Abstract
"Blast!", the musical, grew from the award-winning drum-and-bugle corps Star of Indiana, founded in 1984 to benefit young people in music education. Star moved beyond its earlier triumphs to bring the power, passion and precision of outdoor pageantry to the stage in a musical performance that is now called "Blast!" This paper shows that by merging drum corps's pageantry, marching precision and instrumental virtuosity with the repertoire, props, costuming, staging, dance moves, and special effects of musical theater, "Blast!" made its world premiere in December of 1999 at the London Apollo Theatre. The paper explores the jazz and African-American roots of this musical.

From the Paper
"Musically, jazz, African music, and Blast! share a number of similarities. All three depend heavily on brass and percussion and incorporate a multitude of instruments, both conventional and unconventional. In traditional African music, persistent and repetitive percussion is the general base for whatever other vocal or instrumental effects may be created against it. Drums, rattles, sticks, stones, iron gongs and bells may all be used separately or simultaneously to produce a series of intricate syncopated rhythms, often very complex in beat and off-beat, and possessing a dynamic drive impelling to body movement."

Tags:Duke, Ellington, James, Mason, choreography

Abstract
This paper examines how BlastGard International's novel new anti-bomb blast technology is being positioned and marketed to both public and private sector potential buyers in the U.S. and the World. For such a promising remedy for a scourge of terrorist acts, the fact that the product has so far failed to gain a market is curious. Attention is thus paid in the latter half of the paper to recent efforts to reverse the company's fortunes.

From the Paper
"Global terrorism forces us all to contemplate the unthink- able. Civilians in Mumbai, London, Madrid and Amman have been killed or maimed in indiscriminant bombing attacks over the last two years. And, sadly, attacks in Baghdad are now a daily occurrence. It is the times we live in: any public trash bin anywhere in the world could someday be the flash point for yet another horrific act perpetrated on the innocent. Preventing or lessoning this senseless carnage is the mission of a small Florida-based hi-tech start-up company called BlastGard International. It produces and markets a bubble wrap-like material that, when lining the..."

Tags:blastwrap, bomb, bremer

Abstract
This paper begins by providing a brief geological history of the mountain, separating it into nine different periods. It then examines various lava types found in the area. The paper moves to modern day when the first actual threat was realized for eruption. It discusses the process of eruption and the different types of blast - lateral blast (direct blast zone, channelized blast zone, seared zone); vertical blast and pyroclastic flows. It concludes with an analysis of the aftermath and its effect on wildlife in the area.

From the Paper
"On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helen's in southwestern Washington erupted with a massive explosion. Leading up to this day was increasingly intense earthquake activity. There were also lots of relatively weak eruptions and many locations of minuet gas discharge. The devastating impact of the suddenly unleashed volcanic energy caused the worst volcanic and geological disaster in the recorded history of the United States."

Tags:lava, volcano, pyroclastic, zone, blast

Abstract
This paper researches the depletion of coral reefs worldwide. The paper first examines how coral reefs are formed. Then the paper discusses the numerous factors that are depleting the reefs, which are: pollution, overfishing, blast fishing, cyanide fishing, temperature changes, sediment runoff, nutrient runoff, shrimp farming, trade in coral and aquarium fish, and clearing of mangrove forests.

Tags:pollution, bleaching, blast fishing

Abstract
This paper describes a recent initiative of the The National Center for Biotechnology Information, which is a national resource for molecular biology information. The project is known as Western Washington University Periodic Search Agent for Protein Database Information or WWU Search Agent. This web-based search engine browses and does periodic searches of the protein databases of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool or BLAST. The writer describes the benefits of this project, which include its interfacing with the NCBI BLAST and the continuous updates and enhancements done by NCBI on the system.

Includes Charts:

Chart - Content of Protein Sequence Databases
Fig. 1 - General Subsequence and Database Input Area
Figure 2 - Options for Advanced BLASTing Input Area
Figure 3 - Format input area for report outputs

From the Paper
"The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) finds regions of local similarity between sequences. The program compares nucleotide or protein sequences to sequence databases and calculates the statistical significance of matches. BLAST can be used to infer functional and evolutionary relationships between sequences as well as help identify members of gene families. The summary of the Content of Protein Sequence Databases with the sequences they contain are as follows: (NCBI, 2006)"

Tags:Bioinformatics, Search, Engine, bioinformatics, protein, database

Abstract
This paper describes some of the many technological advancements that took place in China prior to the fourteenth century under the Shang and Chou dynasties. The paper relates that under Chinese Shang rule, bronze metallurgy was developed that then evolved into the development of blast furnaces and advanced iron-casting capabilities. The paper also discusses the development of a distinctive writing system and examines China's contributions to the lives of Europeans. This included the glazed pottery known as china or porcelain as well as other inventions of the compass, paper, gun powder, natural gas, mechanical clocks and row planting.

From the Paper
"The era of the Shang and Chou dynasties represent the formative years of Chinese history. Prior to this period, China was politically unified, yet comparable to India before its unification by the Mauryan Dynasty. This was the time when a majority of China's cultural traditions that exist today materialized. For many centuries, the country of China was in an isolated state away from other civilization, seas, deserts, and mountains. This helps to explain the originality and uniqueness of the Chinese culture. China's transition from Neolithic culture to civilization was complete with the establishment of Shang rule over most of North China in addition to the first written texts ("Notes on China")."

Tags:iron-casting, china, compass, paper, gun, powder, natural, gas, mechanical, clocks, row, planting

Abstract
This paper examines how preventing or lessening senseless carnage caused by terrorism is the mission of a small Florida-based hi-tech start-up company called BlastGard International. It looks at how it produces and markets a bubble wrap-like material that, when lining the inside of a garbage can, will absorb and dissipate a blast from a backpack-size-bomb hidden there in less than one thousandth of a second. Called BlastWrap, the material is actually a patchwork of 2.75-inch compartments stuffed with numerous foamy pellets commonly found in potting soil.

From the Paper
"For a start-up company marketing a first-in-breed new technology, though, what matters more than an array of potential market segments is finding an immediate set of customers. For BlastGuard International, the most promising candidate in this respect is the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). It allocates almost $100 million annually in the Technical Support Working Group which brainstorms new ideas that might be useful in the war on terrorism. To date, DoD has gone on to invest in such TSWG-sourced ideas as blast-resistant building designs, countermeasures against explosives and weapons of mass destruction, personal-protection equipment, and equipment for military and civilian emergency-response teams for chemical incidents. ("DOD Seeks Technology")"

Tags:terrorism, bubble, wrap, weapons, of, mass, destruction

Abstract
This paper explains that the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had no way to prepare themselves for either the immediate or the lasting effects of the dropping of the atomic bombs. The author points out that the release of energy from this bomb caused massive, unprecedented destruction from the extreme heat, the overpowering blast and dangerous radiation. The paper relates that many people, who feared the complete destruction of mankind as a result of nuclear weaponry, concluded that the only way to avoid this unimaginable catastrophe would be to avoid all wars, even small conflicts that could escalate into an atomic fight. The author relates that the American approach to diplomatic relations with Russia during the Cold War was highly influenced by the existence of the atomic bomb.

From the Paper
"One Japanese Physician, Michihiko Hachiya, recalled in gruesome detail the moment the bomb destroyed his home. He and his wife suffered many injuries, and at several times he lost hope of surviving. He made it through the first day of chaotic post-bombing life. On the morning after the explosion, Hachiya wrote, "Everything was in a turmoil." Hachiya recovered and dedicated the next few months to helping other surviving victims of the explosion. Through the confusion of everything that was going on, he recalled, "One thing was for certain--Hiroshima was destroyed; and with it the army that had been quartered in Hiroshima.""

Tags:morality, horrors, conditions, warfare, secrets

Abstract
This paper examines the book 'Hiroshima' by John Hersey. The paper discusses how the author strives to emphasize the importance of modern war reporting toward revealing the true effects of war. The paper further discusses how Hersey's text focuses on six survivors of the atomic blast at Hiroshima and how his writing captures the perspectives of these victims of the attack and illustrates the real human cost of total war.

From the Paper
"...most of them were too weary or too badly hurt to care that they were the objects of the first great experiment in the use of atomic power, which [...] no country except the United States, with its industrial know-how, its willingness to throw two billion gold dollars into an important wartime gamble, could possibly have developed." John Hersey, Hiroshima, p. 66. The origins of war are highly contested by scholars. One of the most convincing arguments is the ecological one. It states that increased consumption of natural resources (namely food resources) results in social growth. But more growth means that more people are suddenly competing for an ever-decreasing number of natural resources. This increased competition will invariably lead to conflict. As those conflicts escalate and begin to dominate social processes, war is the result."

Tags:hersey, hiroshima, atomic

Abstract
This paper critiques two air cargo related articles, "Best and the Brightest" by William DeCota, and "U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Approves Telair International Blast-Resistant Baggage Container" by Teleflex Incorporated. It looks at how the first article argues that containers have helped the air cargo industry grow, and the second article discusses new container technology. It explores how, although the aviation industry is very well-known for transporting people, the air cargo service is becoming more attractive to shippers as aircraft?s capacity, frequency of lifts, handling facilities, and number of service locations increases.

From the Paper
"Containerization protected the cargo on both the ground and while in flight from things like shift damage, theft, and weather. But, because containers put the entire cargo in one centralized canister, containerization actually made it easier for thieves to steal an entire cargo as opposed to if the shipment were split and most container damage occurs because of overcrowded conditions that force cargo to be stacked above recommended heights or re-positioned frequently. Nonetheless, the industry has been able to standardize air cargo and from the invention of containers the cargo industry has grown."

Tags:baggage, passengers