly to the breakdown of order and services. Amid the chaos, crime flourished. Gangs of criminals, deserters, and hooligans brazenly roamed the streets. Mass prison escapes became common. And vigilantism spread widely as ordinary citizens felt compelled to take the law into their own hands, often meting out mob justice on suspected wrongdoers.
The Bolsheviks swept into power in the October Revolution but had no practical plans to reestablish order. As crime continued to escalate and violent alcohol riots almost drowned the revolutionary regime, they redefined it as “counterrevolutionary activity,” to be dealt with by the secret police, whose harshly repressive, extralegal means of enforcement helped pave the way for a Communist dictatorship. | <urn:uuid:778a4b44-60f0-4f32-802b-90d181cd8a68> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674972063 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141188899.42/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126171830-20201126201830-00286.warc.gz | en | 0.931415 | 343 | 3.515625 | 4 |
Tucked away on the second floor of St. Petersburg’s Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology is Peter the Great’s stunning array of medical curiosities. Everything from the encephalitis-swollen skulls to the specimen tumors was documented meticulously by the Tsar, who ordered the creation of this first state museum in 1714.
Tourists might be motivated by morbid interest, but the collection was never intended to be a freak show. As part of Peter’s broader push to modernize Russia, the collection was started in an attempt to reduce superstition. It was hoped that cataloging malformed infants and debilitating diseases as quirks of nature would quell superstitious beliefs that blamed misfortune on demons and monsters. Peter issued an edict that the bodies of deformed infants should be relinquished to the collection.
In 1716, Peter the Great visited the Dutch anatomist Frederik Ruysch, and purchase his entire collection. which included more than 2,000 preparations on embryology and human anatomy, more than 1,000 specimens of small mammals, reptiles, and insects, 259 preserved birds, and a other samples of butterflies, sea animals, shells, and dried plants. The same year, he also acquired the collection of Albert Seba, which included plant and animal specimens from South America as well as artwork from Japan, China, and across South America. | <urn:uuid:7ddd1d07-c479-40ef-bea0-63cc4c547848> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kunstkamera | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141194982.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128011115-20201128041115-00366.warc.gz | en | 0.956949 | 282 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Medical researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have successfully used stem cells to grow functioning heart tissue, a major step toward bioengineering organs for people in need of a transplant. Growing organs from a patient's own genetic material could potentially eliminate the need for a donor and reduce the risk of the patient's immune system rejecting the transplanted organ.
A technique using messenger RNA was used to revert skin cells to stem cells. Those stem cells, which have the capacity to grow into any type of cell in the human body, were then stimulated to grow into cardiac muscle tissue. The growing heart was then placed inside a bioreactor to simulate conditions inside the human body, and the cardiac muscle tissue responded normally to electrical stimulation as it continued to grow.
Growing an entire heart from stem cells is a bit trickier than that, however, as a structural scaffold called an extracellular matrix is required to support the tissue cells and give the organ its shape. The scaffold is naturally created from proteins that are secreted from specialized cardiac cells. But this requires "a supportive environment [inside the body] in which cells can repopulate the scaffold to form mature tissue capable of handling complex cardiac functions," Jacques Guyette, a research fellow at MGH, said in a press release.
To get around this challenge, the researchers used the existing scaffold structure from 73 donor hearts that were determined unsuitable for transplantation. A detergent solution was used to strip the hearts of their living cells, leaving behind only the extracellular matrix. The new living tissue could then be grown around the neutral scaffolding from the donor hearts.
Though growing an entire human heart in a lab is still some time away, MGH's research might be used in the near future to help people with heart conditions. The techniques developed by the team could be used to regenerate tissue in damaged hearts so that the patient doesn't need a full transplant.
"Regenerating a whole heart is most certainly a long-term goal that is several years away, so we are currently working on engineering a functional myocardial patch that could replace cardiac tissue damaged due a heart attack or heart failure," says Guyette.
A paper detailing the research was recently published in the journal Circulation Research. | <urn:uuid:374748ba-56ba-4801-9c30-550c2a000a65> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a19911/scientists-grow-human-heart-tissue-from-skin-cells/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141194982.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128011115-20201128041115-00366.warc.gz | en | 0.962746 | 460 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Part of Coronation of Womanhood posters
The poster, entitled “Coronation of Womanhood,” was commissioned by Abigail Scott Duniway in 1884 to honor supporters of the equal suffrage movement. It is printed from a photo crayon lithograph engraving by Kurz & Allison’s Art Studio. At the front center of the image, the goddess of Liberty is crowning a kneeling female figure representing womanhood. Below them is a banner reading, “Coronation of Womanhood.” Arranged in a half-circle above Liberty and Womanhood at the top of the poster are the portraits of Edward Dickinson Baker, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and James A. Garfield. Flanking either side of the image is a dais draped in bunting featuring the state crests of New York, California, Oregon, Nebraska, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia. Seated at the dais are 17 women of the suffrage movement: Martha C. Wright, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Frances Wright, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Elizabeth Boynton Harbert, Susan B. Anthony, Abigail Scott Duniway, Dr. Clemence S. Lozier, Helen M. Gouger, Sarah L. Knox Goodrich, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Mary J. Collins, Julia Ward Howe, Lillie Devereux Black, Matilda Jocelyn Gage, and Ernestine L. Rose. Below the dais, there is an audience of 275 additional men recognized as supporters of women’s enfranchisement. The men depicted in the scene include Matthew Deady, Stephen F. Chadwick, Rockey Preston Earhart, Joseph N. Dolph, Melvin Clark George, Samuel Royal Thurston, George Himes, and William S. Ladd. A full listing of the depicted individuals is accessible via the identification key. The inscription at the bottom of the poster reads, “Respectfully dedicated to the loyal subjects of liberty who paved the way to woman’s enfranchisement in the Pacific Northwest, United States of America, anno domini one thousand eight hundred eighty three.” See the accompanying identification key for a full list of figures represented in the poster.
Kurz & Allison | <urn:uuid:484168fe-8aa7-424f-8bfa-579098427843> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://digitalcollections.ohs.org/informationobject/browse?subjects=479338&view=table&collection=526186&topLod=0&onlyMedia=1&sort=identifier&sortDir=asc | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141171126.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124053841-20201124083841-00406.warc.gz | en | 0.863046 | 480 | 2.59375 | 3 |
In a recent video message, US president-elect Donald Trump pledged to withdraw from the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP, 跨太平洋夥伴關係) – a US-led multilateral trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries – on his first day in office. The pact asserts US economic leadership in Asia, and functions as an important component of the Obama administration’s strategic rebalance in the region. An American withdrawal not only creates a power void in Asia, but may also lead to an entire dissolution of the pact. This has both economic and geopolitical consequences that may shake up the region’s balance of power. The weakening of the TPP will undoubtedly benefit rival trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP, 東南亞區域全面經濟夥伴協定), an initiative backed primarily by China. China then may seize the opportunity to fill the vacuum left by the US and spearhead economic integration within the region. For Hong Kong, this is both an opportunity and a threat. The fact that China is not a member of the TPP, excludes her from the benefits of rising free trade with members of the pact. With neighbouring countries such as Vietnam rapidly catching up, the Chinese manufacturing sector is facing declining trade activities. This, in turn, limits the growth of Hong Kong’s export trade, which consists primarily of re-exports to and from the mainland. As the key gateway to China, Hong Kong’s current economic and geopolitical significance hinges on how well the Chinese economy performs. The potential unravelling of the TPP may reverse this process, shift trade back to China and offer lucrative opportunities for both China and Hong Kong. However, one must question as to whether Hong Kong fully benefits from such a future. As the premiere regional hub for commerce and finance, Hong Kong thrives from the free movement of goods and services. Under the TPP deal, Hong Kong factories are encouraged to relocate from the mainland to TPP countries as regulatory barriers loosen, which could potentially consolidate the city’s regional influence. As more businesses from Hong Kong invest beyond the Greater China region, Hong Kong’s economic ties can be more diversified. Nonetheless, now that the TPP is on the brink of collapse, China’s economy is expected to regain momentum. In the long term, this may further exacerbate Hong Kong’s dependence on the mainland, and the city will play an increasingly passive role in regional politics.
Photo Credit: CNNMoney | <urn:uuid:2aa5c7ef-c7f6-411c-a57d-8c18c4880395> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.whkpass.org/single-post/2016/05/09/this-is-your-fourth-post | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195069.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128040731-20201128070731-00646.warc.gz | en | 0.926021 | 532 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Established in 1863, Woodlawn is an active, 400-acre non-sectarian cemetery — an oasis in an urban setting. More than 310,000 individuals are interred on its grounds and it attracts over 100,000 visitors from around the world each year.
Recognized as one of America’s most historically significant properties, Woodlawn was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011, joining a rarified roster of 2,500 sites nationwide. Described by the National Parks Service as “a popular final resting place for the famous and powerful,” the cemetery is distinguished by memorials that “represent the largest and finest collection of funerary art in the country.”
Woodlawn was established by a group of prominent New Yorkers who envisioned a burial ground easily accessible from Manhattan. It is designed in the landscape-lawn style that was made popular after the Civil War, which emphasizes the relationship between landscape and classical architecture. Its curvilinear road system provides views of large, singular monuments on family plots and circular lots. Propelled by location, clientele, and unprecedented wealth, Woodlawn rapidly grew to become the outdoor showplace of distinctive masterworks you see today.
The cemetery’s natural environment is as impressive as its legacy. Its park-like setting is home to an extensive array of flora, fauna, birds, and insects virtually lost from much of the area’s environs, and it is also a refuge for local wildlife. Its horticultural beauty is evident in the extraordinary collection of specimen plants, including five of New York City’s “Great Trees.”
Connection to the Community
The intentions of the past, present, and future converge at Woodlawn, reflecting a broad spectrum of American history, heritage, and culture. In addition to being a historical masterpiece, Woodlawn offers tours and events designed to educate and connect the past with the present. Woodlawn also serves as an outdoor environmental classroom as many come to view and study the more than 140 varieties of trees in our newly designated arboretum. | <urn:uuid:a8ce252a-1c6b-40b0-b015-6f18a0fe3dab> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.woodlawn.org/about/history/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195069.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128040731-20201128070731-00646.warc.gz | en | 0.960731 | 436 | 2.6875 | 3 |
If it wasn’t for her five children, perhaps she would have tried to enlist, disguised as a man. Although Mary Elizabeth Hoffman never joined the unique ranks of such warriors, she didn’t allow her sex to defeat her personal crusade on behalf of the Confederacy.
Born in Boyle County, Kentucky in 1825, Mary saw her husband William, a son, and three brothers enter Confederate service during the Civil War. At home in Cynthiana, Mary jumped into the fray, delivering food, messages, aid and comfort to local rebels. Though auburn-haired and fair-skinned, she often managed to pass through Union lines posing as an African American. When some Confederate soldiers at a nearby hotel were cut off from their command and in danger of capture, Mary secured their horses, removed the incriminating weapons and uniforms from their saddle bags, and with the help of another Southern sympathizer later reunited the gear with its owners.
In April 1862, Mary resolved to head south to check on the welfare of her soldier menfolk, an undertaking that involved passing through numerous blockades and towns under martial law. With a stash of letters concealed in her clothing, she was denied a pass at Chattanooga, but wagered the commandant in charge that she would get through anyway. She did, by way of a midnight boat trip and a mule ride over mountainous terrain. When she arrived at her husband’s camp, she spent several months ministering to his wounded comrades. On the way back, she earned a pass from the commandant she had outwitted on the trip down.
In February 1863, however, Mary was arrested in Lexington and detained by the federals. Once again, she donned a disguise, climbed out a second-story window, and escaped. The Yankees caught up with her again and sent Mary and her husband, now discharged from service, north of the Ohio River where they would presumably make less trouble. They were eventually paroled and returned to Cynthiana, where Mary’s husband met an early death after an altercation with a Union soldier and Mary, who died in 1888, would be remembered as a determined soldier of the South.
Click here to link to a collection describing the exploits of Mary Hoffman, part of the Manuscripts & Folklife Archives of WKU’s Department of Library Special Collections. Click here to browse all of our Civil War collections, or search TopSCHOLAR and KenCat. | <urn:uuid:31eb074d-5115-4304-97c9-47c4fcc6c27f> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://library.blog.wku.edu/2017/08/mrs-hoffman/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141542358.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201013119-20201201043119-00086.warc.gz | en | 0.978308 | 503 | 2.953125 | 3 |
When slaves gained their freedom in 1863, few had resources to sustain themselves. Many former slave owners let these newly freed slaves stay on their farms and work them. But, regrettably, farm owners often cheated these people because most could not read. They remained in debt year after year. In many respects, they were still slaves. In addition, certain business owners, needing cheap labor, colluded with officials to arrest Black men for frivolous crimes. They would lease these men to mine coal, tap turpentine, and lay railroad tracks. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation set them free, these tactics made many slaves again. This practice illustrates the point Paul made to the Christians in Galatia. They had accepted Paul’s message that God declares people justified based on faith alone. But after listening to certain false teachers, they began to depend on their own efforts to make themselves acceptable to God. In Galatians 5, Paul warns them, “Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” God expects His children to engage in good works after they come to him by faith; but counting on our good works to save us is like subjecting ourselves to slavery. | <urn:uuid:bf4c9167-f70d-455b-bf33-4efaa633c172> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://urbanfaith.com/2012/02/how-did-sharecropping-re-enslave-people.html/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195417.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128095617-20201128125617-00206.warc.gz | en | 0.983894 | 262 | 3 | 3 |
A Depression-era, monumental batik mural entitled The World of Radio is the focus of this exhibition of iconic radios, radio design drawings, and photographs from the early twentieth century through the present day. Designed by Arthur Gordon Smith, the mural celebrates the career of Jessica Dragonette, one of radio’s most popular personalities of the 1930s. On view for the first time in nearly three decades, the mural also includes over a dozen vignettes illustrating radio’s formative events and personalities.
Radios designed by pioneering industrial designers such as Donald Deskey, Dieter Rams, and Henry Dreyfuss are installed alongside drawings by hand of prototypes for radio consoles and cabinets designed to enhance a modern home. The exhibition also underscores the technological advancement of radio electronics—from electric powered to portables to digital media players—and includes examples of historically significant radios. | <urn:uuid:f2ea08ce-61ca-4a31-a8bb-c58914ba04a5> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.cooperhewitt.org/channel/the-world-of-radio/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195417.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128095617-20201128125617-00206.warc.gz | en | 0.932149 | 176 | 2.828125 | 3 |
If confirmed by the Senate, Judge Amy Coney Barrett will become the sixth conservative justice on the Supreme Court, likely ensuring a solid right-wing majority on the court for many years to come. For that reason, it is imperative that the Senate set aside the partisan passions of the moment and reflect on what Barrett’s nomination might mean for the future of the court and the nation.
In her White House speech accepting President Trump’s nomination, Barrett stated that Justice Antonin Scalia’s “judicial philosophy is mine, too.” A look at her extensive academic scholarship, however, reveals a very different picture.
Barrett served as a law clerk for Scalia, a conservative. Like her mentor, she takes an “originalist” approach to legal interpretation. Originalists claim that written legal texts, including constitutions, must be interpreted according to their original meanings. In this view, the Constitution is not a “living document” that adapts to changing circumstances and evolving values. Its meaning is fixed when it is adopted, and is considered binding law until formally changed or repealed by amendment.
Also like Scalia, Barrett embraces a particular brand of originalism, now fashionable in conservative legal circles, called “public meaning originalism.” According to this view, the meaning of a legal text is not determined by the intentions or purposes of its authors or adopters, but rather by its public “textual” meaning. What matters is the law’s conventional or ordinary meaning in context—how a typical informed reader of the time would have understood it—not the expressed or unexpressed “intent” of those who wrote or enacted the law.
On these basics Scalia and Barrett agree. But they have very different views on the critical issues of judicial restraint and respect for legal precedent.
For Scalia, the central virtue of originalism as a method of interpreting the Constitution is the way it limits judicial policymaking by unelected and tenured judges, thus honoring the basic democratic values of our constitutional tradition. By contrast, Barrett argues that it was a mistake for “early originalists” such as Scalia to stress the importance of judicial restraint. In her view, the original textual meaning of the Constitution is the law, period. Originalist judges have a sworn duty to uphold the law—even if that requires activist rulings, which may be deeply unpopular and invite frequent collisions with Congress and other democratically accountable legislative bodies. | <urn:uuid:dc27595f-ff34-481c-b15f-41e3e43c8fee> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/different-kind-originalist | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141202590.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129184455-20201129214455-00286.warc.gz | en | 0.949884 | 502 | 2.65625 | 3 |
In the weeks following the presidential election, the question of what truly makes a good leader is on everyone's mind. Anyone can claim to be a leader in times of calm, but crisis situations separate the true visionaries from the false ones. Recent events in global affairs make it increasingly apparent that nations must cultivate and encourage true leaders—and eschew false ones—if they hope to survive. In the wake of the election, Americans are curious to see how our leaders in government will handle the economic and diplomatic challenges of leading our country.
Fortunately, effective leadership is a skill that can be taught, especially through the study of exemplary figures of the past. Donald J. Palmisano explores the vital qualities that every American should look for in a leader by gleaning lessons from great figures throughout history. By analyzing the wisdom of famous leaders, readers will learn about the importance of courage, persistence, decisiveness, and communication as the foundation of a strong leader. The Little Red Book of Leadership Lessons, with quotes from antiquity to the present, provides crucial advice for those who aspire to become effective leaders in any position. | <urn:uuid:a27d4344-4bcf-4f5a-a080-6e4b41c046de> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Little-Red-Book-of-Leadership-Lessons/Donald-J-Palmisano/Little-Red-Books/9781620871911 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141711306.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20201202144450-20201202174450-00446.warc.gz | en | 0.935623 | 224 | 3.296875 | 3 |
The present research uniquely sheds light on the practices of Humanistic Buddhism (a form of Engaged Buddhism most prevalent in modern Taiwan), which have been completely neglected in contemplative science. It also explores the social and ecological implications of contemplative practice, another under-investigated area of research. By investigating the effects of a Buddhist monastic retreat on pro-social and pro-environmental behavior, this study stands to contribute significantly toward filling the gap in current contemplative research. A total of 30 participants in the Fo Guang Buddhist monastic retreat were surveyed before and after receiving one month of training in both “social mindfulness” (tending to the needs of others in situations of interdependence) and silent meditation. Observations were recorded of pro-environmental behaviors, including decreases in food waste, and pro-social behaviors, such as donations made to a charitable organization with the money used to compensate retreatants for their participation. Oxytocin, a hormone associated with compassion, was measured via saliva. Participants also reported on their inner experiences during a set of distinct forms of contemplative practice. Main findings include a notable increase in pro-environmental behaviors with minimal changes in pro-sociality. Participants reported feeling greater connection to nature and the community by the end of the retreat. The overall trend involved a shift away from egocentric concerns toward a more ecocentric worldview. In summary, this study serves as a foundation for future research in the area of ecology and mindfulness. It provides evidence that mindfulness, as cultivated in a context emphasizing Humanistic Buddhist values such as caring for other beings and the natural world, has positive implications for the environment and ecological well-being. By investigating Buddhist practices in a traditional monastic setting and taking culture into consideration, it gives credit to context, a missing piece in much of the previous research in contemplative science. | <urn:uuid:8347ea66-7fbb-4d10-a23b-2197f454e3f0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.mindandlife.org/grant/from-egocentric-to-ecocentric-pro-social-and-pro-environmental-actualizations-of-mindfulness-at-an-intensive-monastic-retreat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176864.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124140942-20201124170942-00246.warc.gz | en | 0.952007 | 374 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Baby Eels Migrate by Following Magnetic Fields
Baby eels have joined the ever-growing club of animals that live their lives along magnetic lines. Researchers described these findings in the journal Scientific Advances.
Our planet and its inhabitants are shaped and impelled by invisible forces. Studies have found that foxes hunt and deer flee along north-south lines. Pigs and wild boars orient their nests to face the same way. Lobsters, butterflies, and whales all follow their internal compasses along magnetic lines. Adult European eels, too. But we weren’t really sure about their babies.
Grown-up European eels lay their many eggs in the Sargasso Sea. The eggs hatch into helpless larvae, which bob along in Atlantic currents. As the currents approach the continent, the babies transform again, this time into translucent miniature versions of their parents. These glass eels make their way into the coasts. From there, they swim inland to freshwater and bum around Europe and North Africa for five to 20 years. Finally, as adults, they head back to the sea to start the whole cycle all over again. It's one of the longest migrations in the animal kingdom, the researchers say.
It’s an impressive feat for the little noodles, and scientists wondered how they pull it off. To find out, researchers scooped up a group of newly arrived baby eels on the coast of Norway. They put the eels in a large chamber inside a fjord and let them swim there for a full tidal phase, watching how the eels positioned their bodies and how they swam.
Next, they brought the eels into the lab and repeated the tide-long observation process.
Unsurprisingly, the little tykes knew exactly what they were doing. They consistently turned their bodies to run parallel with magnetic lines, but the direction of those lines varied depending on the phase of the tides. When the tide went out to sea, the majority of eels swam southward, whether in the fjord or in the lab.
These findings are as fascinating as they are vital, as, for all its ingenuity, the European eel is critically endangered. Understanding this animal’s extraordinary life cycle could help conservationists find ways to protect it better in the future. | <urn:uuid:9d1ef345-22f6-47fd-91b2-7b523cd3145a> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/501659/baby-eels-migrate-following-magnetic-fields | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141184870.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20201125213038-20201126003038-00326.warc.gz | en | 0.958242 | 469 | 3.609375 | 4 |
What does it mean to be American? In this starkly illuminating and impassioned book, Pulitzer Prize–finalist Laila Lalami recounts her unlikely journey from Moroccan immigrant to U.S. citizen, using it as a starting point for her exploration of the rights, liberties, and protections that are traditionally associated with American citizenship. Tapping into history, politics, and literature, she elucidates how accidents of birth—such as national origin, race, and gender—that once determined the boundaries of Americanness still cast their shadows today.
Lalami poignantly illustrates how white supremacy survives through adaptation and legislation, with the result that a caste system is maintained that keeps the modern equivalent of white male landowners at the top of the social hierarchy. Conditional citizens, she argues, are all the people with whom America embraces with one arm and pushes away with the other.
Brilliantly argued and deeply personal, Conditional Citizens weaves together Lalami’s own experiences with explorations of the place of nonwhites in the broader American culture.
Hardback: 208 Pages
Product Dimensions: 142 x 211 mm
Published by Pantheon Books | <urn:uuid:87f34bbf-6d0d-4f70-b027-7506b285e9b9> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.booksactuallyshop.com/collections/books/products/conditional-citizens | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141189141.23/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127044624-20201127074624-00406.warc.gz | en | 0.929621 | 236 | 2.609375 | 3 |
It's fall in Panama. Across the U.S., birds fly south for the winter, jaguars and coyotes navigate the jungle corridors, and sea turtles take over the beaches. This narrow isthmus is a vital pit stop for millions of migrating animals, but it's currently in danger. Development, pollution, and climate change threaten to disrupt this fragile throughway. Researchers are scrambling to address these challenges, using modern tracking devices to follow the animals and protect the millions that journey along this unique cross-continental passageway. | <urn:uuid:256f0426-17fc-4a3d-a437-817bad82d1fa> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.cbs.com/movies/panamas-animal-highway/vKZ5dq0Z57Mx8VJoxG6_BeYVq58HJOZw/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195656.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128125557-20201128155557-00486.warc.gz | en | 0.887474 | 108 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Who Was Amelia Boynton Robinson?
Take your fourth and fifth graders on a deep dive into the civil rights movement with this lesson on Amelia Boynton Robinson. A key activist in the movement, Amelia played a critical role in organizing the Selma to Montgomery march. Your students will read, annotate, and analyze her biography through multiple reads, before discussing the text with their classmates.
Reading & Writing | <urn:uuid:2fa9eaca-3f7b-4c31-aa1b-cf515d7455ac> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.education.com/lesson-plans/pop-culture-and-events/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195656.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128125557-20201128155557-00486.warc.gz | en | 0.902451 | 82 | 4 | 4 |
Guns, cocaine, and kidnappings—this was the state of much of Colombia in the early 1980s. Medellín in particular, home to the rising Cartel de Medellín and leftist guerrilla insurgents, was the bedrock of anti-Americanism in the country during these years. Strikingly, Medellín was also home to a U.S. consulate at the time, hosting a total of four Foreign Service officers. Among them was Peter DeShazo, a public affairs officer and consul dedicated to improving the local perception of the United States and of Americans.
Amid the growing insecurity and tense environment, DeShazo’s goal was to retain a high profile as director of the U.S.-Colombian Bi-national Center (BNC). Kidnappings, murders, and violence were the norm in the epicenter of Colombia’s illegal narcotics trade. Yet surprisingly, the left-wing guerrillas were the main concern for Americans in Colombia; organizations such as the FARC and most notably M-19 posed the greatest security threat for DeShazo and his colleagues. Nonetheless, DeShazo confronted the rampant anti-American sentiment as the BNC gradually became a vital cultural institution in Medellín under his directorship. The center effectively disseminated U.S. culture through literature, film, and language programs as well as through visiting cultural attractions. After DeShazo left Colombia, the BNC continued to grow and ultimately became one of Latin America’s most successful centers, despite several attacks conducted by M-19 shortly after DeShazo’s departure. Once DeShazo’s tour in Medellín concluded, the Department of State decided that he would not be replaced as a result of the deteriorating security situation, essentially making Peter DeShazo the last U.S. diplomat in Medellín. | <urn:uuid:4f9e2b0e-0016-4ced-911b-16e7b39d14b4> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://adst.org/category/military/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141203418.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129214615-20201130004615-00566.warc.gz | en | 0.977244 | 381 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designates certain foreign countries for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in extreme cases of war, natural disasters, and epidemics. A country can be TPS designated for any type of disaster that could potentially prevent its citizens from returning, but the decision to assign TPS is completely at the discretion of the U.S. government. TPS allows certain citizens who are currently in the United States to stay because their countries have been deemed unsafe for return. It does not, however, grant permanent legal residency in the United States. Under TPS, people can temporarily remain, live, and work in the United States until DHS ends the designated period.
Recently, using “fast track” congressional procedures, Congress considered but ultimately voted against extending TPS to Venezuelans, with the bill facing significant Republican opposition. Venezuela has been entrenched in an economic and humanitarian crisis that has since worsened under its current president, Nicolas Maduro. Many Venezuelans see Maduro’s rule as illegitimate because of an allegedly rigged election in May 2018 and have taken to the streets in protest. Leading the opposition is politician Juan Guaido, who claims he is the rightful president of Venezuela. The Trump administration has condemned Maduro and his socialist government and formally recognized Guaido as the only legitimate Venezuelan ruler, but the House Republican’s refusal to grant TPS tells a different story. Republicans voiced concerns that if granted TPS, Venezuelans would be allowed to stay in the United States for years while relying solely on welfare programs (although there is no evidence to support this). Condemning Maduro’s rule while refusing to grant Venezuelans TPS in the United States shows the Trump administration’s hypocritical stance towards Venezuela and ultimately reveals a persistent anti-immigrant sentiment.
TPS initially emerged in response to the ongoing civil war in El Salvador during the 1990’s (a war that pitted the communist guerrilla insurgents against the U.S. backed Salvadoran government). El Salvador has been designated since 2001 because of various natural disasters, and Salvadorans now constitute the largest number of TPS beneficiaries living in the United States. TPS recipients have been in the United States for over 10 years, an issue that Republicans fear will happen to Venezuelans granted TPS. | <urn:uuid:f508a266-d18b-4352-8d3d-ec65716245d0> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.immigrationvisaattorneyblog.com/category/seeking-asylum/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141203418.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20201129214615-20201130004615-00566.warc.gz | en | 0.947973 | 460 | 2.546875 | 3 |
In Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous islands off the coast of Tanzania, very few women know how to swim. Some of this is cultural: Zanzibar remains a deeply conservative religious society where the mainly Muslim population expects women to dress modestly, precluding them from wearing revealing swimwear. This also reinforces cultural biases that insist women only occupy themselves with domestic tasks and child-rearing.
To push back against this stigma, Siti Haji started her own swim classes for young Muslim women. Gathering in the clear waters of the Indian Ocean, Haji teaches the girls how to float, swim against the current, and manage their breathing. She and her team have taught about 5,000 women how to keep afloat in the water, and she hopes to teach more, both for their own empowerment and to dispel some of the patriarchal attitudes that keep them out of the sea.
Haji’s work builds on the efforts of the Panje Project, an organization formed in 2011, initially to assist the youth of the northern Zanzibari village of Nungwi with educational development. It soon began to teach young women how to swim and providing them with burkinis—full-length swimsuits—to make it easy for them to get into the water without compromising their religious and cultural beliefs. | <urn:uuid:e411bd26-cab5-49b2-96da-fe339ab1813e> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://newafricadaily.com/index.php/teaching-women-how-swim-zanzibar | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141672314.55/warc/CC-MAIN-20201201074047-20201201104047-00646.warc.gz | en | 0.968079 | 268 | 2.765625 | 3 |
November 9, 1938, started as just another day for Jews in Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland. After breakfast, fathers went to work, children went to school and mothers kissed their loved ones goodbye. They returned home for a family dinner, went to bed and expected the next day to be identical.
That night, Nazi storm troopers, aided by citizen rioters, burned 267 synagogues, vandalized 7,500 Jewish businesses, murdered 91 Jews and incarcerated 30,000 Jewish men, transferring them to newly built concentrations camps. Overnight, the Holocaust had officially begun.
Kristallnacht — the night of broken glass — marked an important turning point in Hitler’s anti-Semitic policy. Historians uniformly point out that the passivity with which German citizens accepted this violence signaled to the Nazi regime that the public was prepared for their more radical measures aimed at removing Jews entirely from German economic and social life. The Nazis were organized, they were well funded and they were united behind a single mission.
After this summer’s Operation Protective Edge, the trend of declining global anti-Semitism sharply reversed. Daily reports of vandalism, violence and intimidation of Jews all over the world has become the new normal. Classicanti-Jewish tropes have resurfaced, masquerading as critiques of Israel’s political policies and support for Palestinian human rights.
Closer to home, Students for Justice in Palestine, a well-organized group that advocates aggressive and intimidating anti-Israel tactics, is spreading its presence on college campuses throughout the U.S. at an alarming rate. Since June 2014, SJP has formed 28 new chapters, according to the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC), bringing the nationwide total to 157.
SJP is sponsored by American Muslims for Palestine, a group that promotes and defends posting mock eviction notices on Jewish students’ dorm rooms as “constitutionally guaranteed political speech.”
Kristallnacht was a unique and extreme event that caught its victims completely off guard. Despite mounting evidence, we must remain calm and optimistic, but we must also be alert and vigilant. We must challenge those who claim their blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric and actions are simply robust exchanges of ideas. Most importantly, we must not be afraid to act. For, in the words of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, “tolerance of intolerance is cowardice.” It is also dangerous.
This originally appeared in the Jewish Journal on November 6, 2014. | <urn:uuid:c810edef-d484-41b6-9c31-22654ba69d6c> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://shelleysackett.com/2014/11/06/lest-we-forget-remembering-kristallnacht/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141748276.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20201205165649-20201205195649-00166.warc.gz | en | 0.964756 | 507 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Interesting news from Collooney in Co. Sligo where archaeologists working for Sligo-Leitrim Archaeological Services (on behalf of the National Monuments Service) have discovered an early medieval skeleton in unusual circumstances. The body was identified earlier this year beneath a 200 year old beech tree that had blown down during a storm. Slightly bizarrely, the upper part of the skeleton was found raised in the air, within the tree’s up-turned root system, while the legs were still in the ground.
Preliminary analysis has indicated that the remains consist of young man who was between 17 and 25 years old when he died. His bones contained several injuries which had been inflicted by a sharp blade, possibly a sword or knife. He had obviously suffered a violent death, but whether these wounds were related to an ancient battle or a personal dispute remains unknown. The body was subsequently buried in a shallow east-west oriented grave and radiocarbon analysis indicates that this occurred sometime between 1030 and 1200 AD.
According to archaeologist Marion Dowd, ‘No other burials are known from the area but historical records do indicate a possible graveyard and church in the vicinity’. Post-excavation work for this site is still on-going and hopefully this will shed further light on this man and the nature of his death nearly 1000 years ago. | <urn:uuid:fcfdd5aa-779f-4780-9793-fed985ee61f3> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://irisharchaeology.ie/2015/09/beneath-the-tree-a-violent-death-in-early-medieval-sligo/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141176922.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20201124170142-20201124200142-00526.warc.gz | en | 0.979195 | 278 | 2.90625 | 3 |
The world’s coral reefs are in dire need of some love. Global warming and ocean temperature spikes have left massive stretches of vital coral reefs damaged, possibly beyond all repair, and if we don’t do something to stop the continuing damage it’s going to cost mankind dearly. But studying coral is no easy task, so researchers from the US Office of Naval Research and Florida Atlantic University have come up with a solution.
The issue at hand is the fragility of coral itself. It’s incredibly hard to monitor reef habitats and the health of the reef ecosystem using human divers or bulky equipment which could cause damage. The solution? Soft-bodied robotic jellyfish.
Using the moon jellyfish as inspiration, the scientists built prototypes to test the feasibility of using a simple hydraulic movement system to allow their creation to move around in the water with very little effort. The work paid off, and the result is a small robot that can move effortlessly along a coral reef without risking any damage. A research paper based on the work was published in Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.
“A main application of the robot is exploring and monitoring delicate ecosystems, so we chose soft hydraulic network actuators to prevent inadvertent damage,” Dr. Erik Engeberg of Florida Atlantic University said in a statement. “Additionally, live jellyfish have neutral buoyancy. To mimic this, we used water to inflate the hydraulic network actuators while swimming.”
The soft exterior of the robot, which is made of a rubbery silicon material, allows it to squeeze through tiny gaps. A future iteration of the robot could even incorporate a sonar sensor to gauge the size of openings before muscling through them, Dr. Engeberg noted.
In the future, robotic jellyfish like these could be outfitted with any number of sensors to monitor water temperature and quality or even relay images of various parts of the reef to scientists on shore. These eyes-in-the-sea, so to speak, could be vital to monitoring ongoing reef recovery efforts worldwide. | <urn:uuid:2e653c1e-f840-42d4-9bc4-f0f618e103e3> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://bgr.com/2018/09/18/robot-jellyfish-coral-reef-recovery-damage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141185851.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20201126001926-20201126031926-00606.warc.gz | en | 0.922952 | 423 | 3.8125 | 4 |
Registries vary widely in geographic scope. Some registries collect data at a local or regional level, while others collect data at a national or multinational level. Multinational registries, also called multicountry, global, or international registries, offer unique research opportunities beyond those offered by national, regional, or local registries. By collecting data from multiple countries, these registries are able to examine geographic variations in disease etiology and progression as well as treatment patterns and clinical effectiveness in various populations.
Multinational registries also may be able to enroll larger numbers of patients, which can enhance their capacity to detect adverse events, should they exist, and to better understand rare conditions. | <urn:uuid:f733f933-881e-43e1-909f-5469b2e1d01d> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.healtheconomics.com/resource/multinational-registries-challenges-and-opportunities | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141191511.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20201127073750-20201127103750-00686.warc.gz | en | 0.932316 | 137 | 2.921875 | 3 |
Contrary to widespread belief, there is no global “democratic recession.” Despite less favorable international conditions, levels of democracy in the world remained stable in the 2000s. Perceptions of democratic recession originate in excessive post–Cold War optimism, rooted in the successful democratizations of the 1980s. During the early 1990s, economic crisis, weakened states, and external pressure forced many autocrats to abandon power or tolerate opposition. These authoritarian crises were widely viewed as democratic transitions, even though most were not. Subsequent authoritarian (re)consolidation was thus perceived as democratic “backsliding.” Misplaced pessimism was reinforced by disappointment over non-democratization in China, the Middle East, and elsewhere, despite the fact that most remaining dictatorships existed amid highly unfavorable conditions for democratization. | <urn:uuid:933b106c-2d87-4b4f-9017-2c9577736624> | CC-MAIN-2020-50 | https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/the-myth-of-democratic-recession/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-50/segments/1606141195745.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20201128184858-20201128214858-00046.warc.gz | en | 0.970176 | 166 | 2.609375 | 3 |
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