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The Shortest Life Span

The gastrotrichs are a phylum of microscopic animals copious in fresh water and oceanic environments. Most fresh water species are part of the periphyton and benthos. Marine species are found mostly interstitially in between sediment particles. The Gastrotrich has the shortest life span of all animals, living for just 3 days.

They are bilaterally symmetric, with a complete gut. They demonstrate eutely, with development proceeding to a particular number of cells, and further growth coming only from an increase in cell size. The body is covered with cilia, especially about the mouth and on the ventral surface, and has two terminal projections with cement glands that serve in adhesion. This is a double-gland system where one gland secretes the glue and another secretes a de-adhesive to sever the connection. Like many microscopic animals, their locomotion is primarily powered by hydrostatics, and they reproduce entirely by parthenogenesis. Originally they were thought to have a body cavity, but this was an artifact created by preservation methods, and they are now known to be acoelomate.

Their relationship to other phyla is unclear. Morphology suggests that they are close to the Gnathostomulida, the Rotifera, or the Nematoda. On the other hand genetic studies place them as close relatives of the Platyhelminthes, the Ecdysozoa or the Lophotrochozoa. About 700 species have been described.

Squad of Doggys

In an age of technology, none of the various physical devices have yet duplicated the natural instincts and abilities of a dog to track a human being or detect hidden persons or property.

The Dog Squad plays an important role in operational policing in Victoria. Dogs and handlers carry out specific tasks such as tracking offenders, or detecting explosives or narcotics. Dogs can often crawl or jump onto places where it would be impractical or impossible for police members to go.

History

Records show that even in the Middle Ages dogs were maintained by parish constables for the purpose of tracking down wrongdoers, but it is really only over the last 30 years that dogs have been used in substantial numbers by police forces around the world. It was decided that Victoria Police should form a Dog Squad in 1975.

Incident response

Police dog handlers respond to complaints of intruders on premises, break and entering offences, sexual attacks, brawls, prowlers, lost persons and many armed or violent situations. The dogs are trained to specialise in one of three disciplines; general purpose, narcotics and explosives.

General purpose dogs

General purpose dogs are skilled in the areas of tracking, searching and protecting life and property. Handlers and their dogs often work from home within an allocated police district. The dogs used are male German Shepherds and Labradors as they are physically strong, are of a good size and often need to be aggressive. The greatest demand for dogs is at night when a dog's acute sense of smell is most needed. However, there is a 24-hour roster for general-purpose dog teams to ensure there is always at least one team on duty.

Narcotics detection dogs

Narcotics detection dogs search houses, cars or personal belongings. Female German Shepherds and Labradors are preferred for this type of work, as their smaller frame is more suited to work in confined spaces. Handlers and dogs predominantly work on an appointment basis for stations or specialised units requiring the expertise of a dog. Consequently, they can be called upon night or day.

Explosives detection dogs

Explosives detection dogs and handlers search for bombs and other explosive devices in buildings, cars or personal belongings and often work alongside the Special Operations Group (SOG) and bomb technicians. They also regularly visit schools and railway stations at night in the course of routine patrols. Female German Shepherds and Labradors are used.

Operational support

The Dog Squad also provides operational support. It works with the SOG during siege situations or when searching for explosives, and utilises the Air Wing when they require transport in a time critical situation. However, most of their support is given to local operational police.

The polar bear

It is a close call, but the polar bear is generally considered the largest bear on Earth. A close second is the brown bear, specifically the Kodiak bear. The Kodiak is a subspecies of the brown bear native to Alaska.

The consensus among experts is that the polar bear is the largest, but some believe the Kodiak bear to be larger. Part of the dissension comes from the vagueness of the word "largest." The answer really depends on how "largest" is defined - Heaviest? Longest? Largest ever recorded?

The following data, taken from Gary Brown's Great Bear Almanac (New York, 1993), compares the average measurements of the polar and brown bear.

	Polar Bear	Brown Bear
Average Weight of Mature Male	900-1,500 pounds	500-900 pounds
Heaviest Recorded	2,210 pounds	2,500+ pounds
Average Length of Mature Male	8-8.4 feet	>7-10 feet

The Rafflesia arnoldii.

The flower with the world's largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.

Another enormous flower found in Indonesia is the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum. It is also known as the "corpse flower" for its unpleasant odor. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan emits the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Technically, the Titan arum is not a single flower. It is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. The Titan arum has the largest unbranched inflorescence of all flowering plants. The plant can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh as much as 170 pounds!

First Coins in World

The Chinese possibly invented the first metal coins - the earliest known were made before 900BC, discovered in a tomb near Anyang at that time,the coin itself was a replica of more earlier used cowry shells,so it was named as Bronze shell.

Coins originated separately in Ionia-Lydia , China, and India .Excavations carried out at the Anuradhapura Gedige has found Sinhala coins dating back to 400 BC, other excavations have also shown that cowries were used in Sri Lanka prior to 400 BC.

One early coin from Caria, Asia Minor, includes a legend "I am the badge of Phanes," though most of the early Lydian pieces have no writing on them, just symbolic animals. Therefore the dating of these coins relies primarily on archeological evidence, with the most commonly cited evidence coming from excavations at the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, also called the Ephesian Artemision .The first Lydian coin was made of electrum, an alloy of silver and gold. Many early Lydian coins were undoubtedly struck (manufactured) under the authority of private individuals and are thus more akin to tokens than true coins, though because of their numbers it's evident that some were official state issues, with King Alyattes of Lydia being the most frequently mentioned originator of coinage.

The first Indian coins were minted around the 6th century BC by the Mahajanapadas of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The coins of this period were punch marked coins called Puranas, Karshapanas or Pana.The Mahajanapadas that minted their own coins included Gandhara, Kuntala, Kuru, Panchala, Shakya, Surasena, and Surashtra. Some argue that Indian coins were developed from Western prototypes, which the Indians came in contact with through Babylonian traders.

Some of the earliest coins to be made purely from silver and gold were the silver shekel and gold Derik in the achaemenid Empire in about 500Bc.The first European coin to use Arabic numerals to date the year minted was the Swiss 1424 St. Gallen silver Plappart.

Calculate and Compare Before You Buy

There are many cost calculators designed to help you decide how much car you can afford. “AWARE”, or Americans Well-informed on Automobile Retail Economics, sponsors an “Auto Finance Calculator” on its website to help consumers make informed car buying decisions. Kelley Blue Book provides tools for comparing car pricing information, and IntelliChoice ranks cars by lowest repair, maintenance and fuel costs.

Consider using the 2/10/60 rule. It assumes a car ownership period of at least five years. Select the top five cars that fit your needs. For each car, double its retail cost, multiply by 10%, and divide that figure by 60. The result should give you the monthly cost to own over a sixty month, or five-year period. Check out the monthly listings of the lowest “True Cost to Own” (TCO) comparisons.

This year EPA is running new road tests that measure gas mileage under a wide variety weather and traffic conditions. The revised numbers should appear on window stickers for 2008 cars. In the meantime, you can use a calculator devised by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine. With this Kiplinger tool, you can tap into editors’ estimates of the MPG for hundreds of 2007 models using the new EPA standards.

Trees under Threat

Detailed field surveys show that most of the Delhi roads have limited surface soil for the trees to grow. This bit of bare earth is also being covered with a thick layer of impermeable concrete and tiling to make pavements. Tiling right upto the tree trunk severely hampers air and water absorption. The roots near the surface get destroyed, the trunk cannot expand properly and this ultimately affects its growth and even survival. This is not all. On a typical summer day, the tiles get heated to high temperatures and scorch the root system. The destruction of root systems weakens the tree’s grip on soil, which leads to their uprooting even during mild storms. During tiling, the most fertile topsoil is removed to be replaced by asphalt mixture. This completely ravages the soil, causing soil pollution, which is far more difficult to rectify than air & water pollution. The cemented pavements are frequently dug open to repair wires, etc generating huge amounts of non-degradable ‘debris’. Enormous resources like bricks, cement, labour are utilised for tiling. Instead they can be put to better uses.

Tiling should only be done on roadsides that have heavy pedestrian movement, otherwise it should be avoided. While tiling, if a tree is growing in the way, a minimum soil / kutcha space of 6 x 6 feet around the trees should be left untiled. Using porous tiles or badarpur are other options.

These are not the only threats. The tree guard required to protect young saplings, needs to be removed once the tree is grown. Otherwise the metal tree guard restricts the growth of the trunk, cutting into the tree and damaging it. The advertisements nailed to the trees aggravate the situation. We are treating trees like sign-posts. Let us remember that they are also living things and need good care.

Artificial Rain Created to Fight Latest Blue Algae Outbreak in Changchun

The meteorological department in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, has fired rockets into the air above a reservoir choked by blue-green algae to create artificial rain in an effort to curb the latest algae outbreak.

The city government has set aside ten million yuan to combat an outbreak of blue-green algae in Xinlicheng reservoir that provides water to the city, a government spokesman announced on Wednesday.

Swathes of blue and green algae began to appear last Wednesday in Xinlicheng Reservoir, one of the city's major water sources for100,000 residents.

On Tuesday, the water supply from both Xinlicheng and Shitoukoumen Reservoir was cut off. The supply from Xinlicheng has been shut off indefinitely but the local environmental authorities ruled that Shitoukoumen had not been affected.

Changchun used 770,000 tons of water per day before the outbreak of blue algae but the daily supply has plunged by 50,000 tons since the Xinlicheng reservoir water source was cut.

Changchun mayor Cui Jie said the ten million yuan would be spent on expanding pipes linking the city to the reservoir of Shitoukoumen, and transporting water with fire engines.

"We must do our best to ensure the drinking water supply for our citizens," said Cui, adding that he was considering closing car washes.

Recent outbreaks of blue-green algae in key lakes in eastern and southwestern China are mainly attributed to pollutants from chemical factories, but this time the finger is being pointed at agricultural fertilizers.

The algae may have been caused by fertilizers and pesticides from nearby cropland, local authorities say.

High temperatures and scant rainfall since June also contributed to the algae bloom and recent downpours have nourished the algae.

Changchun is home to a population of more than seven million, with 2.7 million living in the downtown area. The reservoir has a water storage capacity of 592 million cubic meters.

In the last two months, blue-green algae outbreaks have been reported in Taihu Lake, Chaohu Lake and the southwestern Dianchi Lake, endangering water supplies.

On July 4, water supplies to 200,000 people in Shuyang county, Jiangsu Province, were halted for more than 40 hours after ammonia and nitrogen were found in a local river.

The history of zoos

Human interest in keeping animals dates back to at least 1500 BC when Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt built a zoo. Many zoos were created by rulers in Africa, India and China to demonstrate their wealth and power.

The Greeks established the first zoos to study animal behaviour. They charged admission to view the specimens, and set up an education process. One of the most notable teachers at a Greek zoo was Aristotle. One of his best-known students was Alexander the Great, who collected many animals for the zoos.

British and European exploration of the world in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the discovery of many species of animals that they considered to be unusual. This encouraged the keeping of animals as exotica in Europe and Britain. The idea of zoos as places of entertainment also developed.

Hazel Blears launches search for role models to inspire Black boys

A major national search to recruit Black male role models gets underway today as Communities Secretary Hazel Blears calls for motivational Black and mixed heritage men to take a lead in inspiring the next generation of Black boys to achieve and succeed.

The creation of the first ever Black Boys' National Role Model programme is part of a package of measures to help raise the aspirations and attainment of some of today's young Black men.

Hazel Blears wants to encourage Black and mixed heritage men from all walks of life to come forward and play a part in lifting the sights of young Black boys.

A national modelling programme was one of the recommendations made to Government by an independent panel made up of members who had an in depth understanding of the realities of the lives of Black Boys and the barriers they face to success. The Government has responded positively to their report and is committed to taking action on all the REACH recommendations.

Too often role models can be celebrities and those who glamorise a world of crime, drugs, guns and gangs. The national role modelling programme will seek to challenge stereotypes, shine a light on positive images of Black male achievement - from businessmen to doctors, lawyers, artists and community workers. REACH is about getting these positive images onto the radar and ensuring that more young people know that every route is open to them.

Wright Brothers National Memorial NPS Salutes Outer Banks Group Volunteers

Several volunteers were recognized for their achievement of excellence. Jean and Bud Brinkley, Marjorie and John Grubka, Fred Hattman, Shirley Helms, Steve Jones, Mike Staples, and Julie and Ed Stetser received the National Park Service Volunteer Master Ranger Corp recognition for each donating over 500 hours of service last year.

"This tremendous number of donated hours equals almost 11 full-time paid staff members," stated Superintendent Michael B. Murray. "The support provided by our volunteers truly keeps us going. We are proud to recognize them during National Volunteer Week, April 27 to May 3."

Volunteers support a myriad of visitor services and special projects. Volunteers working at the visitor centers, lighthouses, supporting programs, and out on the beach with resource management are the most visible to the public. Volunteers also work with the Ocracoke ponies, in park offices, tracking use permits, photographing special events, and providing support for maintenance projects.

Dare and Hyde county residents comprise a majority of the volunteer corps, which is supplemented by non-local volunteers, and interns. Some organizations, such as the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club and Cape Hatteras Bird Club, also volunteer their services providing special programming for park visitors.

Bra Boys

Bra Boys, narrated by Russell Crowe, is an entertaining and insightful story about the infamous surf community of Sydney's eastern suburb, Maroubra. The documentary is told from the eyes of the 'Bra Boys' themselves, describing a life of struggle where the only places they can turn to is the surf and their brotherhood.

The story focuses on the life of the Abberton brothers: Sunny (writer), Koby, Jai and Dakota. The four hold family loyalty in the highest regard.

Growing up in a home with a heroin-addicted mother, the boys learned to look after each other from a young age. The home of their late grandmother Mavis - known to everyone as 'Ma' - served as a refuge for the boys and their friends.

Maroubra, a poverty-ridden suburb made up of commission flats that sits 'in the shadow of Long Bay Jail', seems to offer minimal options for its youths, who skip many days of school, lack any sort of direction and tend to become heavily involved with drugs, crime and violence.

The documentary shows the deep hatred the group have for police, and the instant mistrust of anyone outside their tribe, evident in the fighting to 'protect' their local beaches. Symbolising the strong loyalty of the group, Koby proudly sports the famous tattoo on his chest, with the words 'My Brother's Keeper'.

On trial for the murder of convicted rapist and murderer Tony Hines, Bra Boy Jai Abberton emphasises the unfortunate path taken by many: drugs and jail. The boys have been in the news for all of the wrong reasons, with one of the biggest incidents occurring in 2002, when a brawl broke out between the boys and off-duty police.

On the other hand the Bra Boys are well known for their surfing talent, producing many 'big wave' surfers including pro surfer Koby Abberton.

In one scene the brothers jet-ski out to one of the world's thickest and roughest waves, off the south-west coast of Australia. At the wave known as 'The Cyclops', the boys show off their extreme talent and utter fearlessness.

What Challenges Are Boys Facing and What Opportunities Exist to Address those Challenges?

Many adolescent boys are doing well. They graduate from high school, stay out of trouble, and reach adulthood prepared for the world of work and the responsibilities of family. For young men like these, opportunities have never been greater.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation commissioned a review of the literature on the risks and assets that affect boys ages 10 through 18. By summarizing and synthesizing the existing literature, the project aims to pinpoint what strengths make some boys likely to succeed and what risks, or challenges, increase the likelihood that they will struggle. It does not make an effort to compare boys to girls; it does not intend to imply that an issue for boys isn't also relevant for girls. In fact, research shows that many of the same risk and protective factors, as well as interventions, may be relevant for both boys and girls.

A major goal of the project is to provide information about approaches that help boys stay on the right track. These approaches range from formal programs, such as anti-drug or anti-gang programs, to environmental interventions, such as when a community bands together to create safe places for youth to congregate, to more informal approaches, such as when a concerned adult befriends a troubled adolescent.

The project has produced a brief on key findings, an annotated bibliography, and fact sheets focusing on seven research areas, or domains: mortality and victimization, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, mental health, education, employment, and constructive use of time. The project examines the influence, both positive and negative, of boys' characteristics; their families, peers, and schools; and their communities. This project also highlights the positive impact that caring adults in families, schools, and communities can have on the well-being of boys and young men.

House arrest for 'drug delivery boy'

Despite concerns from Crown that a conditional sentence could not "control" him, a provincial court judge has sentenced a 23-year-old Courtenay man to one year house arrest for trafficking cocaine.

Phillip Morgan Saunders was initially arrested on Nov. 16, 2007, after police smelled marijuana during a scuffle over a bottle of vodka in Saunders' possession.

When returned to the detachment, a small amount of pot as well as 0.6 grams of cocaine were found on Saunders.

"He was rambling on about how the marijuana, the vodka and the coke were all his and he was bringing them home," said federal Crown prosecutor Bonnie Macdonald.

About three months later, as Saunders awaited trial on the drug possession charge, an unidentified source told police that a particular phone number was being used for a dial-a-dope operation.

Police called the number and set up a buy for three spitballs, or 1.2 grams, of cocaine. They were met by Saunders.

Defence lawyer Michael Harris said his client was not the one behind the dial-a-dope operation.

More information : http://www.canada.com/House+arrest+drug+delivery/1506620/story.html

Helium rains inside Jovian planets

LIVERMORE, Calif. – Models of how Saturn and Jupiter formed may soon take on a different look.

By determining the properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures at the millions of atmospheres of pressure present in the interior of Saturn and Jupiter, physicists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have determined the temperature at a given pressure when helium becomes insoluble in dense metallic hydrogen. The results are directly relevant to models of the interior structure and evolution of Jovian planets.

Hydrogen and helium are the two lightest and most common elements in the universe. Because of their ubiquitous nature, they are critical in cosmological nucleosynthesis and are essential elements of stars and giant planets. Hydrogen by itself in the observable universe provides clues to the origin and large-scale structures of galaxies.

However, scientists have struggled to determine what conditions are needed for the two elements to mix.

Ornithopter

Man has long been fascinated with birds and their ability to fly. Before the Wright Brothers achieved their first heavier-than-air controlled flight in 1903, hundreds of men and women attempted to fly in gliders, airships, balloons and other fantastic innovations. As early as the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci studied the flight and wing structure of birds. His detailed design of a human-powered ornithopter - an aircraft deriving its thrust and lift from flapping wings - was based on these studies. Although he never actually flew the machines he designed, his ideas were replicated and modified throughout the next four centuries. In 1871, Alphonse Penaud successfully flew a rubber-powered model ornithopter - the Planophore - for a distance of 181 feet in 11 seconds. Since then, many other inventors have developed ornithopters. This turn-of-the-century photograph pictures Arnold Coblitz in his ornithopter. The engraving - Flugmaschine - depicts an ornithopter constructed and tested unsuccessfully by Swiss watchmaker Jakob Degen living in Vienna in the early 1800s. Even today, a team based at the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies is conducting research on ornithopters.