January 8, 2010

History & Historiography

Note: This entry is designed to gather into one place the aphorisms in which Gómez Dávila mentions history and problems of historiography.

Truth is in history, but history is not the truth. (#483)

The soul is not in the body, but rather the body is in the soul.
But it is in the body where we feel the soul.
The absolute is not in history, but rather history is in the absolute.
But it is in history where we discover the absolute. (#1,397)

The soul surpasses the world, whereas the world encompasses humanity.
The insignificance of humanity renders “philosophies of history” ridiculous, whereas the infinite price of each human soul vindicates religion. (#2,279)

History exhibits too many useless corpses for any finality to be attributed to it. (#2,676)

In spiritually arid centuries, the only man to realize that the century is dying from thirst is the man who still harnesses an underground spring. (#2,792)

No past is ideal.

In history it is wise to hope for miracles and absurd to trust in plans. (#1,787)

Whoever searches for the “truth of his time” finds the clichés of the day. (#1,076)

Either we learn from Greek tragedy how to read human history, or we never learn how to read it. (#1,192)

The spectacle of humanity does not acquire a certain dignity except thanks to the distortion it undergoes in history due to time. (#2,774)

The historian’s didactic function lies in teaching every age that the world did not begin with it. (#2,186)

History is a series of nights and days.
Of short days and long nights. (#1,569)

The “wheel of fortune” is a better analogy for history than the “evolution of humanity.” (#1,702)

History is less the evolution of humanity than the unfolding of facets of human nature. (#1,837)

The notion of determinism has exercised a corrupting and terrorizing influence on the task of philosophy. (#2,770)

Error supposes that something happened that should not have. (#2,831)

No paradise will arise within the bounds of time.
Because good and evil are not threads braided by history, but fibers of the only thread which sin spun for us. (#1,193)

A value has no history. (#606)

The history of literary genres admits of sociological explanations.
The history of works of literature does not. (#2,601)

If we are ignorant of an epoch’s art, its history is a colorless narrative. (#2,952)

The aesthetic impossibilities of an age stem not from social factors, but from internal censors. (#2,576)

Nature just died in this century.
Only in the art of past centuries do we discover, to our astonishment, that nature is not a simple physics experiment exploited by diligent organisms. (#1,050)

Until the end of the 18th century, what man added to nature increased its beauty.
Since then, what he adds destroys it. (#2,667)

The fragments of the past that survive embarrass the modern landscape in which they stand out. (#2,915)

Men change ideas less than ideas change disguise.
In the discourse of the centuries the same voices are in dialogue. (#1)

Imbecility changes the subject in each age so that it is not recognized. (#1,450)

History inexorably punishes stupidity, but it does not necessarily reward intelligence. (#1,574)

The succession of generations is the vehicle, but not the motor of history. (#616)

The essential mechanism of history is the simple replacement of some individualities by others. (#2,846)

Each new generation criticizes the previous one, only to commit, in analogous circumstances, the opposite error. (#1,429)

Each new generation, in this century, enters shouting that it has something new to do and exits saying that it only has something new to lament. (#2,391)

Every age ends in a masquerade. (#1,887)

Justice has been one of the motors of history, because it is the name envy assumes in the mouth of the son contesting his parents' will. (#1,100)

Revolutions are not the locomotives but the derailments of history. (#1,171)

Between the causes of a revolution and its realization in actions ideologies insert themselves which end up determining the course and even the nature of events.
“Ideas” do not “cause” revolutions, but channel them. (#2,748)

Even though history does not have laws, the course of a revolution is easily foreseen, because stupidity and madness do have laws. (#2,222)

Revolutions are more a subject for sociology than for history.
Manifestations of those depths of human nature that nothing educates, nothing civilizes, nothing ennobles, revolutions despoil man of his history and return him to bestial behaviors. (#2,243)

Revolution is a permanent historical possibility.
Revolution does not have causes, but occasions it takes advantage of. (#2,221)

Every episode of a revolution needs a partisan to relate it and an adversary to explain it. (#2,058)

An historical period is the period of time during which a certain definition of the legitimate prevails.
Revolution is the transition from one definition to another. (#901)

New ideas occasion disturbances in history; new sensibilities change its course. (#1,648)

Man does not have the same density in every age. (#2,729)

Let us try to define the conditions and the causes of the spiritual history of an age, but let us be careful not to attribute to them the least participation in the truths which that age discovered. (#2,242)

Let us investigate where and when a new mentality is born, but let us resign ourselves to not knowing why. (#1,259)

The habitual factors of history are not enough to explain the apparition of new collective mentalities.
It is advisable to introduce into history the mysterious notion of mutation. (#2,606)

The philosopher is not the spokesman of his age, but an angel imprisoned in time. (#45)

Philosophers tend to be more influential because of what they seem to have said rather than because of what they really said. (#2,626)

Let us avoid prophecies, if we do not want to have to hold a grudge against history. (#2,322)

History would be reduced to an inventory of types if each one of its typical instances did not inhere in a person. (#886)

The individual is nothing but one of the multiple individualities of history. (#1,178)

The historical importance of a man rarely corresponds to his intimate nature.
History is full of victorious morons. (#56)

All that is most excellent in history is a result of singularly unstable equilibriums.
Nothing endures for sure, but the mediocre lasts longer. (#2,789)

When the dust raised by the great events of modern history settles, the mediocrity of the protagonists leaves the historian dumbfounded. (#2,299)

To be an historian requires a rare talent.
To make history all that is needed is a little shamelessness. (#1,030)

History buries, without solving, the problems it raises. (#58)

True problems do not have a solution but a history. (#807)

No problem exists which can be understood outside its historical context, nor which can be completely reduced to it. (#2,078)

The historian tends to forget that in every era man has no problems except those he believes he has. (#1,040)

In every age a minority lives today’s problems and a majority yesterday’s. (#537)

Sensuality is a cultural legacy of the ancient world.

From the 18th century 20th-century man seems to have inherited only his dryness of soul, and from the 19th century only his rhetoric. (#2,104)

The curve of man’s knowledge of himself ascends until the 17th century, declines gradually afterwards, in this century it finally plummets. (#2,468)

Humanity fell into modern history like an animal into a trap. (#1,576)

To call obsolete what merely ceased to be intelligible is a vulgar error. (#1,893)

Posterity is not going to understand what an achievement mere good sense is in this insane century. (#1,114)

Intelligence is the only art that can survive in any historical climate. (#2,372)

Intelligence, in certain ages, must dedicate itself merely to restoring definitions. (#1,676)

The key event of this century is the demographic explosion of idiotic ideas. (#1,115)

The universalism of the plastic medieval languages took shape as regional variations, whereas the local varieties of the current cosmopolitan art are mere solecisms of pronunciation. (#1,579)

Europe, properly speaking, consists of those countries educated by feudalism. (#660)

And was achieved several times.
And not always that. (#857)

Order paralyzes. Disorder convulses.

A vocabulary of ten words is enough for a Marxist to explain history. (#374)

Class struggles are episodes.
The fabric of history is the conflict between equals. (#1,518)

The contemporary reader smiles when the medieval chronicler speaks of “Roman paladins,” but he remains serious when the Marxist discusses the “Greek bourgeoisie” or “American feudalism.” (#1,056)

What the leftist historian considers central to an age has never been the subject of works that have been admired by posterity. (#1,848)

The leftist writer never writes a history, but rather illustrates an outline with examples. (#2,244)

Compared to the sophisticated structure of every historical fact, Marxism’s generalizations possess a touching naiveté. (#2,957)

Two beings inspire particular pity today: the bourgeois politician whom history patiently silences, and the Marxist philosopher whom history patiently refutes. (#401)

Chance will always rule history, because it is not possible to organize the state in such a way that it does not matter who rules. (#63)

What does it matter that the historian says what men do if he does not know how to relate what they feel? (#91)

Verisimilitude is the temptation into which the amateur historian most easily falls. (#2,585)

Countries with an impoverished literature have an insipid history. (#2,417)

To reconstruct the genealogy of a system, we must at last learn to quantify necessity and the anecdote. (#2,210)

Without the influence of what the fool calls rhetoric, history would have been nothing more than a sordid tumult. (#1,913)

Without literary talent the historian inevitably falsifies history. (#2,677)

The historian deals with history like an artist painting a portrait.
The sociologist like a policeman adding to his file. (#895)

There is no social science so exact that the historian does not need to correct and adapt it to be able to use it. (#2,764)

Without a previous career as an historian, no one should be allowed to specialize in the social sciences. (#2,649)

A great historian is not so much one who notices defects in what he admires as one who acknowledges virtues in what he detests. (#911)

The historian’s task consists less in explaining what happened than in making understood how the contemporary understood what happened to him. (#765)

The historian does not establish himself in the past with the intention of better understanding the present.
What we were is not pertinent to his inquiry into what we are.
What we are is not pertinent to his investigation of what we were.
The past is not the historian’s apparent goal, but his real goal. (#839)

The historian should show us that the past was, at the same time, trivial like every present, and fascinating like every past. (#924)

We presume we can explain history, and yet we fail before the mystery of the person we know best. (#1,197)

An event arouses passion less when its protagonists are interesting than when its observers are intelligent. (#1,489)

When the intellectual climate where something occurs is lacking in originality, the occurrence only has interest for those whom it concerns physically. (#2,593)

History is what is reconstructed by an imagination capable of thinking the consciousness of others.
The rest is politics. (#824)

History relates what happened from above a certain level, but history happens below, in the common, the mediocre, the idiotic, the demented. (#2,193)

Authentic history is the transfiguration of the raw event by intelligence and imagination. (#1,921)

What the mob calls history is a florilegium of erroneous interpretations compiled by the passion of the day. (#1,492)

Such is the complexity of historical events that every theory finds cases to which it can be applied. (#1,169)

Grand theories of history become useful when they give up trying to explain everything. (#2,762)

To distinguish is the mandate of history. (#2,196)

History shows not the inefficacy of actions but the futility of intentions. (#94)

History, if we follow it with the eyes of a partisan, rather than observe it with mere curiosity, makes us swing foolishly back and forth between nostalgia and anger. (#1,015)

Progress is the offspring of knowledge of nature.
Faith in progress is the offspring of ignorance of history. (#1,214)

To criticize a present in the name of a past can be futile, but to have criticized it in the name of a future can turn out to be risible when that future arrives. (#2,663)

Falsifying the past is how the left has sought to elaborate the future. (#2,750)

Our contemporaries denigrate the past so that they do not commit suicide out of shame and nostalgia. (#1,305)

Those who live in the twilight of history imagine that the day is being born when night is approaching. (#1,659)

The future impassions those who believe in the efficacy of the will, whereas the past fascinates those who recognize the impotence of human endeavors.
What man aims for is always boring, but what he attains sometimes astonishes us. (#624)

Destructions and reconstructions, in history, have known authors.
Constructions are anonymous. (#668)

Let us bow our heads when the historian demonstrates that a certain thing happened, but let us be content to smile when he asserts that it was bound to happen. (#554)

The true historian’s greatest delight is the spectacle of a thesis colliding with a fact and shattering into a thousand pieces. (#1,608)

History charges a high price for the destruction of one if its rare successes. (#2,540)

History shows that man’s good ideas are accidental and his mistakes methodical. (#2,437)

None of the high points of history has been planned.
The reformer can only be credited with errors. (#2,897)

History might only come from insignificant actions. (#547)

The prejudices of other ages are incomprehensible to us when our own blind us. (#115)

The more fundamentally he shares the prejudices of his time, the easier it is for the historian to believe he possesses objective criteria by which to judge history.
Fashion is the only absolute which nobody disputes. (#966)

What is obvious to one age seems like an enigma to another age, and what is an enigma to one seems obvious to another.
In never-ending cycles. (#1,632)

What an age acclaims tends to be more incomprehensible than what it does not comprehend. (#1,655)

An epoch is not its ideas, nor its events, but its elusive accent. (#2,106)

The predominance of the social sciences hides more and more from contemporary historiography the difference between ages. (#2,455)

Everything in history begins before where we think it begins, and ends after where we think it ends. (#2,757)

There is no coincidence in history that does not submit to the coincidence of the circumstances. (#2,769)

Determining what is the cause and what is the effect tends to be an insoluble problem in history. (#2,767)

History is a picture book rather than a repertoire of notions. (#2,177)

The individual believes in the “meaning of history” when the foreseeable future appears favorable to his passions. (#542)

“Historical necessity” is usually just a name for human stupidity. (#2,773)

Denying that a “human nature” exists is the ideological trick the optimist employs to defend himself against history. (#1,124)

Mankind believes that it corrects its mistakes by repeating them. (#117)

It is not only between generations where experience is lost, but also between periods of an individual life. (#386)

The novel adds to history its third dimension. (#147)

An American historian cannot write history without lamenting that providence did not consult him beforehand. (#159)

Without the spread of oriental cults and without the Germanic invasions, Hellenistic civilization would have initiated, with Rome as its starting-point, the Americanization of the world. (#2,321)

It is not rare to find French historians for whom the history of the world is an episode in the history of France. (#697)

History allows for understanding, but it does not require absolution. (#2,503)

The stage of history has become stifling.
From the unlimited prehistoric spaces we have arrived at the possible ubiquity of the most trivial event. (#1,764)

Fear is the secret engine of this century’s endeavors. (#410)

Modern man destroys more when he constructs than when he destroys. (#493)

This century is turning out to be an interesting spectacle not for what it does, but for what it undoes. (#798)

When reason takes flight to escape history, it is not in the absolute where it alights, but in the fashion of the day. (#938)

History erects and topples, incessantly, the statues of different virtues on top of the unmoving pedestal of the same vices. (#276)

The economic interpretation of history is the beginning of wisdom.
But only its beginning. (#284)

The economic cause produces “something,” but only the historical juncture decides “what.” (#2,845)

Literary genres are born and decline as mysteriously as empires. (#2,165)

A nation’s soul is born from an historical event, matures by accepting its destiny, and dies when it admires itself and imitates itself. (#309)

The people that awakes, first shouts, then gets drunk, pillages, [and] murders, and later goes back to sleep. (#2,951)

Certain traumas to a people’s soul appear to be the only acquired trait that is inherited. (#2,508)

“To die” and “to disappear” are not synonyms when speaking of a nation. (#1,215)

Nations have two noble modes of existence—ascent or decadence—and one vulgar mode—prosperity. (#1,170)

Let us not speak badly of nationalism.
Without the virulence of nationalism, Europe and the world would already be ruled by a technical, rational, uniform empire.
Let us give credit to nationalism for two centuries, at least, of spiritual spontaneity, of free expression of the national soul, of rich historical diversity.
Nationalism was the last spasm of the individual before the gray death awaiting it. (#482)

National histories have all finally flowed into a degenerate occidentalism. (#2,024)

Even when patriotic historians become angry, the history of many countries is completely lacking in interest. (#2,864)

National histories are interesting until the country “modernizes.”
After that statistics are enough. (#1,987)

A nation does not “demystify” its past without impoverishing its present substance. (#2,301)

Universal history is the story of lost opportunities. (#1,210)

The authentic aristocracy is a popular dream betrayed by historical aristocracies. (#1,674)

The irruption of non-European history into the Western tradition is an episode in the intellectual life of the 19th century.
The participants in the Western tradition are not necessary heirs of non-Western history and can only inherit it by respecting the intellectual conditions of its entry into the patrimony of the West.
In other words, there can be Sinologists in the West, for instance, but no Taoists. (#1,143)

To attribute an axial position in history to the West would be extravagant, if the rest of the world copied only its technology, if any form which is invented today, in whatever area, did not always appear to be invented by a Westerner without talent. (#1,874)

Modern man no longer dares to preach that the individual is born as a blank slate.
Too many mishaps have taught him that we are the oppressed heirs of our family, our race, our blood.
Blood is not an innocent liquid, but the viscous paste of history. (#997)

The history of these Latin American republics should be written without disdain but with irony. (#620)

The history of neither a people nor an individual is intelligible to us if we do not acknowledge that the individual’s or the people’s soul can die without the people or the individual dying. (#434)

The history of man is not the catalog of his situations, but the account of his unpredictable ways of using them. (#397)

So unforeseeable are the consequences of his actions that man finally ends up being a mere spectator of the history he makes. (#2,182)

Every event assumes its form as the result of all the forces acting where the event takes place.
Everything descends indirectly from everything. (#2,198)

Even when it is unforeseeable an event is explicable, but even when it is explicable it is unforeseeable. (#2,248)

The historian who speaks of cause, and not of causes, should be fired immediately. (#2,844)

Man’s freedom does not free him from necessity.
But twists it into unforeseeable consequences. (#2,781)

The diversity of history is the effect of always equal causes acting on always diverse individualities. (#2,816)

The nature of the effect, in history, depends on the nature of the individual on which the cause acts. (#2,817)

In history, understanding the individual and understanding the general condition each other reciprocally. (#2,763)

The historian has three themes: the individuality of persons, the individuality of concrete totalities, the individuality of the instant. (#1,183)

Individuals interest the modern historian less than their circumstances.
A reflection of the current confusion: the way of life matters more than the quality of the one who lives. (#593)

A just society would be lacking in interest.

No period is a transition period.
Every age is an absolute that devours itself. (#602)

The historian’s greatest sin lies in viewing any age whatsoever as only an anticipation, preparation, or cause of another. (#809)

Each moment has its own law, and not just the law which binds it to all other moments. (#523)

Every strict classification of an historical event distorts it. (#2,638)

History is irreversible.
But it is not unrepeatable. (#1,546)

History does not have laws that allow for predictions; but it does have contexts that allow for explanations, and tendencies that allow for presentiments. (#1,682)

The most ironic thing about history is that foreseeing is so difficult and having foreseen so obvious. (#2,721)

The alleged “laws of sociology” are more or less extensively documented historical facts. (#2,018)

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Surgery relieves bunion pain and deformity

Bunions aren’t just unattractive lumps on your big toe. They’re a common, progressive foot deformity that can become quite painful. But many people don’t take them seriously and delay treatment for years. Conservative treatment may help to relieve the symptoms, but bunions get worse over time, and surgery is the only way to fix the deformity.

“It’s not uncommon for patients to wait until they absolutely can’t stand it anymore,” says Dr. Fred Hainge of Hainge & Groth Foot and Ankle Clinic of Colorado Springs. Not only that, but waiting can mean that arthritis sets in. It’s much harder to fix them if arthritis is present.

Thanks to technological advances, the procedures that Drs. Hainge and his partner Bryan Groth perform are highly successful and have a low risk of complications.

What are bunions?

Symptoms of bunions include a bony bump on the big toe joint, redness and calloused skin at the site, and a big toe that turns in toward the other toes. In advanced cases, the big toe crosses over the second toe.

Bunions are more common in women than in men and in older people. But they can occur in younger people, too. In 80 percent of cases, there is a family history of bunions.

“We are often asked whether shoes cause bunions,” Dr. Hainge says. “In a small percentage of patients, that can be true. More often, shoes make it worse and increase symptoms.” Shoes with a narrow toe box and high heels aggravate bunions.

Properly fitted shoes, arch supports, orthotics, and anti-inflammatory medications may slow the progression of the deformity and relieve discomfort, but surgery is recommended when movement is limited or the pain of a bunion interferes with daily activities.

“If a bunion hurts more than three or four days a week, most people are gratified with surgery,” Dr. Groth says.

State-of-the-art bunion surgery

When a patient comes in, Drs. Hainge and Groth do a complete evaluation, including x-rays and gait analysis. If the patient’s symptoms are relatively mild, the surgeon might suggest conservative treatment, such as wearing shoes with a wider toe box, avoiding stitching or seams that cross over the bunion deformity, and using orthotics.

If surgery is suggested and the patient elects it, a second appointment is set. Because the patient will need assistance for the first week after the procedure, family or friends are invited to attend.

Drs. Hainge and Groth perform the majority of their procedures at outpatient surgery centers and also work at all local hospitals. The patient can choose general or local anesthesia and is given an ankle block that keeps the foot numb for 14 to 18 hours after surgery. Most of the stitching is done using plastic surgery techniques for a good appearance.

Surgery generally takes less than an hour, and the patient on average is discharged an hour after surgery. The patient is fitted with a special bunion shoe. Most people require narcotic painkillers for the first 48 to 72 hours after surgery. Then they can decrease the amount of pain medication until any pain can be controlled with medications like Advil.

Recovering after surgery

Drs. Hainge and Groth monitor patients carefully during their recovery.

“We see them the third or fourth day for an infection check and apply a lower-profile dressing,” Dr. Groth says. X-rays are taken. Sutures are removed after about two weeks.

The patient is seen again after five or six weeks, and X-rays are repeated. If the bone shows signs of healing, the patient can start wearing loose-fitting, stiff-soled shoes and can begin to increase weight-bearing activities.

Soon after surgery the patient will begin range-of-motion exercises to keep the toe from becoming too stiff.

Fewer than 10 percent of patients experience complications, which can include infection, recurrence of the bunion, stiffness, and continued pain due to arthritis. Patients with diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis, or those who smoke, heal more slowly.

Healing does require some time and restraints on activity. Patients usually need to keep the foot elevated for the first 10 days, although limited weight bearing will be permitted and encouraged. By the fourth to sixth week, patients can begin to wear loose shoes. Running and jumping usually can be resumed about 10 weeks after the procedure, but there may be some swelling for three to four months or longer.

Patients usually ask when they can return to work after surgery.

“It depends on the individual,” Dr. Hainge says. “I tell people to give themselves two weeks if they have a sit-down job, mostly for swelling control. People who do desk work can go back to work, keeping the foot elevated. If people have a job where they’re on their feet, it takes six to eight weeks, and they won’t be able to do 10- to 12-hour shifts until about 2½ months.”

Patients with bunions often have other conditions such as knee, hip, or low-back problems. Drs. Hainge and Groth may refer patients to other specialists if necessary.

“We see it all in the feet,” Dr. Groth says.


What Is ADHD? Attention Deficit Diagnosis and Treatment Information

Someday, when our knowledge of the brain is greater, the diagnosis and treatment of children with ADHD will be more nuanced.

More About ADHD

In my 40 years as a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I have treated thousands of youngsters. With some children, I am able to make a quick evaluation about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and outline a course of ADHD treatment.

With others — more often than I care to admit — I have to tell parents that it's not clear what is wrong. It's not that I lack the expertise or diagnostic skills. It's just that psychiatry isn't quite as far along as other medical specialties.

A pediatrician can do a throat culture and tell at once whether a child needs an antibiotic; appropriate treatment follows the diagnosis. In contrast, psychiatrists are often required to initiate a specific treatment and worry about clarifying the diagnosis later on. As I often tell parents, we must "put out the fire and blow the smoke away" before we can figure out what started the fire.

If a child is having problems in school, he may have attention deficit disorder (ADD ADHD), but it's also possible that he has a learning disability. Or depression. Or anxiety. Sometimes what looks like ADHD is the result of family tensions.

If ADHD seems to be even a part of such a mixed clinical picture, I typically prescribe ADHD medication. If this solves the problem, terrific. But in many cases, another intervention is needed to address persistent academic, emotional, or family problems. Only weeks or months after treatment has been initiated will the full clinical picture become clear.

I understand parents' concern about medicating their children. My clinical knowledge notwithstanding, I agonized over whether my granddaughter, who has ADHD, should be on meds. (Ultimately, we decided she should.) I have found, however, that parents often feel better about ADHD meds when they understand a bit about neurotransmitters, the remarkable compounds that govern brain function.

How neurotransmitters work

For the various regions to do their jobs, they must be linked to one another with extensive "wiring." Of course, there aren't really wires in the brain. Rather, there are myriad "pathways," or neural circuits, that carry information from one brain region to another.

ADHD 101
Everything You Need to Know

How does a specific neurotransmitter know precisely which neuron to attach to, when there are so many other neurons nearby? Each neurotransmitter has a unique molecular structure — a "key," if you will — that is able to attach only to a neuron with the corresponding receptor site, or “lock.” When the key finds the neuron bearing the right lock, the neurotransmitter binds to and stimulates that neuron.

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So here's our challenge: let's start from a blank sheet and imagine the next generation of strollers…
The ZEN full-size stroller, the YOGA all-in-one carrycot, and the YOYO lightweight stroller, are all born from this ambition.


Kye Allums made news when he came out as the first transgender man to play on a NCAA Division 1 women's basketball team in November 2010. At the time, Allums was a George Washington University junior majoring in interior design. When he disclosed his gender identity to his teammates and coach, he was greeted with open arms.

Allums's announcement also prompted the NCAA to review how it handles transgender athletes and the organization eventually allowed Allums to continue playing. In an interview with The Advocate, Allums said, "Hopefully [I'll be] making a difference in the world in some kind of way."

Allums ended up not playing his senior year. Not many details were given for his departure, though some pointed to multiple concussions he received while playing basketball. When asked what he would do if he could no longer play, Allums responded, "I'll just be trying to make some kind of difference in the world... Try to get into grad school and look forward to my life."

Allums helped paved the path for other transgender athletes and continues to be inspiration for all of us looking to make our way in the world.


Patient Testimonial

Korina, GUARDIAN® Limb Salvage System Recipient

When Korina first learned that she had cancer, three days before her 19th birthday, she was devastated. "It tore my world apart," she remembers. Korina had decided to visit her physician after noticing strange swelling on her left knee. Her doctor discovered a mass at the end of her femur and diagnosed Korina with osteosarcoma—the most common form of bone cancer found in children and adolescents.

An active sophomore, Korina could not bear the possibility of amputation, which her doctor had warned her might be necessary. She traveled to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, where orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Michael Neel recommended an alternative to amputation-an internal prosthetic implant called the GUARDIAN® Limb Salvage System. Korina wanted nothing more than her own two legs, and was so pleased to have this option that she agreed to the surgery right away.

On October 23, 2003, Korina was implanted with the GUARDIAN® System in her left leg. The GUARDIAN® System consists of a hinged knee that includes tibial and femoral assemblies and stems to attach the components to the bones. It is ideal for patients who have experienced severe bone loss. After the surgery, Korina remembers constantly touching her left leg to make sure it was still there.

The devastation of having cancer took its toll on Korina but fortunately, a nurse introduced her to another St. Jude patient, Emily, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma just months before Korina. Just a couple years older than Korina, she could directly relate to Korina’s struggles. Emily’s talks and encouragement during physical therapy gave Korina the strength to stay positive during the darkest times. "Even now, I can still call on Emily. We have a strong bond that is different from any other friendship." Almost two years later on August 8, 2005, the roles reversed as Korina received a second implant before Emily. Just as Emily helped Korina prepare for her first surgery, Korina encouraged Emily during her second surgery.

Now, Korina reports she can sit normally and walk the same speed as others without anyone knowing about her cancer or surgery. In May, she will graduate with an associate degree in nursing. Her goal is to work at St. Jude and give back to the hospital and the individuals who helped her regain her life.


Jereed (also jerreed, jerid, or jerrid; Cirit aka Çavgan) is a traditional Turkish equestrian team sport played outdoors on horseback in which the objective is to score points by throwing a blunt wooden javelin at opposing team's horsemen. Played by Turkic people in Central Asia as the essential sporting and ceremonial game, it was brought to Anatolia during the westward migration in the beginning of the 11th century. In the Ottoman Empire, the game became very popular and widespread throughout the Ottoman territories. This equestrian game, enjoyed by Turks over the centuries, is practiced today mainly in rural areas of eastern, southeastern and central Anatolian provinces at wedding ceremonies and regional festivals.

Jereed came to Anatolia with Turks as they migrated in 1071 from their homelands in Central Asia. Later in the 16th century, Ottoman Turks accepted it as a wargame, and it widespread from that time onwards. In peace time, jereed was played to improve the cavalry’s attack and defense skills, and during campaigns to whip up their enthusiasm for battle. Some of the Ottoman sultans are known to have been jereed players, and early sultans like Bayezid I (1389-1402) and Mehmed I (1413-1421) attached importance to jereed in the training of their armies. A superior class of cavalrymen known as "cündi" was formed from those skilled at jereed. It spread over to Arabia and European countries and, was enjoyed in German and French language speaking territories in the 17th century.

In the 19th century, it gained its highest popularity as a show sport and game at the court and in all Ottoman ruled territories. However, the game was not without danger, and injuries and even death from fall-offs in the attempt to catch the flying jereed sticks prompted Mahmud II (1808-1839) in 1826 to ban the sport after he dissolved the Janissary Corps. Although playing jereed resumed before long, particularly in the provinces, it never recovered the importance of former times.

Today, jereed is not as widespread as it once was, but is still enjoyed as a spectator sport, primarily in Erzurum, but also in the easterly provinces of Artvin, Kars, Bayburt, in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Siirt and also in the Central Anatolian province of Konya. Cultural folkloric societies are also attempting to keep this traditional sport alive by organizing local tournaments. Around 50 clubs in nine provinces in Turkey organize jereed.

Game and rules

Jereed is a means of improving equestrian skills, and involves two teams of horsemen, each armed with dried oak or poplar sticks. The sticks with rubber-tipped, blunt ends are 70-100 cm in length and 2-3 cm in diameter. Originally, the sticks were heavier and thicker, however in order to reduce the risk of injury, players came to prefer sticks made of poplar wood, which become lighter when dried.

The teams are formed by six, eight or twelve players, standing on opposite sides of a field marked within a square of 70 to 130 meters. There are three "end zones" of about six meters deep at each end of the field, being a team’s waiting area, thus meaning a neutral zone and the opposing team’s throwing area. Each team has its own flag. The horses should not be younger than four years of age. A medium height horse is preferred because tall horses are not quick to maneuver, therefore most suitable ones are Arabian and Turkoman horses.

The Jereed game begins with introduction of the players to the spectators with words of praise, followed by handshakes at center field and a parade of each team with its flag. Meanwhile drums and zurnas (reed pipes) play Ottoman military marches and Köroğlu folk music.

Riders test the field and their horses, than go back to their section. Jereed players in traditional regional costumes, a remembrance of the Sipahis (Ottoman cavalrymen), mount their local breed horses, specially trained for this sport. The teams line up facing one another on the field, each player at a distance of about 10 meters from the next. With their right hand, they hold the first jereed that they will throw while holding other jereed in their left hand.

At the beginning of the game, it is traditional for the youngest rider to trot towards the opposing team, shout the name of a player and at a distance of 30 to 40 meters toss his jereed at that player challenging him to enter the game. Then, he gallops back to his side, meanwhile the challenged player pursues him and throws a jereed at the fleeing player. Another player from the first team comes out and meets the retreating rider. The player from the second team starts riding quickly to his corner and takes his former place. This time, his rival chases him and throws a jereed at him. The fast-charging chase game goes on in two 45-minute periods.

This process of chasing and fleeing, while trying to hit an opponent with a stick, is the essence of the game, which requires skill and sportsmanship. To hit the horse instead of the rider, which is regarded as a sign of inexperience, is against the rules, and causes the offender is sent off the field.

The referees, who are former jereed players with standing in the community, count the number of hits and at the end of the game announce the winning team. Experienced jereed players rarely miss hitting an opponent, and are skilled at avoiding hits themselves by performing acrobatics on horseback. Part of the skill lies in training the horses so that they play a significant role in the outcome of the game. The formation of the two teams has its traditional etiquette. Care is taken not to put players, who are on bad terms in opposing teams, and players, who display deliberately hostile behavior during a match are blacklisted.

A player wins points when he manages to hit his rival with the stick, or ride him out, or catch an incoming jereed in mid-air. He will get negative points for actions that might endanger the horse, such as riding out of bounds or striking a horse intentionally, or falling off his horse, or throwing the stick from inside the neutral zone, or throwing from closer than five meters during pursuit. Referees posted at the center line and at each end of the field award both positive and negative points with their flags.

The players make several different defensive maneuvers in order to avoid being hit by leaning towards either side of the horse, under the horse’s stomach or even its neck. Some players score more points by hitting his opponent three or four times before that player manages to escape and take his place back in his row. Jereed boys run across the field to retrieve errant throws and deliver them to the end zones of both sides. Even though today jereed tips are rounded rubber and light, sometimes players might be injured if they are hit on the head, eyes or ears. With today's sticks it is very rare but these injuries might even result in death. If a player dies in the field, he is considered to have lost his life in battle as a martyr and his relatives do not sue against other player, except that a public case is opened by the court and a legal trial is done anyway. Therefore, if there are any known hostilities amongst players they can be left out of the tournament or put in the same team by the elder people of the locality, or by the referees, before the game starts.

At the end of the game, the winner is announced by a council of former jereed players depending on points collected by two teams. Organizers give awards to the winning team and a banquet is held.

  • Değnek, aka Diğnek or Deynek (stick) - The name given to jereed in some regions.
  • Meydan - Flat ground field for playing jereed game.
  • Cirit havası (Jereed game music) - One or all of the melodies played with drum or zurna while the jereed game is being played.
  • At oynatma havası - Name of the rhythms, melodies for the rhythmic horse dance in the province of Tunceli, played before the jereed game.
  • At oyunu - The name of jereed game in the provinces of Tunceli and Muş.
  • Aheste (slow gait) - Slowly walks of the horse by loading onto its back hip.
  • Rahvan (amble) - The style of horse walk without shaking the rider.
  • Adeta (walk) - The normal walk of the horse.
  • Tırıs (trot) - Fast and shaky walk of the horse with crosswise steps.
  • Dörtnal (gallop) - Fastest gait of the horse.
  • Hücum dörtnal (stot) - The gait of the horse to the target faster than gallop.
  • Acemi (inexperienced) - Player, whose stick touches his rival's horse.
  • Sipahi aka Sipah or İspahi (cavalryman) - Soldier mounted on horseback at Ottoman times. This title is also given today to skillful horsemen and successful jereed players.
  • Cündi - Very skilled horseman.
  • Şehit (martyr) - Horseman, who died in the jereed game.
  • Alay - Horsemen of a team in a row formation.
  • Atbaşı (head-to-head) - The situation that two horses running in the same line.
  • Alay basmak - Penetrating into opponent's line formation by losing control of own horse.

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IMP Awards > Movie Poster Taglines

Movie Poster Taglines

"He always takes one" - The Collector (2009)

"He carries death... and a shovel!" - Hellmouth (2013)

"He delivers" - The Courier (2010)

"He fought repression with his greatest gift. His imagination." - Imagining Argentina (2003)

"He fought to save the world. They fought to save him." - Sergio (2009)

"He found himself in the love around him." - Fugitive Pieces (2008)

"He gave a year of his life. Now he's stealing it back." - Wasteland (2013)

"He gave her a gift this town will never forget." - Christmas in Conway (tv)

"He gave her a ring. His mom gave her a finger." - Monster-In-Law (2005)

"He gave her flowers. She gave him a chance." - Bed Of Roses (1996)

"He gave them everything. Now it's time to give back." - Thunder Soul (2010)

"He gave up what he believed in for the ones he loved." - Instinct (1999)

"He got reality mixed up with a dream. A bad dream." - The Woman Chaser (1999)

"He had a scheme. She had a motive." - Flawless (2008)

"He had everything, but nothing was enough." - Terminal Bliss (1992)

"He had nothing left to lose ...until now." - Finding Joy (2013)


Teaching Teens Emotional Intelligence

by Chris

Post image for Teaching Teens Emotional Intelligence

Helping teenagers succeed at school is about a lot more than just learning the 3 R’s and having access to the internet. As discussed in the last post a teen’s capacity to learn can be severely impacted by their emotional state. When teens feel anxious, angry, or upset they will absorb far less than when they are happy, safe, and comfortable with their surroundings.

Parents can contribute to their teenager’s emotional well being by attending to the ‘3 E’s’ of emotional nurture- Eliminate, Educate and Encourage. The previous post covered how to improve teenage learning by eliminating common causes of stress or anxiety for teens.  It also covered the basic components of Emotional Intelligence that teens can learn.

This post will detail how parents can educate and encourage their teens to develop their emotional intelligence and consequently improve their capacity for learning.

Teenagers can learn to develop and improve their emotional intelligence. As parents there is lot you can do to help your teen in this regard.

 Self Awareness

Encourage teens to talk about their feelings. The act of describing emotions helps teens focus on how they are feeling and develop an improved awareness of what is happening for them emotionally.  Build a language between you and your teen, which involves describing your feelings out loud; asking how your teenagers feel; teaching them they can have two feelings at the same time.

Promote the use of “I statements” within the family.  Instead of accusing or labeling other people, model and promote language that take ownership of personal feelings.  Try using expressions like “I get really frustrated when she..” .  instead of “She is always mean to me.”

Be aware that you can teach emotional competency through personal stories, current events, discussions of movies or web sites. Recognize and discuss the types of emotional behaviors from these media.

Mood management

Teach your teens how to shake off a bad mood.  Promoting and modelling basic anger management and conflict resolution skills will help prevent teens from becoming victims of their negative feelings.

Teach your teens that anger is a normal part of life; it is okay to be angry; but it is important not to make things worse when expressing or dealing with anger. Create norms in your house such as having ‘cool off’ or ‘timeouts’ is okay if people feel their anger getting on top of them and they are worried about saying or doing something unhelpful.

Look for teachable moments that occur throughout the day, moments that enable you to discuss moods, conflict resolution or managing feelings with your teenager.

Self-motivation is the internal drive to pursue and achieve goals.  Teens will be motivated from within when they believe they are able to succeed and achieve goals that are attainable.

Parents can nurture their teen’s inner drive by focusing on their teenager’s strengths and interests and actively encouraging them when they show enthusiasm for a particular subject or pursuit.

Teaching teens to set attainable goals is also important. Often teenagers need help in taking big challenges and breaking them up into smaller achievable tasks.  Get your teen to focus on the most immediate aspect of the challenge or task and work their way through a problem one step at a time.

Promote optimism with your teenager. Encourage them to think of opportunities and creative ways to solve problems. This is especially important when they are confronted with setbacks or disappointments. Helping teens focus on positive ways forward instead of the negatives of the past can make a big difference in how they tackle the challenges of life.

Nurturing empathy in your teenagers provides an important foundation for forming and maintaining strong inter personal relationships.

The most obvious way parents can teach empathy is to demonstrate it the way they relate with their teenagers. As a parent try putting yourself  in your teenager’s shoes before responding to whatever it is they have said or done.  The capacity to see a situation from your teen’s perspective not only models empathy; it also is the secret to responding effectively to many aspects of teenage behaviour.

Make the most of opportunities to get your teen to think about how someone else might be thinking or feeling when situations arise at home or at school.

Management of relationships

Positive social relationships are an integral part of succeeding in all walks of life.  The most fundamental way teens learn about managing relationships is in the context of the family. Even as your kids become teenagers and get older try to create and maintain regular family time when everyone is together to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Having good impulse control has been shown to be a key ingredient in a teenager’s ability to manage personal relationships. Helping your teen to learn the difference between feelings and actions is the key. When teens learn that they are not victims of their feelings, but can choose how to act or express their emotions, they are able to nurture their personal relationships more successfully.

Affirming and acknowledging your teenager’s emotional development is an often-overlooked aspect of parent education for teens.

When teenagers achieve or attain a goal their self-esteem is strengthened. By acknowledging and affirming achievement, parents further bolster the self-concept of their kids.

When it comes to learning parents help their teens not only by acknowledging academic grades but also their emotional resilience, problem solving, and personal growth in dealing with difficult emotions.

Being attentive to the social and emotional development of your teens will give you the opportunity to affirm and applaud the positive steps they take in developing their emotional intelligence.

Ways to encourage your teen’s emotional development include:

  • Congratulate them when they complete a challenging assignment
  • Applaud them when they demonstrate empathy for others
  •  Affirm them when they choose not to lash out when angry
  • Praise them when they come up with alternative or creative ways to solve problems
  •  Provide as much time and energy as you can spare to support their passions and interests
  •  Invite them to participate and contribute to family decisions and discussions
  •  Spend one on one time with your teen doing things you know they like to do.

Above all remember learning is not all about a young persons IQ and having a good school.  They need to be in a good emotional space and have the abilities to manage their feelings. Help your teen to by focusing on the ’3 E’s’ as well as the ’3 R’s’.


Raindrop Technique

The raindrop technique can be used as a tool to provide a healthy balance to the body. Essential oils also stimulate the nerves and the re-growth of tissue.

Just like how blood gives our body life, essential oils are the life of plants. They can have healing effects on the body, especially the ones that are specifically chosen for this technique. When applied to the body, the oils are absorbed into the skin and travel down through the dermis levels into the interstitial fluids. They are helpful in fighting bacteria and viruses that travel through the body. Essential oils have also been known to improve the immune system.

During the raindrop technique, the patient changes into their undergarments and lies on their stomach on a massage table. The oils are dropped onto the patient’s body from approximately six inches above the spine. This technique is used so that there is no interference by the therapist between the initial reaction of the oils energy and the patient’s energy. The process uses a total of seven essential oils and two blends of other therapeutic oils that are the choice of the patient. The essential oils used are Oregano (battles viruses), Thyme (anti-viral), Birch (bone repair), Basil (muscle relaxant), Peppermint (topical analgesic), Valor (for spinal alignment and muscle problems), and Marjoram (anti-spasmodic).

Afterwards, a hot compress, consisting of a warm towel and a heating pad, will be applied to the body which provides further assistance to releasing the benefits of the essential oils. The heat compress is left on the body for five to 20 minutes and then four of the oils used during the procedure are then applied along the inside of the legs. The legs are then also massaged using the vita flex technique. The entire process takes about 50 minutes to complete, and the oils will continue to benefit the body for up to a week after the procedure.

The raindrop technique can have many benefits since it is a detoxifying process. It helps rid of any toxins or bacteria that are deep within the body and provides a boost to the immune system. It is used to help realign the spine, reduces stress, and relieves back pain and tension. The technique is highly relaxing and it is recommended that you take the rest of the day off after the massage just to relax your body and slowly ease it back into the real world. Also, for people with sensitive skin the oils may cause some reddening or excessive warming of the skin, but this can be relieved quickly and the benefits of the raindrop technique will be well worth it.

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News Stories

Near Death Experiences Taken Seriously by Science

After years of ridicule and denial, scientists and doctors are finally beginning to take near death experiences (NDEs) seriously, as shown by a report in the December 15 issue of the respected English medical journal The Lancet.

In a recent study conducted in the Netherlands, Dr. Pim van Lommel and colleagues studied 62 patients who said they had a near-death experience after going into cardiac arrest. They found that factors such as medication and the duration of unconsciousness did not explain the phenomenon. ?Our results show that medical factors cannot account for occurrence of near-death experiences,? says van Lommel.

A small number of people who survive life-threatening circumstances report having had ?an extraordinary experience,? says van Lommel. These experiences often involve visions of a light or a deceased relative, flashbacks of life events or an out-of-body sensation.

Researchers in the past have dismissed these experiences as being caused by brain cells dying from lack of oxygen. Others point to psychological factors such as fear of death, or to the changing state of consciousness people may go through in a life-threatening condition.

NDE researchers usually ask survivors to tell them about the events long after they occurred. The investigators tried to overcome this problem by interviewing cardiac-arrest survivors within days of being resuscitated and again 2 and 8 years later. In the first interviews, 62 of 344 survivors (18%) reported near-death experiences. All 344 had been clinically dead, meaning they were unconscious due to a lack of blood and oxygen to the brain.

The patients? near-death experiences varied, with 41 having a deeper experience and the rest reporting more superficial events. Two years later, 6 out of the second group decided they had not had a NDE. But the patients who did have one were able to recall it ?almost exactly? 8 years later, the researchers found. In contrast with cardiac arrest survivors who did not have a NDE, they were less afraid of death and had a stronger belief in an after-life. They also were more interested in the meaning of life and in showing love and acceptance to others. However, getting through their hospital experience was much more complicated for NDE patients. Their positive changes were more obvious after eight years than they were after two years.

?The long-lasting transformational effects of an experience that lasts for only a few minutes of cardiac arrest is a surprising and unexpected finding,? says van Lommel. ?Society?s negative response to NDE ... leads individuals to deny or suppress their experience for fear of rejection or ridicule. Thus social conditioning causes NDE to be traumatic, although in itself it is not a psychotraumatic experience...Only gradually and with difficulty is an NDE accepted and integrated.?

A nurse said that one patient was in a coma when she removed his dentures. Later the patient identified her as the person who knew where to find his dentures, and he accurately described where they were-- in the drawer of a medical cart. He said he had seen the events from above the hospital bed and watched doctors? efforts to save his life.

Half the patients said they were aware of being dead, and about one in four had an out-of-body experience. Nearly one in three said they met deceased people. More than one in five said they communicated with light, and nearly a third reported moving through a tunnel. More than one in 10 said they reviewed their lives, and more than one in four said they saw a celestial landscape.

The researchers could not find any clear explanation for why a small percentage of patients had a near-death experience while most did not. If ?purely physiological factors? like a cutoff of oxygen to the brain were the cause, most of the study patients should have had an NDE. ?We did not show that psychological, neurophysiological, or physiological factors caused these experiences after cardiac arrest,? the researchers say.

Most neuroscientists believe that consciousness is a byproduct of the physical brain, that mind arises from matter. But if near-death experiences are real, this means that people can be conscious of events around them even when they are physically unconscious and their brains do not show signs of electrical activity. How can consciousness be independent of brain function?

?Compare it with a TV? program, says van Lommel. ?If you open the TV set you will not find the program. The TV set is a receiver. When you turn off your TV set, the program is still there but you can?t see it. When you [turn] off your brain, your consciousness is there but you can?t feel it in your body.? He says his study suggests that researchers investigating consciousness ?should not look in the cells and molecules alone.? Dr. Christopher C. French of the University of London thinks NDEs could be false memories and says, "Recent psychological studies have shown conclusively that simply imagining that one has had experiences that had in fact never been encountered will lead to the development of false memories for those experiences.? He suggests that this may happen due to patients? natural tendency to try to fill in gaps in their memory caused by their brush with death.

?We have understandable and natural urges to believe we will survive bodily death and we will be reunited with our departed loved ones,? French says. ?So anything that would support that idea -- reincarnation, mediums, ghosts -- presents evidence of the survival of the soul. It?s something that we would all desperately like to believe is true.?

Bruce Greyson, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, says that current experiments are being done in which tiny signs are placed on the ceilings of hospital rooms, so that if people are genuinely having out-of-body experiences and hovering over their beds, they will be able to see the signs and provide proof of the phenomenon. ?Brain chemistry does not explain these phenomena,? he says. ?I don?t know what the explanation is, but our current understanding of brain chemistry falls short.?

For a discussion of the near-death experience and ?life between lives,? listen to the December 22 Dreamland archive and read ?Destiny of Souls? by Michael Newton. For more information,click here.

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Zaramo, Zalamo of Tanzania

Zaramo marriages are usually polygamous and divorce is frequent. Family names are passed down through the mother. Their society is divided into clans which recognize a common descent. The children always belong to the clan of their mother rather than their father. A great event for the family and clan is the birth of a child, especially if this child is a girl, since this ensures the passing on of the family name. Zaramo are predominantly Muslim and observe basic Islamic practices, however, many have mixed Islamic beliefs with their traditional ethnic religion. Traditional Zaramo believe in one supreme being called Mulungu.

Ministry Obstacles
Tribal hostilities may make it difficult for Christian tribes to take the good news of Christ to the Zaramo people.

Outreach Ideas
There are many strongly Christian tribes in Tanzania. Pray that some of these will be given a burden to share Christ with the Zaramo people. Pray the Lord will show them how to best do that.

Pray for the followers of Christ
There are a few followers of Jesus among the Zaramo, but not many. Pray these Christians will faithfully fellowship together, considering how to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Pray for the entire people group
Pray for improved literacy levels for the Zaramo, and for strong marriages.

Scripture Focus

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Each Yara fertilizer product is precisely formulated to provide accurately targeted nutrition that suits specific situations. We recognize that soils, crops and climates are uniquely varied and that all fields and crops will have different nutritional requirements. Our approach is to properly identify and meet these requirements effectively and in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The Yara portfolio – sold as five main brands – represents the most complete product portfolio in the industry. These are the pillars around which a successful crop is built, bringing together globally acquired crop knowledge and regional expertise to provide a value-adding, premium plant nutrient range, precisely focused on crop requirements.

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Fluid Flow in the Subsurface (Darcy's Law)

The principle that governs how fluid moves in the subsurface is called Darcy's law.  Darcy’s law is an equation that defines the ability of a fluid to flow through a porous media such as rock.  It relies on the fact that the amount of flow between two points is directly related to the difference in pressure between the points, the distance between the points, and the interconnectivity of flow pathways in the rock between the points.  The measurement of interconnectivity is called permeability.

In the subsurface, rock is deposited in layers.  Fluid flow within and between the rock layers is governed by the permeability of the rocks.  However, to account for permeability, it must be measured in both the vertical and horizontal directions.  For example, shale typically has permeabilities that are much lower vertically than horizontally (assuming flat lying shale beds).  This means that it is difficult for fluid to flow up and down through a shale bed but much easier for it to flow from side to side.  A good example of this characteristic is shown in the picture at left; which clearly indicates that it would be much easier for water to flow along the horizontal bedding planes in the shale where there are natural flow pathways instead of vertically where there are few flow pathways.

Ultimately, if the pressure difference between a hydraulically fractured zone and a fresh water aquifer is not great, the distance between the zones is relatively large, and there are rocks with low vertical permeabilities in between the deeper and the shallower zones, flow between the zones is unlikely to occur.  The exception to this is where there is a separate flow pathway such as an open borehole or a series of faults or joints that intersect both the fractured zone and the fresh water aquifer.  Under either of these circumstances, the pressure difference and distance will be the determining factors as to whether fluid can migrate from the lower to the upper zone.

For those with a greater interest in the mathematic principles behind fluid flow in the subsurface, the following is a description of Darcy's Law:

Darcy’s law is the equation that defines the ability of a fluid to flow through a porous media such as rock.  It relies on the principle that the amount of flow between two points is directly proportional to the difference in pressure between the points and the ability of the media through which it is flowing to impede the flow.  Here pressure refers to the excess of local pressure over the normal hydrostatic fluid pressure which, due to gravity, increases with depth like in a standing column of water.   This factor of flow impedance is referred to as permeability.  Put another way, Darcy's law is a simple proportional relationship between the instantaneous discharge rate through a porous medium and the pressure drop over a given distance.

In modern format, using a particular sign convention, Darcy's law is usually written as:

Q = -KA dh/dl

Q =     rate of water flow (volume per time)
K =     hydraulic conductivity
A =     column cross sectional area
dh/dl = hydraulic gradient, that is, the change in head over the length of interest.

The following is a diagrammatic expression of Darcy's Law:

When calculating the possibility of fluid flow from a hydraulically fractured zone to a fresh water zone the application of Darcy’s law is critical because it sets out the specific conditions under which fluid could flow from one zone to another and will ultimately determine whether or not hydraulic fracturing fluids can reach a fresh water zone.

The darcy is referenced to a mixture of unit systems. A medium with a permeability of 1 darcy permits a flow of 1 cm³/s of a fluid with viscosity 1 cP (1 mPa·s) under a pressure gradient of 1 atm/cm acting across an area of 1 cm². A millidarcy (mD) is equal to 0.001 darcy.

Find Well

Ground Water Protection Council Interstate Oil and Gas


cerca qualsiasi parola, ad esempio half chub:
Similar to Badunka Dunk but deragatory. A woman who is circumfa dunk is round all over.

A cross between circumference and badunka dunk.
She's so circumfa dunk she rolled down the hill like that boulder in the firstIndiana Jones movie.
di Phrenesicko Decapitate 25 maggio 2005

Words related to circumfa dunk

badunka dunk indiana jones


Chapter 8 Biology

59 terms by luciaelgin

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where does energy come from

sun is a key source

produces glucose + O2 ->respiration-> CO2H2O+ energy celles must capture

-energy in bonds of glucose

where glycolysis takes place

energy stored in glucose

in bonds, all cells metabolize glucose for energy

long term and storage energy

stored in glucose and fat

short term storage energy is stored in

energy carriers

how is cell energy metabolized

Input: glucose
1) glycolysis
2)respiration if there is oxygen , fermintation if there is no oxygen
Output: energy+CO2+H2O

glucose activation

energy in

energy harvest

energy out

1 glucose+2ATP-> 2 pyruvate+ 2NADH+ 4ATP net energy yield to 2ATP + 2NADH

three stages of respiration

1) pyruvate is broken in matrix down releasing energy and CO2
2) high energy electrons that travel through the electron transport chain inner membrane
3) ATP is generated by chemiosmosis

Stage 1 of cellular respiration

pyruvate is broken down releasing energy and CO2, formation of acetyl CoA-> CO2 released in this prices high energy electrons + Hydrogen transfers oxygen

krebs cycle

appears in mitcohondria
krebs consist of 1ATP,3NADH, 1FADH2

1 glucose equal _ pyruvate

two pyruvate

1pyruvate equals_

double energy from 1 glucose equals_

4NADH and 1FADH2

Stage 2 of cellular respiration

high energy electrons travel through the electron transport chain
- each electron carrier releases 2 electrons into ETC
definition: series of electron carriers in the inner mitochondria embedded membrane that extract energy from ATP synthesis.

how many electron carries are produced from 1 glucose

12= 10 NADH 2FADH2

Stage 2 of cellular respiration- electron transport chain: mechanism

electrons jump from one molecule to the next losing small amount of energy at each step

output of electron transport chain

the energy issued to pump hydrogen across the membrane space
- produce a concentration gradient of H+
low energy electrons and new transferred to O-> H2O

Stage 3 of cellular respiration: ATP is generated by chemiosmosis definition

the generation of ATP by the movement of hydrogen ions across a semi permeable membrane down the gradient

Stage 3 of cellular respiration: ATP is generated by chemiosmosis: mechanism:

high concentration of H+ diffuse across membrane then ATP synthesis channel

Stage 3 of cellular respiration: ATP is generated by chemiosmosis:Output

how would the rate of ATP production be affected by absence of energy?

It would stop because it needs O2 to produce H2O

Glucose breakdown

1) glycolysis
2)cellular respiration
3)pyruovate-> acetyl acid +CO2
4) krebs cycle
5) total 36 or 38 ATP

how is NAD+ replenished?

fermentation, provides alternate mechanism

lack of O2, how energy metabolized

how can you get more energy from your muscles?

electron transport channels exercise regiment to create more mitochondria

lactic acid fermentation

high energy electrons from NADH and H+ generate the 3C lactate from pyruvate produce NAD.

alcohol fermentation

high energy electrons form NADH and H generate 2C ethanol + CO2 from pyruvate

how much ATP is produced per NADH molecule?

primary energy carrier for cells. This energy carrier is used by almost all of the enzymes in a cell

Why do cells convert the energy stored in the bonds of glucose into energy stored in the bonds of ATP?

Glucose is not a usable energy source for most enzymes.The energy in the bonds of glucose can only be extracted by the enzymes of glycolysis and respiration. The rest of the cellular enzymes require energy in the form of an energy carrier, usually ATP.

net products of glycolysis?

two ATP, two NADH, and two pyruvate
The reaction produces four ATP, two NADH, and two pyruvate, but two ATP were used to provide activation energy.

What would happen if a cell converted all of its NAD+ into NADH?

Glycolysis would stop due to lack of a reactant.
Glycolysis requires NAD+. Storing electrons in the bonds of NADH is not an optional step

How many of the carbons originally present in glucose continue to other reactions after glycolysis?

Six carbons are left in pyruvate moleculesThe original six carbon molecules are present in two molecules of pyruvate.
Pyruvate has three carbon molecules and is taken on to respiration for further energy extraction.

For each glucose that enters glycolysis, _____ NADH enter the electron transport chain.

For each glucose molecule that enters glycolosis, a total of 10 NADH are produced -- 2 are produced in glycolysis, 2 are produced in acetyl CoA production, and 6 are produced in the citric acid cycle.

In cellular respiration, most ATP molecules are produced by _____.

oxidative phosphorylation

This process utilizes energy released by electron transport.

The final electron acceptor of cellular respiration is _____.

oxygen. Oxygen is combined with electrons and hydrogen to form water.

NADH and FADH2 ... intermembrane space
The energy released as electrons, which have been donated by NADH and FADH2, is passed along the electron transport chain and used to pump hydrogen ions into the intermembrane space.

kinetic energy that is released as hydrogen ions diffuse down their concentration gradient Concentration gradients are a form of potential energy.

steps as energy is extracted from glucose during cellular respiration.

glycolysis → acetyl CoA → citric acid cycle → electron transport chain

Glycolysis produces pyruvic acid, which enters the mitochondrion. There, it is converted to acetyl CoA, which enters the citric acid cycle. Electron carriers bring electrons from the first three steps to the electron transport chain, and ATP is made.

general equation for cellular respiration?

C6H12O6 + 6 O2 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + ATP energyCellular respiration extracts energy from glucose (C6H12O6) to produce smaller energy packets (ATP).

what process takes place in the cytosol of a eukaryotic cell?

Glycolysis, the breakdown of glucose into two molecules of pyruvic acid, takes place in the cytosol, outside the mitochondria.

In what organelle would you find acetyl CoA formation, the citric acid cycle, and the electron transport chain?

All of the steps of cellular respiration except glycolysis take place in the mitochondrion.

glycolysis best definition

This process splits glucose in half and produces 2 ATPs for each glucose.

citric acid cycle?

This process produces some ATP and carbon dioxide in the mitochondrion.
breaks down carbon molecules, releasing carbon dioxide and forming some ATP.

This process uses energy captured from electrons flowing to oxygen to produce most of the ATPs in cellular respiration.

How many high-energy molecules are produced in one round of the Krebs cycle?

three NADH, FADH2, and ATP

How many of the carbons originally present in acetyl CoA continue on to respiration after the Krebs cycle?

No carbons are left, all are lost as CO2.
The two carbons originally present in acetyl become two molecules of CO2.

Where have the carbon atoms orignially present in glucose gone after the Krebs cycle has been completed?

Two were lost in acetyl CoA formation and four were lost in the Krebs cycle.

What is the net gain of energy carrier molecules from glycolysis, acetyl CoA formation, and the Krebs cycle?

four ATP, 10 NADH, and two FADH2

What occurs immediately after a cell runs out of oxygen?

The electron transport chain stops.
Oxygen is used at the end of the electron transport chain to remove used, low-energy electrons.

What is a proper description of the path of hydrogen ions during the electron transport chain and chemiosmosis?

Hydrogen ions from the matrix are pumped into the intermembrane space, then flow back into the matrix through ATP synthase.
Hydrogen ions go back and forth between the matrix and the inner membrane space.

What property of oxygen allows it to form bonds with the electrons found at the end of the electron transport chain?

Oxygen forms polar, low-energy bonds.
Highly polar bonds can be formed from very low-energy electrons, like those found at the end of the electron transport chain.

What is the purpose of fermentation?

to convert NADH back into NAD+

NAD+ is necessary to perform glycolysis.

Imagine you could inject molecules into the leg muscles of a sprinter, right before a race. Which of the following would be most useful?

NAD+, A large supply of NAD+ will allow the leg muscles to rapidly run glycolysis and avoid fermentation for a time.

Why don't we use bacteria that perform lactic acid fermentation to make bread?

because lactic acid fermentation doesn't produce a gas
Ethanol fermentation from yeast produces CO2 gas, which causes the bread to rise.

How much usable energy is produced by lactic acid fermentation?

zero ATP and zero NADH
Fermentation does not produce usable energy. It actually wastes the energy in NADH to return it to NAD+ for use by glycolysis.

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San Diego’s Next Density Fight

City planners are eyeing changes to Grantville: They want to take the industrial area and turn it into one with lots of apartments and retail storefronts, an urban village based around the neighborhood's trolley stop. But if history's any guide, that'll be easier said than done.

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Mayor Kevin Faulconer says more homes will stabilize housing prices. How does he want to boost supply? Mostly by adding funding to existing efforts, and the ever-popular streamlining of regulations, restrictions and processes.

The Fine Line Between Gang Policing and Gang Behavior

Some community members community have likened members of the San Diego Police Department's gang suppression unit to Stormtroopers or a gang itself. One officer admitted his unit is less connected with the community than it should be, but said it's moving in the right direction.

Police: ‘We Do Our Very Best to Reach Everyone’

Police Chief William Lansdowne let a key check on racial profiling slide because he hadn't heard it's a concern in the community. Here's what the department does to open lines of communication, and why some voices aren't being heard.


Live updates from trial of former Governor Bob McDonnell

Louis Zamperini, triumphant ‘Unbroken’ warrior, dies at 97

Louis Zamperini

Louis Zamperini

He was 97. The cause of death was pneumonia, his family said in a statement from Universal Pictures, which is making a film adaptation of “Unbroken,” Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling chronicle about Zamperini’s life.

“Having overcome insurmountable odds at every turn in his life, Olympic runner and World War II hero Louis Zamperini has never broken down from a challenge. He recently faced the greatest challenge of his life with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. After a 40-day long battle for his life, he peacefully passed away in the presence of his entire family, leaving behind a legacy that has touched so many lives,” the Zamperini family said in a statement.

“His indomitable courage and fighting spirit were never more apparent than in these last days.”

Angelina Jolie, the director of “Unbroken,” added, “It is a loss impossible to describe. We are all so grateful for how enriched our lives are for having known him. We will miss him terribly.”

Zamperini’s tale is one of those that would be dismissed as fiction if it weren’t true.

A wild child who grew up in Torrance, California, he was tamed by a love for running and an unquenchable competitiveness. At 19, he ran the 5,000 meters at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin despite mere weeks of training at that distance. He missed a medal but, in his determination to catch the leaders, ran his last lap in an astonishing 56 seconds.

With the 1940 Olympics canceled due to the outbreak of World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps prior to Pearl Harbor and eventually became a bombardier on the sometimes unwieldy B-24 Liberator, nicknamed the “Flying Brick.” In late May of 1943, he and a crew took off on a search mission for a fallen pilot. Somewhere over the open Pacific, the plane failed and crashed into the ocean.

Zamperini and two colleagues survived, but their troubles were just beginning.

He and the other crew members had to survive 47 days on a raft, in scorching sunlight and often without drinking water. They collected rain when it fell and killed albatrosses who alit on the raft. Sharks constantly circled beneath them. One person died on the journey.

When Zamperini and his buddy, pilot Russell Allen “Phil” Phillips, finally washed ashore on a Pacific island, they found they had drifted 2,000 miles — only to be taken in as prisoners of war by the Japanese.

Life only got harder. The men were fed poorly and feared being killed by their captors. Zamperini was singled out for abuse by one camp officer, nicknamed “the Bird,” who beat him regularly in psychotic fury.

Zamperini was declared dead by the U.S. military.

Yet he endured.

As documented in “Unbroken,” after the war Zamperini struggled to adjust. He drank heavily. He had trouble sleeping. He wanted revenge on the Bird. But, thanks to a newfound faith and an unshakable spirit, he overcame his troubles and became an inspirational speaker.

He also forgave his prison camp tormenters, even the Bird, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, though Watanabe refused to meet with Zamperini when he had the chance, in 1998, when Zamperini returned to Japan to carry the torch at the Nagano Winter Games.

Hillenbrand’s book about his life, “Unbroken,” was released in November 2010. It remains on the bestseller lists almost four years later.

Jolie’s movie is scheduled to be released Christmas Day.

“It will be hard to make a film worthy of this great man,” she told the Hollywood Reporter in 2013. “I am deeply honored to have the chance and will do all I can to bring Louie’s inspiring story to life.”


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HBS110 - Health Behaviour

Enrolment modes:

Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), CBD, Warrnambool, Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Cloud (online)

Trimester 3: Cloud (online), CBD

Credit point(s):1
EFTSL value: 0.125
Unit chair:

Trimester 1: M Hayden

Trimester 2: J Broadbent

Trimester 3: E Kothe

Email: HBS110@deakin.edu.au

Contact hours: 3 hours (equivalent of 1 x 2 hour class, 1 x 1 hour seminar) per week
Note: Students are expected to have access to a computer with an internet connection to complete this unit.

This unit explores relevant health behaviour issues and their impact on an individuals health and wellbeing. These behavioural issues include: tobacco smoking, alcohol / drug use and abuse, healthy and disordered eating, weight management, engagement in exercise, managing stress, and managing chronic illness.

Assessment task 1: 4 x health behaviour journal (750 words per entry) 45%

Assessment task 2: 10 x quizzes 10%

Assessment task 3: Examination (2 hours) 45%

Prescribed texts

Donatelle, R.J. (2013). HBS110: Health behaviour. Deakin custom order. Benjamin Cummings/Pearson.

Unit Fee Information

Unit fee information available soon

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Deakin University acknowledges the traditional land owners of present campus sites.

8th June 2007


Millions of children worldwide are diagnosed every day with conditions that even their parents may find difficult to comprehend. Most children don't understand their medical conditions, or associated investigations, procedures and treatments, and are often scared by what is going on around them.

Medikidz was founded by Dr Kim Chilman-Blair and Dr Kate Hersov whom, after working in paediatrics, became frustrated by the lack of engaging education for their young patients. During their time as doctors, they were unable to provide children with resources to help educate them about their new diagnoses or medicines - in their language, at their level. There exists worldwide, an enormous lack of useful material for young people around medicine and health - most of what exists targets parents only! This realisation was the catalyst which lead them to create Medikidz.

The 'Medikidz' are a gang of 5 larger-than-life superheroes from outer space, which are each specialists in different parts of the body. The characters are designed to be fun and appealing to young people in order to be able to entertain, as well as educate them about serious medical issues. They are destined to become characters with whom children can relate, and befriend.

The Medikidz characters live on 'Mediland' - a living, moving planet shaped just like the human body. The children are taught about their own body by going on a personal tour through Mediland. Medikidz is designed specifically for young people: therefore we will speak their language, at their level. Think "Marvel meets Medicine" and you have the concept!

Credibility is the cornerstone to the Medikidz offering - professional medical writers and doctors write all the content, which is subsequently peer-reviewed by leading consultants in each respective field. Medikidz also gains the endorsement of established and well-regarded medical institutions, foundations and spokespeople. Medikidz has established a Medical Advisory Board, consistsing of dozens of the world's preeminent physicians, as well as a Youth Advisory Board, a group of young people aged 6-16 years old, affected by illness, whose voice and opinion help to shape the direction of Medikidz.

As well as over 100 book titles on paediatric conditions (such as Epilepsy, Scoliosis, Leukaemia and Cystic Fibrosis) Medikidz have also produced titles relating to adult conditions, so that a parent/loved one, when faced with a diagnosis, has somewhere to turn to help them explain it to their children. Already published is "What's Up With Mum? Medikidz Explain Breast Cancer" and "What's Up With Dad? Medikidz Explain Melanoma" and next in this series will be, "What's Up With Grandpa? Medikidz Explain Alzheimer's Disease", with Colon Cancer, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis and Schizophrenia to follow. Medikidz keep on getting approached all the time to write on new conditions - infact now there is a list of 300 to do! Medikidz also produce pamphlets and brochures explaining paediatrically-licensed medicines (increased understanding can lead to improved adherence) and hospitals investigations, such as "Medikidz Explain MRI Scan" or "Medikidz Explain Endoscopy".

Since launch in September 2009, for which Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the spokesperson, Medikidz has distributed over 2,000,000 comic books globally, demonstrating in this short space of time, the definite, substantial and unsatisfied need the Medikidz initiative!


Tumblr Mouse Cursors
Prince of the Pride Lands

I feel that the higher your intelligence is…

The harder it is to sleep.
The less REAL friends you will have.
The easier it is to see through everyone’s bullshit.
The more likely you are going to be annoyed by people.
The more you value being alone.
The harder it is to deal with the worlds ignorance.

This applies to me oh so heavily.

my life


Life Binder

| Category: Organization

One of my favorite organization tips is to create a "life binder." Especially helpful if you have children in school or multiple children. I took a basic 3 ring binder and made divider/tabs for different needs. Such as: calendars (school, sports or church activities), field trip forms, school information, homework help, pet records, books you want to read, homework help, or anything that you need to access easily and quickly.


Boiler - Hydronic Heating Trim

Hydronic Heating Supplies and 5 Loop Radiant Manifold connected to a Hydronic Boiler. You will notice that there are both high and low temperature zones in this heating system. Some for Pex Radiant Heating and other high tempeature zones such as an indirect hot water storage tank. The Gas Boiler on the right is connected via the pump controller and each zone's thermostat.  This system is put together very well with temperature gauges and ball valves for later maintenance.

Hydronic Heating Supplies and Radiant connected to a Boiler


Becoming a Medical Coding Specialist

Two medical coding specialists in an office

Medical coding specialists are essential to the efficient functioning of the healthcare industry. They use alphanumeric diagnostic and procedure codes to convey critical information about illnesses and treatment. By translating medical terminology into standardized codes, information is transmitted with the efficiency that best serves patient and provider alike—so that patients' diagnoses are accurately communicated and providers' services paid.

Medical coding specialists rely on their knowledge of medical terminology, diseases and medications to assign a diagnostic or procedural code to each entry in a patient’s record. To choose the most appropriate codes, these specialists review the patient’s history and test results, and at times, talk to the patient’s doctor to uncover missing information.

By maintaining complete and accurate records of all care, these specialists contribute to efficient record processing on several fronts. Doctors and hospitals use code data to track their performance and prevent fraud and error that could harm patients. Insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid all rely on coding to calculate their reimbursements to providers. This same data even helps government agencies track and combat public health threats like obesity, tobacco use and contagious diseases.

Medical coding specialists perform an all-important function within the healthcare industry. Thanks to their knowledge and expertise, care is synchronized, bills are paid, and the gears of the healthcare industry remain turning.

Work Environment

Most medical coding specialists work in healthcare facilities, including:

  • Hospitals
  • Physician offices and group practices
  • Surgery centers
  • Nursing homes and long-term care facilities
  • Dental offices
  • Home healthcare agencies
  • Mental health facilities

Some medical coding specialists work outside the clinical setting at insurance companies, independent billing and coding services, consulting firms, public health organizations and government agencies.

Almost all medical coding specialists work in office buildings or in the back offices of hospitals and clinics. The idea that medical coding is a great work-at-home career is simply not true and is usually propagated by online scammers selling worthless classes or business opportunities. While off-site coding positions do exist, they’re relatively rare and usually require several years of successful work experience.

Medical coding specialists spend a majority of their time at their desks analyzing and coding patient charts. They also spend hours each day on their computers working with coding software, electronic health records and other applications. To resolve diagnostic questions, medical coders refer to comprehensive codebooks such as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Though most of their work is done alone, coding specialists sometimes consult doctors, colleagues or supervisors for clarification and additional information.

Most medical coding specialists work full time. In inpatient settings, they sometimes work evening or overnight shifts.

While there are no set educational requirements to enter the field, success as a medical coding specialist requires a strong knowledge of biology, anatomy, physiology and medical terminology. Most employers require a high school diploma or equivalent and prefer candidates with at least a year of study beyond high school.

Certificate programs in medical coding generally take about a year to complete and are available through community colleges, continuing education centers and four-year colleges. Two professional organizations, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) also offer online certificate programs. To become certified, students must pass one of several exams available through AHIMA and AAPC.

A growing number of for-profit career schools offer certificate programs and associate degrees in medical coding. An investigation by the Government Accountability Office found that some of these programs engage in fraudulent and deceptive educational practices while charging very high tuition. To avoid educational scams, consult the list of approved certificate programs on AHIMA’s website.

In some cases, medical coding specialists are trained entirely on the job. This may be an option for people who already have a strong background in the sciences or experience in other areas of health information management.

The US Department of Labor classifies medical coding as an apprenticeable occupation. Registered apprenticeship programs provide paid on-the-job training and academic instruction. For more information, contact a state apprenticeship office or a local chapter of AAPC.

Licensing and/or Certification

Certification as a medical coding specialist is voluntary but well worth pursuing. Candidates with AHIMA or AAPC credentials are strongly preferred by employers and often earn more. In fact, AAPC estimates that coders who hold its Certified Professional Coder (CPC) credential earn 20 percent more than their non-certified counterparts.

In addition to its entry-level CPC credential, AAPC offers a variety of certifications that demonstrate expertise in certain settings and branches of medicine. To become certified, candidates must hold a high school diploma or equivalent and pass an exam. Some AAPC credentials require additional work experience.

AHIMA offers two levels of certification: the entry-level Certified Coding Associate (CCA) and the mastery-level Certified Coding Specialist. To be eligible, candidates must hold a high school diploma or equivalent and pass an exam. Three years of work experience is recommended (but not required) for CCS candidates. There are no educational requirements for either exam.

Necessary Skills and Qualities

Because medical coding rules are complex and sometimes ambiguous, the job requires strong analytical skills. Coding specialists must pay attention to many details in order to translate records precisely and accurately. They must also be comfortable working and making decisions independently. Computer skills are essential in the coding field due to the growing use of health informatics software and electronic health records. Experience interpreting and applying federal regulations is also valuable.

Opportunities for Advancement

Experienced medical coding specialists often supervise coding teams or serve as directors of coding at hospitals, health systems or insurance companies. Due to the growing emphasis on accountability, some organizations are even creating executive-level positions to direct coding strategy and operations. A bachelor’s or advanced degree in health information management or healthcare administration increases a coding specialist’s opportunities for advancement.

If you would like to gain the necessary education to become a medical coding specialist, we highly recommend that you check out our free School Finder Tool located HERE.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook reports that the annual median salary for medical records and health information technicians was $32,350 as of May 2010. The lowest paid 10% earned less than $21,240 while the highest paid 10% earned more than $53,430. Experience, education and certification all increase a medical coding specialist’s earning potential.

Job Outlook

Medical coding specialists are in demand. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the shortage of qualified health information management and technology workers will hit 50,000 by 2015.

According to the US Department of Labor, job growth for medical records and health information technicians is expected to increase by 21% between 2010 and 2020, which is considered faster than average for all occupations. This increase is partly due to the aging of our population—Americans will be using more and more healthcare services in coming decades. New regulations that demand more accountability from healthcare providers are also creating jobs for qualified medical coding specialists.

Demand is highest for candidates with mastery-level credentials (CCS or equivalent), those with several years of work experience and those with expertise in certain medical fields such as interventional radiology.

Medical coding jobs are posted on the websites of hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers. The AAPC and Health Information Careers websites also list medical coding jobs.

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Home |Environment |Space | News

Earth's core rotating faster than the crust

The Earth's inner core is rotating faster than the outer mantle and crust, according to a new study of earthquake data. The difference is slight but means that the solid inner core makes an extra revolution every 900 years or so, hidden within the molten outer core.

Xiaodong Song, a seismologist at Columbia University in New York, US, studied records of 18 earthquake pairs. The pair members originated at exactly the same location but were separated by anything from a few days to 34 years.

Song measured the time taken for seismic waves from these pair members to journey from the South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean to a seismic station at College, Alaska.

He found that waves from earthquakes separated by more than four years, and that had travelled through the inner core, took measurably different times to complete their journey: the waves from the second earthquake in those pairs took slightly less time to make the journey to Alaska than the waves from the first.

"Extraordinarily beautiful"

In earthquake pairs separated by significantly more than four years, this difference was even more pronounced. By contrast, the waves that avoided the inner core entirely and only passed through the outer core, showed no such differences in travel times.

This led Song to believe that waves from the second member of the earthquake pair was travelling through a different region of the inner core than the first. This new region was moved into place because the inner core is rotating faster than the outer layers of the Earth, he suggests. Song calculated the inner core's "super-rotation" rate to be between 0.3° and 0.5° per year.

"It's not a surprising result because the inner core's rotation is thought to generate the Earth's magnetic field," says Song. "But it is extraordinarily beautiful that was can see the rotation in this way, despite not being able to image into the solid Earth."

Ghost of the cloud forest: Seeking the white possum

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Imperilled possums of Australia's Wet Tropics

18:00 30 July 2014

Possums – like other inhabitants of the Wet Tropics rainforest in Queensland, Australia – have evolved to live in relatively cool conditions, so they are in a dangerous predicament as global warming sets in. These nocturnal marsupials have long, prehensile tails and are native to New Guinea and the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, as well as Australia. Usually arboreal, they come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and have some idiosyncratic habits. In Australia, the greatest diversity of possums is in the Wet Tropics. Here are some of the country's finest examples. Joe Douglas

Read more: "Ghost of the cloud forest: Seeking the white possum"

7 rogue wave disasters, from Columbus to cruise ships

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UK's national parks may not be safe from fracking

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