Naruto Uzumaki

Naruto Uzumaki (うずまきナルト, Uzumaki Naruto) is the eponymous title character and primary protagonist in the anime and manga series Naruto created by Masashi Kishimoto. In the series, Naruto is a young ninja who encases the spirit of a violent fox demon that attacked his village before his birth.
Naruto was born on October 10 in the fictional village of Konoha to Kushina Uzumaki and the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. When Naruto was a newborn infant, the powerful Kyubi attacked his village. In order to save the village from destruction, the demon fox was sealed in Naruto's newborn body by his father, the active Hokage at the time, who sacrificed his life to do so. Despite the Fourth Hokage's dying wish that Naruto be viewed as a hero for serving as the container for the demon, the adult villagers of Konoha harbored a fierce hatred for him. Many believed that Naruto and the demon were one and the same and openly displayed an abhorrence towards Naruto, thus leading to the unknowing village children picking up the adults' hatred^. However, no one told Naruto about what his body harbored until he was twelve years old, leaving him confused for most of his childhood as to why the villagers of Konoha treated him with hostility.
Naruto is seen to be a prankster and a loner. He lives alone in a small apartment and has supposedly done so for years. Even though Naruto was treated as an outsider, he was befriended by his compassionate ninja instructor named Iruka Umino when he was twelve. Although Iruka's own parents perished during the battle with the demon fox, he refused to view Naruto as the cause of their deaths. Instead, Iruka attached himself to Naruto because he was similarly isolated after the death of his parents. Naruto was deeply moved by Iruka's kindness and confidence in him. As a result, Naruto now values Iruka as a father figure, as well as an instructor.
His signature jutsu is the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (影分身の術, Shadow Clone Technique) that he can use many times and even create a lot of shadow clones because of his great stamina won by having Kyubi inside him. Using this jutsu, Naruto develops a large number of combos techniques and allows him to use one of the ninjutsu created by the Fourth Hokage: the Rasengan. Although this jutsu is normally performed with only one body, Naruto needs one shadow clone because of his lack of chakra control. This weakness is also noted when he tries to perform the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique) to summon powerful toads and he ends summonning toads in little size. In Part II, Naruto starts training to be able to use his Wind Element and combining it with his Rasengan to create powerful variants. When Naruto finally accomplish this Kakashi mentions that now Naruto could be stronger that him. Before going to the Land of Wind to rescue Gaara, Jiraiya mentions to Naruto not to use a certain jutsu. However, although in that mission Naruto performs a bigger version of the Rasengan this is never confirmed if this is his new jutsu.
Being the host of the demon fox, Naruto occasionally takes on characteristics of the demon fox's violent and mischievous behavior. Physically, Naruto has some of the demon fox's characteristics, such as whisker-like marks on his cheeks and larger canines teeth than normal. His eyes are also somewhat slitted like a fox. He also has increased stamina and healing ability, which allows him to recover from major injuries within a day and minor injuries within a few seconds. At first, the fox demon's chakra only exposed itself when Naruto encountered life-threatening situations, or the feeling of extreme stress or rage. Later, Naruto learns to tap into the chakra through training, as well as demanding it from the fox demon. The reason Naruto is able to access its chakra is because of the unique way in which it was sealed. Though the fox remains trapped within Naruto, its chakra can leak out through the seal and mix with Naruto's. The fox's near-limitless supply of chakra becomes an invaluable resource for Naruto, often turning the tide of a difficult battle in his favor. Beyond that, the fox's chakra seems to increase in intensity with time. However all his abilities are enhanced by using the chakra of the Kyubi. But during this state Naruto gets angrier depending on how much chakra he uses and starts losing his control. This is noted specially when a dark red chakra that makes sounds of water appears around his body. A large red chakra tail appears around his body showing that the seal of Minato Namikaze is turning weaker. During the time-skip the seal becomes weaker, veing able, Naruto, to use four red chakra tails. In this state his body turns red and he loses his consicous, being able to attack even his partners. Naruto becomes so strong in this state that even Orochimaru mentions he could be killed with a single punch. The use of this state also reduces the overall life-span of Naruto because of the continuous use of the ability to heal his injuries of the Kyubi.
Naruto consistently ranked in the top two (taking first place three times) in the first five official Shonen Jump character popularity polls. However, in the sixth character poll, he ranked fourth.


SOURCE:Narutobase.net

Cleaning Pigeon Diseases

 

 

 

Cleaning Up Pigeon Droppings

Protecting the health of both workers who clean up pigeon droppings and the general public is important.

General Public
Routine cleaning of droppings (e.g. from windowsills) does not pose a serious health risk to most people. Some simple precautions can be taken to further reduce direct contact with droppings, such as wearing disposable gloves and clothes that can be washed.

Workers
Before any extensive clean-up measures are taken - e.g., removing accumulations inside an air shaft - workers should be informed of the possible health risks involved, particularly those with weakened immune systems. Even though histoplasmosis, cryptococcosis, and psittacosis pose minor public health threats, they can be further minimized if safety measures are taken. Wearing protective clothing like disposable coveralls, boots, gloves, and respirators can be used for protection.

If a high-powered water hose is used to strip off dried droppings, dust control measures such as containing the area with plastic sheeting, should be taken. Wetting down the work area will prevent inhalation, reduce the risk of infection and will also prevent the spread of dust outside the work area.

Those with a compromised immune system such as people living with HIV/AIDS or cancer patients should not be directly involved in the removal of the droppings. Always wash hands and any exposed skin before eating or drinking and when finished with work.

Several alternatives to using a high-powered water hose exist. One such alternative includes soaking the droppings with water and then shoveling it. The wet material should be collected in heavy-duty plastic bags or another type of secure container and discarded with the regular trash.

Once the structures are cleaned they should be regularly washed to prevent further accumulation of droppings.

Pigeon-Related Diseases

 

 

Histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by a fungus, which grows in pigeon droppings. It also grows in soils and is found throughout the world. When cleaning droppings a person may breathe in some of the fungus, which in cases of high exposure can cause infection. Common activities, such as cleaning off windowsills, will not result in high exposures. Symptoms of histoplasmosis begin to appear about 10 days after initial infection and include fatigue, fever, and chest pains. Most people, however, do not show any symptoms. Those with compromised immune systems such as cancer patients or people living with HIV/AIDS are generally more at risk of developing histoplasmosis. The disease cannot be transmitted from person to person.

Cryptococcosis

Cryptococcosis is another fungal disease associated with pigeon droppings and also grows in soils throughout the world. It is very unlikely that healthy people will become infected even at high levels of exposure. A major risk factor for infection is a compromised immune system. According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly 85 percent of cryptococcosis patients are HIV-positive.

Psittacosis

Psittacosis (also known as ornithosis or parrot fever) is a rare infectious disease that mainly affects parrots and parrot-like birds such as cockatiels, and parakeets, but may also affect other birds, such as pigeons. When bird droppings dry and become airborne people may inhale them and get sick. In humans, this bacterial disease is characterized by: fatigue, fever, headache, rash, chills, and sometimes pneumonia. Symptoms develop about 10 days after exposure. Psittacosis can be treated with a common antibiotic.
Since 1996, fewer than 50 confirmed cases were reported in the United States annually. In New York City, psittacosis is very rare with less than one human case identified each year. According to the CDC, about 70% of infected people had contact with infected pet birds. Those at greatest risk include bird owners, pet shop employees, veterinarians, and people with compromised immune systems. No person-to-person cases have ever been reported.

source:Pigeon site

Evening photos

1. How old are pigeons?

Pigeons have lived alongside man for thousands of years with the first images of pigeons being found by archaeologists in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and dating back to 3000BC.

Urban flock of pigeons

It was the Sumerians in Mesopotamia that first started to breed white doves from the wild pigeon that we see in our towns and cities today and this undoubtedly accounts, certainly in part, for the amazing variety of colours that are commonly found in the average flock of urban pigeons.

To ancient peoples a white pigeon would have seemed miraculous and this explains why the bird was widely worshipped and considered to be sacred. Throughout human history the pigeon has adopted many roles ranging from symbols of gods and goddesses through to sacrificial victims, messengers, pets, food and even war heroes!

pigeons

lovely pigeons

pigeon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The religious significance of the pigeon

Guru Gobind Singh

Many religious groups, including Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, feed pigeons for religious reasons. Many older Sikhs feed pigeons ceremoniously to honour the high priest and warrior Guru Gobind Singh who was a known friend of the pigeon (or rock dove). Some Sikhs feed pigeons because they believe that when they are reincarnated they will never go hungry if they have fed pigeons in their previous life.

Other religious groups in India believe that when a person dies his or her soul assumes the form of a bird (normally a pigeon) and therefore by feeding pigeons and other birds they are caring for the souls of their departed ancestors.

Monk Feeding Pigeons

The pigeon is revered in India with huge flocks numbering many thousands of birds being fed daily at Hindu temples in town and city centres throughout the country.

In both eastern and western societies many of the most entrenched pigeon-related problems in urban areas are considered to be caused, certainly in part, by religious feeding of pigeons.

In the Christian religion the pigeon is both a symbol of peace and of the Holy Spirit.

Sources:

http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/gujarat-culture.htm

www.tailsofbirding.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html