text:
Cookbook:Antioxidants

Antioxidants are compounds that prevent or slow a chemical change called oxidation. A commonly recognized oxidation reaction is the rusting of iron, in which iron reacts with oxygen to form iron (ferrous) oxide. Similar reactions take place within foods and within the human body itself.

Heat is often released in the process of oxidation.

In the Human Body
Oxidation that occurs in the human body can lead to improper functioning of the body. Substances known as free radicals, which are highly reactive (have a strong tendency to take part in chemical reactions), undergo oxidation that can result in cell damage. This general process is thought to be a contributor of many undesirable conditions: cancer, aging symptoms, alcohol-induced liver damage, Parkinson's disease, senile and drug-induced deafness, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and the iron-storage disease hemochromatosis.

While many studies have suggested benefits for antioxidant supplements in laboratory experiments, clinical trials on humans have failed to clearly demonstrate a benefit, while strong antioxidants, such as oxalic acid and phytic acid can have anti-nutritional effects due to their binding to dietary minerals in the gastrointestinal tract and preventing absorption. While antioxidants supplementation is widely hypothesized to prevent the development of cancer, antioxidants may, paradoxically, interfere with cancer treatments.

Nutritional Sources of Antioxidants
Some foods guard against the negative effects of free radicals in the body, and are commonly referred to as antioxidants. These foods include the following:

 * Fruits. Cranberries, blueberries, plums, peaches, blackberries, raspberries, apples, strawberries, red currants, figs, cherries, gooseberries, pears, guava, peaches, oranges, apricots, mangoes, grapes, pomegranates plums, raisins and dates. Dried fruits are especially high in antioxidants (more so than fresh), because the concentration means more antioxidants per serving.
 * Vegetables. Artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, avocados, beetroot, radishes, kale, onion, romaine lettuce, parsley, and spinach.
 * Spices. Cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, curry powder, mustard seed, ginger, pepper, chili powder, paprika, garlic, coriander, and cardamom.
 * Herbs. Sage, thyme, marjoram, tarragon, peppermint, oregano, parsley, savory, basil, rosemary, dill weed.
 * Cereals. Sorghum bran, crude rice bran, corn flakes, oats and granola.
 * Nuts. Pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, macademia nuts and peanuts (though not technically a nut).
 * Other. Red wine, tea, fungi, essential oils and cocoa.

Vitamin C, vitamin E, and lycopene are noted antioxidants.

In Foods
In foods, oxidation generally contributes to spoilage, and therefore the canning process preserves food by reducing available oxygen (as well as by killing microorganisms that contribute to spoilage).

Some food preservatives are antioxidants, such as sulfur dioxide, which is often added to dried apricots, and BHT which is often added to breakfast cereal packaging.

ספר מתכונים/נוגד חמצון

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Cookbook:Antioxidants


text:
Wikibooks:Computer software bookshelf

Welcome to the Computer software bookshelf. This bookshelf is for computing with software. It has software guides and operating systems guides (including Linux). See also Category:Shelf:Computer software.

General guides

 * See also Information technology bookshelf

 * Basic Bitmap Image Editing
 * Basic Computer Security
 * Bypassing Internet Censorship
 * Choosing The Right File Format
 * FHSST Computer Literacy one of the Free High School Science Texts
 * Geographic Information Systems
 * How To Search how to search the internet and your computer
 * Data Recovery
 * Release Management
 * Subversion
 * Use the Source a look at open source
 * Version Control How to use Version Control
 * Web Software

Application guides

 * Ad Hoc Data Analysis From The Unix Command Line
 * Bash: The Bourne Again Shell
 * CA Unicenter NSM Textbook
 * Darcs, Understanding, A guide to the revision control system darcs
 * DChip
 * Enlightenment Unofficial Users' Manual
 * Firefox, Using web browser
 * GENtle manual, molecular biology
 * Gerris Manual
 * GNOME, Using desktop environment
 * GStreamer Media Streaming Software for Linux
 * GtkRadiant
 * Jini and Network Computing enterprise software
 * KDE, Using desktop environment
 * LaTeX document markup language and formatter
 * Microsoft SQL Server
 * Ratpoison, Using window manager
 * TeX document markup language and formatter
 * TWW, CPAM with The Written Word's cross-platform package manager
 * Umbraco, a free open source .NET cms
 * Valgrind, Using x86 debugger
 * vi editor, Learning the text editor
 * X11, Guide to window system

Apple software

 * GarageBand, Using Apple's music creating software
 * ILife 05
 * ILife 06
 * Introspector
 * iTunes, Using

Computer-aided translation

 * General
 * CAT-Tools
 * Specific
 * DéjàVu
 * OmegaT
 * Trados

Graphics and video software

 * Anim8or - Basics to Advanced
 * AutoCAD computer-aided design
 * Blender 3D graphics creation
 * Final Cut Profilm editor
 * GIMP paint and image editor
 * Inkscape
 * Kdenlive non-linear video editor for KDE
 * Beginner's Guide to Adobe Flash
 * Mewa Film User's Guide Editorial, Effects and Finishing software
 * OpenCanvas
 * Paint.NET A freeware image creator and editor
 * Photoshop
 * Pro Engineer computer-aided design
 * ICEM CFD grid generation and computer-aided design
 * Universe Model in 3D
 * YafRay

Office applications

 * Microsoft Excel Programming Recipes spreadsheet programming
 * Microsoft Office
 * OpenOffice.org office suite
 * Using PHProjekt
 * Prolaw financial accounting
 * WordPerfect classic mode of version 12

Web server and authoring

 * Adobe GoLive Guide
 * CRE Loaded Features website shopping cart
 * Eclipse, Using
 * EXELearning Tinkering Under the Hood
 * EXELearning User Guide web-authoring for teachers
 * Hobbit, System Monitoring with server monitor and statistics
 * Mambo Open Source website content manager
 * PHPEclipse, Using IDE for PHP language
 * phpMyVisites Documentation website statistics
 * IIS and FastCGI configuring IIS with FastCGI (operating IIS using a CGI-like interface efficiently)

Web-based systems

 * eBay, Understanding
 * GET undocumented GET arguments for HTTP
 * Gmail online email
 * Web Design
 * Yubnub commands social networking web service
 * TiddlyWiki

Networking and file sharing

 * ANTFARM network mapping application
 * The Ktorrent handbook

Operating system guides

 * A Neutral Look at Operating Systems comparative operating systems, non-technical
 * How To Backup Operating Systems step-by-step guide for creating backups

Unix

 * Ad Hoc Data Analysis From The Unix Command Line
 * OpenSolaris
 * UNIX Computing Security
 * UNIX, Guide to clones of the Unix operating system

Linux

 * Linux Guide
 * Linux From Scratch
 * Online Linux Connect
 * QEMU

Linux Distributions

 * Fedora And Red Hat System Administration
 * Knowing Knoppix livecd distribution of KDE/GNU/Linux
 * Slackware Handbook
 * Using Xandros
 * VLinux livecd distribution to analyse molecules
 * DD-WRT alternative Linux firmware for wireless routers

Microsoft Windows

 * Basic Computing Using Windows
 * Computers for Beginners
 * Guide to Windows Commands
 * Securing Windows XP
 * Troubleshooting Windows XP
 * Microsoft Windows Inside OUT!
 * Windows XP Customization
 * IIS and FastCGI
 * Windows Vista

Other systems

 * Aros Amiga Research Operating System
 * Haiku
 * Mac OS X Tiger latest version of Macintosh operating system
 * Netware Administration
 * PalmOS guide system for handheld computers

Web frameworks

 * Compojure
 * EQUIP4J An Equip4j tutorial.
 * Ruby on Rails
 * The Zope 3 Book
 * ZK An Ajax-based Web framework.

Guides for minor (small user base) applications

 * AEM EMS Guidebook
 * Advanced QoS for IPCop
 * Celestia
 * Map This!
 * Maple
 * Webots Odor Simulation
 * Radmind
 * Software Tools For Molecular Microscopy
 * SwisTrack
 * Using Tina POS
 * Zoph

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) books

 * FOSS Licensing
 * FOSS Government Policy
 * FOSS Education
 * FOSS A General Introduction
 * FOSS Localization
 * FOSS Open Standards
 * FLOSS Concept Booklet concept of free, libre, open source software

cy:Silff lyfrau:Meddalwedd gyfrifiadur de:Regal:EDV he:מדף:מחשבים

title: Wikibooks:Computer software bookshelf


text:
Ecology/Environmental Response

<< Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 >>

Chapter 3. Environmental Response I

The most basic interest of ecologists is how organisms interact with their environment. Inanimate objects do not normally "interact"—they are simply acted upon by forces in the environment. Organisms, however, cannot be totally passive within a chain of events and still sustain life. In a sense, life represents a reversal of the "normal" order of things in a universe where physical and chemical reactions proceed, on balance—and usually rather directly—towards lower energy states.

When a volcano erupts it lays down rocks on the surface of its slopes. These rocks are elevated in energy state from their previous existence as physical material deep within the earth. But on balance, in order to erupt, that material was first heated until fluid, and then tremendous amounts of energy expended (as pressure) to push the material (magma) up to spew as lava from the top of the mountain. Only a small portion of that energy remains on the volcano in the form of potential energy of rocks perched on the surface. That potential energy will eventually be released after forces of erosion loosen the rocks and they roll downslope or are ground to silt and deposited in the ocean deep.

In essence, the physical environment (as distinct from the biological environment) is composed of various forms of matter and energy. The physical environment is one of material acted upon by various forces (energy), resulting in a lower energy state of the material with a concomitant release or conversion of energy as (usually) heat or light.
 * Read Laws of Thermodynamics ( Links need not be pursued at this time )
 * Read Chapter on entropy in the Wikibook, Systems Theory
 * Read Entropy ( You need not delve into the mathematics unless so inclined; this article goes beyond "Basic Ecology" requirements )
 * Read Time's arrow ( This article will give you insight on why the concept of entropy even matters; remember, ecology is concerned with events at the macroscopic level )

Living systems—organisms—respond in various ways to contacts with the physical forces of an ever-changing environment and interrelationships with other living organisms. The hereditary potentialities of an organism determine what it can do, but the environment determines what it actually does and to what degree (Greulach & Adams, 1962). This theme is important and you will see it repeated in the discussions that follow. Organism responses can be described under four different categories: Although these are more or less distinct categories and will be discussed in detail in this chapter, an organism's response to an environmental challenge seldom involves just one of these. At the very least, the growth or development of a morphological feature involves internal physiological processes occurring between the genetic blue-print in the cells and some final expression of an anatomical trait. A protective morphological trait like horns on a bull come into play through behavioral actions. The horns are not a threat to a predator until wielded in an effective manner.
 * morphological,
 * physiological,
 * behavioural, and
 * community relations.

The Physical Environment
Why are all species not evenly distributed over the earth? A number of abiotic (non-living) factors shape the ecological patterns we observe over the face of the earth. Those factors include: water, temperature, wind, salt concentration, pH and the fact that the world is round. The fact that the earth is round has a substantial impact on the distribution of solar radiation, precipitation and wind across the Earth's surface. It is also responsible for the major movements of oceans. All of these abiotic factors naturally play an important role in the distribution and abundance of organisms across the globe.

Solar irradiation affects temperatures on Earth. Most organisms are mesophiles that like temperatures between 20-40 degrees C, some organisms are psychrophiles that like temperatures below 20 degrees C (cold-living organisms), and some organisms are thermophiles that like temperatures above 40 degrees C (heat-living organisms). Seasonality is somewhat associated with temperature. Some of the effects of seasonality include- (1) hibernation due to temperature and scarce resources, (2) rainfall/precipitation that determines how well certain plants or trees grow, and (3) wind.

Another aspect that is important to the diversity of animals' location is the amount of oxygen that is present in the particular area. For example, some organisms are aerobes which need oxygen for survival, and some are anaerobes which require the absence of oxygen for survival. However, not all organisms require the same amount of oxygen. Some organisms are microaerophiles and require little oxygen in order to live, but those organisms still do require oxygen for survival although it may not be as much as other organisms.

Dissolved oxygen plays a major role in supporting life in bodies of water. The greater the amount of oxygen in a body of water the more organisms the water can support. Algae release oxygen into the water which is later consumed by organisms during respiration. This process is efficient in the summer when the algae can consume adequate amount of sunlight. When lakes freeze over in the winter the snow covered ice blocks the sunlight from the algae. This causes a drop in oxygen production in the body of water since the organisms continue to respire. Low dissolved oxygen can cause a problem with predator/prey interactions within an ecosystem. Different organisms have different tolerance to low oxygen. If the predator can survive more efficiently than the prey, the amount of prey will rapidly decline. This can have a major effect on an entire food web. An experiment of this was conducted in the Chesapeake Bay. []

Water also plays a major role in the diversification of organisms throughout the world. As previously mentioned, the amount of precipitation is vital for plants to grow, which can provide food (serve as a food source) to other organisms. The salt concentration (salinity) is an important aspect to look at when dealing with water because some organisms are halophiles which are organisms that require salt in order to survive. The currents of the water that makes up the oceans is also important. The gyres are the surface currents in the oceans. The gyres distribute heat from the equators towards the poles causing the polar waters to have less energy than the water at the equator. The other type of current is the deep water current that sinks to the sea floor and flows towards the equator causing the polar waters to have a higher salinity and a higher density.

Meteorology plays an important aspect to life on Earth as well. The Earth is divided into three main parts- (1) Hadley Cell which is characterized as having Northeast trade winds and is mostly desert landscaping because of the cool, dry air, (2) Ferrell Cell which is characterized as having Westerlie winds, and (3) Polar Cell which is at the North and South poles of the Earth. The weather and wind effects plant dispersal (pollen and seeds getting blown) and the weather and the wind also effect the habitat range from which organisms can live in.

The pH is also a factor that contributes to life. The pH of the ocean is approximately 8.2. A deviation from this pH is slowly occurring, known as ocean acidification. Over a period of 243 years the pH of the ocean has dropped 0.075 in its pH. This slow acidification is a primary concern for calcium carbonate organisms. Structures made of calcium, including skeletons, are vulnerable to dissolution at lower pHs. Soil pH can range from 4.5 to 8.0, depending on area and vegetation growth. The main macronutrients in soil for vegetation are calcium, phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, magnesium,and sulfur. Most vegetation prefers neutral to slightly basic or alkaline pH level, because at this level the macronutrients are readily picked up. Rain water is slightly acidic, depending on the amount of carbonic acid present. The average pH for rain water is 5.7. Natural freshwaters, such as lakes and streams, are also slightly acidic with a pH from 5.5 to 7.7. Drastic alteration in pH levels can have devastating effects. One example is acid rain. Acid rain has been known to destroy everything it touches, from minerals, to plant life, to animal and human life. To learn more about acid rain visit [].

 * Read Ocean Acidification

The effect of wind on biodiversity varies greatly from one region to the next. For example, in southeast Alaskan rainforests, wind shapes the forests and the extent at which forests are composed. [] While in other parts of the world wind driven damage from hurricanes and tornadoes affect the biodiversity by destroying trees and plants used for food and shelter. Storms are partially driven by wind currents, which in turn bring more moisture to certain areas of the planet. Wind also has a major effect on the amount of time it takes water to evaporate back into the atmosphere. A pond will hold water longer when no wind is present to intensify the drying effect. Wildfires that destroy habitat for plants and animals can be greatly manipulated by winds. Winds can spread fires quickly and over great distances to further disrupt biodiversity.

Another major effect of wind is erosion. Deserts are continuously being moved and reshaped by erosion and sandstorms caused by wind displacing sand from one terrirory to another. Wind erosion also displaces soil for plant growth by removing the most fertile top layer of soil from the earth. Soil erosion limits the growth of plants and the diversity of animals and insects that feed on these plants. The Dust Bowl in the 1930s is an excellent example of wind destruction across the plains of North America.

The dispersal of plants is greatly effected by wind driven pollen and seed distribution. Birds that feed on small wind driven seeds from one area will excrete the seeds in another area and in turn the seed can end up in numerous areas after being blown to one or two areas. The distribution of pollen and the cross pollination on plants brings more opportunities for animals to feed and have shelter, increasing the chance for reproduction and biodiversity. With deforestation diversity is greatly reduced, but winds without the obstruction of trees allow seeds and spores to be spread over a greater distance. This will help regenerate lost habitat and increase biodiversity. []

The fact that the Earth is round leads to several of the aspects that have been previously mentioned in the above paragraphs. Since the Earth is round, solar irradiation is distributed unevenly across the Earth's surface, which simply means that more solar radiation hits at the equator than at the poles. The less solar irradiation you have, the less energy there is, causing less biomass (living organisms and less diversity). All forms of life require some quantity of solar radiation in order to survive, but the amount varies from organism to organism.

Why does the temperature vary so greatly from the tropics to the poles? It is not simply a matter of more incident irradiation hitting the equator. Rather more irradiation impinges on a smaller area near the equator when compared to the poles. Furthermore, because sunlight strikes the poles at an angle it must traverse more of the atmosphere before being absorbed by the earth. As a result of having to travel through more of the atmosphere more of the solar energy is deflected or reradiated back into space. How does this impact life on earth? Less solar irradiation per unit area means that temperatures are generally cooler towards the poles which limits the kinds of organisms that may inhabit these environments. More irradiation near the equator means more energy is added to the ecosystem which translates in more biomass.

New problems in global ecology include rising levels of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and other greenhouse gases, and the resultant potential changes in global climate patterns. General Circulation Models (GCMs) (see Global Climate Model) are complex computer models developed by atmospheric scientists to help predict how increasing greenhouse gas concentrations might influence global climate patterns on a large scale.

For example, elevated temperatures, which are in part due to raised concentrations of carbon dioxide, affect turtle hatchlings. The map turtle and red-eared slider turtle both have temperature-dependent sex determination. A higher temperature results in a female hatchling, whereas a lower temperature results in a male. Thus, raised temperature result in fewer male turtles.

Global warming has a great impact on biodiversity distribution and abundance. Processes and patterns of the climate influence behavioral and physiological response of organisms, their productivity, relative competitive abilities of species, birth, growth, and death rates, nutrient cycling, decomposition, net primary production, and community structure of populations.

Organism Morphology
The form that an organism takes—termed its life-form—encompasses all of the structural aspects that make that species describable and unique. By morphological adaptations is meant the structural feature or features (called traits) that allow an organism to live successfully in its habitat; traits that have evolved over a (usually long) period of time as a consequence of the process of natural selection.

Natural Selection is a process that occurs over several generations. It allows select organisms to adapt to their environment over time. Natural selection often results in a species being able to survive in areas with environmental restrictions. For example, a plant that can grow taller than the others around it can get more sun light then the other plants around it and will increase its chance of survival and its overall fitness. For Natural Selection to occur, two requirements must be met. First there must be variation in some trait and second the trait must affect either survival or reproduction or both. Natural selection can result in Directional Selection or Disruptive selection. Directional Selection is when individuals at one end of the distribution do well and the other doesn’t. Disruptive selection is when there is an intermediate that does not do as well as the individuals on the other sides of the distribution.

 * Read Directional selection (for further information)
 * Read Disruptive selection
 * Read Stabilizing selection
 * Read natural selection ( Links need not be pursued at this time )

Although we might conclude that adaptive morphological traits are acquired by a species slowly through the evolutionary process and therefore not subject to change within the lifespan of an individual, in fact many morphological traits are expressed or modified in response to environmental conditions. The individual organism inherits morphological variation within a range, and the expression of the trait represents a response to specifics of that individual's environment. The considerable similarity of all individuals of a species attests to the genetic basis of morphological traits, yet a degree of plasticity is usually present to be influenced by environmental factors. Individuals inherit this plasticity and not the growth-form of the parents. Thus growth-form represents the outcome of both "nature" (genetic or inherited traits) and "nurture" (influences of environment on the growth process).

A growth-form that persists through many generations because of environmental constancy (but is not an inherited trait) is termed an ecad. However, any such trait is subject to natural selection and may, over time, become fixed in a population as an inherited eco-type. That is, if the trait is highly adaptive within the habitat of the population, and the plasticity of expression is under-utilized becoming a genetic burden, that plasticity may be lost or restricted. Eco-types are genetically based differences between individuals of the same species that come from different populations.

Organism Physiology
Physiology is the study of biochemical functions of living organisms. Whereas morphology (discussed above) is essentially about anatomy and structure, physiology is largely about processes. However, the two are so interlinked in any organism that one cannot really be discussed without consideration of the other. As already noted, physiological processes must proceed the growth of morphological traits. And a physiological response, such as an increase in blood pressure, results from short-term mechanical changes in the anatomy of the heart and arteries. Put another way, the shape and structure of a heart is a morphological trait; the pumping of blood—the function of the heart organ—is a physiological activity. Muscle contractions are mechanical actions resulting from biochemical signals and changes. One cannot occur without the other.

Biologists refer to physiological adjustment as a response to environmental change. By "adjustment" is meant a change in physiology or internal function that allows the organism to maintain life. An adjustment is limited by the physiological and morphological adaptations inherited by the organism. Just as we previously described "morphological variation" as essentially an adjustment to environment based upon inheritance of a range of possibility, so too is physiology controlled by both inherited (genetic) and environmental (external) factors. The important distinction here is between the terms "adjustment" and "adaptation", a distinction that can apply to both morphology and physiology.
 * Adaptations are physiological processes or morphological traits inherited through genetics and subject to natural selection at the population level;
 * Adjustments are activities and traits expressed within an inherited range and subject to individual modification within the life-span of the individual or even much shorter periods of time. The proper term here is acclimatization.

If I work out and buff my body to rival that of the current Governor of California, I am not adapting but adjusting or acclimatizing myself (considerably, comparing our growth-forms!). On the other hand, when a caterpillar changes into a pupa and then transforms itself into a butterfly, that is clearly an adaptation. The process (called metamorphosis) is an inherited one, and irreversible. Aging is a process that would appear to be largely irreversible (certainly death is), and apparently is an adaptation. Once reproductive success peaks and starts to decline, advantage for the species population goes towards eliminating older individuals (fortunately, some exceptions exist).

Organism Behavior
Behavioral responses to environmental factors can be observed as movements of one sort or another. We say that "behavior" is the way an organism "acts"—what activities it "does". Complex behaviors controlled by cognitive processes evolved from simple response behaviors, the understanding of which provides a basis for understanding how behavior confers survivability on an organism. Note that such responses are generally rapid (and mediated through nerves in higher animals) in organisms capable of locomotor activity, and generally much slower in organisms lacking means of motility. Thus, plants, although devoid of musculature, nonetheless respond to stimuli of various sorts—growing or turning towards a light, for example. Simple turning responses, either towards or away from a specific stimulus, are termed tropisms. Actual physical movement towards or away from a stimulus are called taxes. Similar behaviours called kineses involve physical movements that appear random in orientation or direction, but the intensity of activity is determined by the intensity of the stimulus.
 * Read Tropism ( Follow links to the various examples of tropisms to understand this concept )
 * Read Taxes ( Follow links as necessary to understand concepts; Kineses included here as well )

Summarization
The "home" of the biosphere is the planet earth, an accretion body orbiting a star. The physical realities of the planet, resulting from its size and location relative to that star called the "sun", determine the basic physical properties within which life developed and presently exists.

Organisms respond to changes and vagaries in the environment. Organisms, unlike non-living objects, survive because of the ability to respond. Responses take many forms, which we can categorize as morphological, physiological, or behavioral. However, most responses involve a combination of these types, and sorting of responses into specific types typically just means that one is the more obvious aspect of the response observed.

References Cited

 * Greulach, V. A. and J. E. Adams. 1962. Plants. An introduction to Modern Botany. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New york and London. 557 pp.
 * Fresh Water, Natural Composition of. 2007.  Advameg Inc. http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/En-Ge/Fresh-Water-Natural-Composition-of.html.
 * Etchberger, Cory R., Michael A. Ewert, John B. Phillips, and Craig E. Nelson. Carbon Dioxide Influences Environmental Sex Determination in Two Species of Turtles. Amphibia-Reptilia 23 (2002): 169-175.

title: Ecology/Environmental Response


text:
User:Mark~enwikibooks

test for mvs

this is a test

title: User:Mark~enwikibooks


text:
Cookbook talk:Bacon Cheese Omelet

It would be nice to keep the photos in their sections, with the horizontal lines going all the way across, while still using the normal list layout. I have converted one section to be normal, screwing up the image layout. I left the other section as it was, so that people can see what the original hack was trying to do. User:AlbertCahalan

 * I am not shure why you changed the layout. I added the "." and spaces to make the section high enough to fit the image in the layout.  This is my first attempt at including an article and would benifits from constructive suggestion.  I can not tell from your discussion what you are trying to tell me. User:Tviren

 * I'm not trying to tell you anything. I'm trying to get other people to notice, hopefully including an expert who can get the images nicely fitted without the "." hack. Normal ingredient lists start with a "*" on each line. This is better, and standard, but causes problems with image alignment. I stongly suspect that the image alignment problem can be fixed without resorting to such hacks. AlbertCahalan 22:37, 20 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I know see what you were doing by adding links to things like eggs etc. Can I assume you enter them and if they are not already in Cookbook then they will come up red. Or should you do a search on each word the see if it is in the Book "Cookbook" User:Tviren

 * If I am sure that a link belongs in the cookbook with a particular spelling, then I will just add the link. For example: "Golden Syrup" (not "Golden syrup", because then the title looks wrong)

 * Sometimes I look for an entry. Click on Special Pages at the left, then All pages, enter "Cookbook:" (no quotes) or similar, and click "Go".

 * Common stuff is quickly memorized: Egg, Milk, Salt, Cheddar Cheese, Whole Wheat, Tablespoon, etc. AlbertCahalan 22:37, 20 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Size of ingredients?
G'day. I'm trying to work out the nutritional info and the recipe doesn't specify what size eggs, bacon etc. to use. I'm going to guess and modify the recipe accordingly. Please correct if wrong. Irrevenant 05:01, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

 * No! The standard egg size in the USA is "Large", while the standard egg size in the EU is "M" (medium I guess). They are about the same though, since the chickens aren't any different. It is thus best to avoid specifying the size. People will use their normal eggs, which works out to be the same thing all over the world. AlbertCahalan 09:00, 6 November 2005 (UTC)
 * So you can specify eggs by mass (like I did). People always have the freedom to modify a recipe, but there still has to be a default recipe.  And, since nutritional information is a standard feature of recipes, that default has to be specific enough to calculate the nutritional info.  If you're unhappy with the sizes that I guessed, that's fine - I'm happy to recalculate the nutritional info based on any size you choose. Irrevenant 08:47, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

 * Look at the two charts on the Cookbook:Egg page. AlbertCahalan 09:05, 6 November 2005 (UTC)
 * I did, but I miscalculated - I should've put 56g (24oz) not 70g (30 oz). But like I said, I'm happy to accomodate any size you prefer.

No milk?
Isn't there milk in an omelette?

 * There is no milk in an omelet.

iam pretty sure there is

Ingredients measurements completely off
10 oz bacon - over 1/2 pound, and 2 12 oz slices of cheese - that's over a pound and a half. A lot of food and calories for one person!!! Leave out the oz. measurements and the rest is fine.

title: Cookbook talk:Bacon Cheese Omelet


text:
Calculus/Further Methods of Integration/Contents

Basic Integration Rules

 * See Calculus/Definite integral.

$$\begin{align} &\int0\,du=C\\ &\int(k\cdot u)du=k\cdot\int u\,du+C\\ &\int(u\pm v)du=\int u\,du\pm\int v\,du+C \end{align}$$

Partial Integration

 * See Calculus/Integration techniques/Integration by Parts.

For two functions $$u$$ and $$dv$$ of a variable $$x$$ ,

$$\int u\,dv=uv-\int v\,du$$

where $$u$$ is chosen by precedence according to LIPET:

 * Logarithmic
 * Inverse Trigonometric
 * Polynomial
 * Exponential
 * Trigonometric

Improper Integrals

 * See Calculus/Improper Integrals.

For any function $$f$$ of variable $$x$$, continuous on the given infinite domain:

$$\begin{align} &\int\limits_a^\infty f(x)dx=\lim_{b\to\infty}\int\limits_a^b f(x)dx\\ &\int\limits_{-\infty}^b f(x)dx=\lim_{a\to-\infty}\int\limits_a^b f(x)dx\\ &\int\limits_{-\infty}^\infty f(x)dx=\int\limits_{-\infty}^c f(x)dx+\int\limits_c^\infty f(x)dx \end{align}$$

For any function $$f$$ of variable $$x$$ continuous on the given interval, but with an infinite discontinuity at (1) $$a$$, (2) $$b$$ , or some (3) $$c\in[a,b]$$ :

$$\begin{align} \int\limits_a^b f(x)dx&=\lim_{c\to b^-}\int\limits_a^c f(x)dx&(1)\\ \int\limits_a^b f(x)dx&=\lim_{c\to a^+}\int\limits_c^b f(x)dx&(2)\\ \int\limits_a^b f(x)dx&=\int\limits_a^c f(x)dx+\int\limits_c^b f(x)dx&(3) \end{align}$$

authors: יהודה שמחה ולדמן


text:
Template:Calculus/Further Methods of Integration/TOC

 * Further Methods of Integration
 * 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
 * Review - Problem Set - Solutions


text:
Talk:Project Management/FAQs

Planning is a big part of what thinking is for and project is just another name for prey, of course it is temporary endeavor, it is a hunt. Likewise it has a fixed start and end date because it has an objective persued by tiny finite beings, us. Again the fact that it is unique and no two projects are exactly the same, and it is not a routine operation all have to do with who we are - this is the plain of our existance. The team of people, temporary in nature, dispersed at the end of the project. Is again part of us, tomorrow we will organize another hunt. Our collective resources become our private resources which we will again collectivise. We have toned down the experience and made it into an abstract but we need to hunt big beasts with spears, it is human. Having bagged a few ROI's and even a few institutions and a couple of monuments for the ages I dream of bigger game: not only the planets and stars but cultural, social, and scientific conquests. We can do these things, not in the least because we can define them, and plan them. The trick, if it ever was a trick, is to percieve these things as resources, then we can organize the hunt.

title: Talk:Project Management/FAQs


text:
User:Arca~enwikibooks

Refer to my user profile at / Leer mi perfil en Meta:Arca

title: User:Arca~enwikibooks


text:
Cookbook:High Protein Diet

A High Protein Diet is often recommended by bodybuilders and nutritionists to help efforts to build muscle and lose fat. It should not be confused with low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Diet, which are not calorie-controlled and which often contain large amounts of fat.

High Protein diets typically obtain 30%–60% of their calories from protein, 15%–30% from fat and the remainder from carbohydrates. They tend to rely heavily on seafood and lean meat, which makes them difficult or impossible for vegetarians.

Benefits

 * Protein is essential for building muscle.
 * Unlike carbohydrates, protein provides long-lasting energy without an insulin surge (which promotes fat storage).
 * Protein tends to suppress the appetite.
 * Protein takes quite a bit of energy to digest, which boosts the body's metabolism.
 * Lean protein-rich foods are much less calorie-dense than carbohydrate-rich foods. For example, the ham in a common sandwich may have 343 kJ per 100g, whereas the bread has 1011 kJ per 100g. Like vegetables, they help to bulk out a meal.

Sample diet
The daily food intake that is detailed below contains 1250 kCal in total, and would therefore be suitable for someone with 45 kg of lean bodyweight—such as a 60 kg female with 25% bodyfat—who wants to lose weight at a rate of ¼–½ kg a week (the maximum safe rate). Individuals with a greater lean bodyweight should increase their food intake proportionately, as should lean individuals who are attempting to gain weight. 50% of the calories come from protein, 25% from carbohydrates and 25% from fat.

Anyone attempting to reproduce this diet should try to find products that match the nutritional profiles shown below. The protein, carbohydrate and fat content is given as their percentage by weight, which is the same as grams per 100g (as marked on nutritional labels). This is not the same as the percentage of calories.

A multivitamin supplement should be taken to ensure that adequate levels of each essential vitamin and mineral are maintained.

Some of the milk can be put towards cups of coffee or tea throughout the day. If required, artificial sweeteners should be used instead of sugar. Milk is an important weapon against osteoporosis, not just because of its calcium content, but because it also contains enzymes that promote bone growth.

In order to achieve the recommended six meals a day, one sandwich should be eaten mid-morning, one at lunchtime and one mid-afternoon. Soya/linseed bread has very low Glycemic Index (36), which also helps to ensure a steady release of energy during the day. Lettuce or sliced tomato may be added to make the sandwiches more interesting.

Red salmon is a very good source of Omega-3 essential fatty acids (2.7%). Other fish or seafood may be substituted if salmon is unavailable. The meal can be microwaved, or stir-fried without oil in a nonstick pan. "Zero-calorie" condiments such as herbs, spices and soy sauce may be added.

The protein bar may be more suitable as a pre-workout or post-workout meal, depending upon when the workout occurs. It can be useful pre-workout if the workout would otherwise occur more than two hours after the last meal. Alternatively, it can be consumed immediately following the workout, because both protein uptake and protein usage are increased at this time.

The protein shake should be taken shortly before going to bed to maintain protein availability during the night, when HGH (Human Growth Hormone) levels are at their peak. The milk-powder based diet shake adds slow-release casein to the mix of proteins, and offsets the sometimes poor taste of whey-based shakes. The added dietary fiber aids digestion.

High Protein Recipes
Most meat recipes are suitable for a High Protein diet, for example:

 * Paprika Chicken
 * Coq au Vin
 * Carpetbag Steak

Visible fat should be cut from the meat, and (in the case of poultry) the skin should be removed. Generally, lean meats such as beef or turkey are preferred to pork or duck.

Soya protein powder can be mixed with flour to increase the protein content of pancakes, muffins and other baked goods.

title: Cookbook:High Protein Diet


text:
Cookbook:Cuisine of Taiwan

| East Asian cuisines

Taiwanese cuisines originate from Chinese cuisine, with strong Japanese influence. Seafood is used quite often.

Snacks
Many featured Taiwanese foods are sold by street vendors in night markets.

 * Ba-wan
 * Tea Eggs
 * Pork Blood's Cake
 * Stinky Tofu - Often served deep fried, topped with sour pickled vegetables.
 * Oyster Omelette

Whole Meal

 * Beef Noodle Soup
 * Pork Fried Rice

Beverages and Desserts

 * Bubble Tea - Very popular drink, can be found in many parts of the world.
 * Grass Jelly - Either as cold jelly or melted hot into thick liquid.
 * Aiyu Jelly - Made from the seeds of a fig-like fruit. Served on ice.

title: Cookbook:Cuisine of Taiwan


text:
User:Jacoplane

Jaap Vermeulen -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jacoplane

title: User:Jacoplane


text:
CPAM with TWW

Challenge
In an IT organization which administrate all kind of computer systems, following abstracted diagram shows the systems are segregated into varied sub-systems islands by NIS name services. Each NIS islands has its own set of accounts, netgroups and varied same software.

Oftentimes we found ourselves got lock-in by a particular OS because of a few software applications run only on that OS. Adopting the CPAM (cross-platform application management) concept with the right implementation tools can prepare your application or IT information systems to be more portable. You don't have to stay with a particular OS if you don't want to.

Also it is the software applications that run on computer that we need from computer.

The limited human computing resource is better to be spent on improving quality of software instead of on porting same software to all kind of different OS.

This book explains the CPAM concept and a solution implemented by an OpenSource support company (TWW Inc.) This solution can be used to develop and manage OpenSource and commercial applications across operating systems in a consistent way.

One example of application that can be installed across OS platforms is Oracle database server. It provide customer an easy and consistent way to install Oracle server. No matter which supported OS you want to install Orcale server on, runInstaller is the universal command to install oracle server. But runInstall can only use to install Oracle application. What about other application that need to be installed across platforms ? So we need a cross-platform package management system that can provide same command to manage all kinds of applications.

In this three subsets book, We introduce the CPAM concept and one of its best implementations. Then we introduce how to use applications that created by using TWW HPMS toolsets. Also we provide best practices for consumers to install and use CPAM applications.

In developer's guide we focus on the TWW HPMS itself and provide guidance when you want to port the tool to an unsupported OS. We will analyze the TWW tool set and other similar tool sets.

In Reference Manual we provide a FAQ, HOWTO and a brief overview about all kinds of package management systems.

Solution
We hope your IT system will looks like following before you can really consolidate down to one or two OS.

Contents

 * /User Guide/
 * /Developer Guide/
 * /References Manual/

title: CPAM with TWW


text:
Cookbook:Oatmeal

Oatmeal is an ambiguous oat-related term that can mean:

 * rolled oats, oat grains crushed flat
 * oat-based porridge, a hot cereal made from rolled oats
 * oat flour, a flour made from oats

title: Cookbook:Oatmeal


text:
SPM/Installation on SunOS

SPM8, SPM12
There are no plans to provide SPM8 or SPM12 MEX files for Solaris SPARC (32 or 64 bit) as these platforms are not supported by MathWorks any more, see MATLAB Roadmap.

SPM5
Precompiled MEX files for Solaris SPARC (*.mexsol and *.mexs64) are available in the latest update.

Installation
Download spm5.zip in your home directory then type the following in a Terminal: cd /home/login unzip spm5.zip Start MATLAB and add SPM into your path, either using File > Set Path > Add Folder... or typing addpath /home/login/spm5 in MATLAB's workspace.

Compilation
In a Terminal, from the src folder of your SPM5 installation, type: cd /home/login/spm5/src make distclean make && make install

SPM2
The following is a description of how to compile SPM2 to run nicely with MATLAB 7 (service pack 1) on a SUN running Solaris 9 with the gcc compiler installed. The standard Makefile that came with SPM2 didn't quite work; partly because it was expecting you to use the cc compiler that comes with Solaris.

Setting up compiling for MATLAB7
Copy the "gccopts.sh" file from $MATLAB_HOME_DIR/bin to the SPM2 directory and call it "mexopts.sh". This enables you to easily enter options for mex to use ONLY for compiling SPM2. Lower down you make the changes to the Makefile to tell it to use this mexopts.sh file instead of the default. Make sure this file sets variables like CC='gcc'. You may also need to edit the line for MLIBS to:

MLIBS="-L/opt/sfw/gcc-3/lib -L/opt/sfw/gcc-3/lib/gcc-lib -L$TMW_ROOT/bin/$Arch -lg2c -lmx -lmex -lmat -lm"

(everything between the quotes should be on one line) Note the extra directories to search for libraries and the "-lg2c" option are new. To be on the safe side also try adding:

EXTRA_LIBDIR="/opt/sfw/gcc-3/lib"

Also changing the optimization flags may boost performance. For an UltraSPARCIII cpu you could try the following:

COPTIMFLAGS='-O3 -funroll-loops -mcpu=v9 -DNDEBUG -DBIGENDIAN'

Getting the linker set up properly needed some searching; try adding the following in the mexopts.sh file

LDFLAGS="-shared -Wl,-M,$TMW_ROOT/extern/lib/$Arch/$MAPFILE,-R,$GCC_LIBDIR,-R,$EXTRA_LIBDIR"

Editing the Makefile
Try changing the Makefile from:

SunOS: make all SUF=mexsol CC="cc -xO5" MEX="mex COPTIMFLAGS=-xO5"

to:

SunOS: make all SUF=mexsol CC="cc -xO5 -DBIGENDIAN" MEX="mex COPTIMFLAGS=-xO5 -DBIGENDIAN" SunOS.gcc: make all SUF=mexsol CC="gcc -O3 -funroll-loops -DBIGENDIAN -fPIC"\ MEX="mex -f ./mexopts.sh"
 * 1) Assumes that gccopts.sh has been copied to mexopts.sh in the current directory

Again you could also try adding "-mcpu=v9" as an option in the CC variable for UltraSPARCIII cpu You may also need to edit the line

all: verb.$(SUF) $(SPMMEX)

to:

all: verb.$(SUF) archive $(SPMMEX)

As this recompiles the spm_vol_utils.a archive that may otherwise not be compatible with your newly compiled mexsol routines.

and then compiling using: make SunOS.gcc

You may have to do: make very_clean first to get this to work. Without doing this you may get a long list of errors when linking.

In order to find out where things might be going wrong you can edit the line above from: MEX="mex -f ./mexopts.sh" to: MEX="mex -n -f ./mexopts.sh" This will not compile the SPM routines but will tell you want commands mex was going to issue to gcc.

title: SPM/Installation on SunOS


text:
Ada Programming/Keywords/use

Use clause
There are two versions of use clauses, a use_package_clause and a use_type_clause.

At library level
This use_package_clause makes the content of a package directly visible. If applied on the library level, its scope is the complete library unit.

A use clause never hides anything that is already directly visible without it. All use clauses in effect in a certain scope act on the same level: Two homographs in different packages must still be named as selected components.

;   ;  Hello Put_Line("Hello, world!"); New_Line; Put_Line("I am an Ada program with package use."); Hello;

If readability is your main concern then you should avoid this kind of use clause. Either make it more local or use a use_type_clause.

At declaration level
The effect is the same as above, but the scope is the directly enclosing declaration region.

; Hello ;   Put_Line("Hello, world!"); New_Line; Put_Line("I am an Ada program with package use."); Hello;

For types
Use type clauses come in two versions.

Type_Name;

makes the operators of the type directly visible.

Type_Name;

makes the primitive operations of the type directly visible.

Representation clauses
The keywords, and  are used for representation clauses.

A record representation clause specifies the Layout aspect of a record.

An enumeration representation clause specifies the Coding aspect of an enumeration type.

See Ada Programming/Representation_clauses.

Wikibook

 * Ada Programming
 * Ada Programming/Keywords

Ada Reference Manual

Ada Quality and Style Guide

|Use Keywords:use

title: Ada Programming/Keywords/use


text:
Radiation Oncology/HN-supportive care

Head & Neck Supportive Care

 * Subpages:
 * Oral mucositis
 * Osteoradionecrosis

Xerostomia
Cevimeline (Exovac) - 30 mg TID. Can increase to 45 mg.
 * 2 randomized studies comparing with placebo: PRT 003 and PRT 004.
 * FDA approved for Sjogren's (but not XRT)

 * PRT 003 and 004
 * Randomized. 570 patients (284 in PRT 003, 286 in PRT 004). Cevimeline 30mg TID or placebo. Possible dose-escalation to 45 mg TID at 6 weeks
 * 2007 PMID 17379432 -- "Cevimeline for the treatment of postirradiation xerostomia in patients with head and neck cancer." (Chambers MS, Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2007 Jul 15;68(4):1102-9.)
 * Outcome: PRT 003: improvement in dry mouth civemeline 47% vs. placebo 33% (SS); no difference in PRT 004. Both studies significantly greater stimulated salivary flow
 * Conclusion: well tolerated, improves unstimulated salivary flow

Caphosol (artificial saliva) Website (Rx only)
 * 1 box = 30 doses. use 4 to 10 doses / day.
 * Supersatured solution of calcium and phosphate.
 * Indicated for xerostomia and mucositis

Pilocarpine
 * RTOG 97-09

Amifostine (Ethyol)
 * Netherlands - PMID 16804929 — "Radiotherapy alone, versus radiotherapy with amifostine 3 times weekly, versus radiotherapy with amifostine 5 times weekly: a prospective randomized study in squamous cell head and neck cancer." Jellema AP et al. Cancer. 2006 Jun 27; [Epub ahead of print]
 * Randomized. RT alone vs amifostine 5 days/wk vs amifostine 3 days/wk, both at 200 mg/m2. All received bilateral neck RT. Assessed acute and late xerostomia and QOL at 6 weeks and every 6 months until 2 yrs.
 * Difference in grade 2 or greater xerostomia at 6 months but not later. 28% of pts discontinued amifostine.

Moisturizing products:
 * Biotene products (Website) (OTC)
 * Mouthwash, gum, gel, liquid (spray bottle). Also toothpaste.
 * Numoisyn (Website) (Rx)
 * Lozenges (100 per bottle) - use PRN, up to 16/day
 * Liquid (30 cc or 300 cc bottle) - use 2 cc (1/2 tsp) PRN, rinse in mouth

Accupuncture
 * South Korea
 * Randomized. 12 patients with H&N cancer and radiation-induced xerostomia. Arm 1) real acupuncture vs. Arm 2) sham acupuncture BIW x 6 weeks. Measured whole stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rate, and questionnaire at 3 and 6 weeks after acupuncture
 * 2008 PMID 18532895 -- "Manual Acupuncture Improved Quality of Life in Cancer Patients with Radiation-Induced Xerostomia." (Cho JH, J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Jun 4. [Epub ahead of print])
 * Outcome: Whole salivary flow rate: no difference. Unstimulated flow rate: acupuncture significantly better. Subjective: acupuncture significantly less xerostomia
 * Conclusion: Significantly improved amelioration of subjective xerostomia

Candidiasis

 * Genoa (Italy) -- placebo vs. prophylactic fluconazole
 * Randomized. 270 patients with H&N tumors, excluding glottic T1-2. Conventional RT fractionation. Arm 1) fluconazole 100 mg QD vs. Arm 2) placebo. Starting 6th treatment until end of treatment. ~50% patients had baseline yeast cultured. If patients developed candidiasis, they could stop protocol and be treated with antimycotics at MD discretion
 * 2008 PMID 18419630 -- "Effects of fluconazole in the prophylaxis of oropharyngeal candidiasis in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck tumour: results from a double-blind placebo-controlled trial." (Corvo R, Eur J Cancer Care (Engl). 2008 May;17(3):270-7.)
 * Outcome: candidiasis-free survival improved at 6 weeks fluconazole 81% vs. placebo 64% (SS) and 8 weeks 76% vs. 57% (SS); time-to-outbreak fluconazole 56 days vs. placebo 47 days; mean duration of RT fluconazole 39.9 days vs. placebo 43.5 days (SS)
 * All adverse events: fluconazole 70% vs. placebo 67% (NS) - most related to RT not fluconazole
 * Conclusion: Prophylaxis with fluconazole significantly reduces rate and improves time to development of oral candidiasis

Loramyc mucoadhesive buccal tablet (MBT)
 * Nice (France) -- placebo vs. prophylactic miconazole
 * Randomized. 282 patients, H&N cancer. Arm 1) single-dose 50mg MBT miconazole vs. Arm 2) 500 mg oral gel (MOG) miconazole in 4 doses
 * 2007 PMID 18044772 -- "Comparison of the efficacy and safety of miconazole 50-mg mucoadhesive buccal tablets with miconazole 500-mg gel in the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis: a prospective, randomized, single-blind, multicenter, comparative, phase III trial in patients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancer." (Bensadoun RJ, Cancer. 2007 Nov 28 [Epub ahead of print])
 * Outcome: Clinical success MBT 56% vs. MOG 49% (NS), superiority for MBT if multiple oral lesions
 * Conclusion: MBT Loramyc well tolerated and not inferior; can be recommended as first-line treatment

Radiation dermatitis
Please see Skin care

Trismus

 * Therabite - plastic device used to stretch the jaw
 * Stack of tongue blades

Enteral Feeding

 * Sahlgrenska University Hospital (Sweden) -- prophylactic PEG tube versus as-needed enteral support
 * Randomized multicenter trial. 134 patients with stage III/IV H&N cancer treated with curative intent therapy including radiotherapy (58% oropharynx, 69% chemoradiotherapy). Arm 1) PEG inserted prior to treatment start. Arm 2) Treatment per standard clinical practice. Rigorous 2-year follow-up with EORTC health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaires, dietitian visits.
 * 2012 PMID 21374756 -- "Impact of prophylactic percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy on malnutrition and quality of life in patients with head and neck cancer: a randomized study" (Silander E, Head Neck. 2012 Jan;34(1):1-9.)
 * Outcome: 73% of control group eventually required enteral feeding support. HRQOL better in prophylactic PEG arm, biggest difference at 6 months: global health status 64 vs. 52, p=0.02. Less weight loss in prophylactic PEG arm, but p=NS: 8.8 vs 9.6 kg at 6 months. Overall survival similar, logrank p=0.41.
 * Conclusion: Malnutrition is common after treatment for advanced H&N cancer. Prophylactic PEG may improve quality of life and reduce weight loss.

 * Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Australia) -- NGT vs PEG tube
 * Randomized. Closed early due to poor accrual. 33/150 patients, H&N cancer planned for curative RT, 'anticipated to require enteral feeding' (whole oral cavity RT, AHFX, CRT, >10% weight loss). Arm 1) percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube vs. Arm 2) nasogastric (NGT) tube. Criteria for insertion: intake <50% of calculated daily nutritional requirement and/or >5kg weight loss from start of treatment
 * 2008 PMID 19032398 -- "Randomized study of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy versus nasogastric tubes for enteral feeding in head and neck cancer patients treated with (chemo)radiation." (Corry J, J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol. 2008 Oct;52(5):503-10.)
 * Outcome: No difference in absolute weight, upper arm circumference at 6 weeks post treatment. No difference in weight loss at 6 months. Median duration of use PEG 4.6 months vs. NGT 2.2 months (SS)
 * Toxicity: No difference in G3 dysphagia. PEG site infections 27%, NGT dislodgement 61%. No difference in chest infection. QoL overall no difference, but more pain with PEG (SS), more inconvenience with NGT (SS), more altered body image with NGT (SS) during first week. No difference at removal.
 * Cost: NGT $76 vs. PEG $736
 * Patient selection: Off study, when patients allowed to choose, NGT = 73 patients and PEG = 32 patients
 * Conclusion: No evidence to support routine use of PEG tubes over NGT

title: Radiation Oncology/HN-supportive care


text:
Systems Theory/Creativity

Creativity
The key work on Systems Theory in Creativity was done by Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi (1988, 1999) in providing a model with which to explain how creative artifacts emerge from the system, which is a confluence model. Csikszentmihalyi's model incorporates three entities, the Individual, The Field and the Domain.

Creativity is a multidisciplinary, multifaceted concept that has held the interest of both theorists and practitioners over many years. It is perhaps more important today than ever before (Runco, 2004) because of the fast and complex changes that characterize the environment in which we live and operate. Some of the more fundamental changes are: a) globalization which, among other things, has introduced diversity in cultures and markets and exposed organizations to increased competitive pressure; b) technology advancements, particularly in communication, that have changed the means and the pace of information flow; c) organizational structures that are leaner and flatter, sometimes with part of the operations physically located on other continents; d) shift from manufacturing dominated to service dominated economies; e) markets that are more informed about products, available choices and civil rights.

All these changes make obsolete the traditional ways of going about business and pose new challenges for decision makers. Individuals, firms and governments alike are must seek novel solutions to the challenges posed by the increasing dynamism and complexity of their environment. Creativity is the first step in the formulation of the novel solutions needed to counter these equally new situations. Indeed since the times of Graham Wallas and his work – Art of Thought - published in 1926, creativity has been recognized as a useful and effective response to evolutionary changes.

Meaning and Scope
Being a multidisciplinary concept, creativity means different things to, and is expressed in different ways by different people. Organizational creativity is different from artistic creativity and both are different from clinical creativity. Emphases will also differ from one discipline to another. A psychiatrist’s interest in creativity will be different from that of a mathematician and both will differ from that of an organizational behaviorist. Consequently, debates abound as to the origins, boundaries, processes and importance of creativity. For organizations and businesses however, the debates are only academic because of the role that creativity plays in innovation and entrepreneurship. In organizations and businesses, creativity is the process through which new ideas that make innovation possible are developed (Paulus & Nijstad, 2003). Additionally, at least for business organizations, creative ideas must have utility. They must constitute an appropriate response to a gap in the production, marketing or administrative processes of the organization. In this sense, creativity may be defined as the development of original ideas that have functional utility. The generation and development of original ideas is a complex process that has attracted research interest in several disciplines. The model first developed by Wallas in 1926 seems to have gained general acceptance, albeit with modifications over time. Without going into details, the model breaks down the creativity process into five stages namely: idea germination (or problem perception), knowledge accumulation (also called preparation or immersion), incubation, illumination (also called revelation or the Eureka stage) and verification (or evaluation).

There are other interesting perspectives about the meaning and scope of creativity. Only a few of them are mentioned here. First, understanding creativity as an aspect of problem solving seems to suggest that creativity is reactive. While this is true – creativity responds to new demands occasioned by changes that have become part of organizational life – creativity is also proactive (Heinzen, 1994). Understanding creativity as the development of new ideas that have utility pits the concept in a dual role of problem solving and problem finding (Runco, 2004). As developments in the communication industry demonstrate, creativity has a role to play in initiating change and evolution in organizations. Second, whereas originality is necessary, it is not sufficient for creativity. Unless an idea is useful to someone and can be replicated, it is only just that – a bright idea (Drucker, 1994). In addition, originality does not imply that creative ideas are always radical deviations of present day applications. Inventions are momentous when they are introduced on the market but there are very few radical inventions and far between. In many cases creative ideas that result in innovations are a reformulation of existing ideas that makes them more versatile, user-friendlier or just less costly to produce and dispense. Third, creativity is intricately linked to innovation and entrepreneurship (Kao, 1989). Creativity envisions what is possible and is more conceptual than practical. Innovation and entrepreneurship complete the cycle by applying the results of the creative process to economic or social advantage. Fourth, a distinction needs to be made between talent creativity – like that possessed by artists and performers – and self-actualizing creativity (Maslow, 1971) that is deliberately developed for problem solving and competence enhancing. The point here is that creative ability is a process of nature and nurture. Some may have a natural flair for creative thinking while for others it lies latent and must de deliberately developed. Fifth, apart from the categorization along the disciplinary divide, creativity may also be discussed under an alliterative scheme adopted by Runco from Rhodes (1987). The scheme distinguishes between the creative person, process, product and pressures (press) on creative persons or creative processes.

Drivers
Factors that enhance creativity in individuals or organizations may be divided into two categories - personal and environmental. Personal characteristics that enhance creative ability include high evaluation of aesthetic qualities, having broad interests, curiosity and a penchant for discovery, openness to suggestion, attraction to complexity, having independence of judgment thought and action, a love for autonomy, intuition, self-confidence, ability to accommodate ambiguity and to resolve antinomies, intrinsic motivation and a firm belief in self as a creative person.

Environmental factors examine the context in which creative ability is nurtured and in which creative action is required. In an individual’s formative stages, family background and structure (Sulloway, 1996), societal norms and values, social institutions such as schools, religion, role models and peer groups all play a role in the nurturing of creative ability. Contexts that are flexible about rules and regulations, permitting experimentation and independent choices will enhance creativity. Those that are rigid will inhibit it. In the organizational context, situations that avail time to think, resources to spend, encouragement and reward for original solutions, freedom from criticism and that have good role models and norms in which innovation is prized and failure is not fatal, will enhance creativity.

Inhibitors
Among the factors that inhibit creative ability in individuals and organizations are a population that is not curious or inquisitive and unwilling or unable to question assumptions, resistance to change and tendency to conform, fear of failure and criticism, red tape, time pressure (time is important for new ideas to incubate), lack of feedback, inappropriate norms and values, strict adherence to rules, regulations and budgets, an atmosphere characterized by constraint and lack of autonomy, blinked thinking and unrealistic expectations, over analysis of phenomenon (resulting in paralysis), organizational structures that constrain the flow of ideas, lack of recognition and reward for successful ideas, short term orientation and departmental actions that fail to take into account the bigger picture (functional myopia).

There are also a number of factors that may work both ways - that may stimulate or inhibit creativity. Among these are: lack of resources – ideas require extensive resources to be developed but paucity may in itself be an incentive for creativity (Runco, 2004); competition may also act in both directions – it may stimulate creativity to maintain a competitive edge but it may also discourage creative effort by making obsolete innovations before they are able to recoup expenditure on their development.

The Dark Side
While creativity has been associated with problem solving and value enhancing through proactive actions, it has also been linked with potential costs to the individual and to the society at large. For example, creative geniuses have been associated with various disorders including madness and eccentricity (Ludwig 1995), alcoholism (Noble et al 1993) and stress (Carson and Runco, 1999). Runco (1999) suggested that because creativity is strongly linked to originality it is a kind of social deviance. Plucker & Runco (1999) and Runco (1999) observed that there is frequent stigma attached to creativity. Before these, McLaren (1993) made the observation that it is the dark side of creativity has given the world weapons of mass destruction and other evil inventions and techniques. It would of course be naïve to conclude that creative persons are mad, social deviants or terrorists from such correlations.

title: Systems Theory/Creativity


text:
Radiation Oncology/Sarcoma/Overview

Soft Tissue Sarcoma

 * Described originally by ancient Greek physicians, the term comes from sarx, meaning “flesh”

Incidence

 * 0.66% of adult cancer cases (8100 cases/yr)
 * 15% of patients are <16 years old, 40% are >40
 * 6.5% of pediatric cancers
 * Deaths: 4,600 cases/yr, about 50%
 * 5th most common cause of death in children under 15 yrs
 * Distribution: 60% in extremities, 30% in the trunk, 9% head and neck
 * Extremity: 75% lower extremity; of these 75% are at or above the knee.
 * Trunk: 40% are in the retroperitoneum. The rest are abdominal wall, chest wall, mediastinum, breast, etc.

Etiology

 * Arise from primitive mesenchyme of the mesoderm, which gives rise to muscle, fat, fibrous tissues, blood vessels, and supporting cells of the peripheral nervous system
 * Most are sporadic. Familial inheritance pattern may be found in:
 * Familial polyposis - desmoid tumors
 * Retinoblastoma - bone and soft tissue sarcomas
 * Neurofibromatosis type 1 - benign neurofibromas and malignant neurofibrosarcomas
 * Li-Fraumeni syndrome - bone and soft tissue sarcomas
 * May be radiation induced; in breast the actuarial risk of developing radiation-induced sarcoma after breast RT is ~0.5% at 15-20 years
 * Most common types are malignant fibrous histiocytoma, fibrosarcoma, and malignant nerve sheath tumor
 * Environmental: vinyl chloride, phenoxyacetic acid, arsenic - hepatic angiosarcomas. Increased incidence found in gardeners (phenoxy herbicides), railroad workers, construction workers exposed to impregnating agents
 * May be observed in the setting of chronic massive edema (e.g. Stewart-Treves Syndrome)
 * Rare cases have also been observed in scar tissues after surgery, burn, or foreign body implants

Pathologic types

 * Comment: MFH is the most heterogenous group of sarcomas. A hypothesis proposes that MFH, as a poorly differentiated sarcoma, may represent a common endpoint for various other sarcomas (PMID 11408500, PMID 11965276)

Diagnosis by immunostains

 * The following immunostains are useful in excluding or ruling in certain sarcomas (the stains listed are positive for the tumor type listed). Those listed below are not all sarcomas but some are useful diagnoses to exclude.

 * Abdominal pelvic sarcoma: MART-1
 * Desmoplastic small round cell tumor: WT1, perinuclear dot-like desmin
 * Rhabdomyosarcoma: myogenin, myo-D1, myoglobin
 * Leiomyosarcoma: Desmin, caldesmin
 * Peripheral neuroectodermal tumor (PNET): CD-99, synaptophysin, chromogranin A
 * Pleomorphic liposarcoma: S-100
 * Neuroblastoma: neurofilament, chromogranin A, synaptophysin
 * Angiosarcoma: CD31, CD34
 * Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma: CD21, CD35
 * GIST: CD117 (c-kit)
 * Melanoma: S-100, MART-1
 * Poorly differentiated carcinoma: pancytokeratin, EMA
 * High grade lymphoma: CD45 (leukocyte common antigen), CD4, nuclear TdT
 * Mesothelioma: WT1, pancytokeratin
 * Poorly differentiated germ cell tumor: PLAP, pancytokeratin, CD117 (c-kit)
 * Synovial sarcoma: translocation t(X;18)

Others to be classified: vimentin, CD56, CD57, collagen type 4 immunostaining -- peripheral nerve sheath tumor or synovial sarcoma

See also:
 * Clear cell sarcoma of kidney (see Wilms' tumor)

Fibrous Tumors

 * Please see the Fibrosarcoma page for more detail

Fibrohistiocytic Tumors

 * Historically believed to come from histiocytes, but likely fibroblastic in origin
 * Fibrous histiocytoma: benign, typically solitary, slow-growing nodules. Fibroblasts and histiocytes. In skin called dermatofibroma. Treated by simple excision or wide local excision to prevent local recurrence
 * Xanthoma: histiocytes full of lipid; associated with hyperlipidemia, and usually manifested in skin though may involved deep tissues as well
 * Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: low-grade cutaneous sarcoma
 * High-grade undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma:
 * Historically called Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma (MFH)
 * Group of malignant soft tissue tumors, with several subtypes. There is some evidence MFH may be the final undifferentiated stage for sarcoma of various differentiation lines.
 * Most commonly diagnosed extremity sarcoma
 * Presents as painless mass
 * Please see below for treatment approaches

Adipose Tumors

 * Lipoma: most common benign soft tissue neoplasm. Subcutaneous tissues of trunk and proximal limbs (thighs). Frequently solitary, slow-growing, and painless. Local excision, with recurrence <2%
 * Angiomyolipoma: renal tumor composed of fat, smooth muscle, and blood vessel. Presents with pain or hematuria. Does not metastasise. May be associated with tuberous sclerosis. Wide local excision
 * Liposarcoma:
 * Mostly in adults. ~20% of soft tissue sarcomas
 * May occur anywhere, though most common locations are retroperitoneum and thigh
 * Three primary histologies:
 * Atypical lipomatous tumor: Deep-seated, painless, enlarging mass. Typically mature adipocytes, although ~10% can become dedifferentiated. The low grade mature adipocyte lesions have a low rate of lymph node involvement and distant metastases. The dedifferentiated lesions are more aggressive (5-year DSS 20%, local failure 80%, and distant mets 30%), especially if located in the retroperitoneum
 * Myxoid liposarcoma: ~40% of liposarcomas. Typically extremities, particularly thigh. t(12;16) translocation resulting in fusion protein TLS-CHOP in >90%. Proportion of tumor containing round cells determines grade, which has impact on survival (5-year OS <5% round cell 90% vs >5% round cell 50%). Respond well to RT
 * Pleomorphic liposarcoma: highly undifferentiated, high metastatic potential, rapid death

Smooth Muscle Tumors

 * Leiomyoma: Mostly in uterus, GI tract, and extensor surfaces of extremities. Painful, frequently multiple. Histologically benign. May have high recurrence rate after surgery
 * Leiomyosarcoma:
 * Smooth muscle cells staining for desmin and actin. Grading can be difficult, and mitotic activity is used
 * Mostly arise as uterine sarcoma or as retroperitoneal sarcoma, though can arise in any location
 * Subcutaneous LMS presents as small nodules, and has much better prognosis

Skeletal Muscle Tumors

 * Please see the Rhabdomyosarcoma page

Vascular Tumors

 * Hemangioma: Most present at birth, and regress spontaneously. If rapid growth occurs, intralesional injection with interferon
 * Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM): Progressive infiltration of lungs by smooth muscle cells. Predominately in younger women. Efforts to treat it with lung transplant
 * Kaposi's Sarcoma
 * Angiosarcoma
 * Hemangiopericytoma
 * Hemangioendothelioma

Synovial Tumors

 * Nodular Tenosynovitis: Giant cell tumor, commonly seen in women, age 30-50. Frequently in hand, but also ankles and knees. Slow-growing tumors. Due to location, excision often has close margins, and local recurrence 10-20%
 * Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis
 * Synovial sarcoma

Peripheral Nerve Tumors

 * Neurofibroma: Small, slowly growing, cutaneous or subcutaneous nodules. May be painful. Associated with NF1. Plexiform neurofibromas may affect larger segments of nerve, causing dysesthetic pain. Sometimes difficult to differentiate from MPNST
 * Benign schwannoma (neurilemoma): Slowly growing. Usually encapsulated, containing an ordered cellular region (Antoni A) and a myxoid component (Antoni B). Frequently a painless vertebral mass in the retroperitoneum, also in H&N, and flexor surfaces of the extremities. Treated with surgical resection
 * Malignant peripheral nerve sheet tumor

Uncertain Histogenesis

 * Myxoma: Typically occurs in large muscles of the extremities. Abundant mucoid material with few cells.
 * Alveolar soft part sarcoma: Slow-growing, painless mass, typically in lower extremities. Poorly circumscribed; alveolar spaces are areas of necrosis. Poor prognosis. Essentially no response to chemotherapy
 * Clear cell sarcoma of the tendons and aponeuroses (melanoma of soft parts): more common in young women. Poor prognosis. High grade. Appears morphologically and behaviorally similar to melanoma, but it has a distinct translocation
 * Desmoplastic small round cell tumor: Diffuse peritoneal implants. Small round blue cells, fibrosclerotic stroma. Co-express epithelial, mesenchymal, myogenic, and neural markers, with t(11;22) translocation. Poor prognosis (3-year OS 30%)
 * Follicular dendritic cell sarcoma: Follicular dendritic cells that present antigens to B-cells in a lymph node. Surgery primary approach. High rate of recurrence.

Patterns of spread

 * Lymph nodes
 * ~5% have positive lymph nodes at presentation (PMID 3308055)
 * Increased risk in clear cell sarcoma (28%), angiosarcoma (23%), epithelioid sarcoma (20%), rhabdomyosarcoma (15%), synovial sarcoma (14%). (Mnemonic: SCARE for synovial, clear cell, angio, rhabdo, epithel.)
 * However, recent studies on synovial sarcoma show only 1-3% rate of LN failure, and radiation of regional LNs may no longer recommended
 * Distant metastases
 * ~10% have distant mets at presentation
 * Extremity sarcomas most commonly spread to lung (70-82% experience lung mets as first metastatic site); ~80% of distant mets appear within 2 years
 * Retroperitoneal sarcomas spread frequently to liver (liposarcoma spreads to nonpulmonary sites in 59% of metastases)

Risk of Distant mets:
 * French Federation, 2001 (1980-94) - PMID 11346874 — "Predictive value of grade for metastasis development in the main histologic types of adult soft tissue sarcomas: a study of 1240 patients from the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group." Coindre JM et al. Cancer. 2001 May 15;91(10):1914-26.
 * Grade, tumor size, depth, and neurovascular bone involvement (NBI) are independent predictors of mets.
 * Metastasis-free survival:
 * MFH : 88% (<5cm), 65% (5-9cm), 53% (10+cm). 90% (grade 1), 76% (gr 2), 48% (gr 3).
 * Liposarcoma : size - 92%, 94%, 78%, grade - 93%, 71%, 58%.
 * Leiomyosarcoma : size - 88%, 52%, 41%. grade - 92%, 66%, 44%.
 * Synovial sarcoma : size - 66%, 56%, 27%. grade - 74% (grade 2), 35% (gr 3).
 * MPNST : size - 61%, 57%, 44%. grade - 77%, 56%, 52%.

Prognostic factors

 * Increased risk for local recurrence
 * Age > 50
 * Recurrent disease
 * Positive surgical margins
 * Fibrosarcoma (including desmoid)
 * Malignant peripheral nerve tumors

 * Increased risk of distant mets
 * Size > 5cm
 * High grade
 * Deep location
 * Recurrent disease
 * Leiomyosarcoma

Risk of Death
 * MSKCC, 2002 PMID 11821462 -- "Postoperative nomogram for 12-year sarcoma-specific death." (Kattan MW, J Clin Oncol. 2002 Feb 1;20(3):791-6.)
 * Nomogram developed for 12-year sarcoma-specific death
 * Variables: age, size (<5, 5-10, >10), grade (high, low), histology (various types), depth (superficial, deep), site (UE, LE, visceral, thoracic/trunk, retroperitoneal, H&N)

Other Resources

 * ARRO Case - STS
 * ASTRO/ARRO Journal Club Webinar 2011 - "IMRT vs. Brachy for STS" with Thomas Delaney, M.D.
 * ASTRO/ARRO Journal Club Webinar 2012 - "RT for Extremity STS: Why, Where, and When?" with Thomas Delaney, M.D.

title: Radiation Oncology/Sarcoma/Overview


text:
User:Tjyang

E-mail: tj_yang at hotmail dot com.

My Blog

 * T.J. Yang's Blog

IRC Channels I may show up

 * IRC: server irc.freenode.net, channel #gnustep, nickname tjyang
 * IRC: server irc.freenode.net, channel #nslu2-linux, nickname tjyang
 * IRC: server irc.freenode.net, channel #ds101-linux, nickname tjyang
 * IRC: server irc.freenode.net, channel #macports, nickname tjyang

My Interests in Computer Science Area

 * DD-WRT
 * OpenSolaris account
 * cross-platform applications management.
 * System Monitoring
 * Linux Game Machine
 * ipodlinux
 * Objective-C
 * SGE Grid Engine
 * Amazon Wish List
 * GCC Internals
 * How to compile gcc
 * Track Hacks
 * Importance of Solaris

Wikibooks that I am working on

 * GNUstep GNU's NeXTStep
 * BDOS wikibook.
 * CPAM_with_TWW: Cross OS platforms application management.
 * System_Monitoring_with_Xymon: Proactive System Monitoring using Xymon software

title: User:Tjyang


text:
Cookbook:Spanish Omelet

| Breakfast | Omelet recipes

The Spanish omelet (tortilla) is one of the best-known Spanish dishes, and it would be very rare to find a tapas bar that does not offer the Spanish tortilla. This tapa is versatile, and other ingredients such as mushrooms, tomatoes, and peppers can be added to create variety. Spanish tortilla can be served warm or cold, and is often topped with mayonnaise or tomato sauce.

Ingredients

 * 1 lb (450 g) waxy potatoes
 * 1 large white/Spanish onion (optional)
 * About 1 liter oil (olive oil preferred)
 * 6 eggs
 * 1 pinch salt

Procedure

 * 1) Peel and slice potatoes. The slices should be quite thin.
 * 2) Meanwhile, heat the oil on a low heat in a large sauté pan
 * 3) Add the potatoes to the sauté pan, and fry until soft and cooked through, but not browned. This can take quite a while—don't rush it. It is a good idea to keep the pan covered so the steam from the potatoes at the bottom of the pan helps cook the ones at the top.
 * 4) Slice the onion thinly. Fry it lightly in frying pan, stirring frequently for a few minutes or until sweet. Or you can simply add them to the potatoes for the last five minutes of cooking.
 * 5) Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add salt.
 * 6) Add the hot cooked potatoes and onion to the egg in the bowl, gently mix the potatoes and onion into the egg and leave it for five minutes. This starts the egg cooking and helps cover the potato slices in egg so it all sticks together nicely.
 * 7) Drain oil, reserving oil for another time.
 * 8) Pour the potatoes, onion and egg mix back into the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes on a low heat. Keep the pan moving so the mix doesn't stick to the pan. A non-stick pan makes this much easier.
 * 9) When the edge of the tortilla looks cooked place a large, flat plate over the pan (like a lid), put one hand on the plate to hold it in place and turn the whole thing over (the first few times you do this it is best do this over the sink—can be very messy).
 * 10) You should now have an up-side-down omelette on your plate, cooked on top and raw underneath. Check the pan is clean and scrape any bits that have stuck in the pan off and add a bit of oil if it is looking dry. Now slide the omelette back into the pan to cook the bottom.
 * 11) Cook for another few minutes,
 * 12) Repeat the turning trick a couple of times (practice makes perfect) to make sure it is cooked evenly.
 * 13) Transfer to a large plate, cut into wedges, and serve with more tapas.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Sliced tomatoes, fresh bread, and mayonnaise make this into a great meal.

Artes culinarias/Recetas/Tortilla de patatas Kookboek/Spaanse tortilla

title: Cookbook:Spanish Omelet


text:
Cookbook:Funnel

| Kitchen tools

A funnel is a conical utensil with a wide opening at one end that tapers down to a narrow (almost cylindrical) tube at the other. It is generally used to transfer ingredients from larger to smaller containers. Usually liquids or small solids.

title: Cookbook:Funnel


text:
Cookbook:Molasses Cookies

| Cuisine of the United States | Dessert

These cookies can be considered gingerbread cookies, and originally were named as such. They resemble the molasses cookies made by Archway; they use relatively little ginger and are thus not as spicy hot as gingerbread cookies from many other recipes. They are usually somewhat soft and not at all gooey, being halfway between crumbly and chewy. They are generally not crisp, but can be slightly crisp if thoroughly cooked. The recipe works for both drop cookies and rolled cookies, with a bit of adjustment to the amount of flour.

The known history of this recipe starts from eavesdropping on a party-line telephone during the early 1900s. The age of this recipe appears to explain many odd features. At the time, baking powder did not exist. Thus this recipe uses baking soda, with sour milk (now created via vinegar, so don't panic) as the acid. Ginger would have been expensive. The recipe originally called for an undefined amount of flour that turned out to be around 8 cups (½ gallon), which would feed a family of a dozen or so. The recipe has been cut in half for the benefit of less-productive parents.

Ingredients

 * ½ tablespoon vinegar
 * ½ cup milk (minus ½ tablespoon for the vinegar)
 * ½ cup sugar
 * ½ cup (8 tablespoons) shortening
 * 1 egg
 * 1 cup molasses
 * 4 cups flour
 * 2 teaspoon baking soda
 * ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
 * ¼ teaspoon ginger
 * Toppings (walnuts, raisins, etc.)

Procedure

 * 1) Grease or parchment-line some cookie sheets.
 * 2) Combine the vinegar and milk.
 * 3) Combine the baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and 2½ cups of flour.
 * 4) Cream together the sugar and shortening until well-combined, then beat in the molasses and egg until smooth.
 * 5) Alternately mix in the dry and milk mixtures, starting and ending with the dry mixture.
 * 6) Bit by bit, mix in more flour as needed. For drop cookies, you might not add any more. For rolled cookies produced without refrigeration, you are likely to need an extra 1½ cup for a total of 4 cups. Refrigeration can reduce this slightly.
 * 7) Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
 * 8) Form the cookies.
 * 9) *If making drop cookies, scoop some batter onto the prepared cookie sheet. Using a bit of sugar to prevent sticking, squish the cookie with a glass. Press some toppings into the top of the cookie.
 * 10) *Plop a pint-sized blob of batter onto a flour-dusted surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour as you squish it down, then roll it out. A cold marble rolling pin is suggested. Cut out shapes, then place them on the cookie sheet. The unused dough may be put back into the mix; note that this increases the proportion of flour.
 * 11) Bake cookies for 8–10 minutes at 375°F.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Softened unsalted butter may be substituted for the shortening. Lard is an even better substitute.

title: Cookbook:Molasses Cookies


text:
User talk:Rainbird~enwikibooks

Thank you very much for registering before you posted a comment. That's very useful.

I will soon reply at Talk:Lucid Dreaming. r3m0t (cont) (talk) 19:15, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Your account will be renamed
Hello,

The developer team at Wikimedia is making some changes to how accounts work, as part of our on-going efforts to provide new and better tools for our users like cross-wiki notifications. These changes will mean you have the same account name everywhere. This will let us give you new features that will help you edit and discuss better, and allow more flexible user permissions for tools. One of the side-effects of this is that user accounts will now have to be unique across all 900 Wikimedia wikis. See the announcement for more information.

Unfortunately, your account clashes with another account also called Rainbird. To make sure that both of you can use all Wikimedia projects in future, we have reserved the name Rainbird~enwikibooks that only you will have. If you like it, you don't have to do anything. If you do not like it, you can pick out a different name.

Your account will still work as before, and you will be credited for all your edits made so far, but you will have to use the new account name when you log in.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Yours, Keegan Peterzell Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation 23:36, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Renamed
 This account has been renamed as part of single-user login finalisation. If you own this account you can |log in using your previous username and password for more information. If you do not like this account's new name, you can choose your own using this form after logging in: . -- Keegan (WMF) (talk) 05:24, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Rainbird~enwikibooks


text:
Cookbook:Crispy Chicken

| Meat

Crispy chicken is marinated and breaded chicken.

Ingredients

 * 4 bone-in chicken thighs
 * ⅓ cup Italian dressing
 * 1½–2 cups bread crumbs

Procedure

 * 1) Remove the skin and fat from the chicken thighs with kitchen shears.
 * 2) Place thighs in a container with Italian dressing. Seal and shake to coat.
 * 3) If you have the time, allow the chicken to marinate for extra flavor.
 * 4) While chicken marinates, put bread crumbs in a medium bowl.
 * 5) Put marinated chicken thighs in the bowl one at a time, and coat them with crumbs, adding extra bread crumbs as needed.
 * 6) Place breaded chicken on a cookie sheet or other baking pan.
 * 7) Bake on the oven's center rack at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes or until bread crumbs are browned.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * For easy clean-up, put parchment paper between the chicken and the pan.

title: Cookbook:Crispy Chicken


text:
Systems Theory/Entropy

Energy – From Physics to Organizations
The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can not be created or destroyed. All energy present in the universe (the largest system we know) simply changes forms throughout the cycles and phases of the system. When we observe a component of the system losing energy, we are observing a displacement of the energy’s location. The energy that was once localized to a specific entity, group, business or person will eventually disperse into the surrounding system.

Example: A hammer is swung with kinetic energy to drive a nail into a piece of wood. When the nail is struck, the hammer’s energy is transferred to the nail. The nail then uses its kinetic energy to move into the wood. The wood uses its potential energy to push back against the nail until the nail no longer continues to move. If the nail had been driven into a perfectly elastic substance it would simply have bounced back. But the wood fibres irreversibly dissipate the lost kinetic energy as heat. Excess energy produces heat and sound during the hammering.

In this small system, energy only changes form and location, but is never created or destroyed. If we were to expand the system, we would see that the kinetic energy in the hammer came from the kinetic energy in the hammerer’s arm. This kinetic energy came from the chemical energy gained from ingesting food. The food’s chemical energy came from the chemical bonds formed in the presence of solar energy. In physics, the changes in the location and form of energy is the mechanism that connects the universe as a very large system. Energy flows through other systems as well. In social organizations, energy is often described in various other terms (people, money, products, information or capital) but still flows in a similar manner.* Example: A company’s success in bill collecting is declining because the amount of collection calls per week has diminished. The bill collector has been searching for a new job during their working hours. The energy that the collector normally put into calling clients is now being used to conduct personal business. In this example, the energy inputs (40 hours per week from the collector) have remained the same, however, the energy is being dispersed from the company’s system to the collector and other businesses’ systems.

Entropy Defined
Entropy is a tendency for a systems’ outputs to decline when the inputs have remained the same. Most often associated with the Second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy measures the changes in the type and dispersion of energy within an observable system. We measure entropy in a systems thinking by the change in outputs when the inputs have remained the same. Thus, entropy is a direct function of time (temporal).**

Closed Systems and Scope
Entropy occurs in closed systems where only the outputs decline. The system appears closed because the observed scope of the system displays no changes in the normal processes or actions that continue to take place.

Example: An organization manufactures ocean-worthy sailing ships for transportation. The organization has reported fewer revenues every year since the late 1800’s. The inputs (labor, skill, tools and capital) have remained the same throughout the years, however, sales have dropped (no pun intended) due to entropy. Without changes in inputs  (creativity, modernism, or market observance) the system is considered closed, and entropy becomes inevitable.

In this example, the success of the transportation industry is not declining, only the success of one organization. Through more convenient transportation, the success of large sailing ships is being transferred from the local environment to the global market. The trans-oceanic travel is still needed, but due to a closed and entropic system, the sailing boat organization will no longer be successful. This organization failed to consider that they are part of a larger system, and must evolve over time. The scope of the system and the complexity greatly effect the length of time in which entropy typically occurs.

Example: A neighborhood child opens a lemonade stand. The lemonade remains the same, and after one month, the sales of lemonade decline as the neighborhood consumers want variety. Entropy within this system sets in quickly. An international soft-drink company that chooses to no longer manufacture more than one type of beverage could similarly fall victim to entropy.

Combating Entropy
Living organisms are often affected by diseases. These diseases represent external and internal threats that degenerate the organism until it no longer can sustain life. We challenge this form of organic entropy by adding inputs (white blood cells, medications, nutrients, etc.). Thus, organisms continue to exist through a spontaneous changes in the inputs and structures of the processes.***

Once social organizations reach a state of static equilibrium, entropy begins to occur. The degradation of the system unit of entire system is then only a function of time. This unintended process occurs until the system is thrown out of its static state with new inputs or process changes, or the system fails. To challenge the onslaught of entropy, system thinkers are required to continuously expand their knowledge of the scope and complexity of their system. Once they can identify a way for the component or process to evolve, the risk of entropy is lessened. After new actions are taken or inputs are changed, the process to avoid system decline due to entropy begins again. Once growth has stopped, the decline of the system is inevitable.

 * Although the concepts of people, money, products, information, or capital can be created and destroyed, the flow, organization, and displacements of these components are treated like energy for the discussion of organizational entropy.

 * Not to confuse physics and systems science: In systems science, entropy is measured by change in outputs over time. In physics, entropy is measured by change in temperature over time.

 * Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine first described that living systems continuously renew themselves through a process of "spontaneous structuration" which occurs when they are jarred out of a state of equilibrium.

title: Systems Theory/Entropy