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San
José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 253
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38
families get temporary housing
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Some 38 families of squatters ejected from private property in August have new but temporary housing. The families are among the hundreds of persons thrown off Finca Chánguena and Finca 3 in Palma Sur by police, who were following a court order. The evictions ended years of court action to clear the land. The evicted individuals staged protests and blocked all or part of a key bridge on the Interamerican Sur for several weeks until the government promised them housing. The temporary plywood dwellings were constructed by Fundación TECHO Costa Rica in conjunction with government agencies. Some 144 persons will live there. The Ministerio de Vivienda y Asentamientos Humanos is planning more permanent housing that will be ready by the middle of next year. The Instituto Costarricense de Desarrollo Rural invested 76 million colons or about $144,000 into the project, said Casa Presidencial. Ana Gabriel Zúñiga Aponte, a vice minister of the Presidencia, visited the site this week and said that the central government stepped in to provide immediate assistance while the proposed permanent projects advance. She cited respect for human rights. She was quoted by Casa Presidencial.
Unusual undersea
vent found in Caribbean
By the University of Southampton news staff
Researchers from the University of Southampton have identified hydrothermal vents in the deep sea of the Caribbean which are unlike any found before. Collaborating with colleagues at the National Oceanography Centre, the team has revealed active vents in the Von Damm Vent Field that are unusual in their structure, formed largely of talc, rather than the more usual sulphide minerals. Lead researcher Matthew Hodgkinson analysed samples from a vent field south of the Cayman Islands discovered by scientists and crew on board the RRS James Cook in 2010. Results of the analysis are now published in the journal Nature Communications. Matthew comments: “This vent site is home to a community of fauna similar to those found at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, but the minerals and chemistry at the Von Damm site are very different to any other known vents.” Hydrothermal vents form in areas where the Earth’s tectonic plates are spreading. At these sites, circulating seawater is heated by magma below the seafloor and becomes more acidic, leaching metals from the surrounding rocks and redepositing them as the hot water spews out of vents or chimneys at the seabed and hits the cold seawater. If more of these unusual sites exist they could be important contributors in the exchange of chemicals and heat between the Earth’s interior and the oceans, and may be missing from current global assessments of hydrothermal impact on the oceans, said researchers. Our reader's opinion
Fair and balanced reporting soughtDear A.M. Costa Rica: I must agree with David C. Murray, who questions the publishing of Democratic misstatements in your periodical, but not those of the Republicans. News reporting is SUPPOSED to be unbiased and transparent, at least when I went to school it was. Many, many statements by various Republicans have been fact-checked and proven false, but not a word of those in your publication. Pardon me. sir, your bias is showing. Let's have some fair, balanced reporting on the subject. You can start with “The Donald.” He spews so much drivel, it embarrasses me for the U.S.A., and I am a Democrat. Darlene Mokrycki
Atenas |
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The contents of this Web site are
copyrighted by Consultantes Ro Colorado S.A 2015 and may not be
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 253 |
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Medical teams in San Carlos try to find causes of patient
deaths |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Staffers and patients at the Hospital de San Carlos have donned face masks in the wave of deaths from an unknown cause. Although one man who died was in his 70s, the ages of the other four ranged from 18 to 54. Hospital officials and those from the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social are dismissing rumors that swine flu is the culprit. Instead, some of the cases have been blamed on letrospirosis, a bacterial disease that can come from domestic and wild animals, including rodents. Those who died lived in geographically dispersed homes, so there does not seem to be a single cause. Physicians have been delayed in making a clear diagnosis because the public agency that usually does that type of work was on a holiday break. Some staffers returned to work Tuesday in light of the outbreak. The agency is the Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud in Tres Ríos, Cartago. |
Deaths from
respiratory ailments are not unusual at hospitals. And there are as many as 15 patients under care in San Carlos now with such problems. The deaths have attracted the attention of top Caja officials and the Judicial Investigating Organization that keeps track of deaths without established causes. Health experts have gone to the hospital. Leptospirosis is generally spread by animal urine entering the water supply. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said that leptospirosis is caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira. In humans, it can cause a wide range of symptoms, some of which may be mistaken for other diseases, but some infected persons, however, may have no symptoms at all, it added. Without treatment, leptospirosis can lead to kidney damage, meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord), liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death, said the Centers. The first death reported at the Hospital de San Carlos was last Wednesday. |
You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 253 |
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Study says time spent on Facebook shows degree of dependency |
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By the University of Akron news staff
What drives users to Facebook? News? Games? Feedback on their posts? The chance to meet new friends? If any of these hit home, the computer user might have a Facebook dependency. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, says Amber Ferris, an assistant professor of communication at The University of Akron. Professor Ferris, who studies Facebook user trends, says the more people use Facebook to fulfill their goals, the more dependent on it they become. She is quick to explain this dependency is not equivalent to an addiction. Rather, the reason why people use Facebook determines the level of dependency they have on the social network. The study found those who use Facebook to meet new people were the most dependent on Facebook overall. To identify dependency factors, Professor Ferris and Erin Hollenbaugh, an associate professor of communication studies at Kent State University at Stark, studied 301 Facebook users between the ages of 18 and 68 who post on the site at least once a month. They found that people who perceive Facebook as helpful in gaining a better understanding of themselves go to the site to meet new people and to get attention from others. Also, people who use Facebook to gain a deeper understanding of themselves tend to have agreeable personalities, but lower self-esteem than others. “They might post that they went to the gym. Maybe they’ll share a post expressing a certain political stance or personal |
challenge
they’re facing. They rely on feedback from Facebook friends to better
understand themselves,” Professor Ferris says. She explained that some users observe how others cope with problems and situations similar to their own “and get ideas on how to approach others in important and difficult situations.” The professors presented “A Uses and Gratifications Approach to Exploring Antecedents to Facebook Dependency” at the National Communication Association conference in Las Vegas in November. They say other Facebook dependency signs point to users’ needs for information or entertainment. In other words, a user knows about the local festival scheduled for this weekend thanks to Facebook. In their previous studies, professors Ferris and Hollenbaugh also uncovered personality traits common among specific types of Facebook users. For example, people who use Facebook to establish new relationships tend to be extroverted. Extroverts are more open to sharing their personal information online, but are not always honest with their disclosures, Professor Ferris says. The most positive posts online come from those who have high self-esteem, according to Ferris. “Those who post the most and are the most positive in posts do so to stay connected with people they already know and to gain others’ attention, Professor Ferris says. “This makes a lot of sense. If you are happy with your life, you are more likely to want to share that happiness with others on social media.” |
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What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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Colorado
S.A. 2015 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
A.M. Costa Rica's
Fifth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 253 | |||||||
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U.S. launches plan to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The Obama administration has unveiled a plan to help combat multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the United States and globally. While about 100 cases of the disease are diagnosed annually in the U.S., it affects nearly half a million people around the world every year. The plan released Tuesday is the first from the White House to address the global threat of the deadlier strain of tuberculosis. The National Action Plan is built on three goals: strengthening domestic capacity to combat the disease; improving work with other countries to better address the disease, and accelerating basic and applied research and development. The White House's proposal is in line with the World Health Organization's global strategy to end tuberculosis around the world. More than 9.5 million people became ill with tuberculosis last year, according to the World Health Organization. Greek parliament approves civil partnership agreements By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Greece's parliament has passed landmark legislation allowing civil partnership agreements between same-sex couples, despite strong resistance from opposition parties and the powerful Orthodox Church. The law, passed early Wednesday by a 193-56 margin, came seven years after Greek lawmakers approved the same provisions for heterosexual couples in legislation that specifically excluded homosexual unions. That exclusion drew a sharp rebuke from the European Court of Human Rights, which later ruled it to be discriminatory. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who early on in his stormy year-long tenure promised social reforms, told lawmakers the legislation "closed a circle of embarrassment for the state." "Today we recognize the right of all people, regardless sexual gender or orientation, to live together and choose their own path in life as they see fit," he said. The legislation, similar to laws in Britain, Spain and Cyprus, stops short of allowing state-sanctioned marriages. It also does not permit such couples to adopt children, and it denies them pension and tax benefits available to heterosexual couples. In opposing the legislation, the nationalist Independent Greeks Party ANEL, part of the governing coalition, questioned the push to legitimize same-sex unions. "The Greek constitution protects motherhood," ANEL lawmaker Vassilis Kokkalis told the French news agency AFP. "Is there motherhood in men?" The Orthodox Church also was instrumental in excluding same-sex couples from the 2008 legislation, and last week a prominent bishop lent his voice to the opposition. Metropolitan Bishop Ambrosios of Kalavryta, who earlier this year voiced public support for the country's far-right political party Golden Dawn, encouraged followers to spit on and blacken gays and atheists with violence. Congressional bill boosts foreign aid, terrorism fight By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The massive, year-end spending bill passed by Congress Friday contains a boost for foreign aid, putting a strong focus on anti-terrorism efforts and addressing instability in the Middle East. It also aims to protect American diplomats and facilities abroad and to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need. Overall spending for state and foreign operations in 2016 totals roughly $53 billion, up almost $3.5 billion from the 2015 budget. That money funds the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and a number of other international programs, including the Voice of America. Some development professionals say they are happy about the increase, but are concerned about an over reliance on the overseas contingency account created to finance the global war on terror. A media platform for the development aid community, Devex, says foreign aid advocates worry that a heavy reliance on overseas contingency account money may help in the short term, but may expose their programs to long-term risk when anti-terrorism operations wind down. The rise in overseas contingency account funding is offset by a decrease in what is termed base appropriations, the basic pool of funding that has paid for international aid programs for many years. The House Appropriations Committee says the overseas contingency account funding is to combat the Islamic State terrorist group and other U.S. enemies. Republican Committee Chairman Hal Rogers says the bill exceeds President Barack Obama’s request for embassy security and provides funding to prevent and protect against future terrorist attacks, unrest and other acts of violence. The funding increase for embassy security comes in response to the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Rogers says the spending plan also includes assistance to key allies and partners such as Israel, Jordan and Ukraine. The legislation provides $658 million for Ukraine, which is $145 million above Obama’s request. No funds are provided for the Russian government. The bill provides $1.275 billion for Jordan and $141.9 million for Tunisia. The legislation contains $24 billion in assistance to foreign countries. Funding is prioritized to support global health and humanitarian assistance. The bill maintains the fiscal year 2015 level for migration and refugee assistance. It specifies that additional funds are available if needed to respond to humanitarian crises overseas, but not for the president’s domestic refugee resettlement program. India votes to lower age to treat suspects as adults By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Indian lawmakers have voted to lower the age at which a person can be tried as an adult for serious criminal offenses following public anger over the release of one of the attackers in a fatal 2012 gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus. The changes, passed by the upper house of parliament Tuesday, will allow minors aged 16 to 18 to be sentenced to at least seven years in young offenders' institutions for convictions of heinous crimes which include rape and murder. The new bill follows widespread protests calling for changes to the law after the country’s supreme court ruled it could no longer delay the release of the youngest rapist convicted in the attack. Medical student Jyoti Singh was killed in a brutal attack, carried out by six men, while riding on a bus in December 2012. Police said the youngest attacker, then only 17 years old, was the most brutal of the rapists, who beat their victim with an iron rod before sexually assaulting her. The youngest convict in the case, now 20, was released Sunday after serving three years in a correction home. Beijing wholesale market reflects concern about future By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
From dawn to dusk, Beijing’s Jingwen wholesale market is bustling with activity. Mounds of merchandise are piled up everywhere and a seemingly endless supply of dolly carts navigate the narrow shopping halls. But the hum of commerce belies a rumbling beneath the surface, a shifting unease felt at market places and businesses across the country. 2015 was a tough year for China’s economy, which saw its slowest growth in nearly 25 years and next year looks much the same. For some of the nearly 2,000 wholesalers at Jingwen market that uncertainty is growing. One wholesaler surnamed Ye says that she’s not only have trouble selling merchandise, but retailers are sending goods back and she has no choice but to accept. “I don’t know what is going on but this year has been horrible. We’ve worked in Beijing for years and always manage to make some money, but it looks like this year we could lose money,” she said. Like many in the market, Ms. Ye is from Wenzhou, an entrepreneurial powerhouse in China’s southeastern Zhejiang province that the market derives its name from: Jing for Beijing and Wen for Wenzhou. And while Ms. Ye has worked in Beijing for years, the slowdown in business is not the only uncertainty. Authorities in Beijing are closing down markets such as Jingwen and moving them far away from the city’s center. In some cases, markets are being moved more than an hour away to neighboring Hebei province. Authorities say the move will ease population and traffic strains, and help with the problem of pollution. Many of the city’s administrative offices also are slated to move out to the eastern part of the city, with substantial progress expected as early as 2017, according to the Beijing city government. The move is expected to attract some 400,000 to the eastern suburb of Tongzhou. Beijing has also vowed to strictly control population growth for the capital city, setting a ceiling of 23 million. That number, analysts say, is too low and risks robbing the Chinese capital of much-needed diversity. Tsinghua University Professor Cai Jiming said an international city needs citizens from all kinds of backgrounds. “There should be college students, graduate students, scientists as well as a large number who work in the services industry. If you get rid of all these people, a city loses its vitality,” he said. Cai said that based on research he and others have carried out, Beijing could accommodate as many as 30 million people. “Ultimately, what the total population becomes should be something for the market to decide. Look at Tokyo, it already has a population of 33 million and yet it does not feel as congested as Beijing,” he said. Jingwen market was established in 1994 when China’s economy was just taking off, but what comes next is unclear. Some worry it could disappear, while others say it will get a facelift and go upscale. Wholesalers say they are looking to the market for answers, not to government efforts to micro-manage where they can do business. One wholesaler surnamed Xing said plans to move markets far away from the city’s center are unrealistic. “My focus is on what people want. There’s always a way to make money. Right now we’re selling low-end goods, and I can do that. If you want to do more high-end goods, I can do that as well,” he said. China’s economy blossomed by allowing people more freedom to choose their own path, but as the economy struggles, officials are getting more and more skittish and seemingly focused on exerting more controls than letting go. Instead of tightening up, analysts say officials should focus less on rigid population targets, and instead mimic wholesalers who have already learned how to adapt to an ever-changing market. Afghan journalists frightened because colleague crossed over By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The voice of a journalist who until recently used to work at radio stations in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province can now be heard in the provincial capital, Jalalabad, and neighboring districts as the voice of Islamic State's new caliphate radio. Former colleagues are quick to recognize the voice of Sultan Aziz Ezam, who worked for three local radio stations over the course of a decade, covering primarily land issues. Now, that voice is issuing death threats. Local newsmen hear their former colleague or some imitator accusing them of working for foreigners and saying they are on the Islamic State death watch list for their reporting practices. “I know the addresses of houses of all those journalists who are working with different media organizations in Jalalabad, and will find them and will kill them,” he declares. Reporters could not independently confirm the identity of the Islamic State radio anchor. But local Afghan journalists say they are alarmed by the threats and are taking them seriously, because they recognize the voice. "All journalists in Jalalabad are aware of the threats and are very scared," one local journalist said. About 50 reporters in Nangarhar work for local and international news outlets. Journalists say Ezam and his brother recently left their work at a local radio station, and Ezam had not been heard from until his voice surfaced on the Islamic State broadcasts. FM radio broadcasts by the Islamic State started recently along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and are the voice of terror in a region where terrorist fighters are active. The Islamic State launched the channel as the “Voice of Khelafat.” It is not hard to find on the radio dial. The two-hour daily evening broadcasts include Quranic recitations, Islamic chanting, interviews with Islamic State fighters and anti-government propaganda. The channel also airs interviews with mullahs who issue fatwahs against those who work with the Afghan army and government, with the Pakistan army and for foreigners in Afghanistan. Pakistani and Afghan officials say they are hunting for the broadcasters. They said they believe the signal emanates from a mobile transmitter in the mountains. Polls show national security dominates thinking of voters By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Terrorism and national security are dominating the 2016 race for the White House, at least for the moment. Recent public opinion polls show security concerns now top the economy as the key voter issue for the campaign in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Security was a major focus of the two most recent presidential debates and has forced several White House contenders to adjust their campaigns to address the shifting political landscape. Donald Trump remains the dominant figure in the Republican presidential race. The latest Quinnipiac University Poll puts him at 28 percent support among Republican voters with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas closing in at 24 percent. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has made national security a centerpiece of his campaign, is third with 12 percent, followed by Ben Carson with 10 percent. The survey also found, however, that 50 percent of those surveyed, including both Republicans and Democrats, would be embarrassed to have Trump as president. One of the keys to Trump’s enduring success with Republican voters is that they view him as the best contender to deal with the threat of terrorism. A recent Quinnipiac survey of Republican voters in Iowa found 33 percent picked Trump as the candidate best able to handle terrorism, ahead of Cruz and Rubio. Trump is fond of quoting poll results at his campaign rallies. “This isn’t going to be an election on niceness any more, even if I wasn’t nice,” Trump told supporters recently in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “This is going to be an election on competence and smartness and toughness, because otherwise our country is finished. It’s finished.” During the recent Republican debate in Las Vegas, rival Jeb Bush described Trump as the chaos candidate and questioned whether Trump was ready to lead. “If I’m president, I’ll be a commander in chief, not an agitator in chief or a divider in chief, and that I will lead this country in a way that will create greater security and greater safety,” Bush said as Trump scoffed in a split-screen reaction shot on the CNN broadcast. Many experts thought the focus on security would help establishment contenders like Bush. “People who are seen as grownups, adults, mature, seasoned and ready for this,” said independent analyst Stuart Rothenberg. But it hasn’t worked out that way. "So far the early indications are that it has helped the kind of loudest, blustery candidate, and that would be Donald Trump,” he said. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina was perhaps the foremost national security candidate in the Republican field. Graham set himself apart by announcing that if elected he would send thousands of U.S. troops back into Iraq and into Syria to combat Islamic State fighters. Graham ended his presidential campaign this week, though, never able to move beyond about 1 percent support in the polls. This new emphasis on security also appears to have helped Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton widen her lead over rival Bernie Sanders. Mrs. Clinton wants to intensify the military campaign against Islamic State fighters by stepping up the air campaign and by forming an international coalition to confront the jihadists on the ground. But Mrs. Clinton also seems to be looking ahead to the general election campaign by going after some of the Republican contenders on national security, including Cruz who vowed to carpet bomb the Middle East to defeat the Islamic State group. “Promising to carpet-bomb until the desert glows doesn’t make you sound strong. It makes you sound like you are in over your head,” Mrs. Clinton said in a recent national security speech in Minneapolis. During the recent Democratic debate in New Hampshire, Sanders acknowledged the threat posed by Islamic State, but warned against repeating past mistakes. "The United States must lead, but the United States is not the policeman of the world, and the United States must not be involved in perpetual war in the Middle East,” Sanders said, part of a growing side-debate on whether the United States should force the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The focus on terrorism and security should help Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic primaries. |
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What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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Colorado S.A. 2015 and may not be reproduced anywhere without
permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
A.M. Costa Rica's sixth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, Vol. 16, No. 253 | |||||||||
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University of Cincinnati
photo
Bruce Jayne demonstrates a
brown tree snake's rapid climb.Researchers
figure out how snakes climb
By the University of Cincinnati news staff
The bodies of moving snakes sometimes look like little more than wiggly strands of spaghetti. However, Bruce Jayne, a University of Cincinnati professor of biology, sees a wide variety of anatomy and behavior that allows diverse snake species to crawl and climb almost anywhere, including tree branches with variable bark texture. Using three different species to test their tree-worthy talents, Jayne and his students studied stout and heavy boa constrictors, medium-weight corn snakes and the slender and agile brown tree snakes. Unlike most snakes that have a nearly circular cross sectional shape, Jayne found that brown tree snakes look more like a loaf of bread where the top is rounded but the bottom has corners called keels where the skin on either side of the belly is folded. He says these sharply contoured keels are the key for how various tree snakes can exploit subtle nooks and crannies in tree bark to prevent slipping, and propel themselves up a tree quickly, making it easier to get to their prey in a flash with less effort. To a smaller extent corn snakes have this shape, and boa constrictors were the roundest species that Jayne studied. Acquiring a better understanding for how flat-bellied species like the brown tree snakes lodge their keeled ridge against protrusions and secure themselves in place during climbing could help lead Jayne and others toward many practical applications for biology, mechanics and engineering. In a featured article in the December issue of the prestigious Journal of Experimental Biology, “Why arboreal snakes should not be cylindrical: body shape, incline and surface roughness have interactive effects on locomotion,” Jayne shows the gripping advantages of sharper snake-belly keels for more efficient climbing. Depending on the snakes’ shape and behavior, Jayne discovered that variations in surface structure can have interactive effects on their speed and type of locomotion. The bark on different species of trees may be nearly smooth or have ridges of considerable height on natural branches. Therefore, Jayne simulated some of this variety of natural branches by using cylinders that were smooth or had pegs interspersed ranging in heights from 1 to 40 mm. He also varied the steepness of his artificial branches. “Our most notable finding is how the keel helps to prevent slipping and can allow snakes to use a type of crawling that not only is fast but also probably saves energy,” says Jayne. In the snake olympics to determine the fastest speed, the brown tree snakes were always the gold medalists. Both of the other two species won silver depending on the steep angle and degree of rough surface texture. Although boa constrictors were slowpokes compared to the corn snakes, the boas had such incredible strength that they were better at gripping and steadily climbing some of the steep surfaces on which the corn snakes failed to make any progress. |
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From Page 7: Ticos seem satisfied with public services By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Ricans generally evaluate their public services as satisfactory. The Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos released the results of a survey Tuesday that showed this. The agency hired a commercial firm to contact 1,295 persons for their opinions. The respondents rated their electrical service seven or eight out of 10, said the agency. That included some of the rural providers. Even 67 percent of the respondents rated taxi service satisfactory or very satisfactory. Respondents in San José and Guanacaste rated their bus service the lowest with 56.1 and 57.3 percent rating the service as satisfactory or above. Other provinces gave higher marks. Water providers also generally got good marks in the 70 to 80 percent range for satisfactory or higher. |