Monthly Archives: October 2017

Even Fiction Can Expand Our Understanding of Science

Andy Zucker was a senior scientist at the Concord Consortium who is now enjoying his retirement, including working with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).

Many people know Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park, in which he posits that humans used remnants of dinosaur DNA to imprudently create a modern theme park populated with dinosaurs. Crichton often used science as a takeoff point in his novels. But Harvard scientist George Church is currently working to revive woolly mammoths using DNA samples frozen for thousands of years.

A value of Crichton’s works is they remind us of the important role that data play in science. Science is not only an experimental science. It often relies more heavily than standard textbooks suggest on the accumulation of accurate data long before theories explain the data.

In the latest Crichton novel, Dragon Teeth, a newly discovered manuscript posthumously published nine years after his death, fossil hunters work in the American West in 1876. Although fictionalized, Dragon Teeth is based on a real-life rivalry between two remarkable, obsessive men—Edwin Drinker Cope of the University of Pennsylvania and Othniel Charles Marsh of Yale—who were responsible for finding fossils of more than 1,500 species. Their exploits were known as “the Bone Wars.”

The fictional protagonist is based on the real-life fossil hunter Charles Sternberg, who supplied superb fossils to scholars and museums around the world, and who wrote, “I could tell of a hundred narrow escapes from death.” Larger-than-life figures like Cornelius Vanderbilt and Wyatt Earp were alive in 1876 and play roles in the novel. It is easy to see how Crichton used authentic history to create a fast-paced adventure story.

Some ancient people thought dinosaur bones came from dragons, but it was not until the 1840s that the term “dinosaur” was coined. The first dinosaur fossil was discovered in America in 1858. The site where Custer and his troops met their ignominious end in 1876, Montana’s Little Bighorn, is not far from key locations where dinosaur fossils were collected.

Data collectors are the unsung heroes of science. Without the thousands of butterflies collected in the Amazon by Henry Bates, scientists would not have had direct evidence of the creation of a new species—a discovery that Darwin called the “beautiful proof” for natural selection. Johannes Kepler was the first to understand that the planets move in elliptical orbits; his theory relied on the data of others (e.g., Tycho Brahe). The photos of X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin were used by Watson, Crick, and Wilkins to establish that DNA has a helical structure. Our current understanding of dinosaurs and how they were wiped out by a meteor strike depends on data from fossils, but also from ancient pollen, geological finds, and astronomical data.

Dragon Teeth proves that even fiction can broaden our understanding of science and of the data collectors responsible for enlarging human understanding of the world.

Learn about watersheds at MSELA Conference

Carolyn Staudt will present information about the NSF-funded Teaching Environmental Sustainability: Model My Watershed project and share free resources at the Massachusetts Education Leadership Association (MSELA) 2017 conference.

Friday, October 20, 8:00 – 9:15 AM
Courtyard Marriott in Marlborough, MA
Marlborough Salon E

The Teaching Environmental Sustainability: Model My Watershed project is a collaborative research project at the Concord Consortium, Millersville University, and the Stroud Water Research Center.

Together, we’re teaching a systems approach to problem solving through modeling and hands-on activities based on local watershed data and issues. The curricula also integrate low-cost environmental sensors, allowing students to collect and upload their own data and compare them to data visualized on the free Model My Watershed app.

If you’re wondering what a watershed is, you’re not alone. Simply put, a watershed is “all the land area where the rain runs downhill to a certain point,” explains Carolyn Staudt, who directs the Teaching Environmental Sustainability: Model My Watershed project at the Concord Consortium. She continues, “Water is shared—there are people upstream and downstream. What you do with your local watershed impacts everyone.”

Model My Watershed models human impacts on a watershed.

Learn more

MSELA conference
Teaching Environmental Sustainability: Model My Watershed
Part I: What is a Watershed?
Part II: Part II: Students Learn about Water . . .  and Take Action
Monday’s Lesson: Can you filter your water?

The 2017 Energy Innovation Forum

We are invited to present at the Energy Innovation Forum on October 18 organized by the University of Massachusetts Lowell and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center. The event will connect about 30 companies in Massachusetts with funders, investors, university researchers, and industry leaders to stimulate innovations in energy technologies.

For those who cannot attend the event, I am sharing our two posters here. You can also take a look at the PowerPoint slides for the Infrared Street View Project and the Virtual Solar Grid Project (we will do both oral and poster presentations). Both projects focus on developing a unique crowdsourcing model that integrates STEM education and energy research. The projects provide examples of using citizen science to support and engage a large number of students to learn science and engineering and participate in large-scale energy research.

The Infrared Street View Project will support research and education in the field of energy efficiency whereas the Virtual Solar Grid Project will support research and education in the field of renewable energy (primarily solar energy at present). Both projects are based on cutting-edge technologies being developed in my lab.

The repeal of the Clean Power Plan and how to teach about energy choices and climate change

The Clean Power Plan, which sets state-by-state targets for carbon emissions reductions, has been called a climate game changer, but the director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, has repealed the plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

Over the last several decades there has been an increasing awareness of the ways humans affect Earth’s systems. To understand the impact of policy changes, it is important to understand the core science concepts and the role of human activity. With this latest decision by the EPA, there is no better time to learn about energy choices and the future of Earth’s climate.

The Concord Consortium’s High-Adventure Science project has developed six free, high-quality curriculum modules in collaboration with National Geographic Education for middle and high school classrooms. One module explores the question “What are our energy choices?” Another investigates “What is the future of Earth’s climate?”

In the climate change module, students explore interactions between factors that affect Earth’s climate. Students analyze temperature data from ice cores, sediments, and satellites, as well as greenhouse gas data from atmospheric measurements. They also run experiments with computational models and hear from a climate scientist working to answer the same question about the future of the Earth’s climate.

The NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies video shows the changes in Earth’s temperature across the globe between 1884 and 2012, compared to the baseline temperature between 1950 and 1980.

In the energy module, students explore the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources for generating electricity with a particular focus on natural gas extracted from shale formations through the hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) process. Students examine real-world data to learn about electricity consumption trends worldwide, and use an interactive with data from the Energy Information Administration to investigate the sources of electricity in their state (and across the U.S.) from 2001 to 2010.

Explore some ways that an aquifer can be contaminated by drilling for shale gas. Click the About link in the upper right of the model for instructions to create a drill, set off explosions to fracture the shale layer, fill the pipe with water or propane to hydraulically fracture the shale further, and pump out the fracking fluid.

When considering our energy future and how that impacts climate change there are no easy answers. Many factors need to be considered when making energy choices. The choices we make—whether locally, nationally, or globally—have direct and indirect effects on human health, the environment, and the economy. How do you teach your students about energy choices and the future of Earth’s climate?

The physics of a dynamic 3D plate tectonics model

Earth’s landforms have been shaped over hundreds of millions of years by the movement and interaction of Earth’s tectonic plates. While geoscientists can correlate the wide variety of landforms to this movement, teaching about it poses significant challenges. It’s hard for students to reason spatially and temporally about such processes.

One of the goals of the GEODE project is to design an interactive, dynamic plate tectonics model. Plate tectonics is a fundamental theory that unifies Earth science. It describes Earth’s surface as consisting of a number of “plates” that pull apart, move towards each other, or move side by side. These interactions are responsible for the formation and distribution of geologic phenomena.

Creating a model to represent the complex Earth system is no simple task. We wrote about the challenges of starting with a 2D version in Modeling Plate Tectonics for Learning, but decided to abandon that approach in favor of a 3D model. While visualizations of Earth’s plates exist, a 3D dynamic, interactive plate tectonics model based on physics that runs on school-based computers did not. Until now.

We have begun work on a new 3D GEODE model. The beta version already simulates the following geological processes:

  • subduction and related volcanic activity
  • continental collision and orogeny
  • forming of a new oceanic crust at divergent boundaries

Play the video to watch GEODE’s new 3D geodynamic model representing interacting plates on a modeled planet.

The plates are modeled as rigid bodies that rotate around the center of a planet. Plates are built from small, hexagonal fields with various geological properties:

  • crust type (oceanic or continental)
  • elevation (which can be changed by volcanic activity or orogeny)
  • geological data describing processes like subduction, volcanic activity, or orogeny

Plates are built from small, hexagonal fields that interact based on a physics engine that updates the forces for each hexagon

Every step of the simulation is based on a physics engine that updates the forces for each hexagon. In addition, the final torque (sum of all torques coming from the hexagonal forces), angular accelerations, and angular velocities are calculated for each plate modeled. As plates interact along the plate boundaries, the model detects either the need to generate new fields (hexagons) where plates move apart—like what happens along mid-ocean rifts—or detects collisions and determines what processes are happening—for example, subduction, mountain building, volcanic activity.

Speech technology in education research. Can you hear me now?

The primary way students and teachers interact in the classroom is through talking. A teacher poses a question, a student answers, followed by discussion, or argument. Back and forth, words are exchanged; ideas are refined and understood.

But unlike words on paper, spoken words disappear as soon as they are expressed. Even if the conversation is recorded, there has been no easy way to analyze each word—let alone the level of collaboration, motivation, and reasoning—outside of laboriously transcribing and coding limited interactions.

What if there were a way to electronically capture, measure, characterize, and understand all the words spoken in the classroom? How would access to that information inform education?

The Concord Consortium and its partners have begun exploring these questions. “Speech technology opens up whole new possibilities for analyzing what’s happening in the classroom,” explains Concord Consortium President and CEO Chad Dorsey. “Speech is the coin of the realm in education. For the most part, the core of teaching and learning has to happen when people are speaking to one another.”

The approaching convergence of speech technology and education has been in view for years. The field may not have reached a total convergence, but recent progress has at least made the impossible seem possible.

To assess the potential for speech technology for education research, the Concord Consortium, in 2015, partnered with leaders in spoken language technology research—SRI International and its Speech Technology and Research Laboratory and the Center for Robust Speech Systems at the University of Texas at Dallas—on a National Science Foundation grant to collate and examine current knowledge about speech recognition and analysis, and encourage collaborations that can launch the area of spoken language technology for education.

For the past year, the partners have been holding focus groups with education and speech researchers to find out what’s already in place, what their hopes are for the future, and what gaps need to be filled to bridge the two. In January the Concord Consortium and SRI held a webinar, hosted by the Center for Innovative Research in CyberLearning (CIRCL), to share information about the potential for speech technology and education research. They have also published a summary of the field as a CIRCL primer. A paper for an educational research journal is in the works that will provide a broad analysis of speech technology and its use in education. Their hope is that bringing this new field out into the open will create “ah ha” moments that spur new collaborations.

However, the steps needed for a true convergence are many and complex. “There are four or five different stages that involve different kinds of technology that have all been maturing independently over years,” says Dorsey. The speech data has to be captured and turned into an appropriate digital format (no small task), and speech has to be distinguished from sound that is not speech, and one speaker from another. Once all that data has been successfully collected, how do you analyze and make sense of it?

The first step may be getting the education research community to recognize the tremendous unrealized potential of spoken language technologies for collecting word counts and performing keyword analysis, as well as evaluating collaboration, argumentation, teacher questioning, emotions, and social signals. It might also be possible to combine different types of data to create new knowledge. For example, combining data on overlapping speech and speech segments with question detection could yield information on whether a classroom is a student-centered classroom.

Consumer technologies like Siri and Alexa only scratch the surface of what’s currently available for research-quality engineering applications, but they have focused the public’s attention on speech technology. Dorsey is cautiously optimistic about the future and notes, “Once people realize this really is possible, it drives more research and work in the area.”

Speech technology and education has yet to mature into a fully formed interdisciplinary research field, but work has begun.

“Sometimes pushing big ideas forward takes understanding where the field is now and who the players are and the kinds of alliance needed for something to move from one step to the next,” says Dorsey.

The first step may be simply starting to talk.

STEM Resource Finder: Part IV – Student Reports

When your students begin to work through models and activities you have assigned to them, you can track their progress.

  1. Log in to the STEM Resource Finder and click the Home button.
  2. In the left-hand column, click the name of your class, then Assignments.
  3. Click on the drop-down list from all of the activities you’ve assigned to access the one you’re interested in.
  4. Each student’s progress in that activity is displayed in the orange progress bars.
  5. Click the Report button for a detailed summary report. (Reports are not available for some activities.)

Providing Electronic Feedback to Your Students

How do you give feedback to your students on their answers? Many teachers have printed out reports to provide feedback and grades. While you can still print reports, you now have the option to provide scores and feedback electronically.

Next to every question is a Provide Feedback button. Clicking this button will enable you to give either written feedback or a score to your students on questions of your choosing.

Your students will see your comments the next time they log in to their accounts. They can then use your feedback to improve their responses.

Comparing Student Responses

The report allows you to compare and project student responses. Scroll down to a question that you’d like to share with your class. After clicking Show responses, the question report will expand, displaying student responses below the question. Select the answers that you would like to compare and/or project. Click the Compare/project button.

This feature can be useful to show a range of answers to spur class discussion. Share model snapshots, multiple-choice selections, and open-response answers. Lead students in a discussion to try to figure out how the variables were tweaked in the model to result in the outcomes shared by snapshots. Help students to critique responses to learn about what makes a great scientific explanation.

And best of all, you can hide the students’ names from the projected view! Keeping it anonymous helps to keep the discussion about the content, not about the individual/group.

Additional information is available in the User Guide.

How will you use these features in your classroom? What other features would you want? Questions? Please share.

STEM Resource Finder: Part III – How to Use Models in Your Classroom

There are over 100 standalone models available in our STEM Resource Finder, which you can assign to your students.

Consider the following ways you might use them in your classroom.

  • Project a model for the whole class to see. Explore data and phenomena. For instance:
    • Look at the patterns of earthquakes and volcano locations in the Seismic Explorer model. Why do you think earthquakes happen where they do?
    • Look at the difference in heat transfer between well and poorly insulated buildings in the Well and Poorly Insulated Houses model. What makes for a well-insulated building?
    • Have the students make predictions of what will happen when a variable changes.
      • What will happen to the level of water vapor in the atmosphere when you reduce the level of human emissions in the Climate Change model?
      • How do you expect tillage to affect the amount of topsoil in the Land Management model?
      • How does molecular mass affect diffusion speed? Use the Diffusion and Molecular Mass model to find out!

Screenshot of Diffusion and Molecular Mass model.

  • Challenge your students to create an outcome in small group work. For example, have your students simulate a balloon’s flight from ground level to high altitude with our What is Pressure? model. Where should they remove atoms to simulate the balloon’s ascent?
  • Embed the link to a model (use the model’s Share feature!) in a shared Google Doc along with a question or two for review, enrichment, or homework.

These are just a few examples of what you can do with our scores of models. How do you use our models in your classroom? Share your ideas here. And let us know if you have any questions.


Katherine Marie Drexel, the second native-born US saint will be canonised in October. Born into a wealthy family, she dedicated her inheritance and life to combating the damaging effects of racism.
   A woman of intense prayer, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for the Christian education of Indians and African Americans. She was beatified on November 20, 1988.
   Although slaves in the US were emancipated in 1865, she noted the state of humiliation of native and African Americans during a family trip to the western US some years later. At the same time, Katherine was becoming increasingly convinced that God was calling her to the contemplative life. But during an audience in Rome with Pope Leo XIII, the Pope suggested that she herself become a missionary.
   Zenit (available soon) 24/2/00


Step 3: Select a Date:

Their calendar link will reveal when they will be in your area next.  If the schedule is tight, consider having your concert on an afternoon a few hours before another local show. The artist might appreciate an additional opportunity to perform that day.

Examine the available dates and look for a good excuse to throw a party. Is there a birthday, retirement or anniversary on the horizon?

In any case, allow the act enough time to travel to their next destination.

Once a date is agreed upon, offer them the contract here.

house concert house concert house concert house concert


Ikshef Condemns Imprisonment of 4 Journalists in “Rabaa Operations’ Chamber”

London, May 8, 2017
Arab Media Freedom Monitor “Ikshef” rejects and regrets Cairo Criminal Court sentencing 4 Egyptian journalists and media professionals today for five years in prison with labor for their professional work in what is known as “Rabaa Operations’ Chamber” case.

The journalists who were sentenced are Samhi Mostafa, Abdullah Al-Fakhrani of Rassd news network, Mohammed Adly of Amjad satellite channel and Yousuf Talaat from the Al-Shabab satellite channel.

The prosecutors had charged them of spreading false news disturbing public peace while covering Rabaa sit-in western Cairo about 4 years ago. This is in addition to some fabricated accusations, such as belonging to an illegal group; which are accusations the general prosecutors used to charge opponents of current regime of.

The court acquitted journalists and media professionals Hany Salahuddin, Ahmad Sebai, Walid Shalabi, Musaad Al-Barbari, Ahmed Abdul-Hafiz and Abdu Desouki.

The court issued its rulings in the cases where defendants had already filed appeals to the Court of Cassation, while some of the rulings of absentees have not yet been appealed.

Ikshef asserts that this sentence is lacking justice and its guarantees, as do many of the rulings issued since July 3, 2013 against opponents and critics of the regime.

Ikshef reminds that the current Egyptian constitution prohibits in article 71 the imprisonment in publishing cases, and it was expected to be applied to these journalists.


Pain in Lower Left Abdomen

Pain in Lower Left Abdomen

Abdominal pain can either be a symptom of some disorder or a transient condition in itself. There are some essential organs located near the abdomen. For that reason, a disorder that takes place in any of these organs can result in pain in the abdomen. The pain can be of varying types, persistent or acute, depending on the cause.

How Supplements can Help

Supplements that include probiotics can be an addition to a special diet, or an alternative treatment. * You can discover probiotic supplements that are specifically designed to help stabilize your digestive health, which will alleviate a lot of the symptoms that you are experiencing simply by offering a solution to the cause of the problem in the first location. * Supplements are something that you ought to talk to your doctor about and you should always be looking for the most respectable probiotics so that you can get the digestive support that you deserve. *.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Is often observed that people with irritable bowel syndrome are susceptible to developing a bloated stomach. Perhaps, it is one of the very disturbing causes of bloating. In IBS, there is no problem in particular with the defecation, but it's the gut that does not function correctly. For majority, the bloating tends to take place, even aggravate, throughout the evening hoursa time when one might prefer to attend social gatherings. Cereal fibers, such as whole bread, oats, and muesli, if avoided, may manage the bloating, and significantly reduce the circumstances of the very same.

  • Here are the primary symptoms present in a person impacted by Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
  • It differs from everyone and may have several of the signs but not all of the signs may exist.

Diverticulitis is a disease of the large intestine. Tenderness and pain in the lower abdomen are the most common symptoms of diverticulitis. This disease is usually observed in older people, above the age of 60.

Bavolex Irritable Bowel Syndrome Relief

Bavolex Irritable Bowel Syndrome Relief

Bavolex IBS Relief contains calming botanical ingredients developed to gently support and soothe digestion. Bavolex's ingredients have been used for hundreds of years to support healthy digestive tract, help reducing irritation from diarrhea and constipation. Reducing bowel inflammation and supporting healthy digestion has been proven to eliminate the flare-ups associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Click Here to Purchase »

This condition has several symptoms. Some suffer from insomnia and loss of appetite. Breakdown makes the person emotionally-drained. This may lead to anxiety attacks or depression. Affected individuals may in some cases show signs of delirium or amnesia. They may have frequent nightmares. Other symptoms include rapid heartbeat, lightheadedness, irritability, insomnia, shortness of breath, etc. The person experiences fear and stress and anxiety. These signs are covered in the table to give you a better idea:

Ectopic Pregnancy.

Pain in the lower left abdomen during pregnancy can be a popular symptom of an ectopic pregnancy. Apart from ectopic pregnancy, it can also be caused due to other factors like ligament pain due to the expanding uterus, luteal cysts, etc. Although abdominal pain is not always related to ectopic pregnancy, consult the doctor if this symptom is observed throughout pregnancy.

  • Whereas, if identified in later stages, a surgery may be encouraged.

Endometriosis is a disorder observed only in women. In this condition, the tissue (endometrium) that lines the uterus grows outside the uterine cavity. This leads to pain, irritation, development of adhesions, etc. Pain during menstruation and urination, including signs like diarrhea, constipation, etc., are observed.

Treatment: In small cases (where discomfort is milder, and no issues are observed), medications, antibiotics, and following a proper diet can be helpful. In case any problems like bowel obstruction are observed, the doctor will recommend hospitalization and surgery.

You can Naturally Command Your Hypo

  • Treatment: Smaller stones pass on their own.

Ulcerative Colitis.

Treatment: This is a chronic disorder, and for this reason, the symptoms appear gradually. Treatment options include anti-inflammatory medicines, antibiotics, pain relievers, etc. Severe cases are treated with surgery. This condition is treated like an autoimmune disorder, and for this reason, immune system suppressors may even be prescribed.

IBS Abdominal Pain constipation diarrhea Gastrointestinal infection Manipal Hospitals

The nature and characteristics of pain aid in detecting the exact cause of the discomfort. For that reason, the patient needs to clearly explain to the doctor whether the pain is dull and aching, or sharp and persistent, acute or chronic. A physical examination, X-ray, case history, etc., will be helpful in identifying the underlying causes.

Eating Habits.

Bad eating habits can also lead to stomach bloating. So, it is very needed to follow the right eating habits. It consists of eating slowly, chewing well, etc. These days due to chaotic schedule everybody avoids hanging out on eating; nevertheless, eating fast makes one swallow extra air that leads to bloating. When one chews food and then swallows it, it gets mixed well with the saliva. This then starts the breakdown of food even before it reaches the digestive tract, thus, helping in digestion.

PDF File Save this in .PDF.


Club 1427 of Ashland, WI
Ashland Rotary Club

On the evening of February 23, 1905, Harris invited three friends to a meeting. Silvester Schiele, a coal dealer, Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor, and Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer, gathered with Harris in Loehr's business office in Room 711 of the Unity Building in downtown Chicago. They discussed Harris' idea that business leaders should meet periodically to enjoy camaraderie and to enlarge their circle of business and professional acquaintances. The club met weekly; membership was limited to one representative from each business and profession. Though the men didn't use the term Rotary that night, that gathering is commonly regarded as the first Rotary club meeting.

These early "Rotarians" realized that fellowship and mutual self-interest were not enough to keep a club of busy professionals meeting each week. Reaching out to improve the lives of the less fortunate proved to be an even more powerful motivation. The Rotary commitment to service began in 1907, when the Rotary Club of Chicago donated a horse to a preacher. The man's own horse had died, and because he was too poor to buy another one, he was unable to make the rounds of his churches and parishioners. A few weeks later, the club constructed Chicago's first public lavatory. With these inaugural projects, Rotary became the world's first service-club organization.

At the following year's convention, speakers used the phrases "Service, Not Self" and "He Profits Most Who Serves Best," which became the organization's mottoes. "Service, Not Self," was later changed to "Service Above Self" and has since been adopted as Rotary's primary motto.

As Rotary grew, its focus shifted to service and civic obligations. Early service projects included building public “comfort stations” near Chicago’s City Hall and delivering food to needy families. In 1913, the 50 Rotary clubs then in existence contributed $25,000 in U.S. currency for flood relief in two U.S. Midwestern states.
By the end of its first decade, Rotary had grown so large (nearly 200 clubs and more that 20,000 members) that a district structure was required. During Rotary’s second decade, clubs were launched I South and Central America, India, Cuba, Europe, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
During World War I, Rotary discovered new areas of service—at home in war relief and peace-fund drives as well as in active service and overseas in emergency efforts.

After World War II, many clubs disbanded during the war were re-established, initiating a new era of service. Clubs in Switzerland and elsewhere organized relief efforts for refugees and prisoners of war. Forty-nine Rotarians participated in the 1945 United Nations Charter Conference in San Francisco. During World War II, Rotary members increasingly became involved in promoting international understanding. A Rotary conference held in London in 1942 planted the seeds for the development of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and some 50 Rotary members served as delegates and consultants at the founding of the United Nations.

Today, Rotary holds the highest consultative status with the United Nations that a nongovernmental organization can obtain. In this capacity, Rotary has a voice within the UN system allowing access to its people and resources worldwide.

Early History of Rotary


Google+ Elementary School Counselor blog, by Scott Ertl, Elementary School Counselor: Test Taking Tips -- with a fun visual to prove a point!

Monday, May 19, 2014

5 Top
Test Taking Tips

Read the test taking tip in the triangle. Did you notice anything? Read it again.

Most people don't notice the "the the" in the sentence. This is a fun way to show students how important it is to slow down when they read. In our efforts to help students stay calm and show what they know for the tests as school comes to a close, it's helpful to share some top test taking tips:

1) When you have questions where you are unsure, give your best guess and be sure to return to those questions when you are finished with that section of the test. Your brain might be able to recall the answer after it has had a "break." Decide if you should circle the question in your test booklet or write on a separate sheet of paper which questions to re-visit. Be sure to check with your test manual for guidelines about writing in the test book and/or answer sheet.

2) If allowed, write your answers in your test book. Check that your answers match your answer sheet after every section (5-10 problems) to make sure that they don't get misaligned.

3) Work at a medium pace, not too fast or too slow. Decide ahead of time if you need to slow down to stop yourself from trying to finish first or if you need to speed up instead of thinking too long and confusing yourself by over-thinking the answers.

4) Eliminate the answers that are obviously wrong. Choose which answer is the best answer instead of which answer is correct. Don't try to be clever in coming up with an argument for why one answer "could" be correct.

5) Remember: "This is only a test. I'm going to take this time to show what I know. I've worked hard learning a lot of information this year and I can figure this out. I'm not expected to remember everything, but I am expected to do the best that I can.

Feel free to add your favorite test taking tips in the comments below.

You can download the Test Taking Triangle above here.

Follow on Bloglovin

    and update yourself with all the information you need.


• Tennis Elbow: Not Just for Tennis Players

    on Jul 14th, 2016

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) occurs when the tendons that attach the forearm bone to the outer portion of the elbow become weakened, due to overuse or trauma, placing extra stress on the arm, forearm, and hand muscles. The result is pain (usually pain that increases gradually over time) around the outer elbow. If your outer elbow is tender when you touch it and you experience pain that radiates from the elbow down to the hand when you grip or lift an object, you may have tennis elbow.

Why is it Called Tennis Elbow?

Anyone that participates in activities requiring repetitive use of the hand, elbow, arm, or wrist is at risk of developing tennis elbow, but the condition is especially common in tennis players. By one estimate, half of all tennis players will develop tennis elbow at some point. Many baseball players, bowlers, gardeners, and even assembly-line workers also develop this painful condition, though. You need not be an athlete to develop tennis elbow.

Tennis Elbow Treatments

Fortunately, surgery is not necessary to treat most cases of tennis elbow (surgery is recommended only in extreme, long-lasting cases and involves removal of the damaged tendon tissue). The following treatments are far more common and usually effective:

In cases of tennis elbow that are, in fact, caused by playing tennis, the following changes can bring relief:

If you’re experiencing pain and tenderness that extends from your outer elbow down to your hand, contact us at Greater Austin Orthopaedics. Our South Austin, Southwest Austin, North Austin, and Lockhart physicians are trained to diagnose and treat tennis elbow and other repetitive-use injuries so you can get back to doing what you love. For skilled sports medicine care, call Greater Austin Orthopaedics today to schedule a consultation.

You Might Also Enjoy...

Sprain versus Strain: What’s the Difference?

Physical Therapy for Chronic Pain

Sprained Ankle? When in Doubt Have it Checked Out!

Our Locations

Choose your preferred location


Solar Trackers Information

Solar trackers adjust the reception angles of solar equipment for optimal energy collection. Due to Earth's rotation the sun transits across the terrestrial sky, and Earth's axial tilt causes a variety of sunlight reception angles. To maximize the amount of sunlight a PV panel, reflector, or lens is exposed to, the solar tracker keeps reception surfaces at the optimal angle of incidence. In commercial applications solar trackers are essential to harvest energy efficiently. Many factors should be considered when purchasing solar trackers: power usage, drive type, government rebates, land constraints, latitude, and climate.

Solar trackers are classified by the type and number of axes they offer. Single-axis trackers have one axis upon which the tracker can rotate components, be it vertically or horizontally. All other single-axis trackers are considered tilt trackers and operate about the Y axis. Polar trackers, a type of tile trackers, maintain a tilt angle equal to the latitude of its location. Single-axis trackers are popular for positions which are very high or very low in latitude. Dual-axis trackers can move components around two axes of rotation. Tip-tilt trackers have a vertical orientation determined by the rotating base of the equipment, while a separate mechanism determines the horizontal angle; azimuth-altitude trackers operate conversely. These types of solar trackers ensure a very low angle of incidence in moderate latitudes.

Selecting solar trackers

Image credit: Project Free Power


Recommended daily: 0.8 grams per kg or 0.36 grams per lb of body weight or 15-20% of daily calories.

For example, I weigh 110 pounds (lb) which converts to 50 in kilograms (kg).  The recommended amount of protein for me to survive based on my weight is 40 grams each day if I do absolutely nothing all day.   To promote lean muscle mass growth and compensate for the energy exerted during my daily gym activities (45-60 minutes, five times a week),  I would add 10-15 more grams. This recommendation varies for all individuals, ill or exercising intensely, who may have higher protein energy needs.

Recommended portion: 3-4 oz lean meat, poultry, fish or 1/4 cup of legumes per meal.

Sources: eggs, fish, lean meat, poultry, low-fat, fat free or raw milk, whey, casein

Recommended daily: 1.5-2 grams per lb of body weight or 60% of your daily calories.

Recommended portion: 1/2-1 cup high fiber carbohydrates per meal.

Sources: whole wheat grains, oats, fruits, watery vegetables

Lipids (fatty acids) are essential for brain health and overall development of all other cells in the body.  Look for monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 fatty acids), found in healthy oils extracted from plants, on the nutrition facts panel.

Recommended daily: 20-30% of your daily calories.

Sources: fish, nuts and nut butters (almonds, cashews, chestnuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, brazil, macadamia), seeds (chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame), avocado, cooking oils (extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil), coconut oil), fish oil

Another helpful post: HEALTHY HABITS


lunes, 2 de noviembre de 2015

Delirio en ancianos / Delirium in older people

Octubre 23, 2015. No. 2123Octubre, mes de lucha contra cáncer de mama.
Anestesia y Dolor

Intervenciones para la prevención del delirio en las personas mayores en la atención institucional a largo plazo.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Jan 31;1:CD009537. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009537.pub2.
BACKGROUND: Delirium is a common and distressing complication of a range of stressor events including infection, new medications and environment change that is often experienced by older people with frailty and dementia. Older people living in institutional long-term care (LTC)are at high risk of delirium, which increases the risk of admission to hospital, development of or worsening of dementia, and mortality.Delirium is also associated with substantial healthcare costs. Although it is possible to prevent delirium in the hospital setting by providing multicomponent delirium prevention interventions it is currently unclear whether interventions to prevent delirium in LTCare effective. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of interventions for preventing delirium in older people in long term care. SEARCH METHODS: We searched ALOIS ( - the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialised Register- on 23 April 2013. The search was as sensitive as possible to identify all studies on ALOIS relating to delirium. We ran additional separate searches in major healthcare databases, trial registers, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and grey literature sources, to ensure that the search was as comprehensive as possible.
Efectos de dos métodos de anestesia-analgesia sobre la incidencia de delirio postoperatorio en los ancianos operados de cirugía mayor torácica y abdominal
BMC Anesthesiol. 2015 Oct 13;15(1):144. doi: 10.1186/s12871-015-0118-5.
BACKGROUND: Delirium is a common complication in elderly patients after surgery and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Studies suggest that deep anesthesia and intense pain are important precipitating factors of postoperative delirium. Neuraxial block is frequently used in combination with general anesthesia for patients undergoing major thoracic and abdominal surgery. Compared with general anesthesia alone and postoperative intravenous analgesia, combined epidural-general anesthesia and postoperative epidural analgesia decreases the requirement of general anesthetics during surgery and provided better pain relief after surgery. However, whether combined epidural-general anesthesia plus epidural analgesia is superior to general anesthesia plus intravenous analgesia in decreasing the incidence of postoperative delirium remains unknown. METHODS/DESIGN: This is a multicenter, open-label, randomized, parallel-controlled clinical trial. One thousand eight hundred elderly patients (age range 60-90 years) who are scheduled to undergo major thoracic or abdominal surgery are randomized to receive either general anesthesia plus postoperative intravenous analgesia or combined epidural-general anesthesia plus postoperative epidural analgesia. The primary outcome is the 7-day incidence of postoperative delirium. Secondary outcomes include the duration of postoperative delirium, the intensity of pain during the first three days after surgery, the 30-day incidences of postoperative non-delirium complications, the length of stay in hospital after surgery and 30-day all-cause mortality. DISCUSSION: Results of the present study will provide information to guide clinical practice in choosing appropriate anesthesia-analgesia method for elderly patients undergoing major thoracic and abdominal surgery.
Modulo CEEA Leon, Gto.      XII Congreso Virtual Mexicano de Anestesiologia

Anestesiología y Medicina del Dolor
52 664 6848905

Copyright © 2015
Publicar un comentario


How Healthy Is Your City? â€¨

0 item(s) - $0.00
You have no items in your shopping cart.

How Healthy Is Your City? â€¨

How Healthy Is Your City? â€¨

You know those lists? Healthiest cities. Fittest cities. Best cities for retirement. Best cities for singles. If memory serves me, the only list my city has appeared on was something about cities with the most overweight people. Not exactly a great claim to fame.

recently released its list of the Top 10 Healthiest Cities for 2015, and, once again, my city, Norfolk, VA, isn’t anywhere to be found. The lucky, healthy folks live in:

  1. Minneapolis, MN
  2. Cambridge, MA
  3. Madison, WI
  4. Miami, FL
  5. Bridgeport, CT
  6. Arlington, VA
  7. Santa Ana, CA
  8. Honolulu, HI
  9. Fort Collins, CO
  10. Yonkers, NY

looks at what makes small to mid-sized cities great places to live, work and visit. Its healthiest cities rankings were based on access to quality, affordable health care and healthy lifestyles promoted through infrastructure and amenities. In other words, these 10 cities did a great job providing residents with exercise opportunities, good food choices and strong support networks to help live healthy lives.

My city and region also provide good health care, with several reputable hospital systems and a local medical school. And, living in a fairly temperate region of the South, we have plenty of access to fitness opportunities: an ocean and a bay for seasonal swimming or sailing; lakes and rivers for canoeing, kayaking and other water sports; and all kinds of gyms and fitness studios. Our area also probably ranks pretty well on parks, though maybe not so well on hiking and biking trails.

Truth is, I live in an old urban city, and it can be hard to retrofit our infrastructure to accommodate bike paths or to put a big ballpark in the middle of our city. Our parks, though plentiful, are mostly smaller inner-city parks, but they’re great for taking your kids to the playground, strolling around on a sunny day or joining a pickup game of basketball or soccer, if you’re so inclined. In addition, we have a wonderful zoo and a botanical garden, where my husband and I take longs walks on the weekends. And we have miles and miles of sidewalks, suitable for walking or jogging through our city’s neighborhoods. We even have some pretty sweet boardwalks and seawalls, if you want to walk by the water.

We may not have the greatest selection of farmers markets and fresh farm-to-table foods, but we have someâ€”and the options are increasing.

I suspect where we fall short is on the equal-opportunity-for-all side of the equation, because much of my city lives on the lower end of the economic scale. The food, exercise and health care options may not be readily available to all.

Many cities these days are stepping up their game in terms of encouraging a healthy lifestyle. I’m confident my city could do more, but I also can do a better job of utilizing the opportunities I have.

I can take longer and more frequent walks through some of our lovely old neighborhoods. I can pump up my bike tires and ride to the grocery. I can go to the bay and swim in the summer. I can hit some tennis balls on the neighborhood courts instead of watching TV in the evenings.

The following two tabs change content below.


Agilent Technologies, Inc.

- Model gRNA - Synthesis Kits

The SureGuide gRNA Synthesis Kit is part of an integrated solution for in-vitro CRISPR/Cas research. Use this kit to generate high concentrations of gRNA, and combine with the SureGuide Cas9, or your own Cas9 protein, to clone complex genomic regions with high accuracy and specificity. The SureGuide gRNA kit shortens your time from planning to experiment, and reduces the cost of setting up your own CRISPR/Cas system. Complete gRNA expression kit, taking you from kit to clone in around 2 hours. Extensively validated synthetic system, troubleshoot your application not our reagents. Enzymes and reagents are optimized for use with the SureGuide in vitro CRISPR/Cas kit

The CRISPR-Cas9 system is quickly becoming one of the most widely used technologies enabling advancements in genetic engineering, synthetic biology, and functional genomics. The driving force behind the acceptance of the CRISPR/Cas is its unmatched specificity and the ease with which we can manipulate that specificity without sacrificing activity or reducing fidelity. What started out as an unlikely hypothesis, the bacterial immune system, is poised to become a cornerstone of genome engineering and synthetic biology.

Bacteria have an immune system?

When Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPRs) were first observed in 1987, their function was a mystery [1]. Subsequent research revealed the presence of these repetitive loci in many prokaryotic genomes [2], their linkage with conserved Cas genes [3,4], spacer homology to sequences of plasmid and viral origin [5-7], and the transcription of CRISPR small RNAs [8]. These findings led to the hypothesis that CRISPR-Cas systems comprise a genetic interference mechanism for restricting the spread of viruses and plasmids [9], a prediction that was later verified experimentally [10,11].

The native CRISPR/Cas system has two genetic components: an operon containing the Cas genes, and CRISPR arrays containing “spacer” sequences separated by identical repeats. As part of a signaling cascade in response to infection, the Cas operon is activated. A subset of the Cas proteins integrate short stretches of foreign DNA into the CRISPR array as spacers [22]. These become an integral part of the genome, providing a genetic memory of previous infections. Other Cas proteins initiate a defense mechanism against the foreign DNA that accompanies viral or bacterial invasion. At the start of this process, long precursor (pre-cRNA) is transcribed from the CRISPR array. It is then cut at the repeat sequences by Cas nucleases into short CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs). These small crRNAs complement the foreign DNA sequences previously stored in the CRISPR array and are bound by Cas nuclease in a complex that allows the invading DNA to be degraded, neutralizing the infection.

Cas-9 and tracrRNA

Three types of CRISPR/Cas systems have been characterized [12], but Type II has become the choice for genetic manipulation, due to its efficient dsDNA cleavage both in vivo and in vitro, and that it uses fewer components than the other types. The Type II systems process pre-crRNAs via a small trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA) complementary to the repeat sequences in pre-crRNA. The Cas9 DNA nuclease in a Type II system recognizes an RNA helix formed between the tracrRNA and the targeting crRNA, guiding Cas9 to the target DNA. Cleavage by Cas9 is thus highly site-specific, using Watson-Crick base-pairing between the crRNA and the target DNA. A short sequence in the crRNA known as the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM), which is 5’-NGG in S. Pyogenes, is a just downstream from the region complementary to the target DNA and is also required for cleavage. The RNA complex formed by base pairing between the tracrRNA and the crRNA is an essential part of the system. In 2012, however, it was demonstrated that a single guide RNA (sgRNA) could replace these two components [13]. This discovery greatly expanded its ease of use and flexibility of CRISPR-Cas9 for genetic modification, which has led to a multitude of applications.

Unlocking the power of CRISPR-Cas9 with gRNA

While the tracrRNA:crRNA target-selection mechanism works efficiently in nature, a Cas9 system guided by a chimeric sgRNA simplifies custom programming of DNA cleavage. The sgRNA, fuses the 3′ end of crRNA to the 5′ end of tracrRNA, mimicking the RNA structure of the tracrRNA:crRNA complex. This sgRNA concept enables a simplified system, reducing the number of components required to utilize CRISPR/Cas as a genetic engineering tool. The tracrRNA sequence is fixed in the CRISPR-Cas9 system, but the cRNA sequence region can be varied to target any region of interest in the genome. The sgRNAs can be constructed from oligonucleotides using in vitro transcription (IVT), or synthesized. Agilent’s technology for massively parallel oligo synthesis thus unlocks the full power of CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering by enabling the use of thousands of different sgRNA sequences at an affordable cost, either singly or in a comprehensive library, to meet the needs of any genetic modification experiment.

Tips for gRNA design:

  • Use bioinformatics tools to minimize the probability of off-target double stranded breaks – empirically testing multiple sgRNA sequences can help optimize results.
  • When creating small InDels, either DNA strand can be targeted. However, target closer to the N-terminus of a protein than the C-terminus, to maximize the probability of a true null allele.
  • For dsDNA breaks targeted for homologous recombination (HR) repair, make sure the cut site is >30 nucleotides from the proximal ends of the repair template, to maximize efficiency.

Targeting and editing genomes with CRISPR and Cas9.

After Cas9 was shown in 2012 to be programmable for cutting DNA sites in vitro, a flood of papers published demonstrating the utility of this platform in a wide range of cells and organisms [14]. Initially, it was used to target endogenous genes in bacteria, human cancer cell lines, pluripotent stem cells, and in an animal model(zebrafish). Since then, Cas9 has been used to modify genes in yeast [15], tobacco [16], thale cress [16], rice [17], wheat [17], sorghum [18], mice [19], rabbits [20], frogs [21], fruit flies [22], silkworms [23] and roundworms [24]. Most recently, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has been used to precisely edit genes in Cynomolgus monkeys [25].

One key to this success is the ability for Cas9 to facilitate cloning of DNA fragments larger than 5 kb where PCR starts to fall down. The purified Cas9 enzyme can also be used for the quantitation of SNP frequencies in a mosaic population, by selectively cleaving either the SNP or the WT forms for a QPCR quantitation.

A unique advantage of the CRISPR/Cas system, unlike meganucleases, ZFNs or TALENs, is the ability to easily modify multiple sites in parallel [14]. By using multiple gRNAs in combination, it has been used to induce small and large deletions or inversions, and to simultaneously introduce mutation of multiple genes in rat cells [26], mouse ES cells [27] and the somatic cells of zebrafish [28].

This multiplexed approach can be expanded to the –omics level using large gRNA libraries. These libraries can include multiple gRNAs for almost every gene in a host organism, facilitating forward genetic screens on an unprecedented scale. Libraries of up to 122k distinct gRNAs are already being used for phenotypic screens in human and mouse cells [29-31]. This type of systematic screening represents an advantage over RNAi technologies, which induce non-permanent changes in expression levels, whereas CRISPR-Cas9 modifies the genome, resulting in a true genetic knock-out [32]. CRISPR/Cas also offers the advantages of targeting non-coding regions, and providing more consistent and reproducible results when compared to RNAi.

Customer reviews

No reviews were found for SureGuide - Model gRNA - Synthesis Kits. Be the first to review!


My blogs

About me

Occupation Dog Trainer
Location Mount Juliet, TN, United States
Introduction Somebody once asked me what I like about movies, this is what I said: I like a sweet score, small smiles, sharp eyes, quiet words, loud emotions, open spaces, and tight shots. It's not the lines on the page, it's the way they are presented. It's not the actors' portrayals, it's the directors' instructions. It's not the money that was spent or the sets purchased, it's the light through the trees and the reflection in the mirror. It's magic. Every time.


Day 11 - Christmas Season Devotionals

January 5

Luke 10:1-12

"On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...Eleven Pipers Piping."

The eleventh day of Christmas is a time to reflect upon Jesus’ eleven faithful disciples: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew (also known as Nathanael), Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas the son of James. (Luke 6:14-16). The list does not include the twelfth disciple, Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

What is incredible to remember about these faithful disciples was not only the opportunity they had to be with Jesus for three years but the privilege they had to be the first communicators of His story. They “piped” his story to the known world often at the expense of their own lives. But, no matter the risk they played on, and they taught others to play the song of Jesus. The image of eleven pipers piping is an active image. I am reminded of men like Saint Patrick who “piped” and shared his faith and changed not only Ireland but impacted all of Christianity. Men like D. L. Moody, Billy Graham, John Wesley; women like Sojourner Truth, Phoebe Palmer, and Florence Nightingale, all in their own way “piped” the story of “peace on earth, good will to all.”

We are indebted to the pipers who have gone on before, but it is imperative that we remain as equally committed to the pipers that follow us. As we play the song may we be ever aware of those coming behind us who need to learn the song. May they look back on our lives with gratitude because we taught them the greatest song of all.

The Twelfth Night
This last night before Epiphany is called “Twelfth Night.” In some traditions it was a time for feasting and the giving of presents. It was a traditional time for the removal of Christmas decorations. Some traditions included a King's Cake, as a reminder of the visit of the Magi. A special cake was baked with a bean, or a coin or almond, hidden in it. The guests would each get a piece and the one with the bean became the “king of the bean”. That person would then rule over the festivities for the evening. Customs of gift giving, an imitation of the wise men, were also part of this night. Generally, the gifts were distributed by men dressed as the three kings.

Action Point: What are you doing to honor those who have played the song, and what are you doing to help teach the song to those who follow?


Erving, Julius ("Dr. J")

Erving, Julius ("Dr. J") (1950- ), African American professional basketball player popularly known as "Dr. J," innovator of the slam-dunk, and one of the most electrifying players in basketball history.

Julius Winfield Erving Jr. was born in East Meadow, New York. He grew up playing basketball on New York City playgrounds and then for Roosevelt High School. He recalled, "My first [slam] dunk was at the Prospect Elementary School, where they had eight-foot baskets and 13-foot ceilings. By the time I was in ninth grade, I was dunking the regular baskets." A 6-foot 6-inch, 200-pound forward, he attended the University of Massachusetts. During his sophomore and junior years (1969-1971), Erving led his team in scoring in 46 of 52 varsity games.

In 1971 Erving left school to join the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association (ABA). He was named rookie of the year for the 1971-72 season and led the Squires to the ABA playoffs in 1973. Late in 1973 he was traded to another ABA team, the New York Nets. During his three seasons with the Nets (1973-1976), Erving earned the ABA's most valuable player (MVP) award three times and helped his team capture the 1974 and 1976 ABA championships. In five ABA seasons, Erving averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds per game, and made the ABA All-Star team each year

After the 1976 season, Erving left the ABA to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). From 1976 until his retirement in 1987, he played for the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 22 points and 7 rebounds per game. In addition to making the NBA All-Star team for 11 consecutive years, Erving was declared the NBA's most valuable player in 1981 and helped the 76ers triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers for the 1983 NBA title.

As a player, Erving became known for his jumping ability, his athletic moves with the ball, and his soaring dunk shots. In 1976, during the ABA All-Star Game, he astounded the basketball world with a dunk from the free throw line. Another one of Erving's legendary shots was his suspenseful windmill reverse lay-up in a 1983 NBA Finals game.

With 30,026 points, Erving ranks third behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time ABA/NBA scoring list. Since his retirement, Erving has been engaged in child-centered civic activities, corporate business, and sports broadcasting. In 1993 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Contributed By:
Aaron Myers


Sizes of E. horemanii

> Subject: E. horemanii
> George,
> Since you mentioned your horemanii, How tall is the tank that you have it in,
>and how tall is the plant?  I have a less than 1 year old 'Rubin' Sword (which
>is a horemanii x barthii cross) that is big enough that the leaves lay all
>over the surface of the tank.  I'm planning to move it to my 75G, but this
>tank isn't _that_ much taller either.  How big a tank do you actually need to
>show off one of these suckers properly?  Is the 120 big enough?
>  E-mail from: Karen Randall, 17-Jun-1995

E. horemanii, red and green varieties, are beautiful plants. They are among
my favorites and are the only large Echinodorus that I currently have. Their
potential size, however, can be a problem. I have mine in three tanks. In my
experience, the green variety, does not grow as large and is easier to
manage. Light intensity may be an important factor.

I have one green horemanii in a 55g (~200l), 20 inch (50cm) tall tank - but
the more important measurement is the 14.5" (36cm) height of the water
column.  After all, once does have to account for the substrate and tank
frame! In this tank, the plant occupies the rightmost 40%; the leaves nicely
reach the water's surface and do not bend over enough to dry out...this tank
has 120w of fluorescent lighting and no CO2. It has been growing there for
22 months.

I also have the green variety in my 70g whose water column is ~ 10% taller.
The tank gets similar lighting (with 4 bulbs), but also gets CO2.  There the
plants are in pots, and the green horemanii are much smaller, but this may
be attributed to lower nutrient levels provided in that tank. This 70g also
has a red horemanii which is HUGE. The plant has been growing there for
several years, and is actually a family of horemanii. The rhizome is
probably 12 inches long. It has completely grown out of its 6" pot (placed
at the rear of the tank) has extend downward to the base of the tank (which
has 1 cm of sand just to cover the glass bottom), so the original plant is
now growing mashed up against the front glass and  APPEARS to be growing
directly out of the 1 cm substrate. From the trailing rhizome still in the
pot, several new horemanii have sprouted. These immature plants also reach
the water surface. [Note: rhizome division is a good way to reproduce this
plant.]  The leaves of the "mother" red horemanii are now over 2 feet (60cm)
in length. And as Karen indicated, many lie on the surface of the water and
dry out. Not the ideal situation.

I believe this is a situation that can be controlled by reducing the light
intensity.  The tank has 4 fluorescent bulbs (2 tritons, 1 grolux, 1 grolux
WS). However,  I am lazy to replace my bulbs ( I leave them in place for 1-3
years, until they burn out!).  Around 6-8 months ago, before I changed 2 old
bulbs, I seem to recall that the leaves of the red horemanii just barely
reached the surface and did not bend over and dry out. And the plant looked
MUCH better. IMHO, once this plant (and plant tanks in general) mature to
the point where the leaves reach the surface, I suggest reducing the light
to control growth (e.g. reducing intensity,for at least parts of the
photoperiod). Depending on the desired effect, this can wait for the leaves
to reach the surface.

I am sure many of you have noticed how plant growth seems to improve, if not
accelerate when the leaves of many plants start to approach and then lie
along the surface. I think that the average distance of the light to the
leaves is more important than the distance to the substrate.(Actually this
is a weighted average, with a lot more benefit from the leaves closer to the
surface). I also have a red horemanii in my 120g tank which is 2 inches (5
cm) taller than the 70g. It has only been growing there 6 months, but I
expect it could develop the same problems. Getting plants to grow slower or
smaller is one of the challenges to the experienced aquatic gardener. :-)


What Are Good Vegan Sources of Protein? How Much Protein Do We Need?

feat2As vegans, we are often questioned about getting enough protein. But how much protein is enough? And what are some good vegan sources of protein?

Protein serves as the body’s building blocks, and having sufficient protein is essential for the body’s growth and maintenance. Among other tasks, protein builds muscle, repairs cells, plays critical roles in processes such as metabolism and digestion, and transports vitamins and minerals throughout the body.

The importance of protein to the health of our bodies cannot be overstated. Too much protein, however, has been linked to health problems such as osteoporosis and kidney stress.

The U.S. government recommends that we get a minimum of 0.8 gram of protein per kilogram of our body weight day per day. This equals about 0.36 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Here are some specific examples of protein recommendations for people of different weights:

Body Weight = 125 pounds = 56.8 kilograms = 45 grams of protein per day

Body Weight = 150 pounds = 68.2 kilograms = 55 grams of protein per day

Body Weight = 200 pounds = 90.9 kilograms = 73 grams of protein per day

Body Weight = 225 pounds = 102.3 kilograms = 82 grams of protein per day

To make the math easier, you could round the amount of protein up to one gram per kilogram of body weight per day. Since 0.8 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight is the minimum recommendation (approximately 15% of our caloric intake), using one gram instead of 0.8 gram is a safe estimate for most people to use.

Pregnant or breastfeeding women and athletes have higher protein requirements. People suffering from kidney disease are usually advised to limit their protein intake in order to reduce stress on the kidneys. If you have specific health concerns, you should consult with a qualified nutritionist.

Now that we have a better idea of how much protein our bodies require, let’s take a look at some vegan sources of protein. Remember that many vegan sources of protein have fewer calories per serving than non-vegan sources of protein.

There are many varieties of beans from which to choose, and they all have similar amounts of protein – about 6 grams in a half-cup serving. Lentils, which are classified as legumes, contain 9 grams of protein in a half-cup serving.

A powerhouse of protein, a one-ounce serving of nuts has a protein content ranging from 2.25 grams (macadamias) to 6.7 grams (peanuts). Most nuts provide between four and six grams of protein per one-ounce serving. Nuts also have a fairly high fat content; while these are considered to be “good” fats that can help reduce cholesterol, it is still important to be aware of how much fat is consumed. Nuts can be enjoyed whole and raw, roasted and salted, or in the form of nut butters.

Pumpkin seeds have a whopping 8.5 grams of protein in a one-ounce serving! Flax seeds, which are also good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, contain 1.9 grams of protein in a one-tablespoon serving. Be sure to grind them up (they can be purchased pre-ground) so that the nutrients are absorbed by the body. A tablespoon of sesame seeds has 1.6 grams of protein, and one ounce of sunflower seeds provides 5.5 grams of protein.

Tofu, which is made from soybeans, can be cut into cubes and used in stir-fry dishes, blended into dips and smoothies, and incorporated into a number of different recipes. A half-cup serving of tofu contains 11 grams of protein and only 100 calories! Some soy products – such as soy yogurt, tofu hot dogs, and other “fake meats” – are also good sources of protein.

Soymilk and Other Vegan Milks

Drinking soymilk is a good way to get protein and also calcium, since most vegan milks are fortified to have as much calcium as cow’s milk. One cup of soymilk has 7 grams of protein. There is a rather wide range of protein content in different varieties of almond milk, though the average almond milk has about 8 grams of protein in a one-cup serving. Rice milk has only a very modest amount of protein, and oat milk has a bit more protein than rice milk. Check the labels of vegan milks if you want to use them as a source of protein.

Tempeh (pronounced TEM-pay) is made by combining fermented soybeans with a grain, such as barley or rice. It is much firmer than tofu and has a slightly sour flavor due to the fermentation. It is best prepared for use in recipes by steaming it for 20 minutes. Tempeh can be used in stir-fry and other dishes, and it contains 17 grams of protein in a four-ounce serving. Please click here to see a number of tempeh recipes.

Also referred to as wheat gluten or wheat meat, seitan (pronounced SAY-tan) is made from wheat protein. It is thick and chewy, making it an excellent meat substitute. A four-ounce serving of seitan has 26 grams of protein and 160 calories. Seitan can be purchased ready-to-use, or you can make your own seitan at home.

A recently “rediscovered” grain, quinoa (pronounced keen-WAH) offers 8 grams of protein in a 1-cup (cooked) serving.

Other Whole Grains

Many grains offer excellent protein content. Here is just a sampling of one-quarter cup dry (pre-cooked) servings and their protein content: amaranth (7 grams), barley and buckwheat (5.7 grams each), millet (5.5 grams), oats (6.5 grams), wild rice (6 grams), brown rice (3.7 grams). Two slices of whole wheat bread provide 5 grams of protein.

While not typically thought of as protein sources, vegetables do contain enough protein to make a meaningful contribution to our diet. One cup of cooked broccoli has 4 grams of protein; a medium potato has 4 grams, and one cup of cooked peas contains 9 grams of protein. Other vegetables with relatively good protein content include mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, and corn. But even cucumbers and carrots have a bit of protein to offer!

In the past, vegans were instructed to carefully combine proteins sources to ensure every amino acid (the building blocks of protein) would be present in every meal. It is now considered to be sufficient to simply eat a variety of foods during the day and week in order to get all the protein (and amino acids) necessary for good health.

It is easy for the average person with average nutritional needs to get all the protein they need from vegan food sources, so enjoy your cruelty-free meals without the worry!

More Articles about Vegan Living

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Valerie_Toizer_Bloom

Speak Your Mind


  • “Investing in businesses which pass certain ethical practice screens;
  • “Providing values’ based investing.”

Screening is the process of selecting companies to invest in based on their social and/or environmental performance.   As you will read below, many “shades of gray” can exist in the screening process.

The process of screening can be easily broken down into two very different methods, negative and positive screening. Negative (or avoidance) screening refers to excluding companies that manufacture certain products that are objectionable, such as heavy polluters, animal testing, or tobacco products.

Positive (or affirmative) screening is more proactive, selecting companies that show leadership in product design, employee policies, environmental protection, human rights or other practices.

Although positive and negative screening are easily distinguished, they are best considered as complementary tactics that can effectively be used to select socially responsible companies. (Source: Learning Center)

A best-in-class approach to screening applies social, environmental and ethical guidelines to give a preferred selection when all other factors are equal.   For example, an ethical fund might have criteria which enable it to invest in the oil and gas sector, but only in those oil companies which are ‘best in their class’ as they have a better record on the environment and human rights than others in their sector.

(Source: ERIS: Green and Ethical Funds.)

Considering social, political or environmental impact…

This tenet of socially responsible investing may include Shareholder Activism.   This is another growing tactic used by institutional investors, including initiating dialogue with companies concerning their record or filing shareholder resolutions pertaining to some aspect of corporate social responsibility.   Shareholder advocacy efforts of socially responsible investors have greatly increased the awareness of many important issues and resulted in significant changes at some companies.

If you are interested in “investing aligned with your values and core life beliefs”, let’s talk!

Barbara A. Culver
Resonate, Inc.

(513) 605-2500


Currently reading

One Piece, Vol. 15: Straight Ahead!
Eiichiro Oda
Leaves of Grass
Walt Whitman

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection - Charles Darwin Fantastic book. chapter 13 was probably my favorite chapter. Thats where everything comes to a head and he brings up the similarities between different species as well as vestigial organs and how it could have served previous generations but be rendered useless or redundant now. It was impressive that he noticed and brought up several things that would later be fully explained by science. One such thing was linked genes. When talking about pigeons he mentioned that beak size and foot size would always be correlated. He admits hes not sure why but in all cases with pigeon breeding if you have a small beak you have tiny feet. As an interesting note: he never brings up the finches. Ever. He hardly ever mentions the Galapagos. Mostly that he visited it and it had a small highly specialized group of species.For the most part he talks about fancy pigeons. So if you want an easier time reading the book go look up fancy pigeons, look at all the different breeds of domestic pigeons, memorize them, then read the book. Trust me he brings them up a lot.


Home  |  Site Map  |  Cart  |  Search  |  Tracking  |

Benefits of I.V. Vitamin C

Benefits of I

Benefits of I.V. Vitamin C

Dr. Thomas Levy

·         1. Decreased levels of vitamin C and other antioxidants (blood and/or the tissues most specifically affected)

·         2. Increased levels of oxidative stress in the test setting, indicating ongoing oxidation

·         4. Increased rates of consumption of vitamin C and other antioxidants

It is important to reemphasize that the above findings were always part of the toxin exposure situation regardless of the chemical structure of the toxin. One conclusion that can be reached from this information is simple, elegant, and very compelling: All toxins poison by oxidizing enzymes and tissues.

There is also a compelling conclusion generated by this observation and supported by the vitamin C studies found in the scientific literature: All toxic damage can be repaired by a high enough dose of antioxidants. Of course, such therapy must be given in a timely fashion, before irreversible clinical consequences have occurred in the poisoned subject. Interestingly, infectious diseases inflict their damage in essentially the same way as toxins. As virulent microbes grow inside a host, one or more of the same six findings as already listed above will reliably be observed. Basically, microbial growth is just another way to directly cause oxidative damage to the tissues most directly involved. Some of the most devastating infectious diseases also produce potent toxins that further increase the oxidative damage and stress to the infected host.

Chronic disease can be viewed as a process in which the oxidative stress proceeds at a much slower pace than is seen with acute infectious diseases and acute toxin exposures. Vigorous antioxidant therapy goes a long way in reversing the clinical manifestations of such diseases as well, as long as the dose administered supplies enough electrons on a daily basis to reverse the ongoing oxidative damage from the disease process.

Unipolar magnetic therapies probably affect electron delivery to an injured site as well. Electricity is considered the flow of electrons. Putting a magnetic field in motion will induce electricity. Electron flow would appear to be intimately involved in the physical and biological effects of magnetism. The work of Davis and Rawls (1975, 1979) established nicely that a North pole magnetic exposure decreased inflammation and pain, while suppressing microbial growth. The South pole had the opposite biological effects. One possible explanation for these findings is that a North pole magnetic field facilitates the delivery of electrons into exposed tissue, while the South pole facilitates the transport of electrons away from exposed tissue. Regardless, the proper use of the North pole of a strong biomagnet closely mimics the effects of vitamin C delivered systemically. Kulish (1999) summarizes the effects of such biomagnetic therapies nicely.

Is compromised electron flow the final common denominator in producing the symptoms and effects of most (or all) diseases, infections, and toxin exposures? Regardless of the answer, the vigorous and persistent dosing of antioxidant therapy, as discussed and researched in my new vitamin C book, appears to deliver consistently positive and dramatic clinical outcomes.

Review for yourself the incredible evidence that clearly reveals:

·         How vitamin C has been able to cure or contribute to the cure of many common infectious diseases, including some deemed incurable such as hepatitis and polio. Because of these documented effects, the use of properly dosed vitamin C within a comprehensive treatment protocol can also eliminate the need for many vaccinations and toxic prescription medicines.

·         That vitamin C is the treatment of choice for many potentially fatal toxins and other toxic medical conditions that poison the body, for which no effective treatments presently exist. This makes vitamin C the ideal treatment for many infectious diseases that also produce highly toxic poisons and the associated toxic by-products of some microbial metabolism.

·         That vitamin C is remarkably free of any side effects. Vitamin C is unquestionably the most non-toxic nutrient and supplement that is available today.

·         An enormous amount of scientific literature on vitamin C has been written over the last century. Over 1,200 medical and scientific journal articles, many from our most esteemed research centers, have been cited in this book. Don't just accept a casual, unenlightened assessment of what vitamin C can and cannot do.

Davis, A. and W. Rawls. (1975) The Magnetic Effect. Kansas City, MO: Acres U.S.A.
Davis, A. and W. Rawls. (1979) The Magnetic Blueprint of Life. Kansas City, MO: Acres U.S.A.
Kulish, P. (1999) Conquering Pain. The Art of Healing with Biomagnetism. Fountainville, PA: Fountainville Press.
Levy, T. (2002) Vitamin C, Infectious Diseases, and Toxins: Curing the Incurable. Philadelphia, PA: Xlibris Corporation.
Szent-Gyorgyi, A. (1978) How new understandings about the biological function of ascorbic acid may profoundly affect our lives. Executive Health 14(8):1-4.
Szent-Gyorgyi, A. (1980) The living state and cancer. Physiological Chemistry and Physics 12(2):99-110.

You may find more information on this subject in the Booklets entitled "Antioxidants Part2"; "Wellness No4 Part1"; or our Powerful new DVD “Vitamin C Mega Dose".


Don't you know how to open the C-- file? We will help you.

File Extension C--

While searching for an answer to the question - How to open the C-- file? - you probably found websites, which offer software that was able to open any file extension. Do not be fooled, there is no one program that will allow you to work with any file extension, including the C-- file. Each program contains a different type of data and you need specialized software to properly work with the C-- file. Here is a list of programs that are designed to work with the C-- file - remember, these applications are able to open at most a few file extensions, they are designed to work with a specific data type.

File type Sphinx C-- Language Source Code
Developer Barry Kauler

Programs that open the C-- file

Common problems with the C-- file

C-- file is damaged

If after installing the program from a list, you still cannot open a file with the C-- extension, the reason may be that the file is damaged. The solution may be to find a new copy of the C-- file you want to open

The C-- file extension is not linked with the appropriate application

In this case, the easiest way is to use the tool built into the operating system for association of the C-- file with applications to support it. Double click on the file you cannot open - the operating system will display a list of programs that are likely to work with your C-- file. Choose one of them, or select the location on a disk where you installed one of the applications from our list. Windows should then open the C-- file using the program installed earlier.

The entry for the C-- file in the "Windows Registry" has been removed or damaged

The C-- file is infected by a virus

There may be a situation when a computer virus passes itself off as the C-- file. In this case, such a file will definitely not be opened. Download a good antivirus program and scan the C-- file mentioned. If the antivirus application detects malicious data, it may signify that the C-- file is infected.

Similar file extensions

C-MAP C-map
C-- Sphinx C-- Language Source Code


What is this page?

Saved By a Habit - #6397

"Decree" in the Bible: Genesis 26:4-5
God promises Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky because Abraham obeyed him. While they're sometimes difficult to hold up and follow, the decrees and laws of God will bring us life.


Opioid dependence

Metadon Nordic Drugs (methadone hydrochloride)

is a synthetic opioid for use in patients with opioid dependency, available in Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Buprenorphine G.L. Pharma (buprenorphine hydrochloride)

is a semi-synthetic opioid used for treatment of opioid addiction. It has a partial agonist effect on the μ-opioid receptors compared to full opioid agonists, such as methadone.

I understand