Tuesday, December 22, 2009

What's the Ideal Fasting Insulin Level?

Insulin is an important hormone. Its canonical function is to signal cells to absorb glucose from the bloodstream, but it has many other effects. Chronically elevated insulin is a marker of metabolic dysfunction, and typically accompanies high fat mass, poor glucose tolerance (prediabetes) and blood lipid abnormalities. Measuring insulin first thing in the morning, before eating a meal, reflects fasting insulin. High fasting insulin prevents the escape of fat from fat tissue and causes a number of other metabolic disturbances.

Elevated fasting insulin is a hallmark of the metabolic syndrome, the quintessential modern metabolic disorder that affects 24% of Americans (NHANES III). Dr. Lamarche and colleagues found that having an insulin level of 13 uIU/mL in Canada correlated with an 8-fold higher heart attack risk than a level of 9.3 uIU/mL (1; thanks to NephroPal for the reference). So right away, we can put our upper limit at 9.3 uIU/mL. The average insulin level in the U.S., according to the NHANES III survey, is 8.8 uIU/mL for men and 8.4 for women (2). Given the degree of metabolic dysfunction in this country, I think it's safe to say that the ideal level of fasting insulin is probably below 8.4 uIU/mL as well.

I found a couple of studies from the early 1970s as well, indicating that African pygmies and San bushmen have rather high fasting insulin. However, their glucose tolerance was excellent (5, 6, free full text). There are three facts that make me doubt the insulin measurements in these older studies:

One final data point. My own fasting insulin, earlier this year, was 2.3 uIU/mL. I believe it reflects a good diet, regular exercise, sufficient sleep, a relatively healthy diet growing up, and the fact that I managed to come across the right information relatively young. It does not reflect: carbohydrate restriction, fat restriction, or saturated fat restriction. Neither does the low fasting insulin of healthy non-industrial cultures.

So what's the ideal fasting insulin level? My current feeling is that we can consider anything between 2 and 6 uIU/mL within our evolutionary template, although the lower half of that range may be preferable.


Creating the perfect cup or pot of tea

Tea can come in loose leaf or tea bags, and can be served with milk or without. However, the perfect cup of tea is not hard to create if a few specific steps are followed. White, green and black teas generally come from the same tea plants, the Camellia sinensis plant. White tea comes from young tea leaves and buds. They go through very little processing. According to Celestial Seasonings, Green tea is “gently steamed or pan-fired” after the leaves are harvested. This process helps the tea to retain their color and taste. When the tea leaves are allowed to oxidize before drying, the rich, full flavor is allowed to come through.

There is a fourth classification which does not come from the Camellia sinensia plant. This is a herbal infusion. This beverage is made from herbs, spices, botanicals and other natural ingredients. They are caffeine free because there are not any tea leaves in the preparation.

Perfect pot.

The perfect pot of tea starts by boiling fresh water in a teakettle. When preparing the water for the kettle, let it run from the tap for a few seconds so that the aeration level of the water is at its best. The level of aeration helps tea to develop a full, rich taste. If not allowed to aerate the tea can end up tasting a little flat. For this same reason, the water that used for tea should only be boiled once.

Next, if preparing loose-leaf tea, place one teaspoon of tea per person into the pot, then, if a little more strength is desired, add a teaspoon of tea for the pot. After the water has boiled, pour water into each of the cups and then pour this water into the teapot. This helps the temperature of the water to cool enough so the leaves will not stew. By not stewing the leaves, they can be used for a second, and possibly third, infusion. It also helps the tea, and the cups, to be the correct temperature for serving, 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the tea steep for four to five minutes.

Tea bags, since they do not usually contain the leaf, release their taste almost instantly. Because of this they only need to steep for a minute or two. The longer that tea steeps the stronger it will taste.

A cup of tea is made in a similar manner to a pot of tea. The first step is to warm the cup by pouring the boiling water in the cup, then discarding the water. Place a teaspoon of tea, more if a stronger taste is desired, into a cup. One tea bag may be used instead of the loose leaf. Place the water in the glass and let it steep for four to five minutes.

There is a disagreement as to whether to place milk in the cup before or after the water. There is not a definitive answer, it usually depends on taste. Some believe that the milk will cool the water too much to create an adequately full-bodied cup of tea. The main guideline is, if the tea is a green or white tea, milk will water down the taste too much. It is appropriate to place milk in a cup of black tea.

The most important thing to remember is that no matter how tea is made, it is made the best way when it is made the way the consumer enjoys it.


Splitting Hairs with Precision

Link Engineering Develops Improbable Measuring Capabilities for Compressibility Testing

Microscopic variations in friction materials can have non-desirable effects on vehicle braking systems and consumer perception of the brake behavior and response. High levels of wear-and-tear on brake rotors, adverse deceleration performance, and dangerous temperature levels can result from such variations. Other flaws might include excessive noise, vibration, or odors during brake application. Pedal feel, brake ABS, traction control, and the system's compliance during electronic stability control maneuvers may be influenced by the compressive behavior of the friction materials.

If impacts such as these occur as a result of microscopic variations in friction material, then testing those variations must be done with microscopic precision. Up until early 2014, resolutions of 0.5 µm and accuracies of 10 μm or more were the standard. That was before Link Engineering released the Model 1620H Hydraulic Compressibility Machine, which was granted full GM approval earlier this year for the GMW15334 procedure.

The history of the Model 1620H has its origins at the SAE Brake Colloquium of 2009 where an industry leader in brake pad engineering explained the need for compressibility machines with 0.1 µm measuring capabilities (…1/250th the width of the average human hair). His thought process was to better support brake caliper design, brake corner performance, and to feed simulation models for ABS, traction control, and disc thickness variation.

Initially, the industry consensus not only determined the notion irrelevant, but downright improbable. Link Engineering Chairman and CEO, Roy Link, initially had his doubts as well. Yet the engineer wasn't just splitting hairs with the idea. He was on to something. With a bit of nudging, Link put together a team of the company's brightest engineers to meet GM's challenge and to support a SAE Task Force. For months, the team met to brainstorm ideas.

"We would come up with ideas and tell each other why it wouldn't work," said Carlos Agudelo, Link Engineering's Director of Technology Development for Testing Services. "Then, we decided to stop talking about it, roll up our sleeves, and do it."

Several design changes were made to the, then, standard compressibility machine in order to achieve the level of precision being requested. The team removed the machine's pneumatic system, allowing stiffer hydraulic oil force to provide increased control accuracy. The heavy loading block is now lighter to allow for a 30 Newton pre-load. They also gave the model a longer stroke cylinder to allow for a wider range of sample thicknesses; including some brake lining for drum brakes and drum-in-hat parking brakes. The result of such changes took testing accuracy from 0.5 µm to 0.1 µm while maintaining machine-to-machine variations under 3 μm using actual friction materials. Engineers enhanced platen temperature control from the standard 400° C. and can now maintain temperatures from ambient to 600° C.

Lastly, John Davis, Link Engineering Software Engineer, incorporated customized ProLinkTM software to make the equipment more user-friendly. It has an interface specifically designed to enter test parameters and define testing sequences with the Model 1620-H. This allows the user to easily conduct testing according to SAE J2468 and ISO 6310 procedures. And, in addition, the new Link's 1620H system can perform dynamic loading using sinusoidal control up-to-45 Hz or 50 kN of amplitude at different preloads.

According to Davis, "This new compressibility machine is a huge step forward in microscopic testing. It offers our customers unparalleled repeatability and accuracy while simultaneously increasing testing throughput."

A new 1620H system was provided to a third party for further assessments and full development of the upcoming SAE J3079 recommended practice. Today the stats are in and engineers are pleased with the 1620H's precision and looking forward to future developments of the 1620H system.


Wednesday, 6 April 2016

Hidden beauty

The cloisters beside the Cathedral of Saint Leonce in Fréjus.
When you catch your train at the Nice Railway Station (Gare Nice Ville) on your way to Les Arcs-sur-Argens, you can look forward to a spectacular journey along the coast.

You will travel through Antibes, Juan Les Pins, Cannes after which the coast is bordered by the spectacular and jagged red-earth Esterel mountains.

On the other side you reach St Raphael and just a few kilometres further on, the old Roman town of Fréjus.

Fréjus is the last stop before Les Arcs and close enough for many absorbing day trips from your destination.

The cloisters from the second storey.
As well as the ancient - and recently restored - Roman arena, where they once held bull fights and now hold spectacular music concerts, there is the old town to explore including the Saint Leonce cathedral and medieval cloisters.

The cloisters were built in the 13th century and the ceilings were made of larch wood from the alpine regions as it was said never to rot.
These ceilings were decorated with an amazing array of tiny paintings of mythical beasts and other creatures.

These original medieval designs painted on the ceiling of the ground floor cloisters, have been preserved.
Painted on blue and red backgrounds, the pictures depict various themes including the religious - saints, bishops, angels; daily life - tradesmen, prominent citizens, troubadours; and the bestiary - fantasy creatures such as dragons, hybrid human and animal beings and animals.

Modern representations of the paintings that adorn the ceiling of the cloisters.
There were many such ceilings in the Middle Ages, but very few remain.

In Fréjus, 300 of the original 1200 small paintings can still be identified. A room off the cloisters has a fascinating film and history panels showing how the ceiling was originally built and painted, the types of paints used and its restoration.

I have spoken before about my love of medieval designs, strange beasts and the earth colours used at that time, but just visiting the cloisters for the architecture and sense of peace - away from the bustle of the town centre outside, is well worth it.


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How does it work?

Clonazepam is a type of medicine called a benzodiazepine. This type of medicine acts on nerve cells in the brain.
When abnormally rapid and repetitive electrical signals are released in the brain, it becomes over-stimulated and normal function is disturbed. This results in fits or seizures.
Clonazepam works by acting on receptors in the brain called GABA receptors. This causes the release of a neurotransmitter called GABA in the brain. GABA is involved in transmitting messages between the nerve cells and acts as a natural 'nerve-calming' agent. It helps keep the nerve activity in the brain in balance. By increasing the release of GABA, clonazepam helps to calm the excessive electrical nerve activity that is responsible for causing seizures Clonazepam is used to help to reduce the frequency and severity of fits in people with epilepsy.

What is it used for?

Clonazepam is used to treat various different forms of epilepsy, including absence seizures (petit mal epilepsy), generalised tonic-clonic seizures (grand mal epilepsy), partial seizures and myoclonic seizures.

How to take it?

Clonazepam can be taken either with or without food.
Your doctor will start you off on the lowest dose of clonazepam and then gradually increase your dose over a period of two to four weeks until a suitable dose for you is reached.
To start off with you should take the prescribed daily dose in three or four divided doses. This means taking the medicine three or four times a day with approximately the same time intervals between each dose. If it is not possible to divide the daily dose into equal doses then you should take the largest dose at bedtime. Once your maintenance dose has been reached it will usually be possible for you to take your total daily dose as a single dose at bedtime. Follow the instructions given by your doctor or pharmacist.
Do not stop taking this medication except on your doctor's advice.

Who should not take it?

-Patients in a coma.
-People who are known to be abusing pharmaceuticals, drugs or alcohol.
-People with a condition involving abnormal muscle weakness (myasthenia gravis).
-People with severe breathing problems or a sudden worsening of any underlying lung disease (acute pulmonary insufficiency).
-People with severely decreased liver function.

What side effects are possible with it?

- Fatigue.
- Drowsiness and sleepiness.
- Confusion.
- Concentration difficulties.
- Decreased co-ordination.
- Delayed reactions.
- Muscle weakness.
- Restlessness.
- Dizziness.
- Shaky movements and unsteady walk (ataxia).
- Loss of memory following an epileptic seizure (anterograde amnesia).
- Changes in behaviour such as aggression, anxiety, agitation, nervousness.
- Nightmares or vivid dreams.
- Difficulty with speech.
- Involuntary eye movements (nystagmus).
- Double vision.
- Skin reactions such as rash, itching, changes in pigmentation.
- Hair loss (reversible if treatment is stopped).
- Sexual problems such as loss of sex drive or erectile dysfunction.
- Urinary incontinence. - Heart failure. - Slow, shallow breathing (respiratory depression).
- Increased saliva or phlegm production (in infants and young children only).
- Physical and psychological dependence on the medicine can occur with benzodiazepines like this one, particularly if high doses are used for long periods of time. The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the medicine's manufacturer.

How to store it?

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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Radio commentary

Children use all of their senses to learn about the world around them.

The objects that they can touch, see, smell, taste, and hear all help them understand the link between a model and the real thing that it represents.
A good example is a map, which represents land masses. Using information from maps and models can help guide your children to a better understanding of the concepts of geography.

For example: Find puzzles of the United States, the world, or even California. By touching and looking at the pieces, children can get a better understanding of where one place is located in relation to others.

Point out where your home is located and then point out where a distant relative or friend lives. Show how far away it is and what route you would travel to get there.
It also helps to use images from books or the Internet to help your children associate geographic terms with visual images.

A picture of a desert, for example, can stimulate conversation about the features of a desert — dry and barren.
Identifying lakes and rivers can start discussions about wildlife and early settlers.

Talk about many different places with your children and help them imagine what it would be like to visit them.

All these discussions help children get a solid concept of geography and why it is important.


DCP Midstream reduces workforce by 20%

Denver, CO-based DCP Midstream has reduced its workforce by approximately 20%. In a statement, the company called the move ‘a corporate restructuring’ resulting in the closing of the company’s Oklahoma City regional office, as well as a headcount reduction in the Tulsa and Midland offices. Functions of those locations would be moved primarily to its Denver headquarters and Houston regional office.

"With a 90-year history, we are repositioning ourselves for the long term and ensuring we have a sustainable workforce that meets our future needs," said chairman and CEO Wouter van Kempen. "While this transition is difficult, we are establishing DCP for continued growth founded upon a culture of operational excellence."

DCP Midstream LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Phillips 66 and Spectra Energy, is the largest natural gas processor, the largest natural gas liquids producer and one of the largest marketers in the US.

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Argentina agrees IMF plan

Argentina has taken a crucial step towards securing further loans for its troubled economy by accepting an outline proposal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The IMF board will now consider a letter of intent from Buenos Aires on 23 January to decide whether it will release funds. Argentina is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades and is in default on loans with most major international donors.

With half of Argentina's population living in poverty and children have begun


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Wednesday, July 25, 2007

I have recently come across a very good blog on Vietnam's social development, run by a staff member of the BBC Vietnamese service. It is up-to-date and intellectually curious. For example, the link

Vietnamica: Peasant protests in Vietnam

discusses ongoing peasant protests in Ho Chi Minh City, making reference to my own BBC Vietnamese service interview, as well as an unobtainable article from Reuters. If you are interested in Vietnam, I highly recommend it.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

international views on land issues in Vietnam

The BBC Vietnamese service has followed up my earlier interview with a further series of questions regarding international attitudes towards land issues in Vietnam. In English, here and the questions and the answers that I gave:

1. Do academics have the same mind about this issue, or is there a
debate? For example, does your view encounter any objection from other
academics or donors?

Within the academic and donor community there is a serious debate about the meaning of shifting access to land in Vietnam. This is slightly different than the issue of land disputes, which are indeed generally viewed as being symptomatic of general failures to deal with corruption. The key distinction here, then, is the extent to which people within the academic and donor community feel that it would be possible for the existing institutional structure of state and party to deal with corruption around land. There are some that a reasonably optimistic: that the state and party are, at the very top, led by senior cadres that recognize the legitimacy of peasant grievances and want to solve problems in a way that does not undermine Vietnam's ongoing transition. Indeed, some have argued that Vietnam's transition is itself the outcome of an implicit political agreement between reform-minded senior cadres that have bypassed the bureaucracy in the state and the party in order to meet the demands of the peasantry, who in turn have sought reform because they know the ways in which the political economy does not work and seek changes to it in order to improve their lives. At the other end of the spectrum there are those who believe that the inability to deal with corruption around land disputes signals a more systemic failure that is incapable of being resolved. People recognize the failure of the system; however, they basically go about their business, and try and avoid the state and party as much as possible, in order to create a better life for themselves and their families. According to these commentators, political opposition is limited because of the risks it entails, but the lack of an opposition does not signal an acceptance of the political and economic order in contemporary Vietnam.

The views I expressed in the last interview on the character of land disputes would and would not be challenged within the academic and donor community. My views on peri-urban disputes and disputes in the Central Highlands are pretty well accepted; my views on landlessness are not accepted by donors, but are accepted within some academic circles, and particularly, in my experience, within Vietnamese academic circles.

2. The agrarian transition and its impact on rural Vietnam for the past
20 years must have attracted attention from international donors like
the World Bank and international NGOs. Are their assessments largely
positive or negative? And do they have any say on the government's

This is a very, very broad question--we could spend days discussing it. The first point to stress is that the donor community in Hanoi is not a homogenous or monolithic block. There are differences of opinion within it, between, say, the World Bank and UNDP, between international NGOs and some of the multilateral donors. What the donor community has tried to do for the past decade is to develop, as much as is possible, a consensus between the multilateral donors, the bilateral donors and the international NGOs regarding how best to move forward to continue the transition. The purpose behind this consensus-building exercise is to have a greater impact on government. My experience with government is that it listens very carefully to what the international community says, it often takes elements of the advice that is offered, but the Vietnamese government is not reliant on the international community to any great extent. The Vietnamese government is far more independent of the international community than many of the other partners around the world serviced by the international community.

Now, on the issue of the agrarian transition: here, there are major differences of opinion. The World Bank is fairly explicit in its views: changing access to land, and particularly rising landlessness, signals the success of the transition. It demonstrates a responsive market economy in which people shift their occupations in order to do the best for themselves. What is therefore necessary is an appropriate social safety net and social investment that facilitates this process of shifting jobs into better paid activities. UNDP in Hanoi, on the other hand, takes a different view: that the argumentation offered by the World Bank is based upon a very limited and questionable set of evidence, and thus that outsiders have very little understanding of social and economic dynamics in the countryside. Bilateral donors and international NGOs seem to treat changing access to land as an issue of poverty alleviation, and not inequality creation. This is, it should be said, at odds with my own views on changing patterns of access to land and landlessness in rural Vietnam, which is, in my view, constructing a significant set of social issues that the government will have to face in the future. Indeed, senior researchers at the World Bank in Washington have written a working paper that is, in part, designed to explicitly rebut my propositions. What am I saying? Putting it bluntly: Vietnam is becoming a much more unequal society, and while a significant part of this inequality is urban-rural, there has been a major increase in inequality within the countryside. Rising landlessness in the countryside is a sign of this increasing inequality. The political and social issue that the state and the party will have to face is that in the countryside those who are doing well or indeed very well often have connections to the state and the party--particularly in the Mekong River Delta, but also elsewhere. This means that the state and the party are, in the countryside, associated with rising inequality. That is a big political problem if the peasantry starts to see the rise in inequality as a systemic issue.

One final point I should stress: as an outsider, I am aware that my own knowledge is extremely limited even if I have been working in rural Vietnam for almost a decade. However, I am quite confident in my arguments because Vietnamese academics that I discuss these issues with find my views to most closely mirror their own understanding of the social and economic processes at work in rural Vietnam.

Monday, July 16, 2007

land disputes in Vietnam

Last week the BBC's Vietnamese service did an interview with me on land disputes in Vietnam. The full text, in Vietnamese, is available at:

The English-language version of the interview reads as follows:

1. What do you think are the roots of the problems?

The roots of the problems differ somewhat around the country, and particular between the peri-urban regions around Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Central Highlands, and the rice basket in the Mekong and Red River deltas. In the peri-urban areas, despite property rights that are in theory much more secure than in China, by way of comparison, there is still a large degree of discretion on the part of local communes with regards to their ability to administratively acquire land at a less than market price. This means that the acquisition of land is a significant source of earnings from corruption, and many disputes in Vietnam, particularly those staged in Hanoi or in Ho Chi Minh City, reflect peasant resistance to corrupt practices on the part of local government. In the Central Highlands, the issue of corruption is also there, strongly there, but it is also tied in to how land has been allocated to incoming migrants to the area at the expense of indigenous peoples that in many instances have cultivation practices at odds with those suggested by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Finally, in the deltas, there is the issue of rising landlessness. For many this is a reflection of increased prosperity. However, for far more, I think, this is a reflection of debt-induced distress, distress that peasants would like to see addressed by local governments, but which are not, in part because it is local party people who acquire the land to add to their own--party people can be big farmers in rural Vietnam.

Many would argue that these failures in rural 'governance' reflect the lack of an independent judiciary and the rule of legally-binding contracts in Vietnam. The rule of law is highly politicized, all the more so in the countryside. I would agree with this, but would also suggest that more is going on, most particularly massive rises in rural inequality and in urban rural inequality that the government seems powerless to address--or indeed does not want to address because so many local cadres are implicated in benefiting from rural inequality.

2. Based on your observation over the years, are land disputes in
Vietnam likely to get worse, to the level of what happens in China

This is an interesting question. Land disputes in China are well known and documented--the figure that I commonly quote is around 87000 a year. In Vietnam we do not know the extent of land disputes. However, for land disputes to be on the scale that they are witnessed in China would require only 5075 disputes a year in Vietnam. I suspect--but I have no basis to substantiate this--that land disputes each year number far more. In other words, I believe the land dispute situation to already be worse in Vietnam than in China.

3. Are there any solutions, or this is an inevitable result of the
current transition in Vietnam?

Peasant unrest is very cautious in rural Vietnam. Cautious in the sense that it is rare for it to take issue with either the state or the Party. Rather, it takes on the whole issue with individuals (although there are well documented instances of state and party property being vandalized, and state and party cadres being held in forced captivity). In part, this reflects the highly decentralized character of the Vietnamese state--local government officials in most of the country tend to come from the area that they run. They know their neighbours and their families, and people resent people that they know using the state to get rich. So the issue, particularly in rural areas, is personalized. This is important for the government--it does not call into question the system as a whole. If, then, the government could make a serious effort at tackling corruption, the problem would be significantly affected.

However, and this is the important part, corruption is endemic. The relationship between the party and wealth accumulation is so completely interwoven that to try and tackle corruption must mean, eventually, tackling the position of the party in the state--and that is not tenable at this current stage. Moreover, in my view, many people in the party and the government know that the current system is not sustainable. It will collapse, it is just a matter of time. They therefore are using their connections to make as much money as they can while they can before this source of patronage disappears. This is why, for example, the private sector in Vietnam is built by those with party connections, to see them through its eventual demise and to ensure that their wealth continues beyond. In this light, it is no coincidence that those in the countryside with the largest landholdings are always those with party or state connections (or both).

The problem for the party, from a sustainability point of view, is that the government's rule is built upon bringing prosperity to the countryside. If, for whatever reason, this is called into question by the peasantry, there are implications for social stability that the party knows far, far too well. So they have to do something about rural unrest, and their answer is get more wealth to the countryside--as in China. However, this does not do anything about specific land-based grievances, and thus does not tackle some of the systemic issues facing rural Vietnam.

So, is there a solution? In theory, yes. In practice, not that I can see.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

why study international development?

Whenever I meet someone for the first time, and they ask me what I do, I have a pretty hard time explaining, in simple, everyday language, what exactly is international development studies. This has got me to thinking: if I have trouble explaining it to strangers, it must be pretty difficult for potential students to justify to their peers and their parents why they are studying this thing that many people don't understand. In this light, I thought it might be useful to write down a few points about why, to me, the study of international development is important.

We live in interesting times, as the Chinese curse would have it. A world of unparalleled wealth and opportunity sits side by side with a world of unjustifiable poverty. Unjustifiable, because, according to Jeffrey Sachs, if those who were rich simply gave up one per cent of all of their income that would generate enough money to end poverty on the planet. No one would have to die because of where they were born. I got into international development because I was fortunate enough to be able to spend my savings, many years ago, on traveling to many parts of the world to which I had never expected to travel. On those travels, I saw some pretty appalling poverty--in Calcutta for the first time (now Kolkata, of course) I could only venture out of my grubby hotel room for a few hours at a time, because the power of the poverty on the streets was just too overwhelming. In Dhaka I saw too many limbless children begging on the street. And one of my strongest memories, from 10 years ago, is sitting on a bench in a village outside Peshawar, when I was doing fieldwork with Jim Freedman, talking to a man, a stranger, who started to cry because he had absolutely no idea how his family was going to eat that night. Poverty of this sort is an affront to humanity. No; it is more. It is a crime against humanity.

In my teaching, I try and enable students to better understand why we live in a world of haves and have nots. I try and facilitate an understanding in my students of the historical forces that have led us to this point, and the ways in which those forces have created societies in which the wealth of some requires the poverty of others. I want my students to understand this generally, but, more particularly, with regard to rural poverty, because that is where the most intractable global poverty is found, even in some places that apparently appear, at first glance, to be quite well off--places like Fiji and Thailand, two countries I know reasonably well.

In addition, however, to understanding why, I also in my professional work offer advice to international organizations, national governments, and local people that are trying, no matter how imperfectly, to change things for the better. Sometimes this feels like I am banging my head against a brick wall, as the orthodoxies of international development are far too ingrained in the institutions that dominate international development. Nonetheless, sometimes I think I have been able to make a difference, at times in small ways, and, on occasion, in actually very big ways that have improved the lives of hundreds of thousands. Thus, I not only try and help people to understand why, I also offer, at times, a how.

Finally, I have, over the years, engaged in a lot of what is called 'capacity building'. This means, in effect, helping those who lack the tools to do things for themselves to get the tools that allows them to do things for themselves. In this way, my whys and hows are not merely those of the outsider with the supposed--and I stress, supposed--knowledge, but are often based upon people themselves coming to an understanding of the whys and hows that they pass on to me...and I pass on to others.

That's what I do. So why study international development? It's not to get a job. Many--most--of my students do end up getting jobs in international development, but a job, important as that is, is not the reason to study international development. Too many of the job skills needed in international development can only be learned by experience, tempered with understanding, to be sure, but based on experience. No. The reason why it is important to study international development is because there is no need in 2007 for a single person on this planet to be poor. There is no need in 2007 for a significant proportion of humanity to have to continue to despoil the environment which we all rely upon in order that they survive. There is no need in 2007 for inequality between people, between us, to trap so many in a life where the future is limited. It is, simply, unjust. The study of international development is about building an understanding that can help eradicate poverty, significantly reduce inequality, and facilitate an era--finally!--of global social justice. And if you are concerned with global social justice, then you should study international development.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

gender, international development, and the UN

Last week it was my privilege to be asked to be a member of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Expert Group on Economic Growth, Gender Equality and Poverty Reduction. UNDP is currently revising its corporate strategy for the next 3 years, and the role of the Expert Group is to offer advise to UNDP's Gender Team so that gender can be 'mainstreamed' throughout the organization. To that end, a group of 28 met at the University of Essex, in Colchester, UK, to thrash out a set of core objectives that the Gender Team would like to see UNDP working towards over the next 3 years. It was an incredibly intensive 2 days, and by its end I was exhausted. However, I was also quite exhilarated. The discussions that we had were lively, engaging, provocative and challenging. I think that some of the key themes that emerged from our discussions--of the need to highlight the role of social and cultural norms in sustaining gender inequality, of the need to integrate unpaid work and care into all aspects of economic analysis and policy advice, and of the need to more systematically develop the data base that can be used to sustain gender-aware evidence-based advice, amongst others--could all go a long way towards improving the integration of gender into the day in and day out work of UNDP. Of course, one cannot expect very much from an institution as large and as complex as UNDP. Nonetheless, I remain quietly optimistic that some good will come from these discussions.

I am often asked how it came to be that I became so centrally involved in feminist development economics. To me, it is a somewhat strange question. During my academic career it has always been self-evident to me that a major failing of economic analysis and policy is that it systematically fails to understand who does unpaid work and why, and how care is provided within and between families. The failure to understand these things means that economics fails, as a discipline, in its ability to understand day to day processes that affect everyone. It means that economics as a discipline actually understands very little, because unpaid work and care are the basis upon which all economic activity must take place: without care, there is no economy, stupid. This self-evident truth is not self-evident to most economists, though. Nonetheless, it has meant that I have practiced what we now call feminist development economics for my entire academic career.

Despite a rhetorical commitment to gender within international development institutions, in most instances such commitment is not matched by resources or by paying attention to gender relations when it comes to hard questions of money and its allocation. This was easily demonstrated a couple of years ago, when, as part of a global study of general budget support carried out on behalf of the UK's Department for International Development, I was asked to act as the gender consultant for the study. This was a study that had a budget that ran into the hundreds of thousands of pounds. The DfID has a strong gender focus. Yet, despite these two things, I was asked to provide 5 days--count them, 5 days--worth of input. In other words, a derisory amount of time and money was actually devoted to gender analysis in this research. Which meant, for me, that the understanding that was generated was not much of an understanding at all. I can only hope that I do not have a similar experience with UNDP.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

all change in international development?

It has been quite a big week in the global world of international development. The body counts in Iraq and Afghanistan have continued. Tens of thousands have died for entirely preventable reasons, such as malaria or resource-induced conflict. Yet these are not the reasons why it has been a big week, for these are the everyday 'facts' of international development: people building lives amidst extremely difficult conditions. No, the reasons why it has been a big week lie in Washington and in London. In Washington, Paul Wolfowitz stepped down at the World Bank, to be replaced by Robert Zoellick. Across the road, Rodrigo Rato said that he would step down as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund later in the year. Finally, in the UK the new prime minister, Gordon Brown, appointed Douglas Alexander as his new Minister for International Development. This latter change might not appear to be on the same scale as the other two, but it is, in my view, of similar significance.

The arrival of Zoellick at the Bank will signal a change in management style, but not a change in content. Zoellick has a lot of experience in international development issues, principally as US Trade Representative, a post that made him the lead US player in the earlier stages of the World Trade Organization's Doha Round. Zoellick had a famously conflictual relationship with Peter Mandelson, his EU equivalent, and was well know for diligently and aggressively fighting for US interests in WTO negotiations. As President of the World Bank, it can be expected that Zoellick will adopt a less confrontational style than Wolfowitz, and will try to build consensus. Having said that, though, it should be noted that Zoellick did have an abrasive reputation while in the Trade Representative's job. Part of that is perhaps a function of his intelligence--he is supposed to be a pretty bright guy.

Nonetheless, in terms of the 'meat and potatoes' of Bank policy, little will change. Wolfowitz's concern with 'governance' will continue, because it pre-dated him. An explicit anti-poverty agenda will be continued, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, based upon the use of 'inclusive globalization' as a means of facilitating development in those parts of the world that have been left behind; in practice, though, what this means is the ongoing building of global capitalism, and global capitalist relations of production, through Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and similar devices. For the World Bank, irregardless of its President, global capitalism is the cure for underdevelopment, and not, at least in part, its source. It is this which divides the Bank from its (vast) array of heterodox critics. Zoellick's previous role, as US Trade Representative and as a senior member of Goldman Sachs, will not mean any fresh changes in Bank emphasis, as both of these roles were perfectly consistent with current Bank priorities and policies: building markets through liberalization, de-regulation and privatization. Those that are critical of the Bank, as I am, will therefore have reasons to continue to be critical of the Bank in light of Zoellick's appointment.

At the IMF, Rodrigo Rato surprised everyone by announcing that he was stepping down, for reasons that no one really understands. There were some rumours that he might be returning to Spanish politics; he himself said that he wanted to be able to focus more on his family's education, whatever that means. In any event, over the course of the next few months the Europeans will be searching for someone to present to the US Treasury as the acceptable face of global monetary orthodoxy. Judging by past experience, there are several European central bankers or former finance ministers that might be acceptable--Gerritt Zalm from the Netherlands comes to mind--but the candidate that does emerge will be little known outside specialist circles. As with Zoellick, we can expect the appointment of another faceless bureaucrat to a position of global importance that affects the daily lives of billions. It is an appointment that once again demonstrates the relentless capacity of the global North to ensure that its global development priorities remain at the forefront of international development.

In the UK, Douglas Alexander was appointed Minister of International Development, and was given expanded responsibilities for the Doha world trade negotiations. This appointment I found to be personally quite challenging. I have known Douglas Alexander for many years, although I have not seen him in a long time, and know him to be a person with a deep commitment to global social justice. However, I also know that as a Minister of the British Crown he will be constrained by government policy to continue the policies of the UK Department for International Development (DfID), policies that are at the very least complicit with the ongoing processes of neoliberal globalization which facilitate the immiserization of millions. Once again, we will witness the spectacle of a person of good intentions presiding over an organization that, with the power to do so much, serves to sustain global hierarchies of privilege.

DfID has the power to do so much because it expanded rapidly under the Labour governments of the past decade, and is now a major player in international development co-operation. DfID likes to see itself at part of the 'like-minded group' of northern European donors that promote market-friendly policies that nonetheless enhance people's capabilities to build sustainable livelihoods. However, its policies belie what it actually does. Too often it suggests that those who are poor simply need to do a different set of activities better, and that is the way out of their poverty. Too often, then, its policy prescriptions fail to recognize the centrality of global redistribution if poverty-elimination is to proceed. If DfID were to try and do what it said it wanted to do, it should try and bring together the like-minded group to reconfigure EU development co-operation. If this were to happen, the global hegemony of the Bank and the Fund could be seriously challenged by a development alternative, because collectively the EU and the like-minded group represent a significant chunk of global development assistance. This will not, though, happen; DfID will continue to work with the like-minded to try and reshape Bank policies from within, even though the power of the Bank lies at the level of the Board, which does not really feel the need to listen too much to the donors, even if they are, cumulatively, quite important. In trying to reshape the Bank from within, then, DfID will be complicit in policies whose outcomes are the very opposite of those to which it is explicitly committed. Contradictory indeed.

There is one other appointment, though, that should be mentioned, for within all this it offers a glimmer of hope. Mark Malloch Brown has been 'ennobled' and is now Minister for Africa in the UK. Whether Brown will be able to work within DfID's constraints will be interesting; when he was Under-Secretary General at the UN he certainly did not go along with a lot of UK government development policy, and his efforts at the United Nations Development Programme, the UN aid umbrella organization, suggests that he recognizes that a lot of the global development orthodoxy simply does not work. His appointment was a bold move for the UK to make, not least because there are many in the US administration that despise him, and it will be extremely interesting to see the extent to which Brown can or cannot reshape DfID to make it a more effective poverty-eradication operation. As always, one should be hopeful of the possibilities, but recognize the constraints, that limit both Douglas Alexander and Mark Malloch Brown to achieve what they would, no doubt, like to achieve.

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A refreshing, unfussy Tchaikovsky symphony cycle from Australia

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6; Manfred Symphony

Oleg Caetani/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (ABC Classics)

tchaik-caetani-msol-liveAs leafy Hampshire lay gripped by a Russian winter, it seemed only appropriate that a new box set of Tchaikovsky symphonies arrived for review. Perhaps a cycle from sunny ‘Down Under’ wasn’t to be expected, but a Russian link was maintained with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Oleg Caetani, son of Igor Markevitch. These performances were recorded at concerts which paired the familiar late symphonies with the early ones, which are still something of a rarity in the concert-hall. The discs come in three double jewel-cases, each with a booklet. Caetani contributes his own brief notes alongside more detailed ones by other writers. The symphonies are presented numerically, so my journey began with the First, Winter Daydreams.

The conductor suggests that “reveries” is a more accurate translation of “griozy” and, as the Symphony was composed in the summer months, “Winter Reveries” as a title suggests a series of reminiscences. Caetani’s approach to this symphony is refreshing, akin to having a snowball shoved down your neck! His quick tempos are bracing, an icy chill blowing Daydreams on a Wintry Road along swiftly. This no-nonsense approach makes Land of Desolation, Land of Mist appear a little matter-of-fact, the oboe melody losing some of its wistful character. The finale employs a genuine Russian folk-song, The Garden Bloomed, in the introduction, which then reappears as the second subject, where Caetani catches its jaunty Cossack-dance feel well to shake the snow from your boots. The syncopated timpani strikes from 11’26” in the coda are very fine, leading to an exhilarating close.

No. 2, Little Russian, is less extreme, but Caetani is certainly not prone to lingering over the music. The rallentando in fig. K of the nervy Allegro vivo section is very slight (6’15”) and the Scherzo rattles along. Tchaikovsky didn’t really compose a slow movement for this Symphony (rather like Beethoven’s Eighth) and the perky little march (originally intended for his opera Undine) skips along. After a brief, imposing introduction, the skittish finale, based on a Ukrainian folk-song which gives the Symphony its nickname (Little Russia being an old title for Ukraine), is presented ad nauseam, but infectiously delivered.

Dance rhythms pervade the entire Third Symphony; the first movement’s brooding introduction, the courtly pomp of the Allegro and the second subject oboe melody at letter E (from 4’32”) could all be from Swan Lake, which Tchaikovsky was writing concurrently. Indeed, the only time I’ve heard the music for the Third played live was (minus the first movement) under the title “Diamonds” as the final part of George Balanchine’s ballet Jewels. Caetani points the dance elements strongly, particularly the whirring and chattering of the ghostly Scherzo, leading to the grand Polonaise of the finale, the epitome of Tchaikovsky’s Imperial style. Based on performances like this, one wonders why the Third does not tend to feature on concert programmes.

I found the performance of the Fourth a relative disappointment. The initial announcement of the fate motif is brusquely delivered, with little sense of imposing drama. The whole movement is dispatched rather too quickly, Caetani’s foot on the accelerator bringing it to an end in just 16 minutes flat. Curiously, this was the one movement to be recorded at a different venue; whatever the reasons for the first movement’s performance in Hamer Hall being rejected for CD issue, Caetani’s pressing forward here doesn’t convince. The Scherzo comes off better, the balalaika effects of the pizzicato strings contrasting well with the rustic peasant tune which develops. This, along with the presence of the tune In the Field Stood a Little Birch Tree in the finale, is a timely reminder of just how much use Tchaikovsky made of Russian folk-song and how the Fourth is closer, in many ways, to the early symphonies than the final three. Caetani’s finale doesn’t catch the helter-skelter or the jubilation of other favoured recordings (I’d have to mention Mravinsky here).

After the Fourth, I jumped to the end of the set for the Manfred Symphony. Why is it that Manfred gets tacked onto the end of cycles rather than presented, chronologically, after the Fourth? Pletnev’s performance isn’t even included in his set of symphonies, but is lumped together with the symphonic poems on a DG three-disc set. In contrast to my disappointment at his Fourth, Caetani presents a performance of Manfred which crackles with drama without pushing forward with undue haste. He catches the hysteria of the first movement quite brilliantly, followed by a suitably Mendelssohnian fairy Scherzo. The Allegro con fuoco finale plunges us back into the passion of the opening movement. This is a highlight of Caetani’s cycle and he makes as good a case for this symphony as on any complete set.

The Fifth Symphony is given an enjoyable reading. As I’d come to expect by now, Caetani isn’t one to hang around and ‘smell the roses’ in the opening movement but, whereas his quick tempo hampered the start of the Fourth, here it adds a frisson of Angst. He allows his horn player time to phrase the second movement melody lovingly and the Valse has a lilting character. The finale is taken more slowly than usual (nearly 13 minutes), but this rather adds to the sense of noble, stoic resolution. The Melbourne timpanist, who provides much satisfaction throughout this cycle, is tremendously caught in the dramatic roll leading to the coda (from 10’00”).

The Pathetique’s opening movement is pacy, without quite whipping up the passion required. The Finale is also quite speedy, without the same sense of tragedy other conductors might obtain. Caetani is more leisurely in the central movements, surprisingly so in the third, where the March lacks the last ounce of Allegro molto vivace the score calls for. Caetani does earn Brownie points for leading straight from the March into the finale, ensuring no intrusive applause breaks out. The Melbourne audience is remarkably well-behaved, it should be noted, waiting a good 12 seconds after the cellos and double basses fade away before breaking into an enthusiastic ovation.

So how does Caetani fare against other complete sets of the symphonies? For many years now, Mariss Jansons and the Oslo Philharmonic have been a ‘safe’ recommendation, wonderfully recorded by Chandos and now available cheaply, although in most instances, you’ll find Caetani’s set at a lower price. Mikhail Pletnev’s cycle might not be the best library recommendation, as his idiosyncrasies may grate on repeated listening, but I really like what he does and the Russian National Orchestra is very fine, with the most characterful woodwind playing. Andrew Litton’s Bournemouth cycle should not be overlooked – a bargain from Virgin; his rubato and slow speeds in general can irritate at times, but the playing is admirable.

If you already own a complete cycle, would you want to invest in this Australian one? Well, if you want to be refreshed by swift, unfussy accounts, then possibly, particularly if the sparkle of the early symphonies appeals or if you’re in need of convincing that Manfred is as fine a symphony as the last three numbered ones. I’m very pleased to have made acquaintance with these discs over the past snowbound week and Caetani’s performances will certainly merit repeated listening once the thaw is long past.

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies; Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/ Oleg Caetani (MSO Live – ABC Classics 476 6442)
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra/ Mariss Jansons (Chandos) CHAN 8672/8 (1984-1986)
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra/ Andrew Litton (Virgin) 5 61893 2 (1988-1991)
Symphonies 1-6:
Russian National Orchestra/ Mikhail Pletnev (DG) 449 967-2 (1995)
Russian National Orchestra/ Mikhail Pletnev (DG) 477 053-2 (1993)

This review originally appeared in IRR.


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Plasmids are episomes that have been recognized in few eukaryotic and most prokaryotic species. Some plasmids are excellent genetic vectors and they have been widely used in gene manipulation and recombinant DNA technology for a long time. In recent years plasmids were intensively used for gene therapy purposes (1). Most often purification starts with the cells harvest followed by alkaline lysis step in which ribonuclease A (RNase) is typically used. After that, plasmid DNA can be precipitated and used directly or can be further purified by different methods (2). Currently, several chromatographic methods, such as ion-exchange, size exclusion, affinity, and hydrophobic chromatography, have been demonstrated in plasmid purification (3). Until now a limited number of small scale purification methods without use of RNase were published. Convective Interaction Media CIM® is a monolithic chromatographic support for which has been shown that is very efficient for the separation of large molecules, such as proteins, DNA and viruses (4).

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The City of Upper Montclair

Go to my exact location

Upper Montclair, New Jersey

5:44 AM Sunday
clear sky
Humdity: 68%
Wind: 2.55 mph

Upper Montclair is a city located in the New Jersey region of the United States. During the most recent census, Upper Montclair had a population of 11,565. Upper Montclair is the 152nd most poplulated city in the New Jersey region, the 3,527th most populated city in the United States and the 19,391st most populated city in the world. Upper Montclair is in the America/New York timezone which is 4 hours behind UTC. Upper Montclair adjusts the hour with daylight savings time during the winter months.

Upper Montclair is located at sea level (96 meters / 315 feet). The closest cities to Upper Montclair are Brookdale (2.1 km / 1.3 miles), Montclair (2.4 km / 1.5 miles), Cedar Grove (2.4 km / 1.5 miles), Little Falls (2.6 km / 1.6 miles) and Clifton (3.4 km / 2.1 miles)


Thursday, December 3, 2009

Practice Your Survival Skills

The subject of survival is a big topic and the beginner, as well as the more experienced, may sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material that one can learn.

I always recommend frequenting the several excellent survival forums and message boards that are on the Internet. These are run by friendly experienced people well versed in the field of survival. Participants in these survival forums are skilled in everything from bushcraft to firecraft to handicraft. They take great pride and pleasure in helping anyone. Often the survival discussions are lively and informative. If you are interested in learning more about survival, you will be welcomed with open arms into the survival community.

In addition there are a number of excellent books and magazines that cover the topic of survival. The basic ways of surviving have not always changed much over hundreds of years, and very old outdoor survival books contain nuggets of wisdom that even modern day survivors can use.

But it is not enough to read survival books and visit online survival forums. You have to get out there and practice your survival skills and survival gear. Set up a lean-to, build a debris hut, build a fire, find water. Test your skills in a variety of conditions and with a variety of materials. Make sure you would be able to do these very same things while injured or when it is wet or cold or blazingly hot.

The more you learn about survival techniques the more you realize how much there is to learn. When faced with a large task it is often easier to break it down into bite sized chunks. Survival experts have found through experience that the foundation of survival rests on five basic survival skills. Master these 5 basic survival skills and you are well on your way to being an expert survivor yourself.

So discuss, read, and practice. That is the way of becoming a survival expert.
5 Basic Survival Skills

As your survival expertise grows the knowledge and abilities you gain are often useful in other areas. For example survivors prepare ahead of time, and they are experts in the art of ingenuity and inventiveness. Excellent attributes for anyone.

The possible environments and situations you could find yourself in are innumerable. Although each situation has its particular requirements for successfully surviving, in the final analysis it is mastery of five basic survival skills that are essential. Proficiency and preparedness in these 5 basic skills will give you the edge and put you on your way toward becoming a talented survivor.

First Basic Survival Skill - Fire

Knowing how to build a fire is the best survival skill you can have. Fire provides warmth, light, and comfort so you get on with the business of survival. Even if you do not have adequate clothing a good fire can allow you to survive in the coldest of environments.

Fire keeps away the creatures that go bump in the night and so you can have the peace of mind and rest you need. And that is not all. Fire will cook your food and purify your water, both excellent attributes when you want to stay healthy when potential disease causing organisms are lurking about. Fire will dry your clothing and even aid in the making of tools and keeping pesky insects at bay.

But even that is not all. Fire and smoke can be used for signaling very long distances.

Always have at least two, and preferably three, ways of making a fire at you immediate disposal. With waterproof matches, a butane lighter, and a magnesium fire starter or firesteel you should be able to create a fire anytime anywhere no matter how adverse the condtions.

So the lesson here is to learn the art of fire craft. Practice and become an expert. Your ability to create a fire is perhaps the most visible mark of an experienced survivor.

Second Basic Survival Skill - Shelter

Shelter protects your body from the outside elements. This includes heat, cold, rain, snow, the sun, and wind. It also protects you from insects and other creatures that seek to do you harm.

The survival expert has several layers of shelter to think about. The first layer of shelter is the clothing you choose to wear. Your clothing is of vital importance and must be wisely chosen according to the environment you are likely to find yourself in. Be sure to dress in layers in order to maximize your ability to adapt to changing conditions.

The next layer of shelter is the one you may have to build yourself, a lean-to or debris hut perhaps. This is only limited by your inventiveness and ingenuity. If the situation requires, your shelter can be insulated with whatever is at hand for the purpose. Being prepared, you may have a space blanket or tarp with you, in which case creating a shelter should be relatively easy.

Before you are in need of making a survival shelter, be sure to practice and experiment with a variety of materials and survival scenarios on a regular basis. Should the need arise you will be glad you did.

Third Basic Survival Skill - Signaling

Signaling allows you to make contact with people who can rescue you without having to be in actual physical contact with them. There are a variety of ways to signal for help. These include using fire and smoke, flashlights, bright colored clothing and other markers, reflective mirrors, whistles, and Personal Locator Beacons. Three of anything is considered a signal for help: 3 gunshots, 3 blows on a whistle, three sticks in the shape of a triangle.

In a pinch, your ingenuity in devising a way to signal potential help could very well save your life.

Fourth Basic Survival Skill - Food and Water

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Sunday, 19 October 2014

Heat-Related Illnesses - And How to Avoid Them

We all love to spend time outdoors on a beautifully sunny day - in fact it can be good for you to spend limited time in the sun due to the good source of Vitamin D that is found in sunlight. But when we overdo it, complications can arise that can not only have a negative effect on your day, but your overall health in general.

heat wave

We all understand that staying out of the hot day’s sun and putting on enough sunblock to cover our skin is a necessity for people of all ages, but the sunshine isn’t the only hot-weather effect that can cause us potential problems. Heat is one of the simplest things to overlook in the hotter months, and here is why you should be wary.

Overheating In the Home

Many people associate overheating with marathon runners or football players who are working hard in the sun who succumb to heatstroke or heat-related illnesses, but more people each year are taken to the emergency room for heat-related illness from simply being at home, inside.

heat effects

The most deadly form of heat-related illness is heat stroke. Heat stroke occurs when the body gets too hot, overheats and is unable to cool down. The mechanism for sweating - the body’s natural remedy to regulate heat fails and the body starts to shut down rapidly.

heat at home

Heat stroke was credited for around 500 fatalities in 2011, with that figure set to rise year on year. With many authorities struggling to handle the numbers of heat-related illnesses and deaths, prevention is the key to tackling this rising toll. Knowing when you or a loved one is overheating is the best way to prevent any further troubles from occurring.

What Are The Signs?

Before you or a loved one comes down with a heat-related illness such as heat stroke, you will notice a few signs of overheating that can be treated quickly to prevent anything serious from occurring. One of the first signs of overheating is the feeling of being uncomfortable.

signs of heat stroke

As the heat rises, people become uncomfortable, irritable and stressed. Further along, overheating affects the ability to concentrate, leading to dizziness and an inability to focus.

If you are feeling any of these symptoms, take a break from any work you may be doing, seek shade if you are outdoors and take on fluids; preferably cool water to help the body regulate heat properly. Sweating is a good sign that your body is working hard to regulate your heat, but if you are retaining heat and not sweating, seek emergency treatment immediately.

drink water

If you are indoors and are suffering from the heat in the hotter months, there are many things you can do to prevent your home overheating on a hot day. Make sure you are taking on water on a regular basis, stay in the cooler parts of your home, and invest in a home cooling system to regulate your home to prevent overheating.

Keeping a Cool Home

One of the best things you can do to keep our home cool is to invest in one of the new home ventilation systems available on the market. These innovative cooling systems help regulate the heat in your home, venting the hot air out of your roof to keep your house cool and comfortable in even the hottest of weather.

keep home cool

Keeping a cool home in the hottest months is a great way to ensure your family doesn’t succumb to the stresses of summer, and allows you to create a sanctuary away from the sun. Ensuring that you take a break at regular intervals when working outside, applying plenty of sunblock and hydrating yourself regularly will allow you to enjoy summer, not hide take a vacation from it.

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mercredi 3 juin 2015

Alcool et nationalité dans le Mexique du 19e siècle

Alcohol and Nationhood in Nineteenth-Century Mexico

Deborah Toner

Series: The Mexican Experience
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (June 1, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0803269743
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches

Drawing on an analysis of issues surrounding the consumption of alcohol in a diverse range of source materials, including novels, newspapers, medical texts, and archival records, this lively and engaging interdisciplinary study explores sociocultural nation-building processes in Mexico between 1810 and 1910. Examining the historical importance of drinking as both an important feature of Mexican social life and a persistent source of concern for Mexican intellectuals and politicians, Deborah Toner’s Alcohol and Nationhood in Nineteenth-Century Mexico offers surprising insights into how the nation was constructed and deconstructed in the nineteenth century.

Although Mexican intellectuals did indeed condemn the physically and morally debilitating aspects of excessive alcohol consumption and worried that particularly Mexican drinks and drinking places were preventing Mexico’s progress as a nation, they also identified more culturally valuable aspects of Mexican drinking cultures that ought to be celebrated as part of an “authentic” Mexican national culture. The intertwined literary and historical analysis in this study illustrates how wide-ranging the connections were between ideas about drinking, poverty, crime, insanity, citizenship, patriotism, gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity in the nineteenth century, and the book makes timely and important contributions to the fields of Latin American literature, alcohol studies, and the social and cultural history of nation-building.

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Seasonal Hikes

At 1,800 meters in height, Mount Bandai is familiar as the symbol of Fukushima. With the mountain in the center, the area to the south is called Omotebandai, while the area to the north is called Urabandai, which together are designated as Bandai Asahi National Park. Urabandai is particularly blessed with diverse natural vistas, including mountains, forests, hot springs, plateaus, and wetlands, making it popular with both tourists and locals alike.

From ancient times, Mount Bandai was a subject of worship for the people living in the region. A major volcanic eruption occurred on this mountain in the year 1888, as reported in such newspapers as The Times and The New York Times. The land ravaged by the eruption was replanted with trees by the local people, returning the scenery to the verdant state seen today.

The eruption caused the nearby river to be dammed, which resulted in a collection of over 300 lakes and swamps of various sizes. Leading among those are Akimoto Lake and Goshiki-numa. Akimoto Lake is particularly popular with photography aficionados because of the high likelihood of being able to see a beautiful sunrise, called the “morning sunset” because of the way the light of the rising sun turns the eastern sky and lake surface red. This scene rapidly transforms before your eyes over the course of about ten minutes from flaming red to orange.

Meanwhile, the nearby Goshiki-numa is actually a collection of about 20 different swamps. The name “Goshiki” means five colors, referring to the way the surface of the water changes between colors such as emerald green and cobalt blue according to the passage of time and changing climate. It is believed this phenomenon is caused by particles in the water dispersing the light. The location features many beautiful scenes observable nowhere else, such as Midoro-numa, with three different colors on the water surface, Ao-numa that shines with a blue tint, and Ruri-numa, which appears to be a different color depending on where you see it from.

At Akimoto Lake, which features camp sites and other leisure facilities, we recommend spending the night for a chance to see the “morning sunset.” When viewing the morning sunset from the west, you will be able to observe an otherworldly mirage in which the tree dotted islands in the lake will appear to float over the fog on the lake’s surface. In the fall months of October and November, when the leaves in the forests surrounding Akimoto Lake change color, you can enjoy both the vibrant colors of the mountain slopes along with the lake itself. From late January through early March, you can try ice fishing on the frozen lake for the local lake fish, wakasagi, if you bring your fishing pole and purchase a fishing ticket.

Trekking is recommended if you wish to enjoy the views around Goshiki-numa. The recommended hiking course is called the “Goshiki-numa Shizen Tanshoro,” or Goshiki-numa natural scenic road. Approximately 3.6 km in length, it takes about 70 minutes for a leisurely hike around the swamps. In October and November, the leaves on the various varieties of maple trees begin to change, allowing you to enjoy the contrast between the clear water surface and the vibrant reds and yellows of the leaves. A wide variety of high altitude vegetation is observable throughout the Urabandai plateau, and you can enjoy viewing different types of flowers and trees in each season. The Urabandai Site Station facility located near Lake Hibara has information on the 19 different trekking courses through the Urabandai area, so a recommended plan is to explore those courses as you take in the seasonal scenery.

There are bus stops at the start and end of the Goshiki-numa Shizen Tanshoro hiking trail. The Goshiki-numa Iriguchi stop at the trail head connects with both Inawashiro and Kitakata stations, while the Urabandai Kogen Eki stop at the end connects with Kitakata Station. After your hike, take the bus to Kitakata Station and get off at the “Michi-no-eki Urabandai” bus stop where you can enjoy local cuisine such as Kitakata Ramen. As the gentle but charming flavor revives your limbs fatigued from the hike, you will be filled with a comfortable languor and unforgettable memories.

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Verapamil in the treatment of paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia
  1. Dennis M. Krikler,
  2. Roworth A. J. Spurrell

    Verapamil is a novel antiarrhythmic agent which appears to act as a calcium-ion antagonist, blocking calcium transport across the myocardial cell membrane. It was given intravenously, in a dose of 10 mg, to thirty-two patients suffering from paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, and sinus rhythm was achieved promptly in all. Identical results were obtained in a further ten patients with supraventricular tachycardias associated with the Wolff-Parkinson-White or other pre-excitation syndromes. In a separate group of eighteen patients in whom A-V junctional tachycardias were induced during intracardiac electrography, conversion to sinus rhythm was achieved in fifteen patients, with prolongation of the cycle length in the others. Circus-movement tachycardias were induced in eight patients with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and conversion to sinus rhythm was achieved in seven. The results were less consistent in patients with other supraventricular arrhythmias including ectopic atrial tachycardia and atrial flutter, and, in the single patient with supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia, only the former was controlled. In the single patient with atrial fibrillation complicating the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome who received verapamil, sinus rhythm was restored. Side effects were few and mild, with rare exceptions of profound hypotension, bradycardia and asystole; their management is discussed, and reasons are advanced why their occurrence is likely to be related either to the concomitant administration of beta-adrenergic blockers or to the presence of sinoatrial disease. It appears that verapamil is particularly suitable for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardias due to a circus movement as calcium antagonism is likely to be most effective in the N region of the atrioventricular node.

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Amanda speaking about the 2nd tradition for 10 min followed by the main speaker Meghan B as the main speaker sharing her story in 2009 at the atlantic group.

A very good workshop conducted by Norma A on the 12 Traditions. The history of, and a detailed explanation of each tradition. This workshop was given in 2014 so it also has mention of social media.

I am trying to find more workshops conducted by women in the program (I have many by men), if you happen to have any you can share please upload them at and please tell your friends about Sober Cast. This workshop is just over 4 hours and the file is 125 megs.


Post Musharraf Scenarios

After Musharraf – four possibilities
* Report says civilian-military power sharing agreement most likely outcome
Daily Times Monitor: May 29, 2007

LAHORE: The mounting pressure on President General Pervez Musharraf raises the question of what the political landscape would look like were he to be removed from power or assassinated. The Economist Business Asia intelligence unit in a report on Monday says that the most likely outcome would be some form of civilian-military power-sharing agreement, with the roles of president and chief of army staff separated.

However, there are other possibilities, including an Islamist coup, a full military takeover and, at the other extreme, a return to full democracy. These four potential outcomes are explored below:

Scenario 1: An Islamist coup: One challenge to Musharraf’s rule – albeit one relatively unlikely to succeed – could come from the Muslim political establishment. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal offered Musharraf its support in 2002, helping to legitimise his rule. It continued to support the government for a considerable time thereafter. However, the MMA has gradually become more disillusioned with Musharraf. Its members feel betrayed that the general has refused to honour his side of their agreement with him, for example by refusing to relinquish his position as army chief. As a result the MMA has gradually withdrawn its support.

In addition to the specific loss of support from the MMA, the president faces generalised hostility from many radical Muslims, who dislike his secularism, his liberal economic reforms and, above all, his ties to the US. Islamist elements have always been present in Pakistan, but their sentiments have been inflamed in recent years by Musharraf’s cooperation with the US-led “war on terror” and by the perception that domestic interests are being subverted in favour of US policies, the unit reported.

The report says if Islamist forces were to assassinate Musharraf with the idea of taking over the government, they would be unlikely to succeed in the latter. An Islamist coup could not hope to get off the ground without the backing of the army, and since the military establishment is largely secular, this support would be very unlikely to be forthcoming.

Scenario 2: Military takeover: The report says that another threat to the general’s grip on power comes from the opposite side of the political spectrum, the secular left, insofar as this grouping has the potential to weaken the military’s loyal support for Musharraf.

The ongoing controversy surrounding Gen Musharraf’s sacking of Pakistan’s chief justice has become heavily politicised. This, combined with the general’s ongoing attempt to ensure that he will be re-elected as president in the upcoming election (which is expected to occur later in 2007, before a general election), has finally caused the public to express its dissatisfaction with his administration’s lack of accountability and authoritarian bent. The recent violence in Karachi, for which the opposition and much of the public blame Musharraf and his supporters, has greatly intensified this antipathy.

According to the unit’s report, as long as Musharraf retains the support of the army, it is unlikely that any amount of popular disapproval will force him from power. The president’s cooperation with the US, although a liability for his general domestic popularity, has been a boon for the military, greatly enhancing its ability to secure US financial support and military equipment. Partly as a result, and also simply as a result of the fact that the president is concurrently army chief of staff, the military has enjoyed considerable influence in public life during Musharraf’s time in office. If, however, army leaders conclude that Musharraf’s reputation has been so badly damaged that it threatens the military’s credibility, they could force him to step down. Some commentators have argued that if unrest of the kind seen in Karachi spreads to Punjab, from where most of the military is recruited, the ensuing (probably violent) suppression of dissent could test the army’s loyalties more severely.

In this situation, the report says the army might simply oust Musharraf and launch a full military takeover of the government (or declare a state of emergency, which would amount to the same thing). This would ensure that the military retained a central role in the running of the country and the economy, and could be presented as a solution to Pakistan’s security problems. However, this positive spin would gain little traction, since both the Islamists and the general public would strongly oppose military rule. As a result, such a move would require strong-arm tactics –a re-enactment of Thailand’s recent peaceful military coup could not be hoped for. And although the US has been willing to overlook the Musharraf administration’s authoritarian excesses, continuing to offer financial support to its ally, a complete overthrow of democracy in Pakistan might force it to reconsider such indulgence.

Scenario 3: Return to full democracy: The report says the military’s central role in both politics and the economy means that a complete transition to democratic civilian rule will be difficult. This complicates matters for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, whose recent efforts to reach some sort of power-sharing agreement with Musharraf suggest that she would be an important presence on the political scene were the general to be removed from power.

Given that her Pakistan People’s Party is part of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, Bhutto could expect to face considerable public scepticism were she to be seen cutting deals at this delicate juncture with the autocratic president. This is particularly the case now that the general’s government is being accused of violence as well as repression; Musharraf’s supporters are thought to have incited much of the bloodshed that scarred Karachi on May 12th. In essence, therefore, Bhutto faces the dilemma of retaining the moral high ground but being unable to return to Pakistan, or putting herself in a better position to assume power at the risk of damaging her democratic credentials.

For this reason, if General Musharraf were to be assassinated (as opposed to being deposed), it would perhaps be less complicated for Bhutto to return to power, as she could simply try to step into the resulting void.

Scenario 4: Civilian-military power-sharing: The most likely post-Musharraf scenario would be some sort of hybrid political-military government. This would respond to the public’s calls for increased democracy, but would still provide continuity and security. Since one of Musharraf’s most controversial decisions has been his refusal to relinquish his army role while president, his removal as president and chief of army staff would be the logical occasion for the civilian and military leadership to be separated again.

It is likely that Ahsan Saleem Hayat, the current vice chief of army staff, would be promoted to chief of army staff. In the best-case scenario the current Senate Chairman, Mohammadmian Soomro – who is empowered by the Constitution to take control upon the death or removal of the president – would lead a caretaker government until free and fair elections were held, and the military and the election winner would continue to cooperate thereafter.

The report says that this turn of events would also open the door for Bhutto to run legitimately for the country’s leadership (assuming that she could persuade the interim government to drop the corruption charges currently held against her and allow her to return to Pakistan). Such a benign outcome is by no means assured, however, as there is always the possibility that once the political and military leaderships are divided, the two camps will work to undermine each other instead of working together.

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The Properties of Microwaves

Microwaves are a form of electromagnetic radiation that share common features of many other forms of radiation. Although cosmic microwave radiation exists, it is largely absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. Lightning also produces microwaves; however, most microwaves encountered by the average person are generated in a specialized vacuum tube called a magnetron.

Electromagnetic Radiation

  • Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a form of energy we encounter and use every day. Examples of EM radiation include radio waves, microwaves, light and X-rays. EM radiation, in all forms, consists of bundles of energy called photons that travel through a vacuum at the speed of light. The primary differences between the various forms of EM radiation are their wavelengths, frequencies and how they interact with matter.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

  • EM radiation is classified and arranged in the EM spectrum by its frequency. The lowest frequency radiation are radio waves. The EM radiation with the highest known frequency are gamma rays. Microwaves, ultraviolet, visible light, infrared and X-ray frequencies fall between the two extremes in the EM spectrum. The frequencies of microwaves are those between 1GHz and 300GHz.

Frequency and Interactions

  • The frequency of a particular form of EM radiation determines the nature of its interactions with matter. EM radiation may be reflected, refracted, absorbed or attenuated (partially absorbed). Because microwaves interact with water and many food substances at the molecular level, they may be used to heat and cook food. X-rays, with higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths, interact with matter at the atomic level.

How Microwave Ovens Cook Food

  • Unlike traditional cooking appliances, microwave ovens do not have heating elements. Inside the microwave oven, high-voltage electricity is supplied to a specialized vacuum tube called a magnetron. The magnetron converts electrical energy to EM radiation in the form of microwaves. When the microwaves strike the food, food molecules absorb the microwave energy. The molecules are physically agitated. Friction between the moving food molecules generates thermal energy, which heats and cooks the food.

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Limitations of rational expectations school, Macroeconomics

Limitations of the theory of rational expectations:

  1. Critics of this theory note that if policy makers have more information about the economy or their own actions than does the general public, policies can be devised that will alter output and employment. To illustrate, suppose clandestinely, the monetary authority increases the growth rate of the money supply. Since the more rapid increase in the money supply is unanticipated, output and employment increases. Of course, if the rational expectations view is correct, output and employment will return to their original levels after the public learns of the new policy. Consequently, the policy is effective only during the learning process, which may be short-lived. In the case where policy makers possess more information about the economy, it might be easier for them to disseminate the information and let the public act on it rather than going for new policy options.

  2. A second limitation of the theory of rational expectations has to do with the assumption of wage and price flexibility. Under the theory, money wages and prices are assumed flexible. But due to various reasons, they may be "sticky." As a consequence, even if expectations are formed rationally, money wages and prices may adjust slowly, resulting in changes in output and employment. Suppose, for example, that aggregate demand decreases. Assuming that households and firms anticipate the change, money wages and prices should fall so as to leave output and employment unchanged. But if money wages and prices are sticky, output and employment decrease, contrary to the theory of rational expectations. Critics of the theory claim that money wages and prices adjust only slowly over time. Thus, they believe that discretionary policy can alter output and employment, at least in the short run. Proponents of the theory respond by arguing that the role of policy would be limited in this context, since repeated use of policy will lead to changes in the types of contracts that are negotiated. The effects of these changes will reduce or eliminate the ability of policy makers to alter the equilibrium levels of output and employment through the use of a systematic policy.

  3. Opponents of this theory charge that the rational expectations theory cannot explain the prolonged periods of unemployment that we sometimes experience, especially in advanced industrialized economies. If expectations are formed rationally and if wages and prices are flexible, they claim that deviations from the equilibrium levels of output and employment should be short-lived. Since this implication appears to be inconsistent with actual experience, many critics reject the theory on this basis. In response, proponents have constructed theories of the business cycle based on rational expectations. These theories are capable of explaining the observed movements in output and employment.

As we have discussed above, the theory of rational expectations is controversial. In fact, there is currently no universally accepted theory about expectations. At present only a small minority of economists appear to support the theory of rational expectations. On the other hand, support seems to be growing. Because of the theory's implications for the conduct of policy, resolution of the controversy is very important. The theory of rational expectations together with efficient market clearing led to the emergence of supply-side economics.

Posted Date: 9/18/2012 7:09:19 AM | Location : United States

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Integrity, Quality, Performance

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Our Team understands the US Navy’s mission as outlined by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) promulgated Sea Power 21. We recognize the importance of meeting the objectives across the Virtual SYSCOM and the challenges the U.S. Navy and other activities, including the Military Sealift Command, Strategic Systems Programs, Office of Naval Research, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command, Naval Facilities Command and the United States Marine Corps are facing and the importance of finding ways to become more efficient and effective and to utilize new technologies and space to gain a strategic advantage. Additionally, activities may provide limited support under this contract to other Department of Defense (DoD), non-DoD, or Joint agencies for work that is integrally related to product areas and mission.

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The Business Continuity Backlog Trap

“The backlog trap” is a phrase often used to describe the effect on a business of the backlog of work that builds up when a system or process is unavailable, and the length of time it takes to reduce that backlog.

It’s possible to express the backlog trap by way of a clever formula, but a good rule of thumb is that it can take four or five times the length of the outage to process the backlog and get back to normal.

It therefore stands to reason that the longer the downtime, the longer the recovery.

Or to put it another way, the sooner you’re in control, the less time it’ll take to catch up. Sounds simple, but many recovery plans overlook or underestimate the effort and resources required to process the backlog.

So make sure your incident management plans are effective, so that valuable time isn’t lost in the early stages of your response and recovery.

Ensure your recovery strategy enables you to get back up and running in time to avoid the backlog trap. And ensure your recovery plans consider just how you will catch up the backlog and who will do this.