Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius or one-humped camel) is one of a half-dozen of camel species left on the planet, including llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and guanacos in South America, as well as its cousin, the two-humped Bactrian camel. All evolved from a common ancestor some 40-45 million years ago in North America. The dromedary was probably domesticated from wild ancestors roaming in the Arabian peninsula. Scholars believe that the likely site of domestication was in coastal settlements along the southern Arabian peninsula somewhere between 3000 and 2500 BC. Like its cousin the Bactrian camel, the dromedary carries energy in the form of fat in its hump and abdomen and can survive on little or no water or food for quite a long period. As such, the dromedary was (and is) prized for its ability to endure treks across the arid deserts of the Middle East and Africa. Camel transport greatly enhanced overland trade throughout Arabia particularly during the Iron Age, extending international contacts throughout the region along caravansaries. Art and Incense Dromedaries are illustrated as being hunted in New Kingdom Egyptian art during the Bronze Age (12th century BC), and by the Late Bronze Age, they were fairly ubiquitous across Arabia. Herds are attested from Iron Age Tell Abraq on the Persian Gulf. The dromedary is associated with the emergence of the incense route, along the western edge of the Arabian peninsula; and the ease of camel travel compared to substantially more dangerous sea navigation increased the use of overland trade routes connecting the Sabaean and later trading establishments between Axum and the Swahili Coast and the rest of the world. Archaeological Sites Archaeological evidence for early dromedary use includes the predynastic site of Qasr Ibrim, in Egypt, where camel dung was identified about 900 BC, and because of its location interpreted as dromedary. Dromedaries did not become ubiquitous in the Nile Valley until about 1,000 years later. The earliest reference to dromedaries in Arabia is the Sihi mandible, a camelid bone direct-dated to ca 7100-7200 BC. Sihi is a Neolithic coastal site in Yemen, and the bone is probably a wild dromedary: it is about 4,000 years earlier than the site itself. See Grigson and others (1989) for additional information about Sihi. Dromedaries have been identified at sites in southeastern Arabia beginning between 5000-6000 years ago. The site of Mleiha in Syria includes a camel graveyard, dated between 300 BC and 200 AD. Finally, dromedaries from the Horn of Africa were found at the Ethiopian site of Laga Oda, dated 1300-1600 AD. The bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus or two-humped camel) is related to, but, as it turns out, not descended from the wild bactrian camel (C. bactrianus ferus), the only survivor species of the ancient old world camel. Domestication and Habitats Archaeological evidence indicates that the bactrian camel was domesticated in Mongolia and China about 5,000-6,000 years ago, from a now-extinct form of camel. By the 3rd millennium BC, the bactrian camel was spread throughout much of Central Asia. Evidence for the domestication of Bactrian camels has been found as early as 2600 BC at Shahr-i Sokhta (also known as the Burnt City), Iran. Wild bactrians have small, pyramid-shaped humps, thinner legs and a smaller and slender body then their domestic counterparts. A recent genome study of wild and domestic forms (Jirimutu and colleagues) suggested that one characteristic selected for during the domestication process may have been enriched olfactory receptors, the molecules which are responsible for the detection of odors. The original habitat of the bactrian camel extended from the Yellow River in Gansu province of northwest China through Mongolia to central Kazakhstan. Its cousin the wild form lives in northwestern China and southwestern Mongolia particularly in the Outer Altai Gobi Desert. Today, bactrians are mainly herded in the cold deserts of Mongolia and China, where they contribute significantly to the local camel herding economy. Attractive Characteristics Camel characteristics which attracted people to domesticate them are pretty obvious. Camels are biologically adapted to harsh conditions of deserts and semi-deserts, and thus they make it possible for people to travel through or even live in those deserts, despite the aridity and lack of grazing. Daniel Potts (University of Sydney) once called the bactrian the principal means of locomotion for the Silk Road bridge between the old world cultures of the east and west. Bactrians store energy as fat in their humps and abdomens, which enables them to survive for long periods without food or water. In a single day, a camels body temperature can vary safely between an astounding 34-41 degrees Celsius (93-105.8 degrees Fahrenheit). In addition, camels can tolerate a high dietary intake of salt, more than eight times that of cattle and sheep. Recent Research Geneticists (Ji et al.) have recently discovered that feral bactrian, C. bactrianus ferus, is not a direct ancestor, as had been assumed prior to the onset of DNA research, but is instead a separate lineage from a progenitor species which has now disappeared from the planet. There are currently six subspecies of bactrian camel, all descendant from the single bactrian population of the unknown progenitor species. They are divided based on morphological characteristics: C. bactrianus xinjiang, C.b. sunite, C.b. alashan, C.B. red, C.b. brown, and C.b. normal. A behavioral study found that bactrian camels older than 3 months are not allowed to suck milk from their mothers, but have learned to steal milk from other mares in the herd (Brandlova et al.) See page one for information about the  Dromedary Camel.   Sources Boivin, Nicole. Shell Middens, Ships and Seeds: Exploring Coastal Subsistence, Maritime Trade and the Dispersal of Domesticates in and Around the Ancient Arabian Peninsula. Journal of World Prehistory, Dorian Q. Fuller, Volume 22, Issue 2, SpringerLink, June 2009. Brandlov K, BartoÃ… ¡ L, and Haberov T. 2013. Camel calves as opportunistic milk thefts? The first description of allosuckling in domestic bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus). PLoS One 8(1):e53052. Burger PA, and Palmieri N. 2013. Estimating the Population Mutation Rate from a de novo Assembled Bactrian Camel Genome and Cross-Species Comparison with Dromedary ESTs. Journal of Heredity: March 1, 2013. Cui P, Ji R, Ding F, Qi D, Gao H, Meng H, Yu J, Hu S, and Zhang H. 2007. A complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the wild two-humped camel (Camelus bactrianus ferus): an evolutionary history of camelidae. BMC Genomics 8:241. Gifford-Gonzalez, Diane. Domesticating Animals in Africa: Implications of Genetic and Archaeological Findings. Journal of World Prehistory, Olivier Hanotte, Volume 24, Issue 1, SpringerLink, May 2011. Grigson C, Gowlett JAJ, and Zarins J. 1989. The Camel in Arabia: A Direct Radiocarbon Date, Calibrated to about 7000 BC. Journal of Archaeological Science 16:355-362. Ji R, Cui P, Ding F, Geng J, Gao H, Zhang H, Yu J, Hu S, and Meng H. 2009. Monophyletic origin of domestic bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and its evolutionary relationship with the extant wild camel (Camelus bactrianus ferus). Animal Genetics 40(4):377-382. Jirimutu, Wang Z, Ding G, Chen G, Sun Y, Sun Z, Zhang H, Wang L, Hasi S et al. (The Bactrian Camels Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium) 2012. Genome sequences of wild and domestic bactrian camels. Nature Communications 3:1202. Uerpmann HP. 1999. Camel and horse skeletons from protohistoric graves at Mleiha in the Emirate of Sharjah (U.A.E.). Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 10(1):102-118. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0471.1999.tb00131.x Vigne J-D. 2011. The origins of animal domestication and husbandry: A major change in the history of humanity and the biosphere. Comptes Rendus Biologies 334(3):171-181.

Finding Text Complexity in a Three-Word Poem

Finding Text Complexity in a Three-Word Poem The length of a poem does not define its text complexity. Take, for example, the world’s shortest poem: FleasAdamhadem Thats it. Three words, actually two if you consider the contraction hadem as one word. The poem’s attribution is generally given to Ogden Nash (1902-1971) although there are some who credit Shel Silverstein (1931-1999). An article by Eric Shackle, however, found the originator of the poem was Strickland Gillilan (1869-1954). The article notes: At last, after searching dozens of websites, we discovered the identity of the mystery poet. It was revealed on a US National Park Service website describing Mount Rainier National Park. The Mt Rainier Nature News Notes of July 1, 1927, contained this brief item:THE SHORTEST POEM: We like poetry but we cannot stand it in too large doses. The following, which according to its author, Strickland Gillilan, is the shortest poem existing, deals with the antiquity of bugs.It runs thus: Adam had em! This short poem would meet the three standards for measuring text complexity according to the Common Core: 1. Qualitative Evaluation of the Text: This measure refers to the levels of meaning, structure, language conventionality and clarity, and knowledge demands. Teachers can review three poetic terms in this three word poem by pointing out that despite its brevity, the structure is a rhyming couplet of iambic meter. There is even an internal rhyme with the â€Å"am† and â€Å"em† sounds. There are even more figurative devices in the poem beginning with the name Adam in the first line. This is a literary allusion from the Bible as Adam is the proper name given to the first man created by God in Genesis. His companion Eve, the first woman, is not mentioned, it’s not â€Å"Adam and Eve/ had’em.† That could place the setting of the poem earlier in the Bible than her appearance in Genesis 2:20. Despite the allusion to a religious text, the tone of the poem is casual because of the contraction, â€Å"had’em.†   The title â€Å"Fleas† associated with the character Adam is comical since it implies a certain level of uncleanliness. There is even a bit of ownership since Adam had fleas, the fleas dont â€Å"have Adam,† and the use of the past tense â€Å"had† infers that he might now be cleaner. 2. Quantitative Evaluation of the Text: This measure refers to readability measures and other scores of text complexity. Using an online readability calculator, the three word poem’s average grade level is a 0.1.    3. Matching Reader to Text and Task: This measure refers to reader variables (such as motivation, knowledge, and experiences) and task variables (the complexity generated by the task assigned and the questions posed) In reading this three word poem, students would have to activate their background knowledge about fleas, and some of them might know that that scientists   recently concluded that fleas probably fed on dinosaurs as they need to feed on warm vertebrates blood. Many students will know the role of fleas in history as the transmitters of plagues and diseases. A few students may know that they are wingless insects that jump as high and as wide as an 8.5† X 11†. Explained in the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) section of The Common Core State Standards is the description that they were built to â€Å"create a staircase of increasing text complexity, so that students are expected to both develop their skills and apply them to more and more complex texts.† The three word poem â€Å"Fleas† may be a little step on the text complexity staircase, but it can provide a workout of critical thinking even for the upper grade students.

The works of Archimedes Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The works of Archimedes - Term Paper Example Codex C, of Byzantine origin in the tenth century, retains the only existing copies of On the Method of Mechanical Theorems, On the Measurement of the Circle, On the Sphere and Cylinder, On Spiral Lines, On the Equilibrium of Planes and his most famous work On Floating Bodies. However, the authors of "Infinite Possibilities: Ten Years of Study of the Archimedes Palimpsest" believe that On the Method of Mechanical Theorems â€Å"†¦is arguably the most significant, as it outlines Archimedes' thinking process for proving mathematical conjectures based upon mechanical analogies† (Easton and Noel 55). On Floating Bodies is the first known work on the science of hydrostatics and Archimedes is generally accepted as the father of that discipline. His bathtub Aha! moment became forever known as Archimedes’ Principle, which is generally stated as, "A body immersed in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced" (Luhr 73). This principle also st ates that there is another force that takes place on the surface of liquids that acts on the floating body and is called buoyancy. â€Å"†¦there is a buoyancy force on a floating object equal to the weight of the displaced liquid" (Potter and Wiggert 26). ... When Archimedes realized that his own body displaced the water in his bath the same way that crown would if immersed, â€Å"He thus was able to measure the volume of the crown, calculate its density, and thereby prove that it was not pure gold—to the misfortune of the dishonest goldsmith† (Marshall Cavendish 385). Density is the mass per unit volume of a substance. Several instruments and methods have been developed from Archimedes original ideas here. This includes measuring the density of the liquid itself. A graduated hydrometer is one such instrument. This is usually made out of a long glass tube that has a scale inside it and a weighted bulb on the end. The liquid to be tested is put into a tall graduated cylinder and the hydrometer is lowered in until it floats freely, and the density, or specific gravity, of the fluid can be seen in the scale. These devises have many applications from testing battery acid, to the level of cream in a container of milk (Marshall Ca vendish). Another is the Mohr-Westphal balance which can measure the weight of a solid object both in air and as well as in a liquid. â€Å"In a typical measurement, the apparent weight of the sinker in air, in water, and in the liquid of interest is measured. The ratio of the apparent change of weight in the—liquid to that in water, when multiplied by the density of water, is the density of the liquid† (Marshall Cavendish 386). A third is the pycnometer, which consists of a vessel that holds a precise amount of a volume of liquid. The volume that It hold is determined by filling it with a liquid of known density, it is then emptied and a solid is placed inside and the weight of the combination is measured. â€Å"From the weight of the liquid that is added, the volume not occupied by the solid

Financial Aspects of Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Aspects of Business - Essay Example It took 20 years for the industry to reach the one billion user mark, but over the last three years the amount of users double to surpass the three billion user mark (Cellular-News). According to Wireless intelligence the exact amount of cellular users is 2.5 billion. 3G technology has revolutionized this industry. 3G is a third generation cellular technology which is associated with services such as simultaneous transfer of both voice and data, downloading information, exchanging email, and instant messaging (Wikipedia). The cellular device has become more than just a handheld phone. The evolution of the capabilities of mobile phones has created new opportunities for companies to generate revenues. Downloading songs for the phone device is an example of an opportunity to create income. The services related to 3G technologies can create approximately $30-60 a month of revenue per subscriber of such services. Another emerging trend is global positioning satellite (GPS) utilization within the phone devices. Korea is a market in which GPS services have been a big success. â€Å"The Korea Association of Information and Telecommunication estimates that cell phone GPS tracking service are growing at an annual rate of 74%†( Wireless, Wi-Fi, RFID & Cellular Industry Trends, 20). An emerging product within this industry are phone devices with the capability to switch from the wireless cell phone network into WiMAX networks. A Wi-MAX network is a wireless internet network with 30 mile radius coverage. These phones hack into the Wi-MAX network an allow user to make p hone calls using the internet. This creates a scenario in which users don’t depend on their cellular service providers. This is a threat mobile companies have to track closely. The Wi-MAX scenario is one of the many reasons 3G technologies must be developed further for the continued profitability of companies in this industry. Also growth within this industry has

Virtue - Ontology Essay Example for Free

Virtue Ontology Essay Many people associate Plato with a few central doctrines that are advocated in his writings: The world that appears to our senses is in some way defective and filled with error, but there is a more real and perfect realm, populated by entities (called â€Å"forms† or â€Å"ideas†) that are eternal, changeless, and in some sense paradigmatic for the structure and character of the world presented to our senses. Among the most important of these abstract objects (as they are now called, because they are not located in space or time) are goodness, beauty, equality, bigness, likeness, unity, being, sameness, difference, change, and changelessness. (These terms—â€Å"goodness†, â€Å"beauty†, and so on—are often capitalized by those who write about Plato, in order to call attention to their exalted status; similarly for â€Å"Forms† and â€Å"Ideas. †) The most fundamental distinction in Platos philosophy is between the many observable objects that appear beautiful (good, just, unified, equal, big) and the one object that is what beauty (goodness, justice, unity) really is, from which those many beautiful (good, just, unified, equal, big) things receive their names and their corresponding characteristics. Nearly every major work of Plato is, in some way, devoted to or dependent on this distinction. Many of them explore the ethical and practical consequences of conceiving of reality in this bifurcated way. We are urged to transform our values by taking to heart the greater reality of the forms and the defectiveness of the corporeal world. We must recognize that the soul is a different sort of object from the body—so much so that it does not depend on the existence of the body for its functioning, and can in fact grasp the nature of the forms far more easily when it is not encumbered by its attachment to anything corporeal. In a few of Platos works, we are told that the soul always retains the ability to recollect what it once grasped of the forms, when it was disembodied prior to its possessors birth (see especially Meno), and that the lives we lead are to some extent a punishment or reward for choices we made in a previous existence (see especially the final pages of Republic). But in many of Platos writings, it is asserted or assumed that true philosophers—those who recognize how important it is to distinguish the one (the one thing that goodness is, or virtue is, or courage is) from the many (the many things that are called good or virtuous or courageous )—are in a position to become ethically superior to unenlightened human beings, because of the greater degree of insight they can acquire. To understand which things are good and why they are good (and if we are not interested in such questions, how can we become good? ), we must investigate the form of good.

Virtual Reality - What It Is And How It Works :: essays research papers

Virtual Reality - What it is and How it Works Imagine being able to point into the sky and fly. Or perhaps walk through space and connect molecules together. These are some of the dreams that have come with the invention of virtual reality. With the introduction of computers, numerous applications have been enhanced or created. The newest technology that is being tapped is that of artificial reality, or "virtual reality" (VR). When Morton Heilig first got a patent for his "Sensorama Simulator" in 1962, he had no idea that 30 years later people would still be trying to simulate reality and that they would be doing it so effectively. Jaron Lanier first coined the phrase "virtual reality" around 1989, and it has stuck ever since. Unfortunately, this catchy name has caused people to dream up incredible uses for this technology including using it as a sort of drug. This became evident when, among other people, Timothy Leary became interested in VR. This has also worried some of the researchers who are trying to create very real applications for medical, space, physical, chemical, and entertainment uses among other things. In order to create this alternate reality, however, you need to find ways to create the illusion of reality with a piece of machinery known as the computer. This is done with several computer-user interfaces used to simulate the senses. Among these, are stereoscopic glasses to make the simulated world look real, a 3D auditory display to give depth to sound, sensor lined gloves to simulate tactile feedback, and head-trackers to follow the orientation of the head. Since the technology is fairly young, these interfaces have not been perfected, making for a somewhat cartoonish simulated reality. Stereoscopic vision is probably the most important feature of VR because in real life, people rely mainly on vision to get places and do things. The eyes are approximately 6.5 centimeters apart, and allow you to have a full-colour, three-dimensional view of the world. Stereoscopy, in itself, is not a very new idea, but the new twist is trying to generate completely new images in real- time. In 1933, Sir Charles Wheatstone invented the first stereoscope with the same basic principle being used in today's head-mounted displays. Presenting different views to each eye gives the illusion of three dimensions. The glasses that are used today work by using what is called an "electronic shutter". The lenses of the glasses interleave inflating air bladders in a glove, arrays of tiny pins moved by shape memory wires, and even fingertip piezoelectric vibrotactile actuators. The latter method uses tiny crystals that vibrate when

My Hobby

My Hobby My hobby Everybody has different hobbies that we enjoy and do it for fun or relaxation. They can be either physical activities like jogging, playing football, swimming, †¦ or mental activities like reading, watching movies, playing computers†¦ and it depend on    personality. My bobby is football because it’s part of my life and I cannot live without it and I have playing this sport since I was a litle boy. Nowdays looks like everibody is playing football and it most popular sport in the world, many of the boys like me who is dreaming to be a good football player one day. My childrenhood has grown up with the ball and nothing has changed. My parents    told me that I liked kicking the ball around when I was only    two years old and had so much fun. Since then playing football is my favorite thing to do and I go everiday to traning so I can enjoy myself. It is interestingMy Hobby My hobby Everybody has different hobbies that we enjoy and do it for fun or relaxation. They can be either physical activities like jogging, playing football, swimming, †¦ or mental activities like reading, watching movies, playing computers†¦ and it depend on    personality. My bobby is football because it’s part of my life and I cannot live without it and I have playing this sport since I was a litle boy. Nowdays looks like everibody is playing football and it most popular sport in the world, many of the boys like me who is dreaming to be a good football player one day. My childrenhood has grown up with the ball and nothing has changed. My parents    told me that I liked kicking the ball around when I was only    two years old and had so much fun. Since then playing football is my favorite thing to do and I go everiday to traning so I can enjoy myself. It is interestingand amazing especially when I have a ball under my feets or score a goal. I like to go myself and sooting on a goal when I‘m not on traning than helps me to relax and clear my mind I have stress or other problems. For instant after school or studying I feel boring or tired however having fun whith the ball shooting it on goal or trying to do some tricks, all of my tirenes die out. Football is not only about passing and kicking the ball but also required a lot of thoughts, and some basic skills. Ioftenpractice and I feel healthy and stronger. Besite that football have also taught me very much like be teamplayer, athletes, healthy and much more. I don‘t only playing a football I also enjoy watching    football games on TV. My favorite team is Internazionale from Milano. I am so happy when Inter wins but I will get angry when they lose, and I love to watch them playing. My Hobby My Hobby My hobby Everybody has different hobbies that we enjoy and do it for fun or relaxation. They can be either physical activities like jogging, playing football, swimming, †¦ or mental activities like reading, watching movies, playing computers†¦ and it depend on    personality. My bobby is football because it’s part of my life and I cannot live without it and I have playing this sport since I was a litle boy. Nowdays looks like everibody is playing football and it most popular sport in the world, many of the boys like me who is dreaming to be a good football player one day. My childrenhood has grown up with the ball and nothing has changed. My parents    told me that I liked kicking the ball around when I was only    two years old and had so much fun. Since then playing football is my favorite thing to do and I go everiday to traning so I can enjoy myself. It is interestingMy Hobby My hobby Everybody has different hobbies that we enjoy and do it for fun or relaxation. They can be either physical activities like jogging, playing football, swimming, †¦ or mental activities like reading, watching movies, playing computers†¦ and it depend on    personality. My bobby is football because it’s part of my life and I cannot live without it and I have playing this sport since I was a litle boy. Nowdays looks like everibody is playing football and it most popular sport in the world, many of the boys like me who is dreaming to be a good football player one day. My childrenhood has grown up with the ball and nothing has changed. My parents    told me that I liked kicking the ball around when I was only    two years old and had so much fun. Since then playing football is my favorite thing to do and I go everiday to traning so I can enjoy myself. It is interestingand amazing especially when I have a ball under my feets or score a goal. I like to go myself and sooting on a goal when I‘m not on traning than helps me to relax and clear my mind I have stress or other problems. For instant after school or studying I feel boring or tired however having fun whith the ball shooting it on goal or trying to do some tricks, all of my tirenes die out. Football is not only about passing and kicking the ball but also required a lot of thoughts, and some basic skills. Ioftenpractice and I feel healthy and stronger. Besite that football have also taught me very much like be teamplayer, athletes, healthy and much more. I don‘t only playing a football I also enjoy watching    football games on TV. My favorite team is Internazionale from Milano. I am so happy when Inter wins but I will get angry when they lose, and I love to watch them playing.