Workplace Stories: In the eyes of your Boss, It's a Dog's life after all

A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he saw a Dog
coming inside the shop. He shoos him away.But later, the Dog is back
again. So, he goes over to the Dog and notices hehas a note in his
mouth.
He takes the note and it reads, "Can I have 12 Sausages and a leg of
Lamb, please. The Dog has money in his mouth, as well". The butcher
looks inside and, behold, a ten dollar bill. So he takes the money and
putsthe sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in the Dog's mouth.
The butcher is so impressed, and since it's about closing time, he
decides to shut up shop and follow the Dog. The Dog is walking down
the street when he comes to a level crossing. The Dog puts down the
bag, jumps up and presses thebutton. Then he waits patiently, bag in
mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across the road,
with the butcher following him allthe way.
The Dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.
The butcher is in awe at this stage. The Dog checks out the times,
andthen sits on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The Dog
walks around to the front, looks at the number, and goes back to his
seat. Another bus comes. Again the Dog goes and looks at the number,
notices it's the right bus, and climbs on.
The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, follows him onto the bus. The bus
travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the Dog looking at
the scenery. Eventually he gets up, and moves to the front of the bus.
He stands on 2 back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then
he gets off, his groceries stillin his mouth. Well, Dog and butcher
are walking along the road, and then the Dog turns into a house.
He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the step. Then he
walks back down the path, takes a big run, andthrows himself against
the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again,
it throws himself against it.
There's no answer at the house, so the Dog goes back down the path,
jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along theperimeter of the garden.
He gets to the window, and beats his head against it several times,
walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door.
The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing
the Dog, kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.
The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. "What in heaven's name are you
doing? The Dog is a genius. He could be on TV!" to which the guy
responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week
that this stupid Dog's forgotten his key."
Moral of the story: You may continue to exceed onlookers' expectations
but shall always fall short of the boss's expectations! It's a Dog's
life after all.

Power of Positive Talk or Avoiding Toxic Self-Talk (Negative Talking)

Allah (SWT) the Exalted says in Noble Qur'an: "O you who believe! Be
careful of (your duty to) Allah and speak the right word." (33:70)
I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young
age. Not only did my dad understand that specific words affect our
mental pictures, but he understood words are a powerful programming
factor in lifelong success.
One particularly interesting event occurred when I was eight. As a
kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around
upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no
surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging
back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn't realize the tree
could break or I could get hurt. I just thought it was fun to be up so
high.
My older cousin, Tammy, was also in the same tree.She was hanging on
the first big limb, about ten feet below me. Tammy's mother also
noticed us atthe exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of
wind came over the tree. I could hear the leaves start to rattle and
the tree begin to sway. I remember my dad's voice over the windyell,
"Bart, Hold on tightly." So I did.
The next thing I know, I heard Tammy screaming at the top of her
lungs, laying flat on the ground.She had fallen out of the tree.
I scampered down the tree to safety. My dad later told me why she fell
and I did not. Apparently,when Tammy's mother felt the gust of wind,
she yelled out, "Tammy, don'tfall!" And Tammy did fall.
My dad then explained tome that the mind has a very difficult time
processing a negative image. In fact, people who rely on internal
pictures cannot see a negative at all. In order for Tammy to process
the command of not falling, her nine-year-old brain had to first
imagine falling, then try to tell thebrain not to do what it just
imagined. Whereas, my eight-year-old brain instantly had an internal
image of me hanging on tightly.
This concept is especially useful when you are attempting to break a
habit or set a goal. You can't visualize not doing something. The only
way to properly visualize not doing something is to actually find a
word for what you want to do andvisualize that. For example, when I
was thirteen years old, I played for my junior highschool football
team. I tried so hard to be good, but I just couldn't get it together
at that age. I remember hearing the words run through my head as I was
running out for a pass, "Don't drop it!" Naturally, I dropped the
ball.
My coaches were not skilled enough to teach us proper "Self-Talk."
They just thought some kids could catch and others couldn't. I'll
never make it pro, but I'm now a pretty good Sunday afternoon football
player, because all my internal dialogue is positive and encourages me
to win. I wish my dad had coached me playing football instead of just
climbing trees. I might have had a longer football career.
Here is a very easy demonstration to teach your kids and your friends
the power of a toxic vocabulary. Ask them to hold a pen or pencil.
Hand it to them. Now, follow my instructions carefully. Sayto them,
"Okay, try to drop the pencil." Observewhat they do.
Most people release their hands and watch the pencil hit the floor.
You respond, "You weren't paying attention. I said TRY to drop the
pencil. Now please do it again." Most people then pick up the pencil
and pretend tobe in excruciating pain while their hand tries butfails
to drop the pencil.
The point is made. If you tell your brain you will"give it a try," you
are actually telling your brainto fail. I have a "no try" rule in my
house and with everyone I interact with. Either people will do it or
they won't. Eitherthey will be at the party or they won't. I'm brutal
when people attempt to lie to me by using the word try. Do they think
I don't know they are really telegraphing to theworld they have no
intention of doing it but they want me to give them brownie points for
pretended effort? You will never hear the words"I'll try" come out of
my mouth unless I'm teaching this concept in aseminar.
If you "try" and do something, your unconscious mind has permission
not to succeed. If I truly can't make a decision I will tell the
truth. "Sorry John. I'mnot sure if I will be at your party or not.
I've gotan outstanding commitment. If that falls through, I will be
here, Insha Allah. Otherwise, I will not. Thanks for the invite."
People respect honesty. So remove the word "try" from your vocabulary.
My dad also told me that psychologists claim it takes seventeen
positive statements to offset one negative statement. I have no idea
if it is true, but the logic holds true. It might take up to seventeen
compliments to offset the emotional damage of one harsh criticism.
These are concepts that are especially useful when raising children.
Ask yourself how many compliments you give yourself daily versus
howmany criticisms. Heck, I know you are talking to yourself all day
long. We all have internal voices that give us direction.
So, are you giving yourself the 17:1 ratio or are you short changing
yourself with toxic self-talk like, "I'm fat. Nobody will like me.
I'll try this diet. I'm not goodenough. I'm so stupid. I'mbroke, etc.
etc."
If our parents can set a lifetime of programming with one wrong
statement, imagine the kind of programming you are doing on a daily
basis with your own internal dialogue. Here is a list of Toxic
Vocabulary words. Notice when you or other people use them.
*.BUT: Negates any wordsthat are stated before it.
*.TRY: Presupposes failure.
*.IF: Presupposes that youmay not.
*.MIGHT: It does nothing definite. It leaves options for your listener.
*.WOULD HAVE: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't
actually happen.
*.SHOULD HAVE: Past tensethat draws attention to things that didn't
actually happen (and implies guilt.)
*.COULD HAVE: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't
actually happen but theperson tries to take credit as if it did
happen.
*.CAN'T/DON'T: These words force the listenerto focus on exactly the
opposite of what you want. This is a classic mistake that parents and
coaches make without knowing the damage of this linguistic error.
Examples:
*.Toxic phrase: "Don't drop the ball!"
*.Likely result: Drops the ball
*.Better language: "Catch the ball!"
*.Toxic phrase: "You shouldn't watch so much television."
*.Likely result: Watches more television.
*.Better language: "I readtoo much television makes people stupid. You
might find yourself turning that TV off and picking up one of
thosebooks more often!"
Exercise:
*.Take a moment to writedown all the phrases you use on a daily basis
or any Toxic Self-Talk that you have noticed yourself using. Write
these phrases down so you will begin to catch yourself as they occur
and change them.
Forge a positive relationship with the world around you and the world
will become a better place for you to live. And remember: Make
positive Self-Talk a daily practice.

Biomimetics: Drawinginspiration from the design in living things

There is instruction for you in cattle. From the contents of their
bellies, from between the dung and blood, We give you pure milk to
drink, easy for drinkers to swallow.(Qur'an, 16:66)
And there is certainly a lesson for you in your livestock. We give you
todrink from what is in their bellies and there are many ways in which
you benefit from them, and some of them you eat; and you are conveyed
on them and on ships as well.(Qur'an, 23:21-22)
Before scientists and research and development experts embark on new
projects,they usually look for models in living things and imitate
their systemsand designs. In other words, they see and study the
designs created in nature by Allah and, inspired by these, go on to
develop their own new technologies.
This approach has given birth to biometrics, a new branch of science
that seeks to imitate living things. In recent times, this branch of
science has come to be widely applied in the world of technology.
Theuse of the word "ibratan," (to learn from, advice, importance,
important thing, or model) in the above verses is most wise in this
regard.
Biomimetics refers to all of the substances, equipment, mechanisms,and
systems that people produce in order to imitate the systems present in
nature. The scientific community currently feels a great need for the
use of such equipment, particularly in the fields of nanotechnology,
robot technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, and the military.
Biomimicry was first put forward by Janine M. Benyus, a writer and
scientific observer from Montana. This concept was later analysed by
many other people and began to find applications. Some of the comments
made regarding biomimicry are as follows:
The theme of"biomimicry" is that we have much to learn fromthe natural
world, as model, measure, and mentor. What these researchers have in
common is a reverence for natural designs, and the inspiration to use
them to solve human problems. 1
David Oakey, product strategist for Interface Inc., a company that
usesnature to increasing product quality and productivity, says:
Nature is my mentor for business and design, a model for the way of
life. Nature's system has worked for millions of years … Biomimicry is
a way of learning from nature. 2
Scientists who began to favour this rapidly spreading idea accelerated
their studies by using nature's incomparable and flawless designs as
models. These designs represent models for technological research, for
they provide the maximum productivity for the least amount of
materials and energy, and are self-maintaining, environmentally
friendly, silent, aesthetically attractive, resistant, and
long-lasting. The High Country News newspaper described biomimetics as
"a scientific movement" and made the following comment:
By using natural systemsas models, we can createtechnologies that are
more sustainable than those in use today. 3
Janine M. Benyus, who believed that models in nature should be
imitated, gave the following examples in her book,Biomimicry:
Innovation Inspired by Nature(Perennial: 2002):
• Hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico on less than 3 grams (one
tenth of an ounce) of fuel,
• Dragonflies outmanoeuvre our best helicopters,
• Heating and air-conditioning systemsin termite mounds are superior
in terms of equipment and energy consumption to those made by human
beings,
• A bat's high-frequency transmitter is more efficient and sensitive
than our own radar systems,
• Light-emitting algae combine various chemicals to illuminate their bodies,
• Arctic fish and frogs freeze solid and then spring to life, having
protected their organs from ice damage,
• Chameleons and cuttlefish change the pattern of their skin to blend
instantly with their surroundings,
• Bees, turtles, and birds navigate without maps, and
• Whales and penguins dive without scuba gear.
These astonishing mechanisms and designsin nature, of which we have
cited only a few, have the potential to enrich technology in a wide
range of fields. This potential is becoming ever more obvious as our
accumulated knowledgeand technological meansincrease.
All animals possess many features that amaze human beings. Some have
the ideal hydrodynamic shape that allows them to move through water,
and others employ senses that appear very foreign to us. Most of these
are features that researchers have encountered for the firsttime, or,
rather, that they have only recently discovered. On occasion, it is
necessary to bring together prominent scientists from such fields as
computer technology, mechanical engineering, electronics,mathematics,
physics, chemistry, and biology in order to imitate just one feature
of a living thing.
Scientists are amazed when confronted with the incomparable structures
and systems they are discovering with every passing day, and use that
amazementto inspire themselves to produce new technologies for
humanity's benefit. Realising that the existing perfect systems and
extraordinary techniques applied in nature are far superior to their
own knowledge and intellect, they became aware of these matchless
solutions to existing problems and are now resorting to thedesigns in
nature to resolve problems that have eluded them for years. As a
result, they will perhaps achieve success in a very short time.
Moreover, by imitating nature, scientists are making very important
gains with regard to time and labour and also to the targeted use of
material resources.
Today we see the developing technology gradually discovering the
miracles of creation and using the extraordinary designs in living
things, as in the case of biomimetics, in the service of humanity.
Benyus has stated that "'Doing it nature's way' has the potential to
change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal
ourselves, store information, and conduct business." 4The following
are just a few of the many scientific papers to have considered such
subjects:
"Science is Imitating Nature," 5
"Life's Lessons in Design," 6
"Biomimicry: Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight," 7
"Biomimicry: InnovationInspired by Nature," 8
"Biomimicry: Genius That Surrounds Us," 9
"Biomimetics: Creating Materials from Nature's Blueprints," 10and
"Engineers Ask Nature for Design Advice." 11
In the nineteenth century, nature was imitated only in aesthetic
terms. Artists and architects of that time were influenced by nature
and used examples of the structures' external appearances in their
works. Yet the realisation of nature's extraordinary designs and that
these could be used to benefit human beings only began in thetwentieth
century with the study of natural mechanisms at the molecular level.
Scientists today are learning from living things, as revealed in
theQur'an 1,400 years ago.

The miracle of fire andwood that cannot be obtained artificially

Have you thought about the fire that you light? Isit you who make the
trees that fuel it grow orare We the Grower? We have made it to be a
reminder and a comfort for travellers in the wild.So glorify the name
of your Lord, the Magnificent! (Surat al-Waqi 'a, 71-74)
One of the chemical substances mainly responsible for the structure of
wood is "lignocellulose." This substance is a compoundof the materials
known as "lignin" and "cellulose" that give wood its hardness. In
terms of chemicalstructure, woodis made up of 50% cellulose, 25%
hemicelluloses and 25% lignin.1An analysis of these substances'
chemical formulae reveals three vital elements: hydrogen, oxygen and
carbon.
Hydrogen, oxygen and carbon are the building blocks of millions of
substances in nature. Butas a miracle from Allah, these three also
combineto give rise to the substance "lignocellulose" found inplants.
Although scientists know that theycontain these substancesthey are
unable to reproduce this special material in plants. Although these
elementsfound in large amounts in nature can easily be obtained,
scientists havebeen unable to obtain a single piece of wood by
artificial means, despite having countless examples before them. Yet
all the trees we see around us have been ceaselessly producing this
compound for millions of years by combining oxygen, carbon, water and
sunlight.
One of the compounds inlignocellulose is water, expressed by the
formula H2O. The fact that wood is one of the most flammable materials
despite containing a large amount of water is a most special state of
affairs. The above verse is very wise in noting that wood cannot be
made by human beings, by fire. Thanks to these compounds and the water
it contains, wood is one of the most important fuels of fire.
Trees are an important sphere of scientific research, and inspire
scientists, who are still struggling to grasp all the details in their
creation, in a number of areas. The complex structures of the cells
that constitute trees have still not been fully unraveled, despite
advances in technology and intensive research. The Forestry Commission
of Great Britain, one of the world's leading forestry research
institutions, says the following under the heading "Lack of
Information on the Chemistry and Structure of Wood Fibres":
Despite the knowledge resulting from earlier and ongoing research,
there still exists a lack of information on the chemistry and
structure of wood fibres. Large variations can be found within a
single tree, from the pith to the bark and from the base to the top of
a tree. Often the chemistry and structure of a wood cell are extremely
heterogeneous and difficult to investigate with conventional
techniques.2
A paper in the scientific journalPlant Physiologytitled "Our
Understanding of How Wood Develops is not Complete" describes the
limited knowledge of the subject that scientists possess:
Considering the important role that wood is foreseen to playin the
near future, it is surprising to see that our understanding of how
wood develops is far from complete. With a few exceptions, very little
is known about thecellular, molecular, and developmental processesthat
underlie wood formation. Xylogenesis represents an example of cell
differentiation in an exceptionally complex form. This process is
controlled by awide variety of factors both exogenous (photoperiod and
temperature) and endogenous (phytohormones) and byinteraction between
them. It is driven by the coordinated expression of numerous
structural genes (some of known function) involved in cellorigination,
differentiation, programmed cell death, and heartwood (HW) formation
and by virtually unknown regulatory genes orches trating this ordered
developmental sequence. The presence of gene families and the extreme
plasticity of the metabolism involved (as exemplified by the unusual
behavior of plants with transformed cell walls; for review, seeFagard
et al., 2000) add a further complexity to our understanding of the
process of wood formation.3
The extraordinary creation in wood is emphasized thus in another
scientific journal, Annals of Botany:
Wood formation is a highly complicated process involving an
unbelievable variety of metabolic steps in the roots, stem and crown
of shrubs and trees. At the centre of these processes is cambial
activity which results in the release of young woody cells that
undergo maturation until autolysis of the protoplast, indicating the
final developmental stage. Later on, in various tree species, woody
cells become further modified by an additional process calledheartwood
formation. The properties of wood that make it an appropriate raw
material for many purposes are largely determined by the specific
architecture of the cell walls. Difficulties in investigating these
many developmental stages appear when routine techniques, which work
well for soft plant tissues, are applied. Therefore, in most cases,
these techniques need modification or the use of completely revised
protocols to yield good results for woody tissues.4
These details in the creation of wood remind us, as set out in Surat
al-Waqi 'a, that wood cannot be made by human beings. Just a few of
the inimitable features of wood, which cannot be produced
artificially, are as follows:
Wood, a Resistant Material
The hard and resistant nature of wood is the result of the cellulose
fibers it contains. Because cellulose is hardand insoluble in water.
Itis this property of cellulose that makes the use of wood in
construction so advantageous. Cellulose, described as a "contractible
and incomparable substance," has for centuries been used a great deal
more than other materials in keeping wooden buildings standing, other
buildings, bridges and many other structures.
Wood consists of parallelcolumns made up of convex cells laid end to
end. These are surrounded by cellulose fibers in spiral form. In
addition, these cells are contained in "lignin," a substance made from
a complex, polymer structure resin. These spirally enclosed layers
make up 80% of the thickness of the cell wall and are the part
bearingthe main load. When a wood cell collapses internally it absorbs
the shock of a blow by detatching itself from the surrounding cells.
Even when such collapses causes a crack along the length of the fiber,
the wood remains unharmed. That is why wood is strong enough to bear
specific loads even if it is broken.
In terms of absorbing the energy of low-speed blows and reducing the
damage therefrom, wood is a most important material. The Second World
War planeknown as the "Mosquito" was made bycompressing wood between
strips of fiber board, making it the most damage-resistant plane of
its time. The hardness and resistant nature of wood make it a very
reliable material. Because wood breaks or cracks slowly enough to be
visible from the outside, and that gives people enough time to take
the necessary precautions .5
A material based on the structure of wood can be up to 50 times more
resistant than other synthetic materials in use today.6This unique
structure of wood is today used in materials developed to protect
against the impact of high speed and destructive fragments such as
bombs and bullets. But scientists have never been able to replicate a
piece of wood with all its many attributes. Every detail inthe
creation of wood, - the thickness of the internal layers, their level
of compression, thenumber of vessels, their layout and the materials
inside it, have been specialy created to resultin that resistance.
The Hydraulic System That Raises Water Many Meters against the Force of Gravity
The dead part of wood, the "xylem," contains hollow channels. These,
also known as "wood vessels," consist of inanimate cells that
gradually lose their nuclei and cytoplasms piled one on top of the
other. Long, thin wood vessels form when the membranes between
thecells dissolve and disappear.
Roots spreading out beneath the soil carry the water and minerals the
plant needs upward through these tissues and transmit them as far as
the leaves. The way the roots absorb the water in the ground is
literally reminiscent of the test bore technique. The roots have no
engines to initiate the water absorption process. Neither do they have
any technical equipment with which to pump water and minerals for
distances of up to several meters. Butthe roots absorb the water in
the depths of the soil by spreading over a very wide area.
This lifting process that the plant performs so flawlessly is in fact
an exceedingly complex one. Yet this system has still not yet been
fully understood, even in these days of high technology and space
travel. The present of a "hydraulic system: in plants was determined
some two centuries ago. But we still do not know how this action in
defiance of the force of gravity takes place. The superior technology
squeezed into such a confined space is just one of the examples
demonstrating the incomparable knowledge of our Lord the creator of
the system. Like everything in the universe, AlmightyAllah created the
transportation system in trees.
7
As seen in the picture to the left,wood consists of tube or
straw-shaped cells. By combining one on top of the other, these cells,
which make up the roots and trunks of plants, serve as channels that
carry water and minerals right through the plant. This tisue, known as
"xylem," also constitutes a powerful structure that enables the plant
to remain upright. To the right can be seen a slice of dry wood in
cross-section. Whendried out, the tube-like channelsbecome hollow, as
shown in theillustration.
Roots Capable of Selecting Minerals from the Soil:
Plants draw all the mineral nutrients they need, such as
potassium,phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and sulfur, from the soil.
Since the substances are not found seprately in the soil, they absorb
them asions (positive/negativelycharged atoms). Of all the many
inorganic ions in dissolved state in the soil, plants absorb only the
14 they need.
The iron concentration inside plant cells is 1,000 times greater than
that in the soil outside.8Under normal condition, an exchange of
matter from a high density region to a lower density one will take
place. But exactly the opposite happens in plant roots, and the ions
in the soil are easily ableto pass into the root cells.9
Because of this state of affairs that operates contrary to the
pressure system, the plant uses a high level of energy in the pumping
process. In addition, in the plant roots' taking up ions from the
soil, there needs to be an identification system that attracts only
the wanted ions and repels the unwanted ones. This shows that the ion
pumps in the root cells are no ordinary pumps, but possess the ability
toselect between ions. Bearing in mind that thecell in the plant roots
aremade up of atoms devoid of any intelligence or consciousness, one
can better see what an extraordinary process ion selection truly is.
Photosynthesis: The Superior Technology in aMiniature Factory
It is not only the wood and root parts of trees that cannot be
obtained by artificial means, but also the leaves. Most important of
the features that make leaves inimitable is their ability to make
photosynthesis. Photosynthesis, one of the systems that scientists
still do not fullyunderstand, may be summarized as plants
manufacturing their own nutrients. Thanks tothe structure in plant
cells that makes them able to make direct use of solar energy, they
store solar energy, at theend of various complex processes, in the
form of energy that can be used by human beings and animals. In
addition, the photosynthetic energy stored in trees is also given off
during burning. For example, the energy emitted by wood burned to heat
a house is actually energy from the Sun stored during the formation of
wood.10
The photosynthesis system, which operates like a miniature factory,
takes place in an organelle known as the "chloroplast" inside the
plant cell that gives the plant its green color. Chloroplasts are just
one-thousandth of a millimeter in size, for which reason they can only
be seen under the microscope. When solar energy falls on the leaf they
transmit it to the layers inside it. Chlorophyls inside the
choloplasts in the leaf cells convert this light energy into chemical
energy. The plant obtaining this chemical energy immediately usesit in
obtaining nutrients.It took scientists until the mid-20thcentury to
obtain this information summarized in just a fewlines here. Pages of
chain reactions are written to describe the whole process of
photosynthesis. But some links in the chain are still unknown. Yet
plants have been performing these processes uninterruptedly for
hundreds of millions of years, thus providing theEarth with food and
oxygen.
The chloroplast shown magnified in the illustration above is in fact
just one-thousandth of a millimeter in size. It contains many
organelles that assist with the process of photosynthesis.
Photsynthesis, which takes placein many stages, not all of which are
yet understood, takes place at high speed in these microscopic
factories.
The fact that not a singlecell constituting wood can be made by
artificialmeans, and human beings' helplessness in the face of dead
wood cells, shows the presece of a sublime Creator. Theproperties of
wood, about which many volumes could be written, their countless
aspects that so inspire scientists, all reveal the sublime knowledge
and intellect behind the creation of wood. This intelligence and
knowledge manifested in wood belongs to Almighty Allah, the Creator
and sole Lord of all things.
___________________________________________________
1 http://www.forestpathology.org /wood.html; Wood Chemistry and Anatomy, 2005.
2 http://www.forestresearch.gov. uk/fr/INFD-6FMCUS; The
ResearchAgency of the Forestry Commission, 2007.
3 Christophe Plomion, Gregoire Leprovost, Alexia Stokes, "Wood
Formation in Trees",Plant Physiology, December 2001, Vol. 127, pp.
1513–1523.
4 Uwe Schmitt, "Chaffey, N.J. ed. Wood formation in trees—cell and
molecular biology techniques",Annals of Botany, 2002, Vol. 90, no. 4,
pp. 545-546.
5 Julian Vincent, "Tricks of Nature",New Scientist, 17 August 1996,
Vol. 151, no. 2043, p. 39.
6 Julian Vincent, "Tricks of Nature",New Scientist, 17 August 1996,
Vol. 151, no. 2043, p. 40.
7 http://www.smddrums.com /woodcell.htm
8 Malcolm Wilkins,Plantwatching, Facts on File Publications, New York,
1988, p. 119.
9 William K. Purves, Gordon H. Orions, H. Craig Heller, Life,The
Science of Biology, 4th edition, W.H. Freeman and Company, p. 724.
10 http://www.montana.edu /wwwpb/pubs/mt8405.html; Michael Vogel,
"Heating with Wood: Principles of Combustion", 2003.