A one-and-a-half year old infant died after accidentally consuming paint thinner in Balekundri, Bujurg village in Belagavi district on Saturday. The p

A two-wheeler rider was injured on Saturday evening after a hand grinder, that slipped from the hands of a worker engaged in cladding work over Kochi

Next batch of train passes to be issued after rush clears, say cops

'Next batch of train passes after rush clears'

Search and rescue operations are still under way, incident escalated to a Level II emergency

Universities in Bengal would hold undergraduate and postgraduate end-semester examinations within a month of the lockdown being lifted, education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday after a discussion with vice-chancellors of state varsities.

"If cancer could do me no harm, what can Covid do?" This was the confidence that 74-year-old Yusuf Hotelwala exuded while leaving for the Covid care centre in Vadodara after testing positive a week ago. On Saturday, Hotelwala, who suffers from peritoneal mesothelioma and has already survived two heart attacks was beaming as doctors confirmed his recovery.

Sushmita Sen won Miss India with a dress selected by a mother, and similarly, Debina played an important role resembling Kajol from Baazigar thanks to her mom

Further details are awaited.

Devon braced for aftershocks following earthquake  Devon Live

Residents speak of shock after being woken by EARTHQUAKE in early hours of morning  Hartlepool Mail

Lapachol acetate [systematic name: 3-(3-methyl­but-2-en­yl)-1,4-dioxonaph­thalen-2-yl acetate], C17H16O4, was prepared using a modified high-yield procedure and its crystal structure is reported for the first time 80 years after its first synthesis. The full spectroscopic characterization of the mol­ecule is reported. The mol­ecular conformation shows little difference with other lapachol derivatives and lapachol itself. The packing is directed by inter­molecular π–π and C—H⋯O inter­actions, as described by Hirshfeld surface analysis. The former inter­actions make the largest contributions to the total packing energy in a ratio of 2:1 with respect to the latter.

The development of ultrashort X-ray pulse sources requires optics that keep the pulse length as short as possible. One source of pulse stretching is the penetration of the pulse into a crystal during diffraction. Another source is the inclination of the intensity front when the diffraction is asymmetric. The theory of short X-ray pulse diffraction has been well developed by many authors. As it is rather complicated, it is sometimes difficult to foresee the pulse behavior (mainly stretching) during diffraction in various crystal arrangements. In this article, a simple model is suggested that gives a qualitatively similar shape to the diffracted pulse which follows from exact theory. It allows proposal of what experimental arrangement is optimal to minimize the pulse stretching during diffraction. First, the effect of pulse stretching due to penetration into a crystal surface is studied. On the basis of this, the pulse profile change during diffraction by two crystals, either symmetric or asymmetric, is predicted.

In this article, the effect of stretching of short X-ray pulses after symmetric or asymmetric diffraction on crystal systems is studied. This is used to determine the optimal experimental arrangement to minimize the pulse stretching during diffraction.

A new Smithsonian study that examines 10 million years of the evolution of tiny coral-like organisms called cupuladriid bryzoans has revealed that some species of this organism lingered on earth for more than one million years after the event that ultimately caused their extinction: the rising of the Isthmus of Panama.

The post Fossils of tiny cupuladriid colonies reveal extinction can lag more than one million years after its cause appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Scientists from the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute, the University of Valencia in Spain and the University of Minnesota, recently made an important observation regarding charcoals […]

The post Fungi still visible in wood charcoal centuries after burning appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Known as one of the greatest racehorses of his day and sire to more winning horses than any other American thoroughbred before or since, this Smithsonian loan returned the legendary Lexington's remains to the town of his birthplace some 160 years after he was born.

The post One hundred sixty years after his birth a racehorse’s bones return to Lexington appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

How soon after the Big Bang could water have existed? Not right away, because water molecules contain oxygen and oxygen had to be formed in […]

The post Water may Have Been Abundant in First Billion Years after big bang appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Fat, toxic and nocturnal, cane toads (Rhinella marina) are abundant today in Hawaii, even though they are South American natives. Released on the Hawaiian Islands […]

The post Two invasive species have Hawaiian reunion after 80-year separation appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The Jamaican golden swallow was last seen in 1982. From 1994 to 2012, Smithsonian ornithologist Gary Graves combed the island of Jamaica to document several […]

The post After a nearly 20-year search, this Jamaican bird is probably extinct appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

The post After a bulldozer unearthed five statues in Ain Ghazal, Jordan in 1984, Smithsonian conservators carefully restore these otherworldy figures appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Smithsonian staff gathered on Thursday, June 1 outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture to show their support and listen to Director […]

The post Smithsonian staff rally to support African American History Museum after noose incident appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Exquisitely preserved in fossil sediments dating from the Middle Jurassic, the insect, newly named Juracimbrophlebia ginkgofolia, was discovered in 165 million-year-old deposits, as was the ginko-like tree, Yimaia capituliformis, the mimicked plant.

The post Insect mimic of ginko-like leaf discovered 165 million years after its extinction 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.

In this file photo, students warm up in a mariachi class at Hamilton High School.; Credit: Susanica Tam for KPCC

Los Angeles Unified's arts education leaders took steps to renew long-dormant community partnerships with arts organizations Wednesday, part of an effort to revitalize arts education in the nation’s second largest school district. 

At the Los Angeles Cathedral in downtown L.A., the district's new arts ed director, Rory Pullens, held his first meeting with community arts organizations. More than 100 people representing several dozen groups attended the event.

Pullens outlined the district's arts plans and how community partners can help boost the arts for students.

“Guess what," Pullens said, getting a round of applause with cheers of support from some of the attendees. "We're back." 

RELATED: LAUSD decision ushers in new source of funding for arts education

Pullens lauded the district's recent announcement clearing the way for arts funding for low-income students, and pointed to new allocations this year that helped some of the district's schools purchase items like art supplies.

He also said the district is working on a school survey to create an arts equity index that will change the way the district allocates arts funds. The index would measure how well schools are providing arts instruction and arts access to students. Originally planned for release last year, the index is now expected next month.

But Pullens also painted a grim picture of the district’s current arts offerings. He said about a third of the district's middle schools currently offer little or no exposure to the arts. Some of the district’s students can go through both elementary and middle school without taking a single arts class, he said. Because of gaps in arts instruction, students who start learning an instrument in elementary school, for example, might not have classes to continue music study in their middle or high schools.

Pullens further talked about widespread budget problems, but took district leaders to task for failing to restore arts funding to the budget as the recession eased.

He said the arts education branch is still facing a deficit. Superintendent Ramon Cortines told reporters recently that the district as a whole is looking at a $160 million shortfall heading into the 2015-2016 school  year.

Despite the mixed funding news, for many in attendance, the meeting marked a positive shift in the district's arts strategy. Some groups currently serve as partners with the district, but the gathering was the first major effort in several years to reach out to organizations with the aim of restoring arts in the schools.

Jay McAdams, the executive director of 24th Street Theatre, said he remembered a few years back when the district emailed a cease-and-desist letter calling for an end to all arts partnership programs. He saw Wednesday's meeting as a major turnaround. 

"This is just a real breath of fresh air. There’s hope, there’s hope for first time in a long time for arts," he said. 

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