Clouds bring us rain, thunder and lightning. How many of us know what clouds are and how they are formed?

Clouds consist of millions of condensed water droplets as well as ice crystals that are suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of earth. The water droplets floating as clouds are made of various shapes and sizes.

Clouds form over other planets well. We often see the pictures of clouds on other planets such as Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Clouds are formed when air and more so warm air comes in contact with a cool surface. The air absorbs the water vapor and is cooled below its saturation point. When the cool air rises into the atmosphere, the condensed cotton like mass so formed is called cloud. Clouds are also formed by a process called convection which is caused by the warming of surface by insulation.

Sometimes the air blowing over the hotter surface becomes warm and light. When it reaches the watery or colder regions, it absorbs the water content. This is the reason why cloud formation takes place along the cold and warm fronts. Clouds also form on mountains.

Another process of cloud formation is based upon ice memory. When the air reaches those clay areas where the temperature is minus ten degrees Celsius, it forms into clouds around the same clay at minus five degree Celsius.

The colors of the clouds vary from cloud to cloud. Sometimes the color of the clouds helps us to predict weather. According to weather lore, if the clouds are red during day time, they predict bad weather, and if they are red at night, it would be fair weather. The white color of the clouds indicates that they were formed with warm air which contained water vapor. Other colors of the clouds are blue, green and yellow.

Although people may tend to reject these stories in weather lore as unscientific and figment of imagination, it has been proved by lengthy observations that predictions made by folklore on the basis of the color of the clouds prove fairly correct.

Have you ever thought that the US ever had so many days we celebrate? I have written about 38, but going over and over again to learn about history, I’m learning there are many new holidays and days coming to our calendar soon. Here are a few of the calendar days as well as federal days.

a. Thanksgiving                                                              
b. Christmas                                                                      
c. Independence day                                      
d. Memorial day                                                          
e. Labor day                                                             
f. mothers day                                                
g. fathers day                                                       
h. Valentines day                                                     
i. Hanukkah
j. Kwanzaa
k. Uniform holidays bill
l. Veterans day
m. New years day
n. Martin Luther king Jr.
o. Inauguration Day
p. Columbus Day
q. Columbus Day
r. Washington’s Birthday
s. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
t. Flag Day
u. National Grandparents’ Day
v. Wright Brothers Day
w. Patriot Day
x. Thomas Jefferson’s birthday
y. Peace Officers Memorial Day
z. Parents’ Day

1a. Law Day, U.S.A. (May 1)
2b. Leif Erikson Day                                                                        
3c. Constitution Day and Citizenship Day (September 17)
4d. Child Health Day
5e. Ash Wednesday
6f. Groundhog day
7g. ST. Patrick’s day
8h. April fools day
9i. Good Friday
10j. Easter
11k. Boss’s day
12l. Earth day

Sleep apnea is caused due to obstruction in the airway passage and the patient wakes up several times at night to breath. There are different treatment options for the patient suffering from sleep apnea like CPAP, weight loss, positional therapy, medications and surgery.

Surgery is rarely opted by the patients, but it may be sometimes necessary for increasing the passage of the airway. Reducing obstructions in the passage to a increases the airway passage. Sleep specialist and/or experienced surgeon must be referred before opting for surgery to discuss the advantages, disadvantages and after effects of the surgery. For instance, throat pain for about 7 to 10 days is quite common after the surgery. Surgery may not be able to eliminate the problem completely but it may be able to reduce the number of apneas. It may make the further treatment of the patient easy. In rare cases, apnea may get even worse post surgery. The following types of surgeries can be performed for treating sleep apnea.

One of the most common surgical procedure for sleep apnea is uvulopalatopharhngoplasty (UPPP) procedure. It enlarges the airway by removing the excessive tissues at the back of the throat, uvula, tonsils, adenoids and sometimes a part of the soft palate.

Laser-Assisted Uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP): LAUP is an amendment of the UPPP procedure. Under this procedure, the surgeon cuts the uvula using the laser technique. It is usually performed to eliminate snoring - the primary symptom of snoring. Sleep studies are usually required before LAUP is performed.

Tracheotomy: Tracheotomy is performed to create a hole in the trachea (windpipe) just below the obstruction site and a tube is inserted into this opening. This is like a last option for a person with whom all the other treatments have failed. It is used in patients suffering from severe sleep apnea. The patient is instructed to keep the hole site clean in order to prevent the site from infections. The tube is closed during the day for normal breathing and during the night while sleeping it is opened to make a passage for the air to flow directly into the lungs. This is a highly effective but rarely preferred method.

Surgery of the Nose: Surgery of the nose may be sometimes necessary for correcting any nasal obstructions in the patient.

Maxillomandibular Advancement Surgery: Sometimes, a person may suffer from severe sleep apnea due to some facial abnormalities or throat obstructions. Maxillomandibular advancement surgery is preformed to move the jaw forward and enlarge the airway.

Radio Frequency Tissue Ablation ( RFTA) or Somnoplasty: Radio frequency is used to reduce the soft tissue in the upper airway and open the passage. It shrinks the size of the palate and/or the tongue.

Certain surgical procedures to reduce obesity may also be recommended and used for treating sleep apnea.

CPAP or Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is the treatment for those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CPAP gently passes the pressurized room air though the airway of the patient to enable him to breath properly while sleeping. The pressure of the air is set according to the requirements of the patients, but a low pressure is not much effective in eliminating the apnea and hypoapneas. CPAP process involves a mask, headgear and tubing of the mask with the CPAP machine. The machine-generated air is passed through the nasal mask into the blocked air passage of the patient. This air applies a positive pressure on the obstructed airway just like a splint and enables the patient to breath properly. The pressure of the air increases gradually. Initially, when the person starts the machine the pressure is low and by the time he is fully asleep the pressure automatically increases to a higher level. The patient is able to breath comfortably and sleeps peacefully.

The physicians order the CPAP through a home care company for the patients after confirmation of OSA. The company then delivers the CPAP system along with the Respiratory Therapist for the complete set up of the system. Instructions are given to the patient regarding its use. The physician and the home care team assess the success of the treatment on the follow up of the patient.

It is important to note that a proper mask that suits the patient is very essential for establishing a proper air pressure level. It may be a nose, mouth or a full-face mask with adjustable straps of the headgear for holding it in place. Tight headgear straps bring about discomfort and loose ones may lead to leakage of air. Only a proper fitted mask can provide a proper air pressure level. More recently, the gel-type masks have been introduced into the market. It is a soft gel cushion and is appropriate for all types of patients as it consists of a flexible shell and a wire molded into the shell which allows the patient to change the shape of the mask. In addition to it, nasal pillows are also available for the patient that consists of two small flexible pieces (like mushroom caps) that are inserted into the nostrils. Although, nasal pillows are better alternative to the mask but the patients with higher pressures may suffer from discomfort with these nasal nostrils.

In certain cases CPAP may not work appropriately and a surgery may be necessary.

People often say that laughter is the best medicine. For years, this adage has persisted, a commonly used clichè. But is there really truth to this?

In recent years, some researchers and doctors have delved into serious studies about laughter and humor and their effects on health. The common understanding is that humor really does have health benefits.

Scientists were able to find out that laughing can actually reduce stress and anxiety. In experiments, there were major drops in the level of stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine (adrenalin), and dopamine. Aside from this, laughing also increases the level of endorphin in our bodies. Endorphins are our body’s natural “high” or “feel good” hormones. The more we laugh, the better we feel.

Laughing can also be a great workout. When we laugh hard, we burn calories. Whenever we laugh, we stretch our diaphragms, we breathe faster, we inhale more oxygen into our lungs. Our pulse also quickens and our hearts beat faster. Laughter and humor can also have other benefits like longer sleep and lower blood sugar levels.

However, scientists and doctors are quick to say that while laughing can have its benefits, they might have probably something to do with who we laugh with. Apparently, we laugh more when we’re with people than when we’re alone. This could be an indication that laughter is partly a social gesture, which connotes a feeling of security when with other people.

If anything, this only goes to show that laughter doesn’t only have health benefits, it also benefits us emotionally, and mentally. By way of humor, we tend to relax and look at our immediate surroundings in a calm, composed manner as compared to a stressful environment.

The question may still stand about laughter as being the best medicine but it certainly is better than going to the clinic to get a shot or swallowing that bitter pill. Laughter is free and abundant. You can even say that laughter surrounds us. So, take a deep breath and laugh.

The French State Telegraph Network was conceived by Claude Chappe, who became the system’s Chief Engineer. Since 1790, he had been experimenting with an array of telescopes and pendulum clocks and had managed to transmit several sentences over a distance of about ten miles.

By 1793, Chappe had switched to a semaphore system of cross-arms and pulleys, which was technically simpler and easier to read at a distance. Chappe persuaded the French government to allow him to build the first telegraphic connection, between Paris and Lille, a distance of about 120 miles. Fifteen stations were in the network when it began operating in July 1794.

The system proved useful in the war against Austria and Prussia, and was rapidly extended. Napoleon Bonaparte was an enthusiastic supporter of the semaphore telegraph. In 1804, when he declared himself emperor, he ordered the construction of a government hot line from Lyon to Turin and Milan. It took five years to build but, when complete, and under optimum conditions, a coded message could be transmitted across the Alps in thirty minutes. In bad weather and poor visibility, messages could take two or three days.

From 1759 to 1855, the ‘Optical Telegraph Network’ grew from 15 to 556 stations; at its height it connected 30 French cities to Paris and employed more than 3,000 people.

Similar networks appeared in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, England, Germany, Spain, Russia, Australia and the US, but the invention of the telegraph in 1831, and the telephone in 1880, killed communication by semaphore. Sweden, the second nation to adopt the system, was the last to let it go. The last three operating semaphore towers, in the Gothenburg area, were closed in 1881.

The 20th century dawned on confident and vigorous economies in the western world. Electricity and the telephone changed the way that people thought and communicated and business boomed, helped along by rapid technological advances. The 1890 US census was completed 50 times faster than the 1880 census, thanks to the new Hollerith machine. The idea of pre-programming a machine, of storing instructions on a medium such as punched cards, was new, and no one foresaw where it would eventually lead. Hollerith was a businessman who laid the foundation for the rise of International Business Machines.

Other innovations, seemingly unconnected with computing, were coming into being. In 1903, Nikola Tesla patented electrical logic circuits called switches, or gates. A year later, John Fleming patented a diode vacuum tube, and in 1915, physicist Manson Benedicks discovered that the germanium crystal could be used to convert alternating to direct current, foreshadowing the use of microchips.

By 1925, computers as we know them today were beginning to see the light of day. In that year, Vannevar Bush built a large-scale analog computer at MIT, and in 1936, the Englishman Alan Turing described a hypothetical computer which was defined as capable of computing any calculable function. Turing’s work laid the foundation for modern computer theory. In the same year, the contribution of another brilliant man was recognized. George Boole had been dead for 75 years when Claude Shannon, a student at MIT, recognized the connection between electronic circuits and Boolean algebra.

Technological advances came thick and fast as war engulfed Europe. In 1940, George Stibitz, at Bell Labs demonstrated the Complex Number Calculator automatic digital computer. In embattled wartime Britain, Alan Turing was developing an advanced computer for the military. Colossus was designed in 1941, and Colossus II in 1943. These machines helped break the German ENIGMA cipher code, and gave a tremendous boost to the allied war effort. After the war, the British authorities stripped down the equipment and destroyed the records.

In 1944, IBM unveiled the Harvard Mark 1 Computer. Its program was not internally stored, but was driven by paper tape. It was eight feet high and fifty-five feet long. It contained 760,000 parts and about 500 miles of wire. It weighed five tons.

The new computers served well in wartime, but they were single-minded; calculating the path of artillery shells, breaking codes. They were soldiers, designed to perform a single function. With the coming of peace, they were to be harnessed to the civilian effort, taking on diverse and multifarious tasks, building the economy, and accelerating the breakneck pace of technological experimentation and innovation.

The mysterious action of the brain during sleep has always been a subject of curiosity and investigation. In general, sleep is categorized into two states. The first state is REM sleep which involves swift eye behavior with increased heart rate and blood pressure. It is also known as dream sleep. The second one is Non-REM or NREM sleep which is a peaceful state. At night, our sleep cycle includes stage I, stage II, stage III, stage IV, stage III, stage II and then REM. Each sleep cycle can include 4 to 5 cycles of 90 to 100 minutes each. Immediately as we go off to sleep, stage I of Non-REM sleep begins. Within the next 5 to 15 minutes, we enter into the stage II of the sleep that is comparative deeper than the first one and thereafter follows stage III and stage IV. At stage IV sleep our muscles are completely relaxed and we are in a least arouse-able state, although we may move our bodies back and forth at different stages of our sleep. Stage IV is the deepest stage of sleep and stage I is considered as the weakest one.

REM sleep generally emerges in the early hours of dawn, shortly before we are wide awake. REM is fascinating event because people dream in this phase of their sleep. Brain is significantly more alert during the duration of REM than during the Non-REM sleep. During this phase the parts of the body that show movements are the diaphragm and the extra ocular muscles of our eyes. Remaining parts of our body nearly remain crippled, although the precise cause behind this queer body behavior continue to be a matter of research.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which obstructs the normal fashion of sleep. The patient spends an irrational amount of time in stage III/IV and REM sleep. This results in a very uncomfortable sleep. The person does not feel fresh even after many hours of sleep. They do not like to get out of bed and always feel like going to bed again.

Anthropology
The science of humanity is called as anthropology. It studies all aspects of society and culture including the language, tradition, beliefs, values, economic mechanisms, kinships, techniques, struggle for prestige, and social institutions. Anthropologists engage themselves in research relating to particular topics, theories, areas, and methodological interests to discover answers to the crucial questions regarding man’s past and present experience.

Franz Boas, is called the “Father of American Anthropology”. He was one of the pioneers of modern anthropology who established academic anthropology in the US. Today, many American anthropologists have adopted his agenda of social reform. He was influenced by the German tradition and supported the fact that the world was full of distinctive cultures, rather than societies. The evolution of these cultures could be measured by the degree of “civilization” they had. According to him every culture had to be studied regarding its particularity. The “Four Field Approach” has originated in Boasian Anthropology. It segregates the discipline in four crucial and interrelated fields. These four fields are Archaeology, linguistic, sociocultural anthropology, and physical anthropology.

Archaeology
Archaeology is the detailed knowledge about the past cultures. It utilizes both fieldwork and laboratory methods to understand the objects of primitive cultures. It is the study of things created by man in the past.

Linguistic Anthropology
Linguistic Anthropology is the analysis of the interrelatedness of language and culture. Its prime focus is on non-verbal communication, unwritten languages and their evolution, and the diversity of languages.

Sociocultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology, also referred as ethnology or socio-cultural anthropology, is the analysis of modern cultures. It basically emphasizes the comparison of religion, cultural, wedding ceremonies, relationships, gender, political composition, financial systems, and so on.

Physical Anthropology

Physical Anthropology examines the relationship between the culture and biology (human beings). Hence, it is also called biological anthropology or forensic anthropology and includes study regarding human evolution, relationships of human and other primates, human variation, forensics and health, the fossil record.
Anthropology: Reasons For Division
Anthropology was divided into different fields due to the following reasons:

• The division was made to limit the scope of each research and reduce complications regarding the subject. Every field requires detailed and complete research and the division makes it easy to determine where one field has to pass control to another.

• One single field cannot cover all the aspects of human behavior.

• Except for the Physical Anthropology, all the three focus on characteristics created and spread out by humans themselves. Therefore, it became necessary to distinguish the physical Anthropology from other three.

Do you know where the Himalayas are? Do you know how large the Himalayas are? Do you know what it separates? The reason I start with questions is most children in school today are ask the same questions. So to help children to get information and so we can know as well, I have written some information down that just might help.

The Himalayas are the worlds largest mountain range, the Himalayas curve 1490 miles across the South Asia, separating the Plateau of Tibet from the low plains of Northern India.  The Mountains and the Plateau were created when the Indian subcontinent collide with Asia about 20 million years ago, thrusting the floor of the intervening ocean high up and the deep inland. The Indian Plate is still moving North about 2.5 inches per a year and the mountains are still rising at a rate of 0.2 inches per a year. The Himalayas can be split into three parallel ranges, ascending in height from the Plans: the sub-Himalayan Siwalik range, consisting of material eroded from the higher mountains, lesser Himalaya foothills and the snow-capped Great Himalayas.