From the Philippine STAR:
WB-banned firm bags P100-M road contract
A public works contractor blacklisted by the World Band for alleged collusive practices with corrupt officials has bagged a P100-million contract with the government.
"There is no sufficient proof of collusion,: Mercado said. "Even the World Band report states that collusion is 'more likely than not.'".
Excuse me? The proof of collusion is that the government still allowed a suspected company to get the contract! Why not just get a totally new company to handle it? The World Bank has warned us already, so why go through with it?
I just finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel, and I think Rorschach said it best:
The world will look up and shout "Save us!"... And I'll whisper "No."
We deserve this government because we are blind and we are apathetic.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Sleeping Beauty: The Science of Sleep
Most people don't realize how under slept they are. Even if you go to bed early there's still usually light leaking into your room that deprives you of sleep.
Generally you want the room you sleep in to be so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. Even if you go to bed early there is still light that comes in around 5AM that reduces the ability of sleep to renew you.
The pineal gland (also called the pineal body, "Third Eye", epiphysis cerebri, or epiphysis) is a small endocrine gland in the vertebrate brain. It produces melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and photoperiodic (seasonal) functions.
Production of melatonin by the pineal gland is inhibited by light and permitted by darkness. For this reason melatonin has been called "the hormone of darkness" and its onset each evening is called the Dim-Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO). Secretion of melatonin as well as its level in the blood, peaks in the middle of the night, and gradually falls during the second half of the night, with normal variations in timing according to an individual's chronotype.
Photosensitive cells in the retina detect light and directly signal the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), entraining it to the 24 hour clock. Fibers project from the SCN to the paraventricular nuclei (PVN), which relay the circadian signals to the spinal cord and out via the sympathetic system to superior cervical ganglia (SCG), and from there into the pineal gland. The function(s) of melatonin in humans is not clear; it is commonly prescribed for the treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
A circadian rhythm is an approximate daily periodicity, a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioural processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria.
Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals, including human beings. There are clear patterns of core body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle. In addition, photoperiodism, the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night, is vital to both plants and animals, and the circadian system plays a role in the measurement and interpretation of day length.
Timely prediction of seasonal periods of weather conditions, food availability or predator activity is crucial for survival of many species. Although not the only parameter, the changing length of the photoperiod ('daylength') is the most predictive environmental cue for the seasonal timing of physiology and behavior, most notably for timing of migration, hibernation and reproduction.
It is thought that the direction of the light may have an effect on entraining the circadian rhythm; light coming from above, resembling an image of a bright sky, has greater effect than light entering our eyes from below.
So, if you want to sleep better, better make your room pitch black. Make your curtains thick. Wear a sleep mask or an eye mask. Make sure the window is not above your head. Better yet, don't sleep near a window at all.
Sleep tight folks.
Generally you want the room you sleep in to be so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face. Even if you go to bed early there is still light that comes in around 5AM that reduces the ability of sleep to renew you.
The pineal gland (also called the pineal body, "Third Eye", epiphysis cerebri, or epiphysis) is a small endocrine gland in the vertebrate brain. It produces melatonin, a hormone that affects the modulation of wake/sleep patterns and photoperiodic (seasonal) functions.
Production of melatonin by the pineal gland is inhibited by light and permitted by darkness. For this reason melatonin has been called "the hormone of darkness" and its onset each evening is called the Dim-Light Melatonin Onset (DLMO). Secretion of melatonin as well as its level in the blood, peaks in the middle of the night, and gradually falls during the second half of the night, with normal variations in timing according to an individual's chronotype.
Photosensitive cells in the retina detect light and directly signal the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), entraining it to the 24 hour clock. Fibers project from the SCN to the paraventricular nuclei (PVN), which relay the circadian signals to the spinal cord and out via the sympathetic system to superior cervical ganglia (SCG), and from there into the pineal gland. The function(s) of melatonin in humans is not clear; it is commonly prescribed for the treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders.
A circadian rhythm is an approximate daily periodicity, a roughly-24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioural processes of living beings, including plants, animals, fungi and cyanobacteria.
Circadian rhythms are important in determining the sleeping and feeding patterns of all animals, including human beings. There are clear patterns of core body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, cell regeneration and other biological activities linked to this daily cycle. In addition, photoperiodism, the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of day or night, is vital to both plants and animals, and the circadian system plays a role in the measurement and interpretation of day length.
Timely prediction of seasonal periods of weather conditions, food availability or predator activity is crucial for survival of many species. Although not the only parameter, the changing length of the photoperiod ('daylength') is the most predictive environmental cue for the seasonal timing of physiology and behavior, most notably for timing of migration, hibernation and reproduction.
It is thought that the direction of the light may have an effect on entraining the circadian rhythm; light coming from above, resembling an image of a bright sky, has greater effect than light entering our eyes from below.
So, if you want to sleep better, better make your room pitch black. Make your curtains thick. Wear a sleep mask or an eye mask. Make sure the window is not above your head. Better yet, don't sleep near a window at all.
Sleep tight folks.
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