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Cancer treatments - chemotherapy

2009-07-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs used in the treatment of cancer may be taken as tablets or, more commonly, given by intravenous drip directly into a vein.

Many different drugs are available, which generally work by killing or slowing the growth of fast-growing cells. Cancers are made up of fast-growing cells. Other fast-growing cells, such as the cells that make up hair follicles, are also affected. This is why one of the side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss. Chemotherapy medications are also known as cytotoxic or anti-cancer medications.

Different uses of chemotherapy
Depending on individual factors such as the type of cancer, where it is and the person’s age and general health, chemotherapy may be used:

As the only form of treatment
Together with radiotherapy
Before surgery to shrink the tumour
After surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells.

Aims of chemotherapy
The major aims of chemotherapy are to:

Cure the cancer or increase the chance of cure
Reduce symptoms and improve quality of life
Improve survival.

Cancer pain management

2009-07-08T12:36:00.001-07:00

The pain of cancer is usually constant. A person with well-managed pain has an improved quality of life. They are likely to sleep better and have more energy during the day. Being as active as possible also reduces the risk of ailments like pneumonia, blood clots and bedsores, which are associated with immobility. The foundation of cancer pain management is regular medication, including paracetamol and opioid drugs, chosen to suit individual patients and to minimise side effects. Drug combinations to gain maximum benefit are common. Radiotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy and chemotherapy - if successful in reducing tumour size - may also relieve pain. Other techniques that may be helpful include relaxation therapies and acupuncture.

The drug regimen is determined by the pain
The pain experienced influences the choice of drugs and their use. Some of the factors that influence the treatment choices include:

The location of the pain
The severity of the pain
The type of pain - such as sharp, tingling or aching
Whether the pain is persistent, or comes and goes
What activities or events make the pain worse
What activities or events make the pain better
The current medications
Whether or not the current medications ease the pain to an appreciable degree
The impact the pain has on lifestyle, such as poor quality of sleep or loss of appetite.

A range of medications
Some people respond better to certain pain-killing drugs than others, so treatment is always individually tailored. Pain relief can be provided by a range of medications, including:

Aspirin-like drugs - these medications are used for bone pain, and pain caused by inflammation (such as pleurisy). Some people experience stomach problems, such as indigestion and bleeding, with this type of medication. Aspirin itself is generally avoided, because it is too hard on the stomach if taken regularly.
Paracetamol - this drug is important in cancer pain control. It is usually well tolerated, doesn’t affect the stomach and won’t thin the blood. It is helpful to reduce fevers and relieve bone pain, and is often used along with opioids.
Opioids - such as codeine and morphine. Some of the possible side effects can include nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and constipation. There is no danger of addiction if taken for pain relief purposes. There are several newer opioids available, so that one can usually be found to suit any individual. Many patients worry about taking opioids, because they are afraid to become addicted or think they should wait until they are very ill before they use these drugs. Evidence shows that it is far better to find a suitable opioid and use it regularly from the time when your pain becomes constant. This makes it easier to maintain the activities and interests you enjoy.

The different forms of medication
Pain-killing medication can be administered in different ways, including:

Tablets or syrups - these can be taken by mouth and are simple to use. However, if nausea or vomiting is a problem, tablets or syrups may not be practical.
Injections - injections into the skin are painless, effective and quick acting. Continuous infusions under the skin may be set up and maintained at home, using a small portable pump.
Intravenous injections - drugs are administered directly to the bloodstream via a slender tube (catheter) inserted into a vein. The pain relief is more rapid than tablets, syrups or regular injections, but it is inconvenient for long term administration for patients who are at home.
Spinal injections - drugs are administered though a small catheter in the back (epidural catheter). This procedure must be performed by an anaesthetist. Generally, this type of pain relief is offered when other methods fail.

Chickenpox

2009-06-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

Chickenpox (varicella) is a highly contagious viral disease caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The main symptom is a blistering skin rash. Outbreaks are more common in winter and early spring. A vaccine is available.

Chickenpox is spread by air-borne droplets from the upper respiratory tract (coughing, sneezing) or from the fluid in the skin blisters (lesions). An infected person is contagious for 1–2 days (possibly five days) before the onset of the rash and remains infectious until the blisters form scabs (usually around day five of the illness). Children with chickenpox should not go to school or kinder until the last blister has dried. You should tell your child’s school or kinder if your child gets chickenpox, as other children may need to be immunised or treated.

For most healthy people, chickenpox is mild and the person recovers fully without specific treatment. However, complications occur in approximately one per cent of cases. It is more severe in adults and anyone of any age with impaired immunity. Immunisation is the best way to prevent chickenpox.

Symptoms
The symptoms of chickenpox include:

* The person develops a low-grade fever.
* The person experiences general discomfort, illness or lack of wellbeing (malaise).
* A skin rash appears as little blisters surrounded by irregular-shaped patches of inflamed skin (‘dew drop on a rose petal’).
* The rash usually starts on the body, then progresses to include the head and limbs.
* Ulcers may develop in certain areas, including the mouth and vagina.
* The rash is intensely itchy.
* The little blisters burst and develop crusts, usually about day five.

How it is spread
Chickenpox is spread by air-borne droplets from the upper respiratory tract (when the infected person coughs or sneezes) or from touching the fluid in the skin blisters (lesions). An infected person is contagious for 1–2 days (possibly five days) before the onset of the rash and remains infectious until the blisters form scabs (usually around day five of the illness).

The time from infection to appearance of the rash (incubation period) for chickenpox is around 14–16 days. A few days prior to the rash appears, the person may feel feverish with a sore throat and headache. Their skin may be marked for some months after the rash has cleared.

Children with chickenpox should not go to school or kinder until the last blister has dried or until all blisters are covered. You should tell your child’s school or kinder if your child gets chickenpox, as other children may need to be immunised or treated.

Immediate Treatment for Injuries

2009-06-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

If you suffer an injury during exercise, following a few simple recommendations can help you recover quickly and avoid a chronic problem. If you feel acute pain while exercising, you should:

* Stop exercising immediately.
* Wrap the injured part in a compression bandage.
* Apply ice to the injured part.
* Elevate the injured part to reduce swelling.
* Get to a physician for a proper diagnosis of any serious injury.

What should I do if I get injured?

Obviously a serious trauma injury, such as a broken bone or ruptured ligaments, will require immediate medical attention, but most injuries are not so dramatic, and some may even respond simply to rest.

When you get injured, there is typically swelling, redness, tenderness and increased temperature. This inflammatory response is how the body tries to heal itself – it is the body's attempt to dispose of blood (from torn tissue) and damaged cells.

Excessive swelling (oedema) can interfere with the initial healing process, so it's important in the early first aid treatment of sports injury to help limit this swelling. The acronym NICER is a useful reminder:

* N = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, which reduce inflammation and swelling, and alleviate pain (remember to check the label for contraindications).
* I = ice, or cold therapy, since this decreases pain and limits the extent of the swelling. Ice should never be placed directly against the skin. The time for which a tissue should be cooled depends upon the site and severity of the injury.
* C = compression, usually in the form of a compression bandage. This mechanically limits the amount of swelling by restricting the amount of space in and around the injury.
* E = elevation. This also helps control swelling since fluid is drained more effectively from the injury.
* R = restricted activity. To allow the healing process to proceed, the injured area must be rested initially.

Who's the best person to treat my injury?

If your injury is minor – not much more than a little stiffness or soreness – it may be that you have simply been doing a little too much too soon and the affected area just needs rest.

However, there may be underlying reason for the soreness, extrinsic or intrinsic, and it never pays to ignore an injury, especially when it may be very easy to locate its cause.

Start with a sports physiotherapist if the problem seems to be related to sport, or you've had it before, or with your GP, who may then suggest you see one or more of various therapists. You could be referred for:

* Physiotherapy - this covers a well-established group of treatments or techniques, frequently involving physical manipulation of the affected area. It's offered in hospitals, on the high street, in doctors' surgeries, and often in gyms and sports centres. Physiotherapy is a very broad term and many physiotherapists specialise in a particular area of the body, so you may need some guidance in choosing the right therapist for you. Physiotherapy is available on the NHS, but these days you usually have to wait weeks and months. If you can decide to see a physio privately, you can refer yourself directly.

* Podiatry - podiatrists specialise in diagnosis and treatment of disorders affecting the foot and lower limb. They can provide relief of painful symptoms and also preventive care for people with conditions that may affect the health of their feet. A podiatrist might prescribe and manufacture orthoses - specialist insoles that can address problems like pronation by holding the foot in a stable position and preventing it rolling inwards. Podiatry is rarely offered on the NHS, so you'll probably have to pay to see a podiatrist privately.

* Osteopathy - this is a complementary therapy that focuses on musculo-skeletal problems. It concentrates primarily on problems with muscles, joints and nerves and employs a range of physical and manual techniques. In the UK it's considered a complementary therapy, so access to osteopathy on the NHS is limited, but some osteopaths work alongside GPs, and GPs are permitted to refer patients to them. You can also go to see them privately without referral.

* Chiropractic - chiropractors use physical manipulation to treat problems with joints, bones and muscles, and the effects they have on the nervous system. Chiropractors place particular emphasis on the spine, which is why they tend to be associated with treating bad backs. Like osteopathy, chiropractic is only available as an NHS treatment in some areas, depending on the policy of the local primary care trust, or you can see them privately without referral.

Injury

2009-05-03T23:43:00.000-07:00

Injury or bodily injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. Personal Injury also refers to damage caused to the reputation of another rather than physical harm to the body. A severe and life-threatening injury is referred to as a physical trauma.
Types of injury
Minor abrasion injury.

* Bruise is a hemorrhage under the skin caused by contusion.
* Wound: cuts and grazes are injuries to or through the skin, that cause bleeding (i.e., a laceration).
* Burns are injuries caused by excess heat, chemical exposure, or sometimes cold (frostbite).
* Fractures are injuries to bones.
* Joint dislocation is a displacement of a bone from its normal joint, such as a dislocated shoulder or finger.
* Concussion is mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow, without any penetration into the skull or brain.
* Sprain is an injury which occurs to ligaments caused by a sudden over stretching; a strain injures muscles.
* Shock is a serious medical condition where the tissues cannot obtain sufficient oxygen and nutrients.
* Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery.
* Serious bodily injury is any injury or injuries to the body that substantially risks death of the victim.

Diamantina River

2009-05-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

The Diamantina River is a river in Queensland, Australia. Rising north-west of Longreach,[1] it flows in a south-westerly direction through central Queensland and Channel Country to form the Warburton River,[2] which, in extremely wet years, flows as far as Lake Eyre.[3] The length of the river is approximately 900 km, and the basin is approximately 157,000 km2,[4] of which most (140,000 km2) is used for agriculture.

Most of the basin of the Diamantina is very flat: even the highest points in the northeast do not reach 500 metres (1600 feet) above sea level and Lake Eyre itself is sixteen metres below sea level. Apart from a few streams near Winton (the largest town in the basin) almost all rivers in the basin flow southwestwards towards Birdsville. The major feature of the river's sluggish course is Diamantina National Park about halfway between Winton and Birdsville. Apart from the national park, almost all land in the basin is used for grazing cattle and sheep; though numbers fluctuate greatly and considerable skill is required on the part of graziers.

The climate of the basin is hot and arid. In January, temperatures throughout the basin average around 37°C (98°F) during the day and decline only to about 24°C (75°F) at night. In winter, they typically range from 25°C (77°F) during the day to 11°C (52°F) at night. On occasions, however, frost has been reported in all areas of the basin: Winton has recorded minima as low as -1.8°C (29°F).

Rainfall is heavily concentrated between December and March: averages for these four months range from 310mm (12 inches) at Winton and Kynuna to around 90mm (3.5 inches) at Birdsville. In the rest of the year rainfall is very scanty and only on the rarest occasions are significant falls reported: throughout most of the basin the average rainfall between May and September totals around 40mm (1.5 inches). However, the rainfall of the basin, as with all of the Lake Eyre Basin, is exceedingly erratic and catastropic droughts and floods tend to be the normal state of affairs throughout this region. In the northern part of the basin, annual rainfalls as high as 1,100 millimetres (43 inches) were reported in 1894, 1950, 1974 and 2000, whilst even in Birdsville annual totals as high as 550 millimetres (22 inches) have been reported. In dry years such as 1902, 1905, 1928, 1961, 1965 and 2002, almost the whole basin reported totals under 100mm (4 inches). There can also be significant variation from station to station over small areas: although the annual averages and variability at Winton and Kynuna are almost alike, the actual totals at the two stations can differ by as much as 200mm (8 inches) in some years due to isolated very heavy rainfalls.

The soils in the region are mainly grey and brown Vertisols, with some Fluvents in the drier areas. Although they do not have high phosphate contents, they have adequate levels of most other nutrients: consequently when rainfall is abundant the grasses within the basin are extremely nutritious, especially in the lower reaches of the river around Birdsville, which is a primary region for cattle fattening in years when rainfall further north is adequate to flood the region.

The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (nee Roma), wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland.

Liver Cancer

2009-04-27T13:51:00.001-07:00

Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It filters harmful substances from the blood, digests fats from food and stores the sugar that your body uses for energy. Primary liver cancer starts in the liver. Metastatic liver cancer starts somewhere else and spreads to your liver.

Risk factors for primary liver cancer include

* Having hepatitis
* Having cirrhosis, or scarring of liver
* Being male
* Low weight at birth

Symptoms can include a lump or pain on the right side of your abdomen and yellowing of the skin. However, you may not have symptoms and the cancer may not be found until it is advanced. This makes it harder to treat. Treatment options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or liver transplantation.

Heart Failure

2009-04-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. It means that your heart is not able to pump blood the way it should.

The weakening of the heart's pumping ability causes

* Blood and fluid to back up into the lungs
* The buildup of fluid in the feet, ankles and legs - called edema
* Tiredness and shortness of breath

The leading causes of heart failure are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Treatment includes treating the underlying cause of your heart failure, medicines, and heart transplantation if other treatments fail.

Heart failure is a serious condition. About 5 million people in the U.S. have heart failure. It contributes to 300,000 deaths each year.

Reactive Airway Disease (RAD)

2009-04-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) is a term proposed by S.M. Brooks and colleagues in 1985 to describe an asthma-like syndrome developing after a single exposure to high levels of an irritating vapor, fume, or smoke. In time, however, it has evolved to be mistakenly used as a synonym for asthma.

Current usage of the term in the medical community is to describe an asthma-like syndrome in infants that may later be confirmed to be asthma when they become old enough to participate in diagnostic tests such as the bronchial challenge test. It can also manifest in adults with exposure to high levels of Chlorine gas, creating symptoms like asthma. The severity of these symptoms can be mild to fatal, and can even create long term airway damage depending on the amount of exposure and the concentration of Chlorine.

Yushō disease

2009-04-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yushō disease (literally oil disease) was a mass poisoning by PCBs which occurred in northern Kyūshū, Japan in 1968. In January 1968, rice bran oil produced by Kanemi Company in Kyushu started to become contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The contaminated rice bran oil was then sold to poultry farmers for use as a feed supplement and to consumers for use in cooking. In February to March 1968, farmers started reporting that their poultry were dying due to apparent difficulty in breathing; altogether 400,000 birds died.

About 14,000 people who had consumed the contaminated rice oil were affected in Japan. Common symptoms included dermal and ocular lesions, irregular menstrual cycles and a lowered immune response.Other symptoms included fatigue, headache, cough, and unusual skin sores. Additionally, in children, there were reports of poor cognitive development.

Ulcerative colitis

2009-03-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ulcerative colitis (Colitis ulcerosa, UC) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the intestine, specifically the large intestine or colon, that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon. The main symptom of active disease is usually constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset. Ulcerative colitis is, however, believed to have a systemic etiology that leads to many symptoms outside the intestine.

Because of the name, IBD is often confused with irritable bowel syndrome ("IBS"), a troublesome, but much less serious condition. Ulcerative colitis has similarities to Crohn's disease, another form of IBD. Ulcerative colitis is an intermittent disease, with periods of exacerbated symptoms, and periods that are relatively symptom-free. Although the symptoms of ulcerative colitis can sometimes diminish on their own, the disease usually requires treatment to go into remission.

Quebec Platelet Disorder

2009-03-20T09:46:00.000-07:00

Quebec Platelet Disorder (QPD) is a rare, autosomal dominant bleeding disorder described in a family from the province of Quebec in Canada. The disorder is characterized by large amounts of the fibrinolytic enzyme urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) in platelets. Consequently, stored platelet plasminogen is converted to plasmin, which is thought to play a role in degrading a number of proteins stored in platelet α-granules.

These proteins include platelet factor V, Von Willebrand factor, fibrinogen, thrombospondin-1, and osteonectin. There is also a quantitative deficiency in the platelet protein multimerin 1 (MMRN1). Furthermore, upon QPD platelet activation, u-PA can be released into forming clots and accelerate clot lysis, resulting in delayed-onset bleeding (12-24hrs after injury). Individuals with QPD are at risk for experiencing a number of bleeding symptoms, including joint bleeds, hematuria, and large brusing . The genetic cause of QPD has not yet been determined.

Nutritional diseases

2009-03-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

Nutritional diseases also include developmental abnormalities that can be prevented by diet, hereditary metabolic disorders that respond to dietary treatment, the interaction of foods and nutrients with drugs, food allergies and intolerances, and potential hazards in the food supply. All of these categories are described in this article. For a discussion of essential nutrients, dietary recommendations, and human nutritional needs and concerns throughout the life cycle, see nutrition, human.

Nutrition-related disease is chronic undernutrition, which plagues more than 800 million people worldwide. Undernutrition is a condition in which there is insufficient food to meet energy needs; its main characteristics include weight loss, failure to thrive, and wasting of body fat and muscle. Low birth weight in infants, inadequate growth and development in children, diminished mental function, and increased susceptibility to disease are among the many consequences of chronic persistent hunger, which affects those living in poverty in both industrialized and developing countries. The largest number of chronically hungry people live in Asia, but the severity of hunger is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa. At the start of the 21st century, approximately 20,000 people, the majority of them children, died each day from undernutrition and related diseases that could have been prevented. The deaths of many of these children stem from the poor nutritional status of their mothers, as well as the lack of opportunity imposed by poverty.

Coronary angioplasty

2009-03-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Coronary angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee) is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open a blockage in a coronary (heart) artery narrowed by atherosclerosis (ATH-er-o-skler-O-sis). This procedure improves blood flow to the heart.

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which a material called plaque (plak) builds up on the inner walls of the arteries. This can happen in any artery, including the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart. When atherosclerosis affects the coronary arteries, the condition is called coronary artery disease (CAD).

Angioplasty is a common medical procedure. It may be used to:

* Improve symptoms of CAD, such as angina and shortness of breath.
* Reduce damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when blood flow through a coronary artery is completely blocked. Angioplasty is used during a heart attack to open the blockage and restore blood flow through the artery.
* Reduce the risk of death in some patients.

Alzheimer's Disease

2009-02-27T16:47:00.000-08:00

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related, non-reversible brain disorder that develops over a period of years. Initially, people experience memory loss and confusion, which may be mistaken for the kinds of memory changes that are sometimes associated with normal aging. However, the symptoms of AD gradually lead to behavior and personality changes, a decline in cognitive abilities such as decision-making and language skills, and problems recognizing family and friends. AD ultimately leads to a severe loss of mental function. These losses are related to the worsening breakdown of the connections between certain neurons in the brain and their eventual death. AD is one of a group of disorders called dementias that are characterized by cognitive and behavioral problems. It is the most common cause of dementia among people age 65 and older.

There are three major hallmarks in the brain that are associated with the disease processes of AD.

* Amyloid plaques, which are made up of fragments of a protein called beta-amyloid peptide mixed with a collection of additional proteins, remnants of neurons, and bits and pieces of other nerve cells.
* Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), found inside neurons, are abnormal collections of a protein called tau. Normal tau is required for healthy neurons. However, in AD, tau clumps together. As a result, neurons fail to function normally and eventually die.
* Loss of connections between neurons responsible for memory and learning. Neurons can't survive when they lose their connections to other neurons. As neurons die throughout the brain, the affected regions begin to atrophy, or shrink. By the final stage of AD, damage is widespread and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.

Orthorexia

2009-02-20T16:43:00.000-08:00

orthorexia nervosa is not an official psychiatric diagnosis (it’s typically categorized as a variety of anorexia), Dr. Bratman’s disorder does possess unique attributes. The main difference between an orthorexic and an anorexic is the individual’s motivation. Dr. Bratman used the prefix “ortho” to mean right or true. Orthorexics don’t operate from a desire to be thin; instead, they strive to eat pure and healthy foods. While this condition may sound innocuous at first, it can have serious consequences. These health food addicts may obsess about eating the right foods to the point of social isolation, pathological obsession, and even starvation.

Specialized diets have achieved wider popularity in the United States in the last few years. Widely acclaimed regimens such as the Atkins diet (which allows little to no carbohydrates) have introduced self-imposed severe dietary restrictions to the mainstream, and made unusual or rigid dietary practices more socially acceptable than ever before. In addition, escalating obesity rates in the United States over the past two decades have created a backlash of healthy and socially-conscious eating in some areas.

Anorexia Nervosa

2009-02-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

Anorexia nervosa is an extremely dangerous eating disorder in which a person intentionally deprives herself or himself of food and can literally starve to death in an attempt to be what they consider "thin." The disorder involves extreme weight loss—at least 15% below the individual's "ideal" weight—and a refusal to maintain body weight that is even minimally normal for their age and height and body frame.

The self-esteem of individuals with this disorder is hyper-dependent on their body shape and weight. Even if they become extremely emaciated, an anorexic person's distorted body image convinces them they are "fat." Weight loss for them is viewed as an impressive self-achievement and an indication of extraordinary self-discipline, whereas weight gain is perceived as an unacceptable failure of self-control.

Colorectal Cancer

2009-02-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

Cancer of the colon or rectum is also called colorectal cancer. In the United States, it is the fourth most common cancer in men and women. Caught early, it is often curable.

It is more common in people over 50, and the risk increases with age. You are also more likely to get it if you have

* Polyps - growths inside the colon and rectum that may become cancerous
* A diet that is high in fat
* A family history or personal history of colorectal cancer
* Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease

Symptoms can include blood in the stool, narrower stools, a change in bowel habits and general stomach discomfort. However, you may not have symptoms at first, so screening is important. Everyone who is 50 or older should be screened for colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy is one method that your doctor can use to screen for colorectal cancer. Treatments for colorectal cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination.

Mouth Disorders

2009-01-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

Your mouth is one of the most important parts of your body. Any problem that affects your mouth can make it hard to eat, drink or even smile.

Some common mouth problems include

* Cold sores - painful sores on the lips and around the mouth, caused by a virus
* Canker sores - painful sores in the mouth, caused by bacteria or viruses
* Thrush - a yeast infection that causes white patches in your mouth
* Leukoplakia - white patches of excess cell growth on the cheeks, gums or tongue, common in smokers
* Dry mouth - a lack of enough saliva, caused by some medicines and certain diseases
* Gum or tooth problems

Treatment for mouth disorders varies, depending on the problem. Keeping a clean mouth by brushing and flossing often is important.

Mobility Aids

2009-01-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Mobility aids help you walk or move from place to place if you are disabled or have an injury. They include crutches, canes, walkers, wheelchairs and motorized scooters. You may need a walker or cane if you are at risk of falling. If you need to keep your body weight off your foot, ankle or knee, you may need crutches. You may need a wheelchair or a scooter if an injury or disease has left you unable to walk.

Choosing these devices takes time and research. You should be fitted for crutches, canes and walkers. If they fit, these devices give you support, but if they don't fit, they can be uncomfortable and unsafe.

Cancer in Children

2009-01-16T10:10:00.000-08:00

Cancer begins in the cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, new cells form as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes, this process goes wrong. New cells form when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. The extra cells can form a tumor. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Malignant tumor cells can invade nearby tissues or break away and spread to other parts of the body.

Children can get cancer in the same parts of the body as adults, but there are differences. Childhood cancers can occur suddenly, without early symptoms, and have a high rate of cure. The most common children cancer is leukemia. Other cancers that affect children include brain tumors, lymphoma, and soft tissue sarcoma. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Treatment may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Cardiomyopathy

2009-01-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases of the heart muscle. These diseases enlarge your heart muscle or make it thicker and more rigid than normal. In rare cases, scar tissue replaces the muscle tissue.
Some people live long, healthy lives with cardiomyopathy. Some people don't even realize they have it. In others, however, it can make the heart less able to pump blood through the body. This can cause serious complications, including

* Heart failure
* Abnormal heart rhythms
* Fluid buildup in your lungs or legs
* Endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart lining

Heart attacks, high blood pressure or infections can all cause cardiomyopathy. Some types of cardiomyopathy run in families. In many people, however, the cause is unknown. Treatment might involve medicines, surgery, other medical procedures and lifestyle changes.

Cancer Chemotherapy

2009-01-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Normally, your cells grow and die in a controlled way. Cancer cells keep forming without control. Chemotherapy is drug therapy that can stop these cells from multiplying. However, it can also harm healthy cells, which causes side effects.

During chemotherapy you may have no side effects or just a few. The kinds of side effects you have depend on the type and dose of chemotherapy you get. Side effects vary, but common ones are nausea, vomiting, tiredness, pain and hair loss. Healthy cells usually recover after chemotherapy, so most side effects gradually go away.

Your course of therapy will depend on the cancer type, the chemotherapy drugs used, the treatment goal and how your body responds. You may get treatment every day, every week or every month. You may have breaks between treatments so that your body has a chance to build new healthy cells. You might take the drugs by mouth, in a shot or intravenously.

Cardiac Arrest

2008-12-26T04:55:00.000-08:00

The heart has an internal electrical system that controls the rhythm of the heartbeat. Problems can cause abnormal heart rhythms, called arrhythmias. There are many types of arrhythmia. During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or it can stop beating. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart develops an arrhythmia that causes it to stop beating. This is different than a heart attack, where the heart usually continues to beat but blood flow to the heart is blocked.

There are many possible causes of cardiac arrest. They include coronary heart disease, heart attack, electrocution, drowning, or choking. There may not be a known cause to the cardiac arrest.

Without medical attention, the person will die within a few minutes. People are less likely to die if they have early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation. Defibrillation is delivering an electric shock to restore the heart rhythm to normal.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

2008-12-19T22:35:00.000-08:00

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas that has no odor or color. But it is very dangerous. It can cause sudden illness and death. CO is found in combustion fumes, such as those made by cars and trucks, lanterns, stoves, gas ranges and heating systems. CO from these fumes can build up in places that don't have a good flow of fresh air. You can be poisoned by breathing them in. The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are

* Headache
* Dizziness
* Weakness
* Nausea
* Vomiting
* Chest pain
* Confusion

It is often hard to tell if someone has CO poisoning, because the symptoms may be like those of other illnesses. People who are sleeping or intoxicated can die from CO poisoning before they have symptoms. A CO detector can warn you if you have high levels of CO in your home.

Cancer Alternative Therapies

2008-12-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

You have many choices to make about your cancer treatment. One choice you might be thinking about is complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM is the term for medical products and practices that are not part of standard care. Standard care is what medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, and allied health professionals, such as registered nurses and physical therapists, practice. Alternative medicine means treatments that you use instead of standard ones. Complementary medicine means nonstandard treatments that you use along with standard ones. Examples of CAM therapies are acupuncture, chiropractic, and herbal medicines.

CAM treatments do not work for everyone, but some methods such as acupuncture might help with nausea, pain and other side effects of cancer treatment. In general, researchers know more about the safety and effectiveness of standard cancer treatments than they do about CAM. To make sure nothing gets in the way of your cancer care, talk to your doctor before you try anything new.

Carbohydrates

2008-11-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

Carbohydrates are one of the main types of food. Your liver breaks down carbohydrates into glucose (blood sugar). Your body uses this sugar for energy for your cells, tissues and organs.

Carbohydrates are called simple or complex, depending on how fast your body digests and absorbs the sugar. You get simple carbohydrates from fruits, milk products and table sugar. Complex carbohydrates include whole grain breads and cereals, starchy vegetables and legumes. Complex carbohydrates and some simple carbohydrates provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. Products made with refined sugar provide little nutrition. It is wise to limit these products.

Cancer--Living with Cancer

2008-11-14T15:16:00.000-08:00

Cancer is a major illness, but not everyone who gets cancer will die from it. Millions of Americans alive today have a history of cancer and had successful treatment. For them, cancer has become an ongoing health problem, like high blood pressure or diabetes.

For most people with cancer, living with the disease is the biggest challenge they have ever faced. The disease changes your routines, roles and relationships. It can cause money and work problems. The treatment can change the way you feel and look. This page includes information on different aspects of living with cancer. Special sections cover nutritional, financial, emotional and sexual issues.

Cancer

2008-11-06T11:46:00.000-08:00

Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.
Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotheraphy.

Calcium

2008-10-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

You have more calcium in your body than any other mineral. Calcium has many important jobs. The body stores more than 99 percent of its calcium in the bones and teeth to help make and keep them strong. The rest is throughout the body in blood, muscle and the fluid between cells. Your body needs calcium to help muscles and blood vessels contract and expand, to secrete hormones and enzymes and to send messages through the nervous system.

It is important to get plenty of calcium in the foods you eat. Foods rich in calcium include diary products such as milk, cheese and yogurt, and leafy, green vegetables. The exact amount of calcium you need depends on your age and other factors. Growing children and teenagers need more calcium than young adults. Older women need plenty of calcium to prevent osteoporosis. People who do not eat enough high-calcium foods should take a calcium supplement.

Caffeine

2008-10-02T22:03:00.000-07:00

Caffeine is a bitter substance found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, some nuts and certain medicines. It has many effects on the body's metabolism, including stimulating the central nervous system. This can make you more alert and give you a boost of energy.

For most people, the amount of caffeine in two to four cups of coffee a day is not harmful. However, too much caffeine can make you restless, anxious and irritable. It may also keep you from sleeping well and cause headaches, abnormal heart rhythms or other problems. If you stop using caffeine, you could get withdrawal symptoms.

Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others. They should limit their use of caffeine. So should pregnant and nursing women. Certain drugs and supplements may interact with caffeine. If you have questions about whether caffeine is safe for you, talk with your health care provider.

Coronary Artery Disease

2008-09-19T00:43:00.000-07:00

Coronary artery disease is the most ordinary type of heart illness. It is the leading cause of loss in the United States in together men and women.

CAD happens when the arteries that provide blood to heart muscle become hard-bitten and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls. As the buildup grows, less blood can flow during the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can't get the blood or oxygen it needs. This can lead to chest pain or a heart assault. Most heart attacks come about when a blood clot suddenly cuts off the hearts' blood supply, causing enduring heart damage.

Over time, CAD can also weaken the heart muscle and add to heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure income the heart can't pump blood well to the rest of the body. Arrhythmias are change in the usual beating rhythm of the heart.

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

2008-09-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

If you have coronary artery disease (CAD), the artery that supply blood and oxygen to the heart muscle become toughened and narrowed. If way of life change and medicines don't help, your doctor may advise coronary artery bypass surgery.

The surgery uses a part of a vein from the leg or vein from the chest or wrist. The surgeon attach this to the coronary artery above and below the pointed area or blockage. This allows blood to bypass the blockage. Some people need additional than one bypass.

You may need bypass surgery for a variety of reasons. Another procedure for CAD, angioplasty, may not have widen the artery enough. In some cases, the angioplasty tube can't reach the obstruction.

A bypass too can close again. This happens in additional than 10 percent of bypass surgeries, typically after 10 or more years.

Clostridium Difficile Infections

2008-08-28T22:56:00.000-07:00

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is a bacterium that causes diarrhea and more serious intestinal conditions such as colitis. Symptoms include

* Watery diarrhea (at least three bowel movements per day for two or more days)
* Fever
* Loss of appetite
* Nausea
* Abdominal pain or tenderness

People in good health usually don’t get C. difficile disease. You might get the disease if you have an illness that requires prolonged use of antibiotics. Increasingly, the disease can also be spread in the hospital. The elderly are also at risk. Treatment is with antibiotics.

Cesarean Section

2008-08-21T21:42:00.000-07:00

A Cesarean section is surgical procedure to bring a baby. The baby is taken out during the mother's abdomen. In the United States, concerning one in four women have their babies this way. Most C-sections are done when unforeseen problems happen during delivery. These include

* Health harms in the mother

* The point of the baby

* Not sufficient room for the baby to go through the vagina

* Signs of pain in the baby

C-sections are also more ordinary among women carrying more than one baby.

The surgery is fairly safe for mother and baby. Still, it is major surgery and carries risks. It also takes longer to get well from a C-section than from vaginal birth. After healing, the opening may leave a weak spot in the wall of the uterus. This could cause evils with an attempted vaginal birth later. However, more than half of women who have a C-section can give vaginal birth later on.

Music

2008-08-07T21:21:00.000-07:00

Music is an art form that involves organized sounds and quiet. It is articulated in terms of pitch (which includes melody and harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo and meter), and the quality of sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, and texture).Music may also absorb generative forms in time through the construction of patterns and combinations of natural stimuli, principally sound. Music may be used for artistic or aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, traditional or religious purposes. The definition of what constitutes music varies according to culture and social context, with assorted interpretations of the term being established under sub-genres of the art. Within "the arts", music can be classified as a performing art, a fine art, or an auditory art form.

The history of music predates the written word and is tied to the enlargement of each unique human culture. The development of music among humans occurred against the backdrop of natural sounds such as birdsong and the sounds other animals use to communicate. primeval music, once more commonly called primitive music, is the name given to all music created in preliterate cultures (prehistory), beginning somewhere in very late geological history.

Cooking barbecued food properly

2008-05-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

Always make sure you cook chicken, pork, burgers, sausages and kebabs until they're piping hot all the way through, none of the meat is pink and any juices run clear.

If you're barbecuing for lots of people, you could cook meat indoors and finish it off on the barbecue for added flavour.

Remember, when you reheat food on the barbecue, always make sure it's piping hot all the way through before serving.

Also:

* Wait until the charcoal is glowing red, with a powdery grey surface, before you start to cook.
* Make sure frozen food is properly thawed before you cook it.
* Turn the food regularly, and move it around the barbecue, to cook it evenly.
* Check that the centre of the food is piping hot.
* Don't assume that if meat is charred on the outside that it will be cooked properly on the inside.

Computer Energy Savings

2008-05-09T04:01:00.000-07:00

Every time we leave on computers when not in use, we are wasting electricity. Following are a few simple tips to consider:

* Turn off all desktop computers and peripheral devices, including monitors and storage media devices, at night and during any prolonged absence such as weekends or vacation time. Turning off the equipment at night can cut the annual energy costs from 100 to 400 kWh per computer. Contrary to popular belief, turning equipment on and off does not shorten the life span of computers or related equipment.

* Computer manufacturers provide Energy Star power-management features that allow you to program your computer to go into "sleep" mode after a certain time interval. Information Services recommends that you set your power management to turn off your monitor after 10 minutes and your hard disks after 20 minutes. See Power Management for PC and Mac instructions for setting power management.

* Limit screen-saver use. A screen saver does not save energy. In fact, more often than not, a screen saver not only will draw power for the monitor, but also will keep the CPU from shutting down. You can set your computer to go from screen-saver to sleep mode.

* Purchase flat-screen monitors. They use significantly less energy and are not as hard on the eyes.

Food allergy and intolerance

2008-05-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

Food allergy and food intolerance are both types of food sensitivity. When someone has a food allergy, their immune system reacts to a particular food as if it isn't safe. If someone has a severe food allergy, this can cause a life-threatening reaction.

Food intolerance doesn't involve the immune system and is generally not life-threatening. But if someone eats a food they are intolerant to, this could make them feel ill or affect their long-term health.

If you think you have a food allergy or intolerance, then it's important to get a proper diagnosis. Don't cut food groups out of your diet without medical advice, because you could miss out on important nutrients.

If you want to know when a food has been withdrawn or recalled because the allergy labelling is missing or incorrect or if there is any other food allergy risk, check out the Agency's Allergy Alerts page on food.gov.uk. You can also sign up for email or text alerts.

Bone Health

2008-04-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Bones play many roles in the body. They provide structure, protect organs, anchor muscles, and store calcium. Adequate calcium consumption and weight bearing physical activity build strong bones, optimizes bone mass, and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

Peak Bone Mass

Peak bone mass refers to the genetic potential for bone density. By the age of 20, the average woman has acquired most of her skeletal mass. A large decline in bone mass occurs in older adults, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. For women this occurs around the time of menopause.

It is important for young girls to reach their peak bone mass in order to maintain bone health throughout life. A person with high bone mass as a young adult will be more likely to have a higher bone mass later in life. Inadequate calcium consumption and physical activity early on could result in a failure to achieve peak bone mass in adulthood.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis or "porous bone" is a disease of the skeletal system characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. Osteoporosis leads to an increase risk of bone fractures typically in the wrist, hip, and spine.

A Guide To SIM Free Phones

2008-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Mobile telephony has seen tremendous growth over the years. From being a communication media of the rich and the privileged mobile phone today has become a part and parcel in everybody's life. Mobile network services has also seen some unprecedented growth. By embracing newer technologies, mobile service providers have been able to cut down the cost and have brought flexibility and afford ability in the mobile communications.Mobile network service providers use various technologies to provide you mobile services. Popular among them are: CDMA and GSM technology. The most widely used is GSM technology around 70 per cent of people across the globe make calls using GSM technology.

SIM free phones refers to mobile phones which are compatible to GSM technology. These phones are available without a connection or a line. You can buy any SIM free phone and use SIM card of any service provider to make and receive calls. A Tri-band SIM Free phone will work on any GSM network service provided you insert a SIM card with a compatible frequency.

As far as advantages of Sim free phones are they offer more benefits than any contract mobile phone and pay-as-you-go phone. A Sim free mobile phone offers flexibility to the mobile users by giving them the freedom to choose service provider. As per his needs and the services of the network, he can switch into any service provider. Sim free mobile phones are ideal for people who travel most of the year. Such people can take any SIM card available in the particular country in order to make and receive calls. Due to such benefits many people are getting hooked to SIM free phones. These phones are ringing bells on the sales counter of service providers.

About PD Photo

2008-04-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

About PD Photo PDPhoto.org is a repository for public domain photos. Use the photos for anything, including commercial uses, other websites, school projects, articles, ads, whatever. Public domain means the photo is not protected by copyright and may be freely used by everyone. Unless something is clearly marked as being something other than public domain, you can assume it is free to use.

However, there are some things to keep in mind: This doesn't mean that you can take the material as is and then copyright it yourself. It's in the public domain and that's where it must stay. And if you intend to use an image you find here for commercial use, please be aware that standards for such use are higher than for other uses. Specifically, if you see a picture here with people you should assume no model release was obtained. And pictures featuring products or property may open you to litigation if you use them commercially without permision.

I'm not a lawyer, and I don't mean to scare you off, but just use some due diligence. The photos are here to be used, but I don't want you to get either of us in trouble over it.

Bluetooth multiplayer games

2008-03-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

Mobiles are connected through a wireless protocol known as Bluetooth using special hardware. The games are designed to communicate with each other through this protocol to split game information. The basic restriction is that both the users have to be within a limited distance to get connected. In this type of connection the game mode can only be one to one or two players extra like a peer to peer connection between two PCs.

Features of Mobile phone

2008-03-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

There are significant questions as to who first invented the camera phone, as numerous other people acknowledged patents filed in the early 1990s for the device, including David M. Britz of AT&T Research in March of 1994 and Philippe Kahn, who claims to have first invented it in 1997. The camera phone now holds 85% of the mobile phone marketplace. Mobile phones often have features beyond transfer text messages and making voice calls, including Internet browsing, music (MP3) playback, memo recording, personal organizer functions, e-mail, instant messaging, built-in cameras and camcorders, ringtones, games, radio, Push-to-Talk (PTT), infrared and Bluetooth connectivity, call registers, ability to watch streaming video or download video for later viewing, video calling and serve as a wireless modem for a PC, and soon will also provide as a console of sorts to online games and other high quality games (e.g. Final Fantasy Agito).

Uses & Design of Supercomputer

2008-03-10T19:07:00.000-07:00

Uses

Supercomputers are used for extremely calculation-intensive tasks such as weather forecasting, climate research (including research into global warming), molecular modeling (computing the structures and properties of chemical compounds, biological macromolecules, polymers, and crystals), physical simulations (such as simulation of airplanes in wind tunnels, simulation of the detonation of nuclear weapons, and research into nuclear fusion), cryptanalysis, and the like. Military and scientific agencies are important users.

Design

Supercomputers traditionally gained their speed over conventional computers through the use of inventive designs that allow them to perform many tasks in parallel, as well as complex detail engineering. They tend to be specialized for certain types of computation, generally numerical calculations, and perform poorly at more general computing tasks. Their memory hierarchy is very carefully designed to make certain the processor is kept fed with data and instructions at all times—in fact, much of the performance difference between slower computers and supercomputers is due to the memory hierarchy design and componentry. Their I/O systems have a propensity to be designed to support high bandwidth, with latency less of an issue, because supercomputers are not used for transaction processing.

As with all highly parallel systems, Amdahl's law applies, and supercomputer designs devote huge effort to eliminating software serialization, and using hardware to accelerate the remaining bottlenecks.

Earth science in Natural Science

2008-03-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

Earth science (also known as geoscience, the geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing word for the sciences related to the planet Earth, including geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, physical geography, oceanography, and soil science.

Although mining and precious stones have been human interests right through the history of civilization, their development into the sciences of economic geology and mineralogy did not occur until the 18th century. The learning of the earth, particularly palaeontology, blossomed in the 19th century and the growth of other disciplines like geophysics in the 20th century led to the development of the theory of plate tectonics in the 1960s, which has had a similar impact on the Earth sciences as the theory of evolution had on biology. Earth sciences nowadays are closely linked to climate research and the petroleum and mineral exploration industries.

Paper Density

2008-02-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

The paper density of a type of paper or cardboard is the collection of the product per unit of area. Two ways of expressing paper density are usually used:

* Expressed in grams per square metre (g/m²), paper density is also called as grammage. This is the evaluate used in most parts of the world.

* Expressed in conditions of the mass (in pounds) of a ream of 500 (or in some cases 1000) sheets of a specified (raw, still uncut) basis size, paper density is called as basis weight. The base size and area used here based on the product type. This convention is used in the United States, and (to a lesser degree) in a very little number of other countries that use United States paper sizes. Japanese paper is articulated as the weight in kg of 1000 sheets.

Photographic Paper

2008-02-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

Until the beginning of digital photographic processes, the sole meaning of photographic paper was paper coated with light-sensitive chemicals.

So-called photo papers of today are often especially coated papers for use in inkjet or laser printers to make digital prints. This article focuses on conventional photographic papers.

Photographic paper may be showing to light in a controlled manner either by placing a negative in contact with the paper directly (contact printing) or by using an enlarger (enlarging) in order to create a latent image. Photographic papers are subsequently developed using wet chemicals to make a visible image.

Obsolete And Special-Purpose Printing Technologies

2008-02-11T17:29:00.000-08:00

The following technologies are either obsolete, or limited to particular applications though most were, at one time, in widespread use.

Thermal printers work by selectively heating regions of particular heat-sensitive paper. These printers are limited to special-purpose applications such as money registers and the printers in ATMs and gasoline dispensers. They are also used in some older reasonably priced fax machines.

Impact printers rely on a forcible impact to transfer ink to the media, like to the action of a typewriter. All but the dot matrix printer rely on the use of shaped characters, letterforms that represent each of the characters that the printer was capable of printing. In addition, most of these printers were restricted to monochrome printing in a single typeface at one time, although bolding and underlining of text could be done by overstriking, that is, printing two or more impressions in the same character position. Impact printers varieties contain, Typewriter-derived printers, Teletypewriter-derived printers, Daisy wheel printers, Dot matrix printers and Line printers. Dot matrix printers remain in general use in businesses where multi-part forms are printed, such as car rental service counters.

The real facts about Earth

2008-02-06T18:10:00.001-08:00

The Earth's surface is exceptionally young. In the relatively short (by astronomical standards) time of 500,000,000 years or so erosion and tectonic processes destroy and restructure most of the Earth's surface and thus eliminate almost all traces of earlier geologic surface history (such as impact craters). Thus the very before time on history of the Earth has mostly been erased. The Earth is 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old, but the oldest recognized rocks are about 4 billion years aged and rocks older than 3 billion years are rare. The oldest fossils of presented organisms are less than 3.9 billion years old. There is no evidence of the critical period when life was first getting in progress.

The Earth's environment is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with draws of argon, carbon dioxide and water. There was perhaps a very much bigger amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere when the Earth was first created, but it has since been nearly all incorporated into carbonate rocks and to a smaller extent dissolved into the oceans and consumed by living plants. Plate tectonics and biological processes now keep a frequent flow of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to these various "sinks" and back over again. The little amount of carbon dioxide occupant in the atmosphere at any time is very important to the maintenance of the Earth's surface temperature through the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse consequence raises the average surface temperature regarding 35 degrees C above what it would if not be (from a frigid -21 C to a comfortable +14 C); without it the oceans would freeze and life as we know it would be impossible.

Earth

2008-01-28T17:46:00.000-08:00

Earth is the third planet on or after the Sun and the fifth largest of the planet. Earth is the only planet whose English forename does not originate from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic.

Earth, for sure, can be studied exclusive of the aid of spacecraft. However it was not until the twentieth century that we had maps of the complete planet. Pictures of the planet taken from space are of significant importance; for example, they are a huge help in weather prediction and especially in tracking and predicting hurricanes, they are amazingly beautiful. The Earth's magnetic field and its relationships with the solar wind also generate the Van Allen emission belts, a pair of doughnut shaped rings of ionized gas (or plasma) trapped in orbit just about the Earth. The on the outside belt stretches from 19,000 km in altitude to 41,000 km; the inner belt lies involving 13,000 km and 7,600 km in altitude.

Venus and Earth

2008-01-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Venus is by the side of times regarded as Earth's sister planet. In some ways they are particularly similar:

* Venus is only a bit of smaller than Earth (95% of Earth's diameter, 80% of Earth's mass).

* Both have a small number of craters representing relatively young surfaces.

* Their densities and chemical compositions are in a similar way.

Because of these similarities, it was measured that below its dense clouds Venus might be very earthlike and power even have life. However, unfortunately, more detailed study of Venus reveals that in plenty of important ways it is radically different from Earth. It may be the smallest amount hospitable place for life in the solar system.

The strength of Venus' atmosphere at the surface is 90 atmospheres (about the same as the pressure at a deepness of 1 km in Earth's oceans). It is collected generally of carbon dioxide. There are numerous layers of clouds many kilometers bulky composed of sulfuric acid. These clouds entirely incomprehensible our view of the surface. This thick atmosphere creates a run-away greenhouse effect that raises Venus' face temperature by about 400 degrees to over 740 K (hot enough to melt lead). Venus' surface is truly hotter than Mercury's in spite of creature nearly twice as far from the Sun. The oldest terrains on Venus appear to be regarding 800 million years old. Extensive volcanism at that time wiped out the in move ahead surface counting any large craters from early in Venus' history.

The facts about Venus

2008-01-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

Venus (Greek: Aphrodite; Babylonian: Ishtar) is the goddess of feel affection and beauty. The planet is so named the majority likely because it is the brightest of the planets recognized to the ancients. Venus has been identified since prehistoric times. It is the brightest thing in the sky not including for the Sun and the Moon. Like Mercury, it was generally thought to be two part bodies: Eosphorus as the morning star and Hesperus as the sunset star, but the Greek astronomers knew better.

Venus' rotary motion is rather unusual in that it is both very slow (243 Earth days per Venus day, somewhat longer than Venus' year) and retrograde. Moreover, the periods of Venus' rotary movement and of its orbit are synchronized such that it for all time presents the same face in the direction of Earth when the two planets are at their neighboring approach.

Mercury's dense iron core

2008-01-01T02:08:00.001-08:00

Mercury is to a great extent denser than the Moon (5.43 gm/cm3 vs. 3.34). Mercury is the second densest mainly important body in the solar system, after Earth. Actually Earth's density is outstanding in part to gravitational density; if not for this, Mercury would be denser than Earth. This signifies that Mercury's dense iron core is reasonably larger than Earth, probably comprises the greater part of the planet. Mercury therefore has only a comparatively thin silicate mantle and crust.

Mercury's inner is under enemy control by a big iron core whose radius is 1800 to 1900 km. The silicate on the outside shell (analogous to Earth's mantle and crust) is just 500 to 600 km thick. At least several of the core is perhaps molten. Mercury truly has an enormously thin atmosphere consisting of atoms blasted off its surface by the solar wind. Because Mercury is so hot, these atoms speedily flee into space.

The facts about Mercury

2007-12-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

Mercury is the in close proximity planet to the Sun and the eighth biggest. Mercury is somewhat slighter in diameter than the moons Ganymede and Titan but more than twice as enormous.

Mercury's orbit is exceptionally eccentric; at perihelion it is just 46 million km from the Sun but at aphelion it is 70 million. The position of the perihelion processes regarding the Sun at a very slow rate. 19th century astronomers made extremely careful explanation of Mercury's orbital parameters but could not sufficiently explain those using Newtonian mechanics. The tiny differences between the experimental and predicted values were a slight but nagging problem for many decades. It was thought that one more planet (sometimes called Vulcan) slightly nearer to the Sun than Mercury power account for the discrepancy. But in spite of much effort, no such planet was found. The real reply turned out to be much more dramatic: Einstein's General Theory of Relativity! Its right forecast of the motions of Mercury was a main factor in the early acceptance of the theory

Vehicle

2007-12-17T18:24:00.000-08:00

The Trikke is a Human mechanical Vehicle (HPV) This article is about the means of transport. For additional uses see Vehicle (disambiguation).

Vehicles are lifeless means of transportation. They are nearly everyone often man-made (e.g. bicycles, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, and aircraft), although some other means of transportation which are not made by man can also be called vehicles; examples include icebergs and floating tree trunks.

Vehicles possibly will be propelled by animals, e.g. a chariot or an ox-cart. However, animals on their own, although used as a means of transportation, are not called vehicles. This includes humans carrying another human, for example a child or a disabled person.

Vehicles that do not voyage on land are often called crafts, such as watercraft, sailcraft, aircraft, hovercraft and spacecraft.

Most land vehicles contain wheels. Please observe the wheel article for examples of vehicles with and without wheels.

Movement without the rally round of a vehicle or an animal is called locomotion. The word vehicle itself comes starting the Latin vehiculum.

Abstract art

2007-12-12T17:54:00.000-08:00

Abstract art is now typically understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses color and form in a non-representational way. In the very near the beginning 20th century, the term was more often used to describe art, such as Cubist and Futurist art, that depicts real forms in a simplified or rather reduced way—keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Such paintings were often claimed to capture astonishing of the depicted objects' immutable intrinsic qualities rather than its external appearance. The additional precise terms, "non-figurative art," "non-objective art," and "non-representational art" keep away from any possible ambiguity.

Bay of Bengal

2007-12-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

The Bay of Bengal is a cove that forms the northeastern ingredient of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in form, and is enclosed on the east by Malay Peninsula, and on the west by India. On the northern pour of the "bay" lies the Bengal region, comprising the Indian state of West Bengal and the country of Bangladesh, thus the name. The southern boundaries arrive at the island country of Sri Lanka, and the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Bay of Bengal occupies a region of 2,172,000 km². It is bordered by India and Sri Lanka to the West, Bangladesh to the North, and Myanmar and the southern division of Thailand to the East. Its southern border extends as an imaginary line from Dondra Head at the southern end of Sri Lanka to the northern angle of Sumatra. A number of huge rivers – Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Cauvery – run into the Bay of Bengal. Among the vital ports are Yangon, Kolkata/Calcutta, Chittagong, Cuddalore, Kakinada, Machlipatnam, Madras, Paradip and Vishakapatnam.

Salad

2007-11-26T17:17:00.001-08:00

Salad is a light meal — or, as part of a bigger meal, much more of an taster — consisting of varied vegetables (usually including at least one leaf vegetable) or fruit, frequently with a dressing or sauce, occasionally nuts and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish or cheese. It is usually seen as a healthy dish, even though not always low in calories, salt, sugar, or fat because of the dressing that is often added. The word "salad" comes from the French salade of the identical meaning, which in twist is from the Latin salata, "salty", from sal, "salt".

Traffic Claming

2007-11-19T17:41:00.000-08:00

Traffic calming is a set of strategies used by urban planners and traffic engineers which aims to slow down traffic and get better safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, although some of these features can also be hazardous to cyclists. It is now comparatively common in Europe, especially Northern Europe; less so in North America.Traffic calming has conventionally been justified on the grounds of pedestrian safety and reduction of noise and local air pollution which are side effects of the traffic. However, it has become more and more apparent that streets have many social and recreational functions which are severely impaired by fast car traffic. For much of the twentieth century, streets were designed by engineers who were charged only with ensuring traffic flow and not with development other functions of streets. The rationale for traffic reassuring is now broadening to include designing for these functions.

Present Battery Electric Vehicles

2007-11-12T17:35:00.000-08:00

At the present time, disagreement reign over battery electric vehicles. Campaigners, (et al) for BEV's are reproving three major US automobile manufacturers of deliberately sabotaging BEV efforts through more than a few methods, for instance, failing to market, failing to produce appropriate vehicles, by failing to satisfy demand and using lease-only programs with prohibitions against end of lease purchase.

In their defense, the three major manufacturers they have responded that they only create what the public want and the recent trend is that the public doesn't want battery electric vehicles.Although we have the technology to manufacture and provide BEVs, one of the largest downfalls for the prolific production of BEVs is the extortionate cost of replacement batteries. In some cases the cost of stand-in batteries can be more than the price of the whole vehicle, especially when buying used battery electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles in 1959

2007-11-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

In 1959 the Henney Kilowatt was introduced and was the world's initial modern transistor-regulated electric car and the predecessor to the more recent battery electric vehicles such as General Motors EV1. Only 47 Henney Kilowatts were created, 24 being sold as 1959 models and 8 as 1960 models. It is not clear what happened to the other 15 built but it could be probable that they were sold as 1961 or 1962 models. None of the 8 1960 models were sold in the direction of the public because of the high manufacturing costs, but were sold to the electric cooperatives who funded the project.

It is estimated that there are connecting four and eight Henney Kilowatt battery electric vehicles still in existence with at least two of the survivors still driven at times.

Battery electric vehicles had issues with high battery costs, with restricted travel distances, with charging time and the lifespan of the battery, although advancements in battery technology has addressed a lot of those problems.

Battery in1913 to 1947

2007-10-29T21:11:00.001-07:00

One of the downfalls of the battery electric vehicle was the opening of the electric starter in 1913. It easy the task of starting an internal combustion engine which was previously hard and dangerous to start with the crank handle. Another was the mass-produced and somewhat cheap Ford Model-T. Finally, the loss of Edisons through present electric power transmission system. He was battling with George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla over their desire to introduce alternating present as the principal electricity distribution. Edison's direct current was the weight for electric motors.

Battery electric vehicles were limited to position applications. Forklift trucks were battery exciting vehicles when introduced in 1923. BEV golf carts which were used as locality electric vehicles and were partially "street legal". By the late 1930s, the electric automobile business had disappeared until the invention of the point contact transistor in 1947 which started a new era of electric vehicle.

History of Battery Electric Vehicles in 1900

2007-10-22T19:28:00.001-07:00

Prior to 1900, battery electric vehicles held many speed and distance records, the most famous of which, was the breaking of the 100 km/h (60 mph) speed barrier. It was by Camille Jenatzy on April 29, 1899 in a rocket-shaped vehicle named Jamais Contente (Never Happy) which reached a peak speed of 105.88 km/h (65.79 mph).

During the early 20th Century, battery electric vehicles outsold gasoline powered vehicles and were successfully sold as city cars to upper-class customers. Because of high technological limitations, these cars were limited to a peak speed of about 32 km/h (20 mph). The cars were marketed as "appropriate vehicles for women drivers". Electric vehicles did not need hand-cranking to launch.

The History of Battery Electric Vehicles

2007-10-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Battery exciting Vehicles or BEVs, predated the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. It was between 1832-1839 that Robert Anderson, a Scottish businessman, imaginary the first electric carriage and Professor Sibrandus Stratingh from the Netherlands designed the first small-scale electric car which was built by his assistant Christopher Becker in 1835.

The storage battery better, firstly by Gaston Plant, a French physicist who invented the guide acid cell in 1859 and the first rechargeable battery. Then, in 1881, Camille Faure residential a more efficient and reliable battery which became so successful in the early electric cars. This discovery caused battery electric vehicles to flourish, with France and Great Britain being the first nations to support prevalent development of electric vehicles.

Battery

2007-10-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

A battery is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cells, which store chemical energy and make it accessible in an electrical form. There are many types of electrochemical cells, together with galvanic cells, electrolytic cells, fuel cells, flow cells, and voltaic cells. Formally, an electrical "battery" is an array of similar voltaic cells ("cells") joined in series. However, in many contexts it is universal to call a single cell a battery. A battery's individuality may vary due to many factors including internal chemistry, current drain, and temperature. Generally, battery life can be prolonged by storing the battery in a cool place and using it at an appropriate current.

Although an early form of battery may have been used in ancient times, the development of modern batteries started with the Voltaic pile, invented by the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta in 1800. Since then, batteries have gained recognition as they became portable and useful for many purposes. Unfortunately, the well-known use of batteries has created many environmental concerns, such as toxic metal pollution. Many reclamation companies reprocess batteries to reduce the number of batteries going into landfills. Rechargeable batteries can be charged hundreds of times before draining out; and even after wearing out they can be recycled.

There are two types of batteries disposable and rechargeable both of which convert chemical energy to electrical energy. Disposable batteries can only be used once because they use up their chemicals in an irreversible reaction. Rechargeable batteries can be recharged because the chemical reactions they use are reversible; they are recharged by running a charging current through the battery, but in the opposite direction of the discharge current.

Postal Marking

2007-10-02T02:56:00.000-07:00

A postal marking is any kind of marginal note applied to a letter by a postal service. The most frequent types are postmarks and cancellations; almost every letter will have those, less common types include forward addresses, routing annotations, warnings, postage due notices and explanations, such as for smashed or delayed mail. A key part of postal history is the credit of postal markings, their purpose, and period of use.

Service marks give in sequence to the sender, recipient, or another post office. Advice marks notify about forwarding, miss ending, letters received in bad condition, letters received too late for delivery by a certain time, or the reason for a delay in mail delivery. Dead letter offices would use a variety of markings to keep track of their progress in finding the addressee, such as a notation that the letter had been advertise in the local newspaper. The tracking process for register mail may entail many marks and notations.

Shortly after the eruption of the American Civil War, the Northern authorities affirmed the existing postage stamps invalid and issued new types. Letters using the demonetized stamps received a marking "OLD STAMPS NOT RECOGNIZED", an accidentally humorous comment much prized by collectors today.

Abstract art

2007-09-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Abstract art is now usually understood to mean art that does not depict objects in the natural world, but instead uses color and form in a non-representational way. In the very early 20th century, the term was more often used to describe art, such as Cubist and Futurist art, which depicts real forms in a simplified or rather reduced way—keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject. Such paintings were often claimed to capture amazing of the depicted objects' immutable intrinsic qualities rather than its external appearance. The more precise terms, "non-figurative art," "non-objective art," and "non-representational art" avoid any possible ambiguity.

Ring

2007-09-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

A finger ring is a band worn as kind of ornamental jeweler around a finger; it is the most ordinary current meaning of the word ring. Additional types of metal bands worn as ornaments are also called rings, such as arm rings and neck rings.

Rings are worn by both men and women and can be of any superiority. Rings can be made of metal, plastic, wood, bone, glass, gemstone and other equipment. They may be set with a "stone" of some sort, which is often a valuable or semi-precious gemstone such as ruby, sapphire or emerald, but can also be of almost any material.

There are a variety of methods for determining proper ring size. Quantities of the largest rings in the world are made for the winning team of the Super Bowl. The unofficial record for the largest championship ring ever obtainable to a professional sports team belongs to the 2003 World Series champions Florida Marlins, with a weight of over 110 grams and with over 240 stones.

Rings can be worn on any finger, still on toe fingers. In Western society, the traditional "ring finger" for the wearing of an engagement or wedding ring is the fourth finger of the left hand with the thumb counting as finger number one. The signet ring, a ring designate nobility, is normally worn on the little (fifth) finger of the right or left hand, depending on nationality.

Rainbow

2007-09-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Rainbows are optical and meteorological phenomena that reason of a spectrum of light to appear in the sky when the Sun shines onto droplets of moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. They take the form of a multicolored arc, with red on the external part of the arch and violet on the inner section of the arch. More rarely, a secondary rainbow is seen, which is a second, fainter arc, outside the primary arc, with colours in the differing order, that is, with violet on the outside and red on the inside.

A rainbow spans a permanent spectrum of colours. Traditionally, however, the chain of colours is quantized. The majority cited and remembered sequence, in English, is Newton's sevenfold red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. "Roy G. Biv" and "Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain" are admired mnemonics.

Though rainbows are bow-shaped in most cases, there are also phenomena of rainbow-colored flooring in the sky: in the shape of stripes, circles, or even flames.

Battery electric vehicle

2007-09-03T21:34:00.000-07:00

The electric car, EV, or simply electric vehicle is battery electric vehicles (BEV) that utilize chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. Electric vehicles use electric motors and motor controllers in its place of internal combustion engines (Ices). Vehicles using both electric motors and Ices are examples of hybrid vehicles, and are not measured pure BEVs because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be exciting externally to displace some or all of their ICE power and gasoline fuel are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and are pure BEVs during their charge-depleting mode. BEVs are frequently automobiles, light trucks, neighborhood electric vehicles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, electric scooters, golf carts, milk floats, forklifts and similar vehicles.

BEVs were among the earliest automobiles, and are more energy-efficient than interior combustion, fuel cell, and most other types of vehicles. BEVs create no tire fumes, and minimal pollution if charged from most forms of renewable energy. Many are capable of acceleration more than that of conventional vehicles, are quiet, and do not produce noxious fumes. It has been optional that, because BEVs reduce dependence on petroleum, they enhance national safety, and mitigate global warming by alleviating the greenhouse effect.

Tomato

2007-08-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a plant in the Solanaceae or nightshade family, as are its close cousin’s tobacco, chili peppers, potato, and eggplant. The tomato is subject to Central, South, and southern North America from Mexico to Peru. It is a perennial, often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual, typically attainment to 1–3 m (3 to 10 ft) in height, with a weak, woody stem that often vines over other plants.

The leaves are 10–25 cm long, pinnate, with 5–9 leaflets, each leaflet up to 8 cm long, with a jagged margin; both the stem and leaves are thickly glandular-hairy. The flowers are 1–2 cm across, yellow, with five sharp lobes on the corolla; they are borne in a cyme of 3–12 together. The word tomato derives from an expression in the Nahuatl language, tomatl. The exact name, lycopersicum, means "wolf-peach" compare the related species S. lycocarpum, whose scientific name means "wolf-fruit", common name "wolf-apple".

Fertilization

2007-08-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Fertilization or fertilization also known as conception, fecundation and syngamy, is fusion of gametes to form a new organism of the same variety. In animals, the process involves a sperm fuse with an ovum, which finally leads to the development of an embryo. Depending on the animal species, the process can occur within the body of the female in interior fertilisation, or outside in the case of external fertilisation.

The entire process of development of new persons is called procreation, the act of species reproduction.

Donkey jacket

2007-08-13T21:08:00.001-07:00

A Donkey jacket is a tiny buttoned coat, normally made of unlined black or dark blue woolen stuff; originally worn as a work jacket in the United Kingdom.
When used as a work jacket, it occasionally bears the name of the company which supplies the jacket, or the name of the company for which the wearer works. The jacket usually has two large hip pockets, and at times an inside poacher's pocket.
The donkey jacket is regarded as characteristic of the British manual worker.

Infrared

2007-08-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

Infrared (IR) emission is electromagnetic emission of a wavelength longer than that of noticeable light, but shorter than that of radio waves. The name means "below red", red being the color of detectable light of longest wavelength. Infrared radiation spans three instructions of magnitude and has wavelengths between about 750 nm and 1 mm.

These divisions are suitable by the different human response to this radiation: near infrared is the area closest in wavelength to the radiation detectable by the human eye, mid and far infrared are gradually further from the visible regime. Other definitions follow different physical mechanisms and the newest follow technical reasons .Unfortunately the international standards for these specifications are not currently obtainable.

The boundary between visible and infrared light is not precisely defined. The human eye is markedly less responsive to light above 700 nm wavelength, so longer frequencies make irrelevant contributions to scenes illuminated by common light sources. But particularly strong light (e.g., from lasers, or from bright daylight with the visible light removed by colored gels can be detected up to approximately 780 nm, and will be apparent as red light. The onset of infrared is defined at different values typically between 700 nm and 780 nm.

Software

2007-07-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

Software basically is the distinct image or representation of physical or material position that constitute configuration to or functional identity of a machine, usually a computer. As a substance of memory, software in principle can be changed without the alteration to the static paradigm of the hardware thus without the remanufacturing thereof. Generally software is of an algorithmic form which translates into being to a progression of machine instructions. Some software, however, is relational forms which translate into being the map of a recognition network.

Software is a program that enables a computer to achieve a specific task, as contrasting to the physical components of the system. This include application software such as a word processor, which enables a user to achieve a task, and system software such as an operating system, which enables other software to run suitably, by interfacing with hardware and with other software.

Hunt

2007-07-23T22:45:00.001-07:00

A hunt is a doings during which humans or animals chase some prey, such as wild or specially bred animals traditionally targeted species are known as game, in order to catch or kill them, either for food, sale or hobby, See hunting.

Wiktionary, the free dictionary, the word also applies collectively to a group of hunters practicing such a hunt, particularly with dogs. See fox hunting.

It may also, at least because circa 1200, take the form of a search for a specified target that can, unlike a hunting prey, remain unheard, as in specific compounds such as scavenger hunt or treasure hunt. Synonyms of hunt(ing) may have a similar resulting meaning, e.g. photo safari.

Camera

2007-07-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

A camera is a device used to take pictures, either alone or in series, with or without sound, such as with video cameras. The name is resulting from camera obscura, Latin for dark chamber, an early mechanism for projecting images in which an whole room functioned much as the internal workings of a modern photographic camera, except there was no way at this time to record the image little of physically tracing it. Cameras may work with the chart spectrum or other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Every camera consists of a number of enclosed chambers, with an opening or aperture at one end for light to go into, a recording or viewing surface for capturing the light at the other conclusion. This diameter of the aperture is often forbidden by a diaphragm mechanism, but some cameras have a fixed-size opening.

Video and digital cameras use electronics, frequently a charge coupled device or sometimes a CMOS sensor to detain images which can be transfer or stored in tape or computer memory within the camera for later playback or processing. Traditional cameras capture glow onto photographic film or photographic plate.

Laptop

2007-07-11T22:35:00.001-07:00

A laptop computer, or simply laptop (also notebook computer or notebook), is a small mobile computer, which frequently weighs 2.2-18 pounds (1-6 kilograms), depending on size, materials, and other factors.

Laptops usually run on a single main battery or from an outside AC/DC adapter which can indict the battery while also supplying power to the computer itself. Many computers also have a 3volt cell to run the clock and other processes in the occasion of a power failure.

As personal computers, laptops are competent of the similar tasks as a desktop computer, although they are classically less powerful for the same price. They contain components that are similar to their desktop counterparts and perform the same functions, but are miniaturized and optimized for mobile use and resourceful power consumption. Laptops usually have liquid crystal displays and most of them use dissimilar memory modules for their random access memory (RAM), for instance, SO-DIMM in lieu of the larger DIMMs. In addition to a built-in keyboard, they may make use of a touchpad (also known as a track pad) or a pointing stick for input, though an external keyboard or mouse can typically be attached.

Watch

2007-07-11T22:34:00.001-07:00

It is a timepiece or clock that displays the time and sometimes the day, date, month and year. In past centuries, these often took the shape of pocket watches, which today are seldom carried or worn. In modern usage, watch is typically a contraction of wristwatch, a name for the most popular style of timekeeping device worn on the wrist.

Because most watches lack a striking mechanism, such as a bell or gong, to make known the passage of time, they are properly called timepieces rather than clocks.

surfboat

2007-06-24T23:06:00.000-07:00

A surfboat is an oar-driven boat intended to enter into the ocean from the beach in heavy surf or rigorous waves. It is frequently used in lifesaving or rescue missions. The boat construction produced the same basic design when faced with the same problem that of passing through disordered whitewater and breaking waves and returning to shore. A broad stern accessible to steep and breaking waves when approaching shore can result in broaching (turning sideways to the swell) and swamping or capsizing of the boat. Therefore, surf boats comprise a pointed stern and usually a fairly marked sheer.

Surf boat rowing is much admired in Australia and New Zealand and to a smaller degree in South Africa. Motorized vessels like inflatable skiffs and Jet Ski personal watercraft have replaced surf boats as the primary tools for real world rescue efforts, but surfboat training and competition remain popular as leisure activities among both professional rescuers and amateur athletes.

Motorboat

2007-06-12T21:54:00.000-07:00

A motorboat usually speaking is a vessel other than a sailboat or personal watercraft, propelled by an interior combustion engine driving a jet or a propeller. However, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea defines that any boat propelled by machinery. A speedboat is a small motorboat intended to move quickly, used in races, for pulling water skiers, as patrol boats, and as fast-moving armed attack vessels by the military. Even inflatable boats with a motor attached which may be serving as a high speed patrol boat or as a plodding walker dingy providing transport to and from a mooring buoy are strictly classified as motorboats.
There are three well-liked variations of power plants: inboard, inboard/outboard, and outboard. If the engine is installed within the boat, it's called a power plant; if it's a detachable module attached to the boat, it's normally known as an outboard motor.
An outboard motor is installed on the rear of a boat and contains the inner combustion engine, the gear decrease (Transmission), and the propeller.
An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a power plant and an outboard, where the interior combustion engine is contained inboard and the gear reduction and propeller are outside.
A purely inboard boat contains everything apart from a shaft and a propeller inside the vessel. We have two configurations of an inboard, v-drive and straight drive. A direct drive has the power plant mounted close to the middle of the boat with the propeller shaft straight out the back, where a v-drive has the power plant mounted in the back of the boat facing backwards having the shaft go towards the front of the boat than making a 'V' towards the rear.

Pirogue

2007-06-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

A pirogue is a small, flat-botomed boat of a design associated mainly with West African fishermen and the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. These boats are not typically intended for over-night travel but are light and small sufficient to be easily taken onto land. The design also allows the pirogue to move through very shallow water and be simply turned over to drain any water that may get into the boat. The pirogue's motion comes from paddles that contain one blade (as opposed to a kayak paddle, which has two). It can also be punted with a pole in low water.

There is not one pirogue plan, are several. Besides small pirogues as seen on the picture, there are also pirogues that can hold up to ten men with paddles and also characteristic a main sail. These are not planned (and should not be used) for open waters. They are only (and best) used close to shore.

Inflatable boat

2007-05-27T23:33:00.001-07:00

An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of elastic tubes and a flexible flat floor. Often the transom is rigid allowing a location and structure to fasten an outboard motor onto, and this type of boasting balloon is sometimes called a "Zodiac boat". Often, inflatable boats are intended to be packed into in a small volume, so they can easily stored and transported to water when needed. This feature allows such boats to be used as life rafts for larger boats or aircraft, and for travel or recreational purposes.

Other conditions are "inflatable" and (an old term) "rubber dinghy".The modern RIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat) is a growth of the inflatable boat using a solid or section ally rigid floor and capable of taking a high powered transom mounted outboard engine appropriate for high speed operations well up into the ski boat speed ranges.