Thursday, February 28, 2008
Spoiler
A spoiler is an automotive aerodynamic device whose intended design function is to ’spoil’ unfavorable air movement across a body of a vehicle of some kind in motion. This can result in improved vehicle stability by decreasing lift that may cause unpredictable handling in a car at speed. Spoilers are often fitted to race and high-performance sports cars, although they have become common on passenger vehicles, as well. Some spoilers are added to cars primarily for styling purposes and have either little aerodynamic benefit or even make the aerodynamics worse.
Spoilers for automobiles are often incorrectly confused with, or even used interchangeably with, wings. Automotive wings are devices whose intended design is to lessen the effect of drag by generating lift, or to generate down force as air passes around them, not simply disrupt existing airflow patterns.
The main design goal of a spoiler in passenger vehicles is to reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency. While many often imitate wings and airfoils, these serve mostly decorational purposes. Passenger vehicles can be equipped with front and rear spoilers. Front spoilers, found beneath the bumper, are mainly used to direct air flow away from the tires to the underbody where the drag coefficient is less. Rear spoilers, which modify the transition in shape between the roof and the rear and the trunk and the rear, act to minimize the turbulence at the rear of the vehicle.
Sports cars are most commonly seen with front and rear spoilers. Even though these vehicles typically have a more rigid chassis and a stiffer suspension to aid in high speed maneuverability, a spoiler can still be beneficial. This is because many vehicles have a fairly steep downward angle going from the rear edge of the roof down to the trunk or tail of the car. At high speeds, air flowing across the roof tumbles over this edge, causing air flow separation. The flow of air becomes turbulent and a low-pressure zone is created, increasing drag and instability (see Bernoulli effect). Adding a rear spoilers makes the air “see” a longer, gentler slope from the roof to the spoiler, which helps to delay flow separation. This decreases drag, increases fuel economy, and helps keep the rear window clean.
Vehicle insurance or car insurance
Vehicle insurance (also known as auto insurance, car insurance, or motor insurance) is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Its primary use is to provide protection against losses incurred as a result of traffic accidents and against liability that could be incurred in an accident.
In many jurisdictions it is compulsory to have vehicle insurance before using or keeping it on public roads. Most jurisdictions relate insurance to both the car and the driver, however the degree of each varies greatly.
Car insurance can cover some or all of the following items:
The insured party
The insured vehicle
Third parties
Different policies specify the circumstances under which each item is covered. For example, a vehicle can be insured against theft, fire damage, or accident damage independently.
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation (often drug rehab or just rehab) is an umbrella term for the processes of medical and/or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent is to enable the patient to cease substance abuse, in order to avoid the psychological, legal, financial, social, and physical consequences that can be caused, especially by extreme abuse.
Drug rehab tends to address a stated twofold nature of drug dependency: physical and psychological dependency. Physical dependency involves a detoxification process to cope with withdrawal symptoms from regular use of a drug. With regular use of many drugs, legal or otherwise, the brain gradually adapts to the presence of the drug so that the desired effect is minimal. Apparently normal functioning of the user may be observed, despite being under the influence of the drug. This is how physical tolerance develops to drugs such as heroin, amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine or alcohol. It also explains why more of the drug is needed to get the same effect with regular use. The abrupt cessation of taking a drug can lead to withdrawal symptoms where the body may take weeks or months (depending on the drug involved) to return to normal.
Psychological dependency is addressed in many drug rehabilitation programs by attempting to teach the patient new methods of interacting in a drug-free environment. In particular, patients are generally encouraged or required not to associate with friends who still use the addictive substance. Twelve-step programs encourage addicts not only to stop using alcohol or other drugs, but to examine and change habits related to their addictions. Many programs emphasize that recovery is a permanent process without culmination. For legal drugs such as alcohol, complete abstention—rather than attempts at moderation, which may lead to relapse—is also emphasized (”One drink is too many; one hundred drinks is not enough.”) Whether moderation is achievable by those with a history of abuse remains a controversial point but is generally considered unsustainable.
Various types of programs offer help in drug rehab, including: residential treatment (in-patient), out-patient, local support groups, extended care centers, and sober houses.
Viva Las Vegas
Las Vegas, with almost 405,000 inhabitants, is the largest city in the state of Nevada, which is located in the southwestern USA.
Founded in 1855 as a Mormon colony, the city expanded rapidly, following the construction of Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and the subsequent formation of Lake Mead. Construction of the dam began in 1931 and was completed in 1936. Another significant event in 1931 was the formal legalization of gambling by the Nevada legislature.
The city is home to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas (1957), and the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society, the latter containing interesting exhibits about the history of the state.
Famed for its large casinos and luxurious hotels in vegas. The first casino was The Flamingo Hotel, built in 1946 and owned by Bugsy Siegel. A renowned gangster, Bugsy invested money gained from a life of crime in the sumptuous interior of the hotel and its dazzling pink neon façade.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a disorder classified by the presence of chronic widespread pain and tactile allodynia. Fibromyalgia patients are also typically affected by a number of symptoms other than pain, including debilitating fatigue, abnormal sleep architecture, functional bowel disturbances and a variety of neuropsychiatric problems including cognitive dysfunction, anxiety and depressive symptoms. While the criteria for such an entity has not yet been thoroughly developed, the recognition that fibromyalgia involves more than just pain has led to the frequent use of the term “fibromyalgia syndrome.” It is not contagious, and recent studies suggest that people with fibromyalgia may be genetically predisposed. It affects more females than males, with a ratio of 9:1 by American College of Rheumatology (ACR)criteria. Fibromyalgia is seen in about 2% of the general population. It is most commonly diagnosed in individuals between the ages of 20 and 50, though onset can occur in childhood.
The disorder is not directly life-threatening. The degree of symptoms may vary greatly from day to day with periods of flares (severe worsening of symptoms) or remission; however, the disorder is generally perceived as non-progressive.
The validity of fibromyalgia as a unique clinical entity is a matter of some contention among researchers in the field. For example, it has been proposed that the pathophysiology responsible for the symptoms that are collectively classified as representing “Fibromyalgia” is poorly understood, thereby suggesting that the fibromyalgia phenotype may result from several different disease processes that have global hyperalgesia and allodynia in common, an observation that has led to the proposition that current diagnostic criteria are insufficient to differentiate patient groups from each other. Alternatively, there is evidence for the existence of differing pathophysiological abnormalities within the greater fibromyalgia construct, which may be interpreted to represent evidence for the existence of biologically distinct “sub-types” of the disorder akin to conditions such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and major depressive disorder. In a January 14, 2008 article in the New York Times, the controversy of the reality of the disease and its proposed cures are discussed, while citing that the American College of Rheumatology, the Food and Drug Administration and insurers recognize fibromyalgia as a diagnosable disease.