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regular practitioners, and when possible by lay practitioners. There is a defined set of prayers and physical activities that precede and occur during the ritual. This will usually be performed at a shrine, in a natural setting, but can be done anywhere there is clean running water.
The basic performance of this is the hand and mouth washing (Temizu 手水) done at the entrance to a shrine. The more dedicated believer may purify himor herself by standing beneath a waterfall or performing ritual ablutions in a river. This practice comes from Shinto history, when the kami Izanagi-no-Mikoto first performed misogi after returning from the land of Yomi, where he was made impure by Izanami-no-Mikoto after her death.
Another form of ritual cleanliness is avoidance, which means that a taboo is placed upon certain persons or acts. To illustrate, one would not visit a shrine if a close relative in the household had died recently. Killing is generally unclean and is to be avoided. When one is performing acts that harm the land or other living things, prayers and rituals are performed to placate the Kami of the area. This type of cleanliness is usually performed to prevent ill outcomes.
Amulets and protective items
Ema are small wooden plaques that wishes or desires are written upon and left at a place in the shrine grounds so that one may get a wish or desire fulfilled. They have a picture on them and are frequently associated with the larger Shrines.
Ofuda are talismans—made of paper, wood, or metal—that are issued at shrines. They are inscribed with the names of kamis and are used for protection in the home. They are typically placed in the home at a kamidana. Ofuda may be kept anywhere, as long as they are in their protective pouches, but there are several rules about the proper placement of kamidana. They are also renewed annually.
Omamori are personal-protection amulets that sold by shrines. They are frequently used to ward off bad luck and to gain better health. More recently, there are also amulets to promote good driving, good business, and success at school. Their history lies with Buddhist practice of selling amulets.
A daruma is a round, paper doll of the Indian monk, Bodhidharma. The recipient makes a wish and paints one eye; when the goal is accomplished, the recipient paints the other eye. While this is a Buddhist practice, darumas can be found at shrines, as well. These dolls are very common.
Other protective items include dorei, which are earthenware bells that are used to pray for good fortune. These bells are usually in the shapes of the zodiacal animals: hamaya, which are symbolic arrows for the fight against evil and bad luck; and Inuhariko, which are paper dogs that are used to induce and to bless good births.
Kagura is the ancient Shinto ritual dance of shamanic origin. The word "kagura" is thought to be a contracted form of kami no kura or "seat of the kami" or the "site where the kami is received." There is a mythological tale of how kagura dance came into existence. The sun goddess Amaterasu became very upset at her brother so she hid in a cave. All of the other gods and goddesses were concerned and wanted her to come outside. Ame-no-uzeme began to dance and create a noisy commotion in order to entice Amaterasu to come out. The kami (gods) tricked Amaterasu by telling her there was a better sun goddess in the heavens. Amaterasu came out and light returned to the universe.
Music plays a very important role in the kagura performance. Everything from the setup of the instruments to the most subtle sounds and the arrangement of the music is crucial to encouraging the kami to come down and dance. The songs are used as magical devices to summon the gods and as prayers for blessings. Rhythm patterns of five and seven are common, possibly relating to the Shinto belief of the twelve generations of heavenly and earthly deities. There is also vocal accompaniment called kami uta in which the drummer sings sacred songs to the gods. Often the vocal accompaniment is overshadowed by the drumming and instruments, reinforcing that the vocal aspect of the music is more for incantation rather than aesthetics.
In both ancient Japanese collections, the Nihongi and Kojiki, Ame-no-uzeme's dance is described as asobi, which in old Japanese language means a ceremony that is designed to appease the spirits of the departed, and which was conducted at funeral ceremonies. Therefore, kagura is a rite of tama shizume, of pacifying the spirits of the departed. In the Heian period (8th–12th centuries) this was one of the important rites at the Imperial Court and had found its fixed place in the tama shizume festival in the eleventh month. At this festival people sing as accompaniment to the dance: "Depart! Depart! Be cleansed and go! Be purified and leave!" This rite of purification is also known as chinkon. It was used for securing and strengthening the soul of a dying person. It was closely related to the ritual of tama furi (shaking the spirit), to call back the departed soul of the dead or to energize a weakened spirit. Spirit pacification and rejuvenation were usually achieved by songs and dances, also called asobi. The ritual of chinkon continued to be performed on the emperors of Japan, thought to be descendents of Amaterasu. It is possible that this ritual is connected with the ritual to revive the sun goddess during the low point of the winter solstice.
There is a division between the kagura that is performed at the Imperial palace and the shrines related to it, and the kagura that is performed in the countryside. Folk kagura, or kagura from the countryside is divided according to region. The following descriptions relate to sato kagura, kagura that is from the countryside. The main types are: miko kagura, Ise kagura, Izumo kagura, and shishi kagura.
Miko kagura is the oldest type of kagura and is danced by women in Shinto shrines and during folk festivals. The ancient miko were shamanesses, but are now considered priestesses in the service of the Shinto Shrines. Miko kagura originally was a shamanic trance dance, but later, it became an art and was interpreted as a prayer dance. It is performed in many of the larger Shinto shrines and is characterized by slow, elegant, circular movements, by emphasis on the four directions and by the central use of torimono (objects dancers carry in their hands), especially the fan and bells.
Ise kagura is a collective name for rituals that are based upon the yudate (boiling water rites of Shugendō origin) ritual. It includes miko dances as well as dancing of the torimono type. The kami are believed to be present in the pot of boiling water, so the dancers dip their torimono in the water and sprinkle it in the four directions and on the observers for purification and blessing.
Izumo kagura is centered in the Sada shrine of Izumo, Shimane prefecture. It has two types: torimono ma, unmasked dances that include held objects, and shinno (sacred No), dramatic masked dances based on myths. Izumo kagura appears to be the most popular type of kagura.
Shishi kagura also known as the Shugen-No tradition, uses the dance of a shishi (lion or mountain animal) mask as the image and presence of the deity. It includes the Ise daikagura group and the yamabushi kagura and bangaku groups of the Tohoku area (Northeastern Japan). Ise daikagura employs a large red Chinese type of lion head which can move its ears. The lion head of the yamabushi kagura schools is black and can click its teeth. Unlike other kagura types in which the kami appear only temporarily, during the shishi kagura the kami is constantly present in the shishi head mask. During the Edo period, the lion dances became showy and acrobatic losing its touch with spirituality. However, the yamabushi kagura tradition has retained its ritualistic and religious nature.
Originally, the practice of kagura involved authentic possession by the kami invoked. In modern day Japan it appears to be difficult to find authentic ritual possession, called kamigakari, in kagura dance. However, it is common to see choreographed possession in the dances. Actual possession is not taking place but elements of possession such as losing control and high jumps are applied in the dance.
- The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) The foundation to written Shinto history.
- The Shoku Nihongi and its Nihon Shoki (Continuing Chronicles of Japan)
- The Rikkokushi (Six National Histories) which includes the Shoku Nihongi and Nihon Shoki
- The Jinnō Shōtōki (a study of Shinto and Japanese politics and history) written in the 14th century
Shinto has very ancient roots in the Japanese islands. The recorded history dates to the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (


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Kalamazoo Chinese Academy (KCA) is a 501c(3) non-profit educational organization dedicated to providing Chinese language and cultural experiences to youth from all cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds in the greater Kalamazoo area.
The curriculum has been well-designed for students to develop both their oral and written communication skills in the Chinese language. In addition to language instruction, our school offers many opportunities to participate in Chinese cultural programs. This includes cultural classes in our school and participation in various festivals in our community.
To provide Chinese language and cultural experiences to K-12 students from all cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds in the greater Kalamazoo community.
To bridge the culture gap and enhance the community's understanding of Chinese culture. To prepare students for meaningful and successful participation in the global environment.
In addition to offering heritage and non-heritage Chinese language classes for various proficiency levels, KCA also offers cultural enrichment programs and activities that are engaging, entertaining, enlightening, and educational. Chinese dance classes are offered for multiple age groups with or without prior dance experience. Classes include Chinese folk, ballet, and creative movements, and are a beautiful fusion of various dance styles and techniques. The Chinese YoYo Club, also known as diabolo, provides an opportunity for youth to come together to play this ancient spinning game that provides endless levels of skill development, challenge, and entertainment. Students gather to learn challenging new tricks while perfecting dazzling routines, with more experienced students helping novice students learn how to spin, toss, and perform various other tricks.
KCA supports local businesses and nonprofits by collaborating with local organizations and participating in local events, such as the China Festival hosted by WMU, Chinese New Year Gala hosted by the Chinese Association of Greater Kalamazoo (CAGK), Art Hop hosted by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, the building of a Chinese language book section at Portage District Library, etc. At some of these events, KCA dance students and YoYo club members get the opportunity to perform and show off their talents, serve as cultural ambassadors, and celebrate their rising confidence and pride as Chinese Americans and/or as performers.
As the world grows more diverse each day, it becomes more and more important for our youth to develop an appreciation toward other languages and cultures and to be globally competent. KCA provides youth access to a unique opportunity to develop global competence that would otherwise not be available in the greater Kalamazoo community. Non-heritage youth have the opportunity to learn another language at a younger age, when language acquisition is often faster and easier. Additionally, KCA creates an environment where heritage youth can appreciate, embrace, and celebrate their Chinese heritage and develop their identity as Asian Americans. Together, students and families from both heritage and non-heritage backgrounds come together to build community and work together to achieve common goals. When our youth are globally aware and feel a sense of belonging and a connection to their community, they are more likely to participate in and contribute to their community, and the civic engagement of our new generation is critical to our democracy.
The idea of starting a Chinese language school to teach the young Chinese children came to my mind in the late spring of 1972 when my daughter, who was a second-grader then, began to speak to me in English after school. The concept became stronger when I saw more young Chinese children losing their Mandarin-speaking ability as they started elementary school. I eventually started the first class of the Kalamazoo Chinese School in 1972 on a Sunday afternoon in the basement of my house. There were eight students, ages 5 through 8. The goals for the students of the school were:
I am very happy to see that the Chinese school has continued to grow and serve families after 48 years. It is meaningful to help our children to become aware of their Chinese heritage background, and also to help non-Chinese families understand Chinese culture.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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STATS ARTICLES 2010
Why any ol' diet will work (if your BMI is high enough): A case study in regression toward the mean
Rebecca Goldin, PhD, February 10, 2010
Understanding regression toward the mean
Imagine a city where, from year to year, the overall height of the population is stable. There are no sudden growth spurts or frantic attempts by parents to give their children growth hormones, or movements of very short people in or very tall people out of the city limits. Now consider the following statistical conundrum: if you measure the tall people in the city, they will tend to have children who are shorter and, similarly, the short people will tend to have children who are taller. Other strange things are happening too. Though the city's school test scores are not improving overall, the children with the worst test scores last year, appear to be doing better this year.
What you are witnessing is called "regression toward the mean," and it means that whenever you measure something more than once in a population, the extremes tend to move more toward the average. Consider height: Suppose the range of adult heights (the minimum to maximum heights) is four feet to seven feet, and stays the same over several generations. If we look at just those who are 7 feet tall, we will find that they have children who are shorter, since if these children grow to be taller than 7 feet, the height range of the population would change. If the range stays the same, the 7-feet people cannot have children who are taller than themselves!
You might ask: but where do we get the new 7-feet tall people if the tallest people have shorter kids? First, a maximum height individual might have a same-heigh child. Second, invariably, some tall people who are not quite at the maximum will have taller children - for example, someone 6 feet 6 inches could have a child who grows to be 7 feet tall. These kids will become the next generation of "tallest."
"Height of children" is an example of a measurement that has some random fluctuation, that has nothing to do with genetics at all. Regression toward the mean describes the behavior of such randomness. Unfortunately, it can lead to some bias in observational studies, and understanding its effects is an important defense against false conclusions. Just as we may be misled about what is happening to our society's height if we only observe the heights of the children of very tall people (thinking that they are shrinking) we may be misled about social progress and medical success if we do not recognize the phenomenon.
How bias sneaks in: an experiment in regressing
We can set up an experiment that illustrates the phenomenon without having to wait generations to see the result. Take a random group of people and ask them each to flip a coin 100 times and record the result. We would expect to find that many people got close to 50 heads and 50 tails. But we would also find that a few people got many more heads than tails and vice versa.
Suppose we did the experiment again with just those who got the outlying results. Let's call someone a "head-flipper" if he/she got at least 60 heads, and we only include head-flippers in our second experiment. We would still expect these people to have, on average, 50 heads and 50 tails in second set of flips. The head-flippers would generally not be head-flippers any longer. As these experiments are independent of each other, we do not expect head-flippers to be particularly likely to flip heads the second time they participate in the experiment.
Now imagine I have noted the first set of results and decided that what the world needed was a medication that improved one's ability to flip tails (imagine I'm crazy). Of course, I am only interested in what this medicine does to head-flippers, since they are the ones with the very serious problem of over-flipping heads. What will I find if I give all the head-flippers the medicine and run my test again? Amazingly, most of them will no-longer flip at least 60 heads - I will have proven success! Of course, the medication is illusory, as this purported increase in tail-flipping is only in comparison to those people who were chosen because they had flipped a lot of heads. We have simply observed regression toward the mean.
Regression toward the mean is a fundamental notion in statistics, and important to account for in experiments. It can create bias in poorly done observational studies. If the score on the coin flips were replaced by blood pressure measurements, for example, we should expect that people with the highest blood pressure readings are also those whose pressure will go down at the next measurement, whether they are given a medication or not. This is why it is so important to compare the medicine with a placebo, so that random errors are not confused with true benefit.
But when the test results are correlated, does regression toward the mean still occur?
The skeptical reader will note that blood pressure is very different from flipping a coin. In fact, blood pressure readings are highly correlated with one another. In the absence of medicinal or lifestyle intervention, a person with high blood pressure now will almost certainly have high blood pressure in a year.
However, regression toward the mean is still occurring, just in a less spectacular way. Consider, the following examples blood pressure readings, adapted from Dicing with Death by Stephen Senn.
Each dot represents a person with two measurements: a first blood pressure measurement (along the vertical axis), and a second blood pressure measurement (along the horizontal axis). Dots above the red line indicate that the first measurement was high. In general, it is clear that people with elevated blood pressure on first reading will also have elevated levels on second reading, as we would expect. The average measurement is also the same in both the first and second measurement. However, those with the highest readings the first time are not necessarily those with the highest readings the second time.
In particular, if scientists study only those people with blood pressure above a critical level in the first measurement (represented by the red line), they will find that many of them have a level of blood pressure below the critical level on the second measurement (represented by being left of the vertical blue line).
Pictured above, there are ten people whose blood pressure is above critical on the first reading. Of these, six people improved on second reading, and are below critical level, left of the blue line! If we only look at people above the red line, we would think that serious progress had been made.
The trick is that by only considering those people who had high blood pressure the first time around, we did not register the people who were below critical on the first reading, and measured above critical the second reading. The situation becomes much clearer when we look at the whole picture.
By looking at the whole graph, we see there were five people below the red line, but to the right of the blue line, who had non-critically high blood pressure on the first reading, but above critical on the second. These people whose condition "worsened" from one reading to the next will compensate for those who "improved," so that we see an average of no change.
The point of a clinical trial is to get rid of the (random) bias introduced by regression toward the mean. A randomized clinical trial would compare groups of people with high blood pressure readings, by giving one group the medicine and the other not. It would then observe whether there is more benefit for the group that takes the medicine. Alternatively, one could introduce a regimen for everyone without regard to blood pressure levels (such as an exercise routine) and see whether the average changes.
Weight Loss and Regression toward the Mean
By the same principle, the heaviest people are in a good position not to be heaviest at the next weigh-in. Suppose that in February, 2010, we observe the weight of a population of people whose overall average weight and distribution of weights does not change. At the end of the year, the people with the highest BMI are likely to have decreased their weight while those with the smallest are likely to increase. These changes which are attributed to "regression toward the mean" should be understood to be the changes due to random fluctuations of the weight measurement -- it could be because our weights do fluctuate some without any intervention on our part, or because the scales we use have some random error. If the population as a whole does not have an increased average or change its weight distribution, then as people below the average will tend to put on weight, while those who have a very high BMI will be likely to go down in weight. [Keep in mind that the average BMI may well be over 25, classifying the average person as overweight - regression toward the mean doesn't do anything for the average!]
Now throw "going on a diet to lose weight" into the picture, something that typically only overweight people do, and this effect should be exaggerated. On average, attempting to lose weight has a positive impact on losing weight.
Of course there are many aspects of changing BMI levels that are more complicated than we have presented here. In particular, American BMI is not standing still; it is increasing. And factors such as aging can increase the BMI among people in a fixed group. However, regression to the mean is a powerful force that can skew the results.
In the context of claims made by diets (from Atkins to pills that target the Cocaine Amphetamine Regulatory Track), it is important to note that some success is to be expected because of regression to the mean. What diets do not advertise is that people with the highest BMI people are (on average) losing weight even without a diet - though they may well

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


The Characteristics of a Christian, Part 8 – Gentleness
Characteristic of a Christian: Gentleness
Can you remember a time when someone treated you like they were more important than you?
How does a sense of self-importance affect the way you treat other people?
Definition of Gentleness in the sense it is used in Galatians 5:23: not being so impressed or concerned with our own importance and instead focusing upon how our words and actions reflect God's love to others.
How is this different from being "soft" or a "pushover"?
How do we learn Gentleness? How do we learn to not be so impressed or concerned with our own importance and instead focus upon how our words and actions reflect God's love to others?
 1. We learn gentleness from Jesus.
How does the Gospel display Jesus' gentleness? (for help, see Philippians 2:3-11)
Can you think of any occasions in the gospel writings when Jesus displayed gentleness by showing love to an outcast?
Jesus in Matthew 11:28-29
2) We learn gentleness by considering others in our attitude, words, and actions.
Philippians 2:3-4
How does gentleness work in society gives us messages like "you do you", "you only live once", "get yours", "practice self care", and"take care of yourself first"?
Why is it important for Christians to be gentle (remember the definition!) in a self-important, self-focused society?
As followers of Jesus, let's learn to focus upon him so much that we have no thought of self-importance. And let's consider whether or not our words, attitudes, and actions honor Jesus and reflect his love to others.
Pastor Kyle in this message on Gentleness
Why does rightly focusing on Jesus inhibit our thoughts of self-importance?
What are some ways in which your words, attitudes, and actions affect others, for good or for ill?
See also: Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Timothy 6:11, 1 Peter 3:15-16
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Indian Journal of Science and Technology
Year: 2016, Volume: 9, Issue: 30, Pages: 1-7
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Haldia Institute of Technology, [email protected]
*Author for correspondence
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Haldia Institute of Technology,
Background/ Objectives: To design and analysis of One-shot pulse Generator Circuit, which is composed of only one Differential voltage current conveyor (DVCC) as the active element. Methods/ Statistical Analysis: Two application circuits utilizing the DVCC are introduced and implemented. The first one is a general one-shot pulse generating circuit. The second design can reduce the recovery time after applying triggered signals. Is-Spice is the simulation software to simulate every model. Commercially available ICs AD844AN and passive elements are required for circuit implementation. Findings: The effectivity of the projected circuits is examined as programme and experimental outputs satisfy theoretical results. Simulated and measured waveforms of Vtrg, Vo, and VC for two projected models with T = 1 ms are shown and it is clearly observed, that even the design parameters are same; the second proposed circuit is able to reduce the recovery time. The measurements show that recovery time Tr is 281 μs for the first proposed model, and Tr is 21.3 μs for the second proposed model. Applications/Improvements: The projected models provide new applications for the DVCC based systems. They have wide applications in the instrumentation, measurement, and communication systems and phase-locked loop circuits.
Keywords: Differential Voltage Current Conveyor, One-Shot Pulse Generator, Parasitic Effects, Positive-Edge Trigger, Recovery Time
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audio example by a male speaker
audio example by a female speaker
the above transcription of credo is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.
press buttons with phonetic symbols to learn how to precisely pronounce each sound of credo
press the "test" button to check how closely you can replicate the pitch of a native speaker in your pronunciation of credo
An example use of credo in a speech by a native speaker of british english:
"… named credo Nia Marin de claims that she …"
the word credo occurs in english on average 0.7 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for C2+ level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.
it is hard to perfectly classify words into specific topics since each word can have many context of its use, but our machine-learning models believe that credo can be often used in the following areas:
1) communication, information, and media;


text:
In this article we will be seeing how to add a polygon on top of the Silverlight
Article for creating
Silverlight Bing Map Control. MapPolygon:
The MapPolygon class accepts a list of points that define its shape and location
on the map.
MapPolygon class is used to represent a polygon on the map. Namespace: Microsoft.Maps.MapControl Assembly: Microsoft.Maps.MapControl (in microsoft.maps.mapcontrol.dll)
Create Silverlight application:
Contains the altitude and coordinate values of a location on the map. Fill:
It is used to get or set the fill of the shape. Opacity:
It is used to get or set the opacity of the shape. Stroke:
It is used to get or set the stroke color of the shape.
Silverlight Bing Map Control in SharePoint 2010
Introduction to Microsoft Silverlight


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Having four feet; of or pertaining to a quadruped.
Using four legs for locomotion.
A locomotory style that involves the use of all four limbs.
Locomoting on four feet.
Walking on all four limbs.
walking on four legs.
The collective name given to land dwelling creatures which walk on all four legs.


Star Facts
 - Category Motion Pictures
 Address 1724 Vine Street
 Ceremony date 02/08/1960
Robert Benchley
Harvard, MA
Death Date:
Addition Websites
Robert Benchley
Although Benchley was known for misleading and fictional autobiographical statements about himself, he actually was the great-grandchild of the founder of Benchley, Texas: Henry Wetherby Benchley who was jailed for his help with the Underground Railroad. Robert Benchley was born on September 15, 1889 in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Charles and Maria Benchley.
Robert's older brother, Edmund, was rushed to the Spanish-American War days after graduation from West Point, and was a casualty almost immediately. The Benchley family was attending a public Fourth of July picnic when a bicycle messenger brought the notification telegram. In unthinking, stunned reaction, Maria Benchley cried out "Why couldn't it have been Robert?!", then standing by her side at the age of nine. Mrs. Benchley apologized profoundly and tried hard to atone for the remark. Edmund's death had a considerable effect upon Robert's life. Lillian Duryea, the bereaved, wealthy yeast heiress and fiancee of Edmund, undertook the funding of Robert's education; she made him a loan which, after he began to make money, she later called due. One theory holds that Edmund's death in battle seeded pacifist leanings in his writings. The period, however, was full of literary abreaction to the Great War, and Benchley was aware of the published remorse of A.A. Milne.


How to detect and get rid of Trovi virus on Mac
Browser hijackers come in a variety of forms and names. They all have one thing in common, however. They hijack the Safari, Chrome, or Firefox settings and set your homepage to where ever they want you to go. In the case of Trovi, that's the website From there, it intercepts web searches to collect data and display adverts.
Everything you need to know about the Trovi virus
Firstly, Trovi is not a virus, as it doesn't self-replicate and copy itself from computer to computer. Instead, it comes bundled with other applications or tools you download from the web.
Once downloaded, Trovi installs itself and sets your browser homepage to If you land on that site, you'll see that it's a basic search engine. However, instead of displaying the highest-quality results for your search queries, it intercepts them, gathers data on you and your Mac, and then displays adverts. If you click on an advert, the cybercriminals behind Trovi get paid. And you land on a site that might also be infected with malware.
How to remove Trovi from your Mac
There are several steps to removing Trovi, including quitting the running process, removing the app, and restring the settings in all the browsers you use.
Step 1: Quit the process
 1. Launch Activity Monitor from Applications>Utilities.
 2. Locate the Trovi process in the list of processes on the left-hand side and click on it.
 3. Press the Quit Process (looks like an 'x') button in the toolbar.
Step 2: Get rid of the app
 1. Go to your Applications folder and look for any applications that look suspicious or that you haven't chosen to download.
 2. Drag them to the Trash and empty it.
Step 3: Change Safari's settings
1. Launch Safari and click on the Safari menu, then choose Preferences.
2. Select the General tab and, next to Homepage, type the URL of the site you want to use as your homepage
3. Choose the Search tab and, if it doesn't display your preferred search engine, change it to the one you want
Step 4: Remove Trovi from Chrome
 1. Launch Chrome.
 2. Press the More button at the right of the toolbar (it looks like three dots stacked on top of each other), and scroll down to Settings and click it. Alternatively, you can type or paste chrome://settings into the address bar.
 3. Scroll down to "On-startup" and check the box next to "Open a specific page or set of pages," and type or paste the URL of the page you want to use as your homepage.
 4. Look at the section just above that called "Search Engine," and make sure it's set at your preferred search engine. If not, change it.
Remove Trovi from Firefox
 1. Click on the three horizontal lines to the right of the toolbar.
 2. Choose Preferences.
 3. In the window that opens, click on Home.
 4. Set "Homepage and new windows" to your preferred homepage.
 5. Choose Search in the sidebar.
 6. Set "Default Search Engine" to your favorite search engine.
is megabackup a virus
How to remove Trovi virus with CleanMyMac X
If all that sounds like a lot of work with several steps, don't worry. There is an easier way. CleanMyMac X has a Malware Removal utility that can detect Trovi, along with lots of other malware, and remove it with a couple of clicks. CleanMyMac's malware database is updated regularly, and it can scan your Mac for thousands of threats, including adware, spyware, viruses, worms, and more.
Here's how to use it:
 1. Download and install CleanMyMac X, then launch it from your Applications folder.
 2. Choose Malware Removal in the left-hand sidebar.
 3. Press Scan.
 4. When it's finished, it will either give you a clean bill of health or tell you that there is malware on your Mac.
 5. Press Remove to get rid of the malware.
To avoid being attacked by Trovi, make sure that you only download applications you know are safe. Apple's GateKeeper tool only allows you to download apps from developers Apple has approved. If it throws up a warning forcing you to visit System Preferences to allow an app to be downloaded manually, you should think very carefully and proceed only if you know the app is safe and not harboring any nasty surprises in the form of Trovi or another piece of malware.
Fortunately, Trovi isn't too difficult to remove. However, it is a lengthy process if you use several different browsers. Thankfully, there is an easier way. CleanMyMac X's Malware Removal tool recognizes and can remove Trovi with a couple of clicks.
Laptop with CleanMyMac
CleanMyMac X
Your Mac. As good as new.


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iPhones are helpful to save lives many times. Here are a few examples:
- In July 2023, an iPhone 14 user was rescued after his car plunged 400 feet down a cliff near Mount Wilson, California. The phone's Crash Detection feature automatically called 911 and sent the driver's location to emergency services.
- In June 2023, a woman who was hiking in the Angeles National Forest activated her iPhone's Emergency SOS feature after she fell and injured herself. The feature sent her location to emergency services, who were able to find her and rescue her.
- In May 2023, a man who was stranded in Alaska used his iPhone's Emergency SOS via satellite feature to call for help. The feature allowed him to connect with emergency services even though he was in a remote area with no cellular service.
These are just a few examples of how iPhones have been used to save lives in the US. As smartphones become more and more ubiquitous, it is likely that we will see even more cases of iPhones being used to help people in emergencies.
In addition to the Crash Detection and Emergency SOS features, iPhones also have a number of other features that can be helpful in emergencies, such as the Medical ID feature, which allows users to store their medical information on their phone, and the Find My iPhone feature, which can be used to locate a lost or stolen phone.
Here are some of the features that can be used in emergencies:
- Crash Detection: This feature automatically calls 911 and sends your location to emergency services if your iPhone detects a significant crash.
- Emergency SOS: This feature allows you to quickly call 911 or other emergency services, even if you are unable to speak.
- Medical ID: This feature allows you to store your medical information on your iPhone, such as your allergies, medications, and blood type. This information can be accessed by emergency personnel if you are unable to speak.
- Find My iPhone: This feature can be used to locate your iPhone if it is lost or stolen. This can be helpful if you need to call for help from your iPhone.
In addition to these features, iPhones can also be used to access other resources that can be helpful in emergencies, such as:
- News and weather apps: These apps can be used to stay informed about current events and weather conditions, which can be important in planning an evacuation or other emergency response.
- GPS apps: These apps can be used to find your way around, which can be helpful if you are lost or disoriented.
- First aid apps: These apps can provide information on how to provide first aid, which can be helpful if you are injured or someone else is injured.
The iPhone's popularity in the US also makes it a valuable tool for emergency services. In many cases, emergency personnel will ask people who have called 911 to provide the location of their phone, which can be helpful in locating them. Overall, iPhones can be a valuable tool for saving lives in the US. The phone's features, such as Crash Detection and Emergency SOS, can help people in emergencies, and its popularity makes it a valuable tool for emergency services.


Trivia Minute October 31, 2016
Extreme Weather: 5 Things You Need to Know
by Marcus Michelson
A tornado that struck Anadarko, Oklahoma during a tornado outbreak in 1999. (Photos by Daphne Zaras/NOAA via Wikimedia Commons)
A tornado that struck Anadarko, Oklahoma, during a tornado outbreak in 1999. (Photos by Daphne Zaras/NOAA via Wikimedia Commons)
On this date in 1923, the town of Marble Bar, Australia, began a record-setting streak of 160 days with a temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or above.
Here are some things you may not have known about temperature extremes around the world.
Marble Bar, which is located in northwestern Australia, has an average maximum temperature above normal human body temperature for 6 months of the year. It also has wildly erratic rainfall. The area has had years with as little as 2.8 inches of rain, and as much as 31.4 inches. A temperature below freezing has never been recorded there.
The highest temperature recorded anywhere was 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, California on July 10, 1913. There is some controversy surrounding that record, however, as some believe the actual record to be about five degrees less than that, but also recorded at Death Valley, almost 100 years later in 2013. Fourteen countries have never broken 100 degrees, some of them like Iceland, Norway and Finland are obvious, however it also includes places like Singapore and the Cayman Islands.
The lowest temperature in a naturally inhabited place, 90 degrees below zero, was recorded in 1892 and in 1993 in Siberia. The coldest recorded anywhere was minus-128.6 at Vostok Station in Antarctica. 10 countries have never recorded a temperature below freezing, including Cuba, the Philippines, and the Maldives, which has a record low temperature of 63 degrees Fahrenheit.
The most rain in one hour was 12 inches, which fell on Holt, Missouri in 1947; the most rain in one day, was 71.9 inches on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion during tropical cyclone Denise in 1966. The most rain in one year was 1,042 inches, which fell on Cherrapunji, India in 1860.
The most snow in one day, is 100.8 inches, which fall in Capracotta, Italy in 2015, and the most snow to fall in a 1-year period happened at Mount Rainier, Washington, with 102 feet falling between February 1971 and 1972.
The fastest wind recorded was a 302 mph gust during a 1999 tornado in Oklahoma, while the fastest wind outside of a tornado or tropical cyclone was 231 mph, recorded in 1934 on Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
Our question: At what point do the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales intersect?
Today is Halloween. It's also National Unity Day in India and World Savings Day.
It's unofficially Carve a Pumpkin Day, National Caramel Apple Day, and Increase Your Psychic Powers Day.
It's the birthday of painter Jan Vermeer, who was born in 1632; actor and comedian John Candy, who was born in 1950; and rapper Vanilla Ice, who is 49.
Because our topic happened before 1960, we'll spin the wheel to pick a year.
This week in 1990, the top song in the U.S. was "Ice Ice Baby" by birthday boy Vanilla Ice.
The No. 1 movie was "Graveyard Shift," while the novel "The Plains of Passage" by Jean M. Auel topped the New York Times Bestsellers list.
Weekly question
Which two U.S. states have never recorded a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit?
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or our website.
Please rate the show on iTunes by clicking here.
Leave a comment


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Dematerialization—A Disputable Strategy for Resource Conservation Put under Scrutiny
AbstractDematerialization is a paradigm in resource conservation strategies. Material use should be reduced so that resource consumption as a whole can be lowered. The benefit for humankind should be completely decoupled from the natural expenditure by a definite factor X. Instinctively, this approach is convincing, because our entire value-added chain is based on material transformation. Targets for mass-based indicators are found within the context of justification for ecological carrying capacity and intergenerational fairness, taking into account the economic and socio-political expectation of raw material scarcity. However, in light of further development of material flow indicators and the related dematerialization targets, the question arises as to what they actually stand for and what significance they have for resource conservation. Can it be assumed that pressure on the environment will decline steadily if the use of materials is reduced, whether for an economy or at the level of individual products or processes? The present narrative review paper has discussed this issue and takes into account the authors' experience of the extended political and scientific discourse on dematerialization in Germany and Europe. As a result, a high "resource relevance" cannot be inferred from high physical material inputs at any of the levels considered. It has been shown that establishing mass-based indicators as control and target variables is questionable and that dematerialization exclusively based on such indicators without mapping other resources should be critically examined. View Full-Text
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Müller, F.; Kosmol, J.; Keßler, H.; Angrick, M.; Rechenberg, B. Dematerialization—A Disputable Strategy for Resource Conservation Put under Scrutiny. Resources 2017, 6, 68.
Müller F, Kosmol J, Keßler H, Angrick M, Rechenberg B. Dematerialization—A Disputable Strategy for Resource Conservation Put under Scrutiny. Resources. 2017; 6(4):_URL_ Style
Müller, Felix; Kosmol, Jan; Keßler, Hermann; Angrick, Michael; Rechenberg, Bettina. 2017. "Dematerialization—A Disputable Strategy for Resource Conservation Put under Scrutiny." Resources 6, no. 4: 68.
Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.


How do i plant an avacado pit/seed?
Key West, FL(Zone 11)
A neighbor gave me an avocado from her tree and i was wondering how do I grow one for myself?
Lee's Summit, MO(Zone 6a)
From a search:
To sprout the seed, remove the large seed from the center of the fruit and wash it in water. For propagation purposes, the broad end of the seed is considered to be the bottom. The pointed end is the top. Insert several toothpicks into the sides of the seed. They should be placed about halfway up the pit. Then suspend the seed in a glass of water. The bottom one fourth of the seed should rest in water.
The seed should sprout within a few weeks. During this time, periodically add water to maintain the initial water level. If it doesn't sprout within 2 to 3 months, discard the original avocado and begin another. The roots are usually the first to emerge from the seed. The stem appears later. Pot the seedling when the root system has become well developed; the roots should be at least 2 to 3 inches long.
Remove the toothpicks and plant into a 6 to 8 inch pot using a commercial potting mix. Position the seed in the center of the pot. The top of the seed should be level with the soil surface. After potting, water thoroughly, then place the plant in a brightly lit location. A location near an east or west window is ideal. Water the plant regularly. Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Fertilize once or twice a month during the spring and summer with a houseplant fertilizer.
Avocado plants grow rapidly. They often have to be discarded after 2 or 3 years because they've become too large for indoors. (The avocado is actually a tree. It will never produce fruit indoors as it may take 20 or more years to bear fruit.)
Mc Call Creek, MS
I've had some that accidentally got thrown in my mulch pile. They come up just as if they were planted.
The Other Kay
(Hi Kay Jones! Long time no hear. Good to hear from you!)
Lee's Summit, MO(Zone 6a)
Portland, OR(Zone 8a)
I've enjoyed starting avocado seeds for years. I use them as a house plant and when they die they get composted. Not sure they would survive as an outside tree in this climate. The planting advice above is correct. I have recently learned that topping the plant/tree would make for a more bushy plant. It works.
I think that if you want fruit you need at least two trees to cross-pollinate.
Attached is a picture of two of my avocado plants. The one on the left is lopped and the one on the right is not.
Thumbnail by MichaelZ
Dublin, CA(Zone 9a)
They will produce fruit without a second tree--I had one in the backyard at my old house and it was the only avocado for miles and it still produced fruit just fine. Maybe they'd produce more if they had a "friend" but you can definitely get fruit from just one.
Key West, FL(Zone 11)
Thanks guys, i guess its a big tree coz ive beem eating them for weeks now...I'll see what happens..Cheers
Mc Call Creek, MS
Many years ago when we lived in New Orleans (zone 9b) our neighbor across the street planted an avocado seed. It grew into an enormous, beautiful tree.....much taller than his house. It covered itself with avocados....hundreds of them I think. Our neighbor told us how delicious they were and how much they were enjoying them.
That winter we got the worst freeze I can remember in New Orleans. The palm trees, the bottlebrush trees,.......all the tropical plants, of which New Orleans was covered....froze to the ground.
...including their beautiful, fruitful avocado tree. Nope! We never got a taste of one of those avocados, but that tree gave me hope that some day I might grow one big enought to bear fruit.
Besides, this man made home made pecan Easter eggs for our kids one year and brought them over. He fed them and all the kids in the neighborhood ice cream when the ice cream man passed one day. When his garden made enormous tomatoes, he brought us over a huge tomato one day, sliced in two and covered with Italian cheese, and baked. Delicious! He was a very good man at heart.
This is truly off the subject, but he had a problem. He worked offshore and could not drink on the job. So he stayed drunk the entire time he was home. You never KNEW he was drunk because you had never seen him any other way.
One day another neighbor stopped at our curb to talk with my husband, who was out mowing the yard. He had stopped directly behind the neighbor across the street's driveway. The neighbor across the street got in his car, backed out, hit the other neighbor's car, waved and drove off.
The next day the other neighbor went to see the neighbor across the street to tell him that he would need to pay for the damage to his car. The neighbor across the street called my husband to ask him if he had really backed into the other neighbor. When my husband told him, "yes", he gave the other neighbor his insurance information to pay the damages.
It was really sad,.... but it was still so funny! He just had no recollection of the incident at all.
Chillicothe, OH
I'd like to thank you for this thread--all of you, even the off topic stuff, which was interesting and with a couple of great recipes thrown in for good measure! I was on my way over here (from the less tropical forums where things regularly freeze) to ask about growing avocados indoors for an ambitious friend. This thread answered all his (and my) questions very thoroughly, so on behalf of my friend and myself, again, I thank you all.
Post a Reply to this Thread


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WebMD Medical News
Laura J. Martin, MD
April 7, 2011 -- DNA may play a large role in determining how much caffeine people consume in beverages such as coffee, tea, and soda and food such as chocolate, new research indicates.
Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, and other institutions say they have discovered two genetic variations that influence the metabolism of caffeine and are associated with how much caffeine people consume. People with particular variations of two specific genes are more likely to consume caffeine, and to drink more of it when they do, study leader Marilyn C. Cornelis, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, tells WebMD.
The genes are identified as CYP1A2, long known to play some role in caffeine metabolism, and another called AHR, which affects regulation of CYP1A2.
All people have both genes, but the study, involving more than 47,000 middle-aged Americans of European descent, finds that people with the highest-consumption variant for either gene consumed about 40 milligrams more caffeine than people with the lowest-consumption gene varieties. Forty milligrams is the equivalent of 1/3 cup of caffeinated coffee or one can of soda.
Cornelis says her own father may carry the variations that correspond to higher caffeine consumption because he drinks "at least 10 cups" daily.
"He's not trying to achieve pleasurable effects," she tells WebMD. "Rather, he's trying to maintain levels as a means to avoid the withdrawal symptoms. Without a cup he'd wake up in the middle of the night with a headache."
That suggests he "could possibly have the genetic profile of a fast caffeine metabolizer," she says in an email.
The researchers say it's likely that genetics plays a major role in other behaviors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking.
The researchers say in a news release that their conclusions are based on an analysis of five studies conducted between 1984 and 2001. Average caffeine consumption via coffee, tea, caffeinated sodas, or chocolate was recorded.
About 80% of the caffeine intake among participants involved in the analysis was from coffee, similar to the adult caffeine consumption in the U.S. "We propose that those with the genotype corresponding to 'higher caffeine consumption' are metabolizing caffeine at a different rate vs. those with the 'lower caffeine consumption' genotype, and so require a different level of intake to maintain or achieve physiological caffeine levels that produce pleasurable effects," Cornelis tells WebMD.
So what does this mean?
"Clearly these genetic variants are affecting how our body processes caffeine," she tells WebMD.
Caffeine is implicated in a number of medical and physiological conditions. Caffeine affects mood, sleep patterns, energy levels, and mental and physical performance.
"Caffeinated products, particularly coffee, have long been implicated in various health conditions."
She says that "studying the effects of caffeine, say, on the cardiovascular system, would be challenging if the group of subjects we're studying process caffeine differently."
This genetic knowledge could be used "to advance caffeine research and potentially identify subgroups, defined by genotype, of the population most susceptible to the effects of caffeine," Cornelis tells WebMD. "More research on the precise function of these variants is needed, however, and there are likely more 'caffeine genes' to be identified."
She tells WebMD that her team's findings "demonstrate that our search approach -- scanning the entire human genome -- works."
Also, it shows for the first time that genetics may be responsible for inherited differences in how people drink coffee.
The study is published in the April issue of PLoS Genetics.
SOURCES:News release, Public Library of Science.Cornelis, M. PLoS Genetics, April 2011; vol 7.Marilyn C. Cornelis, PhD, department of nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health.
Here are the most recent story comments.View All
The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of NewsSource 16
The Health News section does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.


text:
- To accelerate the time it takes to transform your vision into reality
- Leverage experts' education, experience and contacts
- Saves you time – experts have 10,000 hours invested in their expertise
- Saves you money – experts continually invest in educating themselves
- The BIG reason most people don't consider is – hiring an expert saves your reputation – experts try many ways to accomplish their goals, they experience many failures in the process so you can save your reputation by learning from their mistakes and successes!
1. Review their history
2. Testimonials from previous clients
3. Education – do they stay current in their area of expertise?
4. Organizations they belong to and their roles in those organizations – do they take leadership roles or admin roles, how involved are they? Are they over extended?
5. Blogs, Articles, and Social Sharing they have written
6. Watch their videos
7. Their frequently asked questions
8. Their Photo gallery – who do they know?
9. Do they collaborate with other experts - create solutions
10. Interact with the expert before hiring them
- Engage with them via their blogs and social media
- Converse on an online chat, phone, or email
- Skype video call
- Face to face interview
- Check their references
- Interview candidate – explain what you want to accomplish, give a dead line and ask them to explain to you what they understand your needs to be
- Ask for a written proposal
- Payments in increments – when accomplish milestones
- Engage and review regularly – 30 days, 90 days, etc. depending on project/event
1. Hire your brother-in-law
2. Many people tell others their idea and they say great – I'll help you – well if you both don't have any experience it will take a long time to implement
3. Get discouraged
4. When you tell others your ideas many small thinkers will laugh at you and tell you that you are crazy – many people give up before they get started
5. Ever give up – remember it's not how many ideas you start to implement – it is how many you finish that count!
You can't always be an expert, you can't always know an expert but you can always hire an expert.
Content from: _URL_


text:
Dr. Sylvester Gardiner became the unwitting founder of a city in 1754, when he decided to use a 130-foot waterfall on the Cobbosseecontee Stream to provide energy for two saw mills, a felting mill, a potash factory, and a grist mill. Nearly 100 years later, in 1849, his plantation became the city of Gardiner. Today, the historical New England mill town is a home to artists, merchants, and students, and also hosts an array of seasonal events, such as an Easter parade, the Ride Into Summer festival, the Swine and Stein Oktoberfest celebration, and a Christmas tree lighting.
The town's brick sidewalks, Victorian and early 20th-century architecture, and long-running farmer's market have earned it a designation as a Main Street Maine and Preserve America community. Its downtown is recognized as a National Historic District, and some of its buildings have been included in both the National Register of Historic Places and the Empire State Building's list of secret crushes. Self-guided walking tours of the town take visitors past the homes of Pulitzer Prize–winning writers, such as poet Edwin Arlington Robinson and author Laura E. Richards.


text:
Background: High-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels in premenopausal and postmenopausal women are differentially affected by exogenous sex hormones depending on their apolipoprotein E (apo E) genotype. Because endogenous sex hormones markedly increase during pregnancy, we examined whether HDL-C declines after a first birth varied by apo E polymorphisms. Methods: In 1147 nulliparas (416 black, 731 white), fasting blood samples (nonpregnant) were drawn at baseline and at follow-up years 5, 7, and 10. Time-dependent pregnancy groups included 0 pregnancies (P0), 1+ short pregnancy (P1+), 1 birth (B1), 2 or more births (B2+). ApoE groups by alleles identified with a phenotype method included E4 (4/3 and 4/4), E3 (3/3), and E2 (2/2 and 3/2). Differences in adjusted mean HDL-C changes among pregnancy groups and ApoE groups were examined using repeated measures multiple linear regression. Results: HDL-C declines associated with parity (one or more births) depended on ApoE group (ApoE*Pregnancy Interaction; p < 0.002). For B1 and B2+ vs. P0, HDL-C declines were -2.4 to -2.7 mg/dl in E4 and -3.4 to -4.1 mg/dl in E3. In E2, HDL-C declines were -6.6 mg/dl for one birth, and -11.5 mg/dl for two or more births, each relative to the 0 pregnancies (P0) group (linear trend, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The degree to which childbearing adversely affects long-term HDL-C declines varies by apo E phenotype, based on a method that accurately classifies genotype. Our findings show that 2/2 and 3/2 genotypes are associated with larger parity-related HDL-C declines than 3/3, 4/3, and 4/4 genotypes.
ASJC Scopus subject areas


Wikipedia Diversity Observatory
From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Wikipedia Diversity Observatory
A project to understand and increase diversity within Wikipedia content and communities
Research Resources
Browse other cultures, peoples and places. Find the gaps you care about!
The Wikipedia Diversity Observatory (WDO) is a space to study diversity in Wikipedia's content and communities, identify and discuss needs and gaps, and propose and develop solutions to bridge them.
Mission and Vision
The Diversity Observatory mission is to help align the movement to achieve more diversity in the content of the different projects and in the movement overall. This includes diversity based on culture, geography, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic group, language, among others.
We envision the Wikimedia projects with more knowledge equity, and we envision the Movement as a fair representation of humanity taking into account all the existing diversity.
This page is a joint space for editors, researchers and all sort of contributors to study and fight against the knowledge gaps and include more people in the communities. Hence, we provide strategic valuable data and tools to organize and take action. We want to centralize our internal knowledge to potentiate the initiatives working on diversity.
Among the main activities of the project, there is the research of content gaps, the study of the Movement's diversity, the task of raising of awareness on the gaps and barriers, the creation of tools to provide points of action, and the dissemination of these efforts and results to the world through academic and general publications. As far as content diversity, the project raises awareness on Wikipedia's current state of diversity according to specific topics and categories and provides datasets, visualizations and tools to improve it.
The Diversity Observatory is a place to discover the current state of diversity in the Movement, find out who is missing, and join efforts. As we move towards the 2030 Strategic horizon, we will be evaluating whether we are improving on our goals.
Categories for diversity
There exist some specific categories that are especially relevant for diversity as they tend to be underrepresented on Wikipedia. To achieve more diversity in content and fight for knowledge equity, it is necessary to represent all the different 1) places (geographical entities), 2) peoples (characteristics such as gender, sexual orientation, religious groups, ethnic groups, and indigenous group), 3) cultural concepts for each group of people and place, and 4) languages (national, indigenous and marginalized) of the world on Wikipedia.
The language gap manifests itself in a lack of a Wikipedia language edition for all the languages that are spoken in the world. Depending on the language status (e.g. minoritized), the number of speakers (e.g. a minority or a majority of the population), among other factors, it will be more difficult to engage speakers into becoming contributors. It is necessary to understand every linguistic situation. We created this page to provide statistics and analysis to see which languages could obtain their Wikipedia more easily.
There are several tools to bridge these gaps (e.g. gender is addressed by Wigi, Delenezh, and WDCM Biases dashboards). In this page you can read more about the definitions, community initiatives and tools to bridge the gaps.
List of dashboards with tools and visualizations
This is a list of the different dashboards created to visualize the gaps and tools to provide points of action to work on them. They do not limit to cultural diversity but include other kinds of diversity based on geography or gender. These are the ones hosted at
Presentation of the Diversity Observatory at the conference OpenSym '20
Other diversity tools hosted in other platforms
We also want to provide a short overview on the different other tools and research papers created outside this project that are useful to understand and detect cultural differences between language editions and possibly bridge the gaps or work on other diversity problems like the content gender gap.
Background goals
These are the three main outcome goals the Diversity Observatory is working on to increase the diversity within the Wikimedia projects:
Main outcome goals:
 - Every Wikipedia language edition ensures a coverage of all the human groups of people that are currently underrepresented (e.g. gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic group, etc.).
 - Every Wikipedia language edition ensures a minimal representation of their own territories' cultural and geographical context (from geography to biographies, traditions, language, and others) and a minimal coverage of every other language cultural context content.
 - Every Wikipedian has information about marginalized languages without a Wikipedia, so he can help out their speakers to create one and start representing their cultural context.
In order to reach these goals, we detail some other more specific goals in community engagement and research and development activities of the project.
Community engagement goals:
 - Every Wikipedia language community is aware and knows about the knowledge inequalities in the entire Wikipedia project.
 - Every Wikipedia language community is aware of the importance of representing her own culture so the rest of language editions users can import and learn from it.
 - Every Wikipedia event and community organized contest considers dedicating sections and activities aimed at mitigating the cultural knowledge gaps and derived inequalities.
 - Every Wikipedian has access to some data on the world's languages without a Wikipedia in order to disseminate the importance and try to engage in creating one.
Research and development goals:
 - Every Wikipedian has access to some data visualization tools in order to browse the gaps and create new valuable articles.
 - Every Wikipedian has access to some statistical analysis on the extent of the gaps and understands the priorities in order to bridge or cover them.
 - Every Wikipedian can get access to information on the needs and barriers that affect every other (potential) Wikipedian.
 - Every Wikipedian can see which are the underrepresented groups, their defining characteristics and access to content about them.
The Diversity Observatory also aims at raising debates on the different types of diversity and how to work on them. You can always contact us and engage in diversity-related strategic discussions.
Disseminations timeline
These are the latest actions we did in order to raise awareness on the cultural diversity problem in Wikipedia. It is the dissemination of research results, concepts, and tools.
Get involved
The Observatory does need dissemination in order to reach all the possible Wikimedia events and activities where it could provide some value. If you want to collaborate, get involved. Leave your username and e-mail us at If you have any question, you can also message marcmiquel.
Getting involved can be useful in order to find a meeting point or a place to start working on diversity. In case you want to code some extra visualizations, you can find the project's code here: github page.


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Feeling Anxious? Valerian Root Might Be Your New Best Friend
Feeling Anxious? Valerian Root Might Be Your New Best Friend
October 3, 2020 welleum
Valerian Root Might Be Your New Best Friend
Anxiety - Valerian Root And Eastern Medicine
Find yourself feeling anxious lately? You're not alone. Anxiety affects millions of people worldwide and can range from occasional and mild to nearly debilitating. While we know there are many factors that can contribute to anxiety, it is still a heavily studied and widely misunderstood affliction. As a condition that has both mental and physical impacts, many look for solutions to help reduce or eliminate these symptoms.
While Western Medicine has focused heavily on pharmaceutical treatments, Eastern cultures have practiced natural methods for years. One common go-to is Valerian Root, but why is that and how is it used?
What is Valerian Root?
Valerian Root | Xié Cǎo
Valerian is a tall flowering plant that is native to regions of Asia and Europe. As such, valerian root comes from the base of the plant that anchors it into the ground. This root can be extracted in several ways and used for medicinal purposes.
Valerian Root has been used in Eastern medicine since ancient times, with references to the herb and its benefits appearing in both Hindu and Middle Eastern literature. The Chinese have long used valerian to alleviate pain, slow bleeding, and induce calmness in anxious patients. You might not hear about it in the Western world as much, as many doctors are more likely to prescribe chemical compounds such as Xanax or Klonopin for anxiety. Still, it has made its way into the Western world and alternative practitioners use it regularly for their patients.
How Does Valerian Root Help Anxiety?
Anxiety - Valerian Root And Eastern MedicineValerian root has multiple compounds that can contribute to calmness and the reduction of anxious sensations. This includes isovaleric acid, valerenic acid, many essential oils and a number of antioxidants. These compounds work together to regulate the chemicals in your brain and nervous system.
One main regulator of your nervous system is GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid. When your gamma levels are stable, you feel calm and steady. But when GABA levels are low, your nervous system starts to fire off more impulses, and you may feel anxious, jittery, amped up. All of these symptoms can lead to low-quality sleep and further exhaustion.
Valerian root helps with GABA levels because the chemical compounds prevent GABA from being broken down in the brain. This helps to stabilize your GABA levels and keep you feeling calm and tranquil.
The antioxidants also work in the brain to slow down activity in areas that are associated with fear and intense emotional responses. This means that you can face new situations without being overly stimulated.
Taking valerian root has also been shown to stabilize levels of serotonin and provide sedative effects. This can regulate your mood and decrease feelings of fear and uncertainty.
How to Take Valerian Root
Anxiety - Valerian Root And Eastern MedicineThere are many forms of medicinal valerian root. In Western medicine, it is often ground up and sold in pill or tablet form. Traditionally, this is not recommended as the constituents are not preserved before they oxidize. Oxidized valerian can be agitating to some, so you can also extract valerian in alcohol and dry it out. This makes it suitable for most people.
While pills have also been available in recent years in the East, the more traditional method of consuming Valerian Root is to make a tea. You can do this by boiling water and soaking 2 or 3 grams of the dried root for 10 to 15 minutes. If using Valerian Root to promote healthy sleep, take it approximately 2 hours before bedtime. The older and smellier the herb, the less effective it is.
Is Valerian Root Safe?
While Valerian Root might not work for everybody, there are few negative side-effects, and the ones that have been observed are generally mild. They include headache, dizziness, and upset stomach.
Other Herbs for Anxiety
Szechwan Lovage | Chuān Xiōng
While many people swear by Valerian Root for anxiety relief, there are many other herbs that have been used for thousands of years with similar effects:
 - Chamomile – Chamomile is popular for its calming effects, and you can likely find it in tea form in any major supermarket. Chamomile supplements are also widely available.
 - Kava – This Pacific Island pepper has long been praised for its strong sedative and pain-relieving effects. Like chamomile, it is generally consumed as a tea or an extracted fermented beverage.
 - Lavender – Lavender has become popular in recent years with the increase in the popularity of essential oils. Many people report feeling relaxed when using lavender oil for aromatherapy, but it can also be taken as a tea.
 - Passionflower – Passionflower is used to treat restlessness and anxiety, and some people report feeling effects as strong as pharmaceutical drugs without the negative side effects. It is best for people whose mental chatter keeps them from falling asleep.
 - Szechwan Lovage Used to circulate qui, when used in combination with other herbs, this herb helps to reduce racing thoughts and improve clarity in the mind.
Multi-Herb Combos
lunawell For AnxietyHerbal formulas with a combo of herbs have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. As with all things in Eastern medicine, the goal is to help find balance. Chai Hu Long Gu Mu Li Tang and Suan Zao Ren Tang are two such formulas which aim to help you chill out! One easy-to-take option is this tincture which contains a modernized version of both formulas.
Is Herbal Treatment Right for Me?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for treating anxiety or feelings of anxiousness. Every person is different and will experience varying levels of effectiveness. However, you can rest assured knowing that herbs such as Valerian Root have been used in Eastern medicine for thousands of years, with few negative side effects. Even if it doesn't relieve all your anxiety, it is safe to try.
 Many people simply do not like the feelings or side effects they get from their chemical prescriptions, and a good number of anti-anxiety drugs can be addictive and harmful to your body. If you want to avoid going down that path, herbal options may just be the answer. Speak with one of our Eastern medicine experts who can help determine which solution is the best one for you.
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Last Modified: 19.05.2022
Complex components have an in-built SEF generating function. These components always have an input parameter
SEF_MODE, which can accept values
N. When parameter
N, the component operates with actual links and passes all parameters using query's standard HTTP parameters. For example:
When the parameter
Y, the component generates and processes links based on templates. For example, it can recognize and process the link as follows:
, even if the parameter is located in the file
When the parameter
Y, the component must have the parameter
SEF_FOLDER, containing path to folder handled by the component. This path can may match with actual path and may not. For example, the component bitrix:catalog, connected in the file
/fld/cat.php can have the specified parameters
SEF_MODE = Y and
SEF_FOLDER=/catalog/. Then component will respond to queries at the path
/catalog/.... By default, editor must set a current actual path to edited file.
Complex component that can operate in SEF mode, must have a defined set of default path templates. For example, complex component bitrix:catalog can have a defined array as follows:
$arDefaultUrlTemplatesSEF = array(
"list" => "index.php",
"section" => "section.php?IBLOCK_ID=_TAG_#&SECTION_ID=_TAG_#",
"element" => "element.php?ELEMENT_ID=_TAG_#"
These path templates can be redefined using the complex component input parameter
SEF_URL_TEMPLATES, containing new array with all path templates or their segments.
Upon saving a page in editor with the component, operating in SEF mode, the system creates or updates an
urlrewrite record. For example, urlrewrite system creates or updates the record type when saving the file
/fld/cat.php, containing the component bitrix:catalog, switched to SEF mode with the parameter
"CONDITION" => "#^/catalog/#",
"ID" => "bitrix:catalog",
"PATH" => "/fld/cat.php"
CONDITION writes the value of parameter
SEF_FOLDER, framed with symbols "#^" and "#";
ID writes the name of component;
PATH writes the actual path to file to be saved.
When the record with such
ID already exist, it's updated, if doesn't - it's added.
Upon querying a non-existent page, the urlrewrite run-time searches a corresponding record by
CONDITION and forwards control to the
Based on template paths, component at the
PATH page identifies the requested page and restores variables, hidden within the path.
Mandatory requirement to the set of template paths for this component: each path template must be unique without accounting parameters and variables. This requirement must be checked upon saving a page in visual editor.
That is, set of path templates
"section" => "section/_TAG_#.php?IBLOCK_ID=_TAG_#",
"element" => "element/_TAG_#.php"
is permissible and set of paths
"section" => "_TAG_#.php?IBLOCK_ID=_TAG_#",
"element" => "_TAG_#.php"
is not permitted.


Authentication and authorization with JSON technologies can be a confusing mess of of acronyms, so this post is an attempt to sort these out. This post including the title, is very similar to Red Thunder: JWTs? JWKs? 'kid's? 'x5t's? Oh my!. Check their post out as well which was helpful diagrams.
NOTE TO READER: This Post is in progress and being edited for technical accuracy. If you see errors please contact me.
Here are the technologies covered:
 - JSON Web Token (JWT)
 - JSON Web Key (JWK)
 - JSON Web Key Set (JWKS)
The last two are sort of the same thing, a set of JWK structures is a JSON Web Key set.
The JWT (JSON Web Token) is passed around in an encoded form.
What is JWT?
JSON Web Token (RFC 7519) is an open standard, useful for Authorization and Information Exchange. JWTs represent "claims". JWTs are signed using a secret or a public/private key pair.
Introduction to JWTs
JWT has the following structure.
 - Header
 - Payload
 - Signature
These pieces are encoded and delimited by periods like in the example below.
How are they used in Authorization?
Typically the JWT encoded form is used in the Authorization HTTP request header. The value using the "Bearer schema" would look like this and have the JWT information as below.
Authorization: Bearer
What is JWK?
A JSON Web Key (JWK), an IETF standard (RFC 7517), is a JSON data structure that represents a cryptographic key.
JSON Web Key (JWK) provides a mechanism to distribute the public keys that can be used to verify JWTs. 1
What is JWKS?
JSON Web Key Set (JWKS), an IETF standard, is a set of keys containing the public keys used to verify any JSON Web Token (JWT). A JSON Web Key Set is composed of 1 or more JSON Web Keys (JWK). Each JWK represents a cryptographic public key that can be used to validate the signature of a signed JSON Web Token (JWT).
JWKS example
In our app we generate a JWKS pair for each service, which includes a.pem file and a.json file.
The JSON file has the following keys:
 - kty (RSA)
 - kid (key identifier, "alias" for the key)
 - n: the modulus for a pem file
 - e: the exponone for a pem file
What are they used for?
To securely transmit information between services.
Why are they important?
JWT and JWKS are important because they are an open, IETF, industry standard.
The signature for a JWT is calculated using the header and the payload, which means the content can be verified as having originated from the sender, and not having been tampered with.
Is this better than a browser cookie? JWT doesn't have the Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) limitation cookies do when the token is sent in the Authorization header.
Depending on what you are doing, you may need to generate some cryptographic pair files or a SSH key. Here are some things I ran across in researching this.
Archive file format.
keytool is a Key and Certificate Management Tool.
Keytool can be used to generate a private and public key pair.
ssh-keygen is a tool that can be used to generate an SSH key.
The JWT gem in ruby
In a Ruby on Rails application using JWTs for secure requests, the jwt gem may be useful. It is something we are using at work.
The flow around secure requests looks like this:
 - End user logs in with their browser, gets a JWT in the response. The JWT is stored in a browser cookie. The JWT is sent for HTTP requests as a request header, with the value being read from the cookie.
For HTTP communication between back-end services without browser cookies:
Interservice HTTP requests: send public key information as part of the Authorization header, remote service knows how to verify the JWT.
Remote service needs the sending service's public key to verify the JWT.


The Lab Experiment #03: Using the Camera Shake Correction Function and Auto High Sensitivity
#2: Using auto high sensitivity
In #1:, we saw that using the "camera shake correction function" helped reduce camera shake.
"Auto high sensitivity (AUTO-HI)*1" helps minimize the effects of the other type of blurring - "motion blur."
How is the ISO sensitivity "AUTO-HI" setting different than the "AUTO" setting? What sorts of scenes are best for the "AUTO-HI" setting? We did a bit of experimentation with this setting together with the camera shake correction function.
*1. Some models do not include this function. Refer to the product manual for more information.
The relationship between ISO and shutter speed
As you can see in the picture above, doubling the ISO value also doubles the shutter speed.
The maximum value for the CX2 ISO [AUTO] setting is 200, but [AUTO-HI] lets you set the maximum to 400, 800, or 1600, which makes it easier to find the right settings for various scenes.
We decided to take a closer look at some scenes where you might want to speed up the shutter speed, such as scenes with moving subjects or dim lighting.
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
When you're taking photos of children or pets, like the subjects in scenes 1 and 2, pictures can end up blurry when the subject moves - even when you use a tripod. AUTO-HI, though, increases shutter speed and reduces blurring.
Although the subject in scene 3 is stationary, the dark lighting makes it difficult to prevent camera shake even with camera shake correction. By using AUTO-HI, we were able to speed up the shutter speed and get a good, un-blurred shot without a tripod.
You can select fixed ISO values, but it's difficult to choose a specific value if you're not fully accustomed to using the camera. AUTO-HI, which automatically chooses the optimal ISO in the maximum setting range based on the light intensity of the environment, proved to be an extremely useful function.
See below for more setup information.
* Focal lengths are equivalent to those of 35mm film cameras.
ISO AUTO-HI Settings
You can adjust the AUTO-HI (auto high sensitivity) ISO maximum from "ISO Sensitivity" on the shooting menu.
Display the setup menu
- Refer to page 166 of the user's guide for operation procedures.
Press the ADJ./OK button ▼ to select the ISO AUTO-HI setting, and then press the ▶ button.
Press ▲▼ to choose a setting.
Press the ADJ.OK button.
If the ISO level is set too high, the image might become grainy.
#1: The camera shake correction function #2: Auto high sensitivity The Report to the Director


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Submitted by iowa_connection in Food and Agriculture
Create an Annual Richmond, IN Edible Cityscape Event: Plant Apple, Peach or other fruit trees!!!
Have a local non-profit such as Trees Forever or Sierra Club host a one hour workshop on "How to Plant and Care for Fruit Trees." Have the non-profit purchase Fruit Trees at wholesale (approximately $7 each for good sized trees). Sell the trees as a fundraiser in conjunction with the planting workshop for $15 each.
Solicit donations from corporations, individuals, foundations as sponsors to ensure some trees are available for free as well as ensuring a profitable fund raiser!
Encourage everyone to plant at least two trees and to share harvests with neighbors and friends.
Trees to consider: Honeycrisp Apples, Elberta Queen Peaches, Cherry, Linden trees and Mountain Ash -- all useful and edible species. Make free trees available for non-profit organizations.
If people don't have a place for a tree, encourage them to adopt a tree! They can be part of a community orchard with picking privileges!
Trees are leafy umbrellas on hot Indiana summer days. Trees are habitat for birds and bugs, all kinds! Trees inhale carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen for us all to breathe. Trees are hardy water reservoirs, purifying and transpiring up to 2,000 gallons/day that later falls as rain! Trees make great windbreaks and can even help reduce energy costs if placed properly on the land. And, they even have sweet treats......


Characterisation and modelling of multivalent polymer electrolytes
M.J.C. Plancha, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Portugal
Multivalent polymer electrolytes are among the diverse and numerous ion-conducting solid systems used in electrochemical devices such as high specific energy batteries. This chapter describes the importance of the morphology and crystallographic structures of multivalent polymer electrolytes, and their effects on critical ionic transport properties such as electrolyte ionic conductivity and cationic transference number. The mechanisms for ionic conduction are described and discussed, and examples that illustrate the complexity of this scientific area are briefly reviewed. The factors upon...
Get Polymer Electrolytes now with O'Reilly online learning.


States, businesses had to mobilize quickly, pivoting their strategies, distribution efforts, products and beyond to accommodate the new safety measures and external pressures. The food and beverage industry was no different. Although food manufacturers were deemed essential in the United States by Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), manufacturers had to adapt to a new normal during the shutdown.2 Some of the biggest changes that occurred in the food manufacturing industry include fluctuating customers, prices, product and ingredient availability, packaging, distribution, and food quality and safety.
Shifting Demand, Customers and Food Pricing
Sharp changes in food prices and product availability shocked supply and demand and impacted the entire food supply chain across the United States. According to the USDA, there were record levels of demand for food at grocery stores, and, on the supply side, there has been a reduced supply of meat products over the period of quarantine as meatpacking plants faced temporary closures, decreased slaughter pace, and slower production due to COVID-19 regulations.3 Poultry prices took a sharp dip and have been rebounding, hot dog prices are at an all-time high due to increased demand, and beef prices have been climbing due to scarce supply and limited fresh production. Food pricing fluctuation is one of the largest food industry impacts felt directly by the general public and the on-premise sector. Restaurants and bars were crushed by the skyrocketing ingredient prices and mandatory temporary closures due to COVID-19.
As restaurants, school cafeterias and hotels were temporarily shut down due to quarantine restrictions, the food manufacturing industry's most prominent customers practically disappeared. Before COVID-19, the USDA reported that in 2018, restaurants provided approximately 50% of meals consumed on a daily basis, up from 41% in 1984.4 When COVID-19 hit, consumer trends showed a monumental shift to eating at home. During the height of the pandemic, more people ordered take out from fast-casual dining places and ate from home. A recently published study reveals survey findings that suggest American's food habits are shifting, as 54% of respondents confirmed they are cooking more, and 46% of respondents, baking more.5 As customers and demand changed, products and packaging had to follow suit.
Scores of manufacturing facilities had to rapidly respond with different products to meet changing consumer demand, despite already being in mid-production for products for restaurant kitchens, cafeterias, and the like. Most of these large-scale and wholesale products would never make it to their original, intended destinations. Manufacturers swiftly adapted their production, creating retail-ready goods from product made or intended for restaurant or fast food supply. These food production facilities had to creatively find ways to change product packaging sizes, salvaging good product with take-home cartons and containers. Some processors pre-sliced deli meat for grocery stores around the country, as markets were unable to slice the meat in-store, dealing with restrictions on the number of people who could work at any given time. The food manufacturing industry showed great ingenuity, repurposing food and getting creative in order to keep the country fed and bridge the gap in convenience shopping that consumers have grown used to.
New Distribution Pressures
There were also disruptions in the food industry's distribution channel, and the logistics of distribution were adversely affected. Facilities faced increased pressure to have tighter production turnarounds from new consumer behavior and out-of-stock situations as many markets dealt with temporary panic shopping at the beginning of the crisis. Food manufacturing facilities have always faced tight deadlines when dealing with fresh and refrigerated product. However, COVID-19 introduced new critical, immediate needs to the food supply, and, more than ever before, facilities were pressed for time to deliver. Some facilities didn't have enough dock loading time, and certain cold storage facilities could not meet the raised demands for dock times, making it harder to get product through the distribution channel to consumers. Shipping and logistics came at a premium. Drivers and logistics companies were at capacity with their service offerings, and unable to mobilize to meet the needs of every manufacturing company.
On top of the pressures from consumer demand, manufacturing facilities had to procure PPE (personal protective equipment) in mass for all employees and adjust employee schedules to meet new national and state-wide quarantine restrictions that strained the system. The PPE requirements are part of the distribution logistics, as plants are unable to distribute safe product without adhering to the system's regulations. Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Environmental Affairs for the National Milk Producers Federation, Clay Detlefsen, said in an article for Food Shot Global that the whole food industry's system has been turned on its head, as manufacturers are concerned that if they start running out of PPE and sanitation supplies, they would ultimately be forced into shutting down their food processing plants.6
Regulating Food Quality and Safety
Perhaps one of the biggest concerns surrounding the food supply chain during the height of COVID-19 for both producers and consumers was food safety. While safety and quality are always a high priority in the food industry, rising concern around the transmission of COVID-19 became a new and unprecedented challenge for food quality experts. In February the FDA declared that COVID-19 is unlikely to pass through food or food packaging, but that didn't stop public concern.7 It was critical for food manufacturers and producers to ease public fear, keep the food supply stable and eliminate foreign material contamination that would adversely affect consumers and brand reputation. A mass recall due to foreign material contamination would have dire consequences for the strained food supply chain during this historic crisis. At the same time, the pandemic limited quality and food safety teams, as key teams had to work remotely, shift schedules had to drastically change to meet new safety regulations, production lines cut in half, and quality and safety teams had to make rushed decisions when it came to reworking product.
Some plants that faced potential foreign material contamination risked sending their product into distribution without a thorough rework, up against tight deadlines. And some plants adopted a multifaceted strategy and did something they've never done before: Reworked product on hold for potential foreign material contamination themselves. Many of these companies reworked product with their extra available lines, to keep as many of their workers as possible, despite the fact that food production employees are untrained in finding and extracting foreign contaminants. Inline detection machines are also typically limited to metal detection, often incapable of consistently catching many other types of contaminants such as glass, stones, plastic, bone, rubber, gasket material, container defects, product clumps, wood and other possible missing components. Food safety is of the utmost importance when a crisis hits as the food supply chain is crucial to our success as a nation and as an interconnected world. Facing new pressures on all sides, the food industry did not neglect food safety and quality, even while adopting new strategies. There was never a doubt that the industry would overcome the new challenges.
Looking Forward
The food industry has rapidly switched business strategies, swiftly turned around new products, found new ways to align product traceability and work remotely while still meeting industry standards and production expectations. Manufacturing facilities repackaged and repurposed food to keep the country fed, maintained job security for many employees and procured PPE in mass. The food industry is also full of manufacturers and plants that accomplished things they've never done before. There are shining examples of heroism in the food and beverage space as a growing list of food businesses, restaurants and delivery services have donated to healthcare workers on the front lines. Many large companies donated millions of dollars and pounds of food to feed their teams, their communities and the less fortunate.8 In the midst of a large obstacle, we have reached new heights and discovered new capabilities.
The challenges aren't over. The food industry is still facing the effects of COVID-19 shutdowns on businesses even during this period of re-opening in different parts of the country. A lot of places and companies have been hit hard, some even closing their doors for good. Forbes reported at the onset of the pandemic that Smithfield Foods shut down one of its pork processing plants after hundreds of the plant's 3,700 employees tested positive for coronavirus.8 Tyson Foods also shut down several meat processing plants under threat of the virus.8 Smithfield and Tyson were not the only ones. Food Dive has a compiled tracking system for coronavirus closures in food and beverage manufacturing facilities, recording reduced production, temporary closures, and permanent shutdowns across the industry. We expect some of the COVID-19 challenges to alleviate over time and hope that business will slowly return to normal and previously closed facilities will be able to re-open. However, we strongly hope some changes to the industry will remain: Creativity, ingenuity, resilience, adaptability, and a strong commitment to customers and partners. The bottom line is we're in this together––together, we're resilient.
 1. Frazier, L. (April 21, 2020). "How COVID-19 Is Leading The US Into A New Type Of Recession, And What It Means For Our Future." Forbes.
 2. Krebs, C. (May 19, 2020). "Advisory Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response." Homeland Security Digital Library.
 3. Johansson, R. (May 28, 2020) "Another Look at Availability and Prices of Food Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic." USDA.
 4. Stewart, H. (September 2011). "Food Away From Home." The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Food Consumption and Policy. 646–666. Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199569441._PHONE_
 5. The Shelby Report. (April 17, 2020). "New Study Reveals Covid


Sign the petition against nuclear reactors | Greenpeace Romania
Sign the petition against nuclear reactors
Pagină - martie 3, 2011
Romania has currently one nuclear power plant with two functional reactors in Cernavoda (South-East of Romania). Cernavoda is situated in an area with high earthquake risk. The Romanian Government plans to build two more nuclear reactors (Cernavoda 3 and 4 ). These reactors are of an outdated Canadian design, the CANDU 6.
Greenpeace protest action at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant, Romania
Greenpeace-tüntetés a romániai cernavodă-i atomerőműnél.
 Romana ro | En en | De de | Fr fr | Hu hu | It it | Es es
The design of CANDU 6 is under critique because of several key flaws:
- It has a positive reactivity coefficient – one of the design factors leading to the Chernobyl catastrophe. Because of this, CANDU reactors are not allowed inthe USA, Germany or France;
- Because it uses heavy water, it leaks more of the radioactive substance tritium into the environment than other designs. This could be dangerous for vulnerable people like pregnant women and children under four years old living in the nearby town of Cernavoda;
- It is relatively easy to divert spent fuel from the reactor. India used a similar design to obtain plutonium for its nuclear bomb in 1974. We don't want Cernavoda to become a model for other countries who may be interested in nuclear weapon production.
Romania has no proper solution for the nuclear waste produced by the Cernavoda nuclear reactors.
The Romanian government proposes yet another nuclear power plant in the North of the country, in Transilvania. It announced that it chose three sites on the Somes River, but keeps the information secret because of fear for protests.
Greenpeace privacy policy: Greenpeace does not give your personal data to other organisations, keeps them confidential and uses them only in the mentioned purpose, that of supporting the petition. On the basis of 677/2001 law, and on the governmental law 36/2007, Greenpeace Romania is an official operator of personal data registered under the number 14429.
Atenție, dacă ești român și vrei ca semnătura ta să conteze, te rugăm, semnează pe pagina petiției în română:


text:
|Muhammad||Praised; name of the Prophet PBUH|
It is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "On the Day of Resurrection, you will be called by your names and by your fathers' names, so give yourselves good names." (Hadith Abu Dawud)
Remember, just because a name stems from a certain language or culture, doesn't mean that it has a good Islamic meaning. Several of the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) changed their own Arabic names, because the meanings of their names connoted wickedness.
For example, someone named Harb ("war") had his name changed to Silm ("peace"), and one named Al-Munba'ith ("one who lies") became Al-Mudtaji' ("one who stands up," i.e. for the truth).


text:
Teachers, register your class or environmental club in our annual Solar Oven Challenge! Registration begins in the fall, and projects must be completed in the spring to be eligible for prizes and certificates.
Who can participate?
GreenLearning's Solar Oven Challenge is open to all Canadian classes. Past challenges have included participants from grade 3 through to grade 12. Older students often build solar ovens as part of the heat unit in their Science courses. Other students learn about solar energy as a project in an eco-class or recycling club.
How do you register?
1. Registration is now open to Canadian teachers. To register, send an email to Gordon Harrison at GreenLearning. Include your name, school, school address and phone number, and the grade level of the students who will be participating.
2. After you register, you will receive the Solar Oven Challenge Teacher's Guide with solar oven construction plans. Also see re-energy.ca for construction plans, student backgrounders, and related links on solar cooking and other forms of renewable energy. At re-energy.ca, you can also see submissions, photos and recipes from participants in past Solar Oven Challenges.
3. Build, test and bake with solar ovens!
4. Email us photos and descriptions of your creations by the deadline (usually the first week of June).
5. See your recipes and photos showcased at re-energy.ca. Winners will be listed there and in GreenLearning News.