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Naval Health Services Memorial
Over recent timeswhat was the Naval Health Services has undergone a significant transformation, becoming part of a unified Defence Health Services organisation. To many past members of the wider naval community this has gone largely unnoticed. It is therefore fitting that a tribute to the valiant deeds performed by these dedicated men and women is recalled in a memorial located in the Mosman War Memorial Remembrance Gardens, situated near the site of our former largest naval hospital, at HMAS Penguin.
The Mosman War Memorial was originally dedicated to servicemen and women of the First World War but has since included those who served in the Second World War and subsequent conflicts. The poignant smaller memorial in commemoration of the men and women of the Royal Australian Naval Health Services was jointly unveiled on 30 August 2015 by the then Director General Health Capability and Director General Navy Health Services, Commodore Elizabeth Rushbrook, RAN and the President of the NSW Branch of the Naval Health Services Association and great stalwart of the Association, ex-POSBA Ron Rosenberg.
The ceremony was well attended by past and present members of the naval medical fraternity and their families. The guest speaker was Dr. Ken Hay. For this task he was well qualified as a former Sick Berth Attendant, becoming a POSBA (L), who left the service in 1967 to pursue a medical degree in Perth, WA. Ken later served as a Surgeon Lieutenant RANR but because of other commitments has since retired. Dr. Hay's fine speech is worthy of a wider audience.
Royal Australian Naval Health Services Memorial at Mosman War Memorial Remembrance Gardens Family Archive
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is an honour and privilege to be asked to speak at this ceremony and to witness the culmination of the project to establish this memorial.
The project was conceived in 2013 over a lunch in Secret Harbour, WA, attended by John and Barbara Rae, Ian and Jan Lorimer and my wife Maureen and me. John, Ian and I had served together at Cerberusand Penguinin the early 1960s. At the lunch we discussed the closure of the naval hospitals at Penguin, Cerberusand Tarangauon Manus Island, where I served through 1965. We came to the conclusion that there should be a memorial to those hospitals and to those who served in them.
John committed to doing something about it and set about the recruitment or, more precisely, the shanghai-ing of Ron Rosenberg, President of the New South Wales Branch of the Naval Health Services Association, Jim Chapman, Jock and Tina Heath and others, all with the able assistance of Barbara. And here we are today.
I must say that without the optimism, dogged persistence and determination of John and Barbara the whole thing would most likely have been just another bright idea, the flame of which flared, fluttered and died.
Now, back to the navy hospitals and, by way of example I will focus on Balmoral Naval Hospital but most of what I say applies also to the Cerberushospital. I am acutely aware of, and ask you to bear in mind, that the time frame for my comments began 55 years ago. Also, the inevitable and continuous processes of change have rendered my navy experience incompatible with today's navy.
Balmoral Naval Hospital was more than just a place where ill and injured sailors, of allranks, were sent for medical or surgical treatment. In my view, the presence of that hospital, and the others, projected a powerful image of a navy that cared for and looked after its people in sickness as well as in health.
It also enabled the ill and injured sailors to be treated without leaving the comfort zone and the camaraderie of the mess decks. While in hospital they were in the company of, and were treated by, their peers.
These hospitals were the prime training venues for Sick Bay Staff. There was a Medical Training School at both Cerberusand Penguin hospitals. We junior Sick Berth Attendants learned the basics and the refinements of good nursing care under the supervision of some wonderful, old school nursing sisters likeMatron Maud Jones and Sisters Patti Vines, Barbara Lawry, Carmel Scarfe and others. We learned to understand and to dispense compassion. We learned the tolerance and patience required to nurse the ill and injured.
We were instructed in the ways of the navy by senior Sick Berth Attendants like Chief Petty Officers George Powell, Ron Josey, Doug Hay (not related), Reg Black, Les Hart and Bill Pope. Most of these senior sailors were World War Two or Korean War veterans.
There were senior doctors like Surgeon Captain Brian (BTT) Treloar, Surgeon Captain Armstrong and Surgeon Commanders John Cotterell and John Mitchell. Then there were a number of very junior, inexperienced Surgeon Lieutenants mostly serving out four year, post graduate, navy scholarship commitments. They were not much older than us and some envied our lifestyle. They contributed to our medical education. Many of them, after completing their naval service, went on to become highly respected specialists in various fields.
We worked in the hospital wards on general nursing duties and did the occasional one week of night duty. We were rotated through outpatients, laboratory, x-ray, specialist clinics, medical stores and ambulance escort and attended lectures in the Medical Training School.
After we had proven our worth most of us, by now Able Bodied Sick Berth Attendants, were seconded off to places like Royal Prince AlfredHospitaltobetrainedasLaboratory, Operating Theatre and X-ray Technicians. There was no formal or structured learning process, we just went off and learned what we could. It was probably not the best way for us to learn those skills but we did it and brought the skills back to the navy – and sewed on our right arm rates.
Penguinwas certainly not a bed of roses but, in the best traditions of the services everywhere, we made the most of it and it helped build our characters. As junior sailors we lived in an open mess deck housing about thirty people devoid of privacy, with just a single wooden locker and a bunk to call home. Relationships were sometimes strained but I never did witness a mess deck fight. We learned all about tolerance. We worked in two watches which meant we could only go ashore on alternate nights and alternate weekends. Our average age was about 21 and, while we were working, our long haired, red blooded, sun tanned, civilian peers flopped about on Bondi Beach and raised Cain in Kings Cross etc. We resented that and tried our hardest to offer them a little competition. The wet canteen was only one flight of stairs away and the entertainment highlight of each week was watching The Flintstones on a black and white TV set up in the mess hall. We were lucky to see the screen through the pall of smoke.
There was the occasional drama: at about 1030 on 11 October 1960 HMAS Woomera, while dumping obsolete ammunition, suffered an accidental explosion and sank with the loss of two lives about 20 miles off Sydney Heads. We were still undergoing training but most of us, still wearing our hospital whites, were despatched to the wharf at Penguin and put aboard a workboat. Surgeon Commander Mitchell was also there, as well as a few seamen. The boat got under way and we progressed through the heads and out into the Pacific Ocean. Some time later we saw a naval ship approaching. We had no radio so a seaman rating climbed onto the roof of the workboat with a couple of us holding his legs and proceeded to semaphore the ship using two sailor's caps. It turned out the ship was HMAS Quickmatchand with all the survivors aboard was proceeding post haste into Sydney. So we turned about and wallowed back to Penguin.
And, of course, Balmoral Naval Hospital played a significant role after the terribleVoyagerdisaster. I had been posted to Leeuwin only a few weeks before. Don Nash, one of my contemporaries, was still there and wrote an excellent account of his involvement that was published in LCDR Jeppesen's book, Constant Care.
We endured Penguin for about three and a half years during which time sailors who had enlisted with us in other branches had been posted to ships at sea, many for the second or third time. Then eventually our postings started to come through and we went our separate ways but sharing friendships that have lasted lifetimes and countless memories both good and bad. Not by design, but I never did go to sea.
The hospital at Tarangau was different. There we cared for navy personnel, their wives and children and the civil administration population at Lorengau. Then there was the estimated 14,000 indigenous population of Manus Island. They rarely required our services but when they did it was usually serious stuff.
Our one doctor worked hard at general practice medicine, surgery and obstetrics. The nursing sister administered anaesthetics. There was one Operating Theatre Technician, a Chief Petty Officer Pharmacist Rate and one Laboratory Technician – me. When we had serious surgical problems my job was to arrange blood transfusions by taking blood from donors, doing the blood groups and crossmatch then scrubbing up to assist the doctor. We did have the support of civilian, indigenous and some PNG navy people trained in these various fields. Another of my roles was to supervise the native hospital where we admitted those with non-life-threatening illness but requiring admission. Seriously ill native patients were admitted to the main hospital. The native hospital had a maternity ward run by a very competent native male midwife.
The nearest medical help was at Rabaul but only rarely did we need it, usually for worrisome obstetric patients.
My experiences there, with the support and encouragement of an enlightened and extremely competent doctor, Surg. Lt Brian McDonald, cemented my ambition to become a doctor.
The early 1960s were relatively quiet in terms of hostilities and natural disasters. The Vietnam War was still ramping up but it wasn't long before some of my peers were on active service there with the helicopter squadrons serving ashore or in the destroyers on the gun line. The period since has seen medical staff who were trained in the navy hospitals serving in all sorts of hot spots involving hostilities and natural disasters. Some made the supreme sacrifice. This memorial honours all those who made the supreme sacrifice before, during and since the 1960s. It is also a memorial to the navy hospitals and acknowledges the service of all health professionals who have served in the Royal Australian Navy.
The Naval Hospitals – as we knew them – no longer exist. But they live on in the memories of those of us who lived and worked there; those who simply worked there; and those who were treated there. And they played a major role in the formative years of many impressionable young men and women.
It is not my place to comment on today's Navy Health Services – I know little of them and there is nothing to be gained in comparisons of the ways of the past with the ways of today. And fifty years hence the navy will not be comparable with today's navy. Change is inevitable and continuous.
To close, it is my hope and wish that this memorial will become a perpetual reminder that an old fashioned navy hospital once existed near this place. Perhaps, from time to time, an occasional school teacher will bring students here, show them this shrine, and the others, and ask them to research their history.
The RAN and the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic
Editor's Note: This article first appeared in Issue 6 of Semaphore, the publication produced by The Sea Power Centre Australia in March 2006. We are indebted to them for their permission to reproduce the article.
Between April 1918 and May 1919, influenza, or its secondary complications, caused up to 50 million deaths, far more than had been killed in four years of war. Many died within the first few days of infection, and nearly half of these were young, healthy adults. The speed with which it spread has been described as '…perhaps the most extraordinary feature of this extraordinary pandemic…', for the easy transfer, from shore to ship and ship to shore, meant that even communities isolated by sea were vulnerable. A rigorous maritime quarantine policy reduced the immediate impact in Australia, but by the end of 1919 the nation had still suffered more than 11,500 deaths.
The ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), dispersed as they were around the world, were certainly not spared. The pandemic occurred in waves and the cruisers operating with the British Grand Fleet suffered several outbreaks in 1918, with up to 157 cases in a single ship. Outbreaks in the Mediterranean were even more severe with the cruiser HMAS Brisbane recording 183 cases between November and December 1918, of whom two died of pneumonia. In all, the RAN lost some 26 men to the disease. When the cramped mess decks and poorly ventilated living spaces of early 20th century warships are recalled, it is perhaps remarkable that the toll was not greater. The saving factor was largely the ready availability of professional medical treatment.
Some of the most virulent outbreaks occurred in the islands of the South Pacific, where few among the indigenous populations escaped infection. The disease arrived on the regular cargo vessel SS Talune, which had sailed from Auckland on 30 October 1918, knowingly carrying sick passengers. Successively calling at ports in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Nauru, the steamer's visits were marked by the first cases of influenza appearing ashore a few days after her departure. With local authorities generally unprepared, the infection spread uncontrollably, a situation aggravated both by the shortage of suitable drugs and the fact that local health workers were among the first to fall.
Hardest hit was the former German territory of Samoa, where inept New Zealand administration resulted in no attempts at patient isolation and the rejection of medical assistance offered from nearby American Samoa. With the forced closure of government institutions and stores, few people being in a fit state to assist with the distribution of food and medicines, and a growing number of uninterred dead, the Samoan situation rapidly became critical. On 19 November the military governor in the capital of Apia telegraphed Wellington for help, but had his request turned down on the grounds that all doctors were needed in New Zealand. Australia offered the only alternative source of aid.
The Commonwealth Naval Board was already aware of the developing regional crisis. The sloop HMAS Fantome, stationed at Suva in Fiji for police duties, had reported her first cases of influenza on 11 November, and soon had more than half her ship's company incapacitated. More importantly in terms of an effective Australian response, of all government departments only the RAN had suitable assets at immediate readiness. On 20 November, the Board began gathering a joint relief expedition from among the available naval and military medical personnel, placing it under the command of Surgeon Temple Grey, RAN. The commanding officer of HMAS Encounter, Captain Hugh Thring, RAN, was then ordered to embark the expedition at Sydney and proceed at the earliest possible date to Samoa.
Even today the speed of Encounter's response must be admired. Her sailing orders were telegraphed from Melbourne on Friday, 22 November, and throughout the next day and night the ship's company worked tirelessly to get in relief stores. Without any information from Samoa as to specific requirements, Thring loaded almost 150 tons of cargo ranging from blankets and tents through to drugs and dry provisions, expecting that these would meet any emergency. The weekend created further difficulties as shops were shut and some items not in stock had to be purchased. Nevertheless, on Sunday forenoon the medical teams embarked, the last of the stores were in by 1550, and ten minutes later Encounter sailed from Sydney.
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The Health of the Navy
Its Influence on Battle Outcomes In Nelson's Day
We tend to believe that the long distance voyages in the days of sail were riddled with death and disease, notably scurvy, because the sailing time was extended and because the sailors missed the benefits of land-based recreation and balanced diets. This was true to some extent, especially before people like James Cook showed that careful planning, navigation and attention to some basic essentials such as diet, sanitation and hygiene could not only keep sailors healthy but would save lives.
There is a lot of relevant history leading up to the period of exploration which gradually unraveled some of the medical mysteries of deficiency diseases and it might be possible to return to that later. Meanwhile there were certainly expeditions during Nelson's time which came to grief because ships' crews were decimated by disease; or they were so severely weakened that they required assistance to limp into port. Such an embarrassing experience occurred in 1802 when the French ship Geographe under Nicolas Baudin reached Port Jackson.
Baudin barely made it into Port Jackson and spent the next five months recuperating and replenishing supplies – a situation at the time that begged the questions as to what did the French knew about scurvy and what preventive measures did they practice to avoid the disease. The crews of the Geographe and the Naturaliste were also severely attacked by dysentery when they landed in Timor. The sad consequence for many of the French captains was that they too suffered and a significant number did not return home after months or years at sea.
Though Baudin's medical officers were much less aware of the causes, prevention and treatment of scurvy than their British counterparts, they nevertheless showed impressive clinical skills and keen interest in medical research. On their return to France two of them published doctoral theses on scurvy and a third published a thesis on dysentery. Francois Peron, a naturalist and a medical graduate from Paris, who belatedly published the journal from this voyage, also wrote on medical aspects of the expedition.
Thirty or forty years later when passengers paid to emigrate to Australia from England the death rates on hundreds of successful voyages were considerably lower than for the shorter trans-Atlantic crossings to America. And the logical reason for this is shown by the reports extant from surgeon superintendents on each ship who kept meticulous records. Their recommendations regarding diet, exercise, hygiene and sanitation were adhered to because the surgeon's word on these matters was accepted as law. There are many types of illness that can affect the efficiency of a crew just to sail a ship let alone go into battle against an aggressive, determined enemy. Well before Nelson's time sea voyages had become a matter of endurance, long drawn-out expeditions of uncertain or unpredictable outcome. The early explorers had no idea what to expect and generally were unprepared for the uncertainties of resupply of essentials like water and fresh fruit.
Trade and Colonisation
Not until regular trade routes were established to India or the West Indies did they find reliable sources of food and water at regular ports of call. As ships and navigation improved, the sea-going nations encouraged their sailors to go further into the unknown, to explore and to investigate potential trade routes, but for centuries the distance and time at sea were always their enemies.
It seems that trade and colonisation were the two factors that created intense competition between the various sea-faring nations, the one following the other as a necessary protection for their valuable business investments. As one thing led to another one might expect the protection of such national enterprises which included trade in spices, sugar, gold, ivory and slaves to lead to fierce competition and even conflict between nations. On some occasions it led to war.
Some of these nations were already at war across Europe, including Russia and even North America, so that at various times during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it is understandable that their navies were constantly recognizing new allies and confronting new adversaries.
At the time of both the American war of independence against Britain (1776) and the French Revolution (1789) the resources of all countries involved were stretched, even before the extra burden imposed by the Imperialist campaigns of Napoleon. In the ten year period from 1774 the Royal Navy increased in size from 103 ships with 17,000 men to 430 warships with more than 107,000 men.
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Green and Gold Malaria
The day would soon arrive when I could not ignore the rash. I was obviously ill and so I called on Doctor Nash. This standard consultation would adjudicate my fate. I walked into his surgery and gave it to him straight:
'Doc, I wonder if you might explain this allergy of mine, I get these pins and needles running up and down my spine. From there, across my body, I will suddenly extend – My neck will feel a shiver and the hairs will stand on end.
And then there is the symptom that only a man can fear – A choking in the throat, and the crying of a tear.' Well, the Doctor scratched his melon with a rather worried look. His furrowed brow suggested that the news to come was crook.
'What is it Doc?' I motioned. 'Have I got a rare disease? I'm man enough to cop it sweet, so give it to me, please.' 'I'm not too sure,' he answered, in a puzzled kind of way. 'You've got some kind of fever, but it's hard for me to say.
When is it that you feel this most peculiar condition?' I thought for just a moment, then I gave him my position: 'I get it when I'm standing in an Anzac Day parade, And I get it when the anthem of our native land is played,
And I get it when Meninga makes a Kiwi-crunching run, And when Border grits his teeth to score a really gutsy ton. I got it back in '91 when Farr-Jones held the Cup, And I got it when Japan was stormed by Better Loosen Up.
I get it when the Banjo takes me down the Snowy River, And Matilda sends me waltzing with a billy-boiling shiver. It hit me hard when Sydney was awarded the Games, And I get it when I see our farmers fighting for their names.
It flattened me when Bertrand raised the boxing kangaroo, And when Perkins smashed the record, well, the rashes were true blue. So tell me, Doc,' I questioned, 'am I really gonna die?' He broke into a smile before he looked me in the eye.
As he fumbled with his stethoscope and pushed it out of reach, He wiped away a tear and then he gave me this stirring speech: 'From the beaches here in Queensland to the sweeping shores of Broome, On the Harbour banks of Sydney where the waratah's in bloom.
From Uluru at sunset to the Mighty Tasman Sea, In the Adelaide cathedrals, at the roaring MCG. From the Great Australian Bight up to the Gulf of Carpentaria, The medical profession call it 'green and gold malaria'.
But forget about the text books, son, the truth I shouldn't hide.
The rash that you've contracted here is 'good old Aussie pride'.
I'm afraid that you were born with it and one thing is for sure
You'll die with it young man, because there isn't any cure.'
HMS Byron and the Captain's Appendix
HMS Byron was one of the 78 American-built Destroyer Escorts (DEs) acquired by the Royal Navy as welcome additional convoy escort vessels under Lend-Lease arrangements, and immediately employed in the Battle of the Atlantic. The following account recalls an unusual incident, unrelated to enemy action, during a return convoy from North Russia.
The US-built Destroyer Escorts in Royal Navy service during WW2 were never really considered robust enough to be considered 'Destroyer Anything' and were reclassified by the Royal Navy as frigates. On their arrival in the UK, they were stripped of many of their original American refinements (out went the coffee percolators and drinking water coolers) to be replaced by more mundane regular-issue items (in came depth charges and Hedgehog mortars) to bring the new renamed Captain Class ((32 USN DEs of the Evarts Class were lent to the RN, of which five were lost, and the remainder returned to the USA for scrapping after the war. The Captain Class frigates of WW2 were all named after distinguished Captains RN.))1 up to Western Approaches standards. However, for our current purposes, the salient facts were the state-of-the-art Sick Bay and the 27 foot Montagu whaler seaboat on the port side.
The Sick Bay
The lavishness of the Sick Bay and its equipment was not matched by the expertise of the sole member of the medical staff. Leading Sick Berth Attendant Stockwell was an admirable fellow in many ways, much admired for his open-handedness with the family planning requisites and the elegant way he read us the more lurid passages from the chapter on anti-social diseases in his Seafarer's Medical Companion. He would be the first to admit, however, that Doctor Crippen ((Dr. Crippen was a notorious serial murderer, caught and sentenced to gaol in the late 19th Century.)) was better qualified medically.
It was against this surgical background that our Captain developed appendicitis. Now the Captain, Lieutenant Commander Ken Southcombe, Royal Navy, was a gentleman to his fingertips and one would have expected him either to have his appendix brew up in the privacy of his own home, or at the very least, within comfortable hailing distance of the Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar. ((RN Hospital Haslar, Gosport (near Portsmouth) was a formidable establishment, built during the Napoleonic Wars, to restore wounded sailors to further service, and later in living memory, feared for its reputation of retaining naval patients for at least a fortnight (for observation) before their release back to their ships, no matter what their suffering, diagnosis, or treatment!)) Not so. The spot he chose was off North Cape, in a violent snowstorm, on our way back from Murmansk. We reviewed our surgical capabilities: things were not encouraging.
The Seafarer's Companion and Medical Expertise
The Seafarer's Companion had some fascinating diagrams, in full colour, of the human internal pipework, but they looked tricky to follow, and the First Lieutenant, and honorary ship's Medical Officer, David Repard, admitted that his recollections of his Dartmouth First Aid Course did not bring to mind any mention of 'hands-in' surgery. Our only hope – we put it that way, rather than 'the Captain's only hope' – was to be talked through the procedure by the Escort Group's Doctor, who was way out on the beam of the convoy in HMS Redmill (a sister ship). According to Damon Runyon, the chances of anything happening are seven to four against, but the doctor did not rate ours as high as this, so he decided to come across to our ship.
Far from being a solution, this decision compounded the problem. It was nearly dark, snow showers had reduced visibility to about a cable, we were rolling gunwales under, there was heavy cloud, with nothing much visible anywhere, even supposing there had been anything to see. As an added complication, we were towing Foxers, ((Unifoxers – a mechanical pipe noisemaker towed astern of convoy escorts to decoy acoustic torpedoes – a very cheap and highly effective device for its purpose.)) and therefore had a lot of wire out over the stern. Nevertheless, undaunted, we launched the whaler.
The Seaboat
The seaboat's crew was not the carefully selected group of experts one might expect under the circumstances, but as was common practice aboard Byron, all alarms and excursions were dealt with by the cruising Watch on Deck – in this case, B gun's crew. The only exception on this occasion was that the expedition was put in the charge of Mr. Midshipman Peter Topping RNVR, an appointment which he maintains to this day was a tribute to his seamanship skills, rather than, as was suspected at the time, that Mr. Topping had just sufficient seniority to divert criticism from everybody else if disaster should strike.
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Fish Oil May Help Prevent Heart Disease, But Not Cancer: Study
TUESDAY, March 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Every day, millions of Americans pop a fish oil supplement -- rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids -- in hopes it'll improve their health.
A big new data review suggests they may be half right: The supplements may slightly reduce a person's risk of heart disease, but they won't ward off cancers.
In fact, men who took the supplements actually had a slight uptick in their risk for prostate cancer, noted a British team led by Dr. Lee Hooper of the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England.
Overall, "if we take omega-3 supplements for several years, we may very slightly reduce our risk of heart disease, but balance this with very slightly increasing our risk of some cancers. The overall effects on our health are minimal," Hooper explained in a university news release.
One U.S. expert unconnected to the research agreed that omega-3 supplements are not a panacea.
"At this point in time, maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a proper diet, regular aerobic exercise, and good sleep patterns can do more to prevent cancer than fish oils," said Dr. Guy Mintz, who directs cardiovascular health at Northwell Health's Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital, in Manhasset, N.Y.
"The take-away message here is, do not take fish oil to prevent cancer," Mintz said. "It does not help and may hurt."
But he added that the story may differ considerably when it comes to cardiovascular benefits -- especially if a person takes a "prescription strength" form of fish oil.
As Hooper's team explained, small amounts of omega-3 are needed for good health and can be found in foods, including nuts, seeds and fatty fish, such as salmon.
There are also over-the-counter omega-3 supplements, typically fish oil. These are popular because people believe they'll protect against, or even reverse, diseases such as cancer, heart attack and stroke.
But is that really so? To find out, Hooper's team analyzed data from 47 trials involving adults put into three categories: no cancer; at increased risk of cancer; or had a prior cancer diagnosis.
The investigators also looked over data from 86 trials that focused on heart disease-related events.
Overall, the trials included more than 100,000 people who either increased their intake of long-chain omega-3 fats (fish oils) or maintained their usual intake for at least a year.
The "end points" studied were death from any cause or from cancer or heart disease specifically, or any new diagnosis of cancer, heart attack or stroke.
The team found that omega-3 supplements may slightly reduce the risk of death from heart disease, but they also slightly increased the risk of prostate cancer. The investigators also stressed that both the benefits and harms of fish oil supplements appear to be small.
For example, if 1,000 people took omega-3 supplements for about four years, three people would avoid dying from heart disease, six people would avoid a major heart problem such as a heart attack, and three extra people would develop prostate cancer.
The findings were outlined in two reviews published Feb. 28 in the British Journal of Cancer and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
"Our previous research has shown that long-chain omega-3 supplements, including fish oils, do not protect against conditions such as anxiety, depression, stroke, diabetes or death," Hooper added.
And, she suggested, getting fish oil directly from fish -- not in supplement form -- might yield stronger results.
"The evidence on omega-3 mostly comes from trials of fish oil supplements, so health effects of oily fish, a rich source of long-chain omega 3, are unclear," Hooper said. "Oily fish is a very nutritious food as part of a balanced diet, rich in protein and energy as well as important micronutrients such as selenium, iodine, vitamin D and calcium -- it is much more than an omega-3 source."
Mintz also believes that a purified fish oil in prescription form -- a drug called icosapent ethyl (brand name Vascepa) -- has shown a potent effect against heart disease in a recent trial.
When taken along with a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, daily use of the 4-gram dose of Vascepa by heart patients seemed to produce a 25% reduction in outcomes such as death by heart disease, non-fatal heart attack or stroke, and the chest pains known as angina, Mintz said. That study was published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.
It's not clear why Vascepa had this robust effect while "regular" fish oil supplements do not, Mintz said, but it could be due to the drug's effects on inflammation or cholesterol levels.
Dr. Elena Ivanina is a gastroenterologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. Reading over the British study, she said that "the take-home is that it's great to get omega-3 fatty acids from natural food sources like nuts, seeds and fatty fish, but there is not enough evidence showing a health benefit to taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements at this time."
Study author Hooper agreed.
"Considering the environmental concerns about industrial fishing and the impact it is having on fish stocks and plastic pollution in the oceans, it seems unhelpful to continue to take fish oil tablets that give little or no benefit," she said.
The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health has more on omega-3 fatty acids.
SOURCES: Guy Mintz, M.D., director of cardiovascular health & lipidology, Northwell Health's Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital, Manhasset, N.Y.; Elena Ivanina, M.D., gastroenterologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; University of East Anglia, news release, Feb. 28, 2020
Arm Care After a Stroke
Atrial Fibrillation and Stroke Prevention
Apolipoprotein A
Aspirin, ASA; Dipyridamole capsules
Dietary Supplement Quiz

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Receive a 1 Week Supply (7 Count Box) of Sleep Squares in Original Chocolate flavor. For best results, take 1 Sleep Square 30 minutes prior to sleep.
I was on a plane home from New Zealand when I took this product. It put me right asleep which I was very grateful for! I could feel myself getting sleepy after about 15 minutes of taking this product. This little chocolate kept me asleep for a good 5 hours while on a loud plane. It was in the middle of the day NZ time, so I should have been wide awake.
I do have a hard time falling asleep at night. And these little Chocolate squares helped me fall asleep faster and wake up well rested in the morning!


text:
Q: Doubt regarding the existence of conjugate points on timelike geodesics The expansion of a timelike geodesic congruence with (normalized) tangent vector field $\xi^a$ is defined as $\theta=\nabla_a\xi^a$. Assuming the strong energy condition, $R_{ab}\xi^a\xi^b\geq 0$, and that the congruence is hypersurface-orthogonal (i.e. $\nabla_b\xi_a=\nabla_a\xi_b$), then the time evolution of $\theta$ obeys the following equation (Wald 1984, Sec. 9.2): $$\theta^{-1}(\tau)\geq\theta_0^{-1}+\frac{1}{3}\tau\tag*{(1)}$$ From this it follows that for negative initial expansion, $\theta_0<0$, $\theta^{-1}(\tau)$ approaches zero on the negative side as $\tau$ increases, meaning the expansion $\theta$ diverges to $-\infty$. Gravity is attractive!
So far so good... But what if the initial expansion were positive? In that case $\theta(\tau)$ remains positive for all $\tau$, approaching zero for $\tau\rightarrow\infty$. From how I understand it, this seems to be saying that there is no matter distribution (satisfying the strong energy condition) that can re-converge an initially expanding geodesic congruence. But that seems obviously wrong. The initially-expanding geodesics of particles passing sufficiently close to, say, a planet can obviously reconverge due to deflection by gravity right? Indeed, the point of this whole section is essentially to show that geodesics possess conjugate points (pairs of points on a geodesic that each have $\theta=-\infty$). Wald claims that

If $R_{ab}\xi^a\xi^b\geq 0$ everywhere along the geodesic $\gamma$ and $R_{ab}\xi^a\xi^b > 0$ at point $r\in\gamma$, then one can show that for $p$ sufficiently far from $r$, the expansion of the timelike geodesic congruence emanating from $p$ must be negative at $r$. Hence $p$ will have a conjugate point $q$ on $\gamma$.

The last statement regarding $q$ follows from the same reasoning I presented at the beginning for negative initial expansion at $r$. However he also says that the expansion emanating from $p$ can become negative at a later point $r$ assuming that $R_{ab}\xi^a\xi^b>0$ at $r$ (as I would expect intuitively). Presumably the expansion emanating from $p$ is positive (somebody correct me if not), so this seems to be in direct contradiction with (1). What gives?

A: For a simple example, consider empty spacetime, curved as though a planet were centered on the origin. Consider a spherical shell of dust that is also centered on the origin, initially expanding. The worldlines of the motes of dust are the timelike geodesics in the congruence. The expansion is initially positive, but if the initial outward velocity is not too great, then the shell's expansion will eventually slow to zero, after which it will being to shrink (negative expansion).
This does not contradict (1), because (1) is only an inequality, not an equation. The inequality (1) is derived from Raychaudhuri's equation, which is
$$
\frac{d\theta}{d\tau}=-\frac{1}{3}\theta^2-\sigma_{ab}\sigma^{ab}
 +\omega_{ab}\omega^{ab}-R_{ab}\xi^a\xi^b.
\tag{2}
$$
This is equation (9.2.11) in Wald's book. For the simple example that I just described, the rotation $\omega_{ab}$ and shear $\sigma_{ab}$ are both zero because of the scenario's spherical symmetry, so equation (2) reduces to
$$
\frac{d\theta}{d\tau}=-\frac{1}{3}\theta^2-R_{ab}\xi^a\xi^b.
\tag{3}
$$
Initially, our shell's expansion is positive: $\theta>0$. Thanks to the strong energy condition, both terms on the right-hand side of (3) are negative, so equation (3) says that the magnitude of the expansion decreases. Eventually the rate of expansion goes to zero ($\theta=0$), so that the first term on the right-hand side is zero. But the second term on the right-hand side is still negative, so the equation says that $\theta$ continues to decrease, thus becoming negative, exactly as our physical intuition says it should.
The inequality (1) is derived from the fact that equation (3) implies the inequality
$$
\frac{d\theta}{d\tau}\leq -\frac{1}{3}\theta^2.
\tag{4}
$$
The key is that this is an inequality, not an equation. It comes from equation (3), which is perfectly consistent with our physical intuition that an initially-positive expansion can eventually become negative.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


SA's mobile operators are unlikely to slash their retail call tariffs, even if mobile interconnection rates are cut dramatically.
That's the view of AltX-listed telecommunications company Huge Group, whose CEO, James Herbst, says Vodacom and MTN would "rather lose market share" to smaller players than cut their rates sharply.
Herbst thinks mobile interconnection rates — what the cellular operators charge each other and other operators to carry calls on their networks — will drop to R1/minute during peak time next year, from R1,25 now. But this will be followed by a drop of only 5% in retail prices, he predicts.
Huge Group chairman Anton Potgieter says smaller, alternative telecoms providers are tiny next to the big players and will struggle to compete, even if interconnection rates tumble.
Potgieter says the incumbent mobile operators have the human resources needed to frustrate smaller players at every turn, and will do so. "The small guys will get 1% of the market, if they're damned lucky and they work damned hard," he says.
Herbst agrees. He says there are only three serious telecoms players in SA: Vodacom, MTN and Telkom. The rest are "wannabes". "They'll be there, and they'll make profit at the margin," he says. Eventually, though, the smaller players will have to consolidate to compete more effectively with the big threem he adds.
If what you say actually happens, then you should be seriously concerned……..
All those companies trying to sell the filthy inbound 087 numbers (and force people to call them) and pay resellers comissions, will also have a problem.
Then you have to ask yourself the question: whats the real point and advantage to the consumer, if they lower the interconnect rates? Surely all this recent pressure has everything to do with lowering the retail rates that consumers pay.
For your business to go forward and still offer savings (*while your turnover will drop) I would think that you should want the retail "on-net call rates to move downward" by the same % as the drop in interconnect fees.


text:
Peter Obi's Aide Debunks APC's False Information
…says the PDP vice-presidential candidate fully supported national savings
Raymond Ozoji, Awka
The former Governor of Anambra State and the Vice Presidential candidate of the PDP, Mr. Peter Obi, was the foremost voice during his tenure that fully backed the proposal that the Federal Government should save "excess" earnings for the future.
This was disclosed by his Media Aide, Valentine Obienyem, in a release he made available to journalists in Awka at the weekend in response to a tape released by the All Progressives Congress (APC), where Obi supposedly lamented that the country could not save because the Governors at that time were against the practice.
He observed that the "spurious APC tape is meant to imply that Obi also opposed savings and was part of the crisis of inflation presently plaguing the country".
Contending that though that lack of savings was a contributory factor to inflation, Obienyem asserted that the prevalent harsh living conditions in the country was largely due to ineptitude in the management of the economy.
He revealed that Peter Obi's comments on the issue was in the spirit of collective responsibility, which dictated that he would not go behind the scenes to indicate which Governor was for or against the savings initiative.
Obienyem advised the APC and discerning Nigerians desirous of knowing what went behind the scenes during the "Great Debate on National Savings" to read the book, Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines, written by a former, highly-respected Minister of Finance & Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
"In the said book", Obienyem noted, "the former Minister and one of the most renowned economists in the world today, went behind the scenes and told us what happened. In Chapter 4, Page 61, Line 20, after mentioning the names of State Governors that opposed savings, she indicated clearly that 'Others, such as Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State argued for savings but were not supported. Their voices were drowned out, and National Economic Council (NEC) sessions became unpleasant when this topic arose'. What more evidence do we need on who played what part?"
Furthermore, Obienyem said it was the failure to agree on savings at the Centre that informed a determined Peter Obi to focus on savings for Anambra State where he was in charge.
He added: "This is one of the reasons he was able to leave over 75 billion Naira in the Treasury of Anambra State at the end of his tenure. This was unusual as he achieved that feat without owing any contractor, supplier or civil servant."
According to him, to the amazement of many observers, he did not borrow money from any financial institution and perplexing still was that Obi cleared the indebtedness of the State to various bodies, including over 35 billion arrears owed pensioners in Anambra State since 1999.
Expressing confidence in Peter Obi's demonstrable prudence and sound management of resources, he recalled that the majority of Nigerians across the country rejoiced when he was named the Vice- Presidential candidate for the PDP. He thanked the APC and other opposition for offering the opportunity, though unintended, to clear issues such as savings.


text:
Q: Simple way of fusing a few close points? I have a list of points as such
points = [(-57.213878612138828, 17.916958304169601),
          (76.392039480378514, 0.060882542482108504),
          (0.12417670682730897, 1.0417670682730924),
          (-64.840321976787706, 21.374279296143762),
          (-48.966302937359913, 81.336323778066188),
          (11.122014925372399, 85.001119402984656),
          (8.6383049769438465, 84.874829066623917),
          (-57.349835526315836, 16.683634868421084),
          (83.051530302006697, 97.450469562867383),
          (8.5405200433369473, 83.566955579631625),
          (81.620435769843965, 48.106831247886376),
          (78.713027357450656, 19.547209139192304),
          (82.926153287322933, 81.026080639302577)]

They are as such when plotted in red:

I now want to fuse the points that are near to each other (circles together in black). By fuse, I mean replace those points with one point that has the averages of their coordinates.
I do understand there are whole bunches of clustering techniques there to do the similar jobs. However, as you can see this is a simple task, if I am able to tune the distance threshold. So I am reluctant to use any clustering techniques. Just a simple solution would be enough.
I am using Python, if it helps.

By near, I mean the euclidean distance between them is smaller than a threshold, which can be tuned by myself. So the right top two dots will not get circled.

A: You can have a function, which given a distance d would fuse the points which are within distance d of a given point (by taking their average):
def dist2(p1, p2):
    return (p1[0]-p2[0])**2 + (p1[1]-p2[1])**2

def fuse(points, d):
    ret = []
    d2 = d * d
    n = len(points)
    taken = [False] * n
    for i in range(n):
        if not taken[i]:
            count = 1
            point = [points[i][0], points[i][1]]
            taken[i] = True
            for j in range(i+1, n):
                if Dist2(points[i], points[j]) < d2:
                    point[0] += points[j][0]
                    point[1] += points[j][1]
                    count+=1
                    taken[j] = True
            point[0] /= count
            point[1] /= count
            ret.append((point[0], point[1]))
    return ret

A: You could just give a radius limit and iteratively join points that are closer than that radius away. If your dataset is small enough, brute force may suffice:
def join_pair(points, r):
    for p, q in itertools.combinations(points, 2):
        if dist(p, q) < r:
            points.remove(p)
            points.remove(q)
            points.append(((p[0]+q[0]) / 2, (p[1]+q[1]) / 2))
            return True
    return False

while join_pair(points, R):
    pass

A: Ok, here's my severly unoptimized go at a slightly more complex algorithm, which first creates a boolean proximity matrix, from that a list of clusters which is ultimately used to obtain the averaged coordinates:
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""
Created on Wed Oct 16 08:42:50 2013

@author: Tobias Kienzler
"""

def squared_distance(p1, p2):
    # TODO optimization: use numpy.ndarrays, simply return (p1-p2)**2
    sd = 0
    for x, y in zip(p1, p2):
        sd += (x-y)**2
    return sd

def get_proximity_matrix(points, threshold):
    n = len(points)
    t2 = threshold**2
    # TODO optimization: use sparse boolean matrix
    prox = [[False]*n for k in xrange(n)]
    for i in xrange(0, n):
        for j in xrange(i+1, n):
            prox[i][j] = (squared_distance(points[i], points[j]) < t2)
            prox[j][i] = prox[i][j]  # symmetric matrix
    return prox

def find_clusters(points, threshold):
    n = len(points)
    prox = get_proximity_matrix(points, threshold)
    point_in_list = [None]*n
    clusters = []
    for i in xrange(0, n):
        for j in xrange(i+1, n):
            if prox[i][j]:
                list1 = point_in_list[i]
                list2 = point_in_list[j]
                if list1 is not None:
                    if list2 is None:
                        list1.append(j)
                        point_in_list[j] = list1
                    elif list2 is not list1:
                        # merge the two lists if not identical
                        list1 += list2
                        point_in_list[j] = list1
                        del clusters[clusters.index(list2)]
                    else:
                        pass  # both points are already in the same cluster
                elif list2 is not None:
                    list2.append(i)
                    point_in_list[i] = list2
                else:
                    list_new = [i, j]
                    for index in [i, j]:
                        point_in_list[index] = list_new
                    clusters.append(list_new)
        if point_in_list[i] is None:
            list_new = [i]  # point is isolated so far
            point_in_list[i] = list_new
            clusters.append(list_new)
    return clusters

def average_clusters(points, threshold=1.0, clusters=None):
    if clusters is None:
        clusters = find_clusters(points, threshold)
    newpoints = []
    for cluster in clusters:
        n = len(cluster)
        point = [0]*len(points[0])  # TODO numpy
        for index in cluster:
            part = points[index]  # in numpy: just point += part / n
            for j in xrange(0, len(part)):
                point[j] += part[j] / n  # TODO optimization: point/n later
        newpoints.append(point)
    return newpoints

points = [(-57.213878612138828, 17.916958304169601),
          (76.392039480378514, 0.060882542482108504),
          (0.12417670682730897, 1.0417670682730924),
          (-64.840321976787706, 21.374279296143762),
          (-48.966302937359913, 81.336323778066188),
          (11.122014925372399, 85.001119402984656),
          (8.6383049769438465, 84.874829066623917),
          (-57.349835526315836, 16.683634868421084),
          (83.051530302006697, 97.450469562867383),
          (8.5405200433369473, 83.566955579631625),
          (81.620435769843965, 48.106831247886376),
          (78.713027357450656, 19.547209139192304),
          (82.926153287322933, 81.026080639302577)]

threshold = 20.0
clusters = find_clusters(points, threshold)
clustered = average_clusters(points, clusters=clusters)
print "clusters:", clusters
print clustered

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
ax = plt.figure().add_subplot(1, 1, 1)
for cluster in clustered:
    ax.add_patch(plt.Circle(cluster, radius=threshold/2, color='g'))
for point in points:
    ax.add_patch(plt.Circle(point, radius=threshold/2, edgecolor='k', facecolor='none'))
plt.plot(*zip(*points), marker='o', color='r', ls='')
plt.plot(*zip(*clustered), marker='.', color='g', ls='')
plt.axis('equal')
plt.show()

(For better visualization, the circles' radii are half the threshold, i.e. points are in the same cluster if their circles merely intersect/touch one another's edge.)

A: def merge_close_pts(pts, rad=5): # pts is a numpy array of size mx2 where each row is ( xy )
pts = np.float32(pts) # avoid issues with ints

# iteratively make points that are close to each other get closer ( robust to clouds of multiple close pts merge )
pts_to_merge = (np.sqrt(np.power(pts[:, 0].reshape(-1, 1) - pts[:, 0].reshape(1,-1),2) + \
                   np.power(pts[:, 1].reshape(-1, 1) - pts[:, 1].reshape(1, -1), 2))) <= rad

for _ in range(5):
    for pt_ind in range(pts.shape[0]):
        pts[pt_ind,:] = pts[pts_to_merge[pt_ind, :], :].reshape(-1, 2).mean(axis=0)

#now keep only one pts from each group.
pts_to_merge = ((np.sqrt(np.power(pts[:, 0].reshape(-1, 1) - pts[:, 0].reshape(1, -1), 2) + \
                        np.power(pts[:, 1].reshape(-1, 1) - pts[:, 1].reshape(1, -1), 2))) <= rad) * \
               (np.eye(pts.shape[0])== 0)

for pt_ind in range(pts.shape[0]):
    if (pts[pt_ind,:] == 0).all() == False:
        inds_to_erase = pts_to_merge[pt_ind, :]
        pts[inds_to_erase, :] = 0

return pts[(pts==0).all() == False, :]


Residents in Moyross and South Hill are very worried with the de population of our schools. If this keeps up with the de population of the people of Moyross and South hill, there will not be a need for any schools in these areas, its disgraceful said Mr. Daly community activist and Chairperson of the MRA. Why can't they just do as they promised and build our new houses in sections and have a building knock process where people can be taken out of their old house and put into their new one or do they have another agenda? Ok they are building apartments in Cliona Park but these are for the elderly this will not add any new students into the schools. You often wonder what the Regeneration Agency and the Department for Education are thinking. Again they just need to get their act together and build the houses.
It has come to the attention of the MRA that a tenant in Delmege Park got informed by Limerick City Council that they had got him a lovely bungalow in Devalera Park Thomond Gate. The then tenant got in touch with Chairperson of the MRA Tom Daly and asked if he would come to the property and look it over. The tenant and Mr Daly could not believe what they saw. The front gate was hanging down and rusted, trees blocking the side entrance of the property, front garden full of gravel, electric box door hanging off its hinges. Now for Limerick City Council to try and take a man from a lovely bungalow in which he has kept in very good condition with the help of his family and try put him into this bungalow in Devalera Park is highly unacceptable and morally wrong. This man is 58 years of age and wants to get on with a bit of dignity for the rest of his life. The tenant refused the property and said he would wait for one of the new apartments that is being built, then the following day the tenants daughter who worked for a law firm in limerick got a call from a member of limerick city council saying that her father the resident in Delmege Park had his sister living with him in which Tom Daly of the MRA said was disgraceful as a resident can not have their family coming up to look after them and see for their well being while sick. The resident was offered a lovely downstairs apartment in summer street two and a half years ago by Mr Paul Foley and Mr Michael o Kelly and he said he would take it as he nearly died in the conditions he was living in but nothing materialized out of that offer. Again this is highly unacceptable that they are doing this to tenants. The tenants daughter felt very intimidated from the phone call she got from limerick city council with these accusations. Is this the price tenants have to pay because they do not accept a property not up to living standards?
It has come to the attention of community activist and Chairperson of the MRA Tom Daly that the work that was supposed to be finished by Smiths Demolition in 30 Delmege Park was not done. The cables were left hanging from the fascia board had to be done by a private electrician. Mr O Carrol the owner of this house was assured by Smiths Demolition that there was an order put into Chorus to do same. When he checked with Chorus there was no such order. This is disgraceful said Mr O Carrol. There are some more issues that were not sorted out. How can they expect homeowners and tenants to work with Limerick city Council and Regeneration Agency if these ''Cowboy Demolishers'' are not doing their jobs properly. Half Finished Work? They expect people to spend money that people have not got to finish their work for them. This is unacceptable and is disgraceful. Again we take our hat off to Tinnellys Demolition for the first class work they are doing and finishing the jobs to the residents satisfaction.


text:
The Technical World Magazine, Volume 6
WHERE THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN BEGAN. "Run" is the Southern term for "creek." This bridge marks where the Warrenton turnpike—the war-worn road across northern Virginia between the Potomac and the Rappahannock crosses the stream. Here began the sanguinary battle of July 21, 1861, Tyler's division of McDowell's Union army being on the right (east side) of the picture, and on the west or left-hand side Evans's brigade of the Confederate army under Beauregard. There was fighting in the neighborhood of the bridge in 1862 also, and a man standing on this old bridge could have heard the guns of a score of fights in the Civil War.
SHROUDED IN CIVIL WAR MEMORIES. The old McDowell house at Centerville, Fairfax County, Virginia. It faces westward toward the battlefield of Bull Run three miles away. Here Gen. Irving McDowell had his headquarters, and from this house marched to the fight. Four miles to the rear is the field of Chantilly, where Gen. Phil Kearney was killed; and a few miles north lies Aldie, of Civil War memory. The house several times sheltered the wounded of both armies during the long struggle,
by CARL S. DOW.
Number Thirty-Three-Blower System of
OOMS are warmed to a comfort- ting heat in steam pipes than in large
able temperature by conveying ducts or flues.
to them an amount of heat suffi- In the indirect system as installed in
cient to make up for the loss re- small buildings, the air flows to the rooms sulting from radiation through walls and because of natural circulation. The windows, the leaking of air around doors, warm air in the room leaks outward, and windows, etc. The two most successful the heated air rises from the basement to mediums are steam and hot water, for take its place. these readily absorb heat and as readily give it up to the surrounding air and ob
Fan Systems jects.
In large buildings it is often necessary
to supply air in large quantities for ventiDirect and Indirect Systems
lation. This is especially true of buildBoth mediums are applied in systems, ings of a public character, such as known as "direct" and "indirect." In the churches, schoolhouses, theaters, etc., for former, the pipes or radiators through in these structures many people are conwhich steam or hot water flows are placed tained in comparatively small space. In in the room to be heated, and the heat such cases, the natural circulation of air is supplied from them by direct radiation. in the indirect system will not supply a In the indirect, the coil or radiator is lo- sufficient quantity, and the direct system cated in the basement, or at the base of is useless for ventilation. To get the rethe flues leading into the room, and the quired air, it must be circulated mechaniair passing over it takes up heat and car- cally, and this is best accomplished with ries it to the room. In some respects the some form of fan or blower. indirect system resembles furnace heating, for the hot air comes into the room
The Blower through registers, no heating apparatus This machine is simply a sheet-metal being in sight.
casing of scroll shape, within which a It is evident that the indirect system steel-plate fan wheel revolves at high is preferable to the direct as to ventila- speed, taking air at the center or shaft, tion, for no ventilation occurs with the and giving it rapid motion by means of latter installation. With the indirect, the revolving blades or vanes. Delivered considerable air is introduced in order to at the tips of the blades, the air leaves the supply the required amount of heat. The fan, under slight pressure, by a tangenefficiency of the direct system is, how- tial outlet. For heating work, the fan is ever, greater, for all the heat is supplied usually operated by a small steam engine, directly to the air and objects in the the set being called a "steam fan." room, and there is less loss in transmit- *There are two distinct methods of fan (342)
(Rights of publication reserved hy Author)
heating. In one, the air is heated in the
the pressure within the building is less basement to a high temperature (higher than that outside, and air leaks in from than that of the room). On entering the all sides. Evidently purer air will be room, the heated air supplies enough heat maintained in the Plenum, for it can be to replace that lost through walls and drawn from a reliable source. windows. By the other method, direct
The sketch on the blackboard shows the genradiation (steam pipes or radiators in the eral arrangement of the apparatus used in the room) furnishes the required amount of Plenum system. Air from out of doors enheat, and a fan forces in air at the room
ters through an opening into the Plenum
chamber, in which a small heater, called the temperature, to provide ventilation.
"tempering coil," heats it to about 70° F. It The first-mentioned method is better for is then drawn into the fan, which forces it buildings that must be kept warm all the time; among and between the pipes of the main it has the advantage of requiring the installa- heater. As it is under slight pressure when tion of but one system. The second is often it leaves the coils, the air passes up through selected for buildings to be ventilated but a
the ducts to the rooms above. The apparatus few hours at a time; for the fan need not is provided with suitable dampers, by means operate except when the occupants are in the of which hot air, a mixture of the tempered building, and it is not necessary to supply more air and the heated air, or the tempered air air than that required for ventilation. But alone, may be directed to the rooms. two separate systems must be put in.
For warm weather, the air from outside
may be passed through the fan, and thence to Plenum and Exhaust Systems the rooms, without passing through the heater,
thus supplying frequent changes of air. The fan system may properly be divided into two classes, in the first of The blower system has the advantage which the rooms are under a slight pres- of being independent of the direction of sure; that is, the pressure within is just wind, positive in action, and economical enough to cause all leakage to be out- as to cost of running the fan; for the exward. This is called the "Plenum." In haust steam from the engine may be used the second, called the "Exhaust" system, in the heater.
Surf-Driven Motor passes over a series of pulleys, to one of
which is attached a counterweight. The THE illustration shows a motor driven
purpose of the counterweight is to take by the power the waves bear in their
up slack when the motor is drawn in shoreward sweep. A sloping beach is toward shore. One of the pulleys is necessary for the operation of the machine. Given surf and a favorable posi- nected with additional apparatus, consist
fixed to a shaft; and this, in turn, is contion on the shore line, the inventor be
ing of levers, drums, and other gear, all lieves his device should do excellent serv
of which complete the chain and keep ice. It is designed as follows:
the motor in operation. A platform is constructed, with four standards, one at each corner.
These standards support as many sheaves, over
Wooden Clothes which two cables are passed. The cables IT will probably not be very long before are for the purpose of drawing the motor we can go into one of the dry-goods into or out of the water as may be de- stores and say to a clerk, "Let me see
what you have in the
line of wooden suits."
He may reply, "Hard or
soft?" whereupon it will
be our part to specify
that we want a suit of
"good" pine, "without
any cheap sapwood."
Vests of this kind are al-
ready worn by the card-
ing-room foremen in
some of the woolen
mills. The material re-
sembles a stiff, thick
cloth, and is apparently
as durable as leather. It
is not improbable that in
the future cheap suits, sired. This object is accomplished by the costing about 50 cents and guaranteed turning of a crank. A series of buckets to last for years, will be made of spruce attached to cables comprise the motor or pine. Napkins, shirts, collars of the proper. As the buckets pass into the finest quality, have long been made from waves, they of course fill; and as they the fiber of hemp; and in using wood for are drawn up by the cables, they are heavier cloth, the process is equally overturned and thus emptied of their simple. The wood is first ground into contents. The motion thus set up is a soft pulp, and this pulp is pressed transmitted by cable to the machinery of through holes in iron plates. It comes a framework on shore. This cable out in long ropes about 1/2 inch in di
COURTESY OF SCIENTIFIC ANERICAN."
A SURF-ACTUATED MOTOR.


text:
Q: Unable to save NodeEntity having a @RelatedTo Outgoing Direction with another node I am using Spring Boot and Neo4J 2.1.8 ,and have created two NodeEntities Parent and Child.
The parent class is
    @NodeEntity
    public class Parent{

        @GraphId
        @Indexed(indexName = "id", indexType = IndexType.FULLTEXT)
        private Long id;

        @RelatedTo(type=RelationType.IS_RELATED,direction=Direction.OUTGOING)
        @Fetch
        private Set<Child> children;

    }

and the child class is
@NodeEntity
public class Child{
        @GraphId
    private Long id;

    private String name;
}

The parentRepo and childRepo class both extends GraphRepository
Now when a create a parent with a child object set in it and call parentRepo.save(parent).The parent and child entities are created along with there relationship.
Now the problem statement is :
When an parent entity is already created and I do this
Child child= new Child()
...............
Parent parent=parentRepo.retriveParent(id);
parent.getChildren().add(child);
parentRepo.save(parent);

The following error is coming :-
com.sun.jersey.api.client.ClientHandlerException: java.net.SocketTimeoutException: Read timed out
    at com.sun.jersey.client.urlconnection.URLConnectionClientHandler.handle(URLConnectionClientHandler.java:149)
    at org.neo4j.rest.graphdb.UserAgent$1.handle(UserAgent.java:68)
    at com.sun.jersey.api.client.Client.handle(Client.java:648)
    at com.sun.jersey.api.client.WebResource.handle(WebResource.java:670)
    at com.sun.jersey.api.client.WebResource.access$200(WebResource.java:74)
    at com.sun.jersey.api.client.WebResource$Builder.put(WebResource.java:523)
    at org.neo4j.rest.graphdb.ExecutingRestRequest.put(ExecutingRestRequest.java:155)
    at org.neo4j.rest.graphdb.RestAPIImpl.setPropertiesOnEntity(RestAPIImpl.java:633)
    at org.neo4j.rest.graphdb.entity.RestEntity.flush(RestEntity.java:189)

A: Ok I got it.I don't have to call parentRepo.save(parent)
What I did is
childRepo.save(child);
Parent parent=parentRepo.retriveParent(id);
parent.getChildren().add(child);

The Node and relationship was automatically updated .No need to explicitly call parentRepo.save()


61 pubs in other communities.
PubPub has published in other PubPub communities. Click to go to their full profile.
Example journal made as a placeholder to start.
Here's a second example with some embedded media.


left winger for the inaugural 2019 Canadian Premier League season.
graduation to the senior team in the following year.
of adding the versatile left-sided player to his ranks.
coming here, he's going to play a significant role with us and be a leader, on and off the pitch.
and get more games under his belt. We're looking forward to it.".


text:
Al-Taff és una regió semidesèrtica a l'oest de Kufa a la plana al·luvial de l'Eufrates. Al-Taff són els terrenys que s'aixequen pel damunt del seu entorn; aquesta denominació general es va deixar d'usar al . A la regió es va lliurar el primer combat entre àrabs musulmans i perses. Les ciutats principals són al-Qadisiya i Karbala. Després de la mort d'Hussein ibn Ali (anomenat al-maktul bi-l Taff) s'esmenta rarament el nom de la regió, en ser teatre de les revoltes càrmates que els autors àrabs pretenen ignorar.

Bibliografia
 Enciclopèdia de l'Islam, X, 85 i 86

Geografia de l'Iraq

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The following was posted on Father John Trigilio's blog. It celebrates the announcement of a new Eastern Rite Catholic Bishop to the Pittsburgh Ruthenian Eparchy. It should remind all of us what a big and extraordinary Church we belong to. If you have never been to an Eastern Rite Catholic Liturgy, go! It is beautiful and meaningful.
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed the Most Reverend William C. Skurla, as metropolitan archbishop of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
He will be enthroned in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2012.
Skurla was born in Duluth, Minn., on June 1, 1956, the son of the late John and Mavis Skurla. He attended Catholic and public elementary schools and graduated in 1974 from Chisholm High School, Chisholm, Minn.
He graduated from Columbia University in New York City in 1981 with a concentration in philosophy. He then studied at Mary Immaculate Seminary in Northampton, Northampton County, receiving a master's of divinity in 1986 and a master's of theology in 1987.
Skurla entered the Byzantine Franciscan community in Sybertsville, Luzerne County, in 1981. He was ordained a priest in 1987 at St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church in Freeland, also in Luzerne county.
He served as pastoral administrator at St. Melany Byzantine Catholic Church in Tucson, Ariz., from 1993 until 2002.
He was enthroned as bishop of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Van Nuys on April 23, 2002 in Phoenix.
In December of 2007 he was appointed bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic and was enthroned at St. Michael Cathedral, Passaic N.J., on Jan. 29, 2008.
Skurla, 55, succeeds Metropolitan Archbishop Basil M. Schott, who died after a short illness in June 2010.
The Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh is the only self-governing Eastern Catholic Church in the United States, meaning it is directly under the authority of the pope rather than a Catholic patriarch in Eastern Europe or the Middle East. It stretches from Erie to Texas and has 58,000 parishioners and 65 priests in 78 parishes.


text:
The God of the Reptile Brain
July 21, 2010 by Adam Lee
The God of the Reptile Brain July 21, 2010 Adam Lee
Evolution is a blind tinkerer, lacking the foresight of human engineers. Rarely, if ever, does it discard established designs and start over fresh, even when that would be more efficient. Instead, it builds on and around past adaptations, using the old as a foundation for the new. This is true throughout the biosphere, and it's especially true of one of the most complex structures ever evolved, the human brain. The physical architecture of the mind shows, through and through, the evolutionary hacks and kludges that went into creating it.
In his book The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan points out that the human brain has a threefold division. The most complex and most recently evolved structure is the neocortex, responsible for rational judgment, self-control, long-term planning, and all those other characteristics we think of as most uniquely human. Below it, somewhat older, is the limbic system: shared by all mammals, producing feelings of parental love and pair-bonding. And oldest and most primitive, shared by all vertebrates, is the brainstem, which controls the instinctive drives and behaviors known as the four "F"'s – fight, flight, feeding, and reproduction.
And if you're feeling allegorical, you might notice a correspondence with the world's religions. No organized religion in existence today posits a god of the neocortex. A few of the best offer a god of the mammalian brain, but even they rarely aspire to anything higher. But most – the belligerent, aggrieved, crudely literal fundamentalist faiths that command the allegiance of hundreds of millions – have gods of the reptile brain. These deities well up from the brainstem, the evolutionary remnant that sees the world as a dark palette of anger, fear, hunger and lust. Like the promptings of the brainstem, they're concerned, more than anything else, with the lowest and most primitive animal drives: what we eat, how and with whom we have sex, whether we observe rituals and taboos relating to purity and contamination. Also like the promptings of the brainstem, the religions they preside over tend to include generous amounts of aggression, submission, and xenophobia, and inflexible rules on when these are to be displayed and toward whom.
Of course, I'm not saying that religion originates solely in the brainstem. Were that the case, we'd see distinctly religious behavior throughout the animal kingdom, which we obviously don't. Religion requires other mental capabilities that are largely unique to humans and other intelligent mammals – social dominance hierarchies, pattern-seeking behavior, and an awareness of personal mortality. Still, it's striking how close is the correspondence between the concerns of fundamentalist religion and the instinctive drives mediated by the most evolutionarily primitive part of our brains.
But from the rational perspective – the highest, most uniquely human perspective – it's clear how ridiculous and morally outrageous this is. The fundamentalists believe in a supreme, universe-transcending creator whose single-minded, all-consuming focus is what people do with their genitals – a clownish, laughable notion deserving only ridicule. But even worse is the notion, held by millions of believers, that this being threatens humans: "Obey me or I'll hurt you!" This idea is a moral depravity that could only be born from wicked minds.
Any god worthy of the name wouldn't coerce its creatures' obedience through fear or pain, but would set up the world so that they would all freely choose through reason to do the right thing. That would be how a supreme intelligence would create; that would be a god of the neocortex. Instead, the religions of this world are stocked with clumsy, brawling, belligerent gods of the reptile brain – gods who are constantly bewildered and enraged when their plans go astray and who can think of no better tools than violence and destruction.
Religion is supposed to bring out the best in us, we're told by its defenders; it's supposed to encourage the decency and compassion that human beings are capable of. And perhaps, sometimes, it does do this. But more often, it gives vent to the violent, destructive side of our nature, gives us license to express our xenophobia and violence and rage under the illusion that these qualities are endorsed by God.
Religious Morality
Selling Shame: How Christians Profit from Porn
July 23, 2010 The Iron Curtain of Censorship
"Honestly, I disagree with the entire premise of this article. The mother of all questions ..."
Chris DeVries
TV Review: Good Omens
The Fountainhead: Nasty, Brutish and Short
Revelations, Visitations, and All That


text:
GM CEO Mary Barra joins Detroit Country Day School Board of Trustees
"We've been a part of Detroit Country Day for many years," said the CEO of the world's second-largest automaker.
GM CEO Mary Barra joins Detroit Country Day School Board of Trustees "We've been a part of Detroit Country Day for many years," said the CEO of the world's second-largest automaker. Check out this story on HometownLife.com: http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/birmingham/2014/10/12/gm-ceo-mary-barra-joins-detroit-country-day-school-board-trustees/17041271/
Jay Grossman, hometownlife.com Published 12:00 a.m. ET Oct. 12, 2014 | Updated 12:06 a.m. ET Oct. 12, 2014
Barra (Photo: Steve Fecht, Steve Fecht for General Motors)
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, is also a proud parent who takes an active role in her children's education.
With that in mind, she has agreed to join the Board of Trustees at Detroit Country Day School.
"Mary Barra has long been an active parent and engaged member of the Detroit Country Day School community and I am delighted to have her join our Board of Trustees," Headmaster Glen Shilling said of the appointment. "As a prominent leader and respected public figure around the world, Ms. Barra is a great inspiration to our students, staff and faculty. I look forward to working alongside her and each of our trustees as we chart a definitive course for the future of Detroit Country Day School."
Barra, 52, who recently graced the cover of Time magazine as the first woman to run a major automaker, has two children attending the private non-denominational school. She is one of several new members to serve on the DCDS board.
The other new members are: Jonathan Aaron, a principal member of The Velvel Group; Donald Nystrom, president of Dynamic Aerospace and Defense; Erica Prime, owner of Psychological Assessment Services; and Anne Weiner, who has worked with DCDS in various leadership roles over the years.
In a statement to the Birmingham Eccentric, Barra said: "I look forward to serving as a trustee of Detroit Country Day because I have seen the positive impact their approach to academics, the arts and athletics has on children and their development into tomorrow's leaders. We've been a part of Detroit Country Day for many years, so it's an honor to be asked to help the school continue to evolve and grow in our community."
Located in Beverly Hills at Lahser and 13 Mile roads, DCDS might also have a congressman on its board: David Trott, who's running as the Republican candidate in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, already serves as a trustee.
jgrossman@hometownlife.com | 586-826-7030 Twitter: @BhmEccentric
Read or Share this story: http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/birmingham/2014/10/12/gm-ceo-mary-barra-joins-detroit-country-day-school-board-trustees/17041271/


text:
Coast guard helicopter
Performing the task of the coast guard helicopter to rescue people who were shipwrecked, inadvertently swam into the open waters or dropped out of cruise ships. The helicopter has a long cable controlled by a rotating winch. Towards the end of the cable, a rescue device is attached, in which survivors can climb into the cockpit or withstand a short flight. To pull the injured, the pilot has to literally hang over the water, because the slightest fluctuation of the cable will cause the person to fall from a height to the water surface, which is comparable to falling on concrete. With very close approach, the helicopter is able to hit the blades of the propeller with water, which will lead to a crash, so always, according to the instruction, it is necessary to maintain the distance, and this significantly reduces the rapid pulling of people. In addition, the aircraft must be returned to the base and carefully lowered to the landing site. Sharp descent will inevitably lead to a strong blow, detonation of high-octane fuel and death of people, including the crew who made a mistake.
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The Internet of Things is a future technology offering numerous opportunities. To help businesses adapt, Qowisio provides a complete and unique solution based on its own network. David Halopé, marketing director of the company based in Angers, explains.
We are specialists in the Internet of Things and are quite unique because we began on the market in 2009. We started by marketing electrical installations remote monitoring services for telecommunications operators. 2014 was a pivotal year, because it was when we decided to deploy our own low power wide area network to become a next generation IoT operator. Following a €10 million fundraising last year, we now cover all French cities with over 10,000 residents. We offer our BtoB clients turnkey IoT solutions (the object, connectivity via our network and the applications).
What is the advantage of this offer for your customers?
To launch an IoT project to optimise processes or expand a product range can be difficult, because the value chain is complex and fragmented. By offering a network, connected objects and application solutions, we enable companies to easily develop their projects, with significant cost savings and a reduced time to market.
Are you targeting priority sectors or countries?
We are targeting a very large market, because we are the only ones to offer this turnkey solution and we are able to adapt to many sectors. We have however identified areas where our solutions are particularly relevant: telecommunications, communities, logistics and the supply chain. We are currently working in France, Africa and the United States, (Austin, Texas), where we have just opened a subsidiary; taking part in the CES will allow us to meet both potential partners and customers there. We are also working on medium-term development in Germany and England, to be followed by China.
Established in 2009 in the French Tech labelled Angers and focused on IoT, Qowisio now has forty employees. The company expects to achieve a turnover of € 11m in 2016.
See also The Pays de la Loire plots a course for the CES 2017.


text:
FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS
FOR INDUSTRY AND HOSPITALS
FOR PUBLIC AND PRESS
Pere Roca winner of EBSA Young Investigator's Prize
February 25, 2019Other news
Pere Roca-Cusachs, group leader at IBEC and assistant professor at the University of Barcelona, has won the 2019 Young Investigator Prize for his contributions to the field of mechanobiology. The award is given by the European Biophysical Societies Association (EBSA).
EBSA association grants this prize every two years. The last winner of the prize was Philipp Kukura	from the University of Oxford in the UK in 2017. The prize recognises an investigator who has defended his thesis 12 years ago or less across Europe and awards him with 2000€ and a medal as well as be expected to contribute an article to the European Biophysics Journal.
The decision of the winning researcher is made by the Executive Committee based on scientific excellence, leadership and creativity.
The award ceremony will take place in Madrid during the 12th EBSA 10th ICBP-IUPAP European Biophysics Congress from 20-24 of July. During the congress, Pere will be giving a lecture and receive his Young Investigator's Prize.
The European Biophysical Societies Association was formed in 1984 as a non-profit making organisation, with the objectives "to advance and disseminate knowledge of the principles, recent developments and applications of biophysics, and to foster the exchange of scientific information among European biophysicists and biophysicists in general". It is composed of the Biophysical Societies in the European area and is managed by an Executive Committee. EBSA is associated with the international organizations International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB) and Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE) and owns the European Biophysics Journal.
Mechanobiology of Cancer Summer School 2019
Urea-powered nanomotors a promising therapy for bladder cancer
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José Antonio del Río interviewed at "La Marató dels investigadors" TV program
Núria Montserrat represents the european research council at the world economic forum in China
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text:
Home > Browse by Country > Kids Days Out Scotland > Days Out Stirling
Days Out Stirling
More Info AMF Bowling Stirling
Looking for somewhere to take family, friends or colleagues for a fun yet active trip out? At AMF Bowling we offer a safe and exciting environment for kids and adults alike with bumpers and ramps for younger members, plus a range of fun filled activities for older children and adults. Bowling has never been so fun!
More Info Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regime Museum - Stirling
Stirling Castle, Royal Palace of the Stuart Kings, has been the home of The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's) since 1881 and through the years, many objects of regimental interest have been handed in, including: paintings, medals, silver, uniform and documents. However, it was not until 1988 that a museum was...
More Info Bannockburn - Stirling
Here in 1314, in one of the defining moments in Scottish history, King Robert the Bruce routed the English forces of King Edward II to win a much-longed-for freedom for the Scots. Today, in the Heritage Centre close to the Borestone (Bruce's command post for the battle), you can experience the epic encounter in an audio-visual show and...
More Info Bear Heart Castle Soft Play Centre - Stirling
A play centre with the theme of a castle making it a little spooky but loads to play on like slides and rope swings and othe soft play equipment! Admission: Prices are for 90 minutes of play. Under 1 year FREE 1 year to 18 months £2 18 months to 4 years £3 5yrs and over £3.60 Adults FREE Opening Times: School Term time; only...
More Info Blair Drummond Safari Park and Adventure Park - Stirling
Great reasons to visit the safari park: Lots of exciting animals to look at! Pets Farm Sea Lion Show (4 Daily) Boat rides Wild Animal Reserves Five-seater Pedal Boats Adventure Playground & Giant Astraglide Picnic Have a BBQ Visit the only elephants in Scotland Meet Gary and Vi the park managers ...
More Info Briarlands Farm - Stirling
Jumping Pillows, Tractor Go Karts, Cable Ride, Outdoor Play structures, Mini Diggers, Tyre Maze, Sand Pits, Football Skills Game... ...and Animal Paddocks.
More Info Causewayhead Park - Stirling
Causewayhead Park in Alloa Road, Stirling, has always been a popular park. Key features of are the extension of the former sand play area, and the addition to it of a water pump and rills and the addition of decking, including decked 'islands' in the paddling pool. The old flying fox and sand play structure have both been replaced and...
More Info David Marshall Lodge Visitor Centre - Stirling
David Marshall Lodge visitor centre is the best place to start exploring the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park. The Carnegie Trust gifted the centre to the Forestry Commission in 1960. Its location above Aberfoyle offers some of the most spectacular views in the area including a stunning view across Loch Ard Forest to Ben Lomond.
More Info Doune Castle - Stirling
Doune Castle may look strangely familiar, even to those who have never visited before. It depends on your taste in films: Doune Castle is a place of pilgrimage for Monty Python fans from all over the world who come to see the place where they filmed parts of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail".
More Info GO APE Aberfoyle - Stirling
If you like the idea of an amazing high wire forest tree top course then Go Ape could be just your thing. We have Tarzan swings, rope bridges, ladders, tunnels and zip lines suspended up to 40 feet high in the tree tops. Go Ape is an award-winning confidence course with branches throughout the UK. The Go Ape course will appeal to a...
More Info Pirnhall Inn - Stirling
With a great choice of meals for the youngsters and an outdoor children's play area they should be very happy.
More Info Stirling Castle
One of Scotland's grandest castles due to its imposing position and impressive architecture, Stirling Castle commands the countryside for many miles around. It towers over some of the most important battlefields of Scotland's past including Stirling Bridge, the site of William Wallace's victory over the English in 1297, and...
More Info Stirling Ice Rink
Welcome to the brand new ice rink at the Peak. The new ice pad measures 47m by 30m and houses 6 curling sheets. It can also be used for a number of other ice sports, including ice hockey, speed skating and ice dancing. Skate hire and skate sharpening facilities are available on site. Over the coming months Active Stirling will be...
More Info Stirling Old Town Jail
Welcome to Stirling's Old Town Jail - the city's famous Victorian prison and a captivating visitor attraction at the heart of the city's historic quarter. If you're ready to experience how the Victorians made sure that crime didn't pay... then this is the place to come for a really memorable experience! ...
More Info The Springkerse View - Stirling
Our restaurant benefits from a large car park and has a spacious beer garden with views to the nearby Ochils and an external kids play area for enjoying fine weather, but if the weather is less friendly then children of primary school age can also let off steam in the well equipped indoor play barn.
Welcome to the magnificent Scottish county of Stirling. If you need child friendly ideas where to take the kids, kids days out, or fun things to do with the kids in Stirling then we can help. We have family pubs with kids play areas, soft play areas, indoor play areas, outdoor play areas, playgrounds, aquariums, castles, stately homes, children's clubs such as Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, Brownies, Guides, youth clubs, activity centres, Air, Sea, Army Cadets. We list children's entertainers in Stirling if you are planning a birthday, cinema, theatre, petting zoo, animal farms, children's farms, leisure hire, museum and art gallery, nature areas such as parks, and countryside walks and beaches. We have kids activities related to outdoor pursuits and sports such as swimming, ice skating, ten pin bowling and football centres. We list theme parks and Adventure Parks in Stirling. If you are looking for zoos with more exotic animals then we have them. Don't forget to look at the nearby counties of Strathclyde, Fife, Lothian, Tayside to see what they can offer you. We have days out with the kids in Stirling in and near :- Alloa, Alloa Park, Alva, Bo'ness, Cambus, Clackmannan, Coalsnaughton, Denny, Devonside, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Larbert, Laurieston, Polmont, Stirling. Central is an area in Scotland made up of the following counties :- Falkirk, Stirling, and Clackmannanshire.
Stirling is a city and ancient burgh, in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The city is clustered around a large castle and mediæval old-town. It is a centre for government, retail, and light industry. Its population (as of the 2001 census) was 41,243, making it the smallest city in Scotland. - A former capital of the Kingdom of Scotland, Stirling was a royal burgh until 1975. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, Stirling was granted city status.


News & Blog: Ab Circuit!
3-4 rounds, 15-20 reps, 60 sec rest between rounds. I like wheel roll outs first because you need your abs to be fresh because you don't want to arch your back. Also I use light weight for weighted russian twists, if you go too heavy it can thicken your waist. Typically I do abs 2-3 times a week. I hope this is helpful!