Having problems with your Kodak EASYSHARE M763 Digital Camera ?

How do I shorten the shutter speed.

\015 Trying to take pictures of my active granddaughter, the delay is making it impossible. I am missing all the good shots.\015

Answers :

Shutter lag is one (of the many) problems with compact point&shoot cameras, not seen in bulkier (costlier, more complicated) dSLRs. You can reduce the lag by pressing the shutter release button halfway to focus and meter beforehand. Keep the button half-pressed while anticipating the key moment, then press the button the rest of the way.

You'll have to release the button and half-press it again if the distance to the subject changes, or it moves to/from light/shadow.
Repair Help & Product Troubleshooting for Kodak EASYSHARE M763 Digital Camera

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How do I shorten the shutter speed.

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Has any adult had surgery in Mich. I am 55 and have a s curve of 55top/70bottom that seems to be progressing approx. 1 degree/yr? I do not have a lot of pain but am afraid it will get worse as I get older. I'm going for second opinions to Dr. Graziano (U-M), Dr. Bono (Providence Hosp) & Dr. Mongomery (Beaumont, R.O)


Is It Safe To Use Miralax Pain relief drug?

Miralax is a drug used for treating the intestinal blockage. This kind of drug plays crucial role in dealing with the problems of bowel obstruction. People who are facing the disorders such as anorexia, bulimia etc are suggested to take doctors advice before consuming this drug. If we are facing the problem of severe stomach pain, Nausea or vomiting, kidney problem etc due to any kind of drug. In the case of allergy due to any kind of drug we need to consult our doctor fast. Within 2-3 days the bowl movement can be produced by the proper consume of medication. People are keen to know does miralax works for constipation and the answer is yes its work. This drug is really the pain relieving drug and it works for solving the problem of constipation. Patients are not suggested to take this drug more than once in a day. Patients are required to consult the doctor in case of not getting relief by taking the proper medicos of 7 days continuously.

This drug is the laxative solution works in increasing the intensity of water in our intestine so that our bowl movements get stimulated. Problem of the constipation is faced by many people due to less consumption of water. This drug is used to deal with this problem.

Works of Miralax

People want to know how does miralax works on different age groups. So the answer is ready and its works can be defined according to the dosage decided by the doctors regarding to age of infant to old. Maximum dosage 17 g per day decided for the children more than 6 months. Children who are more than age of 3 years will consume 1.5 g 3 days regularly. Adults are suggested to take 17g of this drug diluted with any liquid such as water, soda or coffee etc.

How should you consume Miralax?

This drug can be consumed according to the prescription of doctor or taken by reading the instructions given on the label. Never take the dosages of medicine more or less take it properly as recommendation provided to you. Before using this drug measure the drug by the medicine cup provided on the bottle. Dosage marks are mentioned inside of the cup. Powder should be powered in to hot liquids as well as cold liquids such as soda, juices, tea, coffee, water etc

Testogen Review: The Pros And Cons

Testogen is a testosterone booster. However, should you take it? Read this Testogen review to learn about the pros and cons before making a decision.

1. Pros- Perhaps the best thing about using Testogen is it will help you become stronger and your stamina will improve. As your testosterone levels increase and as you workout and exercise, your muscles will grow. You could end up stronger than you ever been.

Do you feel like you lack focus? A lot of men who have low or not sufficient amounts of testosterone tend to have difficulties focusing. If this sounds like you, then you’ll be pleased to know that Testogen will help you become more focused, which will come in handy at work or anywhere else.

Burning fat will become easier too, and so will staying awake. This is because the supplement will banish tiredness, as well as loss of concentration and irritability. In other words, you will feel amazing, and as time goes on you will look amazing.

The supplement also improves libido. If you want to improve your love life, then this supplement may help. As your testosterone levels improve, so will your libido.

Testogen is made with quality ingredients and it works fast. As for how long it takes to see and feel results, this depends in various factors. Generally speaking, within 4-8 weeks is when you can expect results.

2. Cons- The only con is the price. Some people may think paying around $55 for a month’s supply of Testogen is expensive. However, this is a matter of personal opinion and that is actually a very fair price for the supplement.

We’ll conclude this Testogen review by saying you should take it, if you want to experience the benefits previously discussed. Make sure you take the supplement as directed. This is how you’ll achieve the best results with Testogen.

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The AfDB’s Resident Representative in Tanzania, Tonia Kandiero, reviews the Bank’s history and current operations in the country ahead of the Annual Meetings in Arusha

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“The Tanzania Country Office is very excited to be a part of this very important event and we look forward to having everyone in Arusha.”

Question: How are you preparing for the Annual Meetings?

Answer: We have worked effectively with the Secretary General’s office and the permanent committee for the Annual Meetings in supporting them in their preparations. We are also working with government partners to follow up on any issues that may arise.  The Tanzania office is very excited to be part of this very important event and we look forward to having everybody here in Arusha.

Question: How is the Bank’s portfolio in the country performing?

Answer: The Bank commenced operations in Tanzania in 1971. The country remains one of the largest recipients of ADF resources with a relatively healthy portfolio. By March 2012, the Bank Group’s cumulative interventions in the country comprised 121 operations, including loans and grants, with a total commitment of USD 2.9 billion in both the public and private sector.

The  ongoing portfolio consists of 16 ongoing public sector operations with a total commitment of USD 1.04 billion, two private sector operations with a total commitment of USD 13.25 million (UA 8.55 million) and nine multinational operations. Current interventions are dominated by the transport sector, which accounts for 34 percent of on-going operations.  Sixteen percent went to multi-sector operations, 13 percent to the social sector, 13 percent to agriculture and rural development, 12 percent to the water and sanitation, 11 percent to the power supply sector, and one percent to the financial sector.

Question:  How does the Bank relate to Tanzania?

Answer: The Bank remains an important partner of choice for Tanzania. The Bank has been providing assistance to address various development challenges facing the country through a combination of grants, public sector loans, technical assistance, private sector loans and analytical work. Assistance from the Bank is always closely aligned to the country’s development plans as well as the AfDB’s own medium-term and sector strategies.

The Bank’s lending programme for Tanzania is aligned to the government’s 2010/2011-2014/2015 Vision, “the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty”, referred to as MKUKUTA II and MKUZA II as well as its Five Year Development Plan.

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Meet the Team

The Restore & Renew team is a talented and experienced group of evolutionary ecologists, biologists and field collectors. This unique project requires rare and specialist skills in plant genetics, identification, ecology and data analysis.

The Restore & Renew team are unveiling long held secrets of Australian plant evolution and adaptation, taking our plant science into the future and leading the way for other plant and genetics scientists around the world.


Essay, Other

Ethics and Disasters

Unfortunately, there have been many disasters resulting from poor engineering judgement since engineers built the first structure. Recall such disasters as

BP oil spill
Exxon Valdiz
Union Carbide Disaster/Bhopal
Hyatt walkway
Tacoma Narrows

and many more. The cause for each disaster can be traced to a single decision that should have not been made. In HW2, in no more than two pages (12pt type), you are to choose a particular disaster (from above or your own choice), identify and explain what was its root cause and discuss any ethical issues involved. This is to be in your own words.

Type of paper Academic level Subject area
Number of pages Paper urgency Cost per page:


Queens and queers: The rise of drag ball culture in the 1920s

While watching a screening of Paris is Burning hosted by the Smithsonian Latino Center, I was entranced by the dazzling participants as they competed, fiercely owning the floor in their glamorous gowns. Twenty-five years ago, this famous cult documentary captured the lives and culture of African American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in New York City drag balls. The film captured a slice of the 1980s unknown to many, with roots in a fascinating culture.

In 1869, within Harlem's Hamilton Lodge, drag balls began. As the secret of the balls spread within the gay community, they became a safe place for gay men to congregate. Despite their growing popularity, drag balls were deemed illegal and immoral by mainstream society. A moral reform organization known as the Committee of Fourteen periodically investigated the balls. In 1916, the committee released a report detailing the scandalous behavior they witnessed. The report described a scene filled with "phenomenal" "male perverts" in expensive frocks and wigs, looking like women. The committee later released 130 reports describing its visits, demanding that such perversion must desist.

Scene on stage with costumes, bandstand, musicians

By the 1920s, the balls had gained more public visibility. What were once known as Masquerade and Civic Balls were dubbed "Faggots Balls" by the general public after it became well known that these spectacles were frequented by gay, lesbian, and transgender people. The balls did not attract just queer patrons, though straight artists, writers, and ball appreciators outside the LGBTQ community frequented these spectacles for their renowned reputation. Among them were Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler, two writers who found themselves attracted to the exotic nature of the balls. The writers, in their co-authored The Young And Evil, detailed their extraordinary experience on the floor as "a scene whose celestial flavor and cerulean coloring no angelic painter or nectarish poet has ever conceived . . . lit up like high mass." Though drag balls were created for fun and as a place to connect with other gay men, the association of the notorious balls to LGBTQ people helped pave a way for the establishment of queer culture.

Two black and white photos. On left, three people look in mirror and apply makeup. In right, one person helps another person do that person's hair.

The balls were crucial in the creation and maintenance of LGBTQ culture. Historian George Chauncey has pointed out that Harlem "enhanced the solidarity of the gay world and symbolized the continuing centrality of gender inversion to gay culture." Powering through harassment and arrests, Harlem became a "homosexual mecca." Police, politicians, and mainstream society found themselves simply unable to suspend the famous ball scene. Rather than abandoning the scene, the participants fought for change and opportunity. From the early days of the balls, remarkable persistence of patrons and ball organizers in the face of adversity made the drag ball scene unstoppable. It is this fighting spirit that allowed balls to thrive, and that spirit lives on through today within the LGBTQ community.

For more information about the early drag ball scene, the author recommends George Chauncey's Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890–1940.

Oliver Stabbe is a former intern in the Division of Medicine and Science and an undergraduate student at the University of Rochester.

Posted in LGBT


The objective of this service-learning research project was to link Purdue University, a local elementary school, and the Greater Lafayette community to enhance K–12 students’ academic involvement. The participants involved were 36 preservice teachers from Purdue University, 12 faculty members from a local elementary school, and the students and parents affi liated with the elementary school. To answer the research question of how to bridge the cultural gap between students and teachers and using critical theory as the theoretical paradigm, the following methods were employed: interviews, classroom observations, involvement in an after-school program, and reflections of the experience. The preservice teachers interviewed and observed teachers within the school context and then made connections between what they were learning in their teacher education course at Purdue and what they heard and observed in the elementary classrooms, during the interviews, and at the afterschool activity. The preservice teachers also had conversations and wrote reflections about the differences they were finding. They also observed the challenges that arise when teachers instruct students from diverse backgrounds. Using this information, the Purdue students contributed to an after-school family event in which the students ran educational games for the elementary students. Following the event, the preservice students presented their feelings about the project to their peers and the potential strategies they believe the teachers could pursue. The results suggest that cultural differences within this context construct language barriers and instructional obstacles. However, increased communication and involvement between parents and teachers can bridge this gap.


What is a warranty?

   In law, Warranty is a promise or covenant by deed, made by the bargainer for himself and his heirs, to warrant or secure the bargainee and his heirs against all men in the enjoyment of an estate or other thing granted. The use of warranties in conveyances has long been superseded by covenants for title, w7hereby, as the covenanter engages for his executors and administrators, his personal as well as his real assets are answerable for the performance of the covenant.
   Also, any promise (express or implied by law, according to circumstances) from a vendor to a purchaser, that the thing sold is the vendor's to sell and is good and fit for use, or at least for such use as the purchaser intends to make of it. Warranties in insurance are absolute conditions, non-compliance with which voids the insurance. When express, these warranties should appear in the policy, but there are certain implied warranties.


Topic: IT jobs

As a result of the success of globalization technology, corporations and industries are making huge changes in their production, trade products, investment capital and developing new products, services and processes. In particular, the advances and information flow of information technology have become a digital component among a large business strategy in the United States, with the ability to communicate with the digital form and provide information.
it jobs


The de La Baume siblings, also known as Singtank, are releasing their second studio album “Ceremonies” on Parlaphone France Records. Their follow up album to “In Wonder” is coming out on September 22nd 2014. “In Wonder” was released by Joséphine and Alexandre in 2012. Their forthcoming “Ceremonies” is even more captivating and atmospheric than the last album. Joséphine is the eldest of the dynamic duo while Alexandre is the younger brother. Growing up the pair turned to music as a form of self expression. It acted as a bonding mechanism for the siblings. “Ceremonies” is strongly influenced by Singtank’s electic taste.

The opening to “In Wonder” is titled “The Party”. A must listen, “The Party” envelops a dreaminess like no other. Dreamy is one of the best words to describe Singtank. Their style can be defined as melodic pop with an air of wonder. Stylish even. Both Josephine and Alexandre offer two very different creative perspectives to Singtank. The more they differ in opinion the greater the production becomes. As English is a second language, certain syllables are pronounced in a foreign tongue. This is not a disadvantage however as it makes the music more tantalizingly stimulating. The urban melancholy, touching on romanticism, in Blade Runner and Kar Wai Wong’s Chungking Express embrace visual aesthetics through reflective emotional intensity. These particular aspects of the films heavily influenced “Ceremonies” and is showcased throughout the album.

While “In Wonder” was produced by Nellee Hooper and Alan O’Connell, “Ceremonies” is mastered by Samy Osta (Chromeo, La Femme, Jamaica). Urban loneliness is a main focus within “Ceremonies”. The de La Baume’s grew up in Paris with its metropolitan area being one of the largest population centres in Europe. The digital age is also explored with how we can become sucked into it in an instant (FOMO, La Vie En Octets). Inspiration for “Ceremonies” derives from “the melodic perfectionism of great songwriters like Harry Nilsson, Nick Drake or Julian Casablancas but also by the raw energy of Rick Rubin’s hip hop productions, while always trying to keep it all as organic as possible”. “Here We Go Again” opens “Ceremonies” introducing us to mutual influence from two singers. “Ursus”, a slower ballad, finalises the end of the album.

“Ceremonies” is filled with personality from one spectrum to another. Each track is very well balanced and unexpected. No two songs sound the same. Alexandre takes the lead with vocals while Joséphine performs backing vocals and vice versa. These combinations intertwine to achieve the desired result. The first single of the album “Can You Hear Me” was the greatest challenge the duo faced. Mark Ronson, Joséphine’s husband, arranged and produced the final edit alongside Samy Osta. “Can You Hear Me” is a nostalgic song of heartbreak. La Vie En Octets captures a man (Alexandre) unable to tear away from his computer. Social media has entrapped him. “Suspicious Minds” is a cover of Elvis Presley’s classic hit sang by Joséphine with harmonic vocals. “Suspicious Minds” is quite relevant to the overall theme as it symbolizes the negative impact social media has on our generation.

Due to “Ceremonies” release date, this day next month, I am inclined to not give too much away on each individual song. I do not want to ruin the surprise but believe me it is worth the wait. I leave you with this, the video for “Can You Hear Me”, to get you hooked, and an interview we managed to achieve with Alexandre de La Baume. I hope you are intrigued as much as I am. Enjoy the listen.

Who inspired you guys to create Singtank? Does music run in the family?

“No musicians whatsoever in our family as far as we can recall actually! But as teenagers when you sometimes have hard times understanding and expressing what you’re going through, music sort of became our way to communicate as brothers and sisters. It started very naturally like that, around the piano at home, and as we grew fonder and fonder of playing and writing songs together, it developed into a proper music project, Singtank.”

Can you tell me a bit about who your influences are?

“Very eclectic ones, especially for this new record. We were inspired by the melodic perfectionism of great songwriters like Harry Nilsson, Nick Drake or Julian Casablancas but also by the raw energy of Rick Rubin’s hip hop productions, while always trying to keep it all as organic as possible.”

Seen as English is a second language for you was it difficult at the start to produce songs in English?

“Both our lovers while making our records were english speakers, so it’s the language of love for both of us, it actually felt quite natural to write these songs in English.”

Have you ever produced songs in French?

“Yes, the new record has two songs in French! And we really enjoy writing in French, but some melodies are more inclined to French and some others to English.”

Describe to us the gig you’ve got the most enjoyment out of performing?

“We played in Biarritz two summers ago, on a big stage on the beach. The weather was really stormy, there was a lot of wind and everyone feared it would start raining any minute. We had heard very sad news right before the show and somehow this weather magically matched our mood. We really played with our guts and the crowd was incredibly responsive. It started pouring down rain right after we played our last song.”

What was it like collaborating with Mark Ronson on “Can You Hear Me”?

“We couldn’t quite finish that song, it was almost there but somehow something didn’t work as well as we hoped it would. Mark offered to help and by simplifying it and adding a few production tricks took us out of this dead end.”

In your own words how would you describe the feel to your music?

“Intimate, eclectic, hopeful… It’s hard to describe your own self, you tell us!”

Are there any bands in particular you’d love to perform with?

“It’s been very fun on our first tour to share the road with other bands and get to know them. We got to meet some of the bands our record producer worked with, and it kinda feels like we’re all his music children so it’d be fun to tour with them, Juniore, La Femme, etc.”

What can we expect from “Ceremonies” coming out this September?

“It’s a very personal record we wrote inspired by tough experiences Josephine and I went through recently, but making it was such a healing process that it’s a record full of hope and life. We grew up in a big city so we also talk about urban loneliness and elements that define our generation like the virtual digital world and the fears and the highs it can create. In terms of sounds we tried not to stick to a personal genre but really find the sound that would suit these songs, somewhere between contemporary indie pop, hip hop and classic songwriters’ ballads.”

What advice would you give to all the up coming bands starting off or anyone who is attempting to start a band?

“Don’t make any compromises, work until you’re 200% happy with what you have, develop your own thing in your own way (the music as well as the art, the videos) up until you have something going on for real.”

“If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that… I believe in what I do and I’ll say it”-John Lennon.


Rising American Indian Nations Sustainable Programs

RAIN has a commitment to the protection of Mother Earth, sustainable living, and conservation. These commitments are an integral part of RAIN and all future initiatives. As stated in our overall goals, RAIN promotes environmental education and sustainable living processes. Forrest is a member of the Board of Directors of Pax Natura, a non-profit organization committed to preserving rain forests throughout the world. He is also an honorary board member of the Swaner Preserve and Eco-Center, an organization dedicated to conservation of a beautiful, 1200-acre wetlands near Park City, Utah.

We are dedicated to the earth’s beauty and preserving vanishing natural resources. An example our conservation commitment is the protection of the abundant wild plants and animals inhabiting our very own healing ranch. The wild animals include deer, elk, moose, ducks and geese, foxes, coyotes, and soon-to-be-planted fish. The plants include cattail, sagebrush, current bushes, wild lilacs, a host of other wild flowers, elm, and a variety of cottonwood trees.


Graduation Year

Document Type

Degree Granting Department

Chemical Engineering

Major Professor

John T. Wolan, Ph.D.

Indium vanadate, InVO4, Titania, TiO2, Amorphous precursor, Methyl orange, Taguchi methods

The effects of various catalyst synthesis parameters on the photocatalytic degradation kinetics of aqueous methyl orange dye are presented. The four factors investigated were: i) InVO4 concentration, ii) nickel concentration, iii) InVO4 calcination temperature, and iv) ballmilling time. Three levels were used for each factor. Due to the large number of possible experiments in a full factorial experiment, an orthogonal-array experimental design was used. UV-vis spectrophotometry was used to measure the dye concentration. The results show that nickel concentration was a significant parameter, with 90% confidence. The relative ranking of importance of the parameters was nickel concentration > InVO4 concentration > InVO4 calcination temperature > milling time. The results of the orthogonal array testing were used to make samples of theoretically slowest and fastest catalysts. Curiously, the predicted-slowest catalyst was the fastest overall, though both samples were faster than the previous set. The only difference between the slowest and fastest catalysts was the milling time, with the longer-milled catalyst being more reactive. From this result, we hypothesize that there is an interaction effect between nickel concentration and milling time. The slowest and fastest catalysts were characterized using energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray powder diffractometry (XRD), BET surface area analysis, and diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). The characterization results show that the fastest catalyst had a lower band gap than the slowest one, as well as a slightly greater pore volume and average pore diameter. The results indicate that fast kinetics are achieved with low amounts of nickel and a long ball milling time. Under the levels tested, InVO4 concentration and the calcination temperature of the InVO4 precursor were not significant.


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Process Design (Specification)

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Presentation on theme: "Process Design (Specification)"— Presentation transcript:

1 Process Design (Specification)

2 Recall the Four Steps of Problem Solving*
Orient Plan Execute Test These apply to any kind of problem, not just spreadsheet development, programming, or process design, but we will focus on those kinds of problems in this class * [Carlson and Bloom, “The Cyclic Nature of Problem Solving: An Emergent Multi-Dimensional Problem Solving Framework”, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Vol. 58 Number 1, 2005]

3 Specification We’ve talked about doing the requirements (the orient phase… what we want to have happen) Now we’re ready to talk about the specification or design phase (the planning phase… how it should happen) Our tool for developing and communicating a design is the flow chart

4 Problem-Solving Techniques
Flowcharts are a visual technique for designing a process (figuring out how to do something) Before we learn about flow charts (a technique for “how” problems), let’s look at a couple of useful visual techniques for solving other kinds of problems For more on the ideas here, see Dan Roam’s website,

5 “When” Problems Suppose we want to make a master plan showing team leaders when each step of a complex process they are directing and coordinating will take place When -> timeline Since we need to convey a large amount of precise information, a Gantt Chart is an appropriate visual tool

6 Gantt Chart Example

7 GANTT with Dependencies

8 Baseline GANTT (shows comparison, change)

9 How Many/How Much Suppose we need to answer how many/how much
Bar charts are often used Pie charts are another option (controversial because it is harder to compare pie slices than bars) There are plenty of interesting and clever variations… such as the word usage chart (next slide)

10 Variation on Bar Chart Word Usage in 2008 McCain Speech

11 Example: Seeing the Market
These charts are much more informative than a list of prices. These charts show how much versus when. They give much more insight than a numerical list of prices.

12 Flowcharts: “How” Flowcharts are a visual tool for specifying a process They can be as high level or as detailed as we need them to be They use symbols and arrows to represent steps and choices

13 Flowchart Symbols Flowline: Connects symbols and indicates the
flow of logic. It is a one way street. Input/Output: Data to be read or displayed are described inside. Terminal: Represents the beginning or end of a task. Processing: The process description is included inside the symbol. Decision: Used for logic/comparison operations. Has one entry and two exits.

14 One more… Continuation

15 Simple Processes A simple process has no decisions in it; you always do it the same way As a result, its flowchart is just a straight line of boxes connected by arrows Example: most recipes, instruction sheets with assemble-it-yourself furniture, simple calculations

16 Simple Process: Compound Interest
Goal: Given a number N of years, an amount P of money (principal), and an annual interest rate R, calculate the total amount of money T you will have after P is invested for N years at rate R, using interest which is compounded annually. T = P(1+R)N Test 1: P = 100, N = 1, R = 5% (.05): 105 Test 2: P = 100, N = 7, R = .05: 140 Test 3: P = 0, N = 7, R = .05: 0 Test 4: P = 100, N = 7, R = 0: 100 Test 5: P = 100, N = 0, R = .05: 100

17 Just for interest  P = 100, N = 20, R = .05 gives 265
By contrast, simple interest at 5 percent gives $5 per year, so after 20 years you have a total of $200; after 30 you have $250. If R is, say, 8%, the difference is even more striking.

18 Storing Information In this process we have to keep track of some information, like how much principal we have, what the interest rate is, etc. We’ll use variables to store these values

19 Variables A variable is a name used to refer to a quantity whose value can change You can think of a variable as the name of a container that holds a value (A constant is a name for a quantity whose value does not change.) A spreadsheet cell is a good example of a container that can hold a value

20 Math Variables vs Programming/Spreadsheet Variables
In math, a variable is used in an equation to represent some single quantity. If we are given the equation 3x = x + 6, we can solve this equation for x and get x = 3. You can check the correctness by substituting 3 for x on each side and seeing that you get the same value (9) An “equation” like x = x + 1 would be meaningless; it has no solution

21 Programming Variables
Programming variables and spreadsheet locations are a place to store a value, which can change The assignment statement x = 4 means to store the value 4 in location x. It is not really an equation, though it looks like one The pair of assignments, x = 4 x = x + 1 means to first store a 4 in location x, and then take the current contents (4), add 1, and store the result (5) in location x. The order of the statements is extremely important.

22 Compound Interest Calculator
begin R = annual rate N = number of years P = principal We used variables R, N, P, and T. T = P*(1+R)^N Arrows in a flowchart are like one-way streets; once you go down one, you can’t back up Output T end

23 Example Spreadsheet The spreadsheet called Interest Calculator 1 has this formula in it Let’s take a minute to see how to build this spreadsheet

24 Algorithm The interest rate calculator is an example of a simple algorithm: a type of effective method in which a list of well-defined instructions for completing a task will, when given an initial state, proceed through a well-defined series of steps, eventually terminating in an end-state Thought to be named for Al-Khwārizmī, Persian astronomer and mathematician

25 Back to the Candy Machine…

26 User Interface The first step in the design is often to think about the user interface What does the user interact with? What are the possible events that can occur?

27 Candy Machine Objects and Events
Coin slot User inserts a coin Candy slot Opens so a piece of candy can come out Handle The user attempts to turn the handle Coin receptacle It can be full or not full These are all the objects in the requirements that have events However: how does the machine know if there is a correct coin in the coin slot? Or any coin at all? It looks like the handle turning mechanism needs to be able to check some things.

28 Handle Functions The turn of the handle tries to send a coin to the coin receptacle. The handle only allows the correct coins through and won’t turn otherwise The handle should not turn if the coin receptacle is full The designer is someone like a mechanical engineer who can figure out whether we can build a handle mechanism like this within our budget, and what the tradeoffs are We won’t look at the mechanical aspect of this, but we can express the logical flow of the solution in a flow chart

29 Turning the Handle The next slide shows the flowchart for the event where someone tries to turn the handle of the candy machine It shows the use of the begin/end, conditional, and process step boxes

30 Handle Flowchart start begin attempt to turn handle no correct
coin in slot? yes no receptacle has room? yes handle does not turn handle turns coin goes into receptacle candy slot opens end

31 From Use Cases to Flowchart
In the candy machine example, we have several objects, but only one event that requires a process: trying to turn the handle The use cases were various complete scenarios of an interaction with the machine We abstracted information from several use cases to design the handle turning event We use the tests to make sure we put the pieces together correctly

32 Event-Driven Design This type of design is called “event driven” because it works by analyzing what the events are in the process and what should happen as a result of each event This has turned out to be a highly effective way of designing processes

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The Value of a Good Mix

As a musician, you have to be willing to go the extra mile to get a good mix on your recordings. Songwriter 101 Contributing Writer Cliff Goldmacher tells us why the mix is one of the most important aspects of the recording process, and how going the extra mile to make sure it’s done correctly will pay off in the end.

While there is no substitute for a dynamic, exciting musical performance, a good mix can enhance every aspect of that performance so that the final result truly makes your song stand out.

Once you’ve decided to up the ante and put your music online for the world to hear, it’s in your best interest to pay close attention to every step in the recording process. One of the most vital of these steps is the mix. It’s not enough to have a great song; you need a great recording, and a strong mix is an essential part of that. The art of mixing (and make no mistake, it is an art) is not a skill everyone possesses. It’s well worth your while, even if you’ve recorded your tracks yourself in your home studio, to seek out an experienced mixing engineer. While there is no substitute for a dynamic, exciting musical performance, a good mix can enhance every aspect of that performance so that the final result truly makes your song stand out. On the other hand, a poor mix can severely compromise even the best song and performance. Only you can write and sing your songs. That makes you an expert in those areas. However, unless you’re also an expert mix engineer, I’d highly recommend going to someone who is.

I get it. Everyone wants to save money. I do, too, but there are places to save and places to invest. In an effort to keep recording costs down, many musicians have purchased their own recording equipment. This is terrific and there’s never been a better time to buy affordable, high-quality gear. As long as you’re as passionate about learning the engineering process as you are about your music, you’ll do well. Owning your own recording equipment also takes a lot of the pressure off when it comes to experimenting in the studio. Finally, it allows you to record as many takes as necessary to get the performances you want without worrying about the clock. However, one way to make the absolute most of your recorded performance is to let an expert mix them. It’s amazing what a talented, experienced mix engineer can bring out of a mix that might otherwise get lost or obscured at the hands of a less able mixer.

Before You Mix

Before I cover in greater depth what makes up a good mix, let’s go back to performance for a moment. No matter how great the mix engineer may be, there are some things you simply cannot fix in the mix. To be more specific, there is no way to “mix in” a great vocal or instrumental performance. What makes a performance great might surprise you. For example, sometimes it’s what you don’t play that counts the most. In my experience, the best studio musicians are the best listeners. What I mean by this is that great players base their instrumental performance on whatever else is going to be played in the song so that all the instruments work together as a whole to serve the song and not their individual egos. Playing too much is the hallmark of an amateur studio musician. Secondly, the timely use of dynamics (where to play louder/softer or with greater/less intensity) is essential to a mix that breathes and has shape to it. Simply moving up and down a volume fader won’t do the same thing. When it comes to singing, all the Auto-Tune and reverb in the world won’t give a vocal performance real sincerity and emotion. Make absolutely certain that the performances are exactly how you want them before you start the mix process.

The Instruments

Finding space in the mix for each individual instrument is essential. This is often achieved through judicious use of EQ, compression, volume and panning. For example, the skill it takes to get great drum sounds, marry the kick drum to the bass while also giving the electric guitars rooms to breathe and sparkle is developed over time and repetition — a lot of repetition. When this is done properly, the instruments are exciting to listen to. Each has its place and role to play and when they come together, the song takes on a life of its own.

A great mix engineer always makes the treatment and placement of the vocal a priority. Once the instrumental mix is where it needs to be, it’s time to make certain that the vocalist is running the show. A combination of EQ, compression, tuning (if necessary), effects and volume-fader automation should all serve the ultimate goal of making it sound like the singer is in charge. There are several risks associated with improper vocal placement. If the final mix has too much vocal, then the instruments end up sounding small and weak. However, if the vocal is too soft in the mix, it loses its ability to communicate the emotion of the song. Every genre has its preferred vocal level. In general, pop music has the vocal more integrated into the instruments whereas country music (with its emphasis on the lyric) generally puts the vocal higher in the mix. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule but a good mix engineer will know the genre he or she is mixing in and do the right thing for the song.

On a related note, one of the best reasons to bring in an experienced mix engineer, even if you’ve recorded the song yourself, is a fresh, objective set of ears. It’s been my experience that if the singer mixes their own project, they tend to keep the vocals too low for a couple of reasons. One is that most singers tend to get uncomfortable with their vocals up in a mix. There are precious few singers I’ve ever worked with who genuinely love the sound of their own voices. By keeping the vocal low in the mix, the vocalist/engineer won’t have to leave their comfort zone but the mix suffers. The second reason has to do with the fact that the singer already knows the words and assumes that they’re hearing the words when, in fact, they may be too low for someone who doesn’t know the song and be difficult to understand.

Mastering a Good Mix

Mastering a mixed recording is a separate skill altogether. While this isn’t an article about mastering, I’d recommend using a dedicated mastering engineer (not your mix engineer) when it comes time for this step. More to the point, the value of a good mix is that the mastering engineer will spend much less time (their hourly rates are generally higher than mix engineer rates) getting the finished master together. In other words, money you spend on a good mix will end up saving you money on a final mastered recording.

Doing It Yourself

If you’re still intent on doing your own mixing, consider hiring an expert to mix a song or two for you and then ask them for the session files back. Assuming you’re using the same recording software (i.e. ProTools, Nuendo, Logic), you’ll be able to examine every detail of how the mix was done and use the finished mix files as a kind of tutorial so you can ultimately learn to do them yourself.

Cliff Goldmacher is a songwriter, producer, session musician, engineer, author and owner of recording studios in Nashville, TN and Sonoma, CA. Cliff’s site,, is full of resources for the aspiring songwriter including a brand new HD video series available at the link below. Cliff’s company,, provides songwriters outside of Nashville with virtual access to Nashville’s best session musicians and singers for their songwriting demos. You can download a FREE sample of Cliff’s eBook “The Songwriter’s Guide To Recording Professional Demos” by going to

Twitter: @edusongwriter


Recovering from Trauma with EMDR

As many of you know, Excelsior’s Triumphant Faces Gala is coming up next week on Friday, February 20, 2015. A portion of proceeds from this fundraiser will support Excelsior girls who have been victims of Human Trafficking and Trauma. Accordingly, we have been dedicating our blog to informational articles about Human Trafficking and Trauma as well as specific therapies that help girls recover from these heartbreaking experiences. This week, we will discuss the therapy, EMDR, and how it helps people overcome trauma.

Recovering from Trauma with EMDR
By: Christy Pennington, M.A., L.P.C.

What is Trauma?

Per Barbara Maiberger, a leading therapist and trainer in EMDR in Boulder, CO, trauma is “any past experience that one perceives as negative and that impacts your present life.  It creates extreme stress in the body and mind”.  Trauma can be perceived as horrific, helpless to prevent, and threatening to either your survival or the survival of others or it can be when something that happens, large or small, that leaves you with a feeling of stress that you are unable to process for some reason.

There are two things to remember about the brain and trauma. First, we know that the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, and vice versa. Interestingly enough, one side of the brain also controls our emotions while the other controls our rational thoughts.  Sometimes when trauma occurs, the two sides stop communicating and don’t support one another as they should.

Second, we know that our brain can lock away sensitive information and/or feelings in an effort to protect us from the pain and suffering that information can cause. Stressful information can be locked in the amygdala, sometimes referred to as the primitive brain – a part of the brain we use during crisis, but rarely access during everyday living. Trauma tends to get “stuck” there which can be helpful initially after experiencing a traumatic situation. However, locking away too much information, or specific chains of information, can come back later to cause problems for people.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing) and Trauma

So how does EMDR help people deal with trauma? How can moving your eyes, listening to sounds or processing physical sensations help relieve symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder?  Well, no one really knows for sure, but the bottom line is that EMDR is the leading evidence-based practice in helping thousands who struggle with flashbacks, nightmares and disturbing thoughts and images.  EMDR is so effective that it is endorsed by both the US Department of Defense and the American Psychiatric Association. Find out more about EMDR here.

EMDR allows the brain to take the client where they otherwise would resist.  The bilateral stimulation used in EMDR by following movements of fingers or lights along a light board,  sounds via earphones, and tactile stimulation such as tapping on a client’s back of their hands or having them hold a pair of “buzzers” allows the brain to slip into a type of REM state.   This allows your client’s mind to float to where it needs to, unlocking pieces of the trauma that have remained problematic.  Your client then processes the information allowing the material to become less sensitive, and allows them to either come to understand something they previously hadn’t and/or be able to reprocess the information in a way that they were not able to before.

Another piece of EMDR that is remarkable is that as opposed to other “talk therapies” EMDR does not necessarily need the client to be able to put the traumatic concept to words.  Trauma is related to primitive emotions.  Trauma often simply cannot be talked about.  When in an EMDR session, the information that can be processed is not only verbal, but it can be a picture in the client’s mind, a body sensation, a ruminating thought, a smell, and even something as simple as a representative color.  In EMDR, this information is often key to unlocking the pieces of trauma clients hold on to as they simply are not able to explain what they are thinking or feeling.  In EMDR, this simply is not necessary.

EMDR now is not only being used to treat PTSD, Panic attacks, Complicated grief, Dissociative, disorders, Disturbing memories, Phobias, Pain disorders, Performance anxiety, stress reduction, Addictions, Sexual and/or Physical abuse, Body dysmorphic disorders and Personality Disorders.  Clients report widely that with EMDR treatment, their stressors and triggers seem further in the past and harder to focus on. What follows after this distancing is a reduction in the associated emotional levels. In other words, the traumatic memory stays, but its power has been diminished.


What Causes headaches?
The most common type of headaches that we see in our clinic are those that result from some type of mechanical dysfunction in the neck.  These are called cervicogenic or tension headache, and can be caused by poor posture, arthritis, muscle spasm in the neck or shoulders and traumatic injuries to name a few.

What are the symptoms of a headache?
The pain can be felt aroundthe base of the skull but frequently spreads around to the forehead and around the eye and can vary in intensity from a mild ache to severe pain. The pain usually is exacerbated by head and neck movement and is sometimes complicated by dizziness or vertigo as there are important nerve receptors in the upper part of the cervical spine that are involved with balance.

How can a Chiropractor treat headache?
At the Exmouth Chiropractic Clinic we are very experienced at treating headaches . Our treatment approach is very much tailor made for each individual patient, but commonly includes spinal adjustments, massage, dietary and lifestyle advice and possibly an exercise program to improve core strength and posture.

Anything else I should know?
If your headache is sudden and severe with associated fever, rash, confusion, double vision, stiff neck, numbness, weakness, difficulty speaking or follows a head injury then seek medical attention promptly.


Late medieval and 16th century urbanization – Stagnation, expansion or both?

By Per Gunnar Sidén

Eighth International Conference on Urban History (2006)

Introduction: Most historians would probably agree on the overall impact of the plagues and agrarian crisis of the later Middle Ages. The decline in agrarian production was less severe than the decline of population, implying a GDP per capita increase. Due to shortage of labourers, real wages increased while land rents dropped, implying a redistribution of wealth from larger land owners to labourers and tenants. During the second half of the 15th century demographic growth returned, implying recovering land rents and declining real wages. As a result, GDP per capita stagnated until the industrial revolution in most European countries, except England and the Netherlands, according to a number of recent studies.

How was the level of urbanization affected by these changes? Urban historians and economic historians alike have hesitated to apply the close correlation between GDP per capita and urbanization level in the modern world to pre-industrial Europe, and for good reasons. The impact of the redistribution of wealth from land owners to tenants is just one of several uncertainties that have opened up for contradicting conclusions regarding this period.

Four different urbanization scenarios are thus possible for the period 1350-1610:

1) Stagnation (or even decline) during the whole period

2) Stagnation (or even decline) during the first half of the period followed by an increase

3) A steady increase during the whole period

4) An increase during the first half of the period followed by stagnation

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Ownership of rigs at risk in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the bright spots on the horizon for the oilfield services industry; but a recent change in the law has reversed long-standing principles of ownership rights to leased oilfield equipment and puts owners and lenders at risk.

When a small oil discovery in PNG in the early 1990s didn’t lead to major oil finds, Chevron, who had developed the discovery, left the country. The decision was made, in part, because it seemed that everywhere holes went down there was gas, not oil, and no-one wanted gas at that time.

Drilling was expensive because of the remoteness and topography with complicated and then poorly understood geology. A significant gas field held by Exxon didn’t have enough oil to warrant development and the major had to establish a small gas to electricity plant for a large nearby mine to ensure that the field was in production and could be retained.  Drilling in the PNG highlands was (and is) an expensive exercise where skilled specialists in multiple fields are absolutely vital and large quantities of plant and equipment find their way into the country for use and then depart again.

However, all that unexploited gas in a location close to Asian markets is now driving rapid development. A 2-train, roughly 7MTA LNG plant built and operated by ExxonMobil and in production now for two years, is producing in excess of nameplate capacity. This has de-risked the country somewhat for both the capital and gas markets; so the race is now on to further monetize the country’s gas.

Two significant projects are competing to be the next cab off the rank, a brownfields expansion of Exxon’s current plant, and a Total-lead consortium looking to establish a second separate plant of similar size. Additionally, there are a number of smaller fields operated by less well-known names looking to bring their gas to market in different ways.

Unlike the situation in Australia, the cost of construction has not blown out; it is close to markets and priced attractively.

This makes PNG an enticing place for field services firms to send rigs and equipment both now and when one or both of the two new large projects and some of the smaller projects get through the process and FID.

However, a recent and significant change to the law has opened up the potential for the unwitting loss of title to rigs and other equipment in PNG which is owned offshore but used locally.

Personal Property Security Act
PNG has just adopted a new Personal Property Security Act (PPSA), flipping the principles of ownership of "personal" property, including the heavy, non-fixed equipment needed for the upstream industry.

Traditionally, PNG had a rule (of such antiquity that it had its own Latin maxim) that "you cannot pass better title than you yourself have." Because merely passing possession to someone on loan or hire did not transfer ownership in most circumstances, if the party physically holding the equipment tried to sell it to a third-party buyer or lender, the true owner could simply prove their better title and have it returned. The true owner won and the innocent third party lost, having discovered too late that they had transacted with someone who had no legal rights to deal with the property.

Legal and financial systems around the world have grappled with how best to balance these competing interests and PNG is no exception. In PNG there has been a system of registration of various interests and claims to personal property under the Instruments Act and a process for registering security interests granted by companies against their own property, but there was no register for ownership of personal property that was out on hire.

Consequently, where heavy machinery in PNG was in the possession of a charterer or hirer, determining the true owner using only those registers was impossible. Typically, the charter or leasing document between the owner and the operator identifies the true owner of the equipment and, where there is no competing claimant, all is well.

Unfortunately, in PNG, there have been cases of charterers or hirers selling property that doesn’t belong to them or using the property to secure loans. These are not isolated incidents; in just the last 12 months my firm alone has had to take three such cases through the courts.

Previously, the "loan or hire does not pass ownership" rule protected the true owner, but that is no longer the case. Under the PPSA the presumption of ownership has been reversed and now the innocent third party who transacted with the person in possession of the property will win against the true owner unless the true owner has his ownership (or lending) interest recorded in the newly launched PPSA register before the third party registers theirs.

To complicate matters, owners and lenders who have already registered their interests under the Instruments Act or had them secured by a company charge under the Companies Act are not protected as there is no automatic transfer of existing registered instruments.

This now makes it critical that anyone in the industry who has (or intends to) put equipment into PNG on charter or hire and who is not going to be in possession of that property, attends to registration of their ownership under the PPSA.

Unfortunately, the problem is not just a domestic PNG issue. Offshore global financiers lending outside of PNG are also at risk if they lend to the head office of a borrower, using the security of the borrower’s property worldwide, and the borrower then sends that secured property (still 100% in their borrower’s possession) to PNG. The lender’s contractual (or even ownership) rights will be at risk of losing to local claims for liens disposals or securities given by their borrower in country unless the offshore lender has registered the equipment in the PNG PPSA Register.

As ever with all things legal the answer is diligence. You must know what you have, where it is, and what you need to do to protect it. Registration under the PPSA will protect the true owner, but only if they know about it and take the right action.

About the author
Erik Andersen is a senior partner in the Port Moresby office of Gadens Lawyers. He has been advising and acting on the PNG oil and gas industry since 1990 for supermajors, wildcat explorers, service companies, financiers and regulatory bodies. His work has included both transactional and contentious matters.

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Electrical Cardioversion

A cardioversion is done to change or “convert” an irregular heartbeat to a normal regular rhythm.

The Heart

The heart is a muscular organ about the size of a closed fist.  It pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body.  For the heart to do its work, it needs a “spark plug” or electrical impulse or signal from special tissue (sinus node) in the heart.  The electrical impulse causes the heart muscle to contract.  The hearts electrical system and muscle work together to effectively pump blood.  Usually the heart beats regularly, but sometimes the heart beats irregularly.  An irregular heart beat can occur after a heart attack or heart surgery.  It may also occur with heart valve disease or other diseases not related to the heart.  One cause of an irregular heart beat is atrial fibrillation.  Some people with atrial fibrillation have no symptoms.  Others may feel palpitations, shortness of breath, weakness or fatigue during episodes of atrial fibrillation.

Your physician may first use medicines to convert your atrial fibrillation to a regular rhythm.  If medicines do not work, an electrical cardioversion may be needed.  This procedure uses small amounts of electrical current given through patches or paddles placed on the chest.  The electrical current is used to restore your heart to a normal regular rhythm.

Before the Procedure

Your physician may ask you to start anticoagulation medication, or blood thinner, (i.e.Coumadin, warfarin, Pradaxa, Xarelto or Eliquis) at least 4 weeks before a cardioversion is attempted.  You may asked to have your blood work checked weekly at a laboratory. The blood test is called an INR and will show how much your blood has thinned.  Because the atria (top chambers) are quivering and not beating/squeezing properly, there is an increased possibility that you might develop blood clots in your heart. The thinner your blood is, the less likely you are to develop blood clots.  Once you have had 3-4 weeks of adequately thin blood, you will be scheduled for the cardioversion.  In some rare cases, your physician might determine that you need a cardioversion right away and will order a TEE (Trans-Esophageal Echocardiogram) to make sure there are no blood clots, so that you can have the cardioversion without waiting 4 weeks to thin the blood.

What is a TEE?

The Cardioversion Procedure

The sedative medication will take from 10 minutes to two hours to wear off depending on the medication used and your individual response.  The nurse will keep you in the room until you are completely awake and are able to sit up and talk.  The nurse will make any follow-up appointments at this time and review any medication changes with you and your family members.  On rare occasions the physician will administer special medications that assist in converting an irregular heart rhythm.  If this occurs you may need to stay longer and be moved to another area that allows close monitoring of your heart rhythm for a few hours.  This is a precaution that is used whenever this medication is administered.  After you are fully awake, you will be escorted to your vehicle to go home.  You will be asked to have someone drive you home and to plan a day of rest after the procedure.  You may apply lotion to any reddened areas on your chest.  You will have an appointment with our office in about 1 week after the procedure.  Typically, if you have been on blood thinners, these will continue until you see the physician on follow-up.

How long will the cardioversion last?

Nothing to eat or drink after midnight.
You may take your medications with a small sip of water.


Scientist offers better ways to engineer Earth's climate to prevent global warming

Posted By: Nitsi
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Washington, Sep 7 (ANI): A University of Calgary climate scientist has said that there may be better ways to engineer the planet's climate to prevent dangerous global warming than mimicking volcanoes.

"Releasing engineered nano-sized disks, or sulphuric acid in a condensable vapour above the Earth, are two novel approaches. These approaches offer advantages over simply putting sulphur dioxide gas into the atmosphere," says David Keith, a director in the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy and a Schulich School of Engineering professor.

Keith, a global leader in investigating this topic, says that geoengineering, or engineering the climate on a global scale, is an imperfect science.

"It cannot offset the risks that come from increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If we don't halt man-made CO2 emissions, no amount of climate engineering can eliminate the problems - massive emissions reductions are still necessary," he added.

Nevertheless, Keith believes that research on geoengineering technologies, their effectiveness and environmental impacts needs to be expanded.

"I think the stakes are simply too high at this point to think that ignorance is a good policy," he added.

Keith suggests two novel geoengineering approaches-'levitating' engineered nano-particles, and the airborne release of sulphuric acid-in two newly published studies.

One of study was authored by Keith alone, and the other with scientists in Canada, the U.S. and Switzerland.

This approach imitates the way volcanoes create sulphuric acid aerosols, or sulphates, that will reflect solar radiation back into space - thereby cooling the planet's surface.

Keith says that sulphates are blunt instruments for climate engineering. It's very difficult to achieve the optimum distribution and size of the aerosols in the atmosphere to reflect the most solar radiation and get the maximum cooling benefit.

"A downside of both these new ideas is they would do something that nature has never seen before. It's easier to think of new ideas than to understand their effectiveness and environmental risks," said Keith.

In his first study, Keith describes a new class of engineered nano-particles that might be used to offset global warming more efficiently, and with fewer negative side effects, than using sulphates.

According to Keith, the distribution of engineered nano-particles above the Earth could be more controlled and less likely to harm the planet's protective ozone layer.

Releasing sulphuric acid, or another condensable vapour, from an aircraft would give better control of particle size.

The study says this would reflect more solar radiation back into space, while using fewer particles overall and reducing unwanted heating in the lower stratosphere.

The study included computer modelling that showed that the sulphuric acid would quickly condense in a plume, forming smaller particles that would last longer in the stratosphere and be more effective in reflecting solar radiation than the large sulphates formed from sulphur dioxide gas. (ANI)

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Stressed Out from Birth

Stress affects the body and can trigger illness – from psychiatric disorders to heart disease. Humans are exposed to stress at different intensities throughout life: as children, in adolescence, and in old age. But when is the impact of stress on our systems most powerful? Many researchers maintain that the critical effect occurs prenatally, inside the womb. This hypothesis was, until recently, based mainly on statistical data indicating a correlation between stress during pregnancy and susceptibility to disease. Now, Weizmann Institute of Science research, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, establishes, for the first time, a clear causal link between prenatal stress and the onset of eating disorders. Furthermore, in a study in mice, researchers successfully prevented the onset of a compulsive eating disorder by the sole means of a unique diet.

Moderate exposure to stress during pregnancy is not necessarily negative. The effect of stress on the fetus makes evolutionary sense with regard to survival – by providing mothers with a way to communicate with her unborn offspring about the world into which they are about to emerge. For example, when the mother inhabits an area of poor food availability, she would want to prompt the embryo to develop its body in an efficient and frugal manner and slow down its metabolic rate. Such maternal messages transmitted to the embryo are also termed fetal programming. Problems arise when the programming does not match actual conditions and demands; for example, a child who is programmed to slow their metabolism down, but is actually born into a culture with an abundance of high-calorie foods, may develop obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Eating disorders are currently more prevalent in the West than ever before, and are significantly higher among women than men. Binge eating disorder (BED), characterized by the compulsive overeating of high-calorie foods in short periods of time, is a common eating disorder, affecting about three percent of the population. BED usually erupts in late adolescence and greatly increases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease – and also involves depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety disorders.

While a common tendency is to link eating disorders among girls and women to body images presented in Western pop culture, the new study shows that the high incidence of eating disorders among females is also seen in a model that simulates eating disorders in mice. In other words, eating disorders are more common in females in mice, too.

But why do some girls face an increased risk of developing an eating disorder while others do not, and how is this sensitivity influenced by processes that took place prenatally?

To investigate these and other questions, Prof. Alon Chen and his team in the Department of Neurobiology used a genetic system they developed to simulate the biological stress mechanisms in mice. The researchers injected antibiotic-susceptible viruses into the brains of pregnant mice, and, in the third and final week of pregnancy, added antibiotics to their drinking water in order to activate the system and cause the release of the stress hormone CRF [corticotrophin-releasing factor]. The pregnancies ended a week afterward, with the pups born into a favorable environment. Only some 10 weeks later, after they matured, were they nutritionally challenged in order to put their sensitivity to developing compulsive eating to the test: the mice were fed a “Western” diet, high in caloric value, over very short periods, which could trigger an impulse to binge eat.

The study was led by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Mariana Schroeder, with the participation of Drs. Maya Sharon Lebow, Yonat Drori, and Mira Jakovcevski; research students Tamar Polacheck and Mareen Engel; and Dr. Shifra Ben-Dor from the Department of Life Sciences Core Facilities.

Beyond identifying the link between stress during pregnancy and compulsive eating disorder, the research team sought to understand and uncover the mechanisms that programmed the brains of females who tended to develop an eating disorder. They repeated the experiment, but instead of waiting for the offspring to reach adulthood, they examined the embryonic brain prenatally. Says Prof. Chen: “We discovered a very interesting thing: looking at embryos’ brains, we saw large molecular differences between offspring whose mothers’ stress mechanism was activated and those in whose mothers it was not activated. However, in adulthood, the differences disappear. The differences will be expressed only when the mice are exposed to some form of challenge. This signifies that an epigenetic, rather than a genetic, marker was introduced at the embryonic stage as there was no change in the genes.”

Epigenetics (literally: on top of genetics) research addresses the molecular mechanisms that mediate environmental messages, and how these messages influence and shape the expression of our genome – without changing the DNA sequence or the genes themselves. In this case, messages that originated in the mother caused changes in the brains of the female embryos.

One of the most important epigenetic mechanisms is DNA methylation, a simple biochemical process in which a methyl group binds to a genetic segment, thereby determining the transcription level of a particular gene. In this research, the Weizmann scientists have shown, for the first time, that exposure to stress is expressed in sub-methylation in the hypothalamus, a brain region that regulates metabolic processes, hormone production, and stress reactions.

A methyl-balanced diet