text:
Australia's museums, art galleries and archives play a vital role in building our national identity. Without relics of cultural significance from our past, we'll slowly lose what it means to be Australian today. That's why preserving the collections of the nation's cultural organisations is so vital – but to do so, conservationists have to be equipped to meet the dangers to Australia's artifacts.
What are the main dangers to Australia's museum collections?
The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institution considers two main factors when displaying and archiving collections: temperature and humidity. These two elements can have a devastating effect on all kinds of materials, ultimately hastening long-term deterioration.
High temperatures can contribute to decay in organic materials such as wood and paper, while low temperature can damage rubber. Frequent changes in environmental conditions will also rapidly reduce the resilience of stored collections. Excessive humidity, meanwhile, can contribute to rot by providing ideal breeding conditions for bacteria and fungi.
Additionally, there is no one ideal storage climate for all artifacts – as such, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) conditions need to be managed with climate monitoring equipment across different environments.
Excessive temperatures and moisture levels can contribute to more rapid deterioration of priceless collections.
Controlling museum and gallery conditions
HVAC technicians and building management systems need to work hand-in-hand to better manage display and storage conditions. Here lies another challenge – while the ideal environment for storing collections may have one temperature and humidity level, these figures may not be comfortable for public access. If people can't view the artifacts, a display is pointless.
This means collections often have to be rigorously monitored when on display to ensure nothing is compromised by variations in temperature and humidity. For example, an entrance door constantly being opened and closed can alter the conditions in a display room and lead to deterioration.
While building management systems can automate temperature and humidity control to a point, manual testing is still vital to ensure the long-term health of historical collections. Additionally, more in-depth data monitoring can improve how collections are monitored by offering archivists real-time information on how items are stored.
The testo 160 Wi-Fi data logger gives conservationists a more in-depth look at the conditions cultural artifacts are stored in.
Addressing the dangers to to Australia's historical artifacts
Testo's 160 Wi-Fi data logger offers archivists and historians the all-in-one climate monitoring solution to check temperature and humidity levels in key locations. This make it easier than ever to assess ongoing environmental conditions and make changes to improve the shelf life of Australia's priceless cultural collections.
The testo 160 is capable of logging temperature and humidity levels to tailored, pre-set parameters, giving you ultimate control over how items are stored and displayed. The device also comes with two external probe connections. This allows for easier mobile testing of conditions that your collections may face.
Preserving the future of Australia's past relies on experts in the industry backing themselves with climate monitoring tools designed just for them. For a more in-depth look into what the testo 160 Wi-Fi data logger can offer, contact the Testo team today for assistance.


Suggestions on A Three Minute Testimony
Some of this material is adapted from The Navigators' 2:7 Series Book 2: Deepening Your Roots in God's Family and the CoMission Training Manual).
The apostle Peter challenges us: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). One of the most effective tools you have for sharing your faith is the story of how Jesus Christ gave you eternal life and how He has enriched your life. The Apostle John wrote, "We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard" (1 John 1:3). John was testifying about his relationship to Jesus Christ. When the apostle Paul stood before King Agrippa (Acts 26), he spoke simply, logically, and clearly about his life before salvation, how he met Christ, and what his life was like after conversion. Paul's testimony takes three or four minutes to read aloud in a conversational manner. Although you will be writing your testimony, the purpose is not to memorize it and give it word-for-word. The purpose is to help you put into words some of the important and interesting details of your conversion. The choice of the right words, the flow of your story, and knowing how to begin and how to end are all important. Ask the Lord for wisdom and insight into just how to share your story. Many have come to Christ simply because people like you and those you are helping have sharpened their testimony. It is one way to "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15).
Here are some tips, as you begin to think about sharing your testimony (story):
* Ask God to give you wisdom and guidance as you prepare your testimony. This acrostic may help.
* Simple, easy to understand, not a lot of "religious words.
* Two to three minutes long so that people will listen to what you are saying.
* On Christ; keep your focus on Jesus and highlight what He has done for you.
* Remember to use the Bible, a key verse will add power to your story.
* You! Make it personal. Your story is unique. Don't try to be like someone else.
* Use some of the following questions to get you started on the three parts of your story.
* At the time you decided to come to Jesus, what were your thoughts? needs? problems? hopes?
* How did you feel about your life at that time? What in your life was most important to you?
* What are some of the ways you looked for happiness, peace of mind, and significance?
* In what ways did you find your life was not satisfying?
* At what point did you begin to realize the seriousness of sin?
* What led to your commitment to follow Jesus?
* When and how did you first hear about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection?
* What were your first reactions to Jesus?
* What barriers or hindrances to faith in Jesus did you experience?
* When did you actually receive Jesus and commit your life to Him?
* What happened after you received Jesus and decided to follow Him?
* How long before you noticed some change or difference in your life?
* What are some specific examples of how God worked in your life, actions, and attitudes?
* What verse(s) of Scripture soon after helped you to understand your new life in Christ?
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Planting and framing of kiwifruit
1. Colonization
Kiwi seedlings are generally planted before germination in early spring or after defoliation in autumn. The survival rate after planting in autumn is high, and the growth is fast in the next year. However, after planting, attention should be paid to the winter freezing of seedlings. The land should be leveled before planting, but it should be turned 60-80 cm in the first year of autumn.
When building a garden on a hilly hillside, it is necessary to improve the soil by digging the terraces and making full use of the topsoil to increase the soil. Before the planting, it is necessary to apply the base fertilizer, especially the multi-application of farmland soil fertilizer, 50-100 kg per hole, 0.5 kg of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium fertilizer, and the oil residue bean cake has a good effect on the growth and development of kiwi seedlings. 1.5 kg can be applied per hole.
The row spacing of the planted plants should be determined according to the growth potential of the variety, the soil fertility, the shelf type, the level of cultivation management and the degree of mechanization. If the kiwi seedlings grow well, the soil fertility is good, the degree of mechanization is high, and the orchard is used, the colonization should be rare, and vice versa. Generally, the row spacing is 4 meters, and the plant spacing is about 2.5 to 3 meters.
Before planting, carefully check the roots of each seedling and cut off the damaged roots. The seedlings planted in the same plot should be uniform and uniform to ensure that the plants grow neatly after planting. The colonization method is the same as that of other fruit trees. The depth of planting is suitable for the root neck to be flush with the ground after watering, and the grafting site cannot be buried in the soil.
2, rack
Kiwi seedlings are vines and must be erected before and after planting. The material used for the bracket is usually made of steel and cement sandstone, which is both strong and durable, and also useful for wood. Although the investment is small, it is easy to rot. The form of the bracket is commonly used as a "T" frame, a fence frame and a large scaffolding.
1. "T" frame
The "T" frame is provided with a cross frame at the top of the column. The beams are connected by four 10 wire wires, and a 10 wire is pulled at a distance of 1 meter from the ground. The height of the column is 2.4 to 2.6 meters, buried 60 cm in the soil, and the aboveground part is 1.8 to 2.O meters high. The beam at the top of the column is 2 meters long and extends 1 meter on each side. The angle between the beam and the column can be added to form a triangle to reinforce.
2, scaffolding
The crossbeams are erected on the pillars or the wire is added. It is shaped like a shade shed. It is called a scaffold. It is suitable for use in flat orchards and gardens. The height of the scaffolding column is the same as that of the "T" frame, and the column spacing is about 5 meters x 5 meters. Triangular iron or steel bars are placed on the top of each column around each block to pull a wire between the column and the column every 60 cm or so and can be tightened into a grid.
3. Fence
The frame is perpendicular to the ground and is fenced, so it is called a fence. Currently used in production is a single-walled fence, which is more suitable for mountain kiwi seedlings. A column is set every 6 meters, the column is 2.6 meters long and is buried 0.6 meters in the soil. Pull a wire every 0.5 meters from the ground and pull 4 wires of 10 wires.
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The handheld sprayer is made of heavy-duty ABS polymers which is leak free and resist to hight pressure and avoid blasting
The new design T-adapter valve with water pressure control and Shut-off functions;solid brass construction T-adapter valve is more solider and more durabler which is a perfect replacement solution for the plastic T-valve
Adjustable water pressure for multiple uses: bidet sprayer kit, cloth diaper set, hand bidet, toilet cleaning, or jet spray
The handheld sprayer is made of heavy-duty ABS polymers, a super strong engineered blend of polymer materials that is just as strong and durable as stainless steel or brass sprayers, except light weight, corrosion proof and easy to handle. It is leak free and resist to 1.0 Mpa hight pressure and avoid blasting
Solid brass rod inside the bidet sprayer which can be high pressure resistant.
The design for the flexible hose and the handheld sprayer can be support the static pressure,that is why you just adjust the the T-adapter valve for one time,then you can be trouble free to use the bidet sprayer.
Stainless Steel Shattaf,Stainless Steel Toilet Shattaf,Plastic Shattaf
Yuyao Sanyin Bathroom Technology Co Ltd,


Public Landscaping / Pavilion
GIA Competition Entry - FINALIST
A collaboration with Alison Hesketh.
An entry for the Seven Loch's Wetland Park Green Link competition organised by the GIA.
This competition sought to create a 'green link' across the M74 at Drumpellier Country Park just outside of Glasgow which would connect areas of the wider Wetland park. The link would provide both a physical connection for visitors to the park but also to wildlife.
The proposal sees the link as only a small part of a wider series of interventions across the primary routes of the park. This intervention reuses and expands an existing road bridge while creating a visitor viewpoint and landmark, clearly visible from the existing country park. The primary goal for this structure is to highlight, through a combination of its form, mass and materiality the continuation of the Wetland Park across the barrier of the motorway. The structure will allow the visitor to orientate themselves within the wider park before continuing their route.
Landscaping on the widened bridge continues the park's vegetation and wildlife across the motorway.
This proposal was shortlisted and reached the final of the design competition.


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Object Detection Based on Region Decomposition and Assembly
Region-based object detection infers object regions for one or more categories in an image. Due to the recent advances in deep learning and region proposal methods, object detectors based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been flourishing and provided the promising detection results. However, the detection accuracy is degraded often because of the low discriminability of object CNN features caused by occlusions and inaccurate region proposals. In this paper, we therefore propose a region decomposition and assembly detector (R-DAD) for more accurate object detection.
In the proposed R-DAD, we first decompose an object region into multiple small regions. To capture an entire appearance and part details of the object jointly, we extract CNN features within the whole object region and decomposed regions. We then learn the semantic relations between the object and its parts by combining the multi-region features stage by stage with region assembly blocks, and use the combined and high-level semantic features for the object classification and localization. In addition, for more accurate region proposals, we propose a multi-scale proposal layer that can generate object proposals of various scales. We integrate the R-DAD into several feature extractors, and prove the distinct performance improvement on PASCAL07/12 and MSCOCO18 compared to the recent convolutional detectors.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


What If We Thought Of Gender Like Ice Cream? It Makes Sense, Here's Why
Gender identity is a deeply personal issue that many people still have trouble understanding and respecting.
Unlearning restrictive binary genders is a process, but one that is well worth the effort.
This comic highlights the importance of looking past restrictive ideas of gender and embracing the idea that every identity is 'real' and deserves to be respected. After all, each person knows themselves best.
With Love,
The Editors at Everyday Feminism
To learn more about this topic, check out:
K is a Contributing Comic Artist at Everyday Feminism. K is a Canadian, non-binary, genderqueer, peoplequeer, mentally ill, critical feminist robot. They have a background in linguistics, information, privacy, and categorization, and human-centric design. They are the artist and writer for Robot Hugs, a twice-weekly webcomic about (among other things) gender, identity, feminism, mental health, and cats. In their spare time, they provide peer education and workshops on negotiation, consent, and identity. In their spare-spare time, their hobbies include worrying about things they can't control and knitting. Check out their comics here.


Storks Are Wintering On Landfills Instead Of Migrating
Some storks are feeding heartily at landfills, spending their winters in garbage dumps instead of migrating. The findings, published in Science Advances this week, adds to an already growing list of migratory species that have either shortened their migration distances or turned into year-round residents in response to anthropogenic environmental changes.
White storks (Ciconia ciconia) are soaring migrants that rarely use flapping flight. They gain altitude by utilizing thermal uplift or columns of rising air created by solar radiation and then they move forward by gliding. Because soaring flight is energetically cheaper than flapping, these birds can travel vast distances with minimal energy expenditure. Soaring species actively select their migration routes and times to experience stronger updrafts. White storks breed from Europe to Northwest Africa and Western Asia, and different populations of this same species have different migration patterns because of flexible, opportunistic life history strategies. That makes them good study subjects for exploring the travel costs of their decisions.
A team led by Andrea Flack from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology attached GPS devices with 3D acceleration sensors to a total of 70 juvenile storks (pictured below) in Armenia, Greece, Poland, Russia, Spain, southwest Germany, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan. The researchers continuously monitored the movements of the young birds for the first five months of their migratory journey. Many juveniles dont survive this trip, so these first few months could be used to represent their entire lifetime movement costs.
Storks from Russia, Poland, and Greece displayed the most traditional route through the Sahel region of eastern Africa all the way down to South Africa while the Spanish birds migrated across the Sahara desert to the western Sahel. Meanwhile, birds from southwest Germany overwintered at garbage dumps in Northern Morocco instead of migrating to the Sahel.
The storks that fly along those more traditional routes spend more energy than those that stay on the landfill sites, Flack explains to IFLScience. Birds in areas that have higher human populations were able to lower their daily energy expenditure with shorter daily foraging trips and shorten their migration distance, or suppress migration completely. This may result in both higher survival and greater reproduction success. Although, Flack adds, theyd have to follow storks for many more years and examine more birds to say for sure.
Migratory animals play major roles in ecosystems all along their travel paths controlling pests, pollinating plants, and participating in complex disease dynamics. While human-induced influences might be beneficial to migratory species, the changes that result could negatively impact their various ecosystems.
Image in the text: Flack et al. Sci. Adv. 2016
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 What is Hancock MINT?
 Hancock MINT (Mobile Intake) is a mobile application that connects to the Hancock Cloud (HC) and enables the user to work offline to collect new building data through the creation of files or to edit existing building data. Using MINT, Auditors can create instant Proposals offline at the customer site to instantly show costs and savings.
 Using one-step synchronization, the user uploads all data and Proposals from the MINT app to the HC, which then become immediately available to all appropriate users within their organization. The HC online portal allows organizations to continue expanding on files and Proposals, changing or adding to the building data, and collecting multiple Proposals to apply for incentives.
 When installing MINT for the first time, various universal items catalogs are uploaded. These can be used to automatically populate relevant information in your files.
 MINT hosts files, created by the user, which act as containers for all the building information collected. Each file offers a File Overview screen, providing quick access to client information, directions to the site, and the ability to call the client. It also consists of the following main areas, each briefly discussed below. All information is collected offline. No internet connection is needed.
 Files: Building data collections. Files can be created directly on the MINT app or can be created in HEEC and downloaded to the MINT app. Existing Files assigned to the logged-in User and 'In Progress' will be downloaded to the MINT app. Files marked 'Done' are uploaded from the MINT app and removed from the local device.
 Items: Items consist of individual or groups of objects that have properties of energy consumption. Items, such as lighting fixtures, are populated using a search catalog or recently used items from previous collections.
 Areas: You can break down sections of a building. This can be an entire floor or broken down into specific areas, like bathroom, office, etc.
 Building Info: This section provides information gathered about the building including the building type, total area, year built, and utility billing information such as electricity, oil, water, etc.
 Notes Summary: MINT is able to capture multimedia images of the building. In this section, you can take photos of the building, floor layouts, rooms, fixtures, etc. You can also add helpful notes to the pictures.
 Operating Schedules: This summarizes the operating schedules you created within your areas.
 Attachments: You can attach helpful information, such as spreadsheets, reports, etc.
 Proposals: Using this feature allows you to instantly make changes to the building information and create a Proposal showing the instant cost savings that you can share with your customer immediately while still onsite.
 To-Do List: You can keep a running to-do list for each file, easily seen and ready to update as needed.
 After collecting all the data and generating proposals, the user syncs the files to the Hancock Energy Cloud online portal.
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Polish citizenship
On January 19, 1951 (entry into force of the Polish Citizenship Act of 1951), Polish citizens of nationality:
 1. Russian,
 2. Belarusian,
 3. Ukrainian,
 4. Lithuanian,
 5. Latvian,
 6. Estonian,
who lived permanently abroad lost their Polish citizenship.
A similar rule applied to Polish citizens of German nationality, unless the spouse has Polish citizenship and lives in Poland.
Loss of citizenship concerned not only Polish citizens who remained after the Second World War in the USSR, but all citizens of the above-mentioned nationalities living abroad. For example, Polish citizenship was lost to people of Ukrainian nationality living in the USA or in Argentina.


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Burial efficiency of phosphorus and the geochemistry of iron in continental margin sediments
Limnol. Oceanogr., 43(1), 1998, 53-64 | DOI: 10.4319/lo.1998.43.1.0053
ABSTRACT: We have examined the distributions of phosphorus and iron in sediments from well-oxygenated environments on the Atlantic Canadian and the Portuguese continental margins and from the anoxic region of the Chesapeake Bay. The measurements include total, citrate-dithionite-bicarbonate (CDB) extractable, ascorbate extractable, and dissolved P and Fe; acid volatile sulfide; and pyrite. A surface layer (varying in thickness between 2 and 4 cm) enriched in P and Fe was revealed by both the CDB and the ascorbate extractions in all sediments except those from the Chesapeake Bay. The amount of phosphate extracted by the two reagents was similar, but more iron was extracted by the CDB reagent, probably because of its ability to dissolve crystalline iron oxides. Within the Fe and P-enriched surface layer, the Fe : P ratio in the ascorbate extract varied within a narrow range (6-14), as did the soluble-reactive phosphate (SRP) concentration (5-16 µM), suggesting that SRP is in sorption equilibrium with the solid phase. Our data are consistent with a dynamic cycling of P and strong interactions between the cycles of P, Fe, and sulfur in many marine environments. The reductive dissolution of amorphous Fe during burial and the formation of pyrite diminish the capacity of the sediment to sequester P, and only a portion of the P that arrives at the sediment-water interface actually gets buried with the sediment.


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|Leaf Identification / II
To the left, you can see leaves from three different
types of oak trees. The Pin Oak, Quercus
palustris, is found in the northern part of the U.S. and southern Canada,
in lowland areas with moderate shade. Its leaves are usually 3" to 4" with
5 lobes and a wedge-shaped base. The Jack Oak,
ellipsoidalis, is found on higher ground and its lower branches are
usually dead. It has dark green leaves and the tree has an overall untidy
look. The Scarlet Oak, Quercus coccinea,
grows in sandy or gravelly areas. Looking at its leaves you will
find a thin, delicate blade with lobes that sometimes almost enclose oval
spaces. The mid-rib of the leaf is yellow.
the right you can see two leaves from walnut trees. Leaflets arranged along
opposite sides of the stem like these are called pinnate
compound leaves (for more information,
see Leaf Terms). The Black
Walnut, Juglans nigra, is found
on high ground over a vast majority of the United States. It is somtimes
missing the end leaflet, and all the side leaflets are attached to the
stem at an angle. The Butternut White Walnut,
cinerea, has an end leaflet, and its side leaflets are attached to
the stem perpendicularly.
Leaf ID III
Illustrations from Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts (c) 1963, 1991 Nature Study Guild, used by permission.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Scientists Say Egg Shells Remove Hex Chrome from Water
24. October 2011
Scientists in China have developed an absorbent material made from waste eggshell membrane that can remove hexavalent chromium from contaminated water.
Current methods for removal include reduction, ion exchange and absorption. Biosorption is a type of absorption that uses a material that is not man-made, usually some kind of waste material. But scientists Yuming Huang and Bin Liu from Southwest University, Chongqing, have designed a new biosorbent using eggshells.
"As the by-product of food processing and manufacturing plants,eggshells represent a significant waste because they are traditionally useless after the production of eggs and egg derivatives," says Huang. "Using this waste to produce useful biomaterial for removal of Cr6 from water may be a good choice and opens up a pathway to using biowaste to treat toxic metals from water.'
Most biosorbents contain amine groups that remove the heavy metals through chelating cationic metal ions and/or absorbing anionic metal species. Eggshell membrane contains many surface functional groups, including amines, amides and carboxylic groups. The team modified ESM with polyethyleneimine, which has known metal chelation properties, and they tested the resulting bioabsorbent for its ability to remove Cr6 from water. Huang found that not only did it remove Cr6 but it also reduced some of the Cr6 to Cr3, suggesting that PEI-ESM can also detoxify Cr(VI).
"An increasingly diverse range of waste and natural materials have been shown to function as biosorbents for the decontamination of metal bearing waters," says Stuart Gibb from the Environmental Research Institute of The University of the Highlands and Islands, Thurso, UK. Gibb says that there are some issues that need to be addressed, but he feels the work shows promise. "The PEI functionalisation of waste eggshell membrane produces a modified biosorbent of significant novelty and interest."


How to Encrypt an Unencrypted RDS DB Instance
Lab Details
 1. This lab walks you through the steps to create an unencrypted instance with the Encrypt option.
 2. You will practice this lab by not enabling the encryption of DB Instance while creating.
 3. Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
 1. Amazon RDS can encrypt your Amazon RDS DB Instances.
 2. When the encrypt option is enabled for the AWS RDS Resources, we are able to encrypt DB Instances, Automated Backups, Read replicas, Snapshots and Logs.
 3. Amazon RDS encrypted DB instances use the AES-256 encryption algorithm to encrypt your data on the server that hosts your Amazon RDS DB instances.
 4. The Encrypt option can be enabled only when you are launching the DB instance, it cannot be enabled after launch. However, copies of unencrypted snapshots can be encrypted.
Task Details
 1. Log into AWS Management Console.
 2. Create an Amazon RDS DB Instance (without enabling encrypt option).
 3. Take a snapshot from an existing DB Instance.
 4. Make a copy of the snapshot and encrypt it.
 5. Restore DB Instance from the encrypted snapshot.
 6. Change the name of the original DB Instance.
 7. Change the name of the Restored DB Instance to the original DB Instance name.
 8. Delete the original RDS Instance and snapshot.
 9. Validation of the lab.
Architecture Diagram
Case Study
 1. Suppose we have created an RDS DB Instance without enabling the encryption. As days passed by the project became bigger and began to store more sensitive data.
 2. As you are quite aware of security issues, you wanted to check on the AWS console that your database was well encrypted.
 3. Your database was totally Unencrypted. And when you check to encrypt the database, you have no option to encrypt the database.
Step 1 : Login to My-Account


In the garden this week: Sweetcorn dens, plus squish those bugs
Create a shady play area for kids, plus a quick way to control aphids
Garden week: Sweetcorn
Munch bunch. Photograph: David Sillitoe
Sweetcorn secrets
A sweetcorn den provides a secretive, shady play area for allotment-bound kids and armfuls of sweetcorn. Sow into pots now for planting out when they are big enough, or sow direct into your chosen shape. Choose a sunny spot, not too windy, that has been deeply dug over. If sowing direct, mark out whatever shape you fancy, then sow two or three seeds per station, 45cm apart. When they germinate, remove the weaker seedlings, leaving one per station.
Bug squish
The squishing of aphids between fingers and thumbs is the job of the moment. They swarm over youthful buds of roses and others, and multiply at an astonishing rate, contorting growth with their sap-sucking ways. Later on, ladybirds, lacewings and other beneficial insects will get their numbers up and keep aphids under control, but for now it's down to you. Pour cold washing-up liquid over affected plants, too; the soap suffocates aphids. Nice.


text:
Cornell nets $7 million grant for corn study
Hoping to gain a better understanding of the world's largest staple crop, the National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $7 million grant to Michael J. Scanlon, Cornell professor of plant biology.
Scanlon leads a team of nine researchers who study the maize shoot apical meristem (SAM) -- a pool of plant stem cells responsible for forming essentially all of the above-ground parts of the corn plant.
"The meristem we study has a characteristic shape and a lot of diversity," Scanlon said. "This is the part of the plant that contains the stem cells that will give rise to every and all organs in the plant. We're interested in learning how those differences are controlled genetically."
In addition to being one of the world's most important staple crops, maize is also one of the most genetically diverse. Hunter-gatherers in what is now Mexico began breeding corn's ancestor, the weed teosinte, 10,000 years ago. Now, largely thanks to human-directed plant breeding, maize is so genetically diverse that any two races can vary by 2-3 percent -- as genetically different as a human and a chimpanzee.
"One of the main goals of the project is to understand the genetic and epigenetic networks contributing to this remarkable diversity," Scanlon said.
The group also hopes to understand how meristem structure and function influence adult maize plants, which has implications for agriculture and biofuels.
"In terms of application, if you want to modify growth -- leaf length, leaf growth, flowering time -- all of that comes from the meristem. If you want to modify the portion of the plant that goes toward flowers, to grow food, as opposed to carbohydrates, which are used for biofuels, you need to understand what's happening genetically within the meristem," Scanlon said.
Another primary goal of the project is to understand how young meristems are affected by the shading typical in closely planted corn fields.
Scanlon will lead a team of plant geneticists who have been collaborating for more than 10 years, along with several new investigators. The team includes nine scientists from: Cornell, Iowa State University, University of Minnesota, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, University of Georgia and Truman State University.


, it can be devastating to a career. Self sabotaging is doing things that will inhibit your progression as a teacher or administrator. One of the self sabotaging criteria is underperformance and a lack of reflective practice. This is at the heart of doing things that are the opposite of what is desired as a teacher or administrator.
Signs that a teacher is underperforming:
- Hiding performance / resisting transparency measures
- Student performance is lower than standardised metrics or moderated results with other classes
- Attempting to deflect/criticise/identify/draw attention to other teachers that may also be underperforming
- A lack of self reflection / lack of evidence that underperformance is being addressed
- An inability/unwillingness to collaborate effectively with all members of the team
- Student/Parent complaints
- Requests for others to do their work or be paid extra for work that is part of their job description
- Unwillingness to contribute outside of 8.30 to 3.00
- Requirements for admin to regularly intercede due to conflict
- Lack of modification of identified undesirable behaviours
- actively seek to avoid classroom teaching
- personalising criticism rather than seeking to address an issue
- Fear and discipline is the main motivator to encourage learning
If someone is seeking promotion to HOLA, Student Services or Administration they need to have support that they have the ability to perform in that role and evidence that they have recently performed in that role. Staff don't often realise that when a leader is requested for a recommendation they cannot over inflate the negative and need to identify what they can do as well as any weaknesses. All staff have weaknesses that can be addressed over time. That notwithstanding, underperforming staff seeking promotion are typically unable to show the qualities that would make them competitive for promotion and have some of the following qualities:
Signs of self sabotaging:
- Alienating those whose support is required for promotion
- Creating factions seeking to undermine initiatives to improve student performance
- Promoting the good old days without promoting the changes that have been successful
- Being inflexible / cantankerous / obstinant / passive aggressive / passive defiant / avoidant
- inflated opinion of ability
- Not seeking or taking opportunities to display skills and attributes
- low self esteem (depression) / highly inflated self esteem (narcissism)
- are not clear about their career aspirations
- have not sought assistance with their application / have attracted few mentors
- Seeking to get their own way by "bullying", aggressive or emotional language
These behaviours need to be discouraged as they are not good for the health of the organisation, or the person exhibiting these behaviours as they will often be unaware of why they are not getting the recognition or promotion they believe they deserve.
Bullying is an important one. In today's society no-one should promote someone known for bullying. This is an absolute headache for admin as a bully will create work for those working around them for the sake of "efficiency" benefits that rarely exist or put people down to raise their own self esteem causing anxiety, low morale and turnover of staff.
Good leadership requires making it clear what desirable and undesirable behaviours are and providing a clear organisational vision. Management is required for compliance issues, where leading staff willingly fails and/or where corrective instruction is required. Leadership tends to focus on macro decisions regarding the pathway of a faculty (relying on professionalism to interpret correctly the direction given), "micro" management should be minimised to what is absolutely necessary to get a person to fulfil their responsibilities.
Unmanageable staff need to either be limited in scope (typically because they are highly functional in a subset of roles needed by an organisation) and/or be informed that their behaviours are unacceptable, informed as to why, the possible consequences of these behaviours and given a period of time to rectify their behaviour. It should be clear that Management is not bullying, but management should be underpinned by an evidence base, clear communication or an instruction from higher in management.
Saturday, April 24, 2021
Covid and Good Enough Teaching
I was talking with a colleague on Friday and conversation returned to online education. The premise was if online teaching was good enough and more cost effective than online delivery, would schools move to online delivery for students in courses where it was reasonably effective.
The hypothesis was that is is possible for a highly skilled teacher (top 10% of teachers skilled in delivering the course) to deliver highly effective content for a Methods course to a large number of students (>1000). If this was possible, it would have the potential to reduce costs significantly, as the IT infrastructure has already been significantly implemented (and tested during Covid) and face-to-face teachers would not be required. If each class is about 20 students, that's 50 teachers at $24000 per year, $1.2 million dollars. If a fifth of that was allocated to online tutors and markers, that's still a saving of about 1 million dollars. Where schools are struggling to run small courses and SCSA prevents mixed year classes - this could be a godsend. Schools wouldn't even run classrooms, just timetable time for students to be at home working. After the content was created it could be re-run year after year. This is already happening in University mathematics courses.
My colleague took this further and said that the online course would deliver better instructional content than current classrooms in face-to-face mode. Information could be standardised more easily to the intent of syllabus writers, typically teachers delivering courses face-to-face are not in the highly skilled category, teachers have competing demands in different courses and may have issues impacting on performance from outside the classroom.
Theoretically we could run schools in an online/offline more, where students come to school for socialisation, tutoring and assessment and stay at home for the rest of the time learning online. Content would be superior and the teaching environment could be better utilised in a cheaper "good enough" solution - the ultimate aim of any bean counter. Schools could support a greater number of students and become much more efficient delivering content.
Could a compromise be that all ATAR courses be delivered online/offline and students only attend schools 2.5 days per week?
The obvious counter to all of this is that not all high school students are motivated enough to work online for a long period, schools do more than deliver content, context and socio-economic factors impact implementation and research is required to analyse how students impacted by covid perform at University and other higher learning online.
Education has not evolved for 100 years and is predominantly still delivered in the same mode despite significant changes in technology. Education appears to be on the precipice of a technology disruption. Will we too be the victims of automation, or will we navigate it somehow to continue to be an integral part of society?
Sunday, April 4, 2021
The bucket
Alan Hughes (Level 9 HOLA) introduced me to the idea of the bucket. The bucket represents the resilience of a student. Each time a student offers an answer and gets a negative response (laughing, teasing, being wrong) they lose a little of themselves out of the bucket. If they get a positive response, the bucket starts to fill again.
As the bucket gets more and more depleted, they get more unwilling to put themselves out there. When it is near the bottom, they will protect what is left by refusing to answer, refusing to try, being defiant and protective of what little self esteem they have left in the bucket. Adolescence is a difficult time, between hormones, increasing academic ability, fragile confidence, peer issues, seeking independence and protective parents, a lot is drawing out of the bucket.
It is important to ensure that students never reach the point of protecting themselves. The bucket should be overflowing with enthusiasm with opportunities to build self confidence - not everyone outside of the classroom will understand that this is important or why you are working with this student. It starts with a welcome, hello and something positive that they can contribute.
When a child has little in the bucket it is important to provide opportunities to refill it before it reaches the point of self protection.
When a child is at the point of self protection, a caring person will let them know it is ok and help them refill the bucket - preferably assisting with diminishing demands on the bucket from outside the classroom.
Since it was first introduced to me, I have appreciated the bucket analogy and it assists in understanding why Alan is such a great person and teacher. He lives the analogy and has assisted many students refill the bucket.


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Energy Efficiency Improvement and Cost Saving Opportunities for the Pulp & Paper Industry
This guide discusses energy efficiency practices and energy-efficient technologies that can be implemented at the component, process, facility, and organizational levels of the U.S. pulp and paper industry. Next, a wide variety of energy efficiency measures applicable to pulp and paper mills are described. Many measure descriptions include expected savings in energy and energy-related costs, which are based on case study data from real-world applications in pulp and paper mills and related industries worldwide. Typical measure payback periods and references to further information in the technical literature are also provided, when available.


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How to Check Your Dog's Pulse
6 of 7 in Series: The Essentials of Dog Care for a Healthy Pet
To check your dog's pulse, you need to locate the femoral artery, which lies just below the skin on the inside of the back legs, between two large muscles where the leg joins the body.
With your dog standing, reach around in front of the rear leg where it joins his body, and slide your fingers into the groin area. You can feel the femoral artery pumping each time the heart beats.
When you have found the artery with your dog standing, try it with your dog lying on his side. Count how many pulses you feel in 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to get the number of beats per minute. Dogs normally have a pulse between 70 and 120 beats per minute. In puppies, the pulse ranges from 120 to 160 beats per minute.
Become familiar with your dog's pulse rate and how his pulse feels when he is relaxed as well as after exercise.
If you have reason to believe your dog is suffering from an emergency, a dramatic change in pulse (such as, a slowed pulse indicating shock) can be one sign and symptom.


Are You Curious About The Secrets Of The Iguana?
Are You Curious About The Secrets Of The Iguana? 1
Bali Safari Park is a conservation place for various species of animals. For these animals Bali Safari Park has become a "home" for them. There are more than one hundred species of animals that live in Bali Safari Park. You can see animals that have begun to scarce, even animals that are almost extinct.
Animals in the Bali Safari Park include Orangutans, Naga Komodo, Bali Mynah or Jalak Bali birds, and many other species. Bali Safari Park is indeed actively carrying out conservation programs to ensure the welfare and survival of various rare species of animals.
You who want to get a pleasant holiday, full of experience, and also get valuable lessons about animals, then Bali Safari and Marine Park is the right holiday destination.
Bali Safari Park is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Zoos and is a member of the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Bali Safari Park is also on the list of Indonesian Zoological Park Associations. The place used for conservation of various animal species is in Gianyar, Bali.
You can see various species of wild animals and iguanas. You will feel the atmosphere that is very similar to wild African savanna when visiting Bali Safari Park. You who really want to see Iguana can visit Bali Safari Park.
Recommended Read
Iguanas are one of the popular reptiles and are sometimes used as pets. These iguanas come from the forests of the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Iguanas have a tendency to be aggressive and they can feel quickly comfortable in a new place. Many interesting facts related to Iguanas.
"Secret" Facts About Iguanas
Iguanas have many "secret" things, namely various facts that are rarely known to people. Here are the various secrets of Iguana:
 1. Iguanas have body lengths of 1.5 meters to 1.8 meters or 5 to 6 feet. This length includes the length of the tail;
 2. Lizard species included in the genus Iguana have a long line of scales, starting from the middle line of the Iguana neck to the tail. Meanwhile, Iguanas have scales in different areas of the body. Iguanas have several scales scattered around the lateral area of the neck. In addition, there are also smaller scales. The dorsal scales of the Iguana's body also have conditions that are thicker and denser than those on the side of the abdomen;
 3. Iguanas have very sharp vision, so they can see shadows, colors, shapes, and movements from a distance. The visual acuity possessed by Iguana makes them capable of navigating crowded forests. The ability is also beneficial for bafi Iguana to find food. Iguanas use visual signals to communicate with each other Iguana species;
 4. Iguanas have extraordinary eye vision to detect and target prey in very long distances;
 5. Tympanum or Iguana eardrum is above the sub-tympanic shield, also known as the ear shield behind the eye;
 6. Iguanas are often difficult to recognize because they can blend with their environment with colors that can adjust the surrounding conditions. This allows Iguanas to hide from predators;
 7. Iguanas have a heart with three chambers, namely with one ventricle, two atria, and also two aorta with systemic circulation;
 8. Iguanas have very bright muscles due to the high proportion of glycolytic muscle fibers. These fibers have a low myoglobin content, making the appearance of the Iguana look pale;
 9. Iguanas can move very quickly in a fast duration, but are not efficient for long duration movements. This is because cellular respiration in Iguana glycolytic muscle fibers is anaerobic;
 10. Iguanas "talk" to each other through a series of eye movements;
 11. Iguanas can adapt easily in open areas;
 12. Iguanas can adapt to the water environment, so they can swim. Therefore, Iguanas tend to like the water environment.
 13. Iguanas can easily change from one tree to another when they feel threatened by predators.
Other Animals
Are You Curious About The Secrets Of The Iguana? 2
Iguanas do have an aggressive nature, they can bite people when they feel threatened. The condition was only carried out by Iguana to defend himself. Iguanas have sharp teeth that can tear food and opponents quickly.
When going to attack or bite, the Iguana will usually stand up, then lean to the front, and lower his head. This condition is a signal that the Iguana is under threat. You can learn more specifically by seeing Iguana directly at Bali Safari Park.
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Baby epiderma Inclusion cysts
Milia ( sing. milium, from the Latin millet seed) are small epidermal inclusion cysts ( sometimes erroneously called sebaceous cysts). Milia are totally, benign, tiny keratin-filled cysts. They form when the follicular orifice ( pore) is clogged. For physicians who might chance on this answer, especially those preparing for the boards, milia in the oral cavity in infants are named Epstein pearls.
Unlike blackheads ( open comedones) and whiteheads ( closed comedones), milia do not...


Research reveals why redheads may have different pain thresholds.
red hair
New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) provides insights on why people with red hair exhibit altered sensitivity to certain kinds of pain. The findings are published in Science Advances.
In people with red hair (as in numerous other species of animals with red fur), the pigment-producing cells of the skin—called melanocytes—contain a variant form of the melanocortin 1 receptor. This receptor sits on the cell surface, and if it becomes activated by circulating hormones called melanocortins, it causes the melanocyte to switch from generating yellow/red melanin pigment to producing brown/black melanin pigment. Earlier work by David E. Fisher, MD, Ph.D., director of the Mass General Cancer Center's Melanoma Program and director of MGH's Cutaneous Biology Research Center, demonstrated that the inability of red-haired individuals to tan or darken their skin pigment is traced to inactive variants of this receptor.
To investigate the mechanisms behind different pain thresholds in red-haired individuals, Fisher and his colleagues studied a strain of red-haired mice that (as in humans) contains a variant that lacks melanocortin 1 receptor function and also exhibits higher pain thresholds.
The team found that loss of melanocortin 1 receptor function in the red-haired mice caused the animals' melanocytes to secrete lower levels of a molecule called POMC (proopiomelanocortin) that is subsequently cut into different hormones including one that sensitizes to pain and one that blocks pain. The presence of these hormones maintains a balance between opioid receptors that inhibit pain and melanocortin 4 receptors that enhance perception of pain.
In red-haired mice (and therefore, possibly humans), having both hormones at low levels would seemingly cancel each other out. However, the body also produces additional, non-melanocyte-related factors that activate opioid receptors involved in blocking pain. Therefore, the net effect of lower levels of the melanocyte-related hormones is more opioid signals, which elevates the threshold for pain.
"These findings describe the mechanistic basis behind earlier evidence suggesting varied pain thresholds in different pigmentation backgrounds," says Fisher. "Understanding this mechanism provides validation of this earlier evidence and a valuable recognition for medical personnel when caring for patients whose pain sensitivities may vary."
Fisher adds that the results suggest new ways to manipulate the body's natural processes that control pain perception—for example, by designing new medications that inhibit melanocortin 4 receptors involved in sensing pain.
"Our ongoing work is focused on elucidating how additional skin-derived signals regulate pain and opioid signaling," adds co-lead author Lajos V. Kemény, MD, Ph.D., a research fellow in Dermatology at MGH. "Understanding these pathways in depth may lead to the identification of novel pain-modulating strategies."
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Massachusetts General Hospital
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In the April issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG), a team lead by John Williams, III report on their findings of the impact of NIPGS' introduction into clinical practice.
The team reviewed the cases of all women referred for genetic counseling and prenatal testing at the Cedars-Sinai Prenatal Diagnosis Center from January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2011, the two years preceding NIPGS, and January 1, 2012 – December 31, 2013, the two years following NIPGS.
The full article can be reviewed here (subscription required). Here are the highlights:
- Pre-NIPGS, 3,944 women were referred for genetic counseling and diagnostic testing; Post-NIPGS, 2,824, a reduction of 28.4%.
- Pre-NIPGS, 26.2% of women declined diagnostic testing; post-NIPGS, 31%.
- There was a 48% reduction in the number of procedures performed in 2013 as compared to the number performed in 2010.
- Pre-NIPGS, 467 women not candidates for NIPGS were referred for genetic counseling and diagnostic tesing; post-NIPGS, 285, a reduction of 38.9%.
- Of the women who had CVS during study period, NIPGS would not have identified 32.4% of the aneuploidies identified due to NIPGS' limited scope of conditions.
The authors note that there was no difference in the referral rate for genetic counseling and diagnostic testing based on first-trimester combined or second trimester quad-screen results, suggesting a greater reliance on the accuracy of NIPGS than traditional screening. Further, there was no apparent decrease in the overall birthrate to account for the reductions in referrals post-NIPGS.
From the report, the authors draw the following conclusions and concerns:
- The decrease in referrals for genetic counseling is not consistent with the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine joint statement recommending informed pretest counseling prior to accepting NIPGS.
- "Genetic counseling has been shown to identify additional significant genetic risks in 35.6% of women. As fewer women are being referred for genetic counseling, the potential for missing additional risks for genetic orders is likely to increase."
- "An even greater concern" is women at an increased risk for fetal aneuploidy and single gene conditions not detectable by NIPGS relying only on NIPGS results and not having these conditions identified through prenatal testing.
This concern of NIPGS' limited scope missing a significant number of other conditions has been noted in other studies, which the graphic with this post illustrates.
Williams et al. further are concerned about the reduction in diagnostic testing due to the appeal of NIPGS being noninvasive and therefore not carrying a risk of miscarriage. They note that:
[I]nvasive diagnostic procedures (CVS and amniocentesis) have been shown to be relatively safe, particularly in the hands of experienced operators. In experienced hands, both have been reported to carry procedure-related loss rates of approximately 1 in 400.
To their credit, the authors recognize the impact decreased invasive procedures will have on increasing the risk of those procedures:
[A]s the number of referrals for diagnostic testing continues to decline, some CVS and amniocentesis practitioners may lose their technical skills. … It is possible that practitioners who were able to perform enough diagnostic procedures to maintain competency prior to the introduction of [NIPGS] into clinical practice may not be able to maintain their skills.
(I wrote about this inverse relationship between the number of procedures and the risk of invasive testing for a presentation at the 2013 American College of Medical Genetics & Genomics annual conference).
Finally, Williams et al. make an observation that may not be appreciated by the laymen or their professional colleagues.
The "greater concern" noted above, of women with single-gene conditions not being referred for diagnostic testing, the authors postulate could be due to a misunderstanding on the limitations of NIPGS by patients and clinicians. Williams et al. suggest that future studies assess patient and clinician "understanding of the differences between prenatal screening and diagnostic tests."
NIPGS is resulting in fewer women being referred for genetic counseling and diagnostic testing due to an apparent reliance on the accuracy of NIPGS which may be misplaced, particularly for conditions not detected by NIPGS. This reduction may lead to more misdiagnoses, i.e. women not being diagnosed who otherwise would have but for relying on the limited scope of NIPGS, and an increased risk for invasive testing due to the plummeting number of procedures. As a result, the article's final sentence is suitable for ending this post as well:
In addition, with the current and future complexities of diagnostic genetic testing, genetic counseling should be offered to all patients considering any type of genetic screening or diagnostic testing.


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by Mandy Edens
Protective Clothing is the most important way to avoid cold stress. The type of fabric even makes a difference. Cotton loses its insulation value when it becomes wet. Wool, silk and most synthetics, on the other hand, retain their insulation even when wet. Here are some clothing recommendations for working in cold environments:
- Wear at least three layers of clothing. An inner layer of wool, silk or synthetic to wick moisture away from the body. A middle layer of wool or synthetic to provide insulation even when wet. An outer wind and rain protection layer that allows some ventilation to prevent overheating. Layering provides better insulation. Do not wear tight fitting clothing.
- Wear a hat or hood to help keep your whole body warmer. Hats reduce the amount of body heat that escapes from your head.
- Wear insulated boots or other footwear.
- Keep extra clothing (including underwear) handy in case you get wet and need to change.
- Do not underestimate the wetting effects of perspiration. Oftentimes wicking and venting of the body's sweat and heat are more important than protecting from rain or snow.
Read full article here
BareBones WorkWear has many products to protect you from the cold and to help you layer.


Event System Presentation
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An Event System for Server-less Networking
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Event System Presentation
 1. 1. Presenting users with a consistent world without persistent clientsPermanent State in a Serverless Environment
 2. 2. ➲Presenting users with a persistent state is easy if you have apersistent host.➲With a few techniques it can be done without a server, aslong as clients remain in the game.➲Primary benefit is the saving on Server hosting costs. Overview
 3. 3. ➲ Traditional Model : Client/Server➲ Server runs game logic, deciding when events occur.➲ Game clients receive incoming events and process them (deterministically).➲ Late-joiners can receive a snapshot of the world from the host. Server based model
 4. 4. ➲ One of the clients acts as the server.➲ That client drives the others via events.➲ Processes events themselves.➲ The problem is that the server "state" is never transmitted, only the client state.➲ If the integrated server leaves, what do we do. Integrated server
 5. 5. ➲ If we make the server logic "stateless" we can move the server at will.➲ The server is now just code, that runs on one machine. The only thing the server code can do is send events.➲ Server is non-deterministic. Client code deterministic. Integrated server (cont)
 6. 6. ➲ This would suffice if only the host needs to interact with the world, and everyone else just views them.➲ The real problem comes when we allow the clients to interact with the world as well. (clients become peers)➲ Peers actions can overlap, creating race conditions.➲ To resolve these race conditions we could lock resources using the host as a token server. Moving to peer-to-peer
 7. 7. ➲ Tokens are often touted as a solution➲ Peer signal requests for tokens➲ Server grants, or refuses➲ Peer then can control the object➲ What if server migrates after the signal?➲ What if peer leaves after obtaining the token?➲ We cannot reclaim the token until the peer is definitely gone. The problem with tokens
 8. 8. ➲ What if the server, merely re-broadcasts the signals, without any logic.➲ The outgoing broadcasts are ordered, so all the peers see the signals in the same order.➲ Peers smart enough to work out when locks fail, or succeed.➲ Now we can implement complex behaviors.➲ Example, can only get into a vehicle if its empty, or occupied by a team mate. Introducing the reflector
 9. 9. ➲ The reflector is like a server with no state, nor game specific logic.➲ It is a true peer-peer logic, all clients are identical, except for the automatic reflecting of requests.➲ Peers must remember the sent signals. If the host changes, they must resend all signals they have not seen reflected.➲ The Reflector
 10. 10. ➲ Peers send signals and handle events.➲ The reflector reflects the signals. Reflected signals are events, and are in the same order on all machines.➲ Signals have a unique identifier formed from machine ID and count of signals sent.➲ Events also have a unique ID of the reflector and the event count. (also known as the event stream position) Terminology
 11. 11. ➲ The reflect method is exposed on all machines.➲ On any client who is not the reflector, the method does nothing.➲ On the reflector, the event occurs immediately, with the event sent as normal to other clients.➲ Reflect methods must not change state, only generate events. The Reflect Method
 12. 12. ➲ Three common ownership patterns➲ Unique ownership : no-one else can signal, clients can signal whenever they like.➲ Single ownership : State is changed using reflect, effective like the old "server code" pattern.➲ No/Shared Ownership: context never changes, peers signal when they wish to change state. Changes may fail. Ownership analogies
 13. 13. In this example, Peer 1, wants to signalPeer Reflecto Peer something about an object they own.1 r 3 Peer 1 call Signal, which sends a signal to the reflector.Signal The reflector calls the reflect method, and sends the results to all clients, including themselves. Event A use of this pattern might be used for example to allow a player to select their own weapon. Unique ownership pattern
 14. 14. In this example, something must getPeer Reflecto Peer done, once and once only. In this1 r 3 case we poll for the condition on each client. Each client calls the reflect method when required. Only the reflector will do anything when reflect is called, and they will send an event to all clients (including Event themselves). It is important to note, that we cannot guarantee that there is always a reflector, but we can guarantee that one will exist at some point. When a host does exist, they should call the reflect, and the event will get done. This usage pattern also has the lowest latency (for obvious reasons) A good us for this pattern might be to trigger the end of the round. Single ownership pattern
 15. 15. This pattern is identical to the uniquePeer Reflecto Peer ownership pattern, with BIG caveat.1 r 3 No ownership means more than one peerSignal Signal may try and use a resource, creating a race condition. It is the job of the reflector to resolve the Event race condition, by giving definitive ordering to the events. This pattern could be used for example to determine which player gets a weapon pick up. No ownership pattern
 16. 16. ➲ A major problem still exists.➲ The state on the peers may not be up to date (as defined as the state on the server).➲ This means that peers can send signals that are no longer valid when they are reflected.➲ Most obvious is referencing an object that has since been deleted. The context issue
 17. 17. An example of context problem Peer Reflecto Peer • The object is deleted twice. 1 r 3 • The second delete is valid when sent, because the first delete has notDelete object arrived yet. • Could be solved by unique object Delete object identifiers, but... • This is a generic problem. It occurs because the knowledge of the state is perfect, but always lags the reflector. • Three common re-occurring causes. • Game state change. (i.e. BE transition) • Level state change. (i.e. end of round) • Object state, mainly deletion. Example context problem
 18. 18. ➲ Signals are tagged with the event processed last.➲ Provide a number of context markers. Markers are updated with the last event the context changed.➲ Simply compare signal tag with the context marker to see if the context has changed (how to handle left to user).➲ Markers can be deleted when all peers send signals with event IDs greater than the marker. Signal context
 19. 19. ➲ All signals originate from non-deterministic actions (such as user input)➲ Reflection translates into a deterministic flow.➲ Once inside a deterministic event, we may not use the signal method to trigger more non-deterministic behaviour. Determinism barriers
 20. 20. Using signals from events problematic • Event sent to all clientsPeer 1 Reflector Peer 3 • We end up with multiple signals. • Could be solved by detectingSignal multiple events, but... • A better way exists.Signal Signal Signal from event
 21. 21. ➲ A good example of the single ownership pattern.➲ Signaling from inside event handlers, causes the event to be stored as pending, on all machines.➲ Peers use reflect method to cause events which are pending.➲ Events are removed from the store when the event is seen.➲ Pending buffer is a deterministic to non-deterministic barrier. Non Deterministic-Signal buffer
 22. 22. ➲ Non-deterministic code can generate signals, but not change state.➲ Deterministic code can change state, but not generate signals.➲ By splitting code into deterministic and non-deterministic, we can do almost anything, without the need for a server. Summary
 23. 23. ➲ Events are always owned by a single "Type", but many types can listen to those events.➲ This leads to an ordering problem. If an event constructs an object then the event must be processed first➲ If an event destroys an object, then the listeners must be called first.➲ This is a property of the event, and can be specified on creation.Construction order/destruction order problems
 24. 24. ➲ Define event object.It needs pack/unpack and name.➲ I strongly urge use of PureEvent/IntEvent/etc➲ Inherit from EventOwner➲ Define an event handler


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Sentence with word web. College students, spelling bee organizers, and people looking to increase their knowledge of English might especially enjoy this webpage. The lines of text below use web in a sentence, and provide visitors a sentence for web.
- As soon as he fancies himself seen, he sets to work spinning a web, and he discerns nothing else. (10)
- Every corner, drawer, photograph, paper was a thread in the long-spun web of his life in this house. (8)
- From this tangled web of heartless intrigue I turned my thoughts to Lady Jane herself. (6)
- Great ladies must they be, at the web of politics, for us to hear them cited discoursing. (10)
- He delighted in the dark web of intrigue, and believed himself to be no ordinary weaver of that sunless work. (10)
- He throve to the light of day, and she spun a silly web that meshed her in her intricacies. (10)
- If only he could burst out of himself, out of this web that for the first time in his life he felt around him. (8)
- Merthyr alone seconded her efforts to weave the web of converse, which is an armistice if not a treaty on these occasions. (10)
- She has him in some web. (10)
- She was fairly caught in the web of her foolish and presumptuous mistake! (8)
- So it was with Hilary in that special web wherein his spirit struggled, sunrise unto sunset, and by moonlight afterward. (8)
- They are the eyes of a spider in the centre of a great web. (8)
- What will not look beautiful contrasted with the fly in the web? (10)
Glad you visited this page with a sentence for web. Perhaps also see a sentence for wistfully and ways to use weltering in a sentence. Now that you've seen how to use web in a sentence hope you might explore the rest of this educational reference site Sentencefor.com to see many other example sentences which provide word usage information.


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The game begins with Dr. Watson arriving at 221B Baker Street in London. Summoned by Sherlock Holmes' landlady Mrs. Hudson, Watson finds Holmes in a miserable state until they read the morning paper and discover that the Crown Jewels have been stolen. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Hudson introduces the pair to a "visitor" who gives them a paper that has several clues on it. Each clue points the player in the direction of a gem (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Opal). Watson and Holmes work their way through several London landmarks (Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Bridge, Madame Tussaud's, Trafalgar Square) solving puzzles and ultimately acquiring these gems. They also receive a carnation in Covent Garden for helping a woman who's passed out.
With them in hand they head to the Bank of England and with Wiggins help gain entrance to find the Topaz. After Watson found the Sapphire Holmes gave him a signet ring in case something bad happened to him. When Watson and Homes exit the bank Holmes is kidnapped. Watson takes the ring to Holmes' brother Mycroft as instructed who gives Watson the password to enter the Tower of London. Here Watson, with Wiggins' help, enter the Tower and find the Garnet.
Each gem found has a small etching on it with a clue. Putting those all together leads Watson to the Bar of Gold where the final showdown with Dr. Moriarty occurs. Watson finds Holmes tied up, but ends up defeating Moriarty and recovering the jewels.
Sherlock is an interactive fiction game so all character interaction is done via the keyboard. Simple text commands are given to control what Watson does: PICK UP PAPER, for example. The parser was quite good for its time, but pales in comparison with more modern interactive fiction games. The focus of the game is to search for the jewels Moriarty has hidden around London and use the clues on them to find him and recover the Crown Jewels.
Similar to other adventure games of the time there's a points system whereby points are awarded for certain actions. There are 100 points available in the game, but it's possible to beat the game without getting the full 100. The number of points received award a particular rank.
Unlike many other interactive fiction games of its era Sherlock had a fully implemented time system. Every action performed would take up a certain amount of time and many of the puzzles were centered around being in a particular area at a specific time.
Infocom was famous for putting extras in the boxes for their games. Sherlock came with a map of London, a copy of "The Thames" newspaper, and a key fob.
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The Northern Quota
News Live from Manchester
Campaign launched to raise awareness of illegal backyard breeding
 - The NQ today launches the Pets Not Profit, _TAG_ campaign.
 - Led by NQ reporter Sarah Kerrigher, the campaign aims to raise more awareness of this illegal act with the intent to reduce the amount of illegal overbreeding in the UK.
Less than 12% of puppies born in Great Britain every year are bred by licensed breeders, meaning 88% of puppies born in the UK are born to unlicensed breeders. New laws have come into place in hope to reduce the number of illegal breeders in the UK –requiring owners to obtain a licence in order to legally breed, with thorough checks being carried out on the living conditions of pets.
Backyard Breeding is a term used to describe amateur animal breeders whose breeding is considered substandard, with little or misguided effort towards ethical, selective breeding. This includes animals that are bred for specific purposes - such as bulldogs for flat faces.
French Bulldogs, bred for their specific facial features.
It is important to note that it is not only the breeders that are to blame for this but also those who buy from unethical breeders, as they are condoning this animal abuse. Many female cats and dogs are forced into overbreeding in awful conditions, where their litter is sold off for outlandish prices, in order for the owner to make a profit.
The campaigns aim is also to encourage people to check conditions thoroughly before adopting animals, in an attempt to stop backyard breeding altogether.
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Intersection of sets Teacher Resources
Find teacher approved Intersection of Sets educational resource ideas and activities
Music theory lessons can be very tricky for some people. Children with a basic understanding of musical concepts take on the task of transposing music and identifying scale sets. This would be a good topic to address prior to discussing circle of fifths. The lesson includes sheet music and two worksheets.
In this probability and statistics worksheet, students examine and interpret scatter plots and box-and-whisker plots. They write algebraic equations and solve them. Students match inequalities to their graph. This eleven-page worksheet contains 39 problems. Answers are provided on page eleven.
In this integrated algebra worksheet, learners solve problems covering topics studied during the year. Problems include topics such as slope-intercept, Venn Diagrams, finding the solution to multi-step algebra problems, writing equations parallel and perpendicular to a line, and solving word problems. This 28-page worksheet contains 39 problems.
In this math worksheet, students put numbers into a three circle Venn Diagram. Students are given the numbers that are in each set. The repeated numbers are to be put in the intersections of the circles. Students identify the intersections and unions of sets. The final two problems ask students to draw new Venn diagrams.


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Sound value: A
Literal meaning: Elm
Pronounced as "AHL-m"
Features: Large evergreen conifer tree (Pine Family)
Uses: Wood in building and furniture, essential oils, vegetable tar. Medicinal uses.
North Central Florida
Features: Large evergreen conifer trees (Pine Family)
Uses: major resources for naval stores pine tar and pitch) in the past. Today turpentine, rosin, and fatty acids are derived from these trees.
Features: Tall evergreen tree (Pine Family)
Uses: Resin used to make turpentine. Wood used.
Features: Tall deciduous tree, prefers damp soils (Elm Family)
Uses: Wood used in building. Medicinal uses.
Modern divinatory meaning: Clear view to the future, perspective, foresight
Animal symbolism (based on traditional lore): bear
Bird symbolism (based on traditional lore): lapwing
Color: Piebald (spotted black & white)


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Spherical Triangles Exploration
All spherical triangles have angles adding up to more than 180°. We called the amount over 180° the defect of the triangle.
Larger triangles have larger defect. In fact, the defect of a triangle is proportional to its area:
Kaleidotile is a free computer program. Run Kaleidotile and play with it a bit. Try changing the control point, spinning the picture, and playing with the controls and menu options. Today, we're interested in the,, and symmetries, which give spheres.
- Explain the (flat) vs. (curved) styles.
Switch to the flat style, and use the symmetry group. Move the control point until you get an octahedron. Switch to curved style, and move the control point slightly to show the polygonal shapes.
- How many of these triangles are there (it may help to look at the picture in flat style).
- What fraction of the sphere does one of these triangles cover?
- What are the corner angles of these triangles?
- What is the defect of one of these triangles?
- What would X need to be to make formula (1) correct?
- Repeat question 2, but use the group and the tetrahedron.
- Repeat question 2, but use the group and the icosahedron.
- Return to the symmetry group and the tetrahedron. On the View menu, turn on the "Cut Along Mirror Lines" option. You should have a tessellation by small triangles with dark edges. Answer questions a-e for these triangles.
- Re-write formula (1) to give the area fraction in terms of the defect.
- Look at Concentric Rinds. What are the corner angles of the triangles in the outer rind? What is the defect of one of these triangles? Use the formula to calculate the fraction of the sphere covered by each triangle. How many triangles are there in the outer rind?


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Cultural humility and radical hospitality are core principles that inform both the ministry and service of spiritual direction and the recovery journey. As spiritual directors, we walk alongside those who may be wrestling with the challenges of addiction. How can we best serve with an open heart as vessels of transformation and healing?
In this webinar, we will explore specific practices, tools, and resources for spiritual directors companioning people with addiction and their loved ones, such as prayer, meditation, ritual, and embodied practice. Spiritual direction with people in recovery also includes commitment to social justice issues that directly affect addiction and codependency. Come and explore resources from a variety of faiths and cultural traditions utilizing specific case examples.
Presenter: Karen Lee Erlichman, DMin, LCSW
SDI Webinar: The Recovery Journey: Resources and Practices for Spiritual Directors includes:
- Access to online recording of webinar
- PDF participant workbook


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Wartime at Yale
Yale, like the rest of the nation, mobilized for war swiftly. Yale's campus transformed into a hub for U.S. Army and Navy operations and language training programs. Calhoun and Berkeley became Army residences, while the Navy and marines occupied Branford, Saybrook, Davenport, and Pierson. The remaining 700 civilian undergraduates were housed in Jonathan Edwards, Timothy Dwight, and Trumbull. By 1943, there were roughly 7,000 students (2,000 more students than prewar enrollment). Even as the campus underwent mass wartime mobilization, some individuals at Yale challenged wartime policies, chiefly internment and federal restrictions that barred Japanese Americans from enrolling at the university.
Within the American public at large, there were also a number of vocal critics. Quakers and pacifists like Elizabeth Page Harris, Maynard Force Thayer, and Patrick Lloyd protested through a range of actions, including writing to government officials, signing petitions, defying draft orders, and serving meals to Japanese Americans as they departed for camp.


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_wheatgrass.html
State Butterfly: Sheridan's Green Hairstreak
Sheridan's green hairstreak was adopted as Wyoming's State Butterfly on February 26, 2009. This lovely insect is distinctive, being one of the few green butterflies in our region. It was first discovered in 1877 near the location of present-day Sheridan, Wyoming. Both the town and the butterfly are named after Lt. General P.H. Sheridan, a famous Civil War commander. However, the butterfly was actually named before the town. The natural distribution of Sheridan's green hairstreak ranges northwards to southern Canada, westwards to California, southwards to northern New Mexico, and eastwards into western North Dakota. In Wyoming the butterfly is most commonly found in foothills and canyons at elevations up to 8,000 feet (2440 m).
Sheridan's green hairstreak occurs widely across Wyoming in mountains and foothills, wherever its food-plant (sulphur flower) is found. The butterflies visit various wildflowers to feed on nectar. This butterfly flies from March to early June and is the earliest butterfly to emerge from a chrysalis in Wyoming. Like the robin in Wyoming and other states, this green butterfly is a symbol of the arrival of spring in Wyoming. Adults may be seen flying during the earliest warm days of spring, while snow is still melting nearby. It is a small butterfly, with wing spans averaging 2.2-2.9 cm (less than one inch). However, the bright green color of the underside of the wings is very distinctive, making the butterfly quite easy to identify. There is a line of white dots across the underside of the hind wing, which may join to form a nearly solid white line. The upper surface of the wings is dark gray, but when at rest the wings are folded over the back, exposing the green lower surfaces.
Scientific classification: Sheridan's green hairstreak is classified as Callophrys sheridanii, one of four species of the genus Callophrys. It is a member of the family Lycaenidae. The name is derived from the Greek words kallos (beauty) and phryktos (beacon). Sheridan's green hairstreak is assigned to the subfamily Theclinae, commonly known as hairstreaks because many species have tiny hair-like tails off the tips of the hind wings. However, species of Callophrys have rounded hind wing margins without tails, so these are sometimes called tail-less hairstreaks.
Dr. Scott Shaw, Professor of Entomology and Insect Museum Curator, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.
The code of the west, as derived from the book, Cowboy Ethics by James P. Owen, and summarized as follows, is the official state code of Wyoming. The code was adopted as Wyoming's State Code on March 3, 2010.
The code includes:
(i) Live each day with courage;
(ii) Take pride in your work;
(iii) Always finish what you start;
(iv) Do what has to be done;
(v) Be tough, but fair;
(vi) When you make a promise, keep it;
(vii) Ride for the brand;
(viii) Talk less, say more;
(ix) Remember that some things are not for sale;
(x) Know where to draw the line.


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Brand name: Taxol
Chemical name: Paclitaxel
Class: Taxane chemotherapy. Abraxane and Taxotere are other taxanes.
Uses: Taxol usually is given in combination with other chemotherapy medicines and is used after surgery to:
 - reduce the risk of early-stage breast cancer coming back
 - treat advanced-stage breast cancer after it stops responding to standard chemotherapy regimens that include an anthracycline
How it's given: Taxol is given intravenously.
Additional information: Taxol uses solvents to dissolve paclitaxel, the main ingredient, so the medicine can enter the bloodstream. These solvents may make Taxol difficult to tolerate while being given. People usually take pre-medications to minimize reactions to the solvents.
Side effects:
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text: Problems related to reflection of some algorithms of image processing onto multiprocessor systems are investigated. In particular, algorithms of allocation of contours, such as the gradient method and the combinatorial method (the method of the threshold gradient), are considered. In view of complexity of the algorithm of searching objects on an image, we focus our attention on the parallel variant of only one stage of this algorithm. Namely, we investigate the stage of working with a search tree. Thereby we suppose that architecture containing a switchboard or the multiprocessor Cell developed by IBM Corporation is used in all cases. Data allocation, all data transfers, etc. are described. The formulas for acceleration coefficients are obtained.


The screenshot shows the Execute Configuration Scripts window. At the top is the text 'The following configuration scripts need to be executed as the "root" user in each cluster node.'
There is a table in the middle of the window titled Scripts to be executed. It lists one script. The script location is /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/dbhome_1/
Below the Scripts to be executed table is the following text: 'To execute the configuration scripts:
1. Open a terminal window
2. Log in as "root"
3. Run the scripts in each cluster node
4. Return to this window and click "OK" to continue.'
At the bottom of the Execute Configuration Scripts window are two buttons: Help on the left, and OK on the right.
End of description.


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Sarah Dazley - Murder
The development of forensic science in the 19th century
A case study for Key Stage 3, Britain 1750 - 1900 and GCSE History
This case study outlines the case of Sarah Dazley, a young widow, who at the age of 28, was tried and found guilty of the murder of her 2nd husband, William Dazley.
The case is interesting in many ways:
- Forensic Evidence was used to make the case against Sarah - this was an early use of forensic science to determine the cause of death.
- Heresay gossip from villagers counted against her.
- Sarah Dazley was the last woman to be publicly hanged at Bedford Gaol.
In this section you will find background information and activites relating to the case of Sarah Dazley, the detection of crime and the treatment of those accused of murder in the 19th century.
The KS 3 & 4 activities are aimed at students but provide a wealth of additional information and insight to the life of a young woman during the 19th century.
A case study for Key Stage 3, Britain 1750 - 1900 and GCSE History. The materials can also be used for general interest.
This section has reports and documents relating to the life of Sarah Dazely that can be used for research or for completing the activities provided with this case study.


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The main program, ice.F, contains the time-stepping loop. The model flow at the highest level is shown below.
ICEMODEL-+-initialize variables | do time-stepping loop: +-------<-------+ | | | +---<----+ | | +-receive info from coupler | v | | | | |fsalt_hist=0| | | +-vertical thermodynamics calculations | | | | | | | v | | | +-send ice state and fluxes to coupler | | | | | | | | | | | +-thickness redistribution thermodynamics | | | | | | fsalt=0 | ^ ^ | +-dynamics calculations | | | | | | v | | | | +-write std out to log file | | | | | | | | | | | +-write avg quantities to history file | +--->----+ | | | +------->-------+ end time-stepping loop | +-exit_coupler
A complete calling tree is shown in Appendix A. The ice model receives information from the coupler at the beginning of the time loop. The vertical ice thermodynamics are calculated, and the ice state and fluxes are returned to the coupler at mid-timestep immediately after they are computed. The information is sent to the coupler at this point in the time-stepping loop for load balancing. This allows the atmosphere to begin calculations instead of waiting until the end of the ice model timestep. The thermodynamics calculated after returning data to the coupler are mostly related to the ice thickness distribution and include transport in thickness space, lateral growth and melting, and freeboard adjustment.
As shown in the model flow in Section 2.1, fluxes are sent to the coupler in the middle of the timestep, and the diagnostics are written out at the end of the timestep. Most fluxes, like the atmospheric latent heat, are initialized at the beginning of the timestep and calculated only in the thermodynamics. This is the value that is sent to the coupler and then added to the average being calculated for the history file.
A problem arises for fluxes that are modified before and after the fluxes are sent to the coupler, that is, in both the thermodynamics and dynamics calculations. These fluxes are fsalt, fresh, fhnet, and fswthru. If these values are initialized at the start of the time step, the values computed in the dynamics during the previous time step would be written over. The fluxes sent to the coupler would not represent quantities summed over an entire timestep. This is why these fluxes are initialized immediately after the call to the coupler.
If these fluxes (fsalt, fresh, fhnet, fswthru) were written to the history file, the fluxes computed at the beginning of the step (before the call to the coupler) would be neglected. The variables with _hist appended to the name are initialized before the thermodynamics calculation and measure the same thing as their coupler counterparts but over different time intervals. The _hist variables contain information calculated from the start to the end of a timestep and are written to the history file.
To calculate the global sums for the diagnostics, there is a value of the ice concentration aice_init that is saved from the beginning of the timestep.


Torsion subgroup of nilpotent group
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This article defines a subgroup-defining function, viz., a rule that takes a group and outputs a unique subgroup
View a complete list of subgroup-defining functions OR View a complete list of quotient-defining functions
Suppose G is a nilpotent group. The torsion subgroup of G is defined in the following equivalent ways:
 1. It is the subset comprising all the elements of G that have finite order. This subset turns out to be a subgroup.
 2. It is the largest subgroup of G that is a periodic nilpotent group.
 3. It is the subgroup generated by all the elements in G that have finite order.
Equivalence of definitions
This follows from equivalence of definitions of periodic nilpotent group.


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Many system administrators do not want to be bothered with the work needed to ensure that their system is able to reach all the networks (and therefore systems) on all networks worldwide. Instead of doing so, they would rather relay all outgoing mail to another system that is known to be indeed ''smart''.
RELAY_HOST defines the UUCP hostname of such a smart neighboring system.
RELAY_MAILER defines the mailer used to relay the messages there.
It is important to note that setting these parameters results in your outgoing mail being forwarded to this remote system, which will affect the load of their system. Be certain to get explicit agreement from the remote Postmaster before you configure your system to use another system as a general purpose relay host.


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This is a guest post by E. Thomas Ewing, Professor of History, Virginia Tech, and Virginia Tech political science majors Taylor Wentzel and Justin Noel.
Students at Virginia Tech recently completed a project for a course on Imperial Russian history, which benefitted not only from their easy access to hundreds of digitized newspapers on the Library's Chronicling America website but also from a virtual tour of the personal papers of their principal subject, explorer and journalist George Kennan (_PHONE_), courtesy of Manuscript Division historian Josh Levy. In March 2022, Levy met remotely with the class for the first time and described the scope and character of materials in the George Kennan Papers. One of the file boxes he showed contained scores of newspaper clippings (many apparently untouched since they were collected more than a century ago). This view of the original print sources was insightful for the students, whose encounter with historical newspapers, as with most media, typically occurs in the form of digital reproductions. Levy continued to provide guidance to the students at multiple stages of the project, and he observed the students' final presentations, bringing his expertise as an archivist and his training as a historian to provide expert commentary on their research findings.
Newspapers, whether in analog or digital form, are accessible primary sources that illustrate contemporary perspectives on important issues, events, and people. By examining newspaper reports of Kennan's well-known lectures on Russia's penal colonies in the last decade of the nineteenth century, the students collaboratively developed useful skills for analyzing primary sources, discovered a variety of perspectives in the media, and gained insights into US-Russian relations in the past and present. Reviewing coverage of Kennan's lectures also made it possible for the class to understand the distinctions between analog sources, such as those in the George Kennan Papers in the Manuscript Division, and digitized sources, including those put online as part of the Meeting of Frontiers project and Chronicling America.
Kennan was a Western Union telegraph operator, who first went to Siberia in 1865 to work as an engineer and construction superintendent on the Russian-American Telegraph but stayed to explore the Caucasus region and Kamchatka Peninsula in the early 1870s. He later returned to Russia in _PHONE_, and in early 1889 began a national lecture campaign shortly after his very popular series of essays in Century Magazine described the Russian system of penal colonies. In the decade that followed, Kennan delivered more than eight hundred public lectures, according to historian Frederick Travis. Kennan's lectures are thus an excellent topic for a course assignment to teach students how to use a database of American historical newspapers. A search for the phrase "George Kennan" in the Chronicling America collection from the Library of Congress produces nearly two thousand results from 1889 to 1898.
Newspaper accounts of Kennan's lectures described how the style and content of his lecture entertained audiences while also eliciting emotional responses from those attending. During Kennan's first tour, the St. Johnsbury Caledonian (Vermont) reported on February 14, 1889, that Kennan's "intensely thrilling" presentation "held the closest attention of the audience, often moving them to tears as he related the sad stories of injustice and barbarity on the part of the Russian government." Kennan's lecture tours continued intermittently over the next several years, and regularly prompted enthusiastic reporting in local and regional newspapers.
Kennan's lecture in Portland, Oregon, in October 1889 was advertised as "a thrilling narrative of personal experience and adventure" (Portland Daily Press). The Delaware Gazette and State Journal described Kennan's lecture in Wilmington in January 1891 in these terms: "…the most painful feature of the lecturer's harrowing recital is that these dark deeds are also transpiring now…If Mr. Kennan's statements be true, there are no adjectives in our lexicon to adequately describe the damnable practices of the Russian administration of to-day." In late November 1891, according to the Helena Independent, Kennan spoke for two hours to a large audience: "In a simple narrative, without rhetorical effect, he told of the cruelties, wrongs, and sufferings of the exiles" in Siberia. Kennan is "gifted with great descriptive powers" and at times "the intensity of his recollections seemed to overcome him." The Los Angeles Herald reported in late November 1891 that "a spell-bound audience" at the Grand Opera House listened to "a lecturer of great elocutionary power and dramatic force, who, without any stagey effects of any kind, held his hearers in a deep interest, and moved them at times to laughter, and at times to tears." On January 18, 1893, according to the Wheeling Register, more than three hundred people in the Opera House "listened attentively for over two hours" as "a fluent, easy talker… held the closest attention of the large audience throughout."
During many of these lectures, Kennan left the stage briefly, and "re-appeared in the full dress of a prison convict with chains and leg fetters," with every item "worn by some exile" who wanted these items "to be exhibited in America by Mr. Kennan." (Kennan's costume wearing was reported in 1889 in the St. Johnsbury Caledonian, in 1891 in the Helena Independent, and in 1893 in the Wheeling Register.) Perhaps the most widely circulated photograph of Kennan illustrates this costume worn in many cities across the United States during several years of lecture tours.
Students who participated in this project reported that searching the Chronicling America newspaper database was a challenging, yet rewarding, exercise that required synthesizing large amounts of information into a concise presentation. Students commented on how this exercise allowed them to complete original research, beginning with keyword searches, identifying research questions, selecting relevant materials, interpreting documents, and contributing to a final collaborative presentation. This exercise also encouraged students to consider ways that the circulation of information in Kennan's era differed from the present day, while also appreciating how the skill of critical thinking relates to current debates about virality, misinformation, and biases on social media platforms.
Kennan's ability to captivate audiences with the spoken word, a change in costume, and photographs projected on a sheet is certainly a different way of engaging audiences when compared to our current media ecosystem of tweets, videos, and posts. As students noted, American newspapers offered a broad range of views about Kennan, including critical statements charging that he exaggerated the experience of penal colonies or that his statements were dangerous for US-Russian relations. The fact that newspapers provided such detailed accounts of Kennan's lectures confirms the importance of considering firsthand accounts, thinking about both content and presentation style, and making critical judgments about the reliability of the content.
The topic of Kennan's lectures about the Russian penal system is very appropriate for a course on Imperial Russia, which covers the two centuries from Peter the Great to the Russian revolution. Kennan's writings and lectures addressed several key themes central to this course, including the evolution of the Russian political system, the emergence of critical intellectuals (intelligentsia) in opposition to the autocratic state, the reformist movement of the 1860s (which coincided with Kennan's first visits to Russia), and the increasing repression of opposition in the decade that followed the assassination of Alexander II. Finally, and most immediately, students began this assignment in early March 2022, at a time when the full dimensions and terrible consequences of Russia's invasion of Ukraine were generating global condemnation. Kennan's stories about courageous political prisoners speaking out against a despotic state evoked comparisons with the small number of Russians who spoke out against the current war in Ukraine, providing students a timely opportunity to draw connections between a past they were studying and a present they were witnessing.
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Definition: method to measure the amount of a substance using an antibody against the substance for specificity and a radioactive label for detection and measurement.
Radioimmunoassay Definition - A highly sensitive and specific assay method that uses the competition between radiolabeled and unlabeled substances in an antigen-antibody reaction to determine the concentration of the unlabeled substance; it can be used to determine antibody concentrations or to determine the concentration of any substance against which specific antibody can be produced. Abbreviated RIA (source: NDI Foundation).
Radioimmunoassay (RIA) from Wikipedia - a scientific method used to test antigens (for example, hormone levels in the blood) without the need to use a bioassay. It involves mixing known quantities of radioactive antigen (frequently labeled with gamma-radioactive isotopes of iodine attached to tyrosine) with antibody to that antigen, then adding unlabeled or "cold" antigen and measuring the amount of labeled antigen displaced.
Steroid Radioimmunoassay - The following protocol is used in the laboratory of Professor John Wingfield at the University of Washington, Seattle. It is meant to be used under supervision in this lab. Normally it may take several weeks or even months to become proficient with the assay techniques. The Wingfield Lab is not responsible for consequences occurring when persons attempt to use this protocol on their own.
Radioimmunoassay Technique - The technique was introduced in 1960 by Berson and Yalow as an assay for the concentration of insulin in plasma. It represented the first time that hormone levels in the blood could be detected by an in vitro assay.