Tiny Info of World War - II

World War II from a New Mexican Perspective!

When war broke out in Europe and Asia in 1939, the War Department suggested to the National Guard that their 111th Cavalry convert to another branch of service. The age of the horse as a combatant had passed. Thus, the officers and non-commissioned officers of the command jointly selected coast artillery. In 1940, the 111th was re-designated the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment (AA) and the 158th was reorganized as the 104th Anti-Tank battalion. On January 6, 1940, these units, along with the 120th Engineer Regiment, were called to active duty for a one-year training period that became the prelude to some of the earliest combat experienced by American troops in World War II.

New Mexico in the 1940s also began to play a critical role in the emerging relationship between science and the military, which would grow rapidly in the decades to follow. This started with the testing of the variable-timed, radio, proximity-fused artillery shells that would be crucial to protecting the Navy's ships from Kamikazes and to the Army's defense of Bastogne, Belgium in 1944. Airplanes were suspended over the desert mesa near Kirtland between the tallest wooden towers in the world and used for targets.

The importance of the proximity fuze to the successful outcome of the Second World War is best stated by those who witnessed its effectiveness.

James V. Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy said, "The proximity fuze has helped blaze the trail to Japan. Without the protection this ingenious device has given the surface ships of the Fleet, our westward push could not have been so swift and the cost in men and ships would have been immeasurably greater."

Prime Minister, Winston S. Churchill was quoted with "These so-called proximity fuzes, made in the United States. . , proved potent against the small unmanned aircraft (V-1) with which we were assailed in 1944."

And Commanding General of the Third Army, George S. Patton said, "The funny fuze won the Battle of the Bulge for us. I think that when all armies get this shell we will have to devise some new method of warfare."

Do U Know Bazooka?

Volcano Erupts - Undersea

Sinus Infections

Can Cause Toxic Shock in Kids:

Sinus infections may be a primary factor in about 20 percent of toxic shock syndrome cases in children, a new study has found.

Fever, rash and low blood pressure are among the signs of toxic shock syndrome, widely regarded as a disease associated with tampon use and menstruation, according to background information in the study.

"Although not as publicized, numerous other risk factors have been established for toxic shock syndrome in association with focal infections, such as surgical wound infections [notably after rhinologic surgery and nasal packing], postpartum and postabortion infections, and a wide variety of connective tissue lesions," Dr. Kenny H. Chan, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital of Denver, and colleagues, reported in the study.

The researchers analyzed the medical records of 76 children, average age 10, identified as having toxic shock syndrome. Of those children, 23 were also diagnosed with either acute or chronic rhinosinusitis -- infection and inflammation in the sinus passages surrounding the nose.

Ten of the 23 children with toxic shock syndrome and rhinosinusitis were admitted to the intensive care unit, four required medications to increase blood pressure and six underwent surgery, according to the study published in the June issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology--Head & Neck Surgery.

"This study illustrates several salient points concerning toxic shock syndrome and rhinosinusitis in children," Chan and colleagues wrote. "First, rhinosinusitis as the primary culprit in the pathogenesis of toxic shock syndrome is not a sporadic phenomenon. In fact, the frequency of this combination…[in the study] is an impressive 21 percent."

The researchers concluded that "it is imperative that physicians, particularly those who are providing intensive care to children, recognize that rhinosinusitis can be the sole cause of toxic shock syndrome in children. Prompt imaging studies of the sinuses is mandatory when no apparent cause of toxic shock syndrome is found. Once rhinosinusitis is diagnosed, timely otolaryngology referral should be obtained, and sinus culture and lavage should be considered if the clinical condition warrants it."

Solar Technology

Air Quality & How You Can Help?

How Good is Your Air?

Health effects of ozone pollution. Did you know that 10 to 20 percent of all summertime respiratory-related hospital visits in some areas of the U.S. are associated with ozone pollution? Motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are major sources of ozone, which usually forms in hot weather. Ozone pollution can affect anyone who spends time outdoors in the summer, particularly children, the elderly, outdoor workers and people exercising. Repeated exposure to ozone pollution may cause permanent damage to the lungs. Even low ozone levels can trigger health problems in some people when it is inhaled; these can include chest pains, coughing, nausea, throat irritation, and congestion.

How Your Actions Can Help:

By making some fairly simple changes in your daily or weekly routine, you can help to clean the air. For instance:

• Try taking an alternative form of transportation to work, such as a bus, train, bike, or even walking. This simple action can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 1,500 pounds each year.

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  Look for the "Energy Star" label when you buy new appliances. Depending on the appliance, products with this label will consume between 13% and 40% less energy than conventional appliances.

• Enroll in a green energy program. More and more utilities across the country are offering consumers the option of having some or all of their household or business energy purchased from renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and biomass.

Breast Cancer

Top 10 Causes of Death for Women in the United States

Aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women. Breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer death in Hispanic women. It is the second most common cause of cancer death in white, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.

Statistics:

In 2005 (the most recent year numbers are available)

• 186,467 women and 1,764 men were diagnosed with breast cancer
• 41,116 women and 375 men died from breast cancer

James Buchanan - Did U Know?

Did You Know?
The only president that never married. The White House hostess was his niece, Harriet Lane. In 1819, Buchanan became engaged to Ann Coleman. A misunderstanding took place and their engagement was broken. A short time later, Ann died. Buchanan vowed he would never marry.

Born into a well-to-do Pennsylvania family in 1791, Buchanan, a graduate of Dickinson College, was gifted as a debater and learned in the law.

He was elected five times to the House of Representatives; then, after an interlude as Minister to Russia, served for a decade in the Senate. He became Polk's Secretary of State and Pierce's Minister to Great Britain. Service abroad helped to bring him the Democratic nomination in 1856 because it had exempted him from involvement in bitter domestic controversies.

As President-elect, Buchanan thought the crisis would disappear if he maintained a sectional balance in his appointments and could persuade the people to accept constitutional law as the Supreme Court interpreted it. The Court was considering the legality of restricting slavery in the territories, and two justices hinted to Buchanan what the decision would be.

What is Influenza?

The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccination each fall.

Every year in the Arizona, on average:

• 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu;
• more than 4,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and;
• about 700 people die from flu.
  
  Some people, such as older people, young children, and people with certain health conditions, are at high risk for serious flu complications.

Symptoms of Flu

Symptoms of flu include:

• fever (usually high)
• headache
• extreme tiredness
• dry cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• muscle aches
• Stomach symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, also can occur but are more common in children than adults

Complications of Flu

Complications of flu can include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration, and worsening of chronic medical conditions, such as congestive heart failure, asthma, or diabetes.

How Flu Spreads


Flu viruses spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 5 days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

First Aid for Electrical Shock

If you believe someone has been electrocuted take the following steps:

1. Look first. Don't touch. The person may still be in contact with the electrical source. Touching the person may pass the current through you.

2. Call or have someone else call 911 or emergency medical help.

3. Turn off the source of electricity if possible. If not, move the source away from you and the affected person using a nonconducting object made of cardboard, plastic or wood.


4. Once the person is free of the source of electricity, check the person's breathing and pulse. If either has stopped or seems dangerously slow or shallow, begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately.

5. If the person is faint or pale or shows other signs of shock, lay the person down with the head slightly lower than the trunk of his or her body and the legs elevated.

6. Don't touch burns, break blisters, or remove burned clothing. Electrical shock may cause burns inside the body, so be sure the person is taken to a doctor.

How to develop Black and White film

The River Nile

The River Nile is the longest in the world, stretching for 4,187 miles. The Nile flows from south to north and is formed by three major tributaries: the White Nile, the Blue Nile and the Atbara.


The Blue Nile has its source in the highlands of the African country of Ethiopia, by Lake Tana. The runoff from spring rain and melting snow caused the annual summer flood of the Nile that the Egyptians depended on for water to irrigate their crops, and deposit fertile top soil.


Just north of Khartoum the combined White and Blue Nile meet their final major tributary, the Atbara which also has its source in the Ethiopian highlands.The Nile then plunges into a canyon. Before the construction of the Aswan High Dam; the Nile rolled through a series of six rapids, called cataracts, between northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Since construction of the dam, the river has gradually changed its course.


North of Cairo, the Nile splits into two branches (or distributaries), the Rosetta Branch to the west and the Damietta to the east. Lake Nasser is a man-made lake created by the construction of the Aswan High Dam, opened in 1971. The dam was built to regulate the flow of the River Nile , and thus benefit the region's inhabitants. However, technology often also disrupts a local ecosystem, the life and nature it affects.


The canyon that was once behind where the dam is now, was flooded after the dam was built. Before the region was flooded for the dam, some Ancient sites were carefully moved. Others were permanently covered and destroyed by the water. Lake Nasser stretches over a distance of 312 miles. Gone are the days when Egyptians worry that the Nile will flood too high, destroying their crops; or fall too low, not providing proper irrigation. To enjoy the benefits of a steady river flow, thousands of peoples homes were submerged when the dam went into operation and Lake Nasser was formed.


The Aswan High Dam has caused other changes. The water surface of the lake has reduced the average temperature in the region. The dam has also harnessed the water for the production of electricity and navigation has been improved.Furthermore, the Nile is no longer flowing strongly enough to keep salt water from the Mediterranean Sea from forcing its way up the Nile.In one generation, thousands of years of life along the River Nile have been permanently altered.

Motherboard

The motherboard is the most essential component of the system unit's computing abilities. Coming in several designs and shapes, the most flexible and popular design is the ATX which can happily slot into desktop, full tower and mini-tower cases with excellent design for cooling, and input/output connections. Two other major designs, NLX and WTX are worth briefly noting. The NLX design has integrated Ethernet and known as being the easiest to service, making it very popular among technicians! WTX is a fairly new design (first released 1998) and is orientated towards mid-range workstations.


The basic components of a motherboard are as follows: the ROM BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), the processor or CPU, Floppy Disk and IDE or SCSI connectors (Hard Disk Drivers/CD Drives), slots for memory chips, slots for extra cards (e.g., video cards, internal modems, adapter cards), input/Output connectors for keyboard, mouse, monitor, printers, scanners, speakers etc. IDE or SCSI Data cables connect the motherboard to the disk drives. The entire board is etched, in a manner that many find aesthetically quite beautiful, for the transfer of electricity and data.

From turning on the power the supply provides electricity to the motherboard. The BIOS is loaded into the CPU which then searches for a disk operating system. If that loads correctly, the user can issue instructions through input devices connected to the motherboard and with results sent via the motherboard to output devices.