What is Necrotising Sialadenometaplasia /
Necrotising Sialadenometaplasia / Sialometaplasia is
an uncommon, usually self-limiting, variably ulcerated,
benign (i.e. non-cancerous), inflammatory process,
predominantly affecting salivary tissue (any site in the
body that contains elements of the salivary gland,
from the para-nasal sinuses to the lung).
The importance of the lesion is that it mimics the
appearance of malignant disease, both clinically and
microscopically. Failure to recognize necrotising
sialometaplasia may result in unnecessary radical
surgery because of an erroneous pre-operative
diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma or
|Photos of Necrotising Sialometaplasia in the Palate
(Roof of Mouth)
What is the Cause of Necrotising Sialadenometaplasia / Sialometaplasia?
Although the ætio-pathogenesis of necrotising sialometaplasia remains unknown
there is general consensus that a reduced blood flow (ischæmic) event in the
salivary gland precedes the development of the lesion.
This condition may occur after local trauma, including surgical manipulation or
injection of local anæsthesia into the involved area.
For patients who have had surgery, the lesion becomes clinically evident in about 3
weeks or longer. Necrotising sialometaplasia may also appear spontaneously,
often without the history of prior surgical or traumatic event. No particular oral
condition or habit has been associated with this condition to date.
The disease has been reported in patients with vasculopathies which predispose to
ischæmia (such as Sickle Cell Disease, where infarction may be a feature in
crisis, Buerger’s disease and Raynaud’s phenomenon).
Addition of a vaso-constrictor (such as adrenaline) to local anæsthetic solutions,
local radiotherapy, cocaine use, pressure from local space-occupying lesions and
surgery have also been implicated. The lesion may be more florid in pregnancy.
There is also an association with preceding upper respiratory tract infection within
the previous few weeks, particularly acute on chronic sinusitis and allergy. It is
possible that the ischæmic event in these cases is due to immune complex
disease, similar to the ætiology of erythema multiforme or benign trigeminal
It has been suggested that necrotising sialometaplasia of the palate may
represent an ulcerative or necrotising stage of smoker’s keratosis although this
now seems unlikely.
Other predisposing factors include:
- local anæsthetic injection
- vascular damage due to trauma
- smoking and alcohol
- hot food
- fellatio and
- recurrent vomiting
There may be an association with tumours, specifically:
- Warthin’s tumour
- Abrisokov’s tumour
- carcinoma of the lip
- rapidly growing mesenchymal malignancy and
- salivary gland tumours.
What are the signs and symptoms of Sialadenometaplasia / Sialometaplasia?
Men are affected approximately twice as often as women. Mean age of
occurrence in men is about 50 years and 36 years in women (the youngest
reported case is 15 years). There appears to be an increased incidence in males.
There was a 5:1 preponderance of Caucasians over Afro-Caribbeans.
Necrotising sialometaplasia is extremely rare - there are barely 200 cases
reported in the world literature.
The vast majority (80%) of cases affect the minor salivary glands of the palate,
while other sites include gum behind the lower wisdom teeth (retro-molar pad), lip,
tongue and cheek.
The condition has also been reported in major salivary glands. Rarely, the
condition has also been reported at extra-salivary sites, which include:
- larynx and
At extra-salivary sites, the lesion may be described as adenometaplasia. A similar
lesion occurs in the skin, termed syringometaplasia and similar histo-pathological
appearances have been described in the breast following trauma.
The lesion has a sudden onset, and is clinically characterized by a nodular swelling
that leads to a painful, crater-like ulcer, 1 – 5 cm in diameter, with an irregular,
ragged border. The lesion mimics a carcinoma and is usually located on the
posterior palate (most commonly at the junction of the hard and soft palates).
Symptoms are generally disproportionately slight, compared with the size of the
lesion. Most patients indicate surprisingly mild complaints of tenderness or dull
pain. Pain may also be a feature at the onset and may be intense and referral of
the pain to the ear, eye and pharynx are variable features which have been
reported. However, development of the lesion may be painless and there are even
reports of anæsthesia of the Greater Palatine Nerve as the presenting feature.
This is thought to be caused by involvement of the vasa nervorum in the vasculitic
The lesions may occur bilaterally and metachronously.
When ulceration occurs, it usually remains superficial, but a single case of full-
thickness necrosis of the palate has been reported.
Injection of anti-inflammatory steroids into the lesions appears to offer no benefit
on recovery time of the lesion or associated anæsthesia.
Differential diagnosis of an ulcer presenting with these features could include:
- direct traumatic ulceration
- major aphthous ulceration
- deep mycosis
- nicorandil-induced oral ulceration
- malignancy, in particular squamous cell carcinoma, low-grade muco-
epidermoid carcinoma and oncocytic malignancies.
How is it treated?
The lesion usually heals spontaneously within 4 – 8 weeks.
The usual management of this condition is simple observation until the healing
phase is complete.
Necrotising sialometaplasia may occur de novo, after trauma or a surgical
procedure or in association with other lesions, either benign or malignant. Because
of the latter, whenever the diagnosis of necrotising sialometaplasia is made, close
follow up is indicated until healing is complete. Recognition of the histological
picture and the varied clinical settings in which necrotising sialometaplasia can be
found, is essential to avoid histo-pathological mis-interpretation and inappropriate
treatment for this benign reactive condition.
The prognosis is excellent, once the correct diagnosis is made.
There are no known preventative strategies.
If the lesions are large, incisional biopsy should be done to establish a definitive
Healing takes place over several weeks by secondary intention. Reassuring the
patient and lavaging the wound with irrigation or rinsing may be helpful. Once the
lesion has healed, recurrence and functional impairment are not anticipated.
European Association of Oral Medicine
J American Dental Association 1996. Necrotizing sialometaplasia: literature review
and case reports.
Ear, Nose & Throat Journal 2003. Necrotizing Sialometaplasia.
Oral Oncology 2006. Case Report. Necrotizing sialometaplasia of the palate.
J Canadian Dental Association 2007. Sialometaplasia of the Soft Palate in a 2-
Cases Journal 2009. Case report. Bilateral localization of necrotizing
sialometaplasia. A case report.
JOMS 2013. Necrotizing Sialometaplasia in a Patient with an Eating Disorder -
Palatal Ulcer Accompanied by Dental Erosion Due to Binge-Purging
BDJ 2015. Letters to the Editor. Case Report. Palatal mucosal necrosis after
administration of a palatal infiltration
BDJ 2016. Mouth Cancer. Acute Necrotising Sialometaplasia
|Last Updated 5th May 2016


He was a brilliant, short-tempered, stocky bully of a man, whose hard eyes staring out of a profusion of whiskers resembled a bear peering out of a briar patch. He was hard to like and hard to resist, and he had not only memorably insulted Abraham Lincoln years ago, he had kept up a drumbeat of criticism of the President in the first, difficult months of the war, proclaiming “the imbecility of this administration.” He was an Ohio Democrat named Edwin McMasters Stanton and today something amazing happens to him.
This morning, President Lincoln, a Republican, tells his Cabinet that he is going to choose Stanton as his secretary of war, replacing the ineffective Pennsylvania politico Simon Cameron. This incomprehensible action—the President choosing a man who had insulted and criticized him bitterly and who was a member of the opposition party—is but one example of how Lincoln could see possibilities other men couldn’t.
Warned that the bull-headed Stanton “might run away with the whole concern,” Lincoln recalled a Midwestern preacher whose liveliness made church members want to put bricks in his pockets to hold him down. “I may have to do that with
Stanton was a Democrat, but unlike many Democrats, he was strongly opposed to both secession and slavery. He had spent part of his time as attorney general under the benighted President Buchanan secretly subverting secessionist tendencies in Washington.
Years before the war, Stanton had been lead attorney on a lawsuit and by chance Lincoln was assigned to his legal team in a Cincinnati court. Stanton repeatedly snubbed Lincoln during their mutual stay in Cincinnati, and sneered at him as “a long, lank creature” and a “giraffe.”
But Stanton was a brilliant lawyer with a reputation for getting things done, no matter the obstacles, and he had two other things going for him: he was known to favor vigorous prosecution of the war and he had the support of Lincoln’s general-in-chief, George B. McClellan, who also was a Democrat.
In the years of war, Stanton would prove to have been a brilliant choice. Congressman Henry L. Dawes of
OTHER EVENTS IN LINCOLN'S DAY: An ad hoc council of generals, Cabinet members, Lincoln, and McClellan meet to discuss how to get the Union armies moving McClellan, his feathers ruffled by the meeting, rudely refuses to divulge his plans. Lincoln writes Generals Halleck and Buell in the West, urging them to action against the enemy and stressing a strategy of "menacing him with superior forces at different points, at the same time." While still deferring to the generals' superior knowledge of warfare, Lincoln nonetheless is displaying greater wisdom. And his patience is running out.
IT’S COMING SOONER THAN YOU THINK:
Your suggestions, comments, and questions about this blog are always welcome. Address the author: Ohioan@bloodtearsandglory.com
For more information about the author and his newest book, please go to http://www.orangefrazer.com/btg


What is balanced design?
Balanced design combines 4 basic principles of good building construction:
Studies have shown that the best fire protection is provided through a four-part “balanced design” approach. Balanced design comprises:
- Education — i.e. providing instruction on fire prevention, safety and rapid exits;
- Detection — i.e. smoke and heat alarms and other active systems;
- Suppression — i.e. sprinklers;
- Containment — i.e. fire-resistant, non-combustible masonry walls that contain and prevent the spread of fire.
The CCMPA urges the Government of Ontario to incorporate all four elements in its revision of the Ontario Building and Fire Codes. Specifically, we want the Government to amend the Ontario Building Code to require that partitioning walls between units in residences for seniors, people with disabilities and other vulnerable Ontarians be constructed of concrete masonry. This requirement strongly complements the government’s plan to require automatic sprinkler systems.
Structural collapse — a common occurrence when fire strikes newer buildings constructed with combustible building materials — can render sprinkler systems useless and poses enormous additional risk, not only for people trying to exit the building but for fire fighters entering it.
“The widespread use of lightweight construction and contents made from oil- based/synthetic materials throughout buildings today means that when they catch fire, they burn with more intensity than ever before,” says Carl G. Pearson, Immediate Past President, Fire Fighters’ Association of Ontario. “A material like concrete masonry as a partitioning wall can significantly slow the spread of the blaze and maintain structural integrity, both critical to helping save lives.”
Commonly used drywall and wood frame currently receive acceptable “fire resistance” ratings in industry laboratory testing. However these materials burn quickly — much faster than the times suggested by laboratory testing — and are fully ablaze well before staff are able to move dozens or even hundreds of residents out of a nursing home.
“We need to be realistic about the time it takes for such residents, many using walkers or wheelchairs, to exit a burning building,” says CCMPA President Paul Hargest. “Their chances of escape are considerably reduced in a structure built only with wood and drywall.”
Concrete masonry, in comparison, remains standing and has proven to be an effective barrier in fires where half a structure has been razed and the other half — divided by a concrete block wall — has remained structurally intact.
How does concrete block support balanced design?
Concrete block is one of the most durable, fire-safe building products you can build with. Compared with materials like wood and gypsum drywall, which can go up in flames and collapse in minutes, concrete block does not burn. It remains structurally sound. (etc.)
Don’t get burned. Build with concrete block.
Maximize your home’s safety – and increase its value – by building with concrete block.
Watch the video
Article: A Concrete Firewall Protected the Résidence du Havre Seniors’ Home
Article: Better Fire Protection for Ontario Seniors.
Advertisement: Wood First? First to go – Calgary Herold.
Advertisement: Wood First? First to go – Edmonton Journal.
Advertisement: Wood First? First to go – Toronto Sun.
Advertisement: It all starts with a fascination for block.


Das Bauhaus war eine Idee, und ich glaube, daß die Ursache für den ungeheuren Einfluß den das Bauhaus auf jede fortschrittliche Schule in der Welt gehabt hat, in der Tatsache zu suchen ist, daß es eine Idee war. Eine solche Resonanz kann man nicht mit Organisation erreichen und nicht mit Propaganda. Nur eine Idee hat die Kraft, sich soweit zu verbreiten.
[Bauhaus was an idea, and I think this is the reason that it had such a tremendous influence on every progressive school in the world – it was an idea. You cannot attain such a resonance with organisation or with propaganda. Only an idea has the power to spread itself so far. (ed. trans.)]
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in a speech on the 70th birthday of Walter Gropius, 18 May 1953
The Bauhaus was founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius as a school of design in Weimar with the aim of unifying art and handcrafts. The training course consisted of theoretical and practical instruction in the furniture-making, weaving, metal, wall painting, typography, ceramics, stage and sculpture workshops.
A change of government in Weimar in 1924 meant that subventions for the state-owned school were restricted. When the school was forced to close in 1925, the Mayor of Dessau Fritz Hesse campaigned for his town to become the new location for the school. The Bauhaus started training young designers again in the same year and in 1926 it moved into the new building designed by Gropius. In 1928 Hannes Meyer succeeded Gropius as Bauhaus Director, running the school according to the principle of “the needs of the people before the need for luxury”. Two years later he was dismissed without notice for political reasons. Afterwards Ludwig Mies van der Rohe took over the directorship. However, in spite of his intensive efforts, he could not prevent the Bauhaus from closing for good in 1933.
The style of art and architecture taught in the Bauhaus did not fit in with Nazi thinking. The flat-roofed architecture was dismissed as “desert architecture” while the abstract paintings were simply not understood. The advance of industrialisation and standardisation had led to a fear that handcraft would be swept aside. Unconventional teaching methods, willingness to experiment, the informal organisation of leisure activities and the mostly left-wing political activities of the students aroused indignation. In addition the proportion of foreigners studying at the institute was considerably higher than at comparable art schools. However, it was not only the international nature of the lecturers and students that was regarded critically, the social aims of the Bauhaus, which was supported by social democrats, were regarded with suspicion by its opponents: the accusation levelled at the Bauhaus was one of cultural Bolshevism. Many of those associated with the Bauhaus were prohibited from painting and exhibiting as they were held to be the founders of the “degenerate art” movement.
Nerlinger, Winfried: Bauhaus-Moderne im Nationalsozialismus: Zwischen Anbiederung und Verfolgung. Berlin, München: Prestel 1993
Hansen-Schaberg, Inge / Thöner, Wolfgang / Feustel, Adriane: Entfernt: Frauen des Bauhauses während der NS-Zeit. Verfolgung und Exil. München: Ed. text + kritik 2012
Neef, Sonja: An Bord der Bauhaus. Zur Heimatlosigkeit der Moderne. Bielefeld: Transcript-Verlag 2009
Baumhoff, Anja / Droste, Magdalena (Hg.): Mythos Bauhaus. Zwischen Selbsterfindung und Enthistorisierung. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer 2009


First of all, apologies all around as I have been away getting the school year started, meeting some deadlines, attending to PMEA business, and just got done hosting our 14th Annual Band Show at Mercer. Throw in 5 credits at Kent this semester, and my free time is nigh non-existent.
So three weeks into school, I have been challenging my middle school band students with a little project that is outlined by Standard #4: Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.
If you follow out this parallel, the importance of taking time to have students write is pretty important. In English they read great literature (Shakespeare). They discuss great literature. They analyze it from its intrinsic meaning to the structure of each sentence. They re-enact it with their peers and teachers to give it new meaning. They are asked to write about it. They are asked to compose their own stories based on prompts.
So in music…read it? Check. Discuss? Hopefully check. Analysis? Another hopeful check. Re-enact (Perform)? Check. Write about it? Check. Compose? Maybe not a check here. For many programs, the large ensemble (band, chorus, orchestra) is sometimes the only music elective offered to students outside an appreciation class. Allowing students to explore composition, arranging, and orchestration doesn’t need to be left to college coursework. What I am presenting today are some ideas how to do it within the daily structure of the instrumental ensemble rehearsal.
During these opening sessions and introduction, I have asked each student to write for their own instrument. In the case of the percussion, I have been using this to make sure they are acclimated to writing (and eventual reading and performing on pitched percussion) for battery, timpani, and mallets. I am using only students in grades 7 & 8 in these assignments.
The first thing that you need to keep in mind is outlining specific guidelines to govern the students work. For example, the assignment due during tomorrow’s rehearsal used the following guidelines:
1) B-flat concert and Common Time
2) 8 measures in length.
3) Assigned notes per measure (notes listed in concert pitch)
m.1 m.2 m.3 m.4
(Bb, D, F) (Eb, G, Bb) (F,A,C) (G,Bb,D)
m.5 m.6 m.7 m.8
(Eb, G, Bb) (C, Eb, G) (F,A,C) (Bb, D, F)
In addition to the notes listed above, they may choose to use one beat of non-assigned notes per measure (For example, in measure 1 they could utilize an Eb or G as long as it does not exceed one beat within the measure).
4) The Winds may use any of the following note values so long as it equals four beats:
The percussion may use any of the following note values for the snare drum part as long as it equals four beats:
The mallet percussion are only required to use two half-notes per measure (as my percussion did not have experience using mallets, this assignment had two objectives for them: 1) Familiarize students with reading treble clef, and 2) Have students begin performing on mallet instruments). Depending on the skill level of the mallet players, they may be able to write with as complex rhythms as the winds.
5) Consider developing a tonal or rhythmic sequence throughout the eight measures to establish connectivity within the melody. We spent some time analyzing our current pieces looking for sequences by other composer, I shared some ideas in pieces on which I am currently working, and we explored several examples in class.
6) Though optional, students were encouraged to begin including expressive elements within their melody including varying dynamic levels (piano through forte), accents, slurs, and also make use of crescendos and decrescendos.
Within these early exercises, I have some additional “unwritten” guidelines for their work. The first of which is that you shouldn’t be afraid to mess up – I have a whole folder and sketch book of mistakes from my earlier writings, and in the past 3 months they have contributed to helping me find a better solution. Another rule I have is that they should consider playing first, and writing second. My final rule is that if you write it, you better be able to play it.
The results will vary based on the students’ motivation, their current level of skill on the instrument, and their general working knowledge of the theoretical components involved in the assignment. It is definitely a departure from the standard rehearsal schedule, but it gives the students an opportunity to become the name in the top right hand corner and make some meaningful decisions about music. I am interested to see whether or not students who engage in composition will improve their skill sets in performance on their instrument. I will be updating the project as it progresses, and I hope you can borrow this idea for your groups. If you have thoughts on how to expand the project, or questions let’s ask away and make music education better!


1842 – Austria
‘Any source of sound or light moving away from an observer changes in frequency with reference to the observer’
The pitch of the whistle of a train is higher when the train is approaching an observer standing on a platform and lower when it is moving away from the observer.
Doppler explained the effect by pointing out that when the source of sound is moving toward the observer, sound waves reach the ear at shorter intervals, hence the higher pitch. When the source is moving away the waves reach the ear at longer intervals, hence the lower pitch. The Doppler effect also occurs when the source of sound is stationary and the observer is moving.
Doppler predicted that a similar effect would apply to light waves.
Different colours are the optical equivalent of notes of different pitch; blue light vibrates at roughly twice the pitch of red light.
In 1929 EDWIN HUBBLE suggested that the Doppler effect applied to light coming from distant stars gives a measure of the distance and speed of distant galaxies.


When did you first notice that the baby's head seemed large?
Does the baby's head size seem to be increasing faster compared to the growth of the body?
Does the head seem larger all over?
Is the head growing more in a front-to-back pattern or in a side-to-side pattern?
What other symptoms are present (especially changes in brain or nervous system functions)?
The distance is measured in centimeters or inches and compared with:
Past measurments of a child's head circumference
Normal ranges for a child's sex and age (weeks, months) -- based on normal growth rates of infants' and children's heads
A careful physical exam will be done. Other milestones for growth and development will be checked.
In some cases, a single measurement is enough to confirm that there is a size increase that needs to be tested further. More often, repeated measurements of the head circumference over a period of time are needed to confirm that the head circumference is increased and the problem is getting worse.
Diagnostic tests vary depending on the cause, but often include:
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.


The effects of Hurricane Harvey will be felt in the Houston region for years, but the short-term effects are still potentially lethal. The rains may have stopped, but history tells us that with infrastructure critically damaged for millions and the sheer scale of how widespread toxic waters are, the threat of a public health nightmare scenario is almost assured.
For the thousands of people traveled through Harvey’s flood waters to Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, safety was not yet at hand. Although delivered from the worst of the storm, the packed masses were one of the loci of another brewing problem, one that officials expect might last a year or more after landfall.
Every flood disaster is also a public-health disaster, and even as Harvey dissipates over the Gulf Coast, the beginnings of that secondary calamity were on display in the Houston area. During the worst of the flooding, hospitals faced critical shortages of food and medicine, people with serious chronic diseases had to make difficult decisions between evacuation and sheltering in place, and hundreds of victims faced prescription shortages and mental-health issues. And based on the health problems people in New Orleans and elsewhere in the region faced after Hurricane Katrina, experts expect major public-health emergencies, environmental illnesses, and outbreaks will only intensify in the aftermath of Harvey.
Those challenges are already taxing the city’s health infrastructure. According to Bill Gentry, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and a former emergency management official, one key public-health issue that attends the early stages of any disaster is the set of risks facing people who are disabled or elderly and face special health needs. “With our push towards home health-care and taking care of more Americans in the home,” Gentry said, “it quickly turns into 'can we get their home health-care needs taken care of,’ with everything from oxygen to prescription meds to getting them clinical access, especially for dialysis. Those types of clinical worries compound as many days as the water stays up.”
Dialysis is a special concern, and for residents in Houston, already approaching crisis. As NPR reports, it’s important for patients with kidney failure to receive dialysis services every two to three days. But local dialysis centers are struggling with the demand, and with shortages of qualified staff, since several nurses who’d normally work in the centers are themselves displaced by the flood. And while companies like the DaVita Med Center and its locations around the Houston area are working around the clock to meet the area’s dialysis needs, as patients go longer without regular services and appointment reminders, the only solution to keeping them alive may be taking them to one of the area’s hospitals.
And the hospitals are running up against their limits, too. When I spoke to Mary Brandt, a pediatric surgeon at Texas Children's Hospital, she was driving home through receding floodwaters after five straight days of work. She and her colleagues had just completed the first shift of what she described as a “military kind of operation,” and fittingly had just been relieved by a team of reinforcements. “Texas Children's Hospital has leadership that has just gotten this down to an art,” Brandt told me. “Everything was covered.”
That military-like response among Houston-area hospitals was largely effective in dealing with some of the most immediate effects of the storm. Brandt’s team saw mostly children who’d faced non-life-threatening injuries and illnesses. Meanwhile, kids with ailments requiring management, like asthma, or those with fevers and other serious conditions were airlifted to the Texas Children’s Hospital building in The Woodlands, a suburb north of Houston. The triage and logistics systems in place for Houston’s hospitals helped ensure that patients with the most sensitive conditions received treatment and resources on time.
Still, there’s reason to suspect that effective disaster-management system will be stressed in the days to come. As Brandt notes, the bulk of patients with conditions directly related to the floods haven’t yet made it to hospitals. “Since the water's just subsiding,” Brandt said, “we're expecting there's going to be a huge number of patients that are going to come in today and tomorrow with problems that they needed to have taken care of in the last few days, but just couldn't get to us.” That “huge number” might be more than hospitals can handle, as Texas Children’s is already near its bed capacity, and local general hospitals like Ben Taub Memorial have already faced food and drug shortages.
Residents of the area will be facing major physical and health issue in the days and weeks ahead, and the misery will only be compounded by the austerity cuts and poor public planning of Texas officials. The bill for that shortsightedness will come due, and the cost will most likely be hundreds if not thousands of lives.
Where the area goes from here, we don't know. Americans pull together the most in times like these, but we're about to see if the nation's fourth largest city can hold itself in one piece in a worst-case public health scenario.
I don't have much hope. I want Houston to prove me wrong, believe me.


Sustainable gardening is based on ecological principles. When we consider the home garden as an ecosystem, we develop the habit of observing patterns in nature and then look for similar patterns in gardens. Mature organic gardens, like natural systems are complex and rich. One of the goals of sustainable gardening is catching and holding resources.
Always start with the soil— enhance and maintain soil fertility by adding organic matter, so the existing soil microbes can thrive and flourish. Even a degraded site can develop a balanced ecosystem over time as the organic matter decomposes and forms humus. When the microbes of the soil web die, their decayed bodies act as slow-release fertilizer for garden plants. Focus on fertility includes compost, planting nitrogen fixers and other cover crops, adding manure, and growing plants that produce mulch.
We create more resilient gardens when we make connections with all of nature. Select plants that provide habitat for native insects, birds, and animals that can function together in a food web, as part of the home garden ecosystem. Layered gardens include trees shrubs and herbaceous plants that invite more beneficial visitors. The food web becomes more involved as rodents, snakes, and predatory birds engage.
When we design by grouping plants with similar environmental needs together there is less maintenance. Port Townsend’s mild wet winters and mostly dry summers are known as a Mediterranean climate. Native plants and plants from similar climates around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, offer many drought tolerant choices. Woody plants with edible fruits can be planted with an understory of perennial and annual herbs and edible flowers. Remember that perennials and annuals are more work than woody plants, so make sure they serve many functions!
Healthy, well-rooted plants withstand environmental stress caused by weather and poor drainage, and develop better resistance to insect pests and diseases. Planting in beds or mounds edged with paths makes a garden more inviting and eliminates the need for grass.
Gardening to the scale of the property lets us enjoy the intimate small garden or work with generous proportions of larger gardens to include the sky as part of the scale. Larger beds with masses of plants create bold simple patterns. Broadleaf evergreen shrubs and small trees can form the structure or bones of the garden. Strategic placement of flowering perennials and annuals allows us to enjoy the color with less work.


This course, Introduction to the Global Business Environment II, focuses on managing organizations in the international economy. Building on Introduction to the Global Business Environment I, this second course focuses on organizational level and management issues in international settings. The course prepares students with practical as well as research-based knowledge and skills necessary to successfully operating an organizational across borders. This course utilizes an inquiry based approach to understanding managing in the Global Business Environment and answering the following questions: 1. What are Foreign Currencies and how are Exchange Rates Determined? 2. How should you organize your business abroad? 3. How do you adapt your product or service for the international market? 4. What is it like to work abroad and how do you manage expatriates? 5. How to start, operate and grow a small or entrepreneurial business in the global environment? 6. What is the Current State of the Global Business Environment? This inquiry-based approach creates reflective opportunities for students to better understand managing and leading organizations in the global environment in which businesses operate. Lectures are delivered in an engaging manner which encourages reflection and inquiry. Course lectures will be delivered by the instructor in both Spanish and English.
Price: Enroll For Free!
Subtitles: English, Vietnamese
International Business II – University of New Mexico


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There are several ways to present your story's universe to the reader. One way is to have an omniscient narrator tell the reader the details they need to know. This happens in the opening pages of The Hobbit, in which the narrator tells us everything about hobbits -- where they live, what they look like, what they eat, etc. (Although it's been a long time since I read The Hobbit. Correct me if I'm mistaken.)
Another approach is to reveal things in a less direct way. Neil Gaiman is a master of this technique.
Take the opening scene of The Graveyard Book. It begins at night with the man Jack, who has stabbed to death all the inhabitants of a house except one. The family toddler has managed to escape his crib and wander out of the house into a nearby graveyard, where some friendly ghosts hide him. The man Jack realizes the toddler has escaped and pursues him to the graveyard. He climbs the fence to look for the child, but he runs into a stranger who tells him he has to leave the graveyard. They have the following conversation.
[The stranger] selected one large key from the keyring, said "Follow me."
The man Jack walked behind the stranger. He took his knife from his pocket. "Are you the caretaker then?
"Am I? Certainly in a manner of speaking," said the stranger. They were walking towards the gates and, the man Jack was certain, away from the baby. But the caretaker had the keys. A knife in the dark, that was all it would take, and then he could search for the child all through the night, if he needed to.
He raised the knife.
"If there was a baby," said the stranger, without looking back, "it wouldn't have been here in the graveyard. Perhaps you were mistaken. It's unlikely that a child would have come in here after all. Much more likely that you heard a nightbird, and saw a cat. They declared this place an official nature reserve, you know, around the time of the last funeral. Now think carefully, and tell me you are certain that it was a child that you saw."
The man Jack thought.
The stranger unlocked the side gate. "A fox," he said. " They make the most uncommon noises. Not unlike a person crying. No, your visit to this graveyard was a mis-step, sir. Somewhere the child you seek awaits you, but he is not here." And he let the thought sit there, in the man Jack's head for a moment, before he opened the gate with a flourish. "Delighted to have made your acquaintance" . . . .
"Where are you going?" asked the man Jack.
"There are other gates than this," said the stranger. "My car is on the other side of the hill. Don't mind me. You don't even have to remember this conversation."
"No," said the man Jack, agreeably." "I don't." He remembered wandering up the hill, that what he had thought to be a child had turned out to be a fox, that a helpful caretaker had escorted him back out to the street. He slipped his knife into its inner sheath. "Well," he said. "Good night."
I'm more impressed here by what Gaimen didn't write than by what he did. If I were writing a scene like this, I would have been tempted to write a few lines like the following.
The man Jack hesitated, confused. What was he going to do with the knife again? He put it down and shook his head. He supposed it was a rather silly idea after all that the child would be in the graveyard...
You know, just a couple lines to make sure the reader REALLY GETS IT THAT THE STRANGER IS MIND-CONTROLLING THE MAN JACK. SEE, THE STRANGER CAN MENTALLY BRAINWASH PEOPLE! PRETTY COOL HUH?
Well, thankfully, Neil Gaiman is not me, and we instead get this deliciously subtle passage -- the type of passage that makes the reader go, "Wait, did he just do what I think he did?" A few pages later, he finally slips in a confirmation, almost as an afterthought. The following passage is from a conversation between Siilas (the stranger) and a ghost.
"You are a wise woman," said Silas. "I see why they speak so highly of you." He couldn't push the minds of the dead as he could the living, but he could use all the tools of flattery and persuasion he possessed, for the dead are not immune to either.
In other parts of the book, Gaiman is even less direct. For example, he drops many hints about the true nature of Silas's character, but he never really comes out and says it. For me, this was really fun as reader because it allowed me to be an active participant in exploring the world Gaiman created. It wasn't just handed to me on a plate -- I actually had to pay attention.
So what are you thoughts? Is your writing style subtle or straightforward? What style do you prefer to read?


The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is the only drumlin archipelago in the USA, comprising 34 islands and peninsulas scattered between the protection of Boston’s inner harbor and its vulnerable outskirts. Drumlin deposits are mounds of sedimentary material left behind by the retreat of glaciers, which were subsequently flooded as sea levels rose after glacial retreat. The result of this process is the Boston Harbor as we know it today, dotted with drumlin islands and peninsulas.
Outer islands are dominated by bare rock, blasted by sea spray, wind, and waves. The inner-island habitats are varied, characterized by sandy coastlines, bluffs, and rocky intertidal areas transitioning into densely vegetated interiors, tidal estuaries, and meadows. Over hundreds of years, several of the Boston Harbor Islands have been subjected to human disturbances: agricultural clear-cutting and grazing; construction of fortifications and hospitals; introduction of exotic species; and fire exposure. For example, Peddocks Island still houses a group of privately owned cottages. Bumpkin Island has a very rich history of land use—home to fish-drying industries and a children’s hospital, while later becoming a recreational area. Georges, Lovells, and Peddocks Islands saw the construction of military bases, which fell out of use after World War II.
Peddocks Island, with cottages, some in better shape than others, a church, and tunnels of a former mortar battery that has been abandoned for more than half a century (air shot of East Head by Doc Searls, other pictures by Danny Haelewaters).
In December 2012, a fungal All-Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) program was initiated, targeting three islands (Grape, Peddocks, Thompson) and one peninsula (World’s End). Calf Island, Great Brewster Island, Slate Island, and Webb Memorial State Park were occasionally sampled. These islands were chosen to reflect a variety of proximity to the mainland, history of anthropogenic disturbance, and size of landmass, all factors that are expected to affect the diversity and distribution of fungi. About 1,000 collections have been made, of which 511 are currently identified. The survey has thus far yielded 232 species in 24 orders, 11 classes, and 2 phyla. (Note that the published Preliminary Checklist of Fungi listed 172 species, which means an additional 60 species have been identified since 2018.) The following species were newly described based on material from the Boston Harbor Islands: Orbilia renispora, Trochila bostonensis, and Xylaria finismundoensis (= the end of the world, named after World’s End peninsula). And more species await description, including in the genera Amanita, Lactarius, Orbilia, and Simocybe.
Overview of BHI-F collections [updated January 2021]
Vandegrift R. 2021. Xylariales (Sordariomycetes, Ascomycota) of the Boston Harbor Islands. Northeastern Naturalist 25(Special Issue 9): 150-199. [pdf]
Gómez-Zapata PA, Haelewaters D, Quijada L, Pfister DH, Aime MC. 2021. Notes on Trochila (Ascomycota, Leotiomycetes), with new species and combinations. MycoKeys 78: 21-47. https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.78.62046 [pdf]
Shao Y, Baral H-O, Ou X, Wu H, Huang F, Zheng H, Liu B. 2018. New species and records of orbiliaceous fungi from Georgia, USA. Mycological Progress 17(11): 1225-1235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11557-018-1438-x [pdf]
Haelewaters D, Dirks AC, Kappler LA, Quijada L, Vandegrift R, Buyck B, Pfister DH. 2018. A preliminary checklist of fungi at the Boston Harbor Islands. Northeastern Naturalist 25(Special Issue 9): 45-76. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.025.s904 [pdf]


The Magic of Louis Haselmayer
Long a nation of scholars, musicians, writers, and patrons of the arts, Austria not only developed a rich culture; it has also produced a number of very fine magicians. Perhaps a lesser known but nevertheless skillful performer in the history of magic was Louis Haselmayer, born in Vienna on September 18, 1838. He was orphaned at age 7 but an uncle saw to his careful education by attending the ‘Realschulle’ where young Louis distinguished himself in physics, chemistry, and drawing. He showed an aptitude for things mechanical from an early age and later trained as a mechanic. His training led to a position with the Imperial Royal Telegraph in Vienna. He also had a great talent for music and studied piano and other instruments at the Vienna Academy of Music. With many magicians constantly visiting Vienna, Haselmayer developed a deep interest in magic and while still a student, built a number of pieces of magical apparatus. By age 18 he was giving regular magic performances for Viennese society and even performed for Emperor Franz Joseph. It was the grand master magician Dr Johann Hofzinzer who gave Hasselmayer the final polish.


Sounds really possible.
I’m as big a fan as the Hubble Space Telescope has, but what I don’t get is, if the Hubble can see a galaxy 13.7 billion light-years away, why can’t it read a fricken license plate on Pluto, nevermind these washed-out images?!!!
And Pluto’s satellite – Can something that isn’t a planet have a “moon”?? – Nix, in keeping with astronomical tradition, is of course named after the ancient deity Nixon!!!
Here’s a question: They say we can’t see the core of our galaxy, at the end of the Milky Way star formation, because of space dust. Does that mean that if it weren’t for space dust, considering that there are “billions and billions” of stars and galaxies in every direction, night would be nearly as bright as day, only a different, softer color, and without shadows??? So arguably, universal space dust has played a key role in the development of life on Earth with its day/night cycles (for most of us… present company excluded!!) (in the Will of God of course)!
“Dark spots on Mars”??? If they’re not optical illusions, they’re too perfect for nature, I think. Paging Richard C. Hoagland!
This AOL article claims human (male – with sperm counts – but also I presume female, as she points out) testosterone, linked to sexual desire, peaks in November and early December, suggesting Fall is our traditional mating season, if Homo sapiens sapiens ever had one.*
But I have to wonder also if Holiday Blues then, or post-Holiday Blues, aren’t related to a decrease in T, and not just to Christmas/ Hanukkah/ solstice-related disappointments, shorter days (in the Northern Hemisphere at least), bad diets, etc. Even “Seasonal” Affective Disorder!
For that matter, do people in the Southern Hemisphere even get this? Yes, they say they get S.A.D., but in June-July. So we Northerners get it on top of the Holidays, mate! But do they get the lowered T then too?
(*–Certainly a number of old calendars started in Fall – Celtic Samhain, Jewish Rosh haShanah, Orthodox Ecclesiastical New Year. Some Orthodox Christians say Creation was created in September; as some Russians say, apples ripen then – as in the Garden of Eden’s traditional forbidden fruit!! – at least in the Northern Hemisphere. [Actually, the Scriptures don’t say “apple,” just “fruit”!])
Unanswered Prayers???—In my extensive research only Orthodox Christianity knows what’s up with “unanswered prayers.” Orthodox petitions to God in their fullest and best form say things like “grant their saving petitions” (for other people) or “which conduce to salvation” or “worldly and spiritual goods” and so forth.
The first concern of Orthodox Christianity is “the salvation of our souls and bodies.” That is, that God the Trinity–the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit–may “have mercy on us and save us,” restore us to harmony with Him, to God-like-ness, to the way He made us originally (Adam and Eve) and still intends for us–soul and body–here and now or at least in the hereafter. So this is kept in mind whenever Orthodox use the above petition-formulae. It’s not just gimme, gimme, gimme; it’s, “I’d like this perceived good, Lord, but most of all, Thy salvation, so Thou callest the shots!”
Another point is placing the expressed concern of the petition under God’s care and administration, as our entire life should be, versus being a control-freak: “Got this problem, Lord, take care of it, OK? It’s under Your protection anyway, and You know best.” Like the old Quaker once said, “I’m not always of my own opinion!”
Finally, the “answer” may be in a form you’re not looking for, or it may become clearer years later. As St. Paul said, “Consider that God’s patience is directed toward your salvation.”
Any of these points can be expressed in a repressive way. My experience of Orthodoxy is different from that, because it’s so different from and alien to Western Christianity, and so much better, if you give it a chance. “Come and see!”


Where are the forests located in Indiana?
The following is a list of state forests in Indiana….List of Indiana state forests.
|Name||County where main entrance is located|
|Frances Slocum State Forest||Miami|
|Greene–Sullivan State Forest||Sullivan|
|Harrison–Crawford State Forest||Harrison and Crawford|
|Jackson–Washington State Forest||Washington|
How many state forests are there in Indiana?
The Division of Forestry manages 15 state forests with a total of 158,688.9 acres and 1,577 tracts.
- View recreation opportunities at Indiana state forests.
- Learn about state forest management and submit public comments.
Can you log classified forest in Indiana?
All burning on classified land must be approved through the district forester as part of the management plan for the classified area. The Act requires participating landowners to implement minimum resource-management standards prescribed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
How do you become a forester in Indiana?
To become a professional forester requires a 4-year bachelor’s degree in forestry from a college or university with an accredited forestry program. To become a forest technician requires a 2-year associate’s degree from a school with an accredited technical forestry program.
Are there any national forests in Indiana?
Hoosier National Forest, in the hills of south central Indiana, provides a wide mix of opportunities and resources for people to enjoy.
What is the largest forest in Indiana?
Morgan–Monroe State Forest is a state forest in Morgan County and Monroe County of Indiana, and is the second largest state forest in Indiana….Morgan–Monroe State Forest.
|Morgan–Monroe State State Forest|
|Coordinates||39°19′16″N 86°24′48″WCoordinates: 39°19′16″N 86°24′48″W|
|Area||24,000 acres (97.12 km2)|
What is Indiana classified forest program?
The Classified Forest and Wildlands Program encourages timber production, watershed protection, and wildlife habitat management on private lands in Indiana. Program landowners receive a property tax reduction in return for following a professionally written management plan.
What does classified forest mean in Indiana?
A Classified Forest and Wildlands tract is an area of at least 10.0 contiguous acres of forest or non-forest wildlife habitat where the landowner has agreed (by application) to be a good steward of the land and its natural resources.
What county is the Hoosier National Forest in?
Brown County, Indiana
Hoosier National Forest – Brown County, Indiana.
Does Indiana have a national forest?
The Hoosier National Forest is a property managed by the United States Forest Service in the hills of southern Indiana. Composed of four separate sections, it has a total area of 202,814 acres (821 km2; 317 sq mi)….
|Hoosier National Forest|
|Website||Hoosier National Forest|


This is a fun introductory warm-up and concentration game. You can begin sitting down or standing up. In pairs, face each other. Start counting from one to three between yourselves, over and over. Once you get the hang of that part you are ready for the next stage. Instead of saying the number "one", you should clap your hands - but you would still say "two" and "three" aloud.
Once everyone has mastered that, the next step is that instead of saying "three", that person should bend their knees. You should still clap your hands for the number "one". This is a bit like trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time - in fact, you could try that afterwards!
A: "One" (Claps hands)
A: "Three" (Bends knees)
B: "One" (Claps hands)
B: "Three" (Bends knees)
Tip: Make sure you allow time to encourage pairs to show everybody else how they are doing after each step. It's fun watching people trying to concentrate, especially if it goes a bit wrong!
If you have extra time, pairs could make up their own movement and/or sound for the number "two".
|Learning Objectives:||To encourage concentration
To develop partner working
|Recommended time for activity:||5-10 minutes|


- The Logic of English
- Rhythm of Handwriting – Cursive
- $15.00 Print Edition also available as a PDF file
- Denise Eide – Author
- Ages: Kindergarten and up
About the Product
The Rhythm of Handwriting begins by teaching all the lowercase letters. The reasoning behind this is that since 90% of what we read and write is lowercase, learning them first provides students with the information they need to be successful in learning to read and write.
The Rhythm of Handwriting uses four learning modes: seeing, hearing, doing and speaking. First the student is shown how to form the letter. They hear the instructions orally. Then the student is asked to repeat the action (doing) as well as narrate what steps they are taking (speaking).
Large Motor Movements are initiated first. The motion originates in the elbow and helps establish the sequence of movement for each letter. The Rhythm of Handwriting book provides enlarged handwriting lines so students can first practice the letter with their pointer finger. It is encouraged to let the student practice with markers on individual white boards, sensory boxes or chalk.
Explicit instructions are given on how each letter is formed. Key words provide abbreviated directions that students can remember to help with the natural rhythm of each letter. Rhythm is emphasized so that students learn to have their pencil continue in a steady motion.
Rebekah, 10, used the Rhythm of Handwriting book. She had been introduced to cursive writing, but only knew a few letters. She has been wanting to learn cursive and has been very enthusiastic during this review.
We would introduce the letter to learn and have her practice with her pointer finger. Then I would have her practice that letter with her pen on the provided pages. These pages have varying size lines so kids can use which one they prefer. We had Rebekah use each size so she could learn how to write in different sizes. It takes us about 15 minutes a day to work on her cursive.
We also used a “sensory pan” to practice each letter. This was simply a jelly roll pan that I poured rice into. She would write the letter with her pointer finger in the rice. Sidewalk chalk outside also was a fun activity to learn the letters. The last idea Rebekah came up with all on her own.. We had bought large pads of paper at a clearance sale. Rebekah decided to use these large lines to practice her cursive letters.
I found this to be a very adequate book for teaching cursive handwriting. It is not flashy, but simply a two page spread teaching how to form each letter in words, then forming the letter with the pointer finger, then eight lines of practice in varying widths. Rebekah is motivated to learn cursive and she took this book seriously. She told me she liked learning each letter, but true to Rebekah nature, thought there was too much practice.
I would recommend this book for teaching cursive. The instructions are clear and concise. It is a good, no frills way to easily teach a beautiful script.
The Logic of English produces many homeschool products. The Schoolhouse Review Crew not only reviewed The Rhythm of Handwriting but also reviewed their Essentials program and Foundations program for teaching reading and writing along with an i-Pad app. Visit the Crew Blog to read what other reviewers thought of The Logic of English programs.


Navajo Code Talkers: The Uncrackable Language
Chester Nez was among the original 29 Navajo Code Talkers who created a double-encrypted language used for communication between U.S. Marines during World War II. The dedicated service of the Code Talkers contributed substantially to the U.S. victory in World War II. (Photo courtesy of Chester Nez)
Navajo Code Talker Chester Nez was born “among the oak trees” in Chichiltah, N.M. He spent his childhood herding sheep for his grandmother before leaving the close-knit community to attend a boarding high school in Tuba City, Ariz. It was there that Nez learned about a secret Marine Corps mission that would take him far away from his people and into the battlefields of World War II.
In the early months of World War II, Japanese intelligence personnel broke every code the U.S. military produced. They were able to anticipate U.S. attacks, which cost countless American lives. The U.S. forces needed a better way to communicate — and fast.
The Navajo language, which was spoken almost exclusively by natives, had no written alphabet. This provided a possible solution to America’s dilemma. A Marine recruiter showed up at Nez’s boarding school and he and 28 other Navajos became the first Code Talkers.
“We first 29 Code Talkers designed a doubly-encrypted secret language using Navajo and English,” Nez said. “It became the only unbroken spoken code in modern warfare. Not even other Navajos could crack our code. Finally the Marines could plan strategic maneuvers without the enemy knowing every move.”
The code was so successful that the Corps recruited 400 more Navajo men to join as Code Talkers. During the war, Nez and the other Code Talkers’ primary mission was to receive and send encrypted messages. Even if they were being shot at, their focus was on sending the message, not firing back at the enemy.
“That could be pretty stressful,” Nez said. “But we did it.”
Nez fought on Guadalcanal, Bougainville, Guam, Peleliu and Angaur. When the other Marines were sent home on rest and recuperation, Nez and the Code Talkers were transferred to new divisions because their presence was critical to mission success. Nez fought with 1st, 2nd and 3rd Marine Divisions throughout the course of the war.
On top of nonstop action on the front lines, Nez was further weighed down by the gravity of the work he was doing.
“For me, the most difficult thing was worrying that I might make a mistake that cost the lives of my fellow Marines,” said Nez. “But thank goodness that never happened.”
Although Nez’s primary mission was in communicating the Navajo code, he wasn’t immune to the hazards of war. “I was hit in the foot with shrapnel, but the doc just wrapped it up and said, ‘You can still fight, Chief,’” Nez said.
Nez continued to perform his classified duties until the end of the war in 1945. While other Marines returned home from the war to a hero’s welcome, the Code Talkers were unable to talk about their contributions due to the sensitive nature of their duties.
“We kept the code secret until 1968 — 23 years after the end of the war,” Nez said. “Many of the returning Code Talkers could not find jobs, but they knew they couldn’t tell the people interviewing them of the great things they had already accomplished as Marines. Too many of those men died within a few years of the war, penniless and without employment.”
Nez, however, was able to find a job doing maintenance and painting at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Albuquerque. The hospital walls still portray Navajo Holy People, or Ye’ii, that Nez painted years ago. Nez was called back into the Corps to fight during the Korean War and finally left the service as a corporal. He married Ethel Pearl Catron and they raised six children together.
It wasn’t until 2001 that the original 29 Navajo men were recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal for their invaluable contributions that helped turn the tide of World War II. The other 400 Navajo men who followed received the Congressional Silver Medal. Unfortunately, by this time, most of the Code Talkers had already died. But the recognition these men received helped educate an American people who knew very little about the small group of Navajos who had changed U.S. history.
29 Navajo Code Talkers receive Congressional Gold Medals in appreciation for their dedicated and exceptional service during World War II in 2001. Code Talkers were unable to talk about their classified service until 1968.
“I am glad that my country, in a time when Native Americans could not vote in Arizona and New Mexico, gave us Navajo men a chance to prove our dedication to saving our land and our people,” Nez said. “We are citizens of the U.S., and we love our country just as other citizens do.”
Nez hopes that the recognition they have finally received will inspire young Navajo and other youth alike.
“It is important that my people take pride in their heritage, especially the young people,” Nez said. “I hope that learning about the Code Talkers will help them to do that. It is also important that non-Navajos learn how a culture so different from theirs contributed to the U.S. victory in World War II.”


“ The Structure of Wuthering Heights ”
This C P Sanger essay was published in Hogarth in 1926 (essay number 19). It is probably the first attempt at an in-depth examination of the novel with a detailed timeline and an analysis of the legal aspects of the tale.
by Charles Percy Sanger (1926)
By common consent Wuthering Heights is a remarkable book. I do not propose to discuss its literary merits, but to confine myself to the humbler task of investigating its structure, which presents certain peculiarities. Whether this is worth doing I do not know, but I found that it added to my interest in the book and made the tale much more vivid for me.
The main theme is how a sort of human cuckoo, called Heathcliff, sets out with success to acquire all the property of two families, the Earnshaws and the Lintons. The tale is a fairly complicated one, and the incidents extend over a period of more than thirty years.
How is a long story like this to be told? How is the reader's interest to be excited? How is the tale to be kept together? How are we to be made to feel the lapse of time without being pestered by dates? How far did the authoress accurately visualise the ages of the characters in the different incidents, the topography, and so on? And how did Heathcliff succeed in getting the property? These are the questions I attempt to answer.
The most obvious thing about the structure of the story which deals with three generations is the symmetry of the pedigree. Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw at Wuthering Heights and Mr. and Mrs. Linton at Thrushcross Grange each have one son and one daughter, Mr. Linton's son marries Mr. Earnshaw's daughter, and their only child Catherine marries successively her two cousins—Mr. Linton's grandson and Mr. Earnshaw's grandson. See the pedigree on [the genealogy page].
In actual life I have never come across a pedigree of such absolute symmetry. I shall have to refer to this pedigree again later. It is a remarkable piece of symmetry in a tempestuous book.
The method adopted to arouse the reader's interest and to give vividness and reality to the tale is one which has been used with great success by Joseph Conrad. But it requires great skill.
After Edgar Linton's death, Mr. Lockwood, the narrator, takes Thrushcross Grange for a year. He goes to call on his landlord, Heathcliff, at Wuthering Heights, and is puzzled to find there a farouche young woman and an awkward boor. At first he supposes Catherine to be Heathcliff's wife; when told she is his daughter-in-law, he then supposes that Hareton is Heathcliff's son, and has again to be corrected. He, and the reader, are naturally puzzled at this strange trio. Lockwood calls again, and is forced to spend the night because of a heavy fall of snow. In his room he finds some books with the name Catherine Earnshaw and Catherine Linton, and a sort of diary of Catherine's in a childish hand which gives a vivid picture of the situation just after her father's death. Mr. Lockwood has a nightmare in which Catherine's spirit comes to the window, and he also witnesses a strange scene of Heathcliff imploring Catherine's spirit. Our interest cannot fail now to be excited. What is this strange man and this strange ménage? Who was this Catherine who died years before? What were her relations with Heathcliff? Naturally, Lockwood is much intrigued. On his way back next day he catches a chill and becomes ill. To pass the time he asks Ellen Dean, the housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange, what she knows about the family at Wuthering Heights. She, who was first Hareton's nurse and then the younger Catherine's, tells him the story of the past thirty years in considerable detail. So that during the major part of the book Mr. Lockwood is telling us what Ellen Dean told him, but sometimes, also, what Ellen Dean told him that someone else—for instance, Isabella—had told her. Only a small part, perhaps one-tenth of the book, consists of direct narrative by Lockwood from his own knowledge. But such a scheme may be confusing, and it is easy to muddle the time. Did Emily Brontë realise and let us know the dates when each event happened? She did, but not by giving them directly. Look again at the pedigree. The dates there have all been derived from the book, yet only one is directly stated. What first brought me to study the book more closely was when I noticed that the first word in the book was a date—1801. I thought this must have some significance. Similarly, the first word of Chapter XXXII is 1802. Apart from this, only one other date is given directly. In the last sentence of Chapter VII, Ellen Dean says, “I will be content to pass on to the next summer—the summer of 1778, that is, nearly twenty-three years ago.” This gives no further information, as 1801 is twenty-three years after 1778, but in the first sentence of the next chapter she tells us that Hareton was born in June. This is how I get June 1778 for Hareton's birth in the pedigree. But what about the rest of the dates, not only those in the pedigree but of all the incidents in the story? There are a considerable number (perhaps nearly a hundred) indications of various kinds to help us—intervals of time, ages of characters, the months, the harvest moon, the last grouse, and so forth, and we learn, incidentally, that the younger Catherine's birthday was on 20th March. Sometimes, too, we know the day of the week— thus Ellen Dean will remember something which happened on a Sunday, or on a Christmas Eve. Taking all these indications, it is, I think, possible to ascertain the year, and, in most cases, the month of the year in which every event takes place—also the ages of the various characters, except, naturally, there is a slight doubt as to Heathcliff, because no one knows his exact age when he was found by Mr. Earnshaw. But one has to go warily and consider all the indications together, for there is a curious subtlety that sometimes the characters are described as looking some ages which are not exact. Thus Lockwood when he first describes them says that Heathcliff was about forty and Catherine did not look seventeen. In fact, Catherine was seventeen and three-quarters and Heathcliff cannot have been more than thirty-eight. It would be too tedious to state the process by which I have discovered each date. But I will give one or two illustrations. We already know that Hareton was born in June 1778; we are told that he was nearly five when Catherine Earnshaw married Edgar Linton, so that the marriage was before June 1783. But Heathcliff returned in September after they had been happily married for six months. Thus the marriage was in April 1783. We are told that the scene that led to Catherine's death was a Sunday in the March after Heathcliff's return, and that her daughter, Catherine, was born about midnight, and the mother died two hours later. Later on we learn that Catherine's birthday was the 20th (and that this was also treated as the day of her mother's death). Hence Catherine died at 2 a.m. on Monday, 20th March 1784.
I will give only one other instance. Lockwood begins his account in 1801; it is snowy weather, which might be in January or February or in November or December. But he returns in 1802 before his year's tenancy is out. Hence the story begins at the end of 1801. A Michaelmas tenancy begins on the 10th October—not on 29th September—because when the calendar was reformed eleven days were left out. Therefore, the story begins after 10th October 1801. Now after Lockwood has been ill three weeks Heathcliff sends him some grouse, the last of the season. Since the Game Act, 1831, grouse may not be shot after 10th December, so we may take this as about the date for the last grouse. Thus the story begins about the middle of November, and this fits pretty well with the later indications. That is sufficient to illustrate the process. Sometimes it is only by fitting together several indications, each rather vague, that one can find the month. There is, however, one curious fact. We can ascertain Hindley's age. Now Ellen Dean was of the same age. She was his foster sister, and the doctor also refers to her as being of the same age as Hindley. Yet she makes two mistakes about her own age. Middle-aged people do, of course, make mistakes about their age, and these slips may have been intentional on the part of Emily Brontë, but, if so, it seems to me a little over-subtle.
The topography is equally precise. On going from Thrushcross Grange to the village of Gimmerton a highway branches off to the moor on the left. There is a stone pillar there. Thrushcross Grange lies to the south-west, Gimmerton to the east, and Wuthering Heights to the north. The distance from Thrushcross Grange to Wuthering Heights is four miles, and Penistone Crags lie a mile and a half farther on. It was half an hour from Gimmerton to Thrushcross Grange.
The botany is sure to be correct. Emily Brontë loved the country. I was a little surprised to find an ash tree in bud as early as 20th March, but then I realised that it was not on the moor but in the park at Thrushcross Grange, which lay low and was no doubt sheltered.
[Sanger here considers the legal aspects of the novel. This is reproduced on the Legal page]
There is, so far as I know, no other novel in the world which it is possible to subject to an analysis of the kind I have tried to make. This in itself makes the book very unusual. Did the authoress carry all the dates in her head, or did she work with a calendar? Was 20th March 1784, for example, on a Monday? According to my calculations it was not, it was a Saturday, but I should like to have this confirmed by some competent chronologist; for if I am right, it shows that Emily Brontë did not use a calendar, and that nothing will be gained by finding out, for instance, the date of Easter in 1803.
However dull and technical the above details may be, they do, I believe, throw a light on the character of Emily Brontë and her book. German romances can hardly have been the source of her knowledge of English law. A great critic has spoken of the passionate chastity of the book; but the extreme care in realising the ages of the characters at the time of each incident which is described seems to me a more unusual characteristic of a novel. It demonstrates the vividness of the author's imagination.
[For Sanger's chronology of Wuthering Heights, see Sanger's Timeline.]


“What is systems thinking?”
This is a question I’ve heard quite a lot recently.
So, with the assistance of our little friend Stick Child (yes he’s back by popular demand!) let’s take a look at the subject in very straightforward terms.
By happy coincidence, Stick Child’s latest piece of homework was to find out about systems thinking, and fortunately his Daddy knows a bit about the subject, so the pair of them sat down together and came up with a simple guide. Here are some excerpts, below:
Some Systems Thinking Principles
Firstly, Stick Child learnt that there are lots of different strains of ‘systems thinking’. Some of them are very complex and theoretical, but Stick Child and his Daddy particularly like Deming‘s stuff, as it’s pretty simple and easy to apply in real life.
Deming described a system as, “A network of interdependent components that work together to try and accomplish an aim”. The important thing here is that these interdependent components must cooperate, otherwise everyone looks after their own interests and the system breaks down. This means that the customer or service user loses out, which is bad.
Therefore, it is really important that we are absolutely clear about the aim of the system; for example, a hospital might seek to ‘help people get better’, whilst the police try to ‘prevent crime and catch offenders’. In fact, some systems can have lots of aims – in the case of the police, they do lots of things that have nothing to do with crime; these things are also very important.
Stick Child learnt that there is no single ‘right’ interpretation of systems thinking, because there is lots of common ground between different systems approaches.
Stick Child discovered that measurement is really important in systems thinking. He learnt that we need to measure things that are happening within the system to understand how it is performing, but that they must be the right measures, measured in the right way. (He found this out from a blog by someone called InspGuilfoyle). Stick Child knows that one of the best ways to measure things is by using control charts.
Remember this one?
Stick Child also found out that some people can’t tell the difference between ‘targets’ and ‘measures’ and this prevents them from being able to understand some really important stuff about how systems work. He wonders if there’s a special medicine they could take that would help their brains.
Bad Performance Management Practices
Stick Child learnt that well-meaning people sometimes use really bad ways of trying to measure things, like binary comparisons. He also found out numerical targets and league tables make people put effort into outdoing each other instead of concentrating on the real aim of the system. Sometimes they even cheat and tell lies. Stick Child’s Daddy says that this is because numerical targets are arbitrary and cause dysfunctional behaviour.
Stick Child discovered that waste is activity that slows the system down and doesn’t help to achieve its aim. There are many types of waste – failure demand and rework are types of waste that occur because something wasn’t done properly the first time round. Waste also occurs when demand that shouldn’t be there in the first place enters the system, or when people within the system invent work for others to do, like writing lots of plans, or making them go to meetings where nothing useful occurs.
Stick Child thinks it would be better to put this effort into actually doing the work, rather than writing about it or talking about it. He does, however, accept that this might be a radical concept for some people.
Stick Child came to realise that the thinking part of systems thinking is really important. He learnt that management thinking needs to change in order for systems-based approaches to succeed. He understands that if we keep doing the same things we will keep getting the same results. That’s why we need to remove the bad things that hurt the system, then redesign it so that all the different bits work together to achieve its aim, whether this be helping people to get better when they are poorly, or catching baddies.
If Stick Child understands this, so can you.


Between all the bad comments about Bitcoin, the comment that it “wastes” energy power is the most nonsensical. This way of thinking is contradictory to the fundamentals of the electric power, the way it works and the way markets work.
Electric power is a real-time service which is transmitted by wired lines by specialized companies. It is produced through Nuclear, Hydro Coal, Solar, Wind, etc. Those producers produce energy which is consumed in real time and users are billed per kilowatt-hour. Electricity is used for a lot of purposes like entertainment, heating, cooking, even cars are running on stored electricity these days which is produced by those energy companies.
For the whatever propose you choose to use the energy you will have to pay for it and if you are satisfied, then it can not be considered a waste. Also which is more important the electricity you consumed could not have been used by anybody else after it has been utilized by you. Energy is used only once after that it is gone because it is not a physical thing like water for example.
So once power enters into your devices and it is consumed, it may by no means be sent back or re-used. That energy power could only ever have been utilized by you, and since you pay for it on the agreed price, how you use it is just your business and nobody’s else. There isn’t any difference among an electricity consumer choosing to warmness their outside swimming pool to 90°F in a cold winter with electricity and a Bitcoin miner performing heavy computer calculations that consumes a lot of electricity. Since electricity is not physical, the wasting concept is subjective.
Bitcoin miners do not consume energy without a purpose, so bitcoin mining does not fit into the category of wasteful activity.
It is important to use English correctly to avoid confusion. There is nothing wrong with to seek efficiency but you can not categorize what people do with a service as to right or wrong. As long they pay for the service it is their choice how do they consume it. Also, electricity is a service that does not produce waste.
Someone can try to make an assumption that the heat created by the mining process is a waste, which is a wrong assumption. Bitcoin miners do not want to produce heat, they want to produce bitcoin. The heat produced during the mining process is a cost they accept. At the same time if a better hardware is created rational miner will go for it as it saves them money, so they can make more profits. The market encourages contributors to attempt for efficiency.
There is a narrative saying “bitcoin is boiling the oceans” from the environmental point of view which is logically wrong. That is because the world is not one energy grid and bitcoin energy usage and the world stock energy are not related. The energy used for Bitcoin mining does not deprive anybody of energy and does not influence the energy price, and on the other hand, bitcoin incentives looking for cheaper energy options like solar and wind.
Soluna wind farm in southern Morocco to power a data center and Bitcoin mining operation. Source: Soluna
When you hear somebody saying that Bitcoin mining wastes energy you can explain why it can not be considered waste because of the way electricity works and many people do not understand.


The so-called Suffolk County hack holidays – Bunker Hill Day and Evacuation Day – were literally done away with last year when the governor agreed with the Legislature that more money would be saved than is spent keeping Suffolk County offices open on these two days than closed.
So two important historical events – the evacuation of the port of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill holidays were relegated to the dustbin of history with the thinking behind the move that money will be saved by ridding ourselves of foolish holidays that no one else celebrates.
At any other time in our national history, such a move might have made common sense – but not in the modern world we live in.
Because of union contracts which guarantee the holidays as paid, even if the holidays cease to exists the public employees in Suffolk County must be paid.
In other words, the hack holidays are no more.
The price tag for getting rid of them, an added $2 million over what it cost to honor the holidays.
Part of that cost will be born by Revere as the city will be forced to pay overtime to city employees to keep offices open.
As for the holidays themselves, we can understand doing away with Evacuation Day. No lives were lost when the Americans mounted cannon at Dorchester Heights and fired rounds at the British Fleet sitting in Boston Harbor causing the evacuation of the fleet from the harbor.
Bunker Hill Day honors hundreds who died or who were wounded in of the most momentous battles of the era against the vaunted British who had not been challenged in 300 years.
Bunker Hill Day should remain a significant day of memorial for those who lost their lives there in the name of the revolution.
But it won’t and that’s a shame.
And now we have to pay more to do away with the holiday than to keep it.


A systematic approach is necessary when diagnosing oral pathology in the dog and cat. This should always include a thorough clinical examination of other organ systems before the oral examination begins.
The oral examination will include inspection and palpation of the extraoral structures, including the face, lips, and muscles of mastication; temporomandibular joints; salivary glands; lymph nodes; maxillae and mandibles; and looking for swelling, atrophy or asymmetry. Inspection of the intraoral structures should follow, including the hard and soft tissues with the focus on the dentition, gingiva, mucosa, tongue, tonsils and occlusion. On visual inspection, an animal with periodontal disease may show evidence of gingival swelling, redness and altered gingival contour around the teeth. There may also be areas with gingival recession, furcation exposures (in multirooted teeth) or purulent discharge from periodontal pockets. There can be variable amounts of plaque and calculus present, although as a general rule, the more plaque and calculus covering the tooth surface, the more severe the disease.
1. Oral Examination
Periodontal probe with graduations up to 10 mm; sickle explorer other end
Protective eyewear with or without magnification
Good light source with cold beam
Disclosing solution to detect plaque
Digital camera with macro capability
Dental radiography can be performed with a general X-ray unit, but a dental X-ray unit is preferred. The dental X-ray unit can be mobile or fixed to a wall to allow radiographs to be taken directly at the workbench. Dental X-ray equipment: non-screen dental films, film clips for handling, and envelopes for radiographic storage or you can digitalise radiographs for storage on computer hard drive. Useful inclusions: Chair-side developer with rapid developer/fixer, ideally radiographic viewing box.
Digital radiography has already started to replace screen film/darkroom processing in many veterinary teaching universities in Australia. There is an increasing uptake of digital radiography in human dentistry also. It will not be long before this trend takes over from analogue systems in the veterinary dental field.
3. Dental Charting and Recording
Periodontal probing and charting: As periodontitis is a disease of the periodontium and involves the loss of periodontal attachment to the tooth, the only way to assess this loss is by assessing the extent of disease (by probing and radiography) and recording this information.
Periodontal probing with a blunt-ended probe measures the depth of the gingival sulcus or pocket. Probing provides a practical way of assessing periodontal health or disease. Normal sulcus depth in the dog is < 3 mm and < 1 mm in cats. The probe is held in a modified pen grip with a finger rest, and it is placed parallel to the long axis of the tooth. With light pressure, the probe is gently walked around the tooth to measure pocket depth. If gingival recession is present, the periodontal probe can also be used to measure this recession. The measurement (to the nearest mm) is taken from the cementoenamel junction to the free gingival margin. Where recession is present, the addition of the recession and pocket measurements gives the attachment loss (AL) measurement for that particular tooth surface. Bleeding on probing (BOP) can also be noted at this time, as it is often an early sign of active inflammation at that site.
In humans, the severity of periodontitis is based on a number of findings, including tooth mobility, BOP, AL, furcation involvement, purulent discharges from pockets, and tooth pain associated with percussion or thermal sensitivity testing. A prognosis is then assigned to each tooth.
As well as the periodontal probe, the dental explorer is a useful tool when examining teeth for pulpal exposures, external resorptive lesions, furcation involvement, and dental caries. It can also be used post-root debridement to assess the presence of residual calculus. A dental mirror may also aid in examining the palatal and lingual surfaces of teeth.
All findings should be recorded on a dental chart. Missing, rotated, and fractured teeth; probing depths (up to 6 points per tooth) of gingival recession; and hyperplasia, mobility, furcation involvement and other oral pathology can all be recorded on a dental chart. Charting not only records the current state of the dentition and soft tissues of the oral cavity, allowing the formulation of a treatment plan, but also provides a permanent record for future comparisons.
Common Indices Used in Veterinary Dentistry
Periodontal Disease Index
Can be generalised or localized
Stage 0 - No disease
Stage 1 (PD1) - Gingivitis - reversible, no attachment loss (AL*)
Stage 2 (PD2) - AL < 25% or furcation 1 exposure
Stage 3 (PD3) - AL 25%–50% or furcation 2 exposure
Stage 4 (PD4) - AL > 50% or furcation 3 exposure
*AL is usually best based on measurements with a periodontal probe and intraoral radiographs.
Calculus Index (CI)
Usually used as a whole mouth score
0 = No calculus
1 = Some supragingival calculus covering < 1/3 buccal tooth surface
2 = Moderate calculus covering 1/3 to 2/3 buccal tooth surface with minimal subgingival deposit
3 = Heavy calculus covering > 2/3 of buccal tooth surface and extending subgingivally
Gingival Index (GI)
Usually used as a whole mouth score
0 = Normal gingiva
1 = Marginal gingivitis, mild swelling, some colour change, no BOP
2 = Moderate swelling and inflammation of gingiva, BOP
3 = Marked swelling and inflammation, spontaneous bleeding
Plaque Index (PI)
Usually used as a whole mouth score
0 = No plaque
1 = Thin film along gingival margin covering < 1/3 of buccal tooth surface
2 = Moderate accumulation of plaque covering 1/3 to 2/3 of buccal tooth surface
3 = Abundant soft plaque covering > 2/3 buccal tooth surface
Used for each multirooted tooth
F1 = Probe goes into furcation and up to 1/3 buccolingual crown width of multirooted tooth
F2 = Probe goes up to 2/3 buccolingual crown width of multirooted tooth
F3 = Probe goes all the way through buccolingual crown width of multirooted tooth
Tooth Mobility (M)
Used for each tooth
M1 = Slight mobility > 0.2 mm, less than 0.5 mm
M2 = Moderate mobility, > 0.5, less than 1 mm in any lateral direction
M3 = Severe mobility > 1 mm or intruded into socket or can be extruded out of socket
Used for each tooth
1 = Lesion in enamel, cementum
2 = Penetration into dentine
3 = Penetration further into dentine, close to pulp
4 = Significant coronal tooth loss
5 = Crown lost
Triadan Tooth Numbering System
Right upper is 1; left upper is 2; left lower is 3; right lower is 4
Canine teeth always end in 04, i.e., left mandibular canine is numbered 304
Maxillary PM4 (dogs) ends in 08. Mandibular 1st molar tooth (dog) ends in 09, i.e., right mandibular 1st molar is numbered 409
Maxillary PM4 (cat) ends in 08. Mandibular 1st molar (cat) ends in 09, i.e., right maxillary premolar 4 is numbered 108
Apical - toward the apex of the tooth
Buccal - surface of tooth toward cheeks
Labial - the surface toward the lips (applies to incisors, canines)
Coronal - toward the crown
Incisal - toward the tip of the tooth (for incisors, canines)
Distal - surface away from midline of animal
Facial - can be labial or buccal surface
Interproximal - surface between two teeth
Lingual - surface of tooth toward tongue
Mesial - surface toward rostral midline of animal
Occlusal - biting surface of tooth (applies to maxillary molar 1 and 2 in dogs)
Palatal - surface of tooth toward hard palate
Supragingival - above the free gingival margin (gum line)
Subgingival - below the free gingival margin (gum line)
Uncomplicated crown fracture - fracture of crown of tooth not involving the pulp
Complicated crown fracture - fracture of crown of tooth involving the pulp
BOP - bleeding on probing with light pressure with a blunt periodontal probe
Sequence of Dental Charting
Select where you would like to start. In human dentistry, usually start most distal tooth in quadrant 1, and then work way around quadrant 2, 3 and finally 4. Record both the buccal and lingual sides of teeth. This works well in veterinary dentistry also. All recordings can be transcribed to an assistant. This saves time and prevents cross infection. In the USA, the veterinary technician is trained to perform this step as well as take radiographs and perform the dental scale and clean.
1. Count the teeth and note missing or extra teeth. Record head type and any malocclusions, rotated and mobile teeth, fractured teeth including pulp exposures, enamel defects, tooth resorptions, caries, abrasion, attrition, gingival recession (record recession line on chart) or any other notable pathology
2. Determine the level of calculus, as per the CI above
3. Use disclosing solution to determine location and level of plaque, or use quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) technique in a darkened room. QLF technique detects red fluorescing porphyrins produced by oral bacteria attached to the tooth surface
4. Use plaque score (PI)
5. Determine the level of gingival inflammation (GI); see above. Using a blunt, thin periodontal probe parallel to the tooth surface, gently run the probe around the buccal sulcus to determine the degree of gingival inflammation. Avoid too much apical pressure. Usually record 6 probing depths for large and important teeth such as canine, carnassial teeth, and molar teeth. Measure 4 probing depths for incisors and premolar teeth.
6. Remove gross calculus to allow for periodontal probing.
7. Periodontal probe in 4–6 places, depending on tooth.
8. Record all findings on dental chart.
9. Diagnosis and formulate treatment plan.
A number of practices utilise trained veterinary technicians and nurses to do the initial oral examination. Pathology is pointed out to the client and then the veterinarian performs the oral examination and points out the same pathology to the client, thus reinforcing the recommendations given to the client by the technician. This assists with compliance immeasurably, because the message is delivered more than once (repeating the same message aids in improving compliance).
Some practices use a dental scale from zero to four (zero being no disease to 4 being severe periodontitis) to grade every mouth. Although grading periodontal disease based only on an oral examination in the conscious animal has got its limitations, applying a grade to the disease can stress to the client the importance and the timeframe for treatment. Grading also allows all of the practice staff to be on the "same page" in recognizing the severity of the disease. Treatment and homecare recommendations made to the client should be recorded on the pet's chart and clinical notes to assist in future followups.
The most common diagnostic tools used in veterinary dentistry include the periodontal probe/sickle explorer, intraoral radiography, and plaque disclosing tools including QLF instrument and disclosing solution. Less common tools include furcation probes and CT imaging.
Periodontal Probe/Sickle Explorer
The periodontal probe is primarily used to measure pocket depth from the free gingival margin to the base of the periodontal sulcus or pocket (where the gingival epithelium attaches to the tooth surface).
A common periodontal probe used in veterinary dentistry is the Williams probe, which has etched circumferential lines measuring periodontal probing depths from 1 to 10 mm. The first marking visible above the gingival margin is the probing depth measurement. Periodontal probes can also be used to measure other dental instruments, tooth preparations during restorative procedures, gingival recession, attached gingiva, or other oral pathology.
Intra- and Extraoral Radiography
Some of the indications for dental radiography include:
1. Periodontal disease - assessment of bone levels, type of bone loss, combined periodontal-endodontic lesions, success or failure of periodontal therapy
2. Endodontic disease including apical pathology, pulp exposures, and draining fistulae
3. Pathology of the oral soft and hard tissues, including tumours and fractures
4. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
5. Crown/root pathology including tooth resorption lesions, crown or root fractures, extra roots, dilacerated roots
6. Pre/post tooth extraction
7. Root canal therapy
8. Oligodontia/supernumerary teeth, especially in breeds with a family history of missing or extra permanent teeth
9. An assessment of tooth development and chronological dental age of the animal
Plaque Disclosing Methods
The use of a plaque disclosing dye (IC plaque, iM3) on the teeth will demonstrate to the owner the extent of the problem. Plaque fluorescence device (QLF light) can also detect mature plaque on teeth.


Grading: Research work (85 pts)
- 15 pts: Completed on time (Group grade) People are counting on you sharing the knowledge you’ve gained
- 40 pts: Individual effort (Individual grade) Observable. Effort to do your share of work
- 30 pts: Collecting, organizing, and displaying of research data and use of tools/technology (group grade) Following directions. Completeness of work. Formatting of data on presentation page. Use of pitch tool. Use of wind tunnel and software. Use of software/instructions to create graph. Use of screenshot software to correctly save images to use on presentation page. Following turn-in procedures
Grading: Research Presentation
- 15 pts: Individual participation in presentation. No talk, no points. Participation shows pride in work, acquisition of knowledge, and ownership to the task at hand
Learn from the Past
Look at the past data from LBMS wind turbines. Before opening the files, what questions might you pose? What predictions do you have about what affects power output/performance?
Task: Click on the file below. Using sorting techniques, sort the data by variable at least 3 different ways. Note what ‘place’ the turbines of each ‘sort’ you did. Can you make any conclusions about that variable?
Google Sheets Data (Must be logged into your district Google account)
To work in groups of 1-2 students to study one variable of wind turbines. (See below) You will test your variable in the wind tunnel, collect data, analyze the data, and make a presentation to the rest of the class, making recommendations concerning your findings, as well as citing any possible flaws. Research is set up as a scientist would, by posing a hypothesis, testing, making conclusions as to if your hypothesis was correct, and sharing that with classmates.
Your presentation will be in any of the following formats: Google Slides, Google Sheets, Google Docs, Prezi, or any viable ‘online’ format that can be viewed from the web.
The purpose is to gain knowledge of wind turbine terminology, learn how to safely use tools and the wind tunnel, gain experience in what variables affect turbine performance, and to study math/science connections.
Research Steps and Procedures
Click here. When logged into Chrome, make a bookmark to get back to this page quickly
List of Variables to Study
|Blade shape||Do curved surfaces do better than flat/rectangular surfaces?|
|Blade shape – airfoil||Flat surfaces vs curved surfaces|
|Blade Material||Cardboard? Balsawood? Plasticized cardboard? Mat board?|
|Blade length||Do longer blades do better than shorter blades?|
|Blade Twist||Results in blade root having different pitch than wing tip|
|Blade width||Do wider blades do better than ‘skinnier’ blades?|
|Blades, number of||Do a lesser amount of blades do a better job than many blades? Is this only because of a weight factor?|
|Blade pitch||At what angle of pitch does a blade produce the most amount of energy?|
|Weight||Given all other variable stay the same, are lighter blades more efficient?|
|Gap between hub and blades||Does the gap in-between the hub and the blade matter?|
|Wind speed – distance||What are the wind speed patterns created by the ‘Challenge’ fan at various distances?|
|Wind speed – laterally||What are the wind speeds at various places within the wind tunnel?|
|Spinner||Would a spinner on the hub increase efficiency?|
|Dowel rod||Short or long? How much does the dowel weigh?|
|Dowel Rod||Is it better to attach the dowel to the middle of the blade? The edge? In a cut-out?|
|Balance||What are the factors that cause a turbine to be unstable / unbalanced?|
|Tip shape||What’s the tip shape that allows the blade to produce the most energy?|
|Alternating blade pitch||Can alternating pitches of adjacent blades increase performance? What is the optimal pitch difference?|
|Gears vs non-gears||Compare the energy output of a non-geared to a geared turbine|
|Gears – length of blade||What is the optimal length of blade for a geared turbine?|
|Gears – number of blades||What is the optimal number of blades for a geared turbine?|
|Glue||Compare hot glue to white glue|
|RPM||What role does RPM play in total power output?|