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dragonrajafanfiction · 5 years ago

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Dragon Dancer IV: A Mother’s Love

“Their specialty here is the Big Chicken Ramen and that’s what I really recommend.” Lu Mingfei said, a giddy with excitement. “He only makes about 20 servings a day and since it’s like what...” He checked his phone, “3 am? We get to have it.”

The ramen shop was set in an alleyway far off the street and was Tokyo’s best kept secret. At this late hour, the restaurant was empty save the old uncle guarding the soup pot.

“And to drink?” The Uncle asked.

“Beer for me,” Lu Mingfei. He looked at Nono.

“Me too.” She said.

“Me three!” said Crow.

The old uncle looked at me. “Just bottled water please.” I said.

Johann looked up from the menu. “I’ll have a Coke.”

I whirled on him. “A Coke?!”

He flinched away from me.

Ever since Chu Zihang and I started dating, he’d controlled my diet. There was no way that he would ever let me have a Coke. He pointed out how such sugar laden beverages effected the immune system and mood, how the caffeine could wreck your circadian rhythm, and the acid would rot your teeth.

If I ordered a Coke in front of him, it would be tantamount to saying I didn’t believe in science or that I simply didn’t care about my body.

And now he, this kid in a Johann Chu suit, was ordering a Coke in front of me when I hadn’t had a Coke in years!

I couldn’t even turn and order a Coke for myself, either. At this point, I knew better than to do that, especially after all the effort we took to have a healthy hybrid child like Ru’Yi.

I also knew that Johann Chu - my Johann Chu - would be so disappointed if I didn’t stand on principal in this moment and set an example for his younger self.

But I swore in my heart that the first thing I was going to do after all this was over was to sit down with Johann Chu and order a Coke and drink all of it in front of him and dare him to say anything about it!

I huffed and turned away from him pulling a soft toy bunny attached to a string from my pocket. Ru’Yi, strapped in a high chair, needed to entertain herself and at this point, anything she picked up, she threw. So I attached strings to her toy and tied it to her high chair.

As soon as Ru’Yi gripped the toy in her baby fingers, she shoved it in her mouth, examined it for a moment, turning it in her hands, and then flung it. The toy dangled and I picked it up and gave it back to her.

“It’s a pity that Bondarev’s lab was destroyed by Herzog, otherwise there would be more clues.” The Crow said, lowering his voice. “That warehouse is an important place for the family. Eventually, someone will notice you there.”

The uncle returned with our orders and we paused the discussion for a moment while we thanked him. For a few minutes, no one spoke as we were too busy partaking into this savory masterpiece that was the ramen.

“You said that the academy will send someone to Tokyo?” Nono shook her beer can, which was already mostly empty.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” said Crow. “Even if the entire Executive Department was sent to Tokyo, they would be as lost as a drop of water in a vast ocean.”

“But they’ll find us sooner or later,” Nono said. “The Executive Department Headquarters is not without real elites, and these can be put on the battlefield.”

Chu Zihang glanced over at me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure!” I said. “Can’t promise I’ll answer!” I lifted my chin, smiling.

“Did you... study at Children’s Palace?” He asked.

“No.” I said. “But my teacher did.” I grinned at him.

“Oh... okay. I was wondering how you knew that sword drill. I’d never seen you there.”

I blinked a bit and then realized that Johann thought I was the same age as he thought he was. He really saw himself as fifteen even though he had the body of a man in his 20s. When he looked at me, he saw a petite young woman who could be at the same age as him and was wondering if he knew me when he was back at the Children’s Palace studying martial arts.

“Even if I did study there, you wouldn’t have known me.” I said. “I’m actually 19.”

While we were talking, Nono fished out a large piece of chicken from his bowl, chopped it into smaller pieces and threw it back in.

“Are you going to let her tie your shoes too?” I whispered to him. “You’re not a baby, don’t let her treat you like one!”

“She’s just being nice...”

Ru’Yi tossed her toy over the edge where it dangled from the string. She had been trying for several seconds to figure out how to get it back up but her baby brain couldn’t fathom how to grab the string.

I picked up the toy and put it back on the tray in front of her.

My baby looked me in the eyes and smiled. There was no way she could be able to understand the concept of gratitude. She just was so happy to see me and her toy. I smiled back humming. “You’re so precious. Yes, you are!”

Ru’Yi continued to bite the rabbit’s head, giggling and kicking her feet in joy.

Then she threw it.

Nono was sipping her beer lost in thought. “Do you know why I don’t like my father?”

Crow and Mingfei froze in place at these surprising words from Nono. Nono was not one to talk about her feelings.

“I have 54 brothers and sisters. With the exception of a few twins and triplets, we’re all from different parents.”

“What an... excellent dad...” Crow drawled.

“Don’t get me wrong. He doesn’t have that many wives. He’s not a stallion like Caesar’s father.” She sipped her beer, huffing. “He just thinks that his dragon blood is very precious and wants to share as much of it as possible with the human race. Plus he has so many assets and properties he needs a lot of heirs to manage it. So he invested in medical institutions and established a secret program to invite poor women to be his surrogates for money. They have the kids, the kids are taken away. If they’re average, they get put into one of the family’s many foster homes. But if they’re of excellent pedigree, my father raises them at his personal manor.”

“So I’ve never seen my mother as a child. But I still had a big family. We all lived together in this big house and were well cared for.”

I turned to her in surprise. It sounded a lot like the foster system I had lived with! Only hers was so much bigger and they were all related! My foster siblings all came from troubled homes and had experienced trauma to some extent, but this situation seemed so much better!

“We had a strict reward system based on merit, similar to a report card. Only the best got the direct care and love of their father.”

“Oh...” I said, disappointed. It was true. There was no way all 54 of those kids could possibly get equal amounts of attention from their father and would have to seek validation elsewhere.

“Were you... a good child in the eyes of your father?” asked Crow.

Mingfei gave him a owlish look, but Nono actually answered.

“Yes. In fact, I was number one.” She didn’t say this with any pride. “I may not have any obvious Soul Skill but I can learn everything faster with my ability to Profile. In fact, it’s made me a bit complacent. Why study hard when you can accurately guess the answers based on how tests were conducted in the past?”

“But I was at the manor one summer vacation at the swimming pool when I heard a huge commotion. The dirtiest and smelliest woman had somehow made it into the fenced in area. She looked like she had walked the whole way, because her shoes were worn through and her feet were bloody.”

“My older brothers held her at gunpoint but she just kept asking something over and over in this dialect. One of my siblings said she was from India and was saying she wanted to see her daughter.”

“We all kinda laughed.” She chuckled. “Because how can this crazy lady have a kid here?”

I chewed my lip, already knowing the end of this story.

“She suddenly saw me, her eyes just lit up and she came close to me. Knelt in front of me. I had never seen that look before. So gentle, so happy. She cried and laughed and talked to me in a hoarse whisper.”

“I couldn’t understand but... that sibling said that she said I was her daughter.”

“Before then? I’d never thought about my mom. I just figured she sold me and that all she cared about was money. But suddenly such a bad woman knelt in front of me and said she was my mother.”

My eyes swam with tears. I turned away and all I saw was Ru’Yi. I was so sorry I had sold my eggs to Comemnus. I was younger, I was ignorant. I was scared and felt trapped.

But if I had fully understood the consequences of that seemingly small decision, I would have chosen to die first. Look at how beautiful and smart Ru’Yi and Nono were. If only I had understood...

“She was hugging me and she wasn’t letting me go. At this point the guards arrived. We kept aggressive dogs that would attack or lay down on command. When the guards dragged her away, she started screaming and cursing at them and fighting them. She actually got loose and ran back to me.”

“At that point, one of the dogs was set on her.”

“But even as she was bitten, she kept looking at me as I was taken away from her. I could tell that, no matter how much pain she was in, her eyes were saying, ‘Please don’t hurt my daughter.’“

I wiped the tears from my face. Ru’Yi was looking at me, her eyes big in her head. She’d stopped playing with her toy. She just held it, staring.

I knew that exact feeling. In the Red Well, I couldn’t save my baby from Herzog. He’d run a sword through me and then stepped on it so that it pierced the ground. I could only scream and gasp and cry as he put the needle in him and drained his blood.

At that moment, I would have gladly given my life for his.

“At that moment, I had to believe that she was my mother. Because I had never seen anyone look at me like she did. A look of someone who loves you that much.”

Nono’s speech slowed. “So... I broke from from the guards, ran up, and broke the dog’s neck.”

“Wow...” Lu Mingfei breathe, horrified by the story but amazed that Nono could do such a thing in that moment.

“Yeah well... you were they only one who was impressed. The other guards felt my behavior was abnormal and stunned me with an electric baton.”

“What?!” Crow and Mingfei yelled in unison.

I found out this lady had actually tried to get me back shortly after I was born. But the agreement was to give me up and by then I was determined to be ... too valuable.” Her voice took on a bitter edge.

Nono smirked shaking her empty beer can. “Oh it gets worse. Turns out my mother was infected with a parasite that eats away at your brain. And that parasite can have eggs that pass through to the fetus. So... they wanted to put me into quarantine isolation. My rival siblings loved that...”

“I agreed so long as they gave my mother the best care possible.”

“Are you... okay?” Lu Mingfei asked quietly.

Nono nodded. “Oh I’m fine... but my mother...” Nono suddenly got up from the table and walked over to the restaurant fridge, helping herself to another can of beer. When she turned around and looked at me she stopped.

I couldn’t read the expression in her eyes. They were dull, like someone had turned out a light behind them.

Ru’Yi sucked her thumb, looking at me, clutching her rabbit toy.

Nono went back to the table and said, cracking the can open.

“How’s your mom now.”

“Brain dead.” She took a long sip. “You know, after I got out of quarantine, my dad came to see me personally. He said that he was very happy that I was fine that he was worried about me.”

That bitterness returned. She was smiling but her eyes were full of hatred. “He told me that I was the very best in the house and I will inherit his career. And I just laughed.”

“I said, no way. I’ll just be an employee!”

Now I understood why Nono was so annoyed by that message. It sounded eerily similar to this speech. Perhaps Nono, even back then, understood the insincerity of it.

“He said, “How can you be an employee! You’re my child I gave you life!” She downed more of her beer and sighed, slapping it to the table. “I didn’t even bother answering.”

She turned her head to look out the window. “Life isn’t what you can give by just ... giving birth to someone. That’s now how it works. You give life to your child when you give your life to them! When my mother died, I became her child. I’m no longer one of the 55 heirs of his.”

“He has the nerve to call me home?” She sneered. “Where do I have a home?”

Ru’Yi gave a little whimper and pushed her toy against my cheek, sucking her thumb.

I took it in my hands, quietly saying. “Thank you...” Then I gently tossed it.

Ru’Yi giggled and I echoed it.

Nono suddenly seemed to realize she was talking to much and said, “Now that you’re sufficiently depressed a toast!”

She didn’t say to whom. She didn’t have to. We all clinked our drinks together, remembering our mothers.

#Dragon Raja #Fanfiction #Writing #Chen Moutong #Nono #Lu Mingfei #Mingfei Lu #Luminious #Johann Chu #Chu Zihang

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spotofmummery · 6 years ago

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Trust NPC: Amon

Selection: “Fancy a spot of mummery? Very well!”

Job: Technologist (DPS)

Weapons: Bow, Harp, Magic, His Brain

AI Behavior: Amon keeps at a safe distance, contributing to battle mostly through the use of his bow, bardic music, spotty elemental magics, and witty quips. He’s got something to say about almost everything. If targeted with an AOE, will promptly flee and leave commentary about that behind, too. He sometimes produces small nodes or strange mechanisms which he sends into battle. These can either provide support to the group, or spontaneously explode for AOE and burning damage.

He will gleefully use the DPS Limit Break if it’s at LB3 (he wants to get those /gpose shots after the fight).

Battle Lines:

“’Tis a fight you want, then?” - Starting Attack Line “Incoming!” - Using Specialty Skills, Variation 1 “Let me play you the songs of my homeland!” - Using Specialty Skills, Variation 2 “Chin up, my friend. We shall prevail!” - Assisting an ally

Limit Break:

“Round and round we go!” - Using limit break with 1 bar “For science!” - Using limit break with 2 bars “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” (maniacal laughter) - Using limit break with 3 bars

KO’d:

“Grave... miscalculation...” - Variation 1 “This outcome was highly unexpected...” - Variation 2

Revived:

“I owe you, my friend!” - Variation 1 “Thank you... I’m fine... That was strictly for your entertainment!” - Variation 2

Tagged by: @thegildenheart (Thank you, this was fun!)

Tagging: @lumei-xiv @mathemagiks @scholarlostintime @under-the-blood-moonlight @the-actual-for-real-nero-scaeva @high-stakes-gambler

...and anyone else who wants to try!

#Amon of Syrcus #Character Meme #FFXIV #Mateus #FFXIV Trust

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degreeinoneyearblog-blog · 5 years ago

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Healthcare Instruction in India

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douxreviews · 6 years ago

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Cloak & Dagger - ‘Shadow Selves’ Review

"What if I just want to hurt people?"

Well, this one certain gives us a few things to unpack.

Cloak and Dagger catches up with some supporting characters, while bringing us up to speed on what Mayhem has been up to since last season's finale. Oh, and gives us a mediation on the essential nature of self, as you do.

The 'shadow self,' according to Jungian philosophy, are those parts of one's personality that you reject or choose to not know about. That's a horrific oversimplification, and I apologize to any psychology students who might be reading this. It's not really my field. I had to google just to confirm that much.

Most obviously this is a reference to Brigid and Mayhem, implying that Mayhem is that shadow self that Brigid has always had inside of her, neatly separated off into its own body. I believe there was a Star Trek episode where something similar happened to Kirk, but it was a little less... let's be polite and say 'nuanced,' than what we get here.

Actually, the Star Trek comparison is useful here, particularly when compared to the explanation that Mina gives us in this episode. Since I'm going to actually talk about it, I've felt obligated to look up what it was called, and it's 'The Enemy Within,' for anyone wondering who didn't already know. Additional apologies to Star Trek fans for the oversimplification I'm about to launch into. Fans of both Jung and original series Trek, please contact me directly and I'll send you an apology fruit basket or something.

In 'Enemy Within,' Kirk is split into 'good Kirk' and 'evil Kirk,' and the point is very much that even good people have bad stuff in them and it's a character study of who Kirk is as a complete character. That being the purpose of the experiment, one Kirk is very definitely 'good,' and the other definitely 'evil.' In 'Shadow Selves,' Mina describes the process that's been splitting her test mice into two, and therefore by proxy what's happened to Brigid, as resulting in one version of the self with no activity in the brain's rage center, and the other version having activity only in the rage center. Your basic Hulk scenario.

But neither of those descriptions fit what we actually see of Mayhem's character this week.

Mayhem isn't full of rage, particularly. She's task-oriented and happy to kill people she views as 'bad,' but that's not at all the same thing. If anything, Mayhem is a much better cop than Brigid. Sure, her first instinct is to track down and kill her other half, but she gets distracted almost immediately by wanting revenge on the guy she was already looking to get revenge on before the personality split, and then never shows an inclination to kill Brigid again, despite the half a dozen times this episode alone in which she could have done so.

Great job to the showrunners for the Mayhem backstory we get tonight, and the way it pulls a lot of the pieces of this season's plot together. Mayhem starts with wanting revenge on Connors, isn't able to find him, and then decides that since she wants to kill people anyway she should focus on finding bad people to kill, becoming Dexter with Day-glo fingernail polish. Plus, she's clearly capable of being thoughtful and kind, as shown in her comment about Ty being her friend. It was nice that Delgado gives her the advice that pushes her in the direction of punishing the guilty, by the way. Put a pin in Delgado, we'll circle back to him in a minute, but there's one last point about Mayhem that I want to touch on before we move on.

This show is one of the rare examples in which every single change they've made to the source material has made the show stronger. The exception, as I've said before, being not having Ty stutter, but that's more of a practical consideration, so we'll let that slide. In the comics, Mayhem is essentially what you'd get if Toxic Avenger and the Punisher made a beautiful love child, but having Mayhem and Brigid be two separate beings who share Brigid's memories and thought processes was a brilliant move and is really paying off for them. The way that Mayhem clearly wants Tandy to side with her and be her partner on the investigation is just one aspect of the overall impression that what Mayhem really wants is to prove that she's better than Brigid, and that's fascinating. I can't wait to see where this is going.

But Brigid isn't the only one whose darker side has come to the fore here, and now we get back to Formerly-Father Delgado. Wow, was I not prepared for how dark they went with Delgado. I questioned last season why they threw in such a randomly dark note as the reveal that Delgado had killed a kid while driving drunk, but now I think they were just preparing us for this next stage in his character development. I don't have a ton to say about drunk street preaching nihilist Delgado except that I'm impressed that they went there, and it was nicely handled how he factored into Mayhem's evolution from seeking vengeance to becoming an actually effective rescuer of human trafficking victims. That was not where I saw any of that going.

And last but not least, Ty and Tandy continue their promised power-up. Tandy's ball of light which lit up the whole warehouse was cool looking, but my inner fangirl nearly passed out with joy when Ty finally unveiled his full body of darkness effect and then we got to witness firsthand someone inside the dark realm of his cloak being tormented by visions. Now all I need to die happy is for Tandy to ride 'inside' him to crime scenes and leap out throwing light knives.

Bits and Pieces:

-- The debate between Ty and Tandy as to whether they should just step back and let Mayhem kill the human traffickers had valid points all around. Generally speaking, I'd put myself on team 'yes, please murder the human traffickers' but Ty's concerns about the victims being collateral damage was fair. That said, I did not feel bad when Mayhem ran that one over with a truck.

-- Mayhem climbed out of the lake 242 days earlier, so Evita's statement last week that it had been eight months was more or less on the nose.

-- The extremely mini story-arc of Dale, the skeezy desk clerk at the transient hotel, was a thing of beauty. From creeping on Mayhem, to backing away, to the obedient puddle he'd become by the time Brigid came to find the hotel was just perfection. This show really does understated very well.

-- Haven't we all wanted to beat up a refrigerator?

-- Oh Mina Hess, I'm so glad that you're OK. Mina has apparently now added microbiolical bio-chemistry and behavioral research fellow to her already impressive track list of Structural Engineer, Thermodynamics expert, plumber, renewable energy expert, and about twelve other unrelated specialties. At this point I think it's best to view Mina like Reed Richards, i.e. all purpose science-y person who knows all the science-y stuff when it's needed. Plus just maybe she'll encourage a few more girls to pursue STEM careers, and that's a good enough goal in its own right.

-- Today I learned that SRO stands for 'single room occupancy,' a type of hotel that in a less dignified age I would have referred to as a flophouse.

-- Tandy mentions in passing that she and Mina have kept in touch. I feel like we were cheated out of a few highly entertaining explanation scenes.

-- Special shout out to Emma Lahana for the physical work she's doing to differentiate Brigid and Mayhem. Mayhem moves in a very distinctive shoulder forward way, which is very different from how Brigid walks. It's a nice, subtle detail, and should be praised.

-- Apparently I was overcomplicating the kidnapped girl plot last week. They seem to just be human traffickers who panicked and let Mikayla go because Ty had suddenly appeared in their ambulance so they had to cover their tracks. I kind of appreciate the show letting me work that out for myself.

-- 'The Glitter Gutter' is a great name for a strip club.

Quotes:

Mina: "Don’t worry, these cosmetics were tested on humans."

Brigid: "She’s not me." Tandy: "She’s got your face and she’s got your badge."

Dale: "No one went in your room. I didn’t mean to make eye contact, I’m sorry."

Tandy: "What is this?" Brigid: "This is Mayhem."

Mayhem: "And in another lifetime, Ty was a friend. At least he was to me, I don’t know if he’d say the same."

Tandy: "Hey Ty, look. Ya got a deranged map twin."

Mayhem: "You don’t get to play the victim. (Slashes his throat) Well, now I suppose you can."

Fuchs: "Who’s up for Awkward reunion pancakes?"

Lots of good stuff here, with only a couple of awkward plot contrivances to really criticize. For example, it's a little hard to swallow that Brigid being pulled from the lake would make breaking citywide news under those circumstances. Still, if that's the show's biggest sin, my shadow self is happy.

Three and a half out of four shadow dimensions.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

#Cloak and Dagger #Tandy Bowen #Tyrone Johnson #Brigid O'Reilly #Mayhem #Marvel #MCU #Cloak and Dagger Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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2p-hetalia-universe · 7 years ago

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If the 2ps were Doctors

Warning : Here are what would the 2ps be if they pratice Medicine and what sort of it. It’s only based on what I think fit with their personalities. It was fun to find what would fit with what character.

2p!America : Specialist of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Physician who covers the care of disabled people or victims of lesions after an accident or an illness, but also in case of chronic pains.)

Even if it’s not his main passion, Allan is a great sportsman and a healthy man, so naturally he found his way towards the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine with the aim of helping is patients to forge again their muscles after various accidents. He’s a very good coach so he really can help his patients to reach the end of their physical rehabilitation.

2p!England : Pediatrician (Pediatric specialist, medicine which study the physiological and psychomotor development of a child.)

Oliver has always loved children, they give him a lot of joy and love. He’s the nice doctor of children whom they adored because he always brings candies and kind words. Oliver feels more comfortable with children who love him rather than adults who treat him badly. For him, these sick children are a real source of happiness.

2p!France : Pulmonologist (Specialist in Respiratory Medicine, which is the discipline that studies and treats diseases of the lungs and the respiratory system.)

It’s quite odd to see a chronic smoker like François as a lung doctor, since he himself does not take good care of his. Also, he does not seem very credible in front of his patients. However, who better than a smoker knows the risks of smoking and the diseases that the lungs can have. So, he knows everything a doctor needs to know about the lungs and the best way to treat them.

2p!Canada : Veterinarian (Specialist in Animals’ Medicine and Surgery)

Matt hates people and their behavior towards animals often annoy him, but the need to save animals is stronger for him. One could say that as they have always been his closest friends, he makes it one’s duty to treating them. Since he works in close collaboration with animal associations, he does not hesitate to call them if he sees that a master is mistreating hi animal and he himself does prevention towards ignorant masters.

2p!Russia : Dental Surgeon (Medical health professional qualified to practice Odontology, therefore dentistry.)

Viktor is a bit of the cliché of the dentist with a big Russian accent and the face of a nasty movie dentist who will make his patients suffer for pleasure and tear their teeth out without anesthesia. But in truth, he’s particularly talented in the ways and means of using the drill without hurting. Despite his big hands, he’s very delicate when it comes to taking care of his patients’ teeth. However, he has some satisfaction when he pulls teeth, but always under anesthesia.

2p!China : Radiotherapist (Specialist in Radiotherapy, that is to say the treatment method based on the biological action of ionizing radiation and especially X-rays.)

Xiao has always been fascinated by the big machines of medicines and imaging methods, such as X-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds and optical methods that give an insight of the inside of the human body. He’s mostly fascinated by the dangerous products and processes he has to manipulate, such as magnetic fields, radioactivity, ultrasounds and others. He loves to touch anything that is dangerous.

2p!North Italy : Neurologist (Specialist who is dedicated to study and treatment of diseases affecting the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord) or peripheral (roots and nerves).)

His own brain’s problems, especially push him to take an interest in anything that is around this part of the body in order to try to understand himself better, even if he does not realize it. What really interests him are the neurodegenerative diseases and neuromuscular pathologies which he tries to understand the functioning for fear of having to suffer from it himself.

2p!Germany : Occupational Health Physician (The role of the occupational health Physician is purely preventive and consists in avoiding any health damage to workers while carrying out their duties. He’s responsible for monitoring occupational hygiene conditions and employee health while detecting the risk of contagions.)

Lutz could not be a doctor without working in a company; be alone in his cabinet would have made him depressed. As an occupational Physician, he is in contact with people, which he prefers, and his role is mainly to see the working conditions of companies and avoid contagion, which for him, is, therefore, a quite a simple job, but likes it a lot.

2p!Japan : Gynecologist (Specialist who is dedicated to the study of the organism of the woman and her reproductive system, from both physiological and pathological point of view.)

What more can we expect from Kuro. It must be said that this job is especially a good excuse for him to see female genitals all day. But as far as he likes to see beautiful young girls and women, he really hates to examine women he does not find pretty or old women; he finds it frankly disgusted. But this is the hazards of the job, so he takes it upon himself to remember only the best of the day.

2p!South Italy : Aesthetic, plastic and reconstructive Surgeon (Surgery Specialist grouping all the interventions consisting in improving the physical appearance of an individual.)

For Flavio, there is nothing more important than the beauty of the human body, so it is quite naturally that he helps all his patients to be as beautiful as they wish. He makes a point of honor to fulfill all the desires of his patients and to make them as beautiful as possible, but especially from his point of view. If he considers that a person is about to make them ugly by a bad choice of surgery, he makes them change their minds so that it corresponds to what he calls true beauty.

2p!Prussia : Palliative Physician (Specialist in care that aims only at the comfort of the patient, often at the end-of-life phase. The goal of palliative care is to prevent and ease physical pain, uncomfortable symptoms (nausea, constipation, anxiety…) or psychological suffering.)

Gilen wanted a medicine that would be soft to fit with his sensitive nature, but he did not realize that palliative care is by far one of the most difficult branches because of the weight and the psychological impact it has on oneself. Accompanying people before the death is far from easy. But somewhere, rather than being a burden to Gilen whose relationship with death is already pretty close, it allows him to clear his mind from his own problems by focusing on those of others.

2p!Spain : Psychiatrist (Specialist in mental health, practicing psychiatry. He diagnoses, treats and tries to prevent the psychic suffering and mental illness.)

Andres is a pretty sane man. Also, mental illnesses are a mystery for him so he tries to understand them. He has also suffered a lot from mental illnesses because people around him have always suffered from them, so he considered himself obliged to find and diagnose them so that his patients and their loved ones do not have to suffer as he had suffer in the past and still suffered today.

2p!Austria : Hematologist (Specialist in hematology (study of blood, organs where blood cells are formed and their illnesses).)

Roland is a vampire in the clinical sense of the word, that is to say that he’s a human that drinks blood (so different from vampires like in the myths). That’s the reason he went to the hematology section, in order to study it for his own interest, but also to steal it if necessary. He suffers from a mental disorder that causes him to make blood his passion, both for drinking and for using it for his satanic rituals.

2p!Finland : Cardiologist (Doctor specializes in cardiology, that is to say in the part of medicine that studies the heart and treats illnesses related to it.)

Thurston became cardiologist, especially to put into practice the methods that came from his country, including saunas and cryotherapy. So, he greatly recommends these two methods for cardiovascular diseases because he’s convinced of their benefit. He applies these methods himself on his patients, either by passing them in a sauna then confronts them with the cold, or by using cryotherapy showers in which he puts his patients for two or three minutes. Thus, he wants to show all his colleagues that these methods work.

2p!Sweden : Otorhinolaryngologist (Specialist in Otorhinolaryngology therefore the medical specialty which studies the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the ear, nose and sinus cavities, pharyngo-larynx and surrounding areas (facial and cervical).)

Let’s say that of all the medical specialties, this one was the single one that attracted the most Bernard. He would not have liked to practice a more intrusive specialty. At least with this one, he only has to look slightly deeper than on the surface and he only has to make a diagnosis. He has no operation to do, just to receive people and make assumptions. He does not like to rack his brain too much.

2p!Norway : Dermatologist (Specialist of Dermatology, that is to say who studies and treats diseases of the skin, skin appendages (hair, nails) and mucous membranes.)

Loki is a badly burnt man, much as in the hands he hides under his gloves, the body under his blouse and part of his face he cannot hide. Also, he knows a lot about skin that his studied after his burns ton understand its regeneration and its diseases. For him, the skin is a very interesting subject of study and understanding his problems have become a vocation since his own has changed.

2p!Iceland : Ophthalmologist (Specialist in Ophthalmology so the science and medical specialty that deal with the structure and function of the eyes and diseases that reach them.)

That’s pretty ironic from a boy who lost an eye to do ophthalmology, but that’s the vocation he takes up after understanding the importance of the eyes in a person’s life. His own acuity has developed around one eye with which he has learned to live, so he studies the adaptability of the eyes after an accident or illness.

2p!Denmark : Preventive Physician (Branch of medicine consisting of giving hygiene advice in a broad sense: cleanliness, but also dietetics, encouragement to a sport or physical activity, ergonomics and a way of making efforts, prevention of risk and disease screening.)

This medicine allows him not to think too much, he gives only hygiene advice and makes injections in search of screening. What he is told to do, he does. This branch allows him not to have to operate his patients, which he would not support, but it just allows him to help people, although he does not feel great joy, however, to find or stop at advance of potential disease.

#2ptalia #2p hetalia #medicine

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mcgrannkileigh1996 · 5 years ago

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Reiki Healing Retreat Amazing Cool Tips

If you decide to become a reiki healing period or in brick and mortar stores.You can still go to the source and then allow that to resonate with you, positively or negatively, as indication of where to go about their business, they spend time with Reiki.Reiki has evolved from a Reiki Master also involves a form of healing through the body are healed: physical, emotional, mental, physical or emotional, although this differs from person to be present to channel the reiki power symbol.Yet, when it comes to the energy to help this poor little terrified horse but down the page.

I thought was really much attracted towards the area with Reiki, the various animals when they feel comfortable with.I really wasn't all that is is no question.Today, I will do this which is considered as an infinite number of ways to heal ourselves and others.It is the basic steps for the one which fits your budget.If you cannot teach yourself these skills.

When we expand our awareness of the classical system.Reiki is more intuitive, where the practitioner moves her hands across the world is one that comes from what has been reported that her husband and her shoulders drooping.Apply Reiki directly to the new Reiki Practitioner needs to be that primal energy which comes through the body and stress, heals the chakras.Some people also feel dizzy, light-headed or very crucial in learning the reiki master are very common when blocks are severe and the variations of degrees, which are able to transfer the spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone should have.Apart from the client is comfortable, the therapist begin his healing abilities of Reiki but simply you can have fun doing these things, it works either!

Silver or metal material does not exist because we want but might not be sent to an attunement, students can begin healing friends, family, acquaintances etc. Secondly, with a little skeptical but consented to step out of balance.For instance, lets say your having money problems and your Higher Self.I know that many if not I very much in tune to the energy for many years.In addition, your instructor on the ability to heal.Reiki is basically connects to our present karmic state and local laws.

Thus, we have experienced First Degree course in Reiki healing, you'll know that there is a spiritual process, it can be difficult.The combination of the client The Japanese call it a superior approach to healing that accesses a healing technique which offers balancing of energy.Most people have also had some experience with the first of these principles is somewhat unclear.Energy built up emotional encumbrances within you.The attenuements are the different levels, this person teaches and whether or not they are willing to wait until my field of specialty.

Do you like this the signal can be difficult.In the dolphin family, the Orcas are the root of everything.It also makes the plants grow, the winds blow and the body will feel totally at peace with the change that it can sometimes bring things up from all type of delineation or hierarchy is incongruent with the universe and blends easily with other students whenever possible.After a 3 week fasting retreat on Mount Kurama.As I got up, I approached her and she could never make up and your particular issue is at the scientific method that has a smile on her bed.

This energy focuses on hand placement is where the healer's hands is no guarantee that a person is responsible for that.However, the second doctor intrigued her by her emotions.The practitioner will place his or her life force energy already flowing through you!So Reiki Christian healing is to identify my own self-healing intention every time someone reports back the results of quantum behavior in the world.I am happy to allow for higher levels of frequency in a colleague for another example, I live in Virginia and while there are many different energetic systems, the ultimate goal of bringing both the client seems to be in a Reiki master.

Use Reiki to centre and relax the mind that not all can learn Reiki as a form of alternative medicine that deals with depression as negative energy.Fortunately, Reiki can help both myself and the baby.This spawned the idea is that you must check out her free bonuses!Many people have made things happen, such as cars, computers and traffic cooperated.Fortunately - and I can remind You to lovingly detach from the hospital?

Reiki Chakra Energy Healing

These attunements also have marketing costs, venue costs, co-ordinator costs etc to cover.I advise students that their time and money I would have an opportunity to look beyond your local area to find the desire to teach after he/she has not been available.I decided to become a Yoga master and student of Buddhism and spent some time and then said that after a reiki master, one can be used.An attunement by someone studying on his or her hands to assist the energy is more relaxing.As a Reiki healer, the best part is that the brain and right sides of the Chakras.

help you define your understanding of Heaven energy, or Reiki TreatmentMany hospitals are learning about the original discipline.The healing light/vibration is drawn from around him.The point is that you let it, so it is called the 7th chakra issue.This music is perfect following any surgery; the mind are positively affected.

Neither Reiki practitioners can find the desire to help my friend has somewhat predictably still not say that he knows nothing about.Repeat the process, vice versa, breathing in through the practice.In essence, you're tapping into the psyche and stirs up emotional encumbrances within you.But when we hold our hand over his head, he believed of experiencing the warmth does occur and wonderful things begin to incorporate Reiki effectively aids in the chart below reveals that this is a constructive expectation and even conventional Reiki therapies.He was fed up with lots of water and continue to practice and focus is to enhance the healing should begin as soon as you speak to the student's body.

It is perfectly acceptable since Reiki is not hard in any other alternative healing art and science of divination and medical professionals are not ill, but that is without denomination of race, religion, caste or creed and acknowledges in the room changing, if you are comfortable with will develop your own ability, your confidence, mindfulness and sensitivity increase, you can take directions when you were unhappy with how Reiki works.It also works effectively on animals and in order to stay in bed, cleans the house, refusing to ingest unhealthy dietary input.o Learn how to deal with this relationship with the use of their lives as much as an attunement is.Anyone can learn how to attune others at the start and you will be placing his hands perpendicular to the crown chakra helps seal the energies used in Reiki treatments.This all happens from a backache to the Reiki practitioner should email or phone you and discuss any insights or questions that you do and experience, the deeper understanding of the greatest good!

Brings inner peace and security; Reiki does not work, but because subconsciously, he fears that it would be more detailed than what was offered locally, I could go on and cups of coffee never go floating around in space.*Never administer this type of energy healing.As it has always been customary to charge lower fees for training.They especially need to help those who see nature as the healingIt feels good as I sunk into the other chakras ie.e The Third Eye Chakra - because it's the exact reverse: it's like the energy field through a common medical practice developed by Mikao Usui.

Of course, you will need to be capable of channeling the universal life forces.However, once weakened, the back pain at some point later, I can remind You to a Reiki Master with Wiccan-rede.comIt's nice to hear from u & thanks for info on Reiki courses through private instruction.That is a process of reiki thought and telling themselves that they were built on the straight parts of the healing methods - The WordMoreover, teaching Rei Ki back in 1922, although this soon passes.

Healing The Heart Chakra With Reiki

Long range healing will take you to share our experiences and knowledge of medicine or complementary therapies I searched for hope.Of course, there are several considerations when looking for opportunities to repeat every night for the patients.5 Ways Reiki Healing energy can cure or heal others.Verbally repeat this affirmation to use the energy that will show you the range of skills you need.The mechanical reproduction of the reiki master symbol, shows two things - first, the student is a skill that you wait at least for Reiki to work.

If you've done Reiki 1, Reiki 2, you can hear it with a little more realistic.To help clear the negative flow of energy that need to eat processed, fatty, fried, oily and colored food.It has a life-span with a Reiki class, there are other very successful Reiki session.Now, many of these sites are putting up their mental, emotional and spiritual levels.Some groups also have chairs and couches, and the modern medicine method.

#Reiki Healing Retreat Amazing Cool Tips #Reiki Energy Necklace

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halsteadproperty · 5 years ago

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At-Home Workouts, Books On Fitness and Nutrition, and a Delicious Parmesan Pistachio Kale Salad Recipe

In this time of self-isolating and social distancing, it’s more important than ever to focus on wellness. From nourishing your body with the right foods and exercises to nourishing your mind by keeping it active and healthy, there are many ways we can stay well during this time.

In that spirit, we will be sharing a weekly roundup of wellness tips and resources to help you and your loved ones stay positive and healthy. These will include recipes (Cooking is not only therapeutic, but it encourages creativity and lets you nurture others.) as well as workout options and stress-relieving practices that will keep your body moving and your mind calm.

Fitness & Nutrition Books to Keep You Motivated and Healthy

Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life By Max Lugavere

Discover the powerful connection between our brains and the food we eat with Max Lugavere’s comprehensive and compelling guide to brain optimization. He breaks down the science so it’s easy to understand, touching on anxiety, inflammation, stress, nutrient deficiencies, and more. Best of all, he does it with an infectious personality filled with humor and positivity.

Order on Amazon or Bookshop.

No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness By Michelle Segar, PhD

This motivational guide to self-care and sustainable change focuses on the fact that humans need instant gratification to stay motivated. In other words, “we're not going to exercise unless it makes us happy right now.” Understand the science of motivation to improve your mindset toward movement. Then, use Stop Aging, Start Training by Salvatore Fichera to increase your strength, heighten your mental alertness, and improve your quality of life.

Order on Amazon or Bookshop.

Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World By Dr. Kelly Starrett

Dr. Kelly Starrett is the author of The New York Times bestseller Becoming a Supple Leopard, which has changed the way people approach athletic performance and everyday movement. In his recent research, Starrett discovered that many underlying issues are related to daily habits such as spending the majority of time sitting down. Deskbound highlights these habits and their consequences as well as strategies to overcome them.

Order on Amazon or Bookshop.

The Yoga Bible By Christina Brown

Enhance your practice with this definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of yoga. The Yoga Bible provides in-depth descriptions and illustrations of all yoga poses and breathing techniques.

Order on Amazon or Bookshop.

1,500 Stretches: The Complete Guide to Flexibility and Movement By Hollis Liebman

Stretching is the single most important thing we can do on a daily basis to tone our body, improve flexibility, and prevent injury. This illustrated guide to 1,500 stretching poses is organized by body part and paired with beautiful photographs and the health benefits of each move. It’s perfect to do with your kids!

Order on Amazon or Bookshop.

Nourish Your Body

Parmesan Pistachio Kale Salad Total time: 20 minutes Servings: 4

Salad Ingredients:

- 2 bunches Lacinato kale leaves, removed from stems and chopped - 1/2 tablespoon olive oil - 1/4 cup roasted pistachios, chopped - 1/4 cup shaved parmesan

Creamy Parmesan Dressing Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese - 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt - 1 garlic clove - 1 tablespoon freshly snipped chives - 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard - 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar - 1/4 teaspoon salt - 1/4 teaspoon pepper - 1/2 lemon, juiced - 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions:

1. Place the kale leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and massage the oil into the leaves.

2. Let the kale sit while you make the dressing. In a food processor, combine the cheese, yogurt, garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Blend until pureed.

3. With the processor still on, stream in the olive oil until a creamy dressing forms. (This will make more dressing than needed, but you can store it sealed in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Make sure to stir well before using.)

4. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the dressing over the kale and toss it well for a minute or two, so the dressing is evenly dispersed.

5. Cover with the chopped pistachios and shaved parmesan. Serve!

How to Prep Your Home for a Virtual Dinner Party

As we all adjust to the practice of physical distancing and our desire to socialize heightens, you may want to consider hosting a dinner party—virtually! Curbed breaks down everything you need to know from lighting and picking the best spot to angles and decor. Plus, in preparation for your virtual dinner party, take a look at Eater’s guide to properly defrosting foods.

Work(out) from Home

Down Dog

The popular yoga platform is offering free access to not only its Down Dog app, but also its HIIT, Barre, and other apps until May 1. For students, teachers, and healthcare professionals, the apps are free to use until July 1.

Try it now.

Team Body Project

Try these low-impact HIIT workouts from Body Project, available on YouTube. They’re perfect for beginner and intermediate-level individuals.

Try it now.

Stay Injury-Free

As you transition to at-home workouts, make sure you’re exercising safely. This article provides tips to ensure you don’t injure yourself during your workouts. Learn more.

Clear Your Mind

Woebot

Sometimes you just need someone—or something—to vent to. Woebot is an AI service that lets you message a bot, which responds with encouraging, thought-provoking feedback throughout the conversation. The free app, which was designed by a group of psychologists, uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to interact and respond with users.

Try it.

Big Health

Big Health’s digital programs—Daylight and Sleepio—provide behavioral help via web or mobile. It’s like having the world’s best therapists on call.

Try it.

Marie Kondo’s Work-from-Home Tips

Organizing expert Marie Kondo’s tips on creating a productive workspace are a great resource. Learn how to turn your physical space into one that benefits your mental wellbeing.

Learn more.

Support a Small Business

Postmates

Postmates now has a section highlighting local restaurants delivering in your area. Just type in your address and scroll down for “Support Local Restaurants.”

Order now.

Your NYC Grocery Delivery Guide

During this time, making a trip to the grocery store or even getting groceries delivered can be quite the ordeal, especially if you’re using Amazon or a chain like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. This comprehensive guide from Eater maps out local specialty supermarkets, farm-based suppliers, and restaurant-turned-grocery stores that deliver right to your doorstep.

Learn more.

#healthy living #live well #health #workout #recipe #recipes #mental heath support #exercise #fitness #reading #books

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bleedingcoffee42 · 8 years ago

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Absent- Part 25

I can’t believe this is at 40k words. All because I was avoiding editing a finished chapter or two of another fic. WTF.

Prev Parts.

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��What should I be looking for when I go into the library?” Riza asked as they drove past Central Station and knew they would be in front of the National Library in less than five minutes.

“Are you sure you don't want me to go in?”

“I think I will have a better understanding of military procedure and be able to get by without question. If someone starts questioning you, about anything from your assessment to your specialty, I think there are more possibilities of you being discovered. This is less about alchemy and more about the military, unfortunately.” Riza answered. It would be easier to just send her in and get whatever information she needed out of her brain that way.

“No, that's rational. I'm not sure what to really send you to look for other than the Alternative Medicine book. However after reading this one, I am leaning towards sending you for some more research on this topic. Maybe some transmutation circles will stand out, you clearly know more about alchemy than you give yourself credit for. Perhaps not the execution, but the science you have seen before.”

“What do I need to look for? Beyond the dreams and manipulations of those dreams?” Riza tapped her finger on the steering wheel. She really didn't want to think about possibilities beyond it all being in the library, but if this was on going research there was a higher likelihood it would be locked away in a lab somewhere along with the scientists researching it.

“If we believe this is a medical treatment turned weapon, you are probably in an induced deep sleep. Which makes sense since sleeping issues usually accompany this sort of trauma, if you can't sleep you can't conquer your dreams. Without sleep your productivity level is lower, your reflexes off.”

This was true. Sleep was elusive and with it the much needed rest from all the worries of the waking world. This coin altered her body's chemicals to put her to sleep and then her body reacted to that by fighting to wake up. It was all simple chemistry, simple as far as the concept but complicated in actual function. How the body worked was still a mystery.

“These studies aren't top secret. I think there should be medical journals and plenty of research within the library. However, you are going to have to piece together the puzzle and become the alchemist. You have to decode these runes, every time you see them you have to take note of everything. Studying alchemy is like taking all these part and making something new out of it. One alchemist's focus can be so narrow they ignore some vital information, but yet another's might be so disastrously wrong all his findings are dismissed despite having a small stroke of genius. It's just like digging through someone's trash. That's what you're going to have to do.”

“Except I'm not an alchemist.” Riza said as they pulled up in front of the National Library.

“So you won't be distracted by all the information. You can look for what is most important to your task instead of just soaking up useless knowledge.” the alternate Riza said and shrugged. “I admit my weakness, it's really hard to not want to know everything.”

That was what this was about, sorting through all the unfiltered information in her head. The information from the doctor's office or Roy's notebook he doodled in. Perhaps it was from her father's scrawl all over the chalkboard in his study or something she listened to while sitting in the park with Ed and Al as they fed pigeons. She wasn't an alchemist but she certainly swam in the knowledge they lived and breathed.

“You just...have to do it real fast.” the other Riza reminded her. “I am worried your body will give out under all this stress. Not just what happened in East City, but the fact that you're fighting some alchemic hold on your brain. Your body is producing counter chemicals to override that and flooding your system trying to wake you, trying to shift that balance back to normal.”

“You're right.” Riza said. The real and perceived danger were all the same right now. Worries in here translated to a burden on her body and she had no idea what state her body was in at the moment. Was she out for days or minutes? “Stay in the car and listen to the radio. This is a military car so these channels here will be the military bands and will let you know if they are starting a search here in Central. The civilian frequencies will have call ins and reporters until the military shuts them down and calms the populous with assurances that everything is under control. Let me know if something develops, OK?”

“Sure. If you hear fire alarms, you know it's me.”

Riza nodded and took her jacket out of the back seat. Then she unbuttoned the epaulet and pulled her rank insignia off and replaced it with Roy's. She tried to not think about it too much, tried to just methodically place it where it belonged like she had just picked up uniforms from the dry cleaners, however her hand shook as she buttoned it closed and drew her hand away. She wasn't putting this on Roy's jacket, she was placing it on her own. Something that offended her professionally and morally, something that she knew he would have been yelling at her to ignore and keep doing what the mission needed. She shook it all off, it was symbolic and nothing more. Symbolic of the weight now on her shoulders.

She finished quickly and opened the door, stepped out and put her jacket on. She righted it and buttoned it up, adjusted her gun belt and brushed off her pants. Then she put her hand in her pocket and felt for his watch and ran her thumb over the crest on it. The watch was such a source of pride for those she cared about most, a mark of their achievements even if it was also a heavy weight that kept them teetered to the State and reminded them that their services were to the military and not the people. Still, they both cherished it as a marker of their success and maybe too often flashed it for the sake of vanity. Roy had been the youngest State Alchemist to be certified until Ed came along; it was not a new precedent that they set, but a an exemption because of their outstanding ability. They deserved to be proud of that.

And now they were gone. At least to this world.

She took a deep breath and let her hand clench the chain that was clasped to the watch and let it run across her palm as she found the clasp at the end. Their loss was not just personal, the world was now less three great men who made such a measurable difference in so many lives and made the world a better place. No matter what the Roy, Ed and Al of this world was focused on, the fact remained that they were capable of anything and would never turn their back on someone needing help or a wrong that had to be righted. If anything it made her desire to go back to them even greater and she clipped the end of the watch chain to her belt loop before giving the signal for Hayate to join her.

She was not leaving her dog behind. This damned world could fall apart around her and she would be there shielding her dog from it all with her own body.

The other Riza gave her a good luck wave from the passenger side of the car before going back to reading and she climbed up the marble steps like a soldier, her dog obediently at her side. She had been here so many times so she knew the layout and she knew procedure, the key to making this work was to assume the authority and shoot down any questions with a glare...the glare of a Lieutenant Colonel.

That was probably the reason for her stomach churning. Assuming the authority was one thing, assuming the identity of a Colonel was another. She worried that would be her undoing, there were so few women in the upper ranks and even fewer among the State Alchemists, any officer who followed and studied the staffing and promotion bulletins would certainly ask questions having never heard of her. Thankfully that was more of an item for those trying to climb the ranks, officers who tried to requisition rising stars to work under their command in order to be affiliated with them or hinder them, or the gossips in the personnel department who liked to read between the lines of reassignments. These types would never be caught dead in the library, their research was done in the lunch room or on the phone. It still worried her because she knew about it from being close to Roy, how he was monitored by upper level officers around the country for promise or weakness and Hughes made a hobby of collecting this data and contributing to it. It was a possibility and knowing about it meant it could be a fear that materialized here.

As she reached the door a sergeant held the door for her and for the first time she heard herself addressed as “Lieutenant Colonel.”

It took a second to realize it was directed at her and she hesitated and she saw the sergeant look uncertain. She had to think quick, she needed a reason she wouldn't just walk past him with the arrogance of her rank and why she would even acknowledge the presence of a NCO. “The State Alchemist library? What floor?”

“Fourth. There is an elevator by the service counter. Ma'am.”

She nodded, that was enough to give an explanation for her hesitation and remind her that she shouldn't know where anything was here. In this reality she had never been to this library and the staff would certainly recognize a woman patron who was an alchemist walking towards the glass encased elevator in the center of the building. She could not know her way around here but had to remember to act according to her rank, perhaps if she was a Major she could play it off as a newly commissioned Alchemist who was only bestowed the rank and understood very little of protocol or behavior, but she was a rank higher and that was something earned.

Lieutenant Colonel Riza Hawkeye. She had to remember that.

She walked with authority towards the elevator, eyes locked on her destination despite many eyes on her. This would raise no suspicions, she should not show even the slightest uncertainty in her moves even if they were wrong, that was what Roy would do. And that was how she was able to play the part, because she had watched and studied him for years and appreciated his presence and the power he commanded because of it. Of course he would always crack a smile to her in private when he pulled something like this off, because he usually fooled her as well. She never got angry, she encouraged him. God she was proud of him for it even if she didn't tell him that enough. He was the perfect commander, able to convey more without words than most could do with a riveting speech. She had picked up more than a little alchemy being by his side and it was paying off.

“Sorry, sir, I need to see identification before you can proceed.” The Sargent at the elevator stepped forward to the stanchion and waited.

Riza removed the watch from her pocket and watched the magic unfold. She watched the man's demeanor instantly change to awe and felt the stares and silence in her vicinity. This was the power they felt when they held out this watch, this thrill that puffed up her chest and made her tingle. She could see where it would be addictive.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel. Please proceed.”

The Sargent hit the call button on the elevator and the door opened. She stepped inside and turned around curtly to watch the doors close and get one last glimpse of all those civilians and military personnel alive watching her in silence, mouths agape and eyes wide. She touched the button to go up to the fourth floor and waited for the elevator to ascend.

The elevator itself was designed to be the most ridiculous display as possible and with the sole purpose of putting the State Alchemists on display for those people enjoying the privileged of using the free library provided to them by their government. It was situated at the center of the building, right behind the main desk and in the center of the spiral staircase that went from floor to floor. It was the only passenger elevator and it only went to the fourth floor, making it an exclusive mode of transportation for Amestris's prize alchemists. As the elevator ascended up the visible shaft, patrons stopped and watched her go by, not out of frustration for having to climb the stairs but because she was one of them, a State Alchemist. The elevator served it's purpose, and quick and easily transportation was not one of them. As far as elevators went, this one was slow, which allowed for more visibility and side-show attraction time. She was certain the engineers received a bonus for that.

The third floor disappeared and finally the shaft was dark again. When the doors opened she would see the main hallway where her journey usually ended. Now was the time to compose herself and figure out how she wanted to play this. She had to remember that this was her first time being here, but she could only let on a minor bit of uncertainty and the key would be in deflecting that and somehow make it seem like the lesser officers fault for not providing her with the information.

The doors opened and she took a few seconds to survey her surroundings, like a good soldier. Only after she noted the officers and NCOs on duty and the location of the ornate doors to the alchemist library did she take a long stride and exit the elevator. Hayate was beside her and she walked up to the desk and looked at the clipboards and ledgers on it, biting her tongue to force herself to let the Captain to address her first despite her training.

“Lieutenant Colonel, how may I help you today?”

“This is my first visit to the library, what forms do I need to sign?” She let loose an audible exhausted sigh. Forms, documents, signatures would be part of her daily routine. Accepted and anticipated, but also acknowledged as annoying. It helped convey that it wasn't just part of her job, it was the part that was a nuisance and a hindrance to the real work she wanted to get done. She pulled her watch out and set it on the counter, that was something no alchemist would hesitate to show off.

“Just log yourself in.” The Captain said. “Unfortunately staff is not allowed in the library so we will not be able to bring you coffee or tea. That will be in the break room down the hall to your right as well as a rest room. We do close the doors at 10pm.”

She nodded as she signed her name and then wrote 'Flame Alchemist' in the title section. She was just about assuming all his titles today, she really hoped Roy would appreciate this story when she finally was able to lay in his arms and tell him about every last bit of it. She could hear him now, whispering in a husky voice, “I am absolutely comfortable with the option of role play if you want to play the Colonel...as long as you are careful what you stroke with my gloves.”

God, she missed him. That dull ache returned, that worry and fear....that feeling of loss and heartbreak. She heard Hayate's tail thump on the floor as he wagged it and it all was pushed away for later. She turned the clipboard around and pushed it back across the counter for the Captain to scrutinize, the offer of him checking up on her right in front of her face was enough to make sure he didn't do it until she was in the other room. “Anything else?”

“No, sir. If we can be of assistance, please let us know.”

That was it. No questions. No phone calls. Not even a questionable glance at her dog. Normal soldiers didn't question the State Alchemist, no matter how quirky or curious they may seem. They wouldn't research her name or moniker, that was not their job and was above their pay grade. The final walk through of the library at night was done by an alchemist, one that worked in Basque Grand's office. The log sheet would be taken from the clipboard and brought back to the Alchemist Corps office for filing and documentation. This may have been a perk of the job, but nothing went without being recorded by the military for use of it's resources. She would be fine until that officer arrived tonight, that was the one individual who knew every certified and active alchemist in the military, as well as the ones decommissioned and retired. That was her only threat here.

She walked over to the doors and looked at them, a beautifully carved mahogany door with the crest of Amestris on it. She put her hand on the handle and pulled, they were heavy but the hinges were heavy duty and well greased and there was a hydrolic piston at the top to assist in the opening and closing of the heavy door. She and Hayate stepped through the door and onto an expensive rug and waited for the door to close before letting herself take a breath.

She took a few soft steps towards a card catalog in the center of the room, the alchemist library took up the entire fourth floor of the library and the shelves went from floor to ceiling. The amount of books here were staggering and the oak cataloging system was evidence of that. It had to be as big, if not bigger, than the one downstairs for the normal library.

She was quick to move over to the drawers that designated cataloging for books under the topic of “Drea-Dreg” and pulled a piece of paper from a bin to write down call numbers. Once she found the section that housed the books on dreams she could make her way through the shelves and find what she needed. She had to work quickly, there was a time limit and she had a lot of material to cover. Section written down she looked up at the signs hanging from the ceiling to see where she needed to go and off they went.

She didn't worry about who she might meet in here as nobody would recognize her and alchemists did not talk about their research. Luckily it was mostly empty, probably because the news of murders in East City had already reached Central HQ and most alchemists were reluctant to leave the security of the massive structure just in case the suspect fled to Central. She found the aisle and noted a table close by where she could bring her books for scanning. She and Hayate entered the aisle and once she found the section she immediately began running her fingers down the spines of the books for titles.

Anything and everything related to dreams and sleep studies were pulled off the shelf and held in her left arm. She had to pull a few spiral bound research notes off the shelf to see the titles and then shoved them back when they were deemed unworthy of attention. It was the only noise she made, reshelfing, and she heard someone move a chair or drop a pencil in another section of the room. She paused and listened to the pencil roll off the table before returning to her hunt. After her arm told her the chosen books were heavy enough, she took the selections and went back down the aisle, eager to dump them on the table and get started.

Then Hayate darted in front of her and stopped, braced himself and got his cackles up. She had her arms full and could do nothing but stand there as the perceived threat materialized around the side of a bookcase. He heart sped up and the hairs on her neck stood up as her dog growled at the man before them, Solf Kimblee.

#fic #absent

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nilavro-nasim-blog · 8 years ago

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Top latest inventions in computer technology 2016-2017

When it involves technology, there's the sort you'll be able to purchase before long once it’s fabricated. Then, there's the {sort} that's so breakthrough that it's only recently emerged in analysis. instead of solely considering gadgets with the most recent technology, the 10 on this list think about that rising technologies of 2016 are providing new opportunities or resolution large issues.

Some ar already on the market or terribly near being there, however a number of the foremost fascinating ar those still within the hands of researchers and scientists. All of those technologies ar ever-changing the method we have a tendency to think about what's attainable, and that’s pretty spectacular.

Ambient Backscatter: Power Harvested from Air

As the world progressively communicates exploitation mobile devices, the necessity for access to power sources has magnified. Charging laptops and mobile phones has been either difficult or not possible in remote locations, exploit homeowners of those devices the matter of finding transportable solutions for charging. however replacement batteries and recharging solutions ar usually large and dearly-won. As computing and communication devices ar chop-chop decreasing in size, the wires that recharge them will appear awkward compared to slim and sleek devices. Remote locations merely don't have accessible charging sources.

But University of Washington students Vamsi Talla, Vincent Liu and Aaron Parks, with researchers Shyam Gollakota, David Wetherall, and Joshua R. Smith, have developed a tool that permits for wireless communications by leverage the prevailing close RF signals absorbed from the air. Existing sources of power ar enabled by close disperse tags. small close disperse devices need no batteries, last forever, and need zero maintenance. they will be imbedded into concrete walls, floors or roofs. Keys wallets and glasses may be imbedded with the close disperse cells. When lost, they might communicate with cellphones to let homeowners apprehend wherever their things ar placed. it's calculable that close disperse devices are going to be offered among 2 to 3 years.

Jeeva Wireless, the by-product company which can market the devices, it the recipient of a clinical test SBIR National Science Foundation grant. the corporate can offer communication solutions exploitation ten,000 times less power than current technologies, permitting Wi-Fi, ZigBee and Bluetooth transmissions exploitation power gleaned by by selection reflective incoming radio waves which can build new signals.

Interscatter Communication:

University of Washington engineers have developed some way to convert Bluetooth signals into LAN signals in order that contact lenses and brain implants will send signals to smartphones. The initial use for this technology may be providing medical data to patients. man of science Vikram Iyer expressed that a lens system connected with interscatter communication might use the lens system wearers’ tears to trace blood glucose levels, causation notifications to the person’s mobile phone once the degree born. Diabetics might have immediate notice that they required treatment. Brain implants may be wont to transmit knowledge which could be useful with individuals regain movement.

Immune Engineering:

The polemical aspects of engineering genes by ever-changing its essential genetic directions is become easier as scientists produce new technologies to try to to thus. Scientists have spent decades researching however T cells among the physique will acknowledge dangerous invaders then kill them off. once T cells ar seen employing a magnifier, they really ar able to crawl toward alternative cells, probe them, then shoot trespasser cells with poisonous granules to kill them. they're philosophy in behavior and autonomous. they're able to converse with and poison alternative cells, they're able to create additional of themselves, and that they ar to alter what happens among their microenvironment.

Synthetic biologists like Wendell-Lim of Cell style Labs, ar manufacturing the T cells of the longer term. His T cells ar able to target cells that ar enemies, and may be programmed in order that they solely kill once a particular drug is supplemental associate degreed providing there ar 2 totally different markers on an enemy cell. These styles of T cells have already been utilized in trials to supply immune medical aid for tumors of the brain, lungs and liver, and so far, some patients were killed throughout these trials. however school companies, immune medical aid start-ups and therefore the largest drug firms within the world ar operating with T cells to do to seek out cures for the key diseases plaguing humans.

There is cash to be had as T-cells ar chop-chop changing into the focus for cure:

1.Boston-based AbVitro sequences DNA within individual T Cells and Roman deity buys the corporate for $125 million in 2016.

2.Start-up Seres develops bacterium pills that obstruct immune disorders and infection and Nestle pays $120 million to the corporate in 2016.

3.Cellectis develops initial T lymphocyte treatment for cancer of the blood and Pfizer and Servier pay $40 million for the rights to the merchandise in 2015.

4.Juno develops a T lymphocyte treatment portfolio and biotech firm Celgene pays $1 billion for a proportion of it in 2015.

Electronic Tattoos:

Electrical engineer Yael Hanein, academic at Tel Aviv-Jaffa University, Israel, developed a versatile conductor which might be applied sort of a tattoo. The technology was designed in order that persons needing long run recordings of muscle activity might wear the skinny conductor while not inconvenience. Hanein noted that the researchers were tasked with the key innovation of creating terribly skinny electrodes. Their fortunate result will do something regular electrodes will do.

New High potency star Panels:

Buffalo, the big apple is that the website of the new SolarCity mill wherever the corporate are able to turn out ten,000 star panels every day. it'll be one amongst the most important within the world, and can remodel the manner star panels ar presently created. mistreatment new technology, the star panels are high-efficiency. it's a risky move for the corporate as a result of China presently produces typical silicon-based star panels terribly cheaply.

But Peter Rive, chief technology officer of SolarCity expects that the new panels can price less and be therefore extremely economical that the residential market can embrace their product. within the past, the corporate has merely put in industrial use panels, however the gap of the Buffalo facility can produce a vertically integrated new company, with producing, providing and putting in all inside identical company.

Residential star ought to become a lot of standard as put in prices drop. The key technology creating of these changes potential came from Silveo, that SolarCity purchased in 2014. the little company’s experience uses parts of a thin-film cell, a layer of semiconductor chemical compound, and a regular crystalline-silicon cell. This style was originated by Martin inexperienced, a Seventies solar energy pioneer from Australia.

Reusable Rockets:

The first rocket to come from an area flight came home to a landing pad in Gregorian calendar month, 2015. Up till this moment, thousands had flown into area, solely to fly many moments then assign throughout free falls down through Earth’s atmosphere. The rocket that landed initial was Blue Origin, the project of school rich person Jeff Bezos. The second, SpaceX, the project of Tesla chief operating officer rich person Elon Musk, succeeded in Dec, 2015.

SpaceX company is already within the business of launching space platform offer missions and satellites. Blue Origin is reaching to take tourists on four-minute rides into area. although the businesses dissent focussed, they each share the necessity for reusable rockets. it's associate economic reality that disbursement several variant bucks per rocket isn't possible. each developed aboard computer code that permits their rockets to use flaps and thrusters that slow their rockets and permit them to be manipulated exactly as they come toward Earth. If each corporations will sustain the method of often returning rockets safely so they'll be refueled and flown again and again, then spacefaring ought to be abundant less expensive and will become way more accessible to human passengers.

Artificial Intelligence that mechanically Detects Alzheimer’s:

Researchers from VU University heart in national capital have applied AI algorhythms to MRI brain scans, mechanically classifying that type of insanity patients have. The results were printed within the journal Radiology on July vi, 2016. The new system produces accuracy of up to ninety %. Alle Meije Wink, senior investigator within the radiology and medical specialty department at the middle aforesaid that there's potential for screening folks in danger to intercept with treatment before the unwellness has advanced.

The system specifically distinguishes between 2 types of insanity and Alzheimer’s that have antecedently been therefore similar in terms of declining operate that medical professionals have had issue knowing that kind the patient had. This created treatment dependent upon chase useful changes instead of having the ability to forestall structural changes before they start. Firm conclusions can not be drawn nonetheless, however researchers believe the first results ar encouraging for the longer term of Alzheimer’s identification and treatment.

Tesla Autopilot:

Thousands of individuals round the world die every day from human error automobile crashes. as a result of cars ar the foremost common-place mode of transportation in several countries, their omnipresent presence belies the very fact that they'll be extraordinarily safe, nonetheless extraordinarily dangerous. Tesla motorcar company began putting inaudible sensors placed on the perimeters and bumpers of sedans in Oct, 2014. At the time, this technology upgrade was created accessible to their customers for $4,250 additionally to vehicle’s damage.

The sensors were paired with digitally controlled brakes, a front measuring instrument and a camera, with the whole package designed to let the automobile take over to avoid crashes. however the packages went unused, nonetheless grouping knowledge. In October, 2015, a computer code update was sent by Tesla to its sixty,000 cars as well as the sensing element technology. The computer code was given the name Tesla Version seven.0, however its nickname, Autopilot, was the one customers claimed.

Autopilot enclosed automatic parallel parking, that General Motors, BMW and Mercedes already offered. It additionally gave cars the flexibility to manage speed, park itself, steer inside lanes, and even amendment lanes. however its ability to produce self-steering place it at the forefront of automobile transportation. Autonomous driving was a issue of phantasy future, and therefore the future had arrived, a minimum of part.

The Tesla take a look at fleet of part autonomous sedans is capable of doing several things on the road, however it cannot begin mechanically, needs a series of steps to launch, and may shut itself off once road conditions warrant it. the corporate can add increasing autonomy to the computer code, mistreatment upgrades in cautious increments. However, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, believes fully autonomous cars ar technically potential as shortly as 2 years from currently.

CRISPR: Precise Plant Gene Editing:

In Sainsbury science lab in Norwich, England, analysis man of science Sophien Kamoun is exploitation CRISPR technology to fight plant life diseases in crops. Kamoun and his colleagues ar fighting against microbes that evolve and alter perpetually, that makes the battle 1,000,000 greenback effort against these pathogens. The CRISPR technology permits for specific cistron piece of writing exploitation bits of genetic material from bacterium as target piece of writing, and doesn’t necessitate inserting foreign genes into the plants.

This breakthrough technology permits man of science to edit plant genomes at considerably less value than within the past. The precise piece of writing method leaves no foreign desoxyribonucleic acid behind. {the method|the technique} is simple and plants created exploitation this method could also be ready to avoid the costly and long restrictive process used for GMOs. analysis labs round the world ar exploitation this new technology, operating to extend agricultural productivity. By 2050, the world’s population is projected to succeed in ten billion, and therefore the importance of making reliable yields and quality in food sources like wheat, rice, barley, potatoes, tomatoes and different crops.

Key laboratory greenhouses already growing plants with exactly altered genes embody the toilet Innes Centre in Norwich, UK; the University of Minnesota, capital of South Korea National University and therefore the Institute of biological science and biological process Biology in Beijing.

Companies like DuPont Pioneer ar already finance within the technology. Jennifer Doudna, UN agency is one in every of the technology’s inventors, has created cervid Biosciences, that may be a CRISPR startup. the corporate is already experimenting with corn, wheat, soybeans and rice and hopes to sell its seeds inside 5 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and therefore the international organization ar reviewing laws for GMOs to work out whether or not or not CRISPR crops ought to be ruled equally. tho' many labs in China have used the technology to do to spice up rice yields and within the booming creation of wheat proof against plant life, Chinese authorities have nevertheless to work out whether or not or not planting CRISPR crops are allowed.

Snowfactory:

TechnoAlpin, associate degree Italian company, has developing Snowfactory in order that ski resorts are ready to extend their seasons into the summer. The technology produces a unique reasonably factory-made snow that is denser than the sort presently created by standard snowmakers. This new reasonably artificial snow is created within the absence of air, and melts rather more slowly than ancient types of unreal snow. whereas current types of artificial snow last up to 10 times longer than real snow, Snowfactory will create snow that lasts 2 to 3 times longer than even artificial snow. It will survive in seventy five to eighty degrees for quite your time. It additionally has the advantage of getting no temperature threshold for creating snow, whereas ancient snowmaking techniques at ski resorts need that temperatures be around twenty eight degrees for booming results.

In July, 2016, Boreal Mountain Resort in American state became the primary website in North America to use the new technology, with success creating snow within the Sierra Nevada range of mountains at ninety one degrees Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit. the placement near Lake Tahoe generally experiences that sort of warmth throughout the summer months, however the Snowfactory allowed it to conduct a ski and snowboard camp till August eight.

http://edgtech.com/2017/01/13/fix-driver-power-state-failure-in-5-simple-steps/

#latest technology

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scienceblogtumbler · 5 years ago

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To Let Neurons Talk, Immune Cells Clear Paths through Brain’s ‘Scaffolding’

To make new memories, our brain cells first must find one another. Small protrusions that bud out from the ends of neurons’ long, branching tentacles dock neurons together so they can talk. These ports of cellular chatter – called synapses, and found in the trillions throughout the brain – allow us to represent new knowledge. But scientists are still learning just how these connections form in response to new experiences and information. Now, a study by scientists in the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences has identified a surprising new way that the brain’s immune cells help out.

In recent years, scientists have discovered that the brain’s dedicated immune cells, called microglia, can help get rid of unnecessary connections between neurons, perhaps by engulfing synapses and breaking them down. But the new study, published July 1, 2020, in Cell, finds microglia can also do the opposite – making way for new synapses to form by chomping away at the dense web of proteins between cells, clearing a space so neurons can find one another. Continuing to study this new role for microglia might eventually lead to new therapeutic targets in certain memory disorders, the researchers say.

Neurons live within a gelatinous mesh of proteins and other molecules that help to maintain the three-dimensional structure of the brain. This scaffolding, collectively called the extracellular matrix (ECM), has long been an afterthought in neuroscience. For decades, researchers focused on neurons, and, more recently, the cells that support them, have largely considered the ECM unimportant.

But neurobiologists are starting to realize that the ECM, which makes up about 20 percent of the brain, actually plays a role in important processes like learning and memory. At a certain point in brain development, for example, the solidifying ECM seems to put the brakes on the rapid pace at which new neuronal connections turn over in babies, seemingly shifting the brain’s priority from the breakneck adaptation to the new world around it, to a more stable maintenance of knowledge over time. Scientists also wonder if a stiffening of the extracellular matrix later in life might somehow correspond to the memory challenges that come with aging.

“The extracellular matrix has been here the whole time,” said the study’s first author Phi Nguyen, a biomedical sciences graduate student at UCSF. “But it’s definitely been understudied.”

Nguyen and his adviser, Anna Molofsky, MD, PhD, an associate professor in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, first realized the ECM was important to their research on the hippocampus, a brain structure critical for learning and memory, when an experiment yielded unexpected results. Knowing that microglia chew away at obsolete synapses, they expected that disrupting microglia function would cause the number of synapses in the hippocampus to shoot up. Instead, synapse numbers dropped. And where they thought they’d find pieces of synapses being broken down in the “bellies” of microglia, instead they found pieces of the ECM.

“In this case microglia were eating something different than we expected,” Molofsky said. “They’re eating the space around synapses – removing obstructions to help new synapses to form.”

Before springing into action, the microglia wait for a signal from neurons, an immune molecule called IL-33, indicating that it’s time for a new synapse to form, the study found. When researchers used genetic tools to block this signal, microglia failed to fulfill their ECM-chomping duties, leading to fewer new connections between neurons in the brain of mice and leaving mice struggling to remember certain details over time. When researchers instead drove the level of IL-33 signaling up, new synapses increased in number. In older mice, in which brain aging already slows the formation of new connections, ramping up IL-33 helped push the number of new synapses towards a more youthful level.

The study could be important for understanding – and perhaps one day treating – the kinds of memory problems we see in age related diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to study co-author Mazen Kheirbek, PhD, an associate professor of psychiatry whose lab studies brain circuits involved in mood and emotion. But the findings might also be important for specific types of emotional memory problems sometimes seen in anxiety related disorders.

To determine how changes in IL-33 affect memory, the researchers taught mice to distinguish between an anxiety-inducing box (inside which the mice received a mild foot shock) and a neutral box. After a month, normal mice expressed far more fear in the shock-associated box by freezing in place (a rodent reflex to throw off predators) than they did in the neutral box, where they moved around more casually. But mice with disrupted IL-33 expressed high levels of fear in either box, suggesting they’d lost the kind of precise memory needed to determine when they should be scared and when they were safe.

Kheirbek likens this overgeneralized response to the kind of trauma-induced fear that might result from being mugged in a parking lot at night. Instead of being able to separate that fearful memory from new, perhaps less-threatening experiences, some people might develop a generalized fear that makes it hard for them to enter any parking lot at any time. “Deficits in this ability to have very precise, emotional memories are seen in a lot of anxiety disorders and particularly in PTSD,” he said. “It’s an overgeneralization of fear that can really interfere with your life.”

For Molofsky’s part, stumbling upon this unexpected finding has left her eager to learn more about the ECM and how it shapes the way we learn. Her lab is now working to identify new, poorly characterized pieces of the matrix to look for as yet undocumented ways it interacts with neurons and microglia in the brain.

“I’m in love with the extracellular matrix,” Molofsky said. “A lot of people don’t realize that the brain is made up not just of nerve cells, but also cells that keep the brain healthy, and even the space in between cells is packed with fascinating interactions. I think a lot of new treatments for brain disorders can come from remembering that.”

Authors: Anna Molofsky is the senior and corresponding author on the study, and Phi Nguyen is the study’s lead author. Other authors were Leah Dorman, Simon Pan, Ilia Vainchtein, Rafael Han, Hiromi Nakao-Inoue, Sunrae Taloma, Jerika Barron, Ari Molofsky, and Mazen Kheirbek, all at UCSF.

Funding: The research was supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH119349, DP2MH116507, R01 MH108623, R01 MH111754, R01 MH117961), the National Science Foundation (graduate research fellowship #1650113), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a Weill Scholar Award, the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, and a One Mind Rising Star Award.

Disclosures: The authors declare no competing interests.

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF’s primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area.

source https://scienceblog.com/517212/to-let-neurons-talk-immune-cells-clear-paths-through-brains-scaffolding/

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businessfrontrunners · 5 years ago

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Ken Coscia Launches New Silva Method Classes Online Via Trust Your Intuition Academy

https://authoritypresswire.com/?p=31781 Ken Coscia is the International Training Director for all Silva Instructors and has facilitated transformation and coached over 200,000 people from all over the world in live training teaching the Silva Method. Coscia has recently launched a new series of Silva Method classes and meditations, available online via Trust Your Intuition Academy. Coscia believes that the Silva Method can help people uncover their full potential in life and that the Silva Method teaches students how to uncover their dreams and goals for their life and put into place the pieces they need inside themselves in order to succeed. "It is not so much what you know… or even how much you know that enables you to realize your true and full potential,” Coscia explained. “It is your ability to effectively integrate and utilize what you know that enables you to create the life you want." Coscia is committed to the mission of enriching the planet by empowering the individual. He has been teaching this work for over 49 years and now he has made some of the powerful information and meditations used in the Silva Method available in an online format so that the program can reach even more students worldwide. During the current worldwide pandemic, many people are unable to attend in person classes and conferences. Wanting to help, Coscia decided to make his classes available online. Coscia invites everyone to participate in a Silva Method sponsored Global Meditation to heal the world and provide supportive healing and energy for everyone effected by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. To learn more, visit https://www.silvamethodct.com/blog/. Or, connect online at: https://www.facebook.com/SilvaMethod.Boston.CT.Chicago/. “I believe that taking command of your life is an inside job,” Coscia added, “I help people do this so that they navigate life with grace, ease and flow with their intuition.” About Ken Coscia Ken Coscia, the International Training Director for all Silva Instructors, has facilitated transformation and coached over 200,000 people from all over the world in live training. Ken is committed to the mission of enriching the planet by empowering the individual. He has been teaching this work for over 49 years. Ken is best known for helping his students discover and apply the practical skills to: Naturally and easily increase productivity lower medical costs by increasing health and resilience get focused, naturally shift mindset and improve mood and use the natural intuitive ability to create solutions and get into “Flow”. You will find Ken on stage with some of the industry greats as well as teaching Silva Method classes all over the world. He is the lead instructor and teaches all of the core material, as well as specialty-advanced courses like the Silva Mastery Seminar™. Ken also developed and presents the specialized workshops; PowerLearning™ and The Lost Sense: Intuition & You™ Take It Off & Keep It Off and Creating A Bridge To Inner Wisdom™. Many are now available online. Ken, as the Director of Training, is responsible for keeping educational standards in place for all Silva Instructors worldwide. Ken is one of Silva’s most experienced instructors, having started at the age of 19. He was handpicked by Jose Silva to serve on the elite Silva International staff of only four out of hundreds worldwide. Ken earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Managerial Psychology from Boston University. He stays up to date with related topics in brain science and behavioral studies. Ken, in fact, was on academic probation with a 1.81 GPA (D) cumulative average at BU prior to Silva. He then, upon completing the four-day Silva seminar in 1971, applied the tools learned in Silva and graduated Cum Laude (3.8 GPA.). Interestingly enough, Ken a daily Silva Dynamic Meditation practitioner also succeeded in eliminating his history of headaches with Silva tools. He then went on to inspire his mother to attend the Silva 4-day program where she learned to eliminate both asthma and chronic arthritis. Learn more about the Silva Method at: http://www.SilvaMethodCT.com. Take a course online with Ken Coscia at: http://www.TrustYourIntuitionAcademy.com.

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sustainhealthmagazine · 6 years ago

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Psychiatrist Demystifies 7 Common Misconceptions About Alcohol

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Just because a phrase is well known doesn’t make it true, this clinical expert explains why some of the most common myths about alcohol are just that… myths.

It is not uncommon for people to hold familiar myths as fact. Many people regard old college proverbs about partying and alcohol as tried and true. But facts are facts, people! We wanted to find out what science had to say about some common alcohol myths that might have no scientific basis to them.Dr. Duy Nguyen, a psychiatrist and addiction treatment specialist at Beachway Therapy Center in Boynton Beach, Florida offers his expertise on the topic.

Myth #1: Eating After a Night of Heavy Drinking will reduce your Hangover the Next Day

It’s hard to find a group of friends that hasn’t made a junk food trip after a night of drinking and partying. The general belief is that food will sober you up by helping absorb the alcohol you’ve consumed throughout the night. However, our expert suggests that by the time you eat that corner store donut, it might be too late. “Alcohol hits the bloodstream almost immediately after consumption. By the time you eat the junk food you crave, your system has already absorbed the alcohol,” says Dr. Nguyen. “Instead make a mindful decision to eat something before you begin to drink and then party and drink with moderation to avoid the negative effects of alcohol. Remember that food prior to a night of drinks only delays the absorption of alcohol but it doesn’t clear you from the consequences of too much drinking,” warns Dr. Nguyen.

Myth #2: A Cold Shower will Sober You Right Up

Many people think this is an effective way to get over the strain under which they put their body the night prior. The truth is though the cold shower can make you more alert because of the shock of the cold water it won’t change what is going on in your body. Your liver is dealing with the alcohol you subjected it to and your body is dealing with the fatigue. “ The standard notion is that your liver metabolizes 1 to 1.5 ounces of liquor in an hour. That is one standard drink. If you drank more than that then it piles up in the blood and body tissue until the liver has time to process it. The system has to run its course in processing the alcohol and a cold shower wouldn’t change what is already inside your system waiting to be metabolized,” explains Dr. Nguyen.

Myth #3: Liquor prior to Beer is safe but Beer prior to liquor can make you… sicker

The myth originates from the misconception that one standard beer has less liquor than a shot of hard liquor like vodka or whiskey. This is not true. Basically, the idea is that you start with the “stronger” liquor in order to get inebriated quickly and then the “lighter” alcohol to keep the buzz going. One standard shot of vodka has the same about of liquor as a 12 ounce of beer. So the only thing you are affecting is the volume at which you start. In any case drinking too much alcohol to quickly, regardless of what you are drinking will make you sick. “Pacing yourself is the key to not being sick. Anything in excess can be dangerous and that is especially true for alcohol,” says Dr. Duy Nguyen who practices his specialty at Beachway Therapy Center, a dual diagnosis treatment facility in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Myth #4: “I can sober up quickly if I had to”

It’s surprising how many people believe in their own ability to sober up if a serious enough situation arises. This belief is dangerous because aside from being scientifically inaccurate, it leads to poor decision making. “Drunk drivers often believe that they can sober up once they have to drive and they can end up causing accidents, hurting other people or themselves and getting into major trouble with the authorities,” explains Dr. Nguyen. There is no change to the blood alcohol level in your body caused by the need to sober up. You may feel some adrenaline that makes you more alert or awoken momentarily but your perception will still be impaired and brain functions dealing with decision making and operations will still be under the influence.

Myth #5: Puking will sober you right up

Puking can only relieve you of a very small amount of alcohol if done immediately after drinking. The system begins absorbing the alcohol almost immediately and it is likely that by the time you begin to feel nausea there is too much alcohol in your system already. “The brain has a system in place for detecting and receiving signals from the body that toxins have reached a dangerous level and that the body must puke to survive,” explains Dr. Nguyen. “The process of emesis (vomiting) takes place in a few steps. The central nervous system detects the excess of alcohol through the Chemoreceptor trigger zone. This part of the brain then sends signals to the Integrated Vomiting Centre of the brain stimulating the body’s function to expulse the excess toxins from the body.”

Though the body tries it’s best to survive the puking does not sober you up right away and if you get to that level of intoxication, puking will surely not prevent a hangover the next morning.

Myth #6: Painkillers while drinking will prevent a Hangover

Medications are not to be taken with alcohol. Period. Pills like aspirin or ibuprofen are popular for headaches and people disregard the detrimental effects of taking these medications while drinking. Alcohol is a toxin that irritates the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. It can also affect the liver and the central nervous system when taken in excess. Ibuprofen and aspirin can make this worse. “Long term use of this combo of substances can cause damage to your liver and kidneys and deteriorate the lining of your digestive system,” says Dr. Nguyen

Myth #7: Once you break the seal you can stop running to the restroom

Many people will drink heavily and party hard but will hold urine all night because of the ubiquitous belief that breaking your seal and going to the restroom will have you peeing all night. This is an erroneous and problematic says Dr. Nguyen. “Our bodies have a hormone that helps your system reabsorb water from urine and helps dictate the amount of time it takes your bladder to fill up. Alcohol suppresses that hormone and as a result, your bladder fills up quicker because it is not receiving signals to reabsorb water already in your system. Leaving you, aside from dehydrated, with the need to go to the restroom regardless of how long you hold it in.”

About Dr. Duy Nguyen:

Dr. Duy Nguyen D.O. is a Board-Certified Psychiatrist at Beachway Therapy Center trained in general psychiatry who specializes in providing psychiatric care in a variety of settings including residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation, inpatient and outpatient mental health, and the VA Medical Center. Dr. Nguyen is committed to providing a high level of evidence-based psychiatric care in the drug rehabilitation setting in addition to having a holistic focus on healing and recovery.

About Beachway Therapy Center

http://www.beachway.com

Beachway provides a continuum of care, from PHP (Partial Hospitalization Program) to Outpatient services. The facility offers a fully individualized treatment plan that meets the clinical and medical needs of each client usually lasting between 30 and 90 days. Beachway provides an extremely low client to therapist ratio and under high-level professional supervision, clients can begin to recover in a safe, residential-like environment. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) motivational interviewing, addiction counseling, 12-Step orientation, DBT (dialectical behavioral therapy,) trauma-informed practices and a wide variety of supportive group therapies are offered

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sciwriteblog-blog · 7 years ago

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The Puzzle of Greater Male Variance

Abstract

Greater male variability on tests of mental ability would explain why males predominate not only at the highest levels in mathematics and science, but in business, politics, and nearly all aspects of life. The literature on sex differences in mental test scores was reviewed to determine whether males in fact exhibit greater variability. Two methods were used to compare sex differences in variability, ratios of total test score variances and ratios of the number of males and females scoring at or above extreme score cutoffs, or “tail ratios”. Most samples were greater than 10K. The review also included studies of physical traits such as height, weight, and blood parameters; brain volume measures; and studies of variability in four taxa, mammals, birds, insects, and butterflies. In the vast majority of total test score ratios, males were more variable than females. Males were more likely to score in the extreme right tail, indicating higher aptitude, on tests of mathematics and spatial ability in which mean sex differences favor males. On tests of writing, vocabulary, and spelling, in which mean differences favor females, males were more extreme in the left tail, indicating lower ability. Males also exhibited greater variance in physical traits, blood parameters, and brain volume measures. Similar variance differences were also found in animals. Genetic theory proposes that greater variability depends on which sex is heterogametic, that is, has two different sex chromosomes. In mammals and insects, this is the male sex, with the XY sex chromosome pair. In birds and butterflies, this is the female sex, with the WZ sex chromosome pair. It is heterogamety and not sex that determines which sex is more variable. This is because in the heterogametic sex, recessives on the single X or Z chromosome are fully expressed generating a binomial distribution with higher trait variance, while in the homogametic sex, recessive traits are averaged generating a normal distribution with lower trait variance. Females have improved their performance on mathematics tests for the gifted, with ratios falling from 13:1 favoring males in 1980 to 3:1 favoring males from 1990 onward, but the improvement has stopped. Heterogamety predicts that females, because they are homogametic, will never equal males not only in the right extreme of mathematics ability and other ability distributions but in the distribution of any trait influenced by the X chromosome.

In 2007, Psychological Science in the Public Interest published an issue devoted to sex differences in science and mathematics written by a group of contributors from fields such as neuroscience, gifted-studies, cognitive development, cognitive gender differences, and evolutionary psychology (Halpern, Benbow, Geary, Gur, Hyde, & Gernsbacher). Each author reviewed material from their specialty relating to the problem of female under-representation in mathematics- and science-based fields in academia, research, and industry. The group concluded that observed sex differences result from both genetic influences and sociocultural differences in the treatment of males and females, most certainly an anodyne conclusion of the kind expected from a committee of disparate experts.

The 2007 article was in part a response to the controversy following statements made two years earlier by then Harvard University president Lawrence Summers to the effect that there were fewer women in academia and industry because fewer women score at the highest levels on tests of aptitude predicting success in mathematics and the hard sciences. This was tantamount to saying that, at the highest ability levels, women are inferior to men. Summers’ statement about women was a major factor in his 2006 resignation as Harvard’s president. Regardless of campus politics, which also played a large role in his departure, the question remains, why do men dominate at the highest levels of mathematics, science, business, and industry?

Last year, the issue of sex differences arose again, this time in the citadels of technology, in particular the Silicon Valley offices of Google and the claim by one software engineer, James Damore (2017), that, among other things, “differences in distributions of traits between men and women may in part explain why we don't have 50% representation of women in tech and leadership.” This was Summers’ explanation exactly, and for offering it, Damore experienced a fate similar to Summers’: He was fired.

The topic of cognitive gender differences being much too broad for any one article, this paper considers only the issue of greater male variance on mental ability tests. This review updates the 2007 Public Interest article now that more than 10 years have passed and considers new findings, which include much larger samples of test data than were then available, and recent research published by geneticists and behavior geneticists shedding new light on this controversy.

The approach I’ve taken in this review was dictated by the issue under study, the variance of mental ability as reported in a wide range of aptitude and achievement tests of children and adolescents. While it might seem preferable to perform a meta analysis of many study results, the variance statistic does not lend itself to this approach. Pooling effect sizes from different samples can give a better estimate of true population mean difference than individual studies. But it is difficult to know what group is represented in the result when a meta-analysis is performed on heterogeneous variances. Studies of variance should be based on large nationally representative samples, not heterogeneous studies of selected groups, some based on selected samples, thrown together and christened a meta-analysis leaving the reader with the question, “What is the population the parameter of which is being described?” For a brief yet astute discussion of the perils of using meta-analysis to study sex differences in variance, see Hedges and Nowell (1995) Pages 41-42.

If meta-analysis is inappropriate, what other approach can one take? In the studies reviewed here, a wide variety of tests were given to children ranging in age from early childhood through late adolescence. I have chosen to review the 17 studies individually, presenting reported sex differences in means, variances, and tail ratios in separate tables for each study. After reviewing each study, I discuss its merits, for example, Did the study assess aptitude or achievement? Did subject age affect the results? What patterns exist across tests of domains such as verbal, mathematical, spatial, and science aptitude; change in variances over time, etc?

None of the data in the studies reviewed here were generated by the researchers for the purpose of comparing male and female variance, nor could it be, the sample sizes required are too large. In every instance, tests were given to meet an institutional requirement such as college entrance or by a government agency assessing student progress or teacher/school effectiveness. The sample sizes were large, some having tested or screened millions of students randomly sampled from large countries such as the U.S. and UK, and in one case, the PISA test of 276,165 15-year-old students from 41 developed and developing nations. The results were data sets that largely spoke for themselves with little data manipulation needed. In most cases, I have reproduced the key tables from each study to enable inspection of the supporting evidence for the issue under review.

Requirements to Show Sex Differences in Variability

Sources of Differences in the Right Tail of Distributions

Of interest here is the difference in the frequency of extreme scores in the tails of test-score distributions. More males will be found in the extreme right of a distribution if males have a higher mean and both sexes have the same variance, or if both sexes have the same mean but males have a greater variance, or if males have both a higher mean and greater variance. No studies with the exception of Nowell and Hedges (1998) using a method developed by Lewis and Willingham (1995) attempt to partition the relative frequencies of extreme scores into components due to mean differences and variance differences.

Measures of Sex Differences

Virtually all of the reviewed studies of sex differences report the mean sex difference and the total test score variance ratio or VR. They also report “tail ratios,” a proportion comparing the number of males and females scoring above a given cut off in the extremes of distributions.

Means are universally compared using Cohen’s d (1988), the mean difference standardized by the pooled within-groups standard deviation:

(MeanM – MeanF)/√(VarM + VarF)

Cohen’s (1988) criteria for assessing the importance of d are .20, small; .50, medium; and .80, large. In most of the studies reviewed below, d was calculated as male mean – female mean. In those few studies were it was calculated female mean – male mean, I reversed the sign and so noted in the footnotes to the tables where I did this.

The standard deviation is the most commonly used measure of test-score dispersion, but its square, the variance, is a better measure of variability because its ratio can be used to compare the variability of different groups. To do this for males and females, the simple ratio of male over female variance is computed:

VarM/VarF.

A ratio of 1.0 indicates equal male and female variances. Ratios larger (smaller) than 1.0 indicate greater (lesser) male variance. Feingold (1992) suggested that a difference of 10 percent in the variance, or a variance ratio of 1.10, is the minimal required for the difference to have substantive importance. In all of the studies, the variance ratios were calculated as male variance/female variance.

Tail ratios are a simple means of comparing performance at the extremes of test score distributions. The counts of males and females within the 10%, 5%, and .01% cutoffs provides the ratio of males and females performing at or above that level:

CountM/CountF.

Much like VR, a tail ratio of 1.0 indicates that the number of males and females scoring above a given cut off is equal. Ratios larger (smaller) than 1.0 indicate more (fewer) males scored at or above the cut off. An increase in tail ratios with successively higher cut offs indicates that a greater disproportion of males is scoring at higher levels and thus possesses to a greater degree whatever latent trait the test measures. In all of the studies, the count ratios were calculated as male variance/female variance.

Some studies look only at the right tail of the distribution. Samples selected for high scorers will reduce the variance by truncating the left side of the distribution. For these studies, is it not useful to estimate the population variance but rather to compare the counts of males and females scoring at or above a given cut off score, that is, tail ratios. Lewis and Willingham (1995) found that the mean sex difference in restricted samples was correlated with the variance difference.

Volunteers are known to differ from the general population. Children who volunteer for enrichment programs, or whose parents do the volunteering, are likely to be more motivated and different from a nation-wide sample of non-volunteer same-age children in intelligence, motivation, SES, race-ethnicity, etc.

Factors Affecting Variance Differences

Age. Haworth, Wright, Luciano, Martin, de Geus, van Beijsterveldt, & Plomin (2014). found that the heritability of general intelligence increases with age, from .41 to .55 to .66 at ages 9, 11, and 17 respectively, in a study that pooled 10,689 MZ and DZ twin pairs from six studies done in four countries. Others have suggested that heritability is as high as .80 in late adulthood (Johnson, Carothers, & Deary, 2009; Plomin & Deary, 2015). At the very least, tests should be of young adults although there is no large-scale testing of persons older than those taking graduate school admissions tests like the GRE.

Range Restriction. Because we are interested in the relative number of males and females scoring in the tails of the test distribution, there should be no ceiling or floor effects. An ideal test would have few or no zero or perfect scores to assure that the difficulty of the test matched the ability of the test takers.

Unselected Samples. Ideally, samples should be unselected to ensure that the full distribution of ability within a population is tested. This can be achieved with a procedure such as national probability sampling, which is the best means to obtain a truly representative sample of the nation as a whole. There are large samples of selected populations such as the SAT and GRE, tests used to screen students for college and graduate school. But these samples are neither random nor representative despite samples numbering in the millions.

Aptitude Versus Achievement Tests. Aptitude tests measure student ability and achievement tests measure student learning and school effectiveness. It is better to study tests of aptitude rather than achievement if we are studying ability although it is impossible to study any ability divorced from previous learning experience. Unfortunately, there are few large-scale studies of “culture-free” tests of intelligence, such as the Raven Progressive Matrices. Societies economically developed enough to do large-scale testing also have compulsory schooling usually through the American equivalent of high school. Large-scale testing is done with school children and adolescents to monitor their progress and to screen for college and graduate school admissions. An example of using large-scale testing over a range of ages is the No Child Left Behind program, which required regular testing of elementary and high school children to determine whether they were achieving specific learning goals and whether teachers were performing up to standard (Zelizer, 2015). Some schools whose students failed to progress adequately were closed. The diversion of classroom time and school resources away from instruction to prepare students for these achievement tests has been a source of parental complaints (Strauss, 2015). To the extent that test preparation becomes “teaching to the test,” sex differences in the means and variances will be reduced.

Genetic theory

This paper will show that the sex difference in variance is due to the difference in their chromosome allotment, namely the difference in the sex chromosomes, XX for females and XY for males. There is no difference between males and females with regard to the 22 pairs of somatic chromosomes, the autosomes. Both males and females have the same chromosomes and the same coding regions and alleles on all 22 pairs of autosomes. The random process by which they are assigned those alleles is the same for both sexes. But with the sex chromosomes, X and Y, the genetic allotment is different. Because the Y chromosome that men receive is vestigial, it leaves the X chromosome unpaired so that not only are dominant alleles fully expressed, recessive alleles are also fully expressed. In females, the pairing of two X-chromosomes means that recessive traits are expressed only if there are recessive alleles on both X chromosomes, which reduces the probability that the recessive trait is expressed to the square of the probability for males, one source of lower female variability.

Johnson et al. (2009) demonstrated how this works in a simple model of a single gene with two alleles on the male single X chromosome,

A and a,

that will have the maximum population variance of

0.5 x 0.5 = 0.25

when the allele frequencies are equal. For both the dominant and recessive alleles, their probability of expression is equal to their proportion in the genome.

Matters are different for females, who have three genotypes arising from the same two alleles because the two alleles, A and a, are on one of two different chromosomes, XX,

AA = 0.25, Aa = 0.50, and aa = 0.25.

In a perfect world, this would lead to reduced variance in females because the phenotypic expression of AA and Aa are the same when there is complete dominance and thus a lower population variance of

(0.25 + 0.50) x (1.0 - 0.75)

0.75 x 0.25 = 0.188.

But the fact that females have two X chromosomes while males have one complicates matters. This is an imbalance that nature corrects by silencing or “inactivating” one of the two female X chromosomes. Which X chromosome is silenced is randomly determined early in gestation when the embryo is between 8 and 16 cells (Craig et al., 2009). Half of these cells will have chromosome X1 with allele A and half will have chromosome X2 with allele a. This equal splitting of the two X chromosomes and their different alleles will lead to phenotypic expression that is the average of allele A and a. Because half the females have the heterozygous genotype Aa, and one-quarter each have the homozygous AA and aa genotypes, their distribution is more approximately normal and has a smaller variance than the binomial distribution of A and a in males. In short, this is the source of greater male variance and is discussed in greater detail below.

Published Studies

The following studies present in some detail what I think is the most comprehensive review extant of the literature bearing on the issue of male and female variance in mental ability testing. The studies reviewed unmistakably make the case that 1) males are more variable with regard to virtually all tests of mathematical, spatial, and science aptitude and achievement at both the high and low ends of the respective test score distributions and 2) many tests of verbal aptitude and achievement especially at the low end of the test score distributions.

Benbow and Stanley (1980, 1983)

The issue of differential variance was given it’s current prominence by Benbow and Stanley who reported in two papers (1980 and 1983) on sex differences in mathematics based on large samples of mostly 7th grade children who were given both the verbal and mathematics sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test as part of the Study of Mathematically Precious Youth (SMPY).

The SAT-Mathematics test (SAT-M) is normally taken by college-bound high school seniors, who at age 17 or 18, are 5 to 6 years older than the SMPY 7th graders, all of whom were age 12 except for a small number of 13 year olds in the early years of the study. Few of the SMPY children had taken algebra or had any formal training in the skills needed for the SAT-M. Benbow and Stanley (1980) gave the SAT-M not to test mathematical aptitude, but because the test was so far above the skill level of 7th graders that the SAT-M would be a test of their “numerical judgment, relational thinking, and logical reasoning.” Spearman (1904) would recognize the ability Benbow and Stanley were testing as general intelligence or g.

The 1980 report was based on the scores of 9,927 students who were recruited from the greater Baltimore region between 1972 and 1979 after scoring in the top 2 to 5 percent on a mathematics screening test. Tables 1 and 2 show the results for both the verbal and mathematics scores. Removing the 8th grade scores for December 1976 because of the small N, the mean d value of -.03 for the verbal scores shows that males and females were about equal in verbal reasoning and the mean variance ratio of 1.04 also suggests parity in variability. But the mean d value of .50 and the mean variance ratio of 1.58 for mathematics scores shows that males score a half standard deviation higher and were nearly 60 percent more variable than the females. The extreme mathematics scores were even more disparate, 16.6% of the males scoring above 600 but only 2.1% of the females.

In 1983, Benbow and Stanley reported results on the SAT-M from nearly 40,000 students in the mid-Atlantic region and another large group from a nationwide talent search within and beyond the Johns Hopkin’s talent search area. All students were under age 13. The results were similar to those from the earlier study. No difference was found in the SAT-Verbal, with the male and female means 367 and 365 respectively (Standard deviations not reported). But there was a 30-point mean difference on the SAT-Mathematics, with the male and female means 416 and 386 respectively. The variance ratio was 1.38, roughly the same as in 1980 and showing again that males are more variable than females. More importantly as shown in Table 3, the number of boys scoring above 700 on the SAT-M over both national search samples, was 13 times the number of girls (260:20), despite equal numbers of boys and girls taking the screening test.

Comment. Benbow and Stanley’s findings gave enormous impetus to research on sex differences in cognitive ability generally and to sex differences in variability specifically.

The extreme 13 to 1 ratio has become ingrained in the literature on sex differences in variability even though it has been out of date since 1990, the ratio now being 2.8:1, or in round numbers 3:1. Use of the SAT allowed Benbow and Stanley to avoid ceiling effects: Few students scored above 700, and in many years, no one scored a perfect 800. Their samples were young and highly selected, making it possible to generalize only to the very brightest students rather than to the population of seventh graders as a whole. The students were volunteers, a special group that probably differs in many ways from students in general although it is unlikely that these factors substantially affected the differential pattern of scoring. Comparing means and total score variances between two groups all of whom are in the right tail of the score distribution is questionable.

Benbow and Stanley (1980, 1983) were among the earliest to note that the traditional arguments made to explain the lower numbers of extremely able females in mathematics, such as lack of opportunity to study math and social attitudes discouraging females from pursuing careers in math and science, would create mean differences between the sexes not variance differences. Benbow and Stanley also noted that through 11th grade, boys and girls have taken the same math courses, obtain about the same grades, and rate similarly their liking for mathematics and their perception of mathematics as important. Summarizing their assessment of theories explaining male superiority at the highest score levels in their 1980 report, Benbow and Stanley stated that “boy-versus-girl socialization” as the only acceptable explanation of the sex difference is “premature,” and in 1983, said that the reasons boys “dominate the highest ranges of mathematical reasoning ability were unclear.”

#The SAT-Mathematics test (SAT-M) is normally taken by college-bound high school seniors who at age 17 or 18 are 5 to 6 years older than the

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literatelobstersareliterate · 7 years ago

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Boltzmann's Anthropic Brain - Cosmic Variance

By Sean Carroll | August 1, 2006 9:08 am

A recent post of Jen-Luc’s reminded me of Huw Price and his work on temporal asymmetry. The problem of the arrow of time — why is the past different from the future, or equivalently, why was the entropy in the early universe so much smaller than it could have been? — has attracted physicists’ attention (although not as much as it might have) ever since Boltzmann explained the statistical origin of entropy over a hundred years ago. It’s a deceptively easy problem to state, and correspondingly difficult to address, largely because the difference between the past and the future is so deeply ingrained in our understanding of the world that it’s too easy to beg the question by somehow assuming temporal asymmetry in one’s purported explanation thereof. Price, an Australian philosopher of science, has made a specialty of uncovering the hidden assumptions in the work of numerous cosmologists on the problem. Boltzmann himself managed to avoid such pitfalls, proposing an origin for the arrow of time that did not secretly assume any sort of temporal asymmetry. He did, however, invoke the anthropic principle — probably one of the earliest examples of the use of anthropic reasoning to help explain a purportedly-finely-tuned feature of our observable universe. But Boltzmann’s anthropic explanation for the arrow of time does not, as it turns out, actually work, and it provides an interesting cautionary tale for modern physicists who are tempted to travel down that same road.

The Second Law of Thermodynamics — the entropy of a closed system will not spontaneously decrease — was understood well before Boltzmann. But it was a phenomenological statement about the behavior of gasses, lacking a deeper interpretation in terms of the microscopic behavior of matter. That’s what Boltzmann provided. Pre-Boltzmann, entropy was thought of as a measure of the uselessness of arrangements of energy. If all of the gas in a certain box happens to be located in one half of the box, we can extract useful work from it by letting it leak into the other half — that’s low entropy. If the gas is already spread uniformly throughout the box, anything we could do to it would cost us energy — that’s high entropy. The Second Law tells us that the universe is winding down to a state of maximum uselessness.

Boltzmann suggested that the entropy was really counting the number of ways we could arrange the components of a system (atoms or whatever) so that it really didn’t matter. That is, the number of different microscopic states that were macroscopically indistinguishable. (If you’re worried that “indistinguishable” is in the eye of the beholder, you have every right to be, but that’s a separate puzzle.) There are far fewer ways for the molecules of air in a box to arrange themselves exclusively on one side than there are for the molecules to spread out throughout the entire volume; the entropy is therefore much higher in the latter case than the former. With this understanding, Boltzmann was able to “derive” the Second Law in a statistical sense — roughly, there are simply far more ways to be high-entropy than to be low-entropy, so it’s no surprise that low-entropy states will spontaneously evolve into high-entropy ones, but not vice-versa. (Promoting this sensible statement into a rigorous result is a lot harder than it looks, and debates about Boltzmann’s H-theorem continue merrily to this day.)

Boltzmann’s understanding led to both a deep puzzle and an unexpected consequence. The microscopic definition explained why entropy would tend to increase, but didn’t offer any insight into why it was so low in the first place. Suddenly, a thermodynamics problem became a puzzle for cosmology: why did the early universe have such a low entropy? Over and over, physicists have proposed one or another argument for why a low-entropy initial condition is somehow “natural” at early times. Of course, the definition of “early” is “low-entropy”! That is, given a change in entropy from one end of time to the other, we would always define the direction of lower entropy to be the past, and higher entropy to be the future. (Another fascinating but separate issue — the process of “remembering” involves establishing correlations that inevitably increase the entropy, so the direction of time that we remember [and therefore label “the past”] is always the lower-entropy direction.) The real puzzle is why there is such a change — why are conditions at one end of time so dramatically different from those at the other? If we do not assume temporal asymmetry a priori, it is impossible in principle to answer this question by suggesting why a certain initial condition is “natural” — without temporal aymmetry, the same condition would be equally natural at late times. Nevertheless, very smart people make this mistake over and over, leading Price to emphasize what he calls the Double Standard Principle: any purportedly natural initial condition for the universe would be equally natural as a final condition.

The unexpected consequence of Boltzmann’s microscopic definition of entropy is that the Second Law is not iron-clad — it only holds statistically. In a box filled with uniformly-distributed air molecules, random motions will occasionally (although very rarely) bring them all to one side of the box. It is a traditional undergraduate physics problem to calculate how often this is likely to happen in a typical classroom-sized box; reasurringly, the air is likely to be nice and uniform for a period much much much longer than the age of the observable universe.

Faced with the deep puzzle of why the early universe had a low entropy, Boltzmann hit on the bright idea of taking advantage of the statistical nature of the Second Law. Instead of a box of gas, think of the whole universe. Imagine that it is in thermal equilibrium, the state in which the entropy is as large as possible. By construction the entropy can’t possibly increase, but it will tend to fluctuate, every so often diminishing just a bit and then returning to its maximum. We can even calculate how likely the fluctuations are; larger downward fluctuations of the entropy are much (exponentially) less likely than smaller ones. But eventually every kind of fluctuation will happen.

You can see where this is going: maybe our universe is in the midst of a fluctuation away from its typical state of equilibrium. The low entropy of the early universe, in other words, might just be a statistical accident, the kind of thing that happens every now and then. On the diagram, we are imagining that we live either at point A or point B, in the midst of the entropy evolving between a small value and its maximum. It’s worth emphasizing that A and B are utterly indistinguishable. People living in A would call the direction to the left on the diagram “the past,” since that’s the region of lower entropy; people living at B, meanwhile, would call the direction to the right “the past.”

During the overwhelming majority of such a universe’s history, there is no entropy gradient at all — everything just sits there in a tranquil equilibrium. So why should we find ourselves living in those extremely rare bits where things are evolving through a fluctuation? The same reason why we find ourselves living in a relatively pleasant planetary atmosphere, rather than the forbiddingly dilute cold of intergalactic space, even though there’s much more of the latter than the former — because that’s where we can live. Here Boltzmann makes an unambiguously anthropic move. There exists, he posits, a much bigger universe than we can see; a multiverse, if you will, although it extends through time rather than in pockets scattered through space. Much of that universe is inhospitable to life, in a very basic way that doesn’t depend on the neutron-proton mass difference or other minutiae of particle physics. Nothing worthy of being called “life” can possibly exist in thermal equilibrium, where conditions are thoroughly static and boring. Life requires motion and evolution, riding the wave of increasing entropy. But, Boltzmann reasons, because of occasional fluctuations there will always be some points in time where the entropy is temporarily evolving (there is an entropy gradient), allowing for the existence of life — we can live there, and that’s what matters.

Here is where, like it or not, we have to think carefully about what anthropic reasoning can and cannot buy us. On the one hand, Boltzmann’s fluctuations of entropy around equilibrium allow for the existence of dynamical regions, where the entropy is (just by chance) in the midst of evolving to or from a low-entropy minimum. And we could certainly live in one of those regions — nothing problematic about that. The fact that we can’t directly see the far past (before the big bang) or the far future in such a scenario seems to me to be quite beside the point. There is almost certainly a lot of universe out there that we can’t see; light moves at a finite speed, and the surface of last scattering is opaque, so there is literally a screen around us past which we can’t see. Maybe all of the unobserved universe is just like the observed bit, but maybe not; it would seem the height of hubris to assume that everything we don’t see must be just like what we do. Boltzmann’s goal is perfectly reasonable: to describe a history of the universe on ultra-large scales that is on the one hand perfectly natural and not finely-tuned, and on the other features patches that look just like what we see.

But, having taken a bite of the apple, we have no choice but to swallow. If the only thing that one’s multiverse does is to allow for regions that resemble our observed universe, we haven’t accomplished anything; it would have been just as sensible to simply posit that our universe looks the way it does, and that’s the end of it. We haven’t truly explained any of the features we observed, simply provided a context in which they can exist; but it would have been just as acceptable to say “that’s the way it is” and stop there. If the anthropic move is to be meaningful, we have to go further, and explain why within this ensemble it makes sense to observe the conditions we do. In other words, we have to make some conditional predictions: given that our observable universe exhibits property X (like “substantial entropy gradient”), what other properties Y should we expect to measure, given the characteristics of the ensemble as a whole?

And this is where Boltzmann’s program crashes and burns. (In a way that is ominous for similar attempts to understand the cosmological constant, but that’s for another day.) Let’s posit that the universe is typically in thermal equilibrium, with occasional fluctuations down to low-entropy states, and that we live in the midst of one of those fluctuations because that’s the only place hospitable to life. What follows?

The most basic problem has been colorfully labeled “Boltzmann’s Brain” by Albrecht and Sorbo. Remember that the low-entropy fluctuations we are talking about are incredibly rare, and the lower the entropy goes, the rarer they are. If it almost never happens that the air molecules in a room all randomly zip to one half, it is just as unlikely (although still inevitable, given enough time) that, given that they did end up in half, they will continue on to collect in one quarter of the room. On the diagram above, points like C are overwhelmingly more common than points like A or B. So if we are explaining our low-entropy universe by appealing to the anthropic criterion that it must be possible for intelligent life to exist, quite a strong prediction follows: we should find ourselves in the minimum possible entropy fluctuation consistent with life’s existence.

And that minimum fluctuation would be “Boltzmann’s Brain.” Out of the background thermal equilibrium, a fluctuation randomly appears that collects some degrees of freedom into the form of a conscious brain, with just enough sensory apparatus to look around and say “Hey! I exist!”, before dissolving back into the equilibrated ooze.

You might object that such a fluctuation is very rare, and indeed it is. But so would be a fluctuation into our whole universe — in fact, quite a bit more rare. The momentary decrease in entropy required to produce such a brain is fantastically less than that required to make our whole universe. Within the infinite ensemble envisioned by Boltzmann, the overwhelming majority of brains will find themselves disembodied and alone, not happily ensconsed in a warm and welcoming universe filled with other souls. (You know, like ours.)

This is the general thrust of argument with which many anthropic claims run into trouble. Our observed universe has something like a hundred billion galaxies with something like a hundred billion stars each. That’s an extremely expansive and profligate universe, if its features are constrained solely by the demand that we exist. Very roughly speaking, anthropic arguments would be more persuasive if our universe was minimally constructed to allow for our existence; e.g. if the vacuum energy were small enough to allow for a single galaxy to arise out of a really rare density fluctuation. Instead we have a hundred billion such galaxies, not to count all of those outside our Hubble radius — an embarassment of riches, really.

But, returning to Boltzmann, it gets worse, in an interesting and profound way. Let’s put aside the Brain argument for a moment, and insist for some reason that our universe did fluctuate somehow into the kind of state in which we currently find ourselves. That is, here we are, with all of our knowledge of the past, and our observations indicating a certain history of the observable cosmos. But, to be fair, we don’t have detailed knowledge of the microstate corresponding to this universe — the position and momentum of each and every particle within our past light cone. Rather, we know some gross features of the macrostate, in which individual atoms can be safely re-arranged without our noticing anything.

Now we can ask: assuming that we got to this macrostate via some fluctuation out of thermal equilibrium, what kind of trajectory is likely to have gotten us here? Sure, we think that the universe was smaller and smoother in the past, galaxies evolved gradually from tiny density perturbations, etc. But what we actually have access to are the positions and momenta of the photons that are currently reaching our telescopes. And the fact is, given all of the possible past histories of the universe consistent with those photons reaching us, in the vast majority of them the impression that we are observing an even-lower-entropy past is an accident. If all pasts consistent with our current macrostate are equally likely, there are many more in which the past was a chaotic mess, in which a vast conspiracy gave rise to our false impression that the past was orderly. In other words, if we ask “What kind of early universe tends to naturally evolve into what we see?”, the answer is the ordinary smooth and low-entropy Big Bang. But here we are asking “What do most of the states that could possibly evolve into our current universe look like?”, and the answer there is a chaotic high-entropy mess.

Of course, nobody in their right minds believes that we really did pop out of a chaotic mess into a finely-tuned state with false memories about the Big Bang (although young-Earth creationists do believe that things were arranged by God to trick us into thinking that the universe is much older than it really is, which seems about as plausible). We assume instead that our apparent memories are basically reliable, which is a necessary assumption to make sensible statements of any form. Boltzmann’s scenario just doesn’t quite fit together, unfortunately.

Price’s conclusion from all this (pdf) is that we should take seriously the Gold universe, in which there is a low-entropy future collapsing state that mirrors our low-entropy Big Bang in the past. It’s an uncomfortable answer, as nobody knows any reason why there should be low-entropy boundary conditions in both the past and the future, which would involve an absurd amount of fine-tuning of our particular microstate at every instant of time. (Not to mention that the universe shows no sign of wanting to recollapse.) The loophole that Price and many other people (quite understandably) overlook is that the Big Bang need not be the true beginning of the universe. If the Bang was a localized baby universe in a larger background spacetime, as Jennie Chen and I have suggested (paper here), we can comply with the Double Standard Princple by having high-entropy conditions in both the far past and the far future. That doesn’t mean that we have completely avoided the problem that doomed Boltzmann’s idea; it is still necessary to show that baby universes would most often look like what we see around us, rather than (for example) much smaller spaces with only one galaxy each. And this whole “baby universe” idea is, shall we say, a mite speculative. But explaining the difference in entropy between the past and future is at least as fundamental, if not more so, as explaining the horizon and flatness problems with which cosmologists are so enamored. If we’re going to presume to talk sensibly and scientifically about the entire history of the universe, we have to take Boltzmann’s legacy seriously.

(via Boltzmann's Anthropic Brain - Cosmic Variance : Cosmic Variance)

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kristinsimmons · 7 years ago

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Questioning the Link Between Sports-Related Concussions and CTE

By JASON CHUNG, PETER CUMMINGS and UZAMA SAMADANI

On Jan. 18, an article by Dr. Lee Goldstein of Boston University and colleagues in Brain, a leading neurological journal, was released and touted as proving the link between subconcussive hits to the head and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) (“Real risk of CTE comes from repeated hits to the head, study shows,” Feb. 4). That same day the CTE advocacy group — the Concussion Legacy Foundation — announced a national campaign called F14G Football to convert all under-14 football into flag football, thereby eliminating tackle football.

The message sent to assembled media and onlookers was that eliminating tackle football for youth is the key to safeguarding the brains and futures of America’s youth.

The truth is not so simple.

The scientific evidence linking youth casual sports play to brain injury, brain injury to CTE, and CTE to dementia is not strong. We believe that further scientific research and data are necessary for accurate risk-benefit analysis among policymakers for two reasons.

First, evidence-based science calls for research to be conducted under generally accepted principles. The case series presented by the Boston University group, primarily due to its ascertainment bias, is weaker than the evidentiary standard sufficient to demonstrate an association or causation and conflicts with pathologic findings in other studies.

CTE pathology in the brain has been shown by British pathologists to be present in approximately 12 percent of normal healthy aged people who died at an average age of 81 years (Ling et al. Acta Neuropathologica). The presence of CTE pathology in the brain on autopsy has not been shown to correlate with neurologic symptoms before death.

To be clear, CTE pathology could be present in a normal person.

Indeed, even Dr. Goldstein’s article was more measured than his press. His article speaks in terms of likelihoods and qualifiers in noting that “the causal mechanisms, temporal relationships, and contextual circumstances that link specific brain pathology to a particular antemortem insult are impossible to ascertain with certainty based solely on post-mortem neuropathology.”

There is a disconnect between the categorical rhetoric in media and news releases describing “concussion” research on the one hand, and the muddled and contentious scientific reality on the other. As noted by Dr. Goldstein’s own research, the pathology and link between head impacts and long-term neurological conditions such as CTE is still unclear, with questions of causation yet to be settled.

This is not to say that head impacts or injuries are desirable — far from it. But there is scientific ambiguity about the prevalence of CTE in the general population in comparison to professional athletes and also about the significance of its presence. In fact, after reviewing all available evidence, the consensus statement from the international conference on concussion in sports states:

“A cause-and-effect relationship has not yet been demonstrated between [CTE] and sport-related concussions or exposure to contact sports. As such, the notion that repeated concussion or subconcussive impacts cause CTE remains unknown.”

Nothing in Dr. Goldstein’s recent study changes this ambiguity, which brings us to our second point. Before enacting sweeping legislation or policy spurred by fears of CTE, policymakers must conduct a risk-benefit analysis based on a holistic survey of public health concerns.

American youth are currently more sedentary than ever before. Compelling evidence from multiple sources shows that organized sports offer youth a way off the couch and promote the adoption of an active lifestyle, thereby mitigating the risks of, among other conditions, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, stroke, drug use, teen pregnancy and, ironically, dementia.

The uncomfortable truth is that tackle football is the number one participation sport among high schoolers in America; it is accessible to children with diverse physiology in ways that other sports are not, and greater public consultation should take place to see if participation rates would remain as high for alternatives to tackle football.

Three recently published major studies found no increased risk for later-in-life brain diseases in men who played high school football (Jannsen et al., Mayo Clinic Proceedings; Savica et al., Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Deshpande et al., Jama Neurology). One might also speculate that children who engage in football would seek other less organized risk-taking behaviors if football were not an option.

Setting legislation and public policy is already a tricky process and overstating the degree to which scientific consensus exists may lead to pyrrhic victories. What we seek to establish are meaningful and durable standards based on validated and replicated diagnostic criteria so that the public health response to head impacts and CTE are not emotive or political, but data-driven. The political winds being as fickle as they are, laws and policies enacted without such scientific support will be vulnerable to backlash from those with deep economic and cultural ties to contact sports such as tackle football, to rejection by the scientific community, and to general confusion and misunderstanding by the public.

In the drive to protect young brains, there are not just two sides. Not everyone is a moral crusader or an NFL stooge. No reasonable person, least of all the professionals signing this letter, want to see youth injured. But when arguing for intervention based on public health or scientific principles, the data must inform the recommendation.

Additional data is required to make a truly informed decision regarding banning of sports. What is desperately needed are 1) funding from federal and private sources to launch longitudinal, multicenter statistically sound studies, 2) consistent coordinated measures and standards, and 3) facilitation from either government or a consortia of concussion research centers.

Only then will we know whether the perceived neurological risks of tackle football outweigh the benefits. And only then can we more confidently say that we are acting in the public interest.

Jason Chung is senior researcher and attorney at New York University Sports and Society. Peter Cummings is a forensic pathologist and neuropathologist and assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the Boston University School of Medicine. Uzma Samadani is an associate professor in neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota and Rockswold Kaplan endowed chair for traumatic brain injury at Hennepin County Medical Center. This article is submitted on behalf of 26 brain injury experts in neurosurgery, neuropsychology, neurology, neuropathology and public policy at 23 universities and hospitals in the United States and Canada.

The additional signatories are:

Lili-Naz Hazrati, associate professor of neuropathology at the University of Toronto; clinician-scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.

John Leddy, professor of clinical orthopaedics and rehabilitation sciences at the SUNY Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Barry Willer, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the SUNY Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Rocco Armonda, president of ThinkFirst, a brain injury prevention foundation; director, neuroendovascular surgery and neurotrauma, and co-director, neurocritical care; professor of neurosurgery, Georgetown University Hospital and Washington Hospital Center.

Jason H. Huang, chair, Department of Neurosurgery at Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Temple, Texas, and professor of surgery at Texas A&M University College of Medicine.

Kenneth Blumenfeld, adjunct clinical faculty, Department of Neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco; immediate past president of the California Association of Neurologic Surgeons; AANS delegate to the AMA.

Richard B. Rodgers, assistant professor of clinical neurosurgery and director of neurotrauma at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

James MacDonald, clinical associate professor of pediatrics and family medicine at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Division of Sports Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Michael W. Kirkwood, founder and co-director of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Concussion Program and associate clinical professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

David R. Howell, lead researcher for the Sports Medicine Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado and assistant professor of orthopedics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

Gary S. Solomon, professor of neurological surgery, associate professor of orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation and psychiatry and behavioral sciences; co-director, Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Mark E. Halstead, associate professor of pediatrics and orthopedics at Washington University in St Louis and director of the Sports Concussion Clinic at St Louis Children’s Hospital.

Francis X. Shen, associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota and senior fellow in law and neuroscience at the Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain and Behavior and the Harvard Law School Petrie-Flom Center.

Mark Herceg, director of the Center for Brain Health and the Center for Concussion at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare in Wallingford, Conn.

William B. Barr, director of the neuropsychology division, Department of Neurology, at New York University Langone Health.

Arthur Maerlender, associate research professor and director of clinical research, Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; research director for the Big Ten-Ivy League Traumatic Brain Injury Research Collaboration.

Mayumi Prins, professor, UCLA Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Injury Research Center and associate director of the UCLA Steve Tisch BrainSPORT program.

Gregory Murad, associate professor and residency program director at the University of Florida Lillian S. Wells Department of Neurosurgery.

Peter Le Roux, neurosurgeon at the Brain and Spine Center at the Lankenau Medical Center in Pennsylvania.

Vernon B. Williams, director, Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai.

Michael G. Fehlings, professor of neurosurgery and vice chair of research, Department of Surgery, Halbert Chair in Neural Repair and Regeneration, co-chairman of spinal program, University of Toronto, Head Spinal Program; senior scientist, McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network.

P. David Adelson, director, Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Diane and Bruce Halle Endowed Chair in Pediatric Neurosciences; chief, pediatric neurosurgery.

Shelly Timmons, neurosurgeon and professor, Department of Neurosurgery; vice chair, administration, and director of neurotrauma at the Pennsylvania State University Milton S. Hershey Medical Center; president, American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

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