text:
Mosaics are made of tiny colored pieces of stone, pottery, glass or other materials, arranged together and set in plaster or cement to make patterns and images. They can be used to decorate a floor, a wall or in some cases a ceiling.
Mosaics have a long history. They were created in Ancient times in Babylon, Egypt, Greece and Rome. When the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum (which were buried under lava when Mount Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79) were rediscovered, many wonderful mosaics were found.
Ask your students to imagine, making a mosaic using over one million pieces of glass - all hand cut, and placed into wet plaster to create a large pattern for their entry hall! It is a project that would take months and in some cases even many years to complete.
For several centuries, interest in the making of mosaics declined. It wasn't until the 19th century, when architects started to look at old ideas for new inspirations, that the interest once again returned and mosaics began popping up in public buildings and private homes.
This Halloween, why not have your students try their hands at mosaic making, using something very plentiful this time of year... pumpkin seeds.
- Pumpkin Seeds (clean)
- Tempera paint (dark colors)
- Paint brush
- Shallow container
- Thick paper (poster board)
- Wax paper or newspaper
- Have students choose a few paint colors. Put the seeds into a shallow dish, squirt some paint on the seeds and mix the paint around until all seeds are covered in paint. They should do this for as many colors as they need.
- Spread the seeds out on wax paper (or newspaper) and let dry.
- While they are waiting for the seeds to dry, students can draw a scary picture onto their poster paper. Some ideas include a jack 'o' lantern, masks, a black cat or just wild designs. Remind students to keep it simple, remember, they will be "coloring in" with seeds.
- When the seeds are dry, they can be arranged and glued onto the poster paper in the appropriate areas. If you are feeling really adventurous, try using plaster instead of glue to create the mosaics. Just remind students to work quickly as plaster has a very quick set time. Also, never pour plaster down the sink. Wait for it to dry and throw it in the garbage.


Writing Tests for a Kafka Consumer
45 minutes
 - 2 Learning Objectives
About this Hands-on Lab
You can accomplish a great deal by implementing your own Kafka consumers. Like almost any source code, it is a good idea to build unit tests to verify the functionality of your consumer code. Kafka's 'MockConsumer' test fixture simplifies the process of building unit tests for producer code. In this lab, we will work with consumer test fixtures by writing a few unit tests for an existing consumer.
Learning Objectives
Successfully complete this lab by achieving the following learning objectives:
Clone the Starter Project from GitHub and Perform a Test Run
 1. Clone the starter project from GitHub:
 cd ~/
 git clone _URL_
 2. Perform a test run to make sure the code is able to compile and run:
 cd content-ccdak-consumer-tests-lab
 ./gradlew test
 The code should compile, but the tests should fail since they are not implemented yet.
Implement the Unit Tests for the 'MemberSignupsConsumer'
 1. Edit the test class for MemberSignupsConsumer:
 vi src/test/java/com/linuxacademy/ccdak/consumer/MemberSignupsConsumerTest.java
 2. Implement the testHandleRecords_output test:
 @Test
 public void testHandleRecords_output() {
 // Verify that the testHandleRecords writes the correct data to System.out
 // A text fixture called systemOutContent has already been set up in this class to capture System.out data.
 String topic = "member_signups";
 ConsumerRecord<Integer, String> record = new ConsumerRecord<>(topic, 0, 1, 2, "ROSENBERG, WILLOW");
 Map<TopicPartition, List<ConsumerRecord<Integer, String>>> records = new LinkedHashMap<>();
 records.put(new TopicPartition(topic, 0), Arrays.asList(record));
 ConsumerRecords<Integer, String> consumerRecords = new ConsumerRecords<>(records);

 memberSignupsConsumer.handleRecords(consumerRecords);
 Assert.assertEquals("key=2, value=ROSENBERG, WILLOW, topic=member_signups, partition=0, offset=1n", systemOutContent.toString());
 }
 3. Implement the testHandleRecords_none test:
 @Test
 public void testHandleRecords_none() {
 // Verify that testHandleRecords behaves correctly when processing no records.
 // A text fixture called systemOutContent has already been set up in this class to capture System.out data.
 String topic = "member_signups";
 Map<TopicPartition, List<ConsumerRecord<Integer, String>>> records = new LinkedHashMap<>();
 records.put(new TopicPartition(topic, 0), Arrays.asList());
 ConsumerRecords<Integer, String> consumerRecords = new ConsumerRecords<>(records);

 memberSignupsConsumer.handleRecords(consumerRecords);
 Assert.assertEquals("", systemOutContent.toString());
 }
 4. Implement the testHandleRecords_multiple test:
 @Test
 public void testHandleRecords_multiple() {
 // Verify that testHandleRecords behaves correctly when processing multiple records.
 // A text fixture called systemOutContent has already been set up in this class to capture System.out data.
 String topic = "member_signups";
 ConsumerRecord<Integer, String> record1 = new ConsumerRecord<>(topic, 0, 1, 2, "ROSENBERG, WILLOW");
 ConsumerRecord<Integer, String> record2 = new ConsumerRecord<>(topic, 3, 4, 5, "HARRIS, ALEXANDER");
 Map<TopicPartition, List<ConsumerRecord<Integer, String>>> records = new LinkedHashMap<>();
 records.put(new TopicPartition(topic, 0), Arrays.asList(record1, record2));
 ConsumerRecords<Integer, String> consumerRecords = new ConsumerRecords<>(records);

 memberSignupsConsumer.handleRecords(consumerRecords);
 Assert.assertEquals("key=2, value=ROSENBERG, WILLOW, topic=member_signups, partition=0, offset=1nkey=5, value=HARRIS, ALEXANDER, topic=member_signups, partition=3, offset=4n", systemOutContent.toString());
 }
 5. Run your tests and make sure they pass:
 ./gradlew test
Additional Resources
Your supermarket company has a consumer that consumes messages that are created when customers sign up for a membership program. This consumer simply logs the messages and their metadata to the console.
The company is reviewing the codebase for compliance with good practices, and this consumer has no unit tests. Your task is to write some unit tests for the consumer.
There is a project in GitHub that contains the code. Clone this project to the Dev server. The consumer class is located at src/main/java/com/linuxacademy/ccdak/consumer/MemberSignupsConsumer.java. You can find a test class at src/test/java/com/linuxacademy/ccdak/consumer/MemberSignupsConsumerTest.java. Edit the test class and implement your unit tests there. There are already test methods and some test fixtures set up in the class.
Note the test class contains a test fixture called systemOutContent. You can use this to access data written to System.out during the test like so:
systemOutContent.toString()
Here are some notes on the tests that need to be created:
 - testHandleRecords_output — This test should simply verify the output. Call the handleRecords and pass in a record. Test that the data is written to System.out in the expected format.
 - testHandleRecords_none — Test that handleRecords works as expected when the collection of records is empty.
 - testHandleRecords_multiple — Test that handleRecords works as expected when the collection of records contains more than one record.
If you get stuck, feel free to check out the solution video or the detailed instructions under each objective. Good luck!
What are Hands-on Labs
Hands-on Labs are real environments created by industry experts to help you learn. These environments help you gain knowledge and experience, practice without compromising your system, test without risk, destroy without fear, and let you learn from your mistakes. Hands-on Labs: practice your skills before delivering in the real world.
Get Started
Who's going to be learning?
How many seats do you need?
 - $499 USD per seat per year
 - Billed Annually
 - Renews in 12 months
Ready to accelerate learning?
For over 25 licenses, a member of our sales team will walk you through a custom tailored solution for your business.
$2,495.00
Checkout
Sign In
Welcome Back!
Psst…this one if you've been moved to ACG!


Moving Text box over arc
 - Moving Text box over arc
 I am referring to the speedometer example code. In the example code, the speed of the speedometer is displayed at a fixed location.
 Instead of showing the speed at a fixed location, I wanted to display the speed over arc/dial. I have attached the image so that you will get to know what exactly I am expecting.
 I have a radius of speedometer and angle of speed indicator. Could you please let me know how to move text box (Speed reading) over a speedometer dial?
 If you have a similar kind of example code, could you please share it?
 - Capture.PNG
 41.11 kB, 346×263, viewed 129 times


text:
Trees & Shrubs
The heart of any arboretum or botanic garden is its plant collections. Taltree's collections typically focus on woody and herbaceous plants that tolerate our challenging clay soils and long, cold winters. The oak tree (Quercus spp.) is a natural for these conditions and as a result we have numerous oaks in our collection. Our Northwest Indiana native oaks as well as interesting hybrids can be seen in the gardens and wooded areas of the arboretum.
The Oak Islands exhibit showcases more than 40 different oak species from around the world.
Our growing Viburnum collection can be found throughout the Welcome Garden, Pavilion Gardens and in the Oak Islands exhibit. It consists of many different species of this versatile shrub. Other collections include the Rose Family Collection (Rosa spp.), the Native Plant Collection (in the Native Plant Garden) and the Dogwood Collection (Cornus spp.), located throughout the arboretum.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Young D. Choi, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University Calumet, with the assistance of students, performed a flora survey of the plants of Taltree during the summers of 2008 and 2009. Dr. Choi's report can be seen here:

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
See more from this Session: General Seed Physiology, Production, & Technology: I/Div. C04 Business Meeting
Monday, November 1, 2010: 2:30 PM
Long Beach Convention Center, Room 103B, First Floor
Carrot seed is produced in central Oregon by planting seed in late-summer, 13 months before harvest. Seedling carrot growth and development is sometimes poor possibly because of nematodes, herbicide carryover, or allelopathy from wheat straw. Frost-heaving is a risk factor that strongly influences winter survival of seedling carrot in the region. Frost-heaving occurs when freezing and thawing soil pushes seedling carrots up out of the soil, which results in plant mortality. Two field trials were conducted to evaluate the influence of wheat straw management on seedling carrot injury and the potential for herbicide carryover from wheat. Two additional field trials were conducted to evaluate mulch products to prevent frost-heaving. Wheat straw management practices influenced carrot establishment and seedling carrot survival over the winter. Seedbed preparation strongly influenced carrot establishment and winter survival. Biomass mulches were all equally effective in preventing frost-heaving.


estrogen,but the underlying mechanism at gene level is far from being elucidated.The objective of this study was to investigate the correlation between estrogen and fatty acid synthase(FAS)expression in periosteum.Methods Human periosteum cells were cultured in vitro.Expressed genes in the substrated cDNA library were verified using semi-quantitative PCR and real-time PCR.The expression of FAS in periosteum of ovarectomized(OVX)SD rats was investigated.Results FAS gene was most significantly expressed in the subtracted cDNA library of periosteal cells screened by semi-quantitative PCR.Low FAS expression was verified by real-time PCR in the estrogen exposed human periosteum rather than in the control.The estradiol levels were(20.81±12.62)pg/ml,(19.64±4.35)pg/ml and(13.47+1.84)pg/ml in the sham group,the control,and the OVX group,respectively.The estradiol levels in the OVX group was significantly lower(P=0.0386).The FAS gene expression in periosteum in the OVX group,sham group,and control group was 3.09±1.97,1.33±0.47 and 1.51±1.32,respectively.The gene expression in the OVX group was significantly higher (P=0.0372).Conclusion Estrogen modulates FAS gene expression in in vitro human perisoteum as well as in in vivo rat periosteum.
 9. Homology analyses of the protein sequences of fatty acid synthases from chicken liver, rat mammary gland, and yeast
 Homology analyses of the protein sequences of chicken liver and rat mammary gland fatty acid synthases were carried out. The amino acid sequences of the chicken and rat enzymes are 67% identical. If conservative substitutions are allowed, 78% of the amino acids are matched. A region of low homologies exists between the functional domains, in particular around amino acid residues _PHONE_ of the chicken enzyme. Homologies between the active sites of chicken and rat and of chicken and yeast enzymes have been analyzed by an alignment method. A high degree of homology exists between the active sites of the chicken and rat enzymes. However, the chicken and yeast enzymes show a lower degree of homology. The DADPH-binding dinucleotide folds of the β-ketoacyl reductase and the enoyl reductase sites were identified by comparison with a known consensus sequence for the DADP- and FAD-binding dinucleotide folds. The active sites of all of the enzymes are primarily in hydrophobic regions of the protein. This study suggests that the genes for the functional domains of fatty acid synthase were originally separated, and these genes were connected to each other by using different connecting nucleotide sequences in different species. An alternative explanation for the differences in rat and chicken is a common ancestry and mutations in the joining regions during evolution
 10. Starvation for ilvB operon leader amino acids other than leucine or valine does not increase acetohydroxy acid synthase activity in Escherichia coli.
 Tsui, P; Freundlich, M
 1985-01-01
 Eleven different amino acids are encoded in the ilvB leader mRNA. Starvation for leucine or valine, but not for any of the other nine amino acids, resulted in high levels of acetohydroxy acid synthase I. These results are discussed in terms of a report (C.A. Hauser and G.W. Hatfield, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 81:76-79, 1984) which suggests that threonine and alanine, in addition to leucine and valine, are involved in the regulation of the ilvB operon.
 11. Fatty acid synthase cooperates with glyoxalase 1 to protect against sugar toxicity.
 Damien Garrido
 2015-02-01
 Full Text Available Fatty acid (FA metabolism is deregulated in several human diseases including metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and cancers. Therefore, FA-metabolic enzymes are potential targets for drug therapy, although the consequence of these treatments must be precisely evaluated at the organismal and cellular levels. In healthy organism, synthesis of triacylglycerols (TAGs-composed of three FA units esterified to a glycerol backbone-is increased in response to dietary sugar. Saturation in the storage and synthesis capacity of TAGs is associated with type 2 diabetes progression. Sugar toxicity likely depends on advanced-glycation-end-products (AGEs that form through covalent bounding between amine groups and carbonyl groups of sugar or their derivatives α-oxoaldehydes. Methylglyoxal (MG is a highly reactive α-oxoaldehyde that is derived from glycolysis through a non-enzymatic reaction. Glyoxalase 1 (Glo1 works to neutralize MG, reducing its deleterious effects. Here, we have used the power of Drosophila genetics to generate Fatty acid synthase (FASN mutants, allowing us to investigate the consequence of this deficiency upon sugar-supplemented diets. We found that FASN mutants are lethal but can be rescued by an appropriate lipid diet. Rescued animals do not exhibit insulin resistance, are dramatically sensitive to dietary sugar and accumulate AGEs. We show that FASN and Glo1 cooperate at systemic and cell-autonomous levels to protect against sugar toxicity. We observed that the size of FASN mutant cells decreases as dietary sucrose increases. Genetic interactions at the cell-autonomous level, where glycolytic enzymes or Glo1 were manipulated in FASN mutant cells, revealed that this sugar-dependent size reduction is a direct consequence of MG-derived-AGE accumulation. In summary, our findings indicate that FASN is dispensable for cell growth if extracellular lipids are available. In contrast, FA-synthesis appears to be required to limit a cell
 12. Cloning and characterization of novel methylsalicylic acid synthase gene involved in the biosynthesis of isoasperlactone and asperlactone in Aspergillus westerdijkiae
 Aspergillus westerdijkiae is the main producer of several biologically active polyketide metabolites including isoasperlactone and asperlactone. A 5298 bp polyketide synthase gene ''aomsas'' has been cloned in Aspergillus westerdijkiae by using gene walking approach and RACE-PCR. The predicted amino acid sequence of aomsas shows an identity of 40-56% with different methylsalicylic acid synthase genes found in Byssochlamys nivea, P. patulum, A. terreus and Streptomyces viridochromogenes. Based on the reverse transcription PCR and kinetic secondary metabolites production studies, aomsas expression was found to be associated with the biosynthesis of isoasperlactone and asperlactone. Moreover an aomsas knockout mutant ''aomsas'' of A. westerdijkiae, not only lost the capacity to produce isoasperlactone and asperlactone, but also 6-methylsalicylic acid. The genetically complemented mutant aomsas restored the biosynthesis of all the missing metabolites. Chemical complementation through the addition of 6-methylsalicylic acid, aspyrone and diepoxide to growing culture of aomsas mutant revealed that these compounds play intermediate roles in the biosynthesis of asperlactone and isoasperlactone. (author)
 13. Biochemistry: Acetohydroxyacid Synthase
 Pham Ngoc Chien
 2010-02-01
 Full Text Available Acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS, EC 2.2.1.6; formerly known as acetolactate synthase, ALS is a thiamin-and FAD-dependent enzyme which catalyses the first common step in the biosynthesis of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA isoleucine, leucine and valine. The enzyme is inhibited by several commercial herbicides and has been studied over the last 20 to 30 years. A short introductory note about acetohydroxyacid synthase has been provided.
 14. Biosynthesis of Dictyostelium discoideum differentiation-inducing factor by a hybrid type I fatty acid-type III polyketide synthase.
 Austin, Michael B; Saito, Tamao; Bowman, Marianne E; Haydock, Stephen; Kato, Atsushi; Moore, Bradley S; Kay, Robert R; Noel, Joseph P
 2006-09-01
 Differentiation-inducing factors (DIFs) are well known to modulate formation of distinct communal cell types from identical Dictyostelium discoideum amoebas, but DIF biosynthesis remains obscure. We report complimentary in vivo and in vitro experiments identifying one of two approximately 3,000-residue D. discoideum proteins, termed 'steely', as responsible for biosynthesis of the DIF acylphloroglucinol scaffold. Steely proteins possess six catalytic domains


text:
WFP's Purchase for Progress initiative was in the spotlight at a key food security event in Washington on Tuesday as Bill Gates applauded the programme which works to connect small farmers to markets and WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran underlined the role corporations can play in supporting it.
by Rene McGuffin
WASHINGTON -- Poor farming families must be empowered if we are to be successful in the global fight against hunger and poverty, said Bill Gates in his keynote address at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs on Tuesday, capturing a theme that surfaced repeatedly throughout this high-profile one-day event.
The Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation told the story of Odetta, a Rwandan single mother of two who, like three-quarters of the world's poorest, gets her food and income from farming a small plot of land. Through WFP's Purchase for Progress (P4P) programme, which provided key training and bought her crops, Odetta has more than quadrupled her income.
What is P4P?
Smallholder farmers in many developing countries would be able to produce surpluses if only there was a profitable market for those surpluses. Through P4P, WFP is using its demand for basic grains to help farmers to access markets and get a fair price. Learn more
The woman farmer now firmly believes that "farming is wealth," said Gates at the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security hosted by the CCGA to review the United States' progress on its global food security strategy and to explore how to address continuing challenges.
The event was co-chaired by Catherine Bertini, WFP's former Executive Director and Dan Glickman, the former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and featured other important speakers, including Bill Gates and WFP's Executive Director Josette Sheeran.
A historic chance
Since its start less than 3 years ago, Gates noted that WFP's P4P has already contracted to buy 170,000 metric tons of food from farmers like Odetta and has paid out an estimated $37 million, channeled directly into the pockets of these small-scale farmers.
At a time when the world needs more food, Gates emphasized that "this is the early stage of sweeping change for farming families in the poorest parts of the world. It's a historic chance to help people and countries move from dependency to self-sufficiency – and fulfill the highest promise of foreign aid."
In a discussion on boosting private sector involvement in agriculture and nutrition in developing countries, Josette Sheeran highlighted how businesses can be the "follow-on force" that picks up where WFP leaves off in meeting the needs of communities.
With P4P, for example, WFP supports small farmers to produce high quality food for competitive tendering and later private companies can step in to buy that food, she said.
In a similar way, there are enormous opportunities for corporations to help poor communities become more healthy, Sheeran added, both by acting as a "follow-on force" but also by helping to "connect knowledge with innovation" and through "burden sharing".
By deploying corporate technology and know-how, new approaches to age-old problems will result in a win-win situation for both the developing countries and the businesses, she stressed.
In 2010, WFP partners supported projects in 58 of the 74 countries in which WFP operates and have played a "big role in taking some of the burden we face", Sheeran noted.

source: m-a-p/FineFineWeb


text:
Monitoring near-riverbed sediment behavior of debris flows using hydrophones
Keywords:debris flow monitoring, hydrophone, sound pressure
Hydrophones are steel pipes containing a microphone, and they can be used to measure bedload transport intensity. Bedload discharge and average grain diameter can be calculated analytically using sound pressure data. In this study, hydrophones were used to identify debris flows. The proportional relationship between the output voltage corresponding to a grain collision and its momentum was used to analyze electric pressure distribution, which was then used to calculate the mean diameter of colliding grains. Flume experiments were conducted to verify the effectiveness of this method in recognizing the time change of the near-river- bed sediment discharge from debris flows and low concentrated flows, including their transition ranges. Total sediment discharge can also be calculated if the collision rate upon the hydrophones is evaluated by setting the interface. In addition, the time change of the average grain diameter can be calculated. Large grains were detected in the debris flow surge, and the analytic values were in rough agreement with the experimental values.
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2011 Italian journal of engineering geology and environment
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.


text:
Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California
Atlantic Richfield Corp. has purchased 480 acres in the Sierra Nevada for the tribe, part of settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency over pollution from the abandoned Leviathan sulfur mine in California's rural Alpine County. It resolves ARCO's liability for failing to prevent ponds of acid mine drainage from spilling over and contaminating the Carson River watershed in 1998, the EPA said. The $750,000 property, north of Stampede Reservoir in Sierra County, Calif., is surrounded by the Tahoe and Toiyabe national forests. Though the Washoes will hold title, a Nature Conservancy easement ensures its protection in the future. The tribe plans to operate a summer educational program on the property to teach Washoe children about their culture. "The Washoes have been tremendous advocates for the conservation and restoration of their ancestral lands in the eastern Sierra,'' said Keith Takata, director of the EPA's Superfund division in San Francisco. Pollution killed off aquatic life, including the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout, in Leviathan and Bryant creeks that meander through Indian trust lands before reaching the river. Crews treat drainage in holding ponds by adding lime. ARCO and the University of Nevada, Reno are working on methods to treat acid mine drainage at the site, inaccessible in the winter, year round.


text: This accessory is designed for training and presentation purposes and for providing rough estimates of resistance measurement accuracy. The results obtained from the measurements with the simulator shall be treated as estimated values, and not as calibration results. CS-1 cable simulator is designed to simulate the insulation resistance of power cables. The adapter is equipped with banana sockets with a diameter of 4 mm. This allows user to perform resistance measurements with majority of meters designed for this purpose and offered by Sonel SA. The user of the cable simulator is able to check the correctness of measuring results provided by devices of MIC series (insulation resistance meters). Other devices compatible with CS-1 include multifunctional electrical installation meters, with the function of insulation resistance measurement. Please note that the results presented in the display of the meters are approximate, and that presented value is within the basic error range of the meter itself and the cable simulator. The resistance value provided by the simulator may for a long time remain under constant external voltage, up to 1000 V. The housing is highly resistant to mechanical damage. The device allows user to perform a simulation of measurements for four resistance values.


text:
Seismic vibrations from wind turbines and their effects on the seismometer array at Eskdalemuir
The CTBTO (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation) IMS seismometer array station located at Eskdalemuir in Scotland has been operating since 1962. It is vital that the government and MoD safeguard the array from excessive seismic vibration noise. The presentation reviews the work undertaken by the EWG (Eskdalemuir Working Group) a cross government/industry group, in reviewing a vibration budget in relation to seismic vibration from wind turbines. The work outlines measurement analysis and modelling to develop an understanding of how wind turbines generate seismic waves. In turn this work was used to develop a model to predict seismic ground waves that could be used to refine and define the wind turbine exclusion and 50km consultation zone around the array.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
An inside look at the operations at the National Weather Service in Blacksburg
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - Meteorologist Collin Rogers and Jeffrey Hoole graduated from Virginia Tech so they're no strangers to Blacksburg.
On Wednesday, they returned to their college town, this time to tour the National Weather Service Office.
The facility is located off Forecast Drive. Inside, they learned about the instrumentation and software used to create area forecasts. But first, they looked at the outdoor tools used to record climate data.
Nick Fillo, senior service hydrologist at NWS Blacksburg says, "Today we covered a little bit about the what the cooperative weather observer program is for the national weather service, which helps us keep track of the climate for the United States, and then we went over to the upper air shelter and took a look at the weather balloon."
These weather balloons are launched twice a day from certain NWS offices across the country.
Attached to them is a box called a radiosonde. It collects data while traveling up into the atmosphere. Inside are instruments that measure temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction, which are all very helpful for forecasters. After this lesson, they sat down to learn about AWIPS, their software used to create the forecasts.
AWIPS stands for Advanced Warning Interactive Processing System
The software uses a combination of automation and human input to make it easier for forecasters to create products for an extremely wide area including south central and southwest Virginia, parts of North Carolina and southwest West Virginia.
It starts with a blend of model data, which is then tweaked to best fit each area based on observed trends. AWIPS then produces a text forecast from the data. The forecasters can then distribute it, eliminating a lengthy step in the process.
Dennis Sleighter, a meteorologist at NWS Blacksburg, says, "The less time you spend typing, the more you can actually look at the models."
This process is also used to track thunderstorms and issue warnings.
The National Weather Service in Blacksburg covers eight total counties in our WVVA weather forecasting area.
While the National Weather Service in Charleston covers the other six.
Copyright 2023 WVVA. All rights reserved.


text:
Fish Farm 1 Design
The Fish Farm problem is designed to have students apply the concepts of ratio and equivalent ratio to distribute a set number of male and female fish into three ponds. Each pond has a target ratio of male-to-female fish. As the students move fish from the tank into the individual ponds, the numerical and graphical displays of the current numbers of male and female fish will change.
For their birthday, the Carp triplets received 26 tropical fish: 13 females and 13 males. They discussed ways to divide the fish among their three tiny backyard ponds. Angel said, "I want the same number of male and female fish in my pond." "Okay," said Molly. "I want three times as many males as females in my pond." "Then I want twice as many females as males in my pond," Gar replied. Is there a way to put all 26 fish into those three ponds, while giving each triplet what he or she wants? Use the applet to explore this question.
Questions / Explorations
- How many male fish and female fish does each triplet get in his or her pond? Describe the work you did to find the solution. (Sample questions you can answer: Into which pond did you put fish first? How many fish of each kind went into that pond? Why? What was your next step? How were you sure a pond had the correct ratio?)
- Given the 13 males and 13 females, what are ALL the possible numbers of male and female fish that would satisfy the ratio of 1 male to 2 female fish in Gar's pond? Explain why these different amounts are equivalent to the ratio 1:2.
- Explain why all possible answers in question 2 result in the same pie graph for Gar's pond.
- Find a different way to distribute all 26 fish among the three ponds in the correct ratios.
- Distribute the fish into the three ponds such that only 1 female fish is left in the large tank. Is there more than one way to distribute the fish and achieve the target ratios?
- Distribute the fish into the three ponds such that only 1 male fish is left in the large tank. Is there more than one way to distribute the fish and achieve the target ratios?
- Review the concept of ratios in the form a:b.
- Print out the matching tasks from the Web page All About Ratios by Cynthia Lanius. Have students work in small groups to discuss these tasks and make convincing arguments about their answers.
- Have students discuss how to represent the ratio 2:3 in a circle graph.
- Have students find a DIFFERENT way to distribute all 26 fish among the three ponds.
- Have students distribute the fish into the three ponds such that only 1 female fish is left in the large tank. Is there more than one way to distribute the fish and achieve the target ratios?
- Have students distribute the fish into the three ponds such that only 1 male fish is left in the large tank. Is there more than one way to distribute the fish and achieve the target ratios?
- Encourage students to develop a procedure and justification for determining whether two ratios are equivalent.
The pre-activity should help students begin to think about the concept of equivalent ratios, and how a ratio might be represented in a circle graph. The post-activity is an extension of the original problem, and should give students more opportunities to experience creating equivalent ratios in both numerical and graphical form.
- understand patterns, relations, and functions
- use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships
- Number & Operations
- understand and use ratios and proportions to represent quantitative relationships;
- develop, analyze, and explain methods for solving problems involving proportions, such as scaling and finding equivalent ratios
- create and use representations to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas
- select, apply, and translate among mathematical representations to solve problems
- use representations to model and interpret physical, social, and mathematical phenomena
- Problem Solving
- solve problems that arise in mathematics and in other contexts
- monitor and reflect on the process of mathematical problem solving
- communicate mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others
- use the language of mathematics to express mathematical ideas precisely
- ePOW (electronic Problem of the Week) activity hosted on the MathForum
- Teacher Support
- Lesson plans created by participants of the 2010 Summer Institute


text:
The Kinematics and Dynamics of Galactic Rings
The Physics of Resonance
The physics involved in resonance entails the differential rotation of a galaxy's bar with respect to particles in the the disk of the galaxy. Put simply, it is the value of the bar pattern angular velocity in relation to the angular frequency of circular rotation and the radial epicyclic frequency of every star and dust cloud in the disk of the galaxy. The epicycles are actually closed elliptical orbits of material in the disk of the galaxy that are precessing around the central region of the galaxy. How fast a bar pattern rotates determines what kind of resonance you end up with in a galaxy. If the bar pattern speed is fast enough then it is believed that it can push a spiral out to the Outer Lindblad Resonance (OLR). If OLR is in the visible disk then it may lead to ring and pseudoring formation. The three major resonances relevant to ring formation are:Outer Lindblad Resonance (OLR)
Inner Lindblad Resonance (ILR)
Inner 4:1 Ultraharmonic Resonance (UHR)
Figure 1. The OLR subclass of outer pseudoringsFigure. 2.
Schematic showing the relative shapes, sizes, and major-axis orientations of all of the bar and ring features of NGC 3081, including the "dimples" in the outer R1 ring feature. Here "nr" refers to the nuclear ring, and "nb" to the nuclear (secondary) bar. Axes are labeled in arcsecond offsets relative to the nucleus. North is at the top, and east is to the left.
Image and description source: A HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE STUDY OF STAR FORMATION IN THE INNER RESONANCE RING OF NGC 3081
by R. Buta et al.
Other important types of resonance are corotation (CR)
and the outer 4:1 resonance
. In corotation (CR) the periodic rate of rotation of the bar is equal to the angular frequency of circular rotation of the disk. In the outer 4:1 resonance the periodic rate of rotation of the bar is equal to the angular frequency of circular rotation plus 1/4 of the radial epicyclic frequency.
Figure 3. Corotation resonace (CR)
If you read nothing else on this subject, at the very least, read Galactic Rings
by R. Buta and F. Combes. I consider this a must-read. (very highly recommended)
Another paper worth reading is the following:
Title: The Morphology of Barred Galaxies
Authors: Buta, R.
Journal: Barred galaxies. Astronomical Society of the Pacific Conference Series, Volume 91; Proceedings of a conference held at the University of Alabama; Tuscaloosa; Alabama; 30 May - 3 June 1995; San Francisco: Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP #91); |c1996; edited by R. Buta, D. A. Crocker and B. G. Elmegreen, p.11
Bibliographic Code: 1996ASPC...91...11BTABLE I.
Summary of notation for ring and lens phenomena (below) from the paper (above), Galactic Rings
by R. Buta and F. Combes.
|TABLE I. Summary of notation for ring and lens phenomena|
|R1||Type 1 OLR subclass outer ring|
|R1'||Type 1 OLR subclass outer pseudoring|
|R2'||Type 2 OLR subclass outer pseudoring|
Here's a wonderful paper written by Dr. Ronald Buta et al on a study done with the Hubble Space Telescope of the inner resonance ring of NGC 3081. Even though the paper's focus is on this one galaxy, it gives the reader a much more in-depth understanding of the kinematics and dynamics of inner rings in general. Admittedly, it's a little technical, but well worth reading. A HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE STUDY OF STAR FORMATION IN THE INNER RESONANCE RING OF NGC 3081
The Origins of Spiral Arms
How Two, Three and Four Arms Are CreatedThe Origins of Spiral Arms
by a Single Galactic Bar
- translated by Charles Danforth, University of ColoradoFigure 1.
By aligning a series of concentric elliptical (2/1) orbits, a bar can be produced (a). If each ellipse is given an azimuthal offset proportional to r½
, the effect is a two armed spiral of orbits (b). A set of (3/2) orbits produces a three armed spiral (c) and (4/1) produces a four armed pattern (d).
The above illustration is from The Origins of Spiral Arms
by Charles Danforth, University of Colorado.
Star-Forming Nuclear Rings in Spiral Galaxies
Here's a paper entitled Star-Forming Nuclear Rings in Spiral Galaxies.pdf
Examples of the Application of the Notation for Ring
and Lens Types to Actual Images of Galaxies
I realize that this is a lot to swallow all at once. So, I have provided a couple of examples of objects, each with a very sophisticated classification using feature symbols from Table I. There is a summary of notation for ring and lens phenomena below. But, I have also included "alternative" classifications from both NED and SIMBAD, which are considerably simpler, to give you a better idea of what you may come across in Galaxy Analysis. Thank you for reading.
Classifications: (R1R2')SAB(r,nr)0/a Alternative ClassificationsSIMBAD
Basic data: Seyfert 1 Galaxy*
Morphological type S0:rNED
Classifications: (R_1)SAB(r)0/a Sy2*
*SIMBAD and NED seem to be in disagreement on whether this is a Seyfert 1 or a Seyfert 2 galaxy.
RA = 6:50.1, Dec. = +60:51
Classifications: (RR)SB(rs)a Sy2Alternative ClassificationsSIMBAD
Basic data: Seyfert 2 Galaxy
Morphological type SBaNED
Classifications: SB(r)a: Sy2
The thumbnails (below) are more examples of ring and pseudoring classifications.


scipy.ndimage.
standard_deviation#
scipy.ndimage.standard_deviation(input, labels=None, index=None)[source]#
Calculate the standard deviation of the values of an N-D image array, optionally at specified sub-regions.
Parameters:
inputarray_like
N-D image data to process.
labelsarray_like, optional
Labels to identify sub-regions in input. If not None, must be same shape as input.
indexint or sequence of ints, optional
labels to include in output. If None (default), all values where labels is non-zero are used.
Returns:
standard_deviationfloat or ndarray
Values of standard deviation, for each sub-region if labels and index are specified.
Examples
>>> import numpy as np
>>> a = np.array([[1, 2, 0, 0],
... [5, 3, 0, 4],
... [0, 0, 0, 7],
... [9, 3, 0, 0]])
>>> from scipy import ndimage
>>> ndimage.standard_deviation(a)
2.7585095613392387
Features to process can be specified using labels and index:
>>> lbl, nlbl = ndimage.label(a)
>>> ndimage.standard_deviation(a, lbl, index=np.arange(1, nlbl+1))
array([ 1.479, 1.5 , 3. ])
If no index is given, non-zero labels are processed:
>>> ndimage.standard_deviation(a, lbl)
2.4874685927665499


D.3 RDB$CHARACTER_SETS
RDB$CHARACTER_SETS names and describes the character sets available in the database.
Column NameData TypeDescription
RDB$CHARACTER_SET_NAME
CHAR(31)
Character set name
RDB$FORM_OF_USE
CHAR(31)
Not used
RDB$NUMBER_OF_CHARACTERS
INTEGER
The number of characters in the set. Not used for existing character sets
RDB$DEFAULT_COLLATE_NAME
CHAR(31)
The name of the default collation sequence for the character set
RDB$CHARACTER_SET_ID
SMALLINT
Unique character set identifier
RDB$SYSTEM_FLAG
SMALLINT
System flag: value is 1 if the character set is defined in the system when the database is created; value is 0 for a user-defined character set
RDB$DESCRIPTION
BLOB TEXT
Could store text description of the character set
RDB$FUNCTION_NAME
CHAR(31)
For a user-defined character set that is accessed via an external function, the name of the external function
RDB$BYTES_PER_CHARACTER
SMALLINT
The maximum number of bytes representing one character
RDB$SECURITY_CLASS
CHAR(31)
May reference a security class defined in the table RDB$SECURITY_CLASSES, in order to apply access control limits to all users of this character set
RDB$OWNER_NAME
CHAR(31)
The user name of the user who created the character set originally


- economic evaluation;
 - falls prevention;
 - Australia;
 - Markov
Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of strategies designed to prevent falls among older people.
Methods: A decision analytic Markov model of interventions designed to prevent falls was developed. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) using quality adjusted life year (QALYs) as the measure, were calculated for those interventions aimed at the general population (home exercise, group exercise, tai chi, multiple and multi-factorial interventions); high-risk populations (group exercise, home hazard assessment/modification and multi-factorial interventions); and specific populations (cardiac pacing, expedited cataract surgery and psychotropic medication withdrawal). Uncertainty was explored using univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analysis.
Conclusion: In the general population, compared with no intervention the ICERs were tai chi ($44,205), group-based exercise ($70,834), multiple interventions ($72,306), home exercise ($93,432), multifactorial interventions with only referral ($125,868) and multifactorial interventions with an active component ($165,841). The interventions were ranked by cost in order to exclude dominated interventions (more costly, less effective) and extendedly dominated interventions (where an intervention is more costly and less effective than a combination of two other interventions). Tai chi remained the only cost-effective intervention for the general population.
Implications: Interventions designed to prevent falls in older adults living in the community can be cost-effective. However, there is uncertainty around some of the model parameters which require further investigation.


text:
Astrocaryum acaule Mart. Palmae.
Brazil. This is a palm of the Rio Negro. The fruit is edible.
Astrocaryum murumura Mart. Murumura.
A palm of the Brazilian forest. The fruit, according to Kunth, has an agreeable flavor and at first a scent resembling musk but afterwards that of a melon. Wallace states that the fleshy covering of the fruit is rather juicy and is eatable.
Astrocaryum tucuma Mart.
Upper Amazon and Rio Negro. The fleshy part of the fruit is esteemed for food by the Indians. The yellowish, fibrous pulp is eaten by the natives.
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.


Prashanth Jayaram
Create mongoDB external table
Data Virtualization with MongoDB using PolyBase in SQL Server 2019
October 9, 2020 by
In this article, you'll learn the approach to integrate MongoDB data source using data virtualization technique in SQL Server 2019. In this article, you can see how SQL Server 2019 provides a platform to create a modern enterprise data hub using data virtualization technology and the PolyBase technique.
 1. Discuss Data Virtualization
 2. Pre-requisite to setup MongoDB
 3. Set up MongoDB external connection in SQL Server 2019
 4. Many more…
The advent of Data virtualization in SQL Server 2019 allows us to solve modern and complex data challenges. Data virtualization with PolyBase in SQL Server 2019 is used as a data hub, and you can directly query the data from several heterogeneous data sources. These data sources include Azure Managed Instance, Oracle, Teradata, SAP HANA, MongoDB, Hadoop clusters, Cosmos DB, and SQL Server. We can query the data source using T-SQL and without separately installing driver software.
The data virtualization in SQL Server 2019 is an improvised solution to the ETL process. The other advantage of Data virtualization is that it allows the integration of data from different sources such as Azure MI, SQL Server, MongoDB, Oracle, DB2, Cosmos DB, and Hadoop-Distributed-File-System (HDFS) without the much data movement around the source and destination. This process is possible with the advent of PolyBase connectors.
 - Using T-SQL, we can query heterogeneous data sources using PolyBase connectors. This provides the bridge to query the data from external data sources such as SQL Server, Oracle, Teradata, MongoDB, and ODBC data sources with external tables
 - It also supports the UTF-8 encoding format
Get started:
In this section, you will learn how to create secure data access from the underlying data source.
In this case, PolyBase uses the security model of the MongoDB model to access the data. In most cases, we need permission to read the data. However, the credentials used to read the data and it is stored inside the PolyBase data hub.
To set-up data virtualization, follow the below steps:
 1. Setup database master key
 2. Create database-scoped credentials
 3. PolyBase external tables
 4. Configure External data sources
To configure database virtualization, select the database. Right-click the database and select Create External Table that starts the data virtualization wizard.
 1. Select a data source
 2. Create a database master key
In this section, we will see how to create a database master key. The master key is created inside the SQL Server database and it acts as a data hub.
The master key is providing a secure way to read data using the credentials in the external data source. It is always recommended to choose a complex password for the master key. In addition, use the BACKUP MASTER KEY command to back up the master key.
 1. You can have one master key in a database instance
 2. Use a secure location to backup the master key
 3. If you already have the master key created in your SQL instance—re-use it. The same master key is used to secure data access for data virtualization
 4. To see whether the master key is already created run the following query
 Display Sysmetric_keys details
Syntax to create a database master key is as follows:
Database scoped credentials
Database scoped credentials provide the abstraction layer to secure the model to access the data from the data source. SQL Server 2019 supports the following security models when using PolyBase for data virtualization:
 1. Proxy authentication
 2. Kerberos authentication
 3. Storage access key—shared secret key
The following syntax is used to provide SQL Server with the security context for a connection to a MongoDB external data source. In addition, you will see a shared secret key in use to create a database scoped credential.
 - Note: The identity refers to the username of the MongoDB external data source
To validate database scoped credentials in the datahub run the following T-SQL:
Display database scope credentials
Configure External data sources
External data sources provide a path to virtualize data from other data sources. It collects all the meta-data to access data from the single database object.
Each external data source provides the below options required to access the external source:
 - Location
 - port
 - credential
 - connectivity
The LOCATION parameter defines the communication protocol, server name and port for connectivity.
In this case, the communication protocol is mongodb and server is and port is 27017
The CREDENTIAL argument uses the database scoped credential MyMongoDBDemo2019. The external data source will use this database-scoped credential to query the target data sources
 - Note: The Connection_options and Pushdown parameters will be explained later in the article
 - To validate external data sources run the following T-SQL:
 Display external_data_sources
 How to map an external data table
 In this section, we will see how to create external views. On selecting the parent tables, the child tables are also referred by default. In addition, you have the mapping table where you modify the columns to match the target data types. This also gives you the option to modify the name of the external table.
 Let us look at the details of the MongoDB instance. Create the user using the following commands. I will not go in-depth on MongoDB concepts.
 how to connect mongoDB
 PolyBase external tables
 External tables provide SQL Server with the schema to reason over data in the external data source.
 Error Message:
 The T-SQL create external table statement errors out with the following details. You can see that the TLS handshake failed error reported. This can be handled in two ways. You can manage it at the Mongo DB startup parameters or you can turn off the SSL parameter or you can turn off the SSL=false in the T-SQL statement.
 "Msg 105082, Level 16, State 1, Line 16
 105082;Generic ODBC error: [Microsoft][MongoDBODBC] (110) Error from MongoDB Client:
 No suitable servers found (serverSelectionTryOnce set):
 [TLS handshake failed: error:00000000:lib(0):func(0):reason(0) calling ismaster on '']
 (Error Code: 13053) Additional error <2>:
 ErrorMsg: [Microsoft][MongoDBODBC] (110) Error from MongoDB Client: No suitable servers found (serverSelectionTryOnce set)
 (Error Code: 13053), SqlState: HY000, NativeError: 110 "
 You may receive this error due to the SSL issue. Now, the CONNECTION_OPTIONS parameter plays a role to connect MongoDB data source.
 In this case, set the connection_options to ssl=false and then run the create external statement.
 The CONNECTION_OPTION setting suppresses the connection over SSL, which is a default requirement for communicating with many other data sources. I will discuss more about it in the next article.
 Let us run create external table statement again:
 We can see in the below snippet, the external table created successfully.
 Create mongoDB external table
 Let us validate the external table using the following T-SQL:
 Display the external tables
 Now, Let us browse object explorer to validate the existence of the External Tables and External Data Sources.
 Display external employee table
 Finally, query the external table
 MongoDB data validation in SSMS and MongoDB console
 In this article, we discussed how to set up a PolyBase in SQL Server for MongoDB external data source.
 To summarize the steps real quick:
 The data virtualization framework provides a platform to eliminate the use of redundant data copies. To maintain the physical copy always requires additional storage and hardware resources. It incurs to increase an additional overhead on costs. Using the data virtualization technique, organizations can create an abstract layer to create a virtual data copy from a heterogeneous or homogeneous data repositories. The virtual copies define the soft external table links to the physical data repository. As I mentioned, the data virtualization technique not only avoids extra storage but it provides strong consistency between the source and the target in the data retrieval process. In addition, it addresses the data issues which in turn improves the data quality and improves the data query performance.
 That's all for now. I hope you like this article. Stay tuned for more updates…
 Prashanth Jayaram
PolyBase, SQL Server 2019
About Prashanth Jayaram


Date Index Name Processoredit
The purpose of this processor is to point documents to the right time based index based on a date or timestamp field in a document by using the date math index name support.
The processor sets the _index meta field with a date math index name expression based on the provided index name prefix, a date or timestamp field in the documents being processed and the provided date rounding.
First, this processor fetches the date or timestamp from a field in the document being processed. Optionally, date formatting can be configured on how the field's value should be parsed into a date. Then this date, the provided index name prefix and the provided date rounding get formatted into a date math index name expression. Also here optionally date formatting can be specified on how the date should be formatted into a date math index name expression.
An example pipeline that points documents to a monthly index that starts with a myindex- prefix based on a date in the date1 field:
PUT _ingest/pipeline/monthlyindex
{
 "description": "monthly date-time index naming",
 "processors" : [
 {
 "date_index_name" : {
 "field" : "date1",
 "index_name_prefix" : "myindex-",
 "date_rounding" : "M"
 }
 }
 ]
}
Using that pipeline for an index request:
PUT /myindex/_doc/1?pipeline=monthlyindex
{
 "date1" : "2016-04-25T12:02:01.789Z"
}
{
 "_index" : "myindex-2016-04-01",
 "_type" : "_doc",
 "_id" : "1",
 "_version" : 1,
 "result" : "created",
 "_shards" : {
 "total" : 2,
 "successful" : 1,
 "failed" : 0
 },
 "_seq_no" : 0,
 "_primary_term" : 1
}
The above request will not index this document into the myindex index, but into the myindex-2016-04-01 index because it was rounded by month. This is because the date-index-name-processor overrides the _index property of the document.
To see the date-math value of the index supplied in the actual index request which resulted in the above document being indexed into myindex-2016-04-01 we can inspect the effects of the processor using a simulate request.
POST _ingest/pipeline/_simulate
{
 "pipeline" :
 {
 "description": "monthly date-time index naming",
 "processors" : [
 {
 "date_index_name" : {
 "field" : "date1",
 "index_name_prefix" : "myindex-",
 "date_rounding" : "M"
 }
 }
 ]
 },
 "docs": [
 {
 "_source": {
 "date1": "2016-04-25T12:02:01.789Z"
 }
 }
 ]
}
and the result:
{
 "docs" : [
 {
 "doc" : {
 "_id" : "_id",
 "_index" : "<myindex-{2016-04-25||/M{yyyy-MM-dd|UTC}}>",
 "_type" : "_type",
 "_source" : {
 "date1" : "2016-04-25T12:02:01.789Z"
 },
 "_ingest" : {
 "timestamp" : "2016-11-08T19:43:03.850+0000"
 }
 }
 }
 ]
}
The above example shows that _index was set to <myindex-{2016-04-25||/M{yyyy-MM-dd|UTC}}>. Elasticsearch understands this to mean 2016-04-01 as is explained in the date math index name documentation
Table 35. Date index name options
Name Required Default Description
field
yes
-
The field to get the date or timestamp from.
index_name_prefix
no
-
A prefix of the index name to be prepended before the printed date.
date_rounding
yes
-
How to round the date when formatting the date into the index name. Valid values are: y (year), M (month), w (week), d (day), h (hour), m (minute) and s (second).
date_formats
no
yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss.SSSZ
An array of the expected date formats for parsing dates / timestamps in the document being preprocessed. Can be a Joda pattern or one of the following formats: ISO8601, UNIX, UNIX_MS, or TAI64N.
timezone
no
UTC
The timezone to use when parsing the date and when date math index supports resolves expressions into concrete index names.
locale
no
ENGLISH
The locale to use when parsing the date from the document being preprocessed, relevant when parsing month names or week days.
index_name_format
no
yyyy-MM-dd
The format to be used when printing the parsed date into the index name. An valid Joda pattern is expected here.


Las Pilitas Nursery
California Native Plants are all we grow!
Blog Contact Us Directions
3232 Las Pilitas Rd
Santa Margarita, CA 93453
Shop For Plants Cart Contents
This website is dedicated to Bert Wilson. His genius continues to inspire us.
California Salt Marshes
see also Habitats
Annual precipitation:
high summer-fall humidity limited by salt, 25-35 inches(fog raises the base of 10-15 inches of rainfall)
Common Animals
Sea Birds, Heron, Sandpipers, Killdeer, Rails
Common Plants
Sea Blite, Suaeda spp., Pickleweed, Salicornia spp., Saltbush, Atriplex spp., Frankenia salina, Salt Grass, Distichlis spicata, in the brackish areas you can find Cottonwood, Populus spp., Willow, Salix spp., Wax Myrtle, Myrica californica, Rushes, Juncus spp. and Sedges, Carex spp.
Soil and climate notes:
sodium impacted clay or silt (occasionally sand/clay), high pH
About California Salt Marshes
They keep debating as to how much of California's Coastal Salt marsh community is actually left, 5%-10% seems to be the number. It is easy to fill in, and usually located in a vary valuable area. It is also easily damaged by human activity.
The salt marshes also exist in a few inland spots like the edges of the Salton Sea and Soda Lake in Carrizo, but for the most part are in tidal flats next to the ocean. The inland areas have slightly different plants than the coastal sites, but very close.
Salt marshes are a mixture of halophytes (salt loving) plants and wetland adapted plants (where the freshwater inlet lowers the salt to the point where not-so-salt-tolerant plants can survive).
So plants like Frankenia sp., Distichlis spicata., Jaumea sp., Salicornia sp., and Suaeda sp. live in the full salt areas.
Juncus spp, Myrica californica, Scirpus spp. and occasionally some Salix spp. live on the edges where the salt isn't full strength.
This is a plant community to observe, and stay out of!
Plants
A list of California native plants that grow in the Coastal Salt Marsh plant community.


text:
172 women in public life lucy stone and julia ward howe organization founded by susan b anthony and other leaders to fight for the right to vote for women. The civil wars of julia ward howe is written with showalter's usual witty, sparkling, and erudite style this zestfully narrated life of an early, pioneering feminist, a tireless crusader for social reform and women's rights, would make an ideal pbs series—indeed, all the parts are in place for a felicitous adaptation of showalter's gem of a. Few know that the passion driving the poem was fueled not just by julia's sadness at the civil war but also by her unhappiness at her lot in life as a woman who, although she wanted to be acclaimed for her poetry, believed she was denied the chance because of her gender that's the territory of showalter's engagingly written biography, the civil wars of julia ward howe, newly published in.
Julia ward howe spent the first several years of her marriage engaged in rearing children and reading philosophy, attempting to reconcile herself to her new life in boston her letters to her sisters during this period indicate that this was a difficult time for the couple. The first biography to reveal julia ward howe --- the author of the battle hymn of the republic --- as a feminist pioneer who fought her own battle for creative freedom and independence julia ward (_PHONE_) was a heiress and aspiring poet when she married dr samuel gridley howe, an. Understanding the battle hymn of the republic but harriet beecher stowe and julia ward howe did just that the full spectrum of davis' life comes into.
Julia ward howe was, by 1893, a grey eminence in both popular culture and the women's rights movement an anti-slavery activist before the civil war, an organizer of support for the union during the war, author of the lyrics to battle hymn of the republic, she came to focus on advocating for women's rights and peace later in life. Howe's eventful life and times julia ward (_PHONE_) was an heiress and aspiring poet when she married dr samuel gridley howe, an acclaimed pioneer in the. The life of julia ward howe, an abolitionist known for her battle hymn of the republic history of feminism key events & milestones julia ward was born in. A hundred years ago, in march 1916, the first biography of julia ward howe was published to general acclaim written by howe's three daughters, julia ward howe, _PHONE_ was the first major biography of an american woman, and set a high standard in 1917, it received the first pulitzer prize for.
It contains information about julia ward howe that i did not know julia w howe and the battle hymn and although no scholar of feminism, i would think julia. In the civil wars of julia ward howe, a biography with the verve and pace of a delicious novel, renowned feminist literary critic elaine showalter obeys the law. Julia ward howe was the author of the battle hymn of the republic as well as poems, plays, and books she was also the mother of six children, active in advocating for women's education. Heiress, poet, and suffragette, julia ward howe became famous as the writer of the battle hymn of the republic written in 1861, it was the most famous patriotic anthem of the civil war, and remains highly popular to this day thereafter, for her entire life, she was asked to read or sing it.
Julia ward howe was not alone in her discoveries between the oppression of blacks and the oppression of women once again the theme of slavery that had so manifested itself in her life, was an active ingredient. This lively biography (the new yorker) is the first to tell the story of julia ward howe as a powerful feminist pioneerjulia ward (_PHONE_) was an heiress who married a handsome accomplished doctor who worked with the blind and deaf. This biography of julia ward howe brings to life a woman about whom many have heard, but most know little beyond her authorship of the words to the battle hymn of the republic howe was much more than a poet she was one of the female leaders of her age daughter of a wealthy new york banker.
Get the the civil wars of julia ward howe at microsoft store and compare products with the latest customer reviews and ratings download or ship for free free returns. Author of the north's unofficial civil war anthem, the battle hymn of the republic, julia ward howe balanced multiple identities as a mother, poet, playwright, peace advocate, and tireless promoter of women's rights. The united states postal service issued a julia ward howe memorial stamp in 1988 author, social reformer she was active in many social causes, women's rights, slavery and rankled many with her religious views. Anna julia cooper in her own words why i am a feminist for life.
Julia ward howe biography, life, interesting facts julia ward howe was an american poet, author, and social activist born on may 27, 1819, she wrote several books and best known for her writing the lyrics of the song the battle hymn of the republic. And the stars that fight in their courses 'gainst tyrants its symbols know they have taken a noble human life, full of every human longing and passion and power. Julia ward howe she was married to samuel gridley howe, a doctor who founded the perkins school for the blind in watertown, mass he was also an abolitionist, but was unable to make the connection to women's rights and believed that his wife should not have a writing career or any life apart from their home and children.


Currently Non Collectable Status ensures you not to be levied by the IRS or be scrutinized under the threatening letters or tax collection enforcement. You can be subject to this condition under the status 53, only if you are a taxpayer who cannot afford to pay taxes due to exceeding necessary expenditures in relation to the income being earned.
The IRS, however needs to be informed via a 'collection information statement' that proves that you, as a taxpayer have financial trouble and cannot afford to pay further taxes.
Tax Help MD helps all such taxpayers in preparing the financial statements with years of experience in this field. You no longer have to worry about the complications that could happen while filling the form with the required information.
When will you not be entitled to the Non Collectable Status?
For IRS to determine you as a regular taxpayer, here are the possibilities:
 - A raise in your income
The IRS keeps regular checks on tax -payers finances. If they notice any changes or raises in the income being earned they are likely to tax you in the future. First, they will have to prove that you longer have financial trouble.
 - The IRS follow-up checks:
From a period of 6-18month, the IRS makes follow-up visits and checks on your current uncollectable status. The IRS is known to mark such cases as future reviews. If they view any changes, they can change your uncollectable status to an ordinary tax-payer.
 Call _PHONE_ or contact us online at


text: Microwave spectroscopy played a crucial role in structure determination of molecules in the gas phase during the 1950s - 1970s. As the number of molecules in the gas phase with a permanent dipole moment, a requirement for molecules to absorb/emit microwave radiation, is small, the field of microwave spectroscopy was almost disappearing. Very few laboratories in India which had established microwave spectroscopy and they were closed. Around 1980, Bill Flygare combined the cavity Fourier transform microwave spectrometer with a pulsed nozzle and this revolutionized the field of microwave spectroscopy. Weakly bound complexes that exist at very low temperature, 2-3 K could be investigated. Our laboratory at the Indian Institute of Science built a modern version of this spectrometer in 2000. Detailed investigations on weakly bound complexes having H2O and H2S, led us to a thorough molecular level understanding of intermolecular interactions. This helped us lead an international task group formed by IUPAC to redefine 'hydrogen bonding' , a concept used by chemists and biologists for close to a century. Hydrogen bonding is crucial in water and DNA, both molecules of life. During the last decade, a chirped pulse microwave spectrometer has been developed, which has led to another revolution in microwave spectroscopy. Our laboratory is planning to build a chirped pulse spectrometer and some preliminary results will be given.


text:
Elerium, also known as Element 115, is a strange element used in the First Alien War as a power source for alien technology. It is an incredibly rare substance that does not occur naturally on Earth, but has been found to exist in places elsewhere in the solar system, like Mars.
Elerium is used to fuel alien antimatter reactors on UFOs, and power plasma weapons and other equipment. When bombarded by subatomic particles, a reaction causes it to generate antimatter. Because of the energy released by matter/antimatter reactions and the efficient matter-to-energy conversion ratio, Elerium-powered reactors are many times as powerful than conventional nuclear reactors. This and the fact that all alien technologies relied on Elerium power sources made it prized substance to X-Com, and collecting as much Elerium as possible became a high priority.
After the Alien War, because mankind had lost its only means of obtainin Elerium, use of alien technology was discontinued. Some suggested salvaging UFO wrecks on the seabed, but unfortunately Elerium becomes inert when exposed to seawater. Because of this, Elerium-based technologies were not used by X-Com during the Second Alien War.
Following the global disaster caused by the destruction of T'leth, Elerium mines established on Mars and other places in the solar system allowed mankind to use the old alien technologies once again. Radical advances in technology following this allowed them to construct metropolitan cities that would allow humanity to survive on post-apocalyptic Earth. Elerium became even more precious than gold in this period, because of its rarity and importance to humanity.


text:
Characteristics of Change Agents
These individuals should be:
- Well respected among their peers
- Great communication skills
- Has a willing attitude to be trained if necessary
- Has the ability to coach and mentor other employees
- Shows empathy and is open and honest with employees
- Believes in the success of the initiative
Working with Change Agents
Once the Change Agent is chosen it is important that the Change Manager:
1. Introduce them to the Change team and staff.
2. Provide them with a background of the change initiative.
3. Outline their role, responsibilities and what is expected of them.
4. Allow the Change Agent to provide initial feedback on concerns or issues with the task at hand.
5. Let them take ownership of their responsibilities but monitor performance.
6. Invite them to meetings with the Change team.
7. Allow the Change Agent to provide feedback to the Change team on staff sentiment, successes and improvements they need to make on the change initiative.
8. Provide guidance as required and support and motivate these individuals.
9. Impress upon line management and the Change Team to publically acknowledge their contributions to the change initiative.
10. Capture lessons learnt from the Change Agent's perspective.
Working with Change Agent Networks
1. Encourage knowledge sharing in the Change Agent Network where successes and failures are shared for everyone's learning. This will help strengthen the strategy and hence the present change initiative and those in the future.
2. Utilise the Change Agent Network until the change is embedded, staff are comfortable and have adopted this new way of working i.e. Business as Usual is achieved.
Skilled Change Agents are a valuable resource to change initiatives so be sure to choose wisely, capitalise on their offerings and reward them for their efforts and contribution to the organisation.


text:
Spellweb is your one-stop resource for definitions, synonyms and correct spelling for English words, such as diner. On this page you can see how to spell diner. Also, for some words, you can find their definitions, list of synonyms, as well as list of common misspellings.
- quetions (100%)
Misspellings percentages are collected from over 14,913,252 spell check sessions on _URL_ from Jan 2010 - Jul 2012.
Discover what are words like diner. Discover what is a synonym for diner. Discover what is another word for diner. Discover what is an alternative word for diner. Discover what are more words for diner.


How is Medical Research Conducted?
Medical research is always targeted towards the advancement or betterment of human civilization. Local, national, and even international organizations or governmental bodies have pushed through millions of dollars for research. Medical research is an advanced and a complex process, and for most people from the non-medical field, it has consistently been wondered how medical research trials are conducted.
This article will shed light on some of the important aspects while conducting medical research work and how it is done.
Types of Medical Research
Before a medical experiment is conducted, researchers need to consider what type of medical research it is that they are about to start. There are 3 main areas of medical research – Basic or experimental Research; Clinical Research; and Epidemiological Research. These researches are distinguished by their study type or broad subject area, which can also be further sub-divided depending on the nature of the study.
Below we will discuss in general about how each of these medical research are conducted.
Basic or Experimental Research
Basic medical research, also known as experimental medical research, is a type of medical research which includes animal experiments, biochemical experiments, study of cells, physiological and genetic investigation, and study on the properties of particular materials like that of drugs. It is a primary research work where experiments are conducted along with a team or with a contract research organization and studied to bring out a final answer to the research question. It is an applied study which is analytical in nature and it deals with the development of methods as well as improving analytical methods.
Clinical Research
Clinical research is a type of medical research which involves both experimental studies as well as observational studies on a particular subject in a controlled clinical environment. This type of research is usually conducted to experiment as well as observe the effects of particular clinical drugs on the human body. Moreover, it is not always the study of particular drugs, but also medical devices on the human body. Naturally, this is also a primary research work, which is experimented to study a particular outcome of the research question. For example – Ophthalmology research is usually clinical in nature.
Epidemiological Research
As the name suggests, epidemiological research is a type of medical research which studies epidemics. This research work is always focused on particular epidemic diseases which exists, its history, causes, spread, frequency, and management of those particular diseases. This medical research work can also be considered as a long-term research work, which can either be experimental or observational in nature. This medical research is also a primary research work which can be experimental on the field or observational where the researcher studies a historical perspective and evolution of the disease.
Conclusion
Conducting medical research is a complex process and how the research work is conducted depends on the study type or broad subject area, which can further be distinguished into three types. Given that there is increased importance and focus on medical research work, each research work brings out a lot of value to the evolution of human civilization.


text:
Microlaze, a system for automated laser micromachining, is the main tool used to construct the kit of parts.
Based on a G-code file translated from a DXF file, this system can cut or score a variety of materials.
Details of how it is used to make the parts can be found in the construction kit part recipes section.
fixture is the addtional tool needed (besides the Microlaze system
mentioned above) to fabricate the hollow, triangular cross section,
stainless steel beam kit components.
is the tool at the heart of the automation process. It is used to
perform the automated or semi-automated dexterous manipulation of the
construction kit parts into their final 2D configuration.
Hardware Manual for Constructing the Ortho-tweezers


text: Abstract CuO nanosheets were synthesized by an easy and green sonochemical method. It was found that, CuO nanosheets could significantly catalyse the chemiluminescence (CL) reaction of luminol–KMnO4 in an alkaline condition. Based on this finding, a new CL system (luminol–KMnO4–CuO nanosheets) combined with flow injection analysis has been developed for the determination of meropenem for the first time. Moreover, the CL intensity was enhanced when meropenem was presented in the reaction system. Under the optimum conditions, the enhanced CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of meropenem in the ranges of 0.005–6.00mg L−1, with a detection limit (3σ) of 0.0036mg L−1. The precision of the method was calculated by analyzing samples containing 1.0mg L−1 meropenem (n=11) and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was 1.7%. Also, a total analysis time per sample was 30seconds which confirmed the rapidity of the proposed assay. The practicality of the proposed CL system was evaluated by determining meropenem in spiked environmental water samples and human serum. A discussion on the possible CL reaction mechanism was also presented.


text:
A junior exploration company is using land surveys from the 1870's to locate copper deposits in South Australia's historic Burra mining region.
The Australian reports that Phoenix Copper (ASX:PNX) hopes to use the old maps to uncover major copper deposits in the area around Burra, which is Australia's oldest mining town and was once the source for 10% of the world's copper
The land surveys were prepared by mine captain Robert Sanders in 1873 towards the end of Burra's heyday as one of Australia's most lucrative mining communities.
Burra first rose to prominence in the mining industry following the discovery of outcroppings of copper by two shepherds in 1845.
By 1850 the Burra region's Monster Mine was Australia's largest commercial mining operation, producing 23,000 tonnes of ore and supplying 10% of global copper.
Phoenix chief geologist Mark Manly says that despite a second period of mining activity in the 1970's the region has been little explored since the development of modern drill rigs.
On the basis of the 19th century land surveys Phoenix has commenced drilling less than a kilometre from the Monster Mine, with the hope of resurrecting the town's historic mining industry.


text:
Electroacoustics - Instruments for measurement of aircraft noise - Performance requirements for systems to measure one-third-octave-band sound pressure levels in noise certification of transport-category aeroplanes
Specifies requirements for the electroacoustical performance of systems of instruments used to measure sound for the purposes of aeroplane noise certification, and recommends methods by which tests may be made periodically to verify that the performance continues to comply with the requirements given within stated tolerances. The requirements apply to the instruments used to measure the sound produced by jet-or propeller-driven transport-category aeroplanes of maximum certificated takeoff mass over 9 000 kg, or their propulsion systems when installed on a suitable outdoor engine test stand. This publication supersedes IEC 60561. The contents of the corrigendum of June 1995 have been included in this copy.


Kids summer reading challenge!
So we were rather pleased to discover that a new reading challenge has been set for this summer's school holidays: The Big Wild Read.
The challenge is environmentally themed, encouraging kids to play a bigger part in helping protect and conserve our planet by thinking about the things we do and how it affects planet Earth. They are given a folder to help record their progress, and each time they read a book they are given scratch and sniff stickers to decorate it, featuring useful information about conservation and wildlife. What's more, they also receive "tree tokens" which will be translated into new trees thanks to the Woodland Trust's Trees for All campaign.
The kids are all going to be taking part in this challenge this summer, and have even planned the books they'll be reading next week when we go on holiday! I just know they're going to be thrilled when they learn that their efforts have also helped plant new trees too!
Technorati Tags: | | | | |


text:
NW Cotton Towns Learning Journey
Your guide: John Mortimer, author of "Industrial Lancashire" (1897)
Step 1: Liverpool to Manchester; Manchester to Stockport; Stockport to Ashton
Step 2: Ashton to Manchester; Manchester to Oldham; Oldham to Rochdale
Step 3: Rochdale to Bury; Bury to Accrington; Accrington to Blackburn
Step 4: Blackburn to Burnley; Burnley to Clitheroe; Clitheroe to Preston
Step 5: Preston to Wigan via Chorley; Wigan to Bolton
Step 6: Bolton to Salford; Salford to Manchester
Click on the steps below to explore.
North West Cotton Towns Learning Journey Step 6
BOLTON TO SALFORD
We follow the path of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury canal back to Salford, a populous town of over 200,000 inhabitants; we could just as easily take a tram car down the ten-mile broad highway that separates Bolton from the Salford Borough proper. Salford is an ancient town, if now in the shadow of Manchester, and it has its own proud history and textile heritage. Salford had a cloth hall in Greengate, and was an important centre for the production of woollen goods as well as fustians before Manchester's cotton industry dominated. Textile manufacturers constructed their mills on the banks of the Irwell and its tributaries, and the coming of both the Bridgewater and Manchester, Bolton & Bury canals (and the coal carried) only increased their number. By 1818 Manchester, Salford and Eccles jointly had 80 cotton mills. Once Manchester and Oldham began to dominate the spinning industry, Salford became a centre for finishing trades and power loom weaving, as well as machine and tool making. The Manchester Ship Canal has had a huge effect, with the Dock complex including offices, the Customs House, various warehouses, stores and grain silos.
SALFORD TO MANCHESTER
From Salford we may travel by the canal, tram, or even walk back to Manchester, crossing the River Irwell, which divides the two cities, back to where we began our grand tour of the Lancashire Cotton District. Here the cycle of trade begins again, and we might once again travel to Liverpool, perhaps this time on the Liverpool-Manchester railway, to again survey this great manufacturing district, the pride of the Empire and truly, the Workshop of the World.
Here, I bid you farewell. I hope you have enjoyed our tour together. Why not read more from the links on each step, or perhaps travel out yourself sometime along the path we have traced together? Who knows, perhaps we will meet along the way...


text:
Strict Conditions Put On Energy-From-Waste Facility
McGuinty Government Protecting Local Air Quality
To protect the health of local residents and the environment, the province has set strict conditions on the approval of the Durham and York energy-from-waste facility.
Proposed by Durham and York Regions, the new facility will generate electricity and provide a local solution to manage municipal waste that cannot be reused or recycled.
The province's conditions on the facility include:
- Stringent air emission requirements that are among the toughest in the world
- Emissions monitoring and reporting
- Daily inspections of the site
- Waste must only be accepted if it cannot be recycled so that diversion remains the first choice
- A public advisory committee so that the community continues to be involved in the project.
The decision and conditions are based on an extensive review by Ministry of the Environment experts and other government agencies.
It is up to Durham and York Regions to decide whether to go ahead with the project.
- The new facility would require additional environmental approvals under the Environmental Protection Act and the Ontario Water Resources Act.
- Ontario currently has air standards for 124 substances and guidelines for over 200 contaminants.
"Our priority is to ensure that public health and the environment are fully protected. That's why we put tough conditions in place to protect air quality."


text:
Rethinking spraying around water bodies
There's pressure to manage better
Posted: June 9, 2009
Water bodies and crop protection. Ask many farmers how they feel about these two terms and there's a bit of a love/hate relationship. Many farmers see value in water bodies, but in strict management terms they often just get in the way.
So how do you manage? We talked to three people – a conservationist, a provincial weed specialist, and a senior agronomist - and this is their advice:
Should I keep the water body? Perhaps the first question producers should ask themselves is whether the water body is worth keeping. It's for this reason that Jennifer Stoby, a conservation technician with Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture (AESA), recommends a moderate, benefit-based approach to riparian area management. In other words, the amount of benefit a wetland provides should equal the amount of protection the landowner gives it.
"We agree that in a cropping system you're not going to keep every single slough and pothole, but it's good to have two or three larger wetlands instead of draining them totally off and losing all of the benefits," she says.
Also, in some cases, draining the water body and converting it to cropland may yield no benefit and may in fact present a risk to surrounding cropland when cleared, says Stoby. "If a wetland is drained it can be a source of minerals and salts to adjacent productive cropland. Sometimes there's a salinity problem there but the water was keeping it at bay."
Know the legislation. The clearest indication of distances between spray operations and water bodies is the federal regulations set by Health Canada, says Clark Brenzil, provincial weed control specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture. These are the minimum setback differences printed on the label of each registered pesticide on the Canadian market.
In addition to these, each province will have its own regulatory structure surrounding the protection of water or other habitat which is usually connected with environmental or safety legislation. "This legislation can be more restrictive than the federal rules, but not less restrictive," says Brenzil.
Maintain a buffer zone. Buffer zones composed of grasses, legumes or shelterbelt shrubs and trees can play a key role in protecting a water body from spraying operations in addition to trapping snow and adding moisture to the cropland, says Stoby.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges with buffer zones, however, is weed management. Although she comes from a conservation perspective, Stoby also realizes that producers are concerned about how these weeds will affect their crop health. Depending on the situation, she recommends mowing as the optimum method for weed management in buffer zones. "Also, if you run a mixed farm or a neighbour has cattle, they can graze the area late in the fall."
Hand-picking weeds is another safe method of controlling weeds in a buffer zone, says Dan Orchard, a senior agronomist with Sturgeon Valley Fertilizer in St. Albert, Alberta. Another method is to seed the buffer zone to grass in order to "choke out" the weeds. And although there are pesticides available that have been specifically designed for use in riparian areas, Orchard recommends applying these using a controlled applicator such as a wick applicator in which there is direct contact between the chemical and the weed.
However, the bottom line is that all of these methods are, to one extent or the other, time-consuming processes and for this reason Orchard says it's important for producers to use their judgment. "If your buffer zone is full of noxious weeds it needs to be addressed, but if it just has a few weeds here and there it's not the end of the world," he says.
Know your chemicals. Knowing how the chemicals being used interact with the soil is key, says Orchard. "It's important to understand what the chemical you're using can do," he says. "If it's going to be bound to the soil like Round-up, you can get fairly close to waterways, but with chemicals which tend to leave more residue in the soil, you need to stay even further away from waterways."
Watch your slope. Not surprisingly, a slope uphill of the water body places it at a greater risk during spraying operations. This is another instance in which a buffer zone can help, says Orchard. "If you can get the buffer zone to slope away from the water somewhat, you can get that much closer with your spraying," he says.
Consider the wind. As most crop applicators know, wind speed and direction play a key role in airborne spray drift. However, new products such as the agricultural windsock can help producers make better decisions when it comes to spraying and wind. As the wind speed increases, the windsock extends further. By showing wind speed and wind direction, it can help the operator better judge spray drift area and distance.
Notify neighbours. In this day and age, there are growing expectations for producers to notify neighbours appropriately about farming activity which may affect them. Water bodies are sometimes, for better or for worse, used as recreational areas, says Orchard, and it's better to be proactive than reactive when it comes to giving neighbours a heads-up about spraying activity nearby.
Author: Jeff Melchior
Sponsored by: Meristem Information Resources Ltd.


Why Airline Food Sucks
As long as there has been commercial flight, the quality of in-flight meals has gotten a bad rap. Here's what airlines are doing to solve the problem.
As long as passengers have been flying, they've been disappointed by the quality of in-flight meals. But why? After 90 years of commercial air flight, why haven't airlines been able to design menus that can survive the scrutiny of diners at 30,000 feet? Is it because airline food really sucks, or is it because we just think it sucks? In truth, it's a little of both. But airlines are making surprising strides to fix both.
Even before you take into account the other practicalities that come into play when you try to feed people in a pneumatic tube 30,000 feet in the air, a meal you serve on an airplane will always taste worse than a meal served on the ground. "When you travel at a high altitude, your sense of taste isn't the same as it is in a restaurant," says Peter Wilander, managing director of onboard services at Delta. The reasons for this primarily have to do with humidity... or, rather, a lack thereof.
The cabins of airplanes are pressurized with an extremely low humidity level of just 4%, largely to reduce the risk of internal corrosion; the only humidity in an airplane cabin comes from other people's breath. The problem with low humidity, though, is it causes our sinuses to close. This is why you always feel as if you have a slight cold when you fly. Simultaneously, the low humidity dries your food out quicker than it happens on the ground. Since smell and moisture are such important aspects of the way we taste things—consider the way an apple tastes like a potato when you hold your nose, or how steaks are more flavorful when cooked rare than well-done—airplane food has a star subtracted from it from the Zephyr Zagat guide from the get-go just because of cabin air quality.
But preparation is also a major issue. According to Wilander, Delta serves more than 9 million in-flight meals every year. None of these meals can be cooked on-board: there's simply no room for a working kitchen, let alone a staff to man it. Instead, every meal served on an airplane is prepared ahead of time, chilled or frozen, and then warmed back up in on-board convection ovens. For economy passengers, this means mass-produced meals that are frozen and then reconstituted. Even in business class, the meals being served aren't fresh. While each meal will have been individually prepared by a catering company at the airport instead of mass-produced and purchased in bulk, a business-class customer can still look forward to a meal that is at least several hours old before it has been served. Delta is hardly alone in this: in fact, this is the standard for the entire airline industry. Why? Because it's the only practical solution to the problem of in-flight service.
But there are psychological issues at play that make airline food taste worse to us, too.
"In-flight meals have always been just as much about staving off boredom as hunger," says Guillaume de Syon, a professor of history at Albright College. Ever since the days of airships, when zeppelins like the Hindenburg would slowly float across the Atlantic on long three-day trips, meals have been used to distract passengers from the crushing monotony of flight. When there's nothing else to do but sit in a chair and look at the back of someone's head, meals become something to look forward to. But their faults also become something to scrutinize. The result is that even the best airline meals have a hard time holding up to the critical eye of bored, stuffed-up passengers at 30,000 feet.
"It's unfortunate, because the airlines are really between a rock and a hard place when it comes to food," de Syon says. "Passengers look forward to meals on long flights, but they're also more disappointed by what they are served than they would be on the ground."
Dehydration. Preparation. Boredom. These are the things that make airline food suck. So what can be done about them?
When it comes to the problem of humidity, airlines have tried to design their menus around issues of dehydration and reduced sense of taste for decades. Airlines have tended to embrace entrees with a lot of sauce to account for the lack of humidity in-cabin. Through the 1970s and 1980s, in-flight meals tended to also be much saltier than they are today, because saltiness is a taste that is undiminished when our sinuses are closed. As the public became more concerned about sodium intake, though, making in-flight meals saltier to liven up a meal's otherwise environmentally diminished taste has fallen out of favor. Instead, a big trend in airline menus is Indian food, a cuisine that favors the combination of moist sauces with enough spices to blast right through a passenger's walled-up sinuses.
In the last couple of years, they have been some other interesting experiments in improving the quality of airline food. In 2011, UK celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal tried to tackle the problem of reduced taste sensations by teaming up with British Airways and designing a new business-class menu. At first, Blumenthal tried to convince passengers to snort a sinus-clearing nasal spray before they ate, but when that solution proved unpopular, he discovered another taste that traveled well to 35,000: umami, the savory taste imparted by things like sardines, mushrooms, soy sauce, and seaweed. The result was a recipe for shepherd's pie with seaweed in the crust that tastes just as good on the ground as it does in the sky.
According to Wilander, chefs like Heston Blumenthal are incredibly important to the future of in-flight cuisine, which is why Delta is increasingly teaming up with celebrity gourmets, like Iron Chef Michelle Bernstein and Michael Chiarello to plan their business-class menus. And Delta's not the only ones: other airlines that have approached famous chefs include Qantas, American Airlines, Air France, Qatar, and more.
"Airline food has always been a kind of cliché, because it's simply not the same quality you get on the ground," Wilander says. "That's why we're working with talented chefs, people who have proven first and foremost that they have an intellectual curiosity about food, who are willing to roll up their sleeves and try to solve the unique challenges that come with trying to serve restaurant-quality food at 30,000 feet."
De Syon agrees. "Celebrity chefs are absolutely making a difference," he says. And as an added bonus, they are helping to solve the boredom problem by getting people more excited by their in-flight meals as well.
Yet at the end of the day, the biggest improvements to the quality of airline food will likely have nothing to do at the end of the day with celebrity chefs, newly discovered tastes, or even convincing people to start snorting nasal spray. It is technology that is most likely to improve the experience of in-flight dining. New planes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner feature improved cabin pressurization systems that not only make passengers feel healthier, but improve cabin humidity up to 15%. That's a fourfold improvement in humidity that makes it all the more likely that your sinuses will stay open in-flight. Simply put? On newer planes like the 787, food will just taste better.
Not that any of this, at the end of the day, is likely to stop people bellyaching. "Look at the conditions most of us endure to travel. We spend hours driving to the airport, waiting to check-in, being questioned by security, sitting uselessly on the tarmac or hightailing it between gates," de Syon says. "Airline food might not be great, but it's getting better, and we should give airlines a break. After all, the real reason we're grumpy isn't because of what we're being served in the air. It's what is being served on the ground."
Add New Comment
 - I like airline food a lot. However, I recognize there are some caveats to my opinion. I'm in the under-30 cohort (and as Louis CK stresses, I'm just happy to be in "a chair in the sky) who lives in Turkey. So, I'm always taking international flights. The last time I remember being served a meal on a flight in the US was in the 90s.


text:
Swaziland is an excellent country for bird watching, with almost 500 species being found within the country. (See Swaziland's Birds - includes information on threatened species, an annotated checklist arranged by family, and distribution maps for each species from the Swaziland Bird Atlas.)
Orange throated longclaw
Malolotja Nature Reserve offers a diverse range of highveld and middleveld species, including birds such as the blue swallow, bald ibis, striped flufftail, black rumped buttonquail and many other interesting species. (See Malolotja Birds.)
Hawane Nature Reserve, which includes Hawane vlei and Hawane Dam offers an opportunity to view some of the waterbirds found in the country.
Mantenga Nature Reserve is home to a variety of predominantly middleveld species. (See Mantenga Birds.)
Top ten common bird species at Mantenga
Mlawula Nature Reserve is noteworthy for its high diversity of birdlife, including a number of species not found in the higher parts of the country. (See Mlawula Birds.)
Green backed heron