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The research methodology and philosophy is based on idealist ontology and interpretivist epistemology. The research used a mixed methods measure up to both qualitative and quantitative data through the questionnaires answers, in-depth interviews, field observations and provide by company materials.
The data was analysed using a phenomenological measure to focusing on the phenomena uncovered by the research through deductive thematic analysis and accordingly identifying contents from the discoveries.
In the discovery chapter mentioned the data uncovered from the various research methods in detail. The first chapter explains the sample, and then particularly focuses on the main contents and discoveries from the interviews. The second chapter reviews the discovers relating to the integrated marketing communication material used by the case study NIKE CHINA company.
The discussions chapter gives a comprehensive analysis of the literature review and the discoveries from the data collection to give a detailed interpretation of the theoretical concepts in relation to the applied international business market and Chinese market. The role of Chinese culture in interpretation of the different styles of communication mentioned in this research thesis.
The introduction specified a summary of the research case study to be able to give a synopsis of the in-depth literature, research methodology, findings and discussions. This research case study will merit to people who want to communicate Chinese customer in the efficiently way. This research also aimed to advance integrated marketing communication guidelines for international corporate or brand extend the market in China or entering the Chinese market. The literature review to lead specific describe more clarify the theories and research findings relevant in order to demonstrate a structure for the study.


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Abstract: The anthropological study of value has gained much currency in recent years. This article speaks to the importance of Pentecostal practices in understanding the qualitative aspects of value in Ghana. It demonstrates how practices relating to wealth accumulation and redistribution are in interaction with ethical evaluations about the character of charismatic Christian prophets. The moral evaluation of wealth of certain prophets, and the links perceived between their use of wealth and their character, tell us something about the moral climate in contemporary Ghanaian society, where wealth cannot simply be measured quantitatively (through acquiring riches), but also ought to be assessed qualitatively (discerned through the quality of one's acts).
Excerpt: This chapter is concerned with the relationship between entrepreneurship and religion. It examines the making of Pentecostal churches and pastoral careers as a form of entrepreneurship and discusses what the religious dimension adds to our understanding of how entrepreneurship unfolds in Africa today. The chapter analyzes in particular how striving for and attaining social and economic aspirations can be fulfilled through a pastoral career in Pentecostal churches in Ghana. What is remarkable is that young men and women are able to 'become someone' in society, achieve status, and accumulate wealth through the making of pastoral careers in a general context where the possibilities for social climbing are constrained.
By: Jörg Haustein (SOAS, University of London)
Wariboko's book is an important contribution to the by now substantial array of studies on Nigerian Pentecostalism, and yet it is one of a kind. Instead of providing another historical, political, or socio-economic analysis of the "Pentecostal explosion" in Africa's most populous country, Wariboko seeks to unlock its secrets from within, by producing a philosophical analysis of Nigerian Pentecostal spirituality and theology. His closest conversation partner is Ruth Marshall, whose influence is acknowledged at the outset and implicitly or explicitly engaged throughout the book.
Abstract: Experiential and mediatized, Pentecostal Christianity is one of the most successful cases of contemporary religious globalization. However, it has often grown and expanded transnationally without clear authoritative contours. That is the case in contemporary Ghana, where Pentecostal claims about charismatic empowerment have fed public anxieties concerning the fake and the occult. This article examines how Pentecostalism's dysfunctional circulation is countered within seminaries, or Bible schools, by specific strategies of pastoral training. First, I revisit recent debates on Protestant language ideology in the anthropology of Christianity, and stress Pentecostalism's affinity with notions of flow and saturation of speech by divine presence. Second, I move to data collected in the Anagkazo Bible and Ministry Training Center, and investigate this institution's pedagogical framing of Pentecostalism's otherwise erratic flow of speech and power according to two normative operations: Biblical figuration and the emic notion of transmission as 'impartation'. I conclude by stressing how the metapragmatics of figuration and impartation in Anagkazo requires an understanding of religious circulation that exceeds the dominant scholarly focus on religion-as-mediation.
Abstract: This article seeks to shed light on the relationship between material development and spiritual empowerment among Pentecostal churches in Northern Cameroon. Field studies show that several Pentecostal churches recently have been established in the area, and that they are "negotiating space" in order to find places and areas where they can influence the local community. Due to the strong Muslim control over the economy in the region, the new churches have little focus on prosperity, but the material and developmental discourse focus on entrepreneurship through education and hard work. The article concludes that the relative success achieved by the churches is connected to their focus on global mobility, local flexibility, spiritual authority and human dignity.
Abstract: Beauty pageants in Nigeria have become highly popular spectacles, the crowned winners venerated for their beauty, success and ability to better society through charity. This paper focuses on the Carnival Calabar Queen pageant, highlighting how pageants, at the nexus of gender and the nation, are sites of social reproduction by creating feminine ideals. A divinely inspired initiative of a fervently Pentecostal First Lady, the pageant crowns an ambassador for young women's rights. While the queen must have 'grace and beauty' and be 'ever prayerful', the discussion unravels emic conceptions of feminine beauty, religiosity and respectability. Yet, young women also use pageantry as a 'platform' for success, hoping to challenge the double bind of gender and generation they experience in Nigeria. The discussion pays particular attention to how young women, trying to overcome the insecurities of (urban) Nigerian life, make choices to negotiate individualism with community, and piety with patriarchy. Ethnographically, this paper situates beauty pageants in the region's past and present practices that mould feminine subjectivities. Contributing young women's experiences to recent literature on the temporalities of African youth, the paper's explicit focus on how new subjectivities form through action illuminates important themes regarding agency, resistance and notions of the religious self. In doing so, it furthers current analyses of Pentecostalism, seeking a more nuanced understanding of gender reconfiguration and demonstrating how religious subjects can be formed outside church institutions.
Abstract: This article historicizes the contemporary Pentecostal movement in Nigeria by examining relationships between Nigerian prophets, British missionaries, and American evangelists in the 1930s and 1940s. First, the article challenges assumptions about the genealogy and chronology of Nigerian Pentecostalism by taking a close look at the beginnings of the Christ Apostolic Church. Then, it discusses new evidence which reveals the surprising influence of a marginal American evangelist and renegade British missionary on the church's doctrine. Making use of a wide range of evidence from Nigerian, Welsh, and American archives, the article argues that while the Aladura movement may have had indigenous origins, its development made significant use of foreign support and did so much earlier than has been appreciated by previous studies. The larger significance of this argument is that it shows the mutual constitution of American, British, and Nigerian Pentecostalism; instead of emerging first in the US and UK and then being taken to Africa, Pentecostalism's development across the Atlantic was coeval.
Abstract: This article explores the cultural change generated by Pentecostalism among Liberian refugees in Ghana, who fled from their nation's civil wars to a refugee camp in Ghana's Central Region. Anthropologists of religion have argued that Pentecostal conversions have in large parts become popular because they enable a "break with the past." Liberian converts, as well, seek to distance themselves from a past that is mired in conflict. To this end, they connect to global Pentecostal networks in an attempt to overcome their marginal status. In so doing, many of them reject aspects of their past, which they associate with the Liberian civil wars, for example traditional belief systems, ethnic identity, and the Liberian gerontocracy. Yet, as the ethnographic examples illustrate, this "break with the past" is rarely complete. This study's findings are related to debates on whether anthropology of religion should focus on "continuity" or "discontinuity" in exploring religious conversions. The author argues that the religious experiences of Liberians in exile can only be understood by paying attention to the interplay and tensions between continuity and discontinuity.
Abstract: This paper examines the contextualization of the Jesus story by Ghanaian Christians. It approaches it through the analysis and evaluation of inherent ideas in their songs, sermons and practices that reflect their interpretation of the Christian experience in relation to primal religion and culture, and the Bible. The results show that Ghanaian Christians do not play down the ubiquity of evil in the world. Nonetheless, they see in Jesus Christ the incomparable, victorious Saviour who has made it possible for believers to overcome the evils of this world. Accordingly, they insist that in Christ believers can enjoy "full" and "complete" salvation in every area of life.
Abstract: In August 2010, Côte d'Ivoire commemorated fifty years of independence. Local Pentecostal churches likewise celebrated the jubilee, marking the liberation of slaves after seven times seven years of servitude as promised in Leviticus 25: 8–10. This reading of independence was closely linked to the incumbent president's political project of refondation based on a premillennial understanding of the interrelatedness of past, present and future. In this article, I explore Pentecostal political rhetoric and performances of the past during the jubilee celebrations, and the post-electoral crisis of 2010–2011. Drawing on empirical research into memory at work in Côte d'Ivoire, I question the instrumentalist paradigm used in analysis of religious ways of thinking about the world. By emphasizing performances of the past and collective memory, I explain how being born-again is enacted as politics and how politics are perceived in terms of faith.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


The Beautiful Diversity of Syrian Clothing – Patterns, Designs And Colors
Traditional Syrian clothing
The Beautiful Diversity of Syrian Clothing – Patterns, Designs And Colors
Syria is a moderately large country that includes many different religious and ethnic groups. You will hear of Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds, Armenians, Circassians, and Turkmen who differ in cultural traditions. As a result, writing about the subject of traditional Syrian clothing can prove to be challenging. There is more than one Syrian way to dress. It ranges from city to city and from region to region. Also, different tribes and villages have their own distinctive patterns, designs, and colors of clothing.
So how do men and women traditionally dress?
If you go to the cities of Deir ez-Zor, Palmyra, and Raqqah in Eastern Syria, for example, you will probably see more Syrian traditional tribal style of dress. Women typically wear long black garments called abayas that cover them from shoulders to their ankles. They also wear a head and face cover that leaves only the eyes peeking out. Underneath all of these coverings, however, she may be wearing a traditional Arabian dress with intricate beading. Or maybe even the latest fashion from the West.
Men traditionally wear long garments called kaftans. These are often white in the summer and made of darker colors and a heavier fabric in the winter. They also wear a three-piece head cover called a taqiyah. The base of it is a white cap with holes used to hold hair in place. On top is a scarf-like head cover called a gutrah. This is also white in the summer. Men also usually wear a checkered red and white pattern in the winter called a shmak. Both the gutrah and the shmak are used to protect the head from the sun and to cover the mouth and nose in the event of a sandstorm. Topping off all of these is the rigid black circular chord that holds it all in placed called the ogal.
Syrian clothing in other regions
If we head to cities like Idlib and Aleppo, we'll find them to be more modern but generally range from conservative to liberal. Idlib, of course, is the more conservative of the two cities as Aleppo has a more significant number of Christians. Combined with a huge Armenian population, this allows them to usually just dress in Western-style clothing.
Further west, into the cities of Tartous and Latakia, you'll also find a wide range of dress from conservative to liberal. However, actually tend to dress more liberal with no real restrictions on clothing at all.
Finally, there's Damascus, the melting pot of Syria. Because Damascus is a blend of all of the cultures and traditions of Syria, it's here you'll find everything. Women's clothing range from full black veils known as niqab to Western-style.
In conclusion
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A campaign is a collection of marketing activities that includes emails, email workflows, web plugins, print media, online ad campaigns, or any combination of these. You can use supplier-provided or create your own. By creating campaigns, you will be able to gather data in one place for all the marketing activity around a specific product or service.
Each activity in a campaign has its own dashboard. The dashboard is a snapshot of the activity details at any given time. The dashboard display varies based on the activity's status, which can be Draft or Sent. This article covers both the draft and sent statuses.
To navigate to the dashboard, select Campaigns > My Campaigns > select a campaign > select an email.
Activity Dashboard for an Email in Draft Status
For an activity still in Draft status, you can edit details, personalize the content inside the blue dotted lines, add contacts, and schedule deployment. Note that not all suppliers allow for content to be personalized.
In this view, you will see the following:
- Alerts notifying you that tasks need to be completed before the activity can be deployed.
- Buttons to Share on Social Media, Delete the activity, and Edit the activity. Selecting Edit take you to the wizard where you can edit activity details, personalize activities, add or delete recipients, and schedule or unschedule the activity.
- View Email is a preview of the email and is available for email activities that have not been sent.
- Details gives the activity status, email for both the sender and replies, create dates and notifications when the activity is sent.
- Recipients will show the number of recipients or that no recipients are added to the activity.
- Notifications are sent when mailing recipients complete and submit a related form. Additionally, each person set to receive email notification will also receive an email summary report 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days after the mailing is sent. For workflow tactics, the Gear icon indicates if the workflow is active and running or paused.
Activity Dashboard for an Email in Sent Status
After the activity is deployed and building statistics, the dashboard will display statistics for the activity. For email mailings, the statistics are Opens, Clicks, Bounces, and Unsubscribes. After deployment the activity can no longer be changed.
In this view, you will see the following:
- Left navigation menu for Activity Dashboard, Leads, Recent Activity, Analysis, and View Activity (email, web plugin).
- Buttons to request Agency Assistance and Share on Social Media.
- The Analysis Bar shows data for Email Opens, Email Clicks, Web Views, Web Clicks, and Leads. The Analysis Bar will display for emails, web plugins, and social media activities. Note that the Emails Sent total does not include emails sent to less than five recipients. The Zift platform assumes that less than 6 recipients indicates a test mailing.
- Details give the activity's status, which is Sent, and the date.
- In Sent status, the activity cannot be edited or personalized.
- For email activities the detail shows the sender's email, the reply-to email, subject, create date, and notifications when the activity is sent. For workflow activities, you will also see entry conditions.
- For workflow tactics, the Gear icon indicates if the workflow is active and running or paused.
- Notifications are sent when mailing recipients complete and submit a related form. Notifications can be edited. Additionally, each person set to receive email notification will also receive an email summary report 1 day, 3 days, and 7 days after the mailing is sent. For workflow tactics, the Gear icon indicates if the workflow is active and running or paused.
- Statistics for the activity. The icons will show as red, green, or yellow based on percentages. Statistics are shown for the following:
- Opens: the number of times the email was opened.
- Clicks: the number of times something in the email was clicked.
- Bounces: indicates the number of hard bounces (either the email address or domain no longer exists).
- Unsubscribes: the number of times recipients clicked the unsubscribe option in the activity.
- Recipients: The total number of activity recipients as well as a breakdown of the number of recipients in each workflow step.


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Laws governing ballot measures in New Mexico
New Mexico Constitution
The state does not have the statewide initiative process and so therefore the following provisions discuss the procedures used by the state legislature to place constitutional amendments on the ballot. However, New Mexico does have the popular referendum process. The provisions of this process are included as well.
Article IV Sec. 1. Vesting of legislative power; location of sessions; referendum on legislation.
The legislative power shall be vested in a senate and house of representatives which shall be designated the legislature of the state of New Mexico, and shall hold its sessions at the seat of government.
The people reserve the power to disapprove, suspend and annul any law enacted by the legislature, except general appropriation laws; laws providing for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety; for the payment of the public debt or interest thereon, or the creation or funding of the same, except as in this constitution otherwise provided; for the maintenance of the public schools or state institutions, and local or special laws. Petitions disapproving any law other than those above excepted, enacted at the last preceding session of the legislature, shall be filed with the secretary of state not less than four months prior to the next general election.
Such petitions shall be signed by not less than ten percent of the qualified electors of each of three-fourths of the counties and in the aggregate by not less than ten percent of the qualified electors of the state, as shown by the total number of votes cast at the last preceding general election. The question of the approval or rejection of such law shall be submitted by the secretary of state to the electorate at the next general election; and if a majority of the legal votes cast thereon, and not less than forty percent of the total number of legal votes cast at such general election, be cast for the rejection of such law, it shall be annulled and thereby repealed with the same effect as if the legislature had then repealed it, and such repeal shall revive any law repealed by the act so annulled; otherwise, it shall remain in force unless subsequently repealed by the legislature.
If such petition or petitions be signed by not less than twenty-five per centum of the qualified electors under each of the foregoing conditions, and be filed with the secretary of state within ninety days after the adjournment of the session of the legislature at which such law was enacted, the operation thereof shall be thereupon suspended and the question of its approval or rejection shall be likewise submitted to a vote at the next ensuing general election.
If a majority of the votes cast thereon and not less than forty percent of the total number of votes cast at such general election be cast for its rejection, it shall be thereby annulled; otherwise, it shall go into effect upon publication of the certificate of the secretary of state declaring the result of the vote thereon. It shall be a felony for any person to sign any such petition with any name other than his own, or to sign his name more than once for the same measure, or to sign such petition when he is not a qualified elector in the county specified in such petition; provided, that nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the writing thereon of the name of any person who cannot write, and who signs the same with his mark. The legislature shall enact laws necessary for the effective exercise of the power hereby reserved.
Article XIX Sec. 1. Proposing and ratifying amendments.
An amendment or amendments to this constitution may be proposed in either house of the legislature at a regular session; and if a majority of all members elected to each of the two houses voting separately votes in favor thereof, the proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their respective journals with the yeas and nays thereon. An amendment or amendments may also be proposed by an independent commission established by law for that purpose, and the amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the legislature for its review in accordance with the provisions of this section.
The secretary of state shall cause any such amendment or amendments to be published in at least one newspaper in every county of the state, where a newspaper is published once each week, for four consecutive weeks, in English and Spanish when newspapers in both of said languages are published in such counties, the last publication to be not more than two weeks prior to the election at which time said amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection; and shall further provide notice of the content and purpose of legislatively approved constitutional amendments in both English and Spanish to inform electors about the amendments in the time and manner provided by law.
The secretary of state shall also make reasonable efforts to provide notice of the content and purpose of legislatively approved constitutional amendments in indigenous languages and to minority language groups to inform electors about the amendments. Amendments approved by the legislature shall be voted upon at the next regular election held after the adjournment of that legislature or at a special election to be held not less than six months after the adjournment of that legislature, at such time and in such manner as the legislature may by law provide. An amendment that is ratified by a majority of the electors voting on the amendment shall become part of this constitution.
If two or more amendments are initiated by the legislature, they shall be so submitted as to enable the electors to vote on each of them separately. Amendments initiated by an independent commission created by law for that purpose may be submitted to the legislature separately or as a single ballot question, and any such commission initiated amendments that are not substantially altered by the legislature may be submitted to the electors in the separate or single ballot question form recommended by the commission.
No amendment shall restrict the rights created by Sections One and Three of Article VII hereof, on elective franchise, and Sections Eight and Ten of Article XII hereof, on education, unless it be proposed by vote of three-fourths of the members elected to each house and be ratified by a vote of the people of this state in an election at which at least three-fourths of the electors voting on the amendment vote in favor of that amendment. (As amended November 7, 1911 and November 5, 1996.)
Sec. 2. Constitutional conventions.
Whenever the legislature, by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each house, deems it necessary to call a convention to revise or amend this constitution, they shall submit the question of calling such convention to the electors at the next general election, and if a majority of all the electors voting on such questions at said election in the state votes in favor of calling a convention, the legislature shall, at the next session, provide by law for calling the same. Such convention shall consist of at least as many delegates as there are members of the house of representatives. Revisions or amendments proposed by a constitutional convention shall be submitted to the voters of the state at an election held on a date set by the convention. The revisions or amendments proposed by the convention may be submitted in whole or in part, or with alternatives, as determined by the convention. If a majority vote favors a proposal or alternative, it is adopted and becomes effective thirty days after the certification of the election returns unless otherwise provided by the convention. (As amended November 7, 1911 and November 5, 1996.)
Sec. 3. Initiative restricted.
If this constitution be in any way so amended as to allow laws to be enacted by direct vote of the electors the laws which may be so enacted shall be only such as might be enacted by the legislature under the provisions of this constitution. (As amended November 7, 1911.)
Sec. 4. Amendment of compact with United States.
When the United States shall consent thereto, the legislature, by a majority vote of the members in each house, may submit to the people the question of amending any provision of Article XXI of this constitution on compact with the United States to the extent allowed by the act of congress permitting the same, and if a majority of the qualified electors who vote upon any such amendment shall vote in favor thereof the said article shall be thereby amended accordingly.
Bills that have or might be introduced in the 2011 session of the New Mexico State Legislature include:
The following proposals were made during the 2009-2010 session of the New Mexico Legislature:
Some of the notable features of New Mexico's campaign finance laws:
- Groups in support or opposition of a ballot question are treated the same as other political committees.
- New Mexico requires electronic reporting for all campaign finance reports.
- Mew Mexico requires a group to disclose the name for who paid for get out the vote phone calls if a group plans to make 500 or more calls.
- Laws governing ballot measures
- Laws governing recall in New Mexico
- Local ballot measures, New Mexico
- Laws governing local ballot measures in New Mexico
- Amending the New Mexico Constitution
- School bond and tax elections in New Mexico
- New Mexico signature requirements
- Campaign finance requirements for New Mexico ballot measures

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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U.S. and Canada Embark on Project to Develop a Gene Therapy for Retinal Blindness
The goal of this project is to begin testing a new gene therapy in patients who are losing their vision due to retinal disease, by the end of five years," said Dr. Tsilflidis, Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. By blocking a process (apoptosis) that causes retinal cell death, thus blindness, the XIAP gene therapy protects the retinal cells. The gene is delivered to the eye using a virus.
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ruka in fusion with hip hop, reggae, Argentinian rock, and ranchera music, among others. Their musical compositions, filled with abundant bilingual twists (Mapudugun and Spanish), extol the value of being Mapuche and vindicate land claims.
Since the production of their first album in 2004, one of the leitmotifs running through the lyrics of Wechekeche Ñi Trawün is the rejection of national and transnational corporations and their exploitation of lands and forests in areas associated with Mapuche communities. Their songs also echo a desire that has marked the contemporary struggles of the Mapuche social and political movement in Chile and Argentina: the reconstruction of the Mapuche nation, or the Wallmapu, a collective concept that links Mapuches from both sides of the Chilean-Argentinian border. As a result of such a musical and political desire, this band of young urban Mapuches has toured cities and rural communities in both regions. In these performances, their mixture of styles and genres from contemporary pop music and native instruments resonates with the visions of the rural and urban youth, while raising awareness of the historic Mapuche struggle. In southern Argentina, another Mapuche voice is heard: Beatriz Pichi Malen. Her musical work, beginning in the early 1990s, also plays with non-indigenous rhythms and styles mixed with Mapuche music. In March 2000, Pichi Malen released "Plata" (Silver), her first album, with songs that vindicate the culture of her people in an Argentina where Mapuches have historically been marginalized.
In Guatemala, under the name Bitz'ma/Sobrevivencia (Survival), a group of Maya artists have created a musical style characterized by a mix of rhythms and sounds of the tum, flute, and marimba, accompanied by electric guitars and drums. In this way, Bitz'magives life to their rock Maya. Bitz'ma was established a decade ago as the collective project of a group of Maya youth from San Ildefonso Ixtachuacán, Huehuetenango, Guatemala. In their songs, they incorporate a multilingual repertoire of Spanish and Mayan languages and musical mixtures. They tour communities within Guatemala as well as communities of the Guatemalan Maya diaspora in Mexico and southern California.
The Guatemalan Maya musical group called Sin Rostro-Tujaal Rock is doing something similar, as their songs are in various Mayan languages such as Mam, Sakapulteko, K'iche', and Kaqchikel. These Maya musicians, with more than a decade of experience, have created a musical fusion, combining Maya rhythms and sounds with reggae, ska, son, and ballads. In an interview on April 16, 2011 for a Guatemalan newspaper, drummer Miguel Felipe Tz'ikin', one of the six members of Sin Rostro–Tujaal Rock, commenting on the name of their recent musical production, "Resurgimiento" (Revival), states: "The word then does not mean so much to 'reappear' because we have always been here, but rather we now return over our steps to contribute to the construction of a better humanity." Thus, they stress the close relationship between aesthetic practice—the language of music—with a "resurgence" anchored in Maya tradition, but also in a contemporary and cosmopolitan outlook.
A significant impact of these artistic groups in their communities has been their ability to sensitize indigenous youth to engage their people's cultures and histories. Through their music, groups such as Wechekeche Ñi Trawün, Bitza/Sobrevivencia, and Sin Rostro-Tujaal Rock channel the energy and aspirations of indigenous youth into broader cultural, social, and political goals. They thereby counter the culture of individualism fostered by neoliberal societies and the increasing trends of crime or drug consumption that mark public life in contemporary urban settings.
In 1985 in Mexico City, the Latin American Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples' Film and Video (CLACPI) was founded. This group was created to link native media groups to young people from indigenous communities who exhibited a creative command of camera technology. Since the mid-eighties, CLACPI has organized 11 international festivals and numerous workshops dedicated to promoting indigenous advancement in the media arts. These festivals have taken place in countries like Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Chile.
According to Amalia Córdova, the Latin American Program manager of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, "a significant innovation of indigenous cinemas" has come to the forefront with "the use of native languages in the productions, which makes the works accessible to cultural and linguistic communities where traditions are kept." Córdova states that indigenous filmmaking "also stresses the importance of using native languages to indigenous youth, who are more likely to lose it."
One of the pioneers in indigenizing the art of the camera is Alberto Muenala, a filmmaker from the Kichwa community of Otavalo, Ecuador. His cinematic production began in the early 1990s. In short videos, Muenala incorporates the realities and languages of Kichwa communities. This is precisely what happens in the film Mashikuna / Comrades (1995, 40 minutes), which tells the story of two children as they embark on their life journeys, from the pain of dealing with racism and oppression to becoming activists in an indigenous social and political movement.
The Mapuche filmmaker Jeannette Paillán represents another trajectory with the camera in a short film entitled Punalka (1995, 26 minutes) – an assemblage of powerful and poetic images, sounds, and voices. The camera pans the waters and mountains of Alto Bio-Bio in the Andean region of southern Chile, where a Mapuche community (the Pehuenches) struggles to live with their own language and traditions. While the Paillán's camera highlights the human and natural environment, the voice of the poet Leonel Lienlaf tells, in Mapudungun, the story of Punalka—a being that, according to Mapuche traditions, is sovereign over the waters of the river. In this way, the film highlights the sacred significance of the natural environment for this community in a region where a hydroelectric plant installed in the Alto Bio-Bio in the late 1990s had a devastating impact. Paillán's film alternates space and time in which the poetic use of Mapudungun ("language of earth") resonates with the background of the Andean mountain range.
How should one interpret these aesthetic practices led by indigenous artists in language domains that come from native traditions in Latin America? What implications do these practices have for indigenous people who seek to exercise their right, as stated in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007, "to revitalize, use, develop, and transmit" their own "languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems, and literatures?" Various indigenous aesthetics have been recorded, voiced, or envisioned in contemporary languages and forms in both urban spaces and "natural" environments in crisis. This occurs at a time when global and local powers tend to undermine indigenous claims to language, culture, territory, and political self-representation.
If something is affirmed though this new wave of indigenous written literature, musical fusion, and visual arts, it is that it represents a desire for not only continuity, but also for re-invention of indigenous identities under the conditions of contemporary urban, technological, and cultural life. However, it is important to note that most of the aforementioned indigenous writers and artists forge their cultural expressions with limited material resources. Even though there are legal bodies that invoke "indigenous rights" in many Latin American countries, actual government practices dismiss indigenous artistic and cultural projects that do not benefit their own short-term political agendas. This is the case of the artists and writers I have presented in this article, whose works embody demands of self-determination and sovereignty and take a critical stance toward state and government politics. Therefore, they do not have significant support from state entities.
In 1989, ILO Convention 169 urged states and governments not only to promote indigenous cultures but also to guarantee agency of indigenous peoples in the exercise of their cultural rights. Article Six of the Convention states the need to "establish means by which these peoples can freely participate, to at least the same extent as other sectors of the population, at all levels of decision-making in elective institutions and administrative and other bodies responsible for policies and programmes which concern them." To this end, I believe that the two key challenges facing public institutions in each country as well as in the international community, are: first, to provide material resources that strengthen indigenous linguistic, aesthetic, and cultural creativity; and, second, to ensure that their cultural policies guarantee the autonomy of indigenous writers and artists, not only in the aesthetic realm but also in the political arena. The demand for indigenous autonomies is, to a large extent, an invitation to think and imagine cultural policies that foster diversity in the twenty first century world.
LUIS E. CARCAMO-HUECHANTE is a scholar of Mapuche origin who grew up in Tralcao, a rural village in the River Region of Valdivia in southern Chile. He studied Philosophy and Social Sciences at the Universidad Austral de Chile, obtained his MA at the University of Oregon, and earned his PhD in Hispanic Studies at Cornell University. He taught at Harvard University between 2001 and 2009, and now teaches Latin American and indigenous literatures and cultures at The University of Texas at Austin, where he was elected a member of the Society for Teaching Excellence in Fall 2011.


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How Do Dinosaurs Learn to Read?
by Jane Yolen Illustrated by Mark Teague
Reviewed by Thomas W. (age 6)
Thomas W. is a student in Ms. Heller's 1st Grade Class
The book is about how dinosaurs learn to read from other dinosaurs. The story takes place at a dinosaur's house. The story asks you questions about how dinosaurs learn to read.
My favorite part is the end because I learned how dinosaurs learn to read. It makes me remember the first time that I read a chapter book. My favorite character is the dinosaur because he learns to read.
Anybody who is just learning to read would like to read this book.


An Expert Explains Why Your Hair Gets Greasy Overnight and What to Do About It
Do you fall asleep with freshly-washed strands only to wake up to them being oily in the morning? Are you struggling to understand why hair gets greasy overnight? This incredibly frustrating problem is all too common for some.
Kate Holden, consultant trichologist, has some answers and advice for you. The founder of Kate Holden Clinic in Manchester can tell you why your hair gets greasy when you sleep and what you should do about it.
Keep scrolling to read what she had to say!
Why does hair get greasy overnight?
"Our hair gets greasy when there is a build up of a natural oil on the scalp called sebum," Kate shares. "Sebum is produced by our sebaceous glands and functions to lubricate and waterproof the skin and hair, which is essential for maintaining a healthy hair and scalp. Our sebaceous glands are working all the time. But if you're noticing that your hair gets greasy overnight, that indicates that your glands may be overactive or you need to adjust your haircare routine."
There is also a laundry list of more common reasons for this problem. An increase in extra oil can be caused by "hormones (think puberty, periods and menopause), diet, genetics, medications, changes in the environment, and your haircare routine."
Sleeping habits can often be to blame for greasy hair. This is especially true "if you're not washing your pillowcases often enough."
There are also a number of ways your hair washing routine contributes to extra oil production.
"How you wash your hair can definitely contribute to an oily scalp," Kate says. "Washing your hair too often can cause your scalp to overproduce sebum. Not washing your hair enough will cause a buildup. Washing your hair two to three times per week is recommended to get a good balance."
You should even be weary of how hot the water is.
"Washing your hair in hot water also stimulates the sebaceous glands, so turn the temperature down on your shower to prevent this," Kate notes.
And though it feels amazing, Kate mentions massaging your hair for too long can contribute to oily strands.
"Massaging the scalp can activate the sebaceous glands too so try not to massage for longer than one minute," she notes.
Woman looking at the camera while laying on her bed and running her fingers through her hair
(via Unsplash)
Could it be a sign of a major underlying condition?
Kate assures us that "most of the time, greasy hair is nothing to worry about." There is one instance, however, when it should raise a bit of concern.
"If you are dealing with greasy hair every day, no matter what you try, then it might be a symptom of an underlying hormone imbalance such as PCOS. If you are worried that your greasy hair is a symptom of a medical condition, speak to your general practitioner, trichologist, or dermatologist."
What can you do to prevent hair from getting greasy overnight?
Luckily, there are a number of things you can do to decrease overnight oil production.
"I would recommend avoiding hot showers or baths before bed; using a shampoo designed for greasy hair; applying dry shampoo to the roots; tying your hair up to prevent the sebum traveling down the hair shaft; and making sure you're washing your pillowcases regularly to prevent buildup of grime and sweat," Kate shares.
Kate also recommends a few products that'll help with yoru problem.
"When you're looking for a clarifying shampoo, you need a stronger surfactant (cleaner) to remove the oil from the hair and scalp," she says. "In terms of dry shampoo, Batiste is my usual go-to. If you find aerosol-based dry shampoos too drying, you can get them in powder form. For example Lush does a powder dry shampoo. When you tie your hair up at night, I'd recommend a soft scrunchie, fabric hair tie, or head scarf to reduce friction on the hair shaft."
It's also important to look at your diet as a cause for excess oil production.
"If you have a diet which is high in refined carbs and saturated fats, then this might be contributing to your greasy hair," Kate mentions. "Swap out the refined carbs to wholegrain and the saturated fats with unsaturated fats. Also, make sure you're eating lots of fruits and vegetables."
After making these changes, you should quickly notice your hair being less greasy when you wake up. If the problem does persist, be sure to reach out to a professional.
Girl sleeping on a blue pillow
(via Unsplash)
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March 15, 2020
It just occurred to me that the Milky Way galaxy is the Ouroboros. The ancients used the symbol to represent the phenomenon. In Akkadian the Milky Way is ṣerret šamê "the snake of the skies". Norse mythology Jörmungandr is a sea serpent, the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and Loki. Odin tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard (the world). The serpent grew so large that it was able to surround the earth and grasp its own tail. As a result, it received the name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. When it releases its tail, Ragnarök will begin. So, I guess that makes the supermassive black hole at the galactic core the mouth eating it's own tail. Neat.
There is a better case to be made, if someone cares to do the research. All the stuff about the sun's path through the stars being a reflection of the soul's journey through life and the underworld until it's rebirth. That's why the sun is named Sol, you know. Then there is also the enlightening/obfuscating narrative about the Great Year as the equinoxes pass through the zodiac every 25,772 years.
"The first known appearance of the ouroboros motif (seen below) is in the Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld, an ancient Egyptian funerary text in KV62, the tomb of Tutankhamun, in the 14th century BC. The text concerns the actions of the god Ra (the sun god) and his union with Osiris in the underworld. The ouroboros is depicted twice on the figure: holding their tails in their mouths, one encircling the head and upper chest, the other surrounding the feet of a large figure, which may represent the unified Ra-Osiris (Osiris born again as Ra). Both serpents are manifestations of the deity Mehen, who in other funerary texts protects Ra in his underworld journey. The whole divine figure represents the beginning and the end of time." - so says Wikipedia about the Ouroborus
Oh, and that's not even pulling in all the similar references like the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl of South America. The Hindu texts and iconography back this stuff up too. I mean, take a look.
Every planet is a delicate bubble of heaven floating in a vast freezing radioactive hell, at least to any creature adapted to live within. Time is just the apocalypse of the big bang unfolding at a slow enough churn that we can sit back and really enjoy it.
Posted by Quibish at 5:07 PM


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How much soil is disturbed by shallow vertical tillage? The answer depends on the tool, the soil and the tillage depth, says Kevan Klingberg, a University of Wisconsin Extension outreach specialist. Many farmers value these implements to size residue, condition the seedbed and incorporate nutrients, he says. But when it comes to using these tools on erodible cropland, the watchwords should be "conservative and shallow."
In 2010, The University of Wisconsin's Discovery Farms program evaluated the effects of spring shallow vertical tillage on soil disturbance and residue cover. Tools from Great Plains and Summers were tested on 14 fields at five farms.
The study concluded that, on average, a single pass on silt loam soil tilled about 40% of the field to a 2-in. depth. About 60% of the field was undisturbed. In addition, the study found that 80% of corn residue remained on the surface after one pass, and 80% of the previous year's corn roots stayed in place. Intact roots "help minimize soil loss," says Klingberg, who led the research.
However, soil disturbance and residue cover varied significantly, depending on soil type, tillage machine characteristics and operating depth, Klingberg says. Sandy soils, aggressive blades and deeper operation all moved more soil and left less residue cover.
In addition, the soil conservation benefits of one-pass shallow vertical tillage disappeared with two passes, which disturbed just as much soil as tandem disking, Klingberg says. Likewise, vertical tillage tools with concave blades mounted on angled tool bars dislodged more corn roots and exposed more soil.
Minnesota research from 2010 to 2012 also measured residue disturbance after shallow vertical tillage. A single spring pass with a Salford RTS or Summers Super Coulter vertical tillage tool left about 70% corn residue cover – comparable to strip-till, says Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota Extension tillage expert. Two passes with a Salford RTS left 21-30% soybean residue cover and 39-58% corn residue cover.


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A new species of the cosmopolitan jellyfish genus Aurelia is described from the coastal waters of Mozambique using a combination of morphological, meristic and genetic information (COI and 18S). The species can be separated from congeners that have been recently described by a combination of bell shape, number of canal origins and anastomoses, and the shape of the manubrium and oral arms. Three types of nematocysts are present in the tissues of both the bell margin and oral arms, and this description of the cnidome will allow for future comparison. Pairwise genetic comparisons showed a mean COI divergence of 4.8% within the group, and a mean divergence ranging between 15% and 22% with all other species of Aurelia.
|Number of pages||14|
|State||Published - 19 Feb 2021|
Bibliographical noteFunding Information:
We would like to thank the officers and crew of the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen for their support at sea during this and other cruises that have allowed us to explore the diversity of African jellyfish. Special words of thanks are also due to our colleagues from IMR and the region for their help at sea. We are very grateful to the EAF Nansen Programme of the FAO for providing space for us on the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen, and for building jellyfish science into their on-going efforts in the region. Michael Brown is grateful to the National Research Foundation for bursary support and indeed, the analysis of data would not have been possible without wider support from the NRF. We would also like to thank Ross Spries for his contribution to some of the illustrations. We acknowledge the ongoing support provided by the University of the Western Cape. Delphine Thibault thanks the "Institut de Recherche pour le Développe-ment", Aix-Marseille Université and the LMI ICEMASA for financial assistance. We would also like to thank the editor and reviewers for their contributions, which served to strengthen the quality of this paper.
Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Animal Science and Zoology


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Projects per year
The increasing complexity of power systems has warranted the development of geographically distributed real-time simulations (GD-RTS). However, the wide scale adoption of GD-RTS remains a challenge owing to the (i) limitations of state-ofthe- A rt interfaces in reproducing faster dynamics and transients, (ii) lack of an approach to ensure a successful implementation within geographically separated research infrastructures (RIs) and (iii) lack of established evidence of its appropriateness for smart grid applications. To address the limitations in reproduction of faster dynamics and transients, this study presents a synchronous reference frame interface for GD-RTS. By means of a comprehensive performance characterisation, the superior performance of the proposed interface in terms of accuracy (reduced error on average by 60% and faster settling times) and computational complexity has been established. This study further derives the transfer function models for GD-RTS with interface characteristics for analytical stability analysis that ensure stable implementations avoiding the risks associated with multiple RI implementations. Finally, to establish confidence in the proposed interface and to investigate GD-RTS applicability for real-world applications, a GD-RTS implementation between two RIs at the University of Strathclyde is realised to demonstrate inertial support within transmission network model of the Great Britain power system.
- geographically distributed real-time simulations (GD-RTS)
- interface characteristics
- power systems
- smart power grids
- transfer functions
- transmission networks
- 1 Citations
- 1 Article
Real-time coupling of geographically distributed research infrastructures: taxonomy, overview and real-world smart grid applicationsSyed, M. H., Guillo-Sansano, E., Wang, Y., Vogel, S., Palensky, P., Burt, G. M., Xu, Y., Monti, A. & Hovsapian, R., 22 Oct 2020, (E-pub ahead of print) In: IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. 13 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-reviewOpen AccessFile


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Mar. 21, 2013 — As escalating corn prices have encouraged many farmers to switch to growing corn continuously, they wonder why they have been seeing unusually high yield reductions over the past several years. The University of Illinois conducted a six-year study that identified three key factors affecting yield in continuous corn (CC) systems.
"Prior to this study, the most common management recommendations for continuous corn production were to apply an additional 45 pounds of nitrogen per acre and reserve your best crop land for it," said U of I soil scientist and lead author Laura Gentry. "Very little was known about the agents or mechanisms causing reduced yields in continuous corn systems."
Although corn can be cropped continuously, it is widely accepted that there is a yield reduction compared to corn rotated with soybean (CS). This difference is referred to as the continuous corn yield penalty (CCYP), which is generally in the range of 20 to 30 bushels per acre. The 2012 growing season marked the third consecutive year of unusually high CCYP values in the U.S. Midwest, often with corn yields that were 30 to 50 bushels per acre less than corn following soybean.
The researchers conducted the experiment from 2005 to 2010 in east-central Illinois, beginning with corn produced in a third-year CC system or a CS rotation, at six N fertilizer rates. The study investigated: 1) how the yield penalty changed with time in CC, 2) under what conditions increasing the nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate reduced the penalty, and 3) what causes the penalty?
Each year, they determined an "agronomically optimum N rate" and corresponding yield value for each rotation (CC and CS). On average, corn yield at the agronomically optimum N rate for CC was 167 bushels, compared to 192 bushels per acre for CS -- a CCYP of 25 bushels per acre. CCYP values ranged yearly from 9 to 42 bushels per acre.
Matias Ruffo, a co-author of the paper and Worldwide Agronomy Manager at The Mosaic Co., said, "To explore the causes of the CCYP, we tested a number of different weatherand yield-related measurements for their relationships with the CCYP. We found that with just three predictors, we could estimate the CCYP with almost 100 percent accuracy." The predictors were: 1) unfertilized CC yield, 2) years in CC, and 3) the difference between CC and CS delta yields.
The researchers found that the best predictor of the CCYP was unfertilized CC yield. In years when unfertilized CC yields were relatively high, the yield penalty was low, and vice versa. Unfertilized CC yield is an indicator of how much N the soil is supplying to the corn crop, either from residual fertilizer N or from decomposition of previous crop residues and other organic matter (N mineralization).
The second predictor of the CCYP, years in CC, was also strongly correlated with the CCYP. CCYP got worse with each additional year in the CC system through the seventh year, when the study was terminated.
This conclusion is at odds with the claims of many Corn Belt farmers who argue that corn yields in CC eventually attain the same level as CS rotations. On average, the CCYP in this study increased by 186 percent from third-year CC to fifth-year CC and 268 percent from third-year CC to seventh-year CC.
"Yield reductions resulting from additional years of continuous corn production mirror the effects of residue accumulation when corn is cropped continuously," said U of I crop physiologist Fred Below, another co-author. "It is well documented that corn residues introduce a host of physical, chemical, and biological effects that negatively influence corn yields."
Effects of accumulated corn residues include reduced soil temperature, increased soil moisture, reduced N fertilizer availability, and production of autotoxic chemicals, all of which can negatively affect growth and future corn crop development.
The final predictor of the CCYP, difference in CC and CS delta yields (the difference between the yield where no N was applied and the maximum yield under non-N limiting conditions), is probably a function of weather conditions, particularly during critical growth periods such as ovule determination and grain fill. Drought and heat can disproportionately reduce yields of the CC system relative to the CS system. This principle was demonstrated during the 2012 drought, when farmers reported yield reductions as large as 50 bushels per acre for CC systems compared to CS.
Based on this study, the authors concluded that the CCYP persists for at least seven years. However, during very favorable growing seasons, increased N rates can overcome the CCYP. Unfortunately, higher N rates do not eliminate the CCYP during average or poor growing seasons. This study concluded that the primary causes of the CCYP are: N availability, corn stover accumulation, and unfavorable weather.
"Given that weather cannot be controlled, and the optimum N fertilizer rate can be determined only after crop harvest, managing corn stover has the greatest potential for reducing the CCYP," said Gentry. The same research team is collaborating on a follow-up study investigating the effect of stover removal and tillage on the CCYP.
- Laura F. Gentry, Matias L. Ruffo, Fred E. Below. Identifying Factors Controlling the Continuous Corn Yield Penalty. Agronomy Journal, 2013; 105 (2): 295 DOI: 10.2134/agronj2012.0246
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.


Trapped – Week 3
3 – Fear of Intimacy
4/5/17 (HS)
"All my intimate friends abhor me, and those whom I loved have turned against me." Job 19:19
1. Fear of intimacy makes us distant.
2. Fear of intimacy makes us defensive.
2. Take a prayerful relational risk for an intimate relational return.
It is scary to risk… but it is even scarier not to risk.
"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases." Solomon 8:4
1. Before you risk, you must find security, acceptance, and intimacy in Christ.
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you." Romans 15:7
Discussion Questions:
1. Have you ever thought about intimacy before? Do you see it as a deep need in your life?
2. Where have you tended to look for intimacy in the wrong places (outside of Christ)? How has that worked out for you?
3. Why is intimacy so risky? What scares you about intimacy?
4. Do you think you can have intimacy with others without Christ? How can you prioritize intimacy with Christ (concrete examples)?
5. What would your life look like if you broke free of this fear of intimacy?


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At Rent Mason Bees we provide an option to rent solitary bees because we want to offer a way for people to interact with and host native bee populations but not have to worry about doing the work the rest of the year. We realize that some people want the entire year experience of caring and cleaning mason bees, but for those who want to support bees and get their yards pollinated but not worry about cleaning all the mites off cocoons, sterilizing the nesting blocks and storing safely over winter, they rent from us.
Our rental program offers a way to be involved in your community's food sources and promote healthier urban and rural ecosystems with a minimal commitment. We are able to do this by finding hosts across the United States who want to pollinate their yards and then mail them a solitary bee kit. Hosts release healthy bees back to nature and watch their yards thrive. Solitary bees are one of nature's best pollinators. They visit over 2,000 blossoms a day and are known for "belly flopping" onto blossoms, gathering pollen all over their bodies which enables them to pollinate 95% of the flowers they land on.
Solitary bees are non-stinging and live and work by themselves. They don't make honey or live in a hive, which makes them non-aggressive. They gather their own food, find their own nests and lay their own eggs. Some bees will return to nature and utilize holes made by birds or insects to lay their eggs and others prefer to lay their eggs in the provided nesting blocks. In the fall, once the developing bees have spun their protective cocoons, hosts mail back their nesting blocks to RMB. The nesting blocks and bee cocoons are thoroughly cleaned and sorted to eliminate pests, including Houdini flies, that are a threat to native bee species. After all cocooned bees are cleaned, they are safely stored in hibernation over winter.
The following spring, healthy bees are returned to backyard gardens and sent to farmers across the U.S. to help them produce more food such as apples, blueberries, pears, cherries and almonds. One third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees, so you help farmers make more food and reduce the stressful workload placed on honeybee colonies when they work alongside solitary bees.


text:
|Alternative names||Dorkunu, komi|
|Place of origin||West Africa|
|Main ingredients||Ground corn|
Kenkey or Dorkunu or Komi is a staple dish similar to a sourdough dumpling from the Akan, Ga and Ewe inhabited regions of West Africa, usually served with a soup, stew, or sauce. Areas where kenkey is eaten are southern Ghana, eastern Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, western Benin, Guyana (where it is known as "konkee"), and Jamaica. It is usually made from ground corn (maize), like sadza and ugali. It is also known in Jamaica as dokunoo, dokono, dokunu, (the Asante refer to the same dish as 'Dɔkono' pronounced as 'Dorkono'), blue drawers, and tie-a-leaf. In the cuisine of the Caribbean, it is made with cornmeal, plantain, green banana, sweet potato(Asante and Jamaican version, which came from the Asanti version) or cassava, wrapped in banana leaves. The food is derived from African cooking traditions. Unlike ugali, making kenkey involves letting the maize ferment before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana leaves, corn husks, or foil, and steamed. There are several versions of kenkey, such as Ga and Fante kenkey.
- 6-8 cups of corn (maize) flour or cornmeal (ground corn or ground maize); (White cornmeal is preferred, it should be finely ground, like flour. Latin American style corn flour, as is used in tortillas, tamales, pupusas, etc. is the right kind)
- Banana leaves, or maize or corn husks, or aluminum foil to wrap dough in (the leaves or husks may be available at African, Asian, or Latino groceries)
Fermented cornmeal dough
In a large container combine the corn flour (or corn flour and grated cassava) with just enough warm water to dampen all of it. Mix well. Cover the container with a clean cloth. Set it in a warm place, such as a warmed oven or on top of the refrigerator, for two to three days. Fermentation may take longer than two days, especially in cool climates. (Note: a warmed oven is an oven that has been heated for a few minutes then turned off. The flour should ferment, not cook.) When it is properly fermented, it should have a slightly sour, but not unpleasant, aroma, like rising bread dough. Overly fermented corn flour will not taste right.
Prepare the corn flour as described above, and let it ferment for about six hours. Then mix one tablespoon of vinegar into the wet corn flour.
Soak the dry corn in water. After three days drain and wash the corn in fresh water. Grind it and add some water to make it into a dough with a smooth surface. Keep it in a warm place to ferment for two to three days before using it to prepare the kenkey. Before using it for the preparation the moldy surface on top should be removed and discarded.
- Knead the fermented dough with your hands until it is thoroughly mixed.
- In a large pot, bring one cup of water to a boil. Slowly add one part of the fermented dough. Cook for about ten minutes, stirring constantly and vigorously. Remove from heat. This half of the dough is called the "aflata".
- Combine the "aflata" with the remaining uncooked dough. Mix well. The proportion of raw dough to aflata determines the softness of the kenkey after cooking.
- Divide the "aflata"and raw dough mixture into serving-sized pieces. Wrap the pieces tightly in banana leaf, maize or corn husks, or foil. Banana leaves are more flexible if they have been briefly warmed in a hot oven or a pot of boiling water. The wrapped dough should look like burritos or tamales. Cooking string can be used to tie the wrapping closed.
- Place the wrapped dough packets on a wire rack above water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and steam for one to three hours, depending on their size and thickness. Serve room-temperature.
- Ga Kenkey is usually served hot with a red pepper sauce made of grounded chili pepper, onions and tomatoes; and a black pepper sauce locally called shito.
- Fante Kenkey is usually served warm with tomato gravy or palaver sauce. It may also go with any fish, poultry, or meat dish from Western Africa. In Ghana, guests are often served Fante Kenkey with red pepper sauce and canned sardines or fried fish, especially if they have arrived unannounced or after the family's evening meals.
The water used in boiling the kenkey is used as a drink when a maize or corn husks is used as the wrapper for cooking the kenkey. This water is called otinshi nu.
Note: Ready-to-use fermented cornmeal dough made especially for banku and kenkey may be available at African grocery stores and should be prepared according to package instructions.
- Jamaican Cooking: 140 Roadside and Homestyle Recipes.
- "Regional Dishes". touringghana. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- "KENKEY". Ghanaweb. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- Phil Bartle. "Kwasi Bruni; Corn and the Europeans". VCN.org.
- "West Africa Recipe - Cooking Kenkey". West Africa Secondary School, Accra Ghana. PBS Kids.
- "Questions and Answers > Food products > What is kenkey and how is it made?". Food-info.net. Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
- Fran Osseo-Asare (March 28, 2007). "Ghana-style Kenkey". Betumi.com.


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Studies towards small-molecule-receptors selective for phospholipid anionic head groups in bacterial membranes
Meece, Frederick A.
AdvisorBurns, Dennis H.
MetadataShow full item record
Receptors specific for inorganic anions have been described for several decades. Several of these anions, i.e. chloride, phosphate, and acetate are essential in biology. A novel neutral anion receptor specific for the phosphate containing head group of bacterial membrane fatty acids was conceptualized as part of a possible broad spectrum antibiotic. The receptor and several related derivatives were synthesized over fourteen steps. The most important step which involved placing ureidomethylene groups to a bis‐phenolic scaffold was developed as a novel method. The method was probed for scope and utility with a variety of aromatic nucleophiles. The aforementioned anion receptors were tested for binding capabilities against several inorganic anions, and against a synthetic tetrabutylammonium salt of a phospholipid. Several of the derivatives were also tested for antibiotic activity against several species of gram negative bacteria. Finally, the receptors were used to bind chloride anion in solvents containing a variable amount of water to determine if the presence of water would result in stronger anion binding.
Thesis (Ph.d.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Chemistry


text:
For most people in Virginia, their pensions and retirement accounts are one of the most valuable assets they have in their name. It is also one of the most important. Individuals will rely on those assets they have saved up when they retire from the workforce.
However, if individuals seek a divorce, they will have to divide the assets in their retirement. But they must do so properly, so they can preserve the assets they need and avoid tax consequences. In most cases, this requires a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO).
Yes, divorcing spouses have to divide their retirement
Virginia law requires spouses to divide their marital property equitably in a divorce. Usually, the retirement assets individuals collected during their marriage are considered marital property. Therefore, they must divide those assets like any other property they own according to:
- How long the marriage lasted;
- Each spouse's age and health;
- Each spouse's income;
- The value of the asset; and
- The financial needs of both spouses.
However, dividing retirement assets is not so simple. Individuals cannot simply list how they will divide the retirement assets in the property settlement agreement like their other assets.
Spouses must use QDROs to divide retirement assets
Individuals could face significant tax penalties if they withdraw assets from their retirement too early. So, spouses must obtain a QDRO to give another person – in this case, the soon-to-be-ex-spouse – the right to collect a portion of the assets and benefits. This order also prevents any withdrawals from the account from being subject to the 10% penalty fee, as long as the QDRO includes essential information, such as:
- The name of the individual who owns the retirement plan;
- The name of the ex-spouse, also called the alternate payee;
- The portion of the account the ex-spouse will receive; and
- How the ex-spouse will collect that portion.
QDROs apply to most retirement plans that are through an employer, such as a 401(k) or a 403(b).
This process is different if spouses have individual retirement accounts (IRAs). However, it still requires a specific type of transfer to avoid consequences and move the assets properly.
Dividing retirement assets can be one of the most complex aspects of the property division process. And it is essential to make sure the QDRO is drafted correctly to avoid consequences. The attorneys at Bowen Ten Long & Bal, PC, have extensive experience assisting Virginia families through property division and can help individuals protect their assets for the future after divorce.


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Topic: Directional microphone (Read 1 time) previous topic - next topic
Greetings.Is there any way to modify simple electret microphone so he can be used as directional microphone? I can use both hardware and software filtering.Microphone will be used for speech recognition.Distance from sound source should be between 3-10 feet.So, what do you think?
Put it at the focus of a parabolic reflector. There is nothing you can do to the electrical signal to make a single microphone directional.
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Spending Wisely on Health
According to the Institute of Medicine, in 2013, there was an estimated $765 billion in wasted health care expenditures due to low-value care, which shows that work still needs to be done to reduce its impact on our overall health care system.
Attempts to reduce cost-inefficient and clinically ineffective care, such as the Choosing Wisely initiative, have focused on the areas where there is general agreement on what constitutes low-value care. Identifying wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures has allowed physicians to make better decisions on a patient's care plan based on their unique situation and contributed to a reduction in the cost of care. Now, however, there is a need to move forward and understand where the new consensus exists on defining and measuring other areas of low-value care. Studies have shown that there are three areas where that consensus exists to begin further efforts to reduce low-value care and improve quality and lower costs. These areas include:
 - Medical errors, which are the highest priority reduction,
 - Pricing failures, and
 - Overuse and overtreatment.


The term "loose vagina" refers to the condition where the diameter of the vagina has increased. This is often caused by natural yet traumatic events such as giving birth or tissue relaxation due to the natural aging process. In these cases, it is essential to evaluate the cause and state of the vagina to exclude a prolapse or involvement of the muscles. The CO₂ fractional laser of the MonaLisa Touch allows treating those cases where the looseness of the vagina is caused by a loss of mucosal tone. For other causes, Dr. Brady provides surgical options including vaginal rejuvenation, or vaginoplasty.
At your initial consultation, we can determine the cause of your symptoms and options we can take to treat you unique circumstances. You can schedule your consultation by calling us at _PHONE_ or by filling out the form below.


dog bloody nose treatment
Bloody Noses in Dogs and Cats
Nose bleeds in dogs and cats can be mild with only drops of blood, but often the bleeding is severe and feels like it will never stop. There are many causes for a bloody nose to develop and your vet can help determine what the underlying cause is. Continue reading for more information and tips to help control the bleeding.
This article was written by a FirstVet vet
Did you know that FirstVet offers video calls with experienced vets? You can get a consultation within 30 minutes by downloading the FirstVet app for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Help! My Pet Has A Bloody Nose And She Is Sneezing Blood Everywhere!
1. If your dog or cat has a bloody nose, try to remain calm and keep your pet calm. If they get worked up their blood pressure will rise, and the bleeding will be worse.
2. Apply an ice pack to the bridge of the nose, but do NOT block the nostrils. The cold from the ice pack will help constrict the blood vessels and reduce the bleeding.
3. Do NOT put cotton or Q-tips up the nose as this will be likely to make your pet sneeze, causing the bleeding to worsen. We also don't want anything to get stuck inside the nose.
4. Start heading to your vet clinic or the local emergency clinic.
Causes of Bloody Noses in Dogs and Cats
There are many causes of bloody noses in dogs and cats, such as…
 - Low Platelets (thrombocytopenia): The body needs platelets to control bleeding and form a blood clot. If the platelet count is low, spontaneous bleeding can occur. You may also notice bruising on the skin, red dots on the gums (petechia), and black stools. Dogs can develop low platelets as a result of an autoimmune disease (immune-mediated thrombocytopenia), tick-borne diseases such as Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, and Babesia, adverse drug reactions, bone marrow dysfunction, and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). In cats, low platelets can develop with Feline Leukemia Virus and FIV, bone marrow issues, drug reactions, and DIC.
 - Clotting disorders are another cause of spontaneous bleeding. Von Willebrand's Disease (especially in Doberman Pinschers), hemophilia, liver disease, and rodenticide ingestion are common causes of clotting disorders
 - Fungal infections, such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Blastomyces in dogs, and Cryptococcus in cats
 - Trauma such as hit by car, running into the wall, rough play
 - Cancers, such as lymphoma, multiple myeloma, leukemia
 - Foreign body in the nostril or sinus such as a grass awn, kitty litter (dog or cat), etc.
 - High blood pressure (hypertension)
 - Tooth root abscess invading the sinuses
How can my vet determine which condition is causing the bloody nose?
After the complete physical exam, your vet will likely start with some basic blood work to check the red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet levels. A coagulation panel is often performed to assess the pet for clotting disorders. A chemistry panel is also part of the initial testing to assess the liver and kidney values, among other things.
A tick test should also be run to screen for tick-borne disease. Some fungal infections can be detected with special blood tests, but not all. In cats, testing for FIV and Feline Leukemia should be performed also.
Your pet's blood pressure will also likely be checked. However, pets that are scared and stressed may have high blood pressure at the vet but have normal blood pressure at home when they're relaxed. If your pet has multiple high blood pressure readings at the vet's office, they may recommend having a housecall vet come to your home to check the pressure when your pet is relaxed and see if treatment is really needed. Pets with kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, and adrenal gland diseases often have true hypertension that needs treatment.
If you know your pet ingested or may have been exposed to rat bait (rodenticide), let your vet know, call Animal Poison Control, and give them the exact name of the product used. Many rodenticides affect the coagulation cascade and can be treated with Vitamin K. However, some of the newer generations of rodenticides do not work on this pathway, so your vet needs to know exactly what was ingested.
If you saw your dog run into the wall (not paying attention when chasing the ball!), get hit in the nose with a toy, or other trauma was witnessed, let your vet know.
Fungal infections tend to be regionally distributed. Your vet will know if you're in an area where this is a concern. Let your vet know about any recent travel with your pet in case you were in a region with a higher risk of fungal exposure.
Radiographs of the mouth, skull, and chest are often needed if the cause of bleeding has not been found yet.
Finally, your pet may need more advanced imaging such as an MRI or CT scan to look into the sinuses further. Using a small camera (endoscope) to look into the nose and sinus is another potential step. If your pet has foreign material in the nose, like litter or a grass awn, it can often be removed during scoping.
Read more:
Pet First Aid: How to Treat Minor Wounds
First Aid Kit Checklist for the Dog Owner
First Aid Kit Checklist for the Cat Owner
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Image is a graphic about selecting a biogas upgrader technology for biomethane upgrading
Biogas Upgraders – The Best 3 Biogas to Biomethane Technologies
Biogas upgraders are facilities that are used to concentrate the methane in biogas to natural gas standards. The upgrading systems remove carbon dioxide (CO₂), hydrogen sulphide (sulfide), water and other trace concentration contaminants from the biogas. Upgraded biogas is called "biomethane."
Image is a graphic about selecting a biogas upgrader technology for biomethane upgradingWhat are the three top performing biogas upgrading technologies?
There are in fact 8 or more possible technologies for upgrading to biomethane. However, the three main upgrader technologies used for this purpose are:
 1. Water Wash technology (Water Scrubbing)
 2. PSA technology, (Pressure Swing Adsorption), and
 3. Membrane technology.
There are another two methods that are, by market-share slightly less used and those are:
- chemical scrubbing and
- cryogenics.
A shorter version of the text of this page is provided in our training video below. We suggest that you watch it and return to this page afterwards for answers to any questions you have.
How do Biogas Upgraders work?
All the biogas upgrader technologies work quite differently but the primary function is to separate the carbon dioxide from the methane molecules.
1. Water Scrubbing
Water scrubbing does it by absorbing the carbon dioxide into the water.
2. Pressure Swing Adsorption
PSA does it by selectively separating the molecules into a carbon structure.
3. Membrane Technology
And finally, membrane technology which does it by using a plastic or a polymer substance to be able to preferentially separate the two molecules, methane from carbon dioxide.
How do you decide which Biogas Upgrading Technology is most suitable for a specific RNG project?
That depends. It depends on what your feedstock is. It also depends on what the gas network's pipeline natural gas quality specification is.
Sometimes it goes direct to a CNG station, for use in vehicles directly, and that requires a different standard.
The outlet requirement for the resulting biomethane or RNG that's produced, is what will tend to govern the choice.
Outlet Requirements
The biomethane quality may have to meet a certain specification in terms of say, a small amount of oxygen remaining, or perhaps a higher caloric value. Such things dictate one technology over the other.
Similarly, a landfill biogas upgrader has a different requirement to an anaerobic digestion plant biogas. Landfill gas typically has high nitrogen and oxygen in the raw biogas, when compared with an anaerobic digestion plant biogas.
Those two factors would give you a different choice of upgrading technologies as well.
Different Needs of Landfill Gas Sourced Biogas and AD Plant Biogas
For example, with landfill gas, which has high oxygen and nitrogen, you might want to specifically use a PSA technology. PSA targets oxygen and nitrogen in the raw biogas to remove those.
But for something like a digester gas you might want to use water wash.
That would be a good example for that because you have good quality raw biogas going right into the pipeline or the CNG station.
What are the requirements for gas to be injected into the utility pipeline and how do you meet them?
Again, it depends on what the jurisdiction is.
In California, they apply one of the most stringent pipeline specifications almost anywhere. They require a very low oxygen concentration and have very high caloric value requirements.
Greenlane provided the first installation that injected into the SoCal pipeline grid which complies with their Rule 30. That was done with a combination of technologies.
It was achieved using Greenlane's water wash technology in combination with pressure swing adsorption as a polisher, to reach the specified low oxygen and the high caloric content.
What partnerships need to be established to develop an energy project?
That's a good question. There are usually several specialist partners needed in these kinds of projects.
If it's a digester project you'd have a digester technology provider. Coupled into that it's normal to have a digestate off-take agreement of some kind (like Greenlane), the provider must manage the liquids, and the solids.
Greenlane deal with the gaseous part of that, the gas.
They upgrade it and put it into the pipeline.
To put a package of this sort together you need he upgrader and an off-taker (gas grid network company). You also need a financing partner and the project owner will appoint and manage the parties involved.
The project owner (developer) normally devises and manages the whole project from the start.
There are lot of different companies involved and the key to success to the projects is to pull all the knowledgeable people together into one consortium and make the projects go.
Source: A pdf by Brad Douville of Greenlane Biogas [Link removed because this pdf is no longer available.]
More Information on Biogas Upgraders
Raw biogas produced from digestion is roughly 60% methane and 29% CO₂ with trace elements of H₂S. At this quality it is not high quality enough to be used as fuel gas for machinery. The corrosive nature of H2₂ alone is enough to destroy the internals of a plant.
The solution is the use of biogas upgrading or purification processes whereby contaminants in the raw biogas stream are absorbed or scrubbed. This leaves more methane per unit volume of gas.
There are four main methods [Wikipedia] of upgrading: water washing, pressure swing adsorption, selexol adsorbtion, and amine gas treating.
The most prevalent method is water washing whereby high pressure gas flows into a column in which the carbon dioxide and other trace elements are scrubbed. This is done by cascading water running counter-flow to the gas. This arrangement can deliver 98% methane with manufacturers guaranteeing maximum 2% methane loss in the system.
The adsorbent is then regenerated. For oxygen, a molecular sieve is used. For nitrogen a zeolite. For carbon dioxide and water, a zeolite or activated carbon is often used. via
Disadvantages of Biogas Upgraders
The process of upgrading biogas raises its value. It also generates new possibilities for its use since it can then replace natural gas, which is used extensively in many countries.
However, upgrading adds to the costs of biogas production.
It is therefore important to have an optimized upgrading process. Not only for low energy consumption, but also for high efficiency, and to give a high methane content in the upgraded gas.
Fugitive Emissions Risk
It is also very important to minimize, or if possible avoid, fugitive emissions of methane from the upgrading process. The reason is that methane has a greenhouse gas effect 23 times greater than that of carbon dioxide.
This means that the methane content in the reject gas, in the water from a water scrubber, or in any other stream leaving the upgrading plant should be minimized. via
Upgrader to Process Biogas Produced from Digesting Energy Crops
FLI Energy has selected Sheffield-based Chesterfield Biogas to supply an upgrader. The upgrader will process biogas produced from digesting energy crops such as maize.
The upgrader – which purifies the gas, so it can go into the national gas grid – is a big part of the project at Ellough, near Beccles, in Suffolk.
Demand for biogas – a form of renewable energy derived from organic waste – is expected to soar as the UK faces up to the challenges caused by climate change. via
Pentair Haffmans Biogas Upgraders – CO₂ Recovery Systems for Biogas
Pentair Haffmans's compact enclosed skid CO₂ recovery system can be connected to any existing biogas upgrading plant.
An increasing number of biomethane producers, want to have an effective carbon dioxide (CO₂) management to maximize yield and minimize environmental impact. That's both to bring gas-to-grid, or if they wish to produce CNG (bioCNG) or bioLNG.
Pentair Haffmans has launched a compact enclosed skid CO₂ recovery system that can be connected to any existing biogas upgrading plant. via
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 Hiya, I am really glad I've found this info. Biogas plants need to have upgrades in order for this renewable fuel to be used in student buses and coaches. Using biogas fuel this way will make the young students more aware of the biogas method as well and have a bigger effect to reduce carbon emissions, it is hoped.
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PLUTO is a freely-distributed software for the numerical solution of mixed hyperbolic/parabolic systems of partial differential equations (conservation laws) targeting high Mach number flows in astrophysical fluid dynamics. The code is designed with a modular and flexible structure whereby different numerical algorithms can be separately combined to solve systems of conservation laws using the finite volume or finite difference approach based on Godunov-type schemes. Equations are discretized and solved on a structured mesh that can be either static or adaptive. For the latter functionality, PLUTO relies on the Chombo library which provides a distributed infrastructure for parallel calculations over block-structured, adaptively refined grids. The static grid version of PLUTO is entirely written in the C programming language while the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) interface requires also C++ and Fortran. PLUTO is a highly portable software and can run from a single workstation up to several thousands processors using the Message Passing Interface (MPI) to achieve highly scalable parallel performance. The software is developed at the Dipartimento di Fisica, Torino University in a joint collaboration with INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino and the SCAI Department of CINECA.
References in zbMATH (referenced in 27 articles )
Showing results 1 to 20 of 27.
Sorted by year (citations)
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 1. Chernykh, Igor; Kulikov, Igor; Tutukov, Alexander: Hydrogen-helium chemical and nuclear galaxy collision: hydrodynamic simulations on AVX-512 supercomputers (2021)
 2. Keppens, Rony; Teunissen, Jannis; Xia, Chun; Porth, Oliver: \textttMPI-AMRVAC: a parallel, grid-adaptive PDE toolkit (2021)
 3. Kitamura, Keiichi; Mamashita, Tomohiro; Ryu, Dongsu: SLAU2 applied to two-dimensional, ideal magnetohydrodynamics simulations (2020)
 4. Fujimoto, Takeshi R.; Kawasaki, Taro; Kitamura, Keiichi: Canny-edge-detection/Rankine-Hugoniot-conditions unified shock sensor for inviscid and viscous flows (2019)
 5. Kulikov, I. M.; Chernykh, I. G.; Glinskiy, B. M.; Protasov, V. A.: An efficient optimization of Hll method for the second generation of Intel Xeon Phi processor (2018)
 6. Kulikov, I. M.; Chernykh, I. G.; Tutukov, A. V.: A new parallel Intel Xeon Phi hydrodynamics code for massively parallel supercomputers (2018)
 7. Kidder, Lawrence E.; Field, Scott E.; Foucart, Francois; Schnetter, Erik; Teukolsky, Saul A.; Bohn, Andy; Deppe, Nils; Diener, Peter; Hébert, François; Lippuner, Jonas; Miller, Jonah; Ott, Christian D.; Scheel, Mark A.; Vincent, Trevor: SpECTRE: A task-based discontinuous Galerkin code for relativistic astrophysics (2017)
 8. Lee, Dongwook; Faller, Hugues; Reyes, Adam: The piecewise cubic method (PCM) for computational fluid dynamics (2017)
 9. Mocz, Philip: Correspondence between constrained transport and vector potential methods for magnetohydrodynamics (2017)
 10. Chen, Yuxi; Tóth, Gábor; Gombosi, Tamas I.: A fifth-order finite difference scheme for hyperbolic equations on block-adaptive curvilinear grids (2016)
 11. Wołoszkiewicz, Piotr; Murawski, Krzysztof; Musielak, Zdzisław E.; Mignone, Andrea: Numerical simulations of Alfvén waves in the solar atmosphere with the PLUTO code (2014)
 12. Tordella, D.; Iovieno, M.; Massaglia, S.; Mignone, A.: Large-eddy simulation of hypersonic flows. Selective procedure to activate the sub-grid model wherever small scale turbulence is present (2013)
 13. He, Peng; Tang, Huazhong: An adaptive moving mesh method for two-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (2012)
 14. Keppens, R.; Meliani, Z.; Van Marle, A. J.; Delmont, P.; Vlasis, A.; van der Holst, B.: Parallel, grid-adaptive approaches for relativistic hydroand magnetohydrodynamics (2012)
 15. Kuiper, R.; Klahr, H.; Beuther, H.; Henning, Th.: On the stability of radiation-pressure-dominated cavities (2012)
 16. Mishra, Siddhartha; Tadmor, Eitan: Constraint preserving schemes using potential-based fluxes. III: Genuinely multi-dimensional schemes for MHD equations (2012)
 17. O'Sullivan, Stephen; O'Sullivan, Conall: On the acceleration of explicit finite difference methods for option pricing (2011)
 18. Waagan, K.; Federrath, C.; Klingenberg, C.: A robust numerical scheme for highly compressible magnetohydrodynamics: nonlinear stability, implementation and tests (2011)
 19. Fuchs, F. G.; McMurry, A. D.; Mishra, S.; Risebro, N. H.; Waagan, K.: High-order well-balanced finite volume schemes for simulating wave propagation in stratified magnetic atmospheres (2010)
 20. Mignone, Andrea; Tzeferacos, Petros: A second-order unsplit Godunov scheme for cell-centered MHD: the CTU-GLM scheme (2010)
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text:
The most economically valuable tree in Iowa is under a possible threat from a beetle that is about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.
Thousand cankers disease (TCD) has been killing black walnut trees in the Western U.S. since the 1990s. It is not currently in Iowa, but is as close as Rocky Ford, Colo., to the west and Knoxville, Tenn., to the south.
"The introduction of TCD into Iowa would have disastrous effects economically and environmentally to the wood industry in the state," said Tivon Feeley, with the forest health program at the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Iowa's estimated 979 million board feet of sawlog-sized black walnut standing in the woodlands is the third largest state volume in the nation and valued at nearly $1.5 billion. The economic loss in Iowa to woodland owners and associated businesses that annually harvest more than 9.3 million board feet would be an estimated $62 million per year.
"Some experts believe that TCD has the potential to decimate black walnut in the same way Dutch elm disease, emerald ash borer and chestnut blight have destroyed their respective hosts," Feeley said.
The disease is caused by a walnut twig beetle that carries a fungus which is spread as it tunnels through tree tissue. Beetles can reach high populations and numerous cankers can develop. Instead of one large girdling canker, tree decline and death appears to result from the high number of cankers.
"We placed two logs about eight inches in diameter and two feet long in a box and eventually recovered around 23,000 beetles," said Ned Tisserat, professor with Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management at Colorado State University.
Rapid detection and removal of infected trees is currently the primary means of managing thousand cankers disease. Stopping or slowing its spread from infested areas relies on quarantines of wood products and on public education.
In addition to Colorado and Knoxville, Tenn., the beetle has been killing black walnuts in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, California and New Mexico.
"It comes back to do not move wood," Feeley said. "The reason TCD is in Knoxville is because it was brought there in wood from a contaminated area from the west. Don't move firewood, wood logs or other untreated wood products."
Very little is known by the public about thousand cankers disease of black walnut, Feeley said.
"Scientists are investigating how serious of a threat this disease will be in the eastern U.S., and until more facts are learned, woodland owners are encouraged not to harvest their trees, but to continue working with their local forester to keep their woodland healthy," he said.
A more intensive survey of declining black walnut trees has been proposed in a grant to the U.S. Forest Service.


NavMesh building components API
Creating a NavMesh Agent
Advanced NavMesh Bake Settings
Min Region Area
The Min Region Area advanced build settings allows you to cull away small non-connected NavMesh regions. NavMesh regions whose surface area is smaller than the specified value, will be removed.
Please note that some areas may not get removed despite the Min Region Area setting. The NavMesh is built in parallel as a grid of tiles. If an area straddles a tile boundary, the area is not removed. The reason for this is that the area pruning happens at a stage in the build process where surrounding tiles are not accessible.
Voxel Size
Manual voxel size allows you to change the accuracy at which the bake process operates.
The NavMesh bake process uses voxelization to build the NavMesh from arbitrary level geometry. In the first pass of the algorithm, the scene is rasterized into voxels, then the walkable surfaces are extracted, and finally the walkable surfaces are turned into a navigation mesh. The voxel size describes how accurately the resulting NavMesh represents the scene geometry.
The default accuracy is set so that there are 3 voxels per agent radius, that is, the whole agent width is 6 voxels. This is a good trade off between accuracy and bake speed. Halving the voxel size will increase the memory usage by 4x and it will take 4x longer to build the scene.
Generally you should not need to adjust the voxel size, there are two scenarios where this might be necessary: building a smaller agent radius, or more accurate NavMesh.
Smaller Agent Radius
When you bake for an artificially smaller agent radius, the NavMesh bake system will also reduce the voxel size. If your other agent dimensions stays the same, it may not be necessary to increase the NavMesh build resolution.
The easiest way to do that is as follows:
 1. Set the Agent Radius to the real agent radius.
 2. Turn on the Manual Voxel Size, this will take the current voxel size and "freeze it".
 3. Set the artificially smaller Agent Radius, since you have checked on the Manual Voxel Size the voxel size will not change.
More Accurate NavMesh
If your level has a lot of tight spots, you may want to increase the accuracy by making the voxel smaller. The label under the Voxel Size shows the relation between the voxel size and Agent Radius. A good range is something between 2–8, going further than that generally results really long build times.
When you intentionally build tight corridors in your game, please note that you should leave at least 4 * voxelSize clearance in addition to the agent radius, especially if the corridors are at angles.
If you need smaller corridors than the NavMesh baking can support, please consider using Off-Mesh Links. These have the additional benefit that you can detect when they are being used and can, for example, play a specific animation.
Further reading
NavMesh building components API
Creating a NavMesh Agent