Save the Rhinos! Save the Elephants! Save the humans?! It seems strange to be connecting our own fate to that of wildlife but new research […]

The post Losing large mammals increases human risk from rodent-borne diseases appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

In the past 50 years, the amount of water in the open ocean with zero oxygen has increased more than fourfold. In coastal water bodies, […]

The post Earth’s oceans are losing their breath. Here’s the global scope appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

File photo: Lorne Street Elementary students had to grab books from a book bin after their library was closed during the recession.; Credit: Annie Gilbertson/KPCC

More than 200 Los Angeles Unified School District elementary school libraries have reopened in just two months, according to district officials.

Recession-era budget cuts had left many libraries without staffing. The cuts persisted even when the economy began to improve: a year ago half of the district's 650,000 students were still without a librarian or library aide.

Without library workers, state law prohibits students from browsing collections, pulling reference materials or checking out books. 

“We have been living without libraries and, no, we don’t want to because they are essential for academic achievement and learning for our students," said Mark Bobrosky, a librarian at Walter Reed Middle School.

School board member Monica Ratliff created a task force to recommend ways to expand libraries after KPCC reported that Lorne Street Elementary in Northridge had a library full of books collecting dust.

"This idea of equity — we are trying to make sure we don't have library deserts," Ratliff said at the board's curriculum, instruction and assessment committee meeting on Tuesday.

Even when the board committed funds for elementary school libraries, the district found it hard to fill openings. Library aides worked just three hours a day, five days a week.

Members of the task force suggested assigning library aides to two schools, doubling their hours and providing benefits.  Elementary school libraries began to quickly reopen. 

But while conditions have improved for elementary students, middle school libraries are still hard hit, with nearly 65 percent of their campus libraries shuttered.

Bobrosky said reopening the libraries is vital for L.A. Unified's success in implementing the Common Core state standards, which require research projects incorporating a variety of texts.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Larry Mantle interviews Tom Brokaw at the 2012 Republican National Convention.; Credit: Lauren Osen/KPCC

Our trip to the RNC in Tampa is coming to a close, but we’ve spent time with so many interesting people that our memories will stay strong.  We hope you’ve enjoyed the photos, tweets, and blog postings that have expanded our coverage beyond what we provide live on the air two hours a day.

This is the first political convention where KPCC has used multiple ways of bringing you here without time off from work or having to take a plane ride.  There are many great stories to tell and people to share.  We trust our photos give you a more complete sense of how much goes on at a massive convention like this.

For KPCC journalists, it’s particularly exciting to interact with you in these new ways.  We welcome your tweets and retweets (@AirTalk), comments on our blog postings (www.kpcc.org/blogs/politics), and feedback on our “AirTalk” segment pages. 

All this helps create a real-time way to connect listeners and users of social media in one big conversation.  We hope you enjoy taking part in the convention with us, as much we enjoy sharing it with you.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

A new study lists 10 factors to help create a closed-loop supply chain for critical materials. However, interviews with key actors in supply chains for photovoltaic (PV) panels and wind turbines suggest that manufacturers and recyclers hold different perspectives on these factors. The research highlights the importance of cooperation between supply-chain actors, as well as investment in technologies and infrastructure for closed-loop supply chains.

Industries, such as paper production, require large amounts of water which can drain vital supplies of fresh drinking water. Researchers working towards the ultimate goal of ‘closing the cycle’ by re-using industrial water onsite have now identified innovative new treatments for wastewater from a paper mill.

According to World Bank data, many countries are losing a sizable percentage of land mass due to various factors, including sea level rise and severe weather.

A year ago, it seemed that the construction of a 1,700-mile pipeline connecting northern Alberta with the United States was all but a certainty. Now, it feels l

The White House is taking a political risk: Spurn environmentalists enough times, and they might return the favor.

Earth lost 39 million acres of tropical tree cover in 2017. That's like losing 40 football fields full of trees every minute for a year.

Recent studies by two teams of U.S. physicists who are also on the hunt for the elusive Higgs boson (sometimes referred to as the "God particle") reinforced the

Leading coral reef ecologist Jeremy Jackson speaks at TED about the havoc humanity is wreaking on the ocean.

Tokyo, May 7 (Montreal, May 6), 2020 – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) (TOKYO:7011) and Bombardier Inc. (Bombardier) (TSX: BBD.B) of Canada have agreed that all closing conditions have been met and the transaction pertaining to the acquisition of Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) Program will close on June 1, 2020. The Program will be operated under the newly created group entities of MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ) and will commence upon closing.

Data can help us understand some of the many ways the human body reacts to this virus and the next one.

Some people find it hard to stick to diets and consistently fail to lose weight. They try nearly every kind of new dieting idea that comes along hoping that one of them would finally work, but the miracle never happens.

Something that is very important for you to take into consideration when purchasing or refinancing your home is the closing costs.

Link management strategies play a large part in increasing visibility on the web. Many people aren't actively involved in link management and are therefore losing money because their traffic is less than it could be. This short article discusses link management and why you should do it.

Why is it that so many MLMers never get around to making an stable and recurring income you ask? First of all this type of business is called Network "Marketing", so how many network marketers you know actually have a marketing degree?

NHL hockey finally begins this weekend after a long lockout and GEObet.com, a tribally-owned online casino, sportsbook and poker room, is refunding all losing money line & puck line bets when a Canadian Hockey team loses in overtime.

Queen of Dark Lyrics, stirs up the rap scene http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/rappershampagnetm Follow Rapper Shampagne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RapperShampagne

Outliving one's resources is top retiree fear, says MainStreet Financial Group

Life's too short to eat shi#ty tasting bars!

Retailers that were already ailing before the coronavirus are beginning to crumble as the crisis raises the threat of store closings and bankruptcy.

Alyson Slater, director of strategy for the Global Reporting Initiative.

Paul Leinwand, co-author of the book "Strategy That Works," explains how successful companies solve this thorny problem.

Courtesy of the creators of BAGPATCH, the colorful peel-and-stick woven labels with sassy messages to help travelers ID their luggage.

Sensex ends two-day losing run, Nifty just shy of 9,000

Financial Analyst Jonathan Murray describes what happened on what was a roller coaster of a day on the stock market.

Snow continued into early Wednesday morning with a dusting to 1 inch around Baltimore, and higher amounts northwest of Baltimore City.

When Olympic gold medallist Shona McCallin was hit on the side of her head by a seemingly innocuous shoulder challenge, she suffered what was originally thought to be a concussion.

To prevent spammers from flooding old articles with useless comments you can set WordPress to close comments after a certain […]

The present invention relates generally to olefin metathesis. In some embodiments, the present invention provides methods for Z-selective ring-closing metathesis.

A cover mechanism is provided for an opening and closing device, which includes a fixed plate arranged at a first housing; a moving plate arranged at a second housing; a hinge arm that is arranged between the two plates and rotates to move the moving plate between a closed position where the first and second housings overlap and an open position where surfaces of the first and second housings are substantially coplanar; and a recess formed at the second housing that prevents the hinge arm from interfering with the second housing in the open position. The cover mechanism includes a cover arranged at the moving plate that covers the recess when the moving plate is positioned at the closed position and moves from the covering position by engaging with and being urged by the rotating hinge arm; and an urging part that urges the cover toward the covering position.

A cylindrical stopper for closing a medical system and a method for closing a medical system, and to the medical system itself, closed with the stopper of the invention.

The invention relates to a fixing device for a vertically movable closing element (1) for the at least partial closing of an opening (2) of a room. According to the invention, the fixing device for fixing of the closing element (1) in a closed state comprises at least one first fixing unit (6), arranged on the closing element (1), and an engaging unit (7), corresponding to the first fixing unit (6), in an opening bottom (2.1) and at least one second fixing unit (11), which is arranged on a guide (3), arranged to the side of the opening (2), for the closing element (1) and has a tensioning hook (11.1), which in the closed state of the closing element (1) can be latched in the closing element (1) in the area of an upper side of the closing element (1).

Locking device (1) comprising at least one locking mechanism (2) having a catch (3) and a pivotal first pawl (4), the operating lever (7) being movable so that during its movement the operating lever (7) interacts with a drive pin (20) of the first pawl (4) and a lateral pawl spring (35) acts between the drive pin (20) and the operating lever (7).

A closing tool to be attached to a plough frame to engage a soil layer, the tool includes an attachment stem via which the closing tool is attached to the plough frame. Secured to the lower portion of the stem are wear resistant members.

A planter row unit is disclosed having an active downforce control system for the closing wheels. This separate control of the downforce pressure for the closing wheels is provided from the row unit downforce control. A single operator input is used to set a desired downforce for all row units. The control system then operates to produce the desired downforce. Alternatively, the control system may display a downforce load to the operator who then manually makes adjustments as desired.

Agricultural planter row units feature soil finishing assemblies for closing a seed groove after seed is placed in the soil. An adjustable furrow closing assembly enhances upper seed groove coverage and closure with soil resulting in sustained relative humidity levels and optimum seed-to-soil contact for faster seed germination. The furrow closing assembly includes a closing wheel assembly having at least one closing wheel and a press wheel assembly having a press wheel following behind the closing wheels. The closing wheels and press wheel are attached to the planter row unit in a manner allowing the press wheel to move vertically relative to the closing wheels. Adjustable down-force systems are provided to vary the down force applied to the closing wheels and the press wheel to maintain optimum soil contact in irregular terrain and in varying soil densities and conditions to provide optimum soil coverage and compaction of the seed bed.

One closing assembly of a row unit for an agricultural implement includes a frame configured to support ground-working tools of the row unit. Multiple arms are coupled to the frame, each arm of the multiple arms being independently rotatable about a common axis. Each arm is configured to be coupled to a closing disc configured to direct soil into a trench.

A geared motor actuator having a simplified mechanical structure for driving a closing part, such as a vehicle window, moved as far as at least one end position by an electric motor (MO) via a gear (G), preferably a worm gear. Shortly before the end position is reached, switch-off of the electric motor (MO) is performed in accordance with a control device (ST). The gear (G) is drive-connected to an output driver of the closing part without any damping means. The worm wheel (4) of the worm gear, being a solid, integral component that is preferably injection-molded from plastic, is preferably designed to include the output driver as part of the integral component, and provided with a drive pinion (4.1).

An apparatus for closing a toe end of a tubular hosiery body includes a stitching device having a main body, a fixed reed, a movable reed pivoted to the fixed reed, and a main drive assembly for driving the movable reed to rotate relative to the fixed reed between juxtaposed and stacked positions. A rotary control unit includes a support frame supporting the main body, a rotary disc attached to the main body, a plurality of detent members disposed around the rotary disc, and a plurality of control drive members respectively driving the detent members. The control drive members consecutively operate to consecutively actuate the respective detent members such that the rotary disc together with the stitching device consecutively produces a limited amount of rotation in an intermittent manner.

A machine for automatically joining front and back parts of buttons employs a turntable with nests that are rotated through a series of stations at which the parts are placed in the nests in a desired orientation, joined, and checked for defects. Orientation of the parts is achieved by video imaging of a first part as it is randomly placed in a nest, and computer-controlled placement of the second part based on the ascertained position of the first part.