content
string | score
float64 | source
string |
|---|---|---|
DVR TIG Week: Rakesh Mohan, Lance McCleve, Tony Grange, Bryon Welch, and Margaret Campbell on Sankey Diagrams: A Cool Tool for Explaining the Complex Flow of Resources in Large Organizations
We are Rakesh Mohan, Lance McCleve, Tony Grange, Bryon Welch, and Margaret Campbell of the Office of Performance Evaluations, an independent agency of the Idaho State Legislature.
Last year, the Legislature asked us to explain how funds move through the Department of Health and Welfare—the agency with the state’s largest budget. Legislators, including budget committee members, had difficulty understanding the department’s financial information. Given agency complexities and its sheer number of financial transactions (over two million in 2013), no one in recent history had brought together the separate parts of its financial records to explain how the parts function.
Communicating the flow of dollars was the trickiest piece of the study. We considered narratives, tables, and traditional flowcharts. Ultimately, we used Sankey diagrams that helped stakeholders visualize funds moving through the department making them the most useful features of our report.
One diagram shows how dollars flow through a program over a year.
The second diagram illustrates funds flowing into, out of, and within a program.
Sankey diagrams depict resources within a system by mapping their flow from an initial set of values to a final set of values. They were especially useful because the lines have widths proportional to their value throughout the system. Legislators could easily see the proportion of each fund throughout the flow. Initially we tried to create the diagrams in Visio, but manually sizing each line was extremely laborious.
Department officials were surprised how clearly our report presented complex aspects of their fund management. They are now using our report for in-house training. They also had us train them on creating Sankey diagrams for future reporting. The feedback from three key stakeholders further illustrates the usefulness of Sankey:
“This…really, really was a fine body of work.”
Representative Maxine Bell, Cochair, Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee
“The study does much to further enhance the transparency and understandability of the largest budget in state government.”
State Controller Brandon Woolf
“[The report] will provide valuable assistance for future planning.”
Governor Butch Otter
- We used 11×17 paper so the diagram would be big enough to show detail and keep the same orientation as the text.
- Subtle colors within similar families were more effective than contrasting colors. We also made colors transparent to clarify intersecting lines.
- We wanted to edit text during publishing, so we imported the diagram as an image and added text within the publishing software.
- We purchased e!sankey, which comes in two versions. The pro version allowed us to link to data in Excel.
- Google Charts Sankey
- Sankey Diagram History
The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Data Visualization and Reporting (DVR) Week with our colleagues in the DVR Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from DVR TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to [email protected]. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.
| 0.6653 |
FineWeb
|
Joseph A. Favazza
I am appreciative of the opportunity to share a few reflections with you today. Like every good academic, let me begin with a disclaimer. While my academic discipline is Religious Studies, my area of specialization is not biblical studies and certainly not the Hebrew Bible! Like many of you, I am here because I teach in a core text program that uses the Bible as a core text; so let me plunge forward as a generalist and hope that my Hebrew bible colleagues will grant me indulgence .
I want to focus on three areas that both narrow in focus and become more interesting from first to last: 1) the core curriculum program at Rhodes; 2) the use of the Bible as core text within this program; and 3) the use of the books of Ruth and Ezra in the Hebrew Bible as examples of how biblical text can be taught to "build the whole person," the theme of our conference.
Inspired by a series of lectures by Dr. Theodore Green (then of Princeton) who stressed something called "cooperative learning" (what we now call interdisciplinary) to teach something called "The Great Centuries" (what we now call the Western tradition), and by the crisis of meaning occasioned by the Second World War, Southwestern College at Memphis (what we now call Rhodes) launched a course in 1945 called Man in the Light of History and Religion (what we now call Search in the Light of Western History and Religion). It was a twelve hour course, taught for six hours a week during both semesters of the freshman year (what we now call the first year). Its purpose was twofold: 1) to expose students to a study of human self-understanding as expressed through source texts selected from the Western tradition, beginning with the Hebrew bible and concluding with texts from 20th century authors; and 2) to expose students to the great texts of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in part driven by Rhodes' long historical affiliation with the Presbyterian Church, USA, an affiliation that continues to the present day. While the structure of the course has been extensively modified over the years - for example, it is now a four semester course taken over two years, with students in their second year having the option of choosing a particular disciplinary focus, either History, Literature, Philosophy, Political Science, or Religion, the "Search" course (as it is called on campus) continues to lay great emphasis on exposure to primary texts of the Western tradition.
Our second focus is on the use of the Bible as core text. One might imagine that the reasons for choosing the Bible as part of the core text curriculum in 1945 and the reasons for keeping it as part of that curriculum in 1996 has changed dramatically. Quite frankly, the answer to that question is both no and yes in the case of Rhodes. On the one hand, using the bible in its core text curriculum does two things for the institution: 1) it qualifies it to receive major funding from a large endowment that stipulates students take twelve hours in Bible or bible-related courses; and 2) it provides concrete curricular evidence of institutional religious affiliation. So while I would like to be able to tell you that the Bible is part of our core curriculum for deep and inspired reasons, it is much more mundane than that. Perhaps some of you can relate!
On the other hand, the early 1980's saw Rhodes move from having a Bible and Religion Department to a Department of Religious Studies. As you may realize, this constitutes more than simply a name change: it represents a fundamental methodological shift in the academic study of religion and religious texts. Crosscultural and phenomenological perspectives are emphasized rather than purely theological ones. So while the Bible remains a core text, our approach to it has changed radically. Rather than a starting point that assumes the Bible as a unique and sacred source of authority for religious faith that has been divinely inspired, biblical texts are approached as textual artifacts that provide insight into the worldview of ancient cultures. Just as the other ancient literature we read, such as the Iliad , or Livy's History , or Essene manuscripts discovered at Qumran, the Bible is a library of literature that opens up ancient worlds to us. As westerners we would be impoverished not to explore these foundational texts of our cultural heritage and continue to mine their insights.
In order for this perspective to be successful, students are asked to "make the familiar unfamiliar." What they learned in Sunday school or in parochial or private schools will not be sufficient for Search, and in fact might place their success at risk. To assist them in what for many is a difficult paradigm shift, we attempt to provide a literary context from which to approach biblical texts. For example, before we read the creation stories in Genesis, we read the Epic of Gilgamesh, the 'enuma elish, and selections from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. With this context, we can only hope that discussion focuses more on the influences on, and differences between, these texts and not on whether or not Adam and Eve existed in history or even what value this text has for religion today. Again, the point here is to explore and appreciate the ancient worldviews these texts, including the biblical texts, open up for us and to question what cultural and personal insights might be gleaned from how these ancient cultures constructed their identity.
Now that you know something about Search and our use of the bible as a core text, the remainer of my time I will spend discussing a particular text. When we did a major revision of the course two years ago (as we do every three years), we adopted three core themes to guide our revision, and especially the selection of new text material: 1) What does it mean to be a human person? (What role do family, friends, and community play? How is the "good life" defined?) 2) How do human beings interpret foundational experiences of transition and loss? 3) How do human beings understand the divine and what is the proper relationship between divinity and humanity? While these themes are made explicit at different points throughout the course, they tend more to be implicit touchstones for staff and students in their guided discussions of, and written reflections on, the textual material.
With this in mind, we introduced a new session into the Hebrew scripture unit that focused on the books of Ruth and Ezra. Ezra is a post-exilic text that preserves the reform efforts led by Ezra the priest upon Israel's return from Babylonian exile. At the heart of this reform is a call for ethnic cleansing: since the exile is interpreted by Ezra as punishment for disobedience to the Mosaic Law, a radical adherence to the Law must be recovered. This demanded that all male "people of the land" (Israelites who had remained in Judah during the exile) who had married foreign wives were to divorce them and send them and their children back to their country of origin. (Ezra 10:10-11)
Without going into the gory details of text criticism, most Hebrew Bible scholars concur that Ruth is also a post-exilic text that is set in the premonarchical period. Ruth is a Moabite woman, recently widowed from her Israelite husband who dramatically decides to follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to the land of Israel. (Ruth 1:16-18) There, Ruth cares for Naomi, earns the respect and admiration of the local population, and attracts the romantic attention of the upright Boaz who eventually takes Ruth as his wife. The story concludes (4:13-17) with the birth of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of King David.
By using these two post-exilic texts together, students see that biblical texts do not present some monolithic expression of cultural identity. Differences, very serious differences, are expressed. In this case, Ruth stands as a "literature of protest" against the ethnic exclusivity of Ezra by linking a foreign woman from Israel's traditional enemy, Moab, to the greatest of all Israelite kings, David. Ruth's message is multiple: righteousness is not the exclusive property of one group of people; God rewards righteousness rather than race; and Ezra's policy of ethnocentricism is sheer folly.
The relationship of Ruth to Ezra demonstrates how biblical texts can be extremely effective in unpacking for students the construction of identity. Ruth, as a voice of protest, functions as the outsider, as the "other," who challenges the culturally accepted definition of what it means to be a human person. What is
considered normative for identity by the dominant voice of the culture is suddenly brought into question by a character who does not meet the requirements for identity. This voice of protest usually is someone perceived to have no cultural power (e.g., a foreigner, a woman, a poor person, an exile) who suddenly forces those with power to reexamine and renegotiate the norms for identity. The Hebrew scriptures are full of such voices of the 'other:' Jonah, Dame Folly (in the Book of Wisdom), Tamar, Rahab the prostitute, Joseph as Egyptian, even the Hebrews themselves when they stand outside the land of Canaan. They are deconstructors: by their voice, the accepted definition of what it means to be human in a particular culture is deconstructed in the face of an alternative insight into the meaning and value of personhood, of divinity, and of the proper relationship between the two.
If one is inclined to take the text further with students and raise issues of "hermeneutical suspicion," the issue of gender lends itself to this very well. Students are asked to consider Ruth as a story told for and about women. Ruth stands out as a woman who, while living within the confines of patriarchally constructed society, defines herself autonomously rather than allowing the society to define her heteronomously. Ruth, as the "other" or outsider, personifies the insights of contemporary feminist authors such as DeBeauvoir, Daly, and Fiorenza who see women as living critiques of established norms of their social group. Their social position as "outsider" gives them a unique perspective to critique underlying patriarchal assumptions about meaning and identity.
The second issue that Ruth uncovers is the question of power. Students usually conceive power as a thing to be possessed as part of one's identity. It comes with those possessions that our society has agreed makes one powerful: wealth, fame, office, etc. However, Ruth presents an opportunity to explore the issue of power more intensely: is it a "thing" itself or is it simply woven into the basic fabric of social relations within a given society? The latter answer can be appreciated when one considers Ruth, seemingly without power, who exercises profound power on her new community. In subverting the established norms of identity, she personifies insights raised by the contemporary philosopher Michael Foucault who sees power as negotiated relationship. The emergence of the self is always the result of this mutual struggle.
The use of biblical core texts such as Ruth provide rich opportunities to examine the emergence of personhood amidst community and conflict. Again, the purpose of using these texts is twofold: to discover insight into the self-definition of a culture through its textual artifacts; and to explore the meaning of these insights in light of our own necessary attempts to construct identity. While wrought with the fear of superimposing critical theories or reading one's own hermeneutical bias into the texts, I believe it is worth the risk. Left aside, our lives and the lives of our students would be more unreflected...and more effortless.
| 0.7996 |
FineWeb
|
Air France was facing fierce competition from both low cost and premium airlines, meaning they have experienced a squeeze from both top and bottom. With category-generic advertising full of images of planes, stewardesses and holidays, consumers tend to think that all offers and all airlines are alike. Air France needed to find a way to (re)establish their premium positioning.
France and ‘frenchness’ is globally synonymous with luxury and sophistication: from food to fashion, France is known for its savoir-vivre. The idea became: ‘France is in the air.’
The impact of the campaign was immediate and significant. The brand idea was embraced by the company as a whole, not only in terms of communication but also as a filter for new services and products. Since launch the brand image of the company has seen a significant boost in positivity across major markets (France +9%, Brazil +15%, Japan +23%, China +5%) and a significant increase in sales (Brazil +15%, Russia +20%, USA +10%, Japan +16.3%, China +23%).
| 0.9154 |
FineWeb
|
Design a synchronous sequential circuit with one input line and one output line that recognizes the input string x = 1111. The circuit is also required to recognize overlapping sequence such that if the input string is x = 1101111111010 then the output will be z = 0000001111000. Use D Flip-Flops. Simulate using MultiSim and attach a simulation printout. really need help with ACTUAL MULTISIM LAYOUT.
| 0.9999 |
FineWeb
|
In an a-temporal view of the universe, the wavefunction which describes the state of a given physical system does not vary in time but vary in a four-dimensional ATPS and the stream of changes that it has in space is itself time.
Also the law of motion of the particle in Bohm's version of quantum mechanics, m [d.sup.2][??]/d[t.sup.2] = - [nabla](V + Q), can receive an analogous interpretation: here, t does not represent a "real" physical time, but rather the stream of changes of the particle into consideration in ATPS. The acceleration [d.sup.2][??]/d[t.sup.2] is not the variation of the speed in time but the stream of changes to which the speed is subjected in ATPS.
Now, we can understand well the connection between this a-temporal interpretation of the law of motion in Bohm's pilot-wave theory and the interpretation of a subatomic particle in quantized ATPS. As we have said in the previous chapter, it is the vibration of certain QS at appropriate frequencies that determines the appearance of a particle in ATPS and creates the wave which guides the particle during its motion.
In fact, it implies a correspondence between bohmian quantum potential and the entropic energy shifting among the QS (responsible of the materialization in different points of space of an elementary particle): as regards microscopic processes, ATPS assumes the special "state", represented by quantum potential, in consequence of the entropic energy shifting between various QS, and therefore in consequence of the vibration of such QS at appropriate frequencies.
The interpretation of quantum potential as the special "state" of ATPS in the presence of microscopic processes, can be also seen as a natural consequence which derives from quantum nonlocality.
QS constituting ATPS vibrate at the "basic frequency" and are the "non-entropy" state of energy; QS constituting matter vibrate at appropriate frequencies (lower than the basic one) and are the "entropy state" of energy.
caused by the ambient situation existing in the region of ATPS in examination.
Studying the motion of a subatomic particle on the basis of the laws of Bohm's version of quantum mechanics and of our a-temporal model in quantized ATPS, we have the following results: On one side, in Bohm's version of quantum mechanics, the movement of the particle is determined by the sum of a classic potential and a quantum potential and, on the other side, in quantized ATPS, it's tied to the interaction of a discrete quantity of entropic energy with the various QS composing the trajectory described by the particle itself (interaction produced by the vibration of these QS at certain appropriate frequencies).
According to this model, the wavefunction [psi] describing the state of a given physical system doesn't vary in time, but varies in a four-dimensional ATPS and the stream of changes that it has in space is itself time.
(H being the Hamiltonian of the system), doesn't represent time but rather the stream of changes that the physical system has in ATPS and, thus,
is the partial derivative of the wavefunction with respect to the stream of changes of the system in ATPS.
can receive an analogous interpretation; here, t doesn't represent a "real" physical time, but rather the stream of changes of the particle in examination in ATPS. The acceleration
| 0.7778 |
FineWeb
|
Health Militia is a non-profit organization Ghana with love for health, and seeks to Bridge Health Gaps between rural and urban dwellers by augmenting efforts of government through Enablement, Mediation and Advocacy. We place much premium on health, because it is the means for peace of mind and wealth creation. A good percentage of our energy is tailored towards Rural Health Revitalization (RHR) as a way of taking healthcare services to the Medically Undeserved Areas or Populations.
We achieve our aim by corporate commitment for service, and through individual or group volunteering. Join us:
To experience a world where Health Accessibility and Structures are made available to all.
To create every opportunity towards health, irrespective of space, distance, and background.
- To ensure accessibility to basic healthcare to the Medically Underserved Communities or populations.
- Taking healthcare to people with mobility limitations and intellectual disabilities.
- Improved learning and concentration in class for school children through medical outreaches and public health.
- To see a reduction in Child Mortality as envisaged by the MDGs
| 0.8784 |
FineWeb
|
Crowdsourcing Meets Ecology: Hemisphere-Wide Spatiotemporal Species Distribution Models
AbstractEcological systems are inherently complex. The processes that affect the distributions of animals and plants operate at multiple spatial and temporal scales, presenting a unique challenge for the development and coordination of effective conservation strategies, particularly for wide-ranging species. In order to study ecological systems across scales, data must be collected at fine resolutions across broad spatial and temporal extents. Crowdsourcing has emerged as an efficient way to gather these data by engaging large numbers of people to record observations. However, data gathered by crowdsourced projects are often biased due to the opportunistic approach of data collection. In this article, we propose a general class of models called AdaSTEM, (for adaptive spatio-temporal exploratory models), that are designed to meet these challenges by adapting to multiple scales while exploiting variation in data density common with crowdsourced data. To illustrate the use of AdaSTEM, we produce intra-seasonal distribution estimates of long-distance migrations across the Western Hemisphere using data from eBird, a citizen science project that utilizes volunteers to collect observations of birds. Subsequently, model diagnostics are used to quantify and visualize the scale and quality of distribution estimates. This analysis shows how AdaSTEM can automatically adapt to complex spatiotemporal processes across a range of scales, thus providing essential information for full-life cycle conservation planning of broadly distributed species, communities, and ecosystems.
How to Cite
Fink, D., Damoulas, T., Bruns, N. E., La Sorte , F. A., Hochachka , W. M., Gomes, C. P., & Kelling, S. (2014). Crowdsourcing Meets Ecology: Hemisphere-Wide Spatiotemporal Species Distribution Models. AI Magazine, 35(2), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v35i2.2533
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
1. Author(s) agree to transfer their copyrights in their article/paper to the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), in order to deal with future requests for reprints, translations, anthologies, reproductions, excerpts, and other publications. This grant will include, without limitation, the entire copyright in the article/paper in all countries of the world, including all renewals, extensions, and reversions thereof, whether such rights current exist or hereafter come into effect, and also the exclusive right to create electronic versions of the article/paper, to the extent that such right is not subsumed under copyright.
2. The author(s) warrants that they are the sole author and owner of the copyright in the above article/paper, except for those portions shown to be in quotations; that the article/paper is original throughout; and that the undersigned right to make the grants set forth above is complete and unencumbered.
3. The author(s) agree that if anyone brings any claim or action alleging facts that, if true, constitute a breach of any of the foregoing warranties, the author(s) will hold harmless and indemnify AAAI, their grantees, their licensees, and their distributors against any liability, whether under judgment, decree, or compromise, and any legal fees and expenses arising out of that claim or actions, and the undersigned will cooperate fully in any defense AAAI may make to such claim or action. Moreover, the undersigned agrees to cooperate in any claim or other action seeking to protect or enforce any right the undersigned has granted to AAAI in the article/paper. If any such claim or action fails because of facts that constitute a breach of any of the foregoing warranties, the undersigned agrees to reimburse whomever brings such claim or action for expenses and attorneys’ fees incurred therein.
4. Author(s) retain all proprietary rights other than copyright (such as patent rights).
5. Author(s) may make personal reuse of all or portions of the above article/paper in other works of their own authorship.
6. Author(s) may reproduce, or have reproduced, their article/paper for the author’s personal use, or for company use provided that AAAI copyright and the source are indicated, and that the copies are not used in a way that implies AAAI endorsement of a product or service of an employer, and that the copies per se are not offered for sale. The foregoing right shall not permit the posting of the article/paper in electronic or digital form on any computer network, except by the author or the author’s employer, and then only on the author’s or the employer’s own web page or ftp site. Such web page or ftp site, in addition to the aforementioned requirements of this Paragraph, must provide an electronic reference or link back to the AAAI electronic server, and shall not post other AAAI copyrighted materials not of the author’s or the employer’s creation (including tables of contents with links to other papers) without AAAI’s written permission.
7. Author(s) may make limited distribution of all or portions of their article/paper prior to publication.
8. In the case of work performed under U.S. Government contract, AAAI grants the U.S. Government royalty-free permission to reproduce all or portions of the above article/paper, and to authorize others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
9. In the event the above article/paper is not accepted and published by AAAI, or is withdrawn by the author(s) before acceptance by AAAI, this agreement becomes null and void.
| 0.7849 |
FineWeb
|
The Consolation of Nature : Spring in the Time of Coronavirus
'What joy! . . .There's acute and beautiful observation on every page, thrown into exquisite relief by the poignancy of the circumstances.'-Isabella Tree
'A powerful and moving reflection on the solace brought by nature and its power as a balm for stressed-out lives.'-Caroline Lucas, Green MP
Three nature writers, living like everyone else under lockdown, but walking out each day to exercise, resolved to record their experiences of the coronavirus spring, in widely contrasting parts of the country. They did so to share with others their sense of the wonder, inspiration and delight the natural world can offer, and The Consolation of Nature is the enthralling account of what they discovered by literally walking out from their front doors.
Published 15/10/2020 (Hodder Studio) in United Kingdom
Hardback | 240 pages
| 0.5734 |
FineWeb
|
by Jon Yearsley and Thomas Broquet
IMIG aims at estimating pairwise rates of migration between discrete populations using multilocus genotypes. The inference is based upon changes in the genetic composition of populations during the dispersal phase of a species' life cycle. IMIG requires populations to be sampled twice: the first sample, "sample 1", is the pre-dispersal data, and some time later the second sample, "sample 2", is the post-dispersal data. IMIG will estimate the pairwise rates of dispersal that occurred in the time between these two samples.
| 0.7906 |
FineWeb
|
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system and sometimes lymphoma can start in the brain. This is called primary cerebral lymphoma. They are more likely to be diagnosed in people with poor immunity either because they have had an organ transplant or because they have AIDS. Lymphoma are treated differently to other types of brain tumour.
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed and would like support, visit:
| 0.9998 |
FineWeb
|
The space probe, Messenger (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging ) is outfitted to learn just what Mercury is made of. With only one chance during its seven years in space which began in 2004, Messenger swung itself towards Mercury early this month. Two weeks after successfully maneuvering into orbit around the planet, and verifying that everything about the ship can work in the harsh thermal (840 degrees F to minus 350 degrees) environment, the spacecraft is ready to rock and roll.
Along with Earth, Mercury is one of only four terrestrial (rocky) planets. Venus and Mars round out the group. These four planets are made up of a dense iron-rich core surrounded by a rocky mantle, composed largely of magnesium and iron silicates, which are neither green, nor any kind of milk product.
Exploring 4.9 billion miles (7.9 billion kilometers) away from its handlers on Earth, Messenger has six objectives, one of which is to provide major-element maps and determine local composition and mineralogy. Completion of the tasks must be accomplished within two Mercury solar days (equivalent to one Earth year), while keeping the spacecraft sunshade facing the Sun all the time. The trick is to take a quick peek since the spacecraft passes over a given spot on the surface only two times, six months apart, during its mission.
Mercury wins hands down as the smallest, most dense planet, with the oldest surface, and the largest daily fluctuations in surface temperature. Being the closest to the sun, it is the least explored. As Stuart Atkinson, author of children?s astronomy books, indicates in his poem, Secrets, we hope to find clues as to the origin and history of our solar system, "hidden in the Sun?s blinding glare."
Data garnered from Mariner’s many journeys past the planet indicates that Mercury has a huge iron-rich core and a global magnetic field. Its core is expected to be twice that of the other three terrestrial planets, with an estimate that the core makes up 75 percent of the radius of the entire planet. Thus, deduction tells us that the mantle is relatively thin. Much of its core probably is still liquid. We can liken Mercury to a large hot, melted cheese fondue pot that you?d dip chunks of French bread into.
Space Probe Messenger carries a lot of instruments that should help scientists to decypher the secret Mercury hides…
Messenger is scheduled to switch its investigative instruments into action on March 23. Come April 4, we should be getting the first data and learn what Mercury is made of. Three major theories try to explain why Mercury beats Earth, Venus and Mars in density and metal content. None of the three theories points to a composition of green cheese, however.
One theory is that tremendous heat of an early nebula vaporized part of the outer layer of rock while Mercury was forming, eliminating volatile elements, such as sodium and potassium.
Others think the primordial crust and upper mantle of the planet were stripped away by a giant impact, resulting in a loss of aluminum and calcium. In fact, the largest feature discovered on the surface so far is called the Caloris basin, 960 miles (1,550 kilometers) in diameter, probably created by an ancient asteroid impact. It is one of the targets Messenger will use to study the composition of the planet?s surface.
We won?t know which theory pans out until the composition of the rocky surface can be measured. Messenger?s science instruments should be preparing to work as you read this. The Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), the Gamma-Ray and Neutron Spectrometer (GRNS), the X-Ray Spectrometer (XRS), the Magnetometer (MAG), the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA), the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS), and the Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer (EPPS) are set to be very busy. The instruments communicate to the spacecraft through fully redundant Data Processing Units (DPUs).
On March 29, the MDIS will be powered on and will take its first image from over the planet?s south pole. Hovering as close as 124 miles from the surface, Messenger will capture images of areas not previously exposed to spacecraft. The closest amateur astronomers may get to Mercury is the 1954 automobile that bears its name, outfitted not with scientific instruments, but with optional power steering and power brakes, a four-way front bench seat, electric window lifts, and Merc-O-Matic Drive.
For the rest of us, during its year long science observation which begins April 4, Messenger [Space Probe Messenger PDF Sheet at NASA] will be presenting us with previously unknown, and exciting, facts.
| 0.6964 |
FineWeb
|
Lower Case Switcher
This program will help you to convert letter case either if you need to capitalize the first letter in a name or if you forget to turn Caps Lock off while typing.
The program supports ALL keyboard layouts and languages * (except for Chinese and other hieroglyphic languages)
Support of umlauts and other symbols, which are usually entered by "dead keys"*
Letter case conversion:
uppercase -> UPPERCASE (Ctrl+[)
convert to upper case
lOWERCASE -> lowercase (Ctrl+])
convert to lower case
sErGe -> Serge (Ctrl+/)
capitalize first letter
dENNIS -> Dennis (Ctrl+')
invert text case NEW!
(*) - such set of features is unavailable anywhere else in the world!
Download LowerCase Switcher (568 KB)
Using of the program gives you the following advantages:
- To convert a text, it is enough to place the cursor at the end of a word, which is to be corrected, and then simultaneously press two hotkeys.
- The hotkeys for managing text conversion are located in eminently suitable places, and you will always be able to find them by touch, without stopping looking at the monitor.
- The program also allows you to work with a selected text no matter how large it is.
- Program does not change the contents of the clipboard
- Even if the text you correct contains special characters, such as (TM), ©(C), the program nevertheless does correct the text.
| 0.992 |
FineWeb
|
Vesper, Meghan Elizabeth
MetadataShow full item record
These poems offer reflection on different stages of grief through persistent questioning and re-examination. The natural world serves as a space for observation and reawakening of the senses, through both lyric and narrative modes. While speculation on the lost beloved is present, this collection gains energy primarily through meditations on the self and a curiosity about how we choose to interact. These poems challenge and complicate our understanding of happiness, solitude, and replenishment, discovering clarity without declaring a resolution.
| 0.7194 |
FineWeb
|
Part 1: The Teenage Brain – Old vs New Research
by Sadaf Khwaja
An Interview by Sonia Elhaj
Coaching, Certified Collective Life Coach and
Founder of the Free Butterfly Tribe in Facebook
Just when you feel your child has gotten the hold of things, such as managing school, activities, home, personal and social areas in their lives by 11 or 12, maybe 13, all of a sudden, there are instances where you feel “What is happening?” I thought they know how to plan, organize and handle their lives. Why are they acting up so much?
The truth is , we are missing a HUGE gap in understanding the Teenage Brain FIRST, and all that is going on developmentally in the minds of the kids – which creates turmoil in their lives, and thus around peers and parents – creating confusion and chaos in families.
In order to make any progress at all with your teens, it becomes clear that you need to understand How the Teenage Brain works ? What area in the brain is creating their high emotional states? What needs to be said FIRST before asking them to do a task? How long will it take to form ? At what age does the teen brain develop to form into an adult brain? And more.
If you are interested to:
- Understand how to communicate effectively with your teenager so they hear you and you hear them?
- What sentences work? What do not?
- How to engage with your teenager besides a “no” or “yes” dialogue?
- Create Long-lasting relationships with your teenager even until college,
| 0.8903 |
FineWeb
|
Larry Hollis calls it the clean cow-clean pasture concept.
That’s his answer to the question of when you should worm your cows. “The way I look at it,” says the Kansas State University Extension veterinarian, “when you go to clean pasture, put clean cows out there.”
That way, he says, you reduce the level of egg and larvae contamination in the pasture, which is the major source of the worm load that cows and eventually their calves will carry.
He stresses the word “reduce,” however. “No dewormer is 100% effective, so over time, there will gradually be a buildup of eggs that hatch into infective larvae. But you’ll minimize that to the smallest degree you possibly can if you’ll deworm them when you go to a clean pasture.”
That means, he says, deworm your cows when you turn out in the spring and again in the fall when you’re working your cows and calves before turning out on winter pasture.
Warm, wonderful spring
As the poet Tennyson so aptly observed, springtime is when a young man’s fancy lightly turns to love.
Same thing if you’re a brown stomach worm (Ostertagia ostertagi).
In colder northern climates, internal parasites go into a form of hibernation in the animal’s gut, emerging when weather conditions become conducive to larval survival. In hot southern climates, that hypobiosis occurs in summer, with emergence in the fall.
“Optimal larval survival is when it’s warm and wet,” Hollis says. “Any time there’s enough moisture where you get dew on the grass, that’s good conditions for those larvae to survive.”
As the weather heats up and dries out, larval activity on the pasture subsides. But the cows – and likely their calves if they’re grazing – are re-infected. That’s why the strategic philosophy of worm management calls for cows and calves to be dewormed in mid-summer. However, few cattlemen want to gather cows in the heat of summer and work them again, which makes spring and fall deworming, when cattle are being worked anyway, a more palatable management option.
That’s particularly true in the dry desert climates that John Wenzel, New Mexico State University Extension veterinarian, deals with. “The most effective time to deworm cattle is when we have them in the chute in the fall at preg check time,” he says. “Generally speaking, our parasites tend to over-summer because it’s so hot and dry.”
However, even in arid climates, internal parasites can flourish. “In my opinion, I think it’s very important that we deworm those cattle, because we have enough internal parasitism to make a difference. Even though it’s terribly hot and terribly dry, we do see a level of parasitism.”
Typically, the desert Southwest will get summer monsoon rains beginning in late July. That means, in three to four weeks, hibernating worms emerge and begin shedding eggs, making pastures infective by August and September.
He also recommends that cattlemen use a product that controls external parasites, as well. Lice are a problem in late winter, he says, if cattlemen don’t deworm in the fall. “It’s very effective for us to treat those cattle in the fall, kind of clean them up. It seems if we do that, we really don’t have any ectoparasitism.”
Dollars and dimes
Wenzel is a strong advocate of getting the biggest bang for every dollar spent on a deworming program. That’s why he recommends that cattlemen work closely with their local veterinarian and that they use name-brand products. “It really does matter,” he says. “You get what you pay for.”
While generics are cheaper, they use a different, less-effective carrier, he says, and may not have the same activity as a drug that has more research behind it. “To me, if you’re going to spend the money, do the absolute best job. It may cost a little more money in the short term. In the long term, if we get the efficiency out of it, it’s worth every dime we spend.”
That’s because, Hollis says, much of the worm burden that cattle carry is sub-clinical. That’s especially important in calves, which are more susceptible to worm loads than are older cows. By the time cows reach maturity, their immune system has kicked in and is partially controlling the negative effects that worms have.
Not so with calves. “And you can’t tell by looking which are ones are wormy and which ones aren’t,” Hollis says. But untreated calves won’t perform as well as those that have had the worm load knocked back.
“So you may have a calf that has the genetic potential to gain 3 lbs./day and he’s gaining 2.2 lbs. A 2.2 calf looks good, but when you go to weigh them up, you left pounds on the table that the dewormer would have paid for.”
Which is why it’s important to deworm in the fall as well. By then, the calves will have picked up enough of a worm load to make deworming worthwhile. And the cows benefit, too.
“If they’re spring-calving cows, I want to deworm them in the fall to get them as low as I can get them. I want to deworm them again in the spring to keep them as low as I can keep them,” he says.
Tips to thwart resistance
According to Michelle Arnold, University of Kentucky Extension veterinarian, there may be another aspect to strategic deworming in mid-summer that cattlemen may need to consider.
“Traditionally we recommend a strategic deworming around the end of June to the first of July, with the thought that it is hot and dry and there are very few larvae out in the pasture,” she says.
“The thought now is if you chemically deworm with low numbers of larvae in the pasture, the only worms that survive are those resistant to the chemical. So you’re creating populations of chemically resistant worms.”
She says at this point, she hasn’t seen documented chemical resistance problems. But she thinks there’s a potential for resistance to begin creeping into the equation, not only due to the timing of the deworming program, but from the use of generics and the continued use of pour-ons.
“So at this point, my recommendation is to focus on deworming calves and young stock up to two years old, twice a year – spring and fall,” she says. Mature cows need deworming once a year.
She emphasizes deworming young cattle because of the effect that a worm load can have on a young, growing animal, particularly replacement heifers.
“Because they are growing, they have a lot of nutrient demands on their body. When you get up to two years old, they’re either in gestation or they’ve already calved and they’re producing milk. That is a tremendous demand as far as nutrients go. So you don’t want to add parasites to that equation, because parasites are going to consume some of that – they’re going to take away some of that energy and nutrients the animal really needs.”
Arnold also stresses that deworming is just part of the management equation in controlling the worm load in your cattle. Pasture management plays a big role, too.
“If you overgraze and/or overcrowd, your animals are going to pick up many more larvae,” she says. “Larvae don’t migrate up (grass stalks and leaves) more than 4-6 in. So don’t force animals to graze close to the ground or close to manure. Larvae don’t get much farther than a foot beyond the pat of manure. If we force them to graze close to a manure pat and close to the ground, they’re going to pick up more larvae.”
Arnold encourages producers to rotate products, using both macrocyclic lactones and the “white” wormers. The macrocyclic lactones, which includes the avermectin class, have a residual effect; meanwhile, the white wormers kill the adult worms in the gut and hypobiotic larvae, but are only effective for one or two days.
“Change your regimen so you’re not always showing the same chemical to the worms,” she advises.
Thoughts on fecal egg counts
Rotating compounds is important not just in keeping a population of worms around that will stay susceptible to chemical dewormers. It also helps control other species of internal parasites. The macrocyclic lactones are highly effective against brown stomach worms, which are the number-one internal parasite of concern to cattlemen.
“But none of them are very effective against the number-two worm in young cattle, and that’s Cooperia punctata,” Hollis says. “The white or drench dewormers have an advantage there. One of the things we have seen with continuous use of the avermectins is that we have selected for cattle that are loaded with Cooperia.”
Trouble is, you can’t tell. It’s very difficult to tell the difference between Ostertagia and Cooperia eggs when looking at them under a microscope, Hollis says.
But fecal egg counts can be diagnostic, at least in young cattle. “Pull a fecal sample at the time you treat, pull another fecal sample three weeks later, and look at the relative number of eggs.” Hollis says. “If it was high and went virtually to zero, it means you had Ostertagia and you did an effective job. If it was high and stays high, you’re probably dealing with Cooperia and you probably need to go back with one of the drench dewormers.”
But it’s only worthwhile to do fecal egg counts on young cattle. “In cows, it’s misleading because their immune system has kicked in and is trying to fight the worms. One way it fights the worms is to cause them to lower their egg-laying ability,” Hollis says. “On a cow, a low fecal egg count doesn’t mean much.”
That’s why, by and large, veterinarians don’t recommend doing fecal egg counts, because it’s an added cost that doesn’t always tell you all you need to know. “If you have a limited amount of money, put it into deworming the animal rather than testing,” Arnold advises.
But by all means, they say, put your money into deworming. You’ll be dollars and dimes ahead.
| 0.5608 |
FineWeb
|
Our activities are categorised as Creativity, Action or Service. This helps to ensure that we offer a well-balanced programme of enrichment activities. We encourage students to take part in at least one activity from each of these three areas over the course of the academic year and in at least two activities per term. Our programme changes termly and this helps students experience a variety of activities enabling them to develop into well-rounded individuals.
The majority of our clubs and activities are led by teaching staff, but we also have a variety provided by external specialists.
| 0.8486 |
FineWeb
|
I have good news: there’s much in common between Portuguese and English when it comes to mass and count nouns. For instance many names such as
farinha, vinho, marmelada, sopa, carne, couro, tecido,
are count nouns if you mean varieties, but are mass nouns if you mean quantity of one variety. So you can say:
Countable: temos aqui muitas farinhas: farinha de trigo tipo 65, farinha de trigo integral, farinha de centeio, etc.
Mass: temos aqui muita farinha.
Countable: temos duas marmeladas: esta é mais doce do que aquela.
Mass: há aqui imensa marmelada: eu não conseguiria comê-la toda nem em três anos
As you can see in the examples above, you can tell a count noun by the use of a number (duas marmeladas) or muitas/muitos (many); and a mass noun by the use of muito/muita/imenso + noun (a lot of + noun).
Now there is a lot in common between Portuguese and English when it comes to count and mass nouns, but there are lots of differences too. And if you want to master them, I have only um conselho: practice makes perfect. No set of rules will do. Keep reading and chatting in Portuguese, and you’ll get a better and better feel of how things work. For instance, vinho works just as wine:
Temos aqui cinco vinhos diferentes [varieties, countable]; temos muito vinho [mass], suficiente para embebedar um regimento.
But cerveja is more complicated. It can be used as vinho in the example above, but uma cerveja can also mean one unit of beer (a glass, a bottle, whatever). So três cevejas diferentes will mean three types of beer, but you can go to a bar and ask for três cervejas, meaning three units. Of course, if they have several brands or units of different sizes, that request will lead to a long conversation if the barman is not too busy. It’s the exact same thing with sumo (Portugal) or suco (Brazil).
Then, as in Enlgish, you have names, such as coelho, pato, sardinha, carapau, which are mass nouns if you mean their meat as food, and are count nouns if you mean individual animals. It works in the same way for trees and their wood:
Em Setúbal podes comer a sardinha e o carapau que quiseres [mass, as much sardine and horse mackerel as you like; it could also be interpreted as count nouns, the one sardine you choose, but that’s not what it’s meant]. Estou cheio: comi seis sardinhas e três carapaus.
A mobília deste hotel é toda de nogueira (walnut wood): foram precisas 350 nogueiras (walnut trees) para a fazer.
Many abstract nouns are typically used as mass nouns only: paciência, caridade, compaixão, pobreza. There are also many, such as alegria, tristeza, ódio, amor, esperança, progresso, that can be mass nouns as in English; but can also be count nouns generally meaning an instance of what the mass noun means:
Havia muita alegria naquela casa. Este filho deu-me muitas alegrias.
Há muito ódio no mundo. O João foi consumido pelos seus ódios.
Este filho deu-me muita alegria is not that different from este filho deu-me muitas alegrias; muitas alegrias implies more explicitly that you were made happy on various occasions. Each of the seus ódios would be the hate he felt for a particular person or thing. But generally you don’t say três ódios, cinco tristezas, etc. They’re only loosely countable.
Coming at last to your examples, you got conselho exactly right: it translates best as piece of advice:
Tenho um conselho para te dar; tenho dois conselhos para te dar.
Informação is more complicated. It can definitely be used as mass noun. The plural informações is very common, but often it could be replaced by the singular without change of meaning. And phrases such as duas informações, três informações, in Portugal at least, are rare. If you are doing detective work asking around for information about someone or something, the plural is the more natural option:
Andou aqui um fulano a pedir informações a teu respeito.
But one you’ve collected all that information, singular and plural can both be used:
Aqui está a informação que consegui recolher sobre o Sr. X.
Aqui estão as informações que consegui recolher sobre o Sr. X
You wouldn’t use the plural option if you had put the information together into a single structured report. But the singular could be used whether you had a structured report or just a collection of loose pieces of information. If you’re talking about a structured body of information, say as that released by an official statistics office, you’ll use the singular.
| 0.623 |
FineWeb
|
Reading, writing, speaking and listening are the four primary language skills. They can be considered in several ways. Here’s a common one:
- Expressive: speaking, writing. A person can express themselves using language in these ways.
- Receptive: listening, reading. A person receives someone else’s self-expression.
The enhancing of these language skills occurs in classrooms, on the job, and in just plain old living. For language teachers, the ways of science, art, and parents everywhere have been utilized in various forms to increase both first and second language competency.
Let’s look at science.
For many years, brain researchers have thought that expressive language was processed in a part of the cerebral cortex called Broca’s area, while receptive language was processed in Wernicke’s area. Texts used by scientists, researchers, teachers, and language learning professionals of all types have structured their work on this premise. But that was then.
Now, research published in the October 16, 2009, issue of Science, demonstrates that both forms of language are processed almost simultaneously in Broca’s area. This represents dramatic change, apparently, in the ways language is processed by the brain, the ways in which language is learned, and the ways in which it is taught.
What? “Our task involved both reading and speaking, and we found that aspects of word identity, grammar, and pronunciation are all computed within Broca’s area… It has been clear for some time that the expressive/receptive model is out of date, and now it is clearer that Broca’s area has several roles, in both expressive and receptive language,” says study author Ned T. Sahin, a post doctoral fellow at both the University of California, San Diego, Department of Radiology, and the Harvard University Department of Psychology.
So what? The study presents a picture of language processing in the brain. The brain is the locus of learning. The more we understand the brain — what it does and how it does it — the more effective we can be as teachers and learners of language.
Now, what? Cautions abound. Wanting to reach all students, effective teachers commonly employ all four language skills in their lessons. While that is still true, the reasons for doing so have shifted. Do you want to reconsider how your teaching materials utilize all four language skills, regardless of the subject you are teaching?
Read the university’s report in context.
| 0.992 |
FineWeb
|
Phone: 800-241-4400 Email: [email protected]
DownDraft Gas Kiln - Location & Installation
Locating Your Olympic DownDraftKiln
- Adequate space - at least 12 inches of space between the kiln and the wall. All flammable materials such as curtains, plastics, etc. in the area of the kiln should be removed.
- Proper ventilation - if the kiln is located in a confined area it is essential that an exhaust hood be place above the kiln and vented to the outside. This ensures removal of heat and exhaust gases including carbon monoxide. Even if the kiln is outside be sure that the hot exhaust gases do not cause damage.
- A 120-volt outlet will be needed if either the kiln sitter system or electronic wall unit were purchased with the kiln.
- If the kiln is to be placed outside, ensure that moisture is not permitted. Use a roof over the kiln or some type water resistant tarp when the kiln is not being fired.
- Because all kilns generate heat, the burner system/stand should be placed on a cement floor. Vinyl tiles or linoleum could be damaged without this precaution. It is important that the kiln be fired only on the metal stand or frame provided with the burner system. The eleven-inch height of the frame is necessary for proper burner positioning and adequate cooling beneath the kiln. Remember to use sheet metal or non-flammable material to shim the legs when leveling the kiln.
Gas Usage for DownDraft Kilns
- Low Pressure Regulator (Purchase From Your Gas Supplier)
- Propane - 11" Water Column (Water Column is the Amount of Gas Pressure)
- Natural Gas - 7" Water Column
- ¾" Pipe Line for DownDraft 9 Kiln, All Other Models - 1" Pipe Line (Purchase From Your Gas Supplier)
Olympic gas kilns burners are factory set for use on either propane, or natural gas from a street main. If propane is used, your tank must have a low-pressure regulator like those on a camper or trailer. If an adjustable regulator is used approximately ¾ to 1 ½ pounds of pressure is necessary. The table below is the minimum size tank for a cone 10 firing for each DownDraft model. You need to purchase a larger tank than the cone 10 firing requirement so that you are not having to refill the tank after each firing.
A larger burner orifice in necessary when used on household gas pressure of six (6) to eight (8) inches of water column. If your kiln was ordered for use on household natural gas, it is equipped this way.
Assembly of Kiln
Olympic DownDraft kilns are shipped ready to fire. There is no assembly or putting the kiln together, unless you have requested a custom kiln. If you have requested a custom order, example a DownDraft kiln with outside dimensions that cannot normally go through a 34 ½" door. If the door has to be taken off, or some other irregular situation is needed, contact Olympic Kilns before dismantling the kiln to maintain your warranty and to insure that no damage occurs to the kiln.
Proper ventilation is required when firing your gas kiln. Gas kilns fired outside may not require venting. When purchasing vents it is often best to choose a local HVAC or sheet metal manufacturer. or Olympic Kilns can manufacturer one for you. Vent dimensions need to be larger than the outside diameter of the kiln. Diameter at the top of the vent needs to be 10" discharging into an exhaust pipe required by building conditions or local codes.
| 0.639 |
FineWeb
|
- Ancient India had its share of science. Some herbal medicines and Yoga meditation are acclaimed even now. Columbus and other pioneers tried to search a new sea-route to India, a country richer than medieval Europe. Ancient India had invented the decimal system. Numerals 0123456789 are of Indian origin. They are called Arabic numerals. That term came in use because Arab traders introduced the concept to ancient Europeans, who were accustomed to Roman symbols I V X etc. Arabic script is written from right to left, but numerals in it are written from left to right, as done in Indian and European languages. Arabs call these numerals as < al-raqam al-hind > which means (the Indian numerals).
- It would be better to name 0123456789 as global numerals. They are used globally in countries using Roman script and also in Russia, China, Japan, Greece, and Israel that do not use the Roman script for writing. Science-based things like calculators, telephone dials, measuring tapes, thermometers, and also coins, postage stamps etc in India make use of global numerals. Constitution of India has accepted these numerals. Hindi language for the Central Government employs global numerals. However, in India only Tamil and Malayalam languages have adopted them for all work. Other languages in India use same numerals but with different shapes. Devanagari (one) resembles global (nine) in shape causing confusion. Quite different shapes are used in Arabic script. (Example dot = zero. small circle = 5)
- Marathi Vidnyan Parishad, some thinkers and Marathi science text books use global numerals (also Roman symbols for chemicals, mathematics etc) while main Marathi text is in Devanagari script. But general public and most publishers use Devanagari numerals. Global numerals are seen on playing cards, train platforms, clocks, snake ladder games, hotel rooms, lift (elevator) buttons, taxi-fare meters, lottery tickets etc.
- Some Marathi calendars use global numerals for dates (Gregorian solar) with small type Devanagari numerals for tithi (date in Hindu lunar calendar, Marathi-month-reckoning from first day after no moon night). A solar year has 365 days. Moon makes 12 revolutions around earth in 354 days. Like Feb 29 in solar leap years, there is an extra lunar month within 3 solar years, with some extra or omitted tithi (Point is oversimplified here). There is a Marathi custom to celebrate 1000-Moon-View (nearly 1000 full moon days) at age 80.
- Despite inconvenience of Roman numerals (I V X) and (i v x) etc, many scholars and law-writers use them for serial reference of appendixes, legal clauses and so on, in English.
- Systems of dots and short lines can be used. One dot = one. Two dots = two and so on. Some dices (cubes with 6 faces) display dot numbers. One may use four short vertical lines and put a horozontal line across them to signify a group of (5). A large but managable number can be shown, and counted, with some groups and few free lines.
- Telephone numbers with more that ten digits are difficult to narrate and remember. A mixture of alphabets and numerals (such as vehicle numberplates) help in identification. It is easier to read and write 72 and 2 billion, than Seventy-two and 2,000,000,000.
- Science could not have progressed without decimal system. Salute ancient India for its invention. Salute ancient Arabs and later Europeans for spreading the concept. Use of global numerals, in all countries and languages, would be a welcome step to unify mankind.
[ Index Page ]
on : $ December 22, 2004 $
Author : Madhukar N Gogate
| 0.8595 |
FineWeb
|
RESEARCH ON THE MAPPING OF LARGE-SCALE TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS BASED ON LOW-ALTITUDE DRONE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY SYSTEM
Keywords: UAV aerial survey system, Digital Orthophoto Map (DOM), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), GPS
Abstract. The field data collection and in-house data processing of the aerial photography system of the uavouring aircraft are studied, combined with their working examples in this paper. The aerial survey of the Bowen School of Management of Guilin University of Technology is carried out by using the Southern Sky Patrol AS1200 aerial survey system, and the obtained data is processed and studied in the internal and external industry. In order to successfully complete this research, this article (1) first of all to the external industry collected data inspection, that is, the quality of the aircraft film inspection, the main content of the inspection is the detection of the image of the tone, resolution, level, whether the film can clearly identify the main objects, such as houses, roads, etc. can be clearly identified; - Whether the film is ghosting, whether there is misalignment and fuzziness, etc. , if the film has blurred or other quality problems, it is necessary to carry out retest or retest, this step is mainly to ensure the quality of research data, for the industry processing data to do a basic guarantee. (2) For the processing of in-house data, this paper uses a correction model for image data distortion pre-processing, the method of arithmetic and the edge detection operator method of extracting the image feature, and the image matching method Greenfeld-Schenk method based on the feature, Bamard-Thompson method and jump method and other methods to match the image, at the same time, this paper also takes the aerial triangulation method of the processing of internal data, complete the measurement control point encryption work, so as to calculate the spatial coordinates of the encryption control point, reduce the field laying work like control points, and thus reduce the working time of the field. (3) For improving the accuracy of the topographic elevation point in the aviation area, this paper uses polymorphic curve to be legal, using the field elevation measured value of the checkpoint and the three-dimensional measurement value does not match the difference, using the least square-by-multiply method to fit, so that the elevation checkpoint curve fitting value change and the actual difference is the smallest, with the measurement area elevation accuracy.
| 0.9695 |
FineWeb
|
How to Reduce the Impact of Air Travel
You’re keeping your travel as eco-friendly as possible, but sometimes, you have no choice but to fly up, up, and away. On those occasions, try to make the rest of your trip as green as possible by following these suggestions:
Try to take direct flights rather than those that make stops en route. Taking off and landing use up more fuel than cruising at high altitude, so a trip that includes a few hops costs you more in carbon emissions. Keep in mind when you’re choosing flights that many low-cost airlines fly via a third location rather than non-stop, so it’s less costly to the environment to seek a different airline.
Find an airline that uses newer model planes. Newer planes tend to offer better fuel economy than older ones.
Choose daytime flights. Studies show that jet contrails (those white lines of exhaust that streak the sky behind planes) can contribute to warming the atmosphere because as they disperse they can trap heat radiating up from the earth. This is especially true at night because during the day, the contrails partially offset the heat trap effect by radiating light from the sun away from the earth.
Pack light. Every pound of weight that a plane carries increases the amount of fuel that it burns, so reducing your luggage weight actually reduces your environmental impact — and it makes your luggage easier to carry, too!
If you have a choice between economy class and business or first class, choose the less comfortable (and less expensive) economy seat. It makes sense from an environmental point of view because the more passengers that an aircraft carries, the less fuel is burned per passenger. When you choose an economy seat, you’re responsible for fewer emissions than if you choose a seat in a roomier class of travel. (Although each passenger’s weight costs the airline some fuel, there’s a huge fuel cost in the airplane’s weight, and carrying more passengers distributes this fixed cost among more people.)
| 0.9426 |
FineWeb
|
3 Winning teams imagine a more sustainable Lower Mississippi River Delta, design teams from around the world create innovative visions for one of America’s greatest natural resources.
Competing teams were tasked with developing 100-year visions for restoring and sustaining Louisiana’s eroding coast for the people, communities and industries that call the region home. These innovative ideas addressed a variety of factors, and they promote a sustainable delta that will continue to provide for future generations.
Changing Course hopes to encourage and inform thoughtful discussion among the residents, industries, communities and governments of southeast Louisiana about how the region can become more resilient and prosperous while dealing with the practical challenges of land loss and sea level rise. The ideas generated by the three winning teams – Baird & Associates, Moffatt & Nichol and Studio Misi-Ziibi – serve as a starting point for that discussion.
Building off of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan, the teams generated designs for how the Mississippi River’s water and sediment can be used to maximize rebuilding of delta wetlands over the next 100 years while also continuing to meet the needs of navigation and flood protection.
While each of the winning teams offered a different vision, all three identified the same key requirements as critical to sustaining the Mississippi River Delta today and into the future:
- Reconnecting the Mississippi River to its wetlands to help restore southeast Louisiana’s first line of defense against powerful storms and rising sea levels.
- Planning for a sustainable delta, including a gradual shift in population to create more protected and resilient communities.
- Protecting and maximizing the region’s port and maritime activities, including moving the navigation channel further up within the system.
- Increasing economic opportunities in a future smaller delta through expanding shipping capacity, coastal restoration infrastructure, outdoor recreation and tourism and commercial fishing.
| 0.673 |
FineWeb
|
Many times, square and rectangle furniture tops have sharp corners. One takes “the points” off so it's not a hard 90˚angle which can cause injury or chipping. This is called a blunt edge. “Tips off” or “points off” are other terms. You can hear “touched” edges – touching the edge to a grinding wheel.
Dime, Nickel, Quarter Corners
A little larger amount of radius on the corners is called a “dime corner.” The glass is prepared so that the corners match the curvature of a dime. For bigger radiuses you can have a “nickel corner” or a “quarter corner.”
Once you can no longer use coins it becomes an inch measurement. For a one inch radius edge, a glazier will measure down 1” and across 1” and from those points make a curve (radius) on the corner.
Quarter radius corner
| 0.8219 |
FineWeb
|
Information Systems recommends that you ensure your VPN client is up-to-date (click here for the most recent version of Cisco AnyConnect) and operating correctly on each of your devices prior to traveling out of the country.
A process has been developed to assist you in preparing for travel to countries where Google access is restricted. As of December 2018, this list includes China, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.
You should begin the request process at least two weeks prior to your trip to ensure adequate set up and testing time of the additional processes required to use VPN while abroad in these restricted areas. What you need to do:
- Go to AskDeac and enter a ticket for VPN for Restricted Countries
- Enter your WFU username and password
Enter the required information:
- Email Address
- Travel Destination
- Arrival Date
- Departure Date (your access will be terminated on the departure date)
- Reason for VPN Access
- Select if you need Admin network access. If no information is provided, standard access will be the default.
- You will only be contacted by an IS representative if your request is denied.
- If approved, you will receive an email from AskDeac with a resolution that contains the URL that you will need to use to have VPN access while in one of the restricted countries. The resolution will also contain a reminder to change back to the original VPN URL upon returning from abroad.
| 0.5282 |
FineWeb
|
The inconsistency between the position of the submarine permafrost table in the East Arctic seas revealed by simulation and anomalies in the distribution of dissolved methane associated with ascending torchlike ejections of bubbling methane made it necessary to develop a representative geophysical express method, which allows the position of the submarine permafrost table to be determined. The method is based on sounding of the generated primary electromagnetic field in the near zone of the medium and measurement of the induced secondary EM field. The reliability of the method is confirmed by core drilling in the Laptev Sea.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
| 0.8569 |
FineWeb
|
As we all know, so far there has been no solvent in the world to dissolve carbon. It is also difficult to melt carbon into liquid. Carbon is heated to more than 400 centigrade in the air, and it will gradually oxidize and burn. Only under the pressure of 100 atmospheric pressure and heated to more than 3600 degrees in the inert gas, can the carbon become a liquid. Therefore, the method of making carbon fiber can not be used in general synthetic fiber industry to dissolve or melt spinning, but only by using &ldquo and carbonizing &rdquo.
First, let’s talk about polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber. Its manufacture should be made of our common acrylic fiber as raw material. Before carbonization, we need to heat it to 250 degrees or so before pre oxidation, so that polyacrylonitrile chain molecules become highly stable trapezoidal molecules. Then, the black preoxidized wire is carbonized under nitrogen protection, so that the carbon main chain in the whole molecule is not easy to break. The high strength &lsquo with carbon content of about 90% can be obtained by heating to about 1500 C, and carbon fiber &rdquo.
If the viscose filament is used as the raw material, the viscose carbon fiber can be made. The viscose filament is the rayon that we usually say. Rayon is mainly made up of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen atoms. When heated in an inert gas such as nitrogen, the oxygen and hydrogen in the rayon are turned into water molecules. If it is heated to more than 1000 degrees C, the carbon atoms are almost left in the fiber. However, the efficiency of carbon fiber production at such a high temperature is low, and the strength and modulus are not ideal.
In recent years, with the development of science and technology, it is found that oil bitumen is processed to melt into fine wire, and it can be made into asphalt fiber. The fiber has high carbon content, and carbon fiber can be made by carbonization after treatment. In these three kinds of carbon fibers, the asphalt carbon fiber and viscose carbon fiber are less used, and now the carbon fiber is mostly made of polyacrylonitrile.
Shenzhen CN Technology Co.,Ltd is a professional manufacturer and distributor of carbon fiber products. Such as roll wrapped carbon fiber tubes,Hot press carbon fiber sheets,cnc carbon fiber cutting,carbon fiber chamfered.
| 0.9964 |
FineWeb
|
Health & Nutrition
Gluten-free diets get a lot of news coverage and for good reason. Adhering to a gluten-free diet can be life-changing for those diagnosed with celiac disease. Celiac disease is a chronic gastrointestinal condition where the small intestine becomes damaged due to the consumption of gluten. Gluten—a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye—triggers an immune response in individuals with celiac disease. This immune response damages the lining of the small intestine, making it difficult for the body to absorb nutrients properly.
Managing Diabetes on a Gluten-Free Diet
Avoiding grains with gluten and consuming a gluten-free diet is typically prescribed for those diagnosed with celiac disease. However, there is a growing number of individuals adopting gluten-free diets to manage their diabetes. Consuming a gluten-free diet may seem logical for the 6 percent of the population diagnosed with both type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. However, this adoption does not work easily for those who have been diagnosed with diabetes.
For example, a gluten-free diet may not be necessary for individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and could cause additional issues. Food products that are labeled gluten-free can still contain large amounts of carbohydrates that can affect blood glucose levels in diabetics. It is crucial for individuals with diabetes to carefully read food labels and choose gluten-free options that are low in sugar and high in fiber. High-fiber foods help slow down the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream, minimizing blood sugar spikes. The following are additional health tips for managing diabetes while being gluten-free:
- Opt out of trending diet advice. Speak with your physician and/or dietitian about a meal plan that works for your individual needs.
- Read food labels. Food labels can give you details on the contents of the food that will help you manage diabetes and celiac disease.
- Look for add-ins. Many diets focus on what you cannot eat, so look for food groups that you can add to your healthy eating pattern. Fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and high-fiber grains like wild rice, quinoa, and mullet are great healthy meal pattern add-ins.
Visit www.aces.edu for more information on healthy eating.
| 0.8009 |
FineWeb
|
In view of the current discussion taking place over Academia.edu’s introduction of an ‘article recommendation charge’, and the subsequent #DeleteAcademiaEdu hashtag (https://twitter.com/hashtag/deleteacademiaedu?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash), we thought you might be interested in this:
Last month The Centre for Disruptive Media (http://disruptivemedia.org.uk/) at Coventry University organised a symposium on academic social networking platforms called ‘Why Are We Not Boycotting Academia.edu?’ Chaired by Janneke Adema (Coventry University, UK) speakers included Pascal Aventurier (INRA, France), Kathleen Fitzpatrick (MLA/Coventry University, US), Gary Hall (Coventry University, UK), and David Parry (Saint Joseph University, US).
The videos from this symposium are now online at:
The event addressed the following questions:
- Why have researchers been so ready to campaign against for-profit academic publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Wiley-Blackwell, and Taylor & Francis/Informa, but not against for-profit platforms such as Academia.edu ResearchGate and Google Scholar?
- Should academics refrain from providing free labour for these publishing companies too?
- Are there non-profit alternatives to such commercial platforms academics should support instead?
- Could they take inspiration from the editors of Lingua (now Glossa) and start their own scholar-owned and controlled platform cooperatives for the sharing of research?
- Or are such ‘technologies of the self’ or ‘political technologies of individuals’, as we might call them following Michel Foucault, merely part of a wider process by which academics are being transformed into connected individuals who endeavour to generate social, public and professional value by acting as microentrepreneurs of their own selves and lives?
For more on this symposium see: http://disruptivemedia.org.uk/why-are-we-not-boycotting-academia-edu/
| 0.6482 |
FineWeb
|
This is my 100th blog post at this site! I wanted to do something for it, because apparently, it is in online writers’ DNA to want to do something fun for these blogging milestones. I mused about it on facebook, and someone suggested 100 things I love, and then she suggested 100 things I hate. Ha! That did help though, because I realized I could do ten lists of ten things each. Hopefully it’ll be fun to read, and fun for me to write too. Here we go!
10 Things I Love:
1. My family & friends
4. Sunsets & Thunder (I am cheating by having two weather-y type related thingies here… because I can! muahahhaha!)
6. Peaceful alone time
10. Birth & Babies
10 Things I Greatly Dislike:
2. Bad driving
3. High pitched tones or beeping (drives me nuts!!)
4. Being constantly interrupted (as in, people who will NOT let you get a word in edgewise and talk over you)
6. Two different sounding things playing at the same time (e.g., music from one source and a tv show from another..)
7. Super hot weather (defined as anything 80-ish degrees Fahrenheit and over!)
8. Construction noise
9. Snobby, judgmental bullshit
10. Animal drool/slobber. Human babies are fine. Human adults with lots of spittle.. that’s pretty tough to handle. The St. Bernard I cared for years back who would slime my pants with her smeary drool… I gagged a few times, seriously.
10 Things You Might Not Know About Me (Or, Probably Do If You’ve Known Me A While!):
1. I went through a very brief punk phase, enjoying punk music and stuff I considered punk fashion
2. I really like fashion from the 1920s and ’40s.
3. I enjoy really old style dancing.. I went to a Victorian dance one time to play a duet set with my friend, on my flute and his harp, and during a music break got to actually do the dance lesson part, and loved it!
4. I also like swing dancing! And West African Dance – took a class in college and loved it!
5. I am left handed (so are Joe and Homer!)!
6. Australia is close to my heart since I got to study abroad there for six weeks in college.
7. Art makes me happy – looking at paintings, actually painting things myself, writing, reading other peoples’ writing, listening to and/or making music, taking and looking at photographs.. Especially old black and white photos – I feel so drawn in by them!
8. I love learning about space, stars, planets, moons and galaxies.
9. The few times I’ve done any acting in life were so fun and I’d love to do it again!
10. I have had OCD since I was 7 years old and have done pretty well learning to work through a lot of it, and am continuing to do so!
10 Awesome Memories:
1. Holding my son in my arms for the first time!
2. The first time I met Joe in person!!
3. The first time Homer ever sang.
4. Watching fireflies dance around with my mom, younger brother, Uncle Don, and Grandma Josephine just outside her Massachusetts home.
5. Taking walks with Mom as a kid around the neighborhood.
6. My brother, Garth, and I playing with our imaginary friends together.
7. My older brothers swinging me by my hands and feet up onto the bed as I laughed and laughed.
8. Bike riding with Dad.
9. Disneyland trips!
10. Band memories, especially playing a solo in competition in a big concert one year – so fun!
10 Common Things I Say:
1. any number of actual curse words, including mashups of originals.. I am creative in my colorful language!
2. immediately followed by “sorry, don’t ever say that, those are Mommy’s words..”
3. Whatcha doing, doggie? ….DAMN IT, ASHTON!! Give me that!
4. Homer, I have told you… (any number of things, e.g., “not to splash water when washing hands” is a common one)
5. Speaking in imaginary friends’ voices including but not limited to: Bowser Jr., Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Apple Jack… etc.
7. No, it’s not time to be super naked yet.
8. I don’t feel like playing a video game right now. (And less common but still does occur: Okay, we can play a game, what do you want to play?)
9. Why did you take off your shoes?! (in the car)
10. (And last but not least) I love you!!
10 Books I Love:
1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. Wonder When You’ll Miss Me by Amanda Davis
3. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
4. South of the Border West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
5. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
6. Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher
7. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
8. Momma Zen: Walking the Crooked Path of Motherhood by Karen Maezen Miller
9. Misery by Stephen King
10. Waiting for Birdy by Catherine Newman
10 Bands I Love:
1. They Might Be Giants
2. Violent Femmes
4. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
5. Mumford and Sons
8. The Beatles
9. The Doors
10. The Lumineers
10 Goals I have:
1. Write a novel
2. Edit and Publish a novel (and then hopefully repeat 1 and 2 a bunch!)
3. Make some scrapbooks
4. Take a glass blowing class
5. Learn a whole lot about photography and take amazing photos
6. Train my dog to do some more awesome things
7. Learn to cook well
8. Lose about 100 lbs
9. Get fit (possibly doing races eventually.. 5K, 10K, maybe even a half marathon)
10. Put photos up on my walls to decorate
10 TV shows I’ve Enjoyed Immensely:
1. Amazing Race
2. America’s Got Talent
3. Grey’s Anatomy
4. Warehouse 13
7. Breaking Bad
8. Better Call Saul
10. Law & Order (in multiple forms, but especially SVU)
10 Quotes that Inspire Me, and Hopefully You Too!
1. “Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
— Anatole France
2. “If you feel something calling you to dance or write or paint or sing [or whatever it is you are called to do], please refuse to worry about whether you’re good enough. Just do it. Be generous. Offer a gift to the world that no one else can offer: yourself.”
–Glennon Doyle Melton
3. “There are two ways to live your life — believing everything is a miracle or that nothing is.”
— Albert Einstein
4. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
5. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”
–Mary Anne Radmacher
6. “We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial sense that life is miracle and magic.”
— E. Merrill Root
7. “None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.”
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
8. “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
— Henry David Thoreau, Walden
9. “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment.”
— Henry David Thoreau
10. “I talk to him when I’m lonesome like; and I’m sure he understands. When he looks at me so attentively, and gently licks my hands; then he rubs his nose on my tailored clothes, but I never say naught thereat. For the good Lord knows I can buy more clothes, but never a friend like that.”
— W. Dayton Wedgefarth
And there you have it! Hope you found that enjoyable! I did, but it was really hard limiting myself to just ten things in most of these lists, and I’m sure I left out a LOT, and worried this is all terrible, but anyway, just going to post it! I hope you’re all having a great day, and I’ll be back to write more again soon!
| 0.7164 |
FineWeb
|
Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted members of the neighborhoods where they serve. They are trained lay people who provide education, guidance and social support, while serving as a liaison for health care providers and social services. CHWs share a connection with their communities because they understand the culture and language where they live and work.
Titles for CHWs vary—promotor(a), patient advocate, health navigator, etc. They also work or volunteer in different settings including: hospitals, clinics, schools, community-based organizations, non-profits and health insurance companies. Generally, Community Health Workers offer the following:
- Language interpretation
- Culturally appropriate health information
- Assistance with applying for social services
- Guidance for overcoming barriers
- Informal counseling
- Setting and achieving health goals
The Utah Department of Health leads a Community Health Worker Coalition made up of volunteer members from non-profit organizations, health systems, businesses and local government. Together, their mission is to promote, support and advance the work of Community Health Workers in Utah.
More About Community Health Workers
- Learn more about the CHW Coalition, CHW roles, and see a historical timeline.
- Read stories and testimonials.
- Read the complete 2018 Leavitt Partners white paper, “Driving Improvements in Utah’s Health Outcomes: the community health worker solution” A summary page is also available.
For additional information about Community Health Workers or to join the Coalition, contact McKell Drury at the Utah Department of Health, (801) 538-6896.
| 0.6611 |
FineWeb
|
Stonemasons are involved in restoring and repairing old buildings. They also work on new projects such as stone cladding office blocks. Stonemasonry is a traditional skill that is in increasing demand due to the large amount of stonework in the UK. Castles and cathedrals, historic houses and ancient monuments are some examples that may require the use of people that can work with stone.
Construction stonemasons cut and prepare stone for buildings. There are two main types of work:
- Banker masons are based in workshops, crafting and shaping blocks of stone. They also texture and polish stone - a technique called dressing. Some advanced masons carve figures and patterns
- Fixer masons build the dressed stone on site, following the architect's plan. Monumental or memorial masonry is a separate but related skill, which involves making memorials for the funeral industry.
There are also some even specific types of stone masons. For example, some masons can also specialise in letter cutting or working with a particular type of stone, such as marble or granite.
| 0.698 |
FineWeb
|
What Is a Breakdown in Communication and How to Deal With It
Communication is a necessary tool for survival – everyone does it. Animals communicate through sounds and gestures while humans communicate predominantly through words. Poor communication often results in conflict and stress, especially when it happens in the workplace.
These types of communication breakdowns happen when one or both parties misunderstand what the other is saying. This is especially prevalent now when most employees are forced to work from home due to the pandemic. Digital communication is less personal than in-person communication, which can create a breeding ground for unproductive communication and misunderstandings.
If not handled correctly, workplace miscommunication can result in low morale, decreased productivity, and a less friendly work environment, which is something you should avoid at all costs.
In this article, we’ll discuss different ways in which you can recognize, handle and prevent common communication breakdowns in your company.
What is communication?
Communication is the manner in which a message or thought is sent, shared or received. It usually involves two main parties, the sender of the message and the recipient. Effective communication should be understandable, straight to the point, and as objective as possible.
However, poor communication is a frequent occurrence due to many different factors, which we’ll explore in a bit more detail in this article.
In the business world, sharing and collecting information is extremely important for a company’s success. Workplace communication plays an especially important part because it is one of the main indicators of your business’ performance.
If communication at your workplace is poor and results in a lot of breakdowns, it’s time to change things around. Otherwise, you’ll create an unsafe and unpleasant work environment that will not only negatively impact your employees but also your profits.
What is digital communication?
Digital communication is a part of regular communication, except that it includes utilizing various online tools to facilitate the flow of information. It has become the golden standard in almost any modern work setting and it’s how most businesses handle their daily operations nowadays.
Because digital communication is so widely used these days, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is prone to communication breakdowns. These challenges are exacerbated when communication isn’t done face to face, as nuance is lost when we cannot distinguish someone’s intentions through body language.
As we’ve briefly mentioned above, poor workplace communication can have a severely negative impact on your business, which is why you should try to identify and resolve it as soon as possible. Let’s explore different ways you can do this.
How to identify communication breakdowns?
There are many different possible causes for communication to breakdown, so knowing how to recognize the symptoms will be invaluable to your team. It will allow you to spot the issue at an early stage, thus avoiding further conflict and complications.
If you suddenly notice that the environment at your company is gloomy and unproductive, the chances are that something is wrong. Clear communication paves the way for progression and motivation, while misunderstandings lead to conflict and poor performance.
You can identify communication breakdowns by asking yourself and your managers a couple of questions:
- Are my employees being productive?
- Do they have clear goals and priorities?
- Do my employees work well together?
- Is there a culture of fear within the company?
- Is the work environment tense and uncomfortable?
If the answer to two or more of these questions is yes, then chances are that you’re dealing with some form of communication breakdown at your company. Let’s learn how to deal with this and get your employee productivity back on track.
How to deal with and avoid communication breakdowns?
The best way to deal with common causes of any communication breakdown is to face them head-on. Here are some general tips on how to do that effectively:
- employ an open-door policy in your company
- encourage good communication and collaboration
- lead by example
- try to find a compromise in every situation
- listen to all parties involved to hear all sides of a story
- ask how the involved parties would like to handle the situation
- ask for feedback and tips on how to foster positive communication between your employees and management
- define clear goals, requirements and priorities
However, the best course of action is to try to avoid communication breakdowns altogether. You can do that by creating a positive work environment and encouraging a good flow of information. Another great way to go about this is to hire a coach who can guide your employees on how to avoid and deal with conflicts.
Four digital workflow tips to improve your work communication
Having good communication between employees is imperative if you want your business to thrive. Creating and maintaining a good workflow is a great way to achieve that goal. Here’s how to optimize the workflow at your company and ensure that there’s no more miscommunications or missed deadlines:
Use collaborative messaging platforms
Online messaging platforms are a great way to communicate effectively. Here, your employees can share ideas and important information and also get to know each other better.
Brosix is an all-inclusive online messaging platform for businesses of all sizes. Your employees can create different chat rooms and boards to divide tasks among themselves and communicate important information more effectively.
You can also use it for audio and video calls, file sharing, offline messaging and a plethora of other useful activities.
It’s also great for employees because it keeps track of all user activity which can be accessed through a dedicated control panel. You’ll know exactly which employees are slacking, how they’re communicating and what their performance is like.
Train your employees to handle distractions
Training your employees to handle distractions and stressful situations will lead to fewer communication breakdowns. Hire an online coach and schedule a Zoom training. Online training can be a highly effective tool because in general, employees feel more receptive and comfortable in their homes, leading to better results.
The coach will equip your team members with the necessary tools and information to help them navigate any future conflicts and teach them how to make the best of any situation.
Give and request feedback
Communication is a two-way street. You can’t expect your employees to strive to communicate better if you or your managers’ communication skills are subpar. To ensure that the playing field is level, send out annual, bi-annual or quarterly feedback surveys to hear how your employees feel.
Encourage your managers to have weekly or bi-weekly feedback meetings with their teams where they’ll discuss current projects, ideas, team updates, conflicts or anything else. This will foster an open and honest work environment for everyone.
Have difficult conversations face to face
While instant messaging is amazing, quick and convenient, it’s not as personal as face-to-face conversations. Face-to-face conversations are especially important when you need to discuss more serious issues with your employees. The best way to discuss unpleasantries is through in-person communication.
However, since many of us are working remotely at the moment, the second best thing is to schedule a video meeting instead of sending an audio clip or a message. Seeing the other person’s behavior and body language will enable you to navigate the conversation more fluently and hopefully end it on a positive note.
Your employees are the backbone of your business. If they don’t feel safe, heard or respected within the workplace, their performance will reflect that, leaving you with poor results and profits. Make sure to create a safe environment for all your employees and invite them to communicate all issues as clearly and directly as possible.
Use messaging platforms like Brosix and other collaborative platforms to facilitate a good flow of information and to keep track of your employees’ performance. Encourage good communication and relationships between team members and your business will flourish.
What causes communication breakdowns?
Communication breakdown is most commonly caused by some kind of misunderstanding. That misunderstanding can stem from a variety of situations and factors, such as:
- language differences
- perceptual differences
- not paying attention
- distractions and noise
- different personal backgrounds
- speech impediments
- emotional factors
- poor retention
- organizational complexity
- poor decision making
- conflicts with different job roles
What are the signs of communication breakdown?
Communication breakdowns aren’t always apparent from the get-go. Since most people want to avoid conflicts, they tend to brush it under the rug and try to ignore it. However, all that stress builds up and eventually leads to actions and reactions which can negatively affect your company. Pay attention to these symptoms of poor workplace communication:
- lack of trust between employees and team members
- employees working without clear priorities
- set goals not being achieved
- work not done properly or delivered late
- lack of communication between coworkers
- employees being overly defensive or judgemental
- spreading of rumors
- overall work environment seems tense and uncomfortable
What is the cause and effect of communication breakdown?
As we have already touched on above, the causes of communication breakdowns are complex and stem from an abundance of different reasons. We can divide the most common communication breakdowns into a couple of different categories:
- incomplete frameworks – people have different perspectives and present themselves in different ways. This is usually because of their upbringing and background, which may clash with someone else’s. This can result in workplace communication breakdowns.
- lack of self-awareness – some people simply aren’t aware of their words and actions. They might not even consider that their actions can cause miscommunication – they just aren’t aware that they’re doing something wrong.
- low emotional intelligence – some people have underdeveloped social and emotional skills, making it more difficult for them to connect with other people and understand them on a deeper level. Their words might sound harsh or confrontational, which is one of the main causes of communication breakdown.
- other factors – language barriers, different backgrounds, rumors, misinformation, etc.
Unfortunately, the effects of poor communication can be devastating for both a company and team members. If someone feels like their voice isn’t heard, they will probably act out in one way or another. Communication breakdowns can lead to:
- increased stress levels at your workplace
- body language that expresses discomfort or mistrust
- low morale
- negative facial expressions
- decreased productivity
However, a communication breakdown can provide a valuable learning experience if handled properly. Workplace conflicts are common because there are so many individuals with different personalities and perspectives. If handled maturely, your employees may form stronger connections and learn how to navigate future conflicts with ease.
How to deal with a communication breakdown?
To ensure a healthy and prosperous work environment, you should do your best to avoid communication breakdowns. This can be done in many different ways, though the best course of action depends on the peculiarities of your situation.
These are the most effective ways of achieving better communication and resolving communication issues:
- acknowledge the situation at hand and voice that there has been a communication breakdown
- recognize your faults in the situation and try to explain your actions in a non-condescending manner
- leave your emotions out of the situation – be as objective and straightforward as possible
- try to find a compromise
- try to resolve the issue, ask other involved parties how they’d like to handle the matter
- make sure that everyone is on the same page
- if nothing is working, take the issue to your superiors or the HR department to help you deal with it and maintain workplace satisfaction
| 0.832 |
FineWeb
|
You can download version 1.0 of the software which is covered by the GPL.
The README file is below.
'marcomp' and 'margen' Copyright (C) 1999 Richard P. Curnow INTRODUCTION ============ These programs implement a Markov source model for generating random pieces of text in the style of a particular work. marcomp reads the input file and creates a state/transition file. This file contains information about how often a particular character follows a sequence of preceding characters. margen reads the state/transition file and uses a random number generator to produce characters obeying the frequency information in the file. Three modes are supported : continuous text, sentence and dictionary. Continuous text mode treats the whole file as a unit, and includes transitions on all whitespace characters (unless -x is specified, in which case line feeds are stripped and runs of whitespace compress to a single space). The end of file transitions through '\n' back to the start of the file. Sentence mode treats each sentence (delineated by ! or .) as a unit, and ignores line feeds in the input. Each end of sentence transitions to the initial state through '\n'. Dictionary mode treats lines of input as units (i.e. the input should contain 1 word per line, like /usr/dict/words.). This similarly transitions through `\n' back to the initial state at the end of a line. See also the comments at the top of the marcomp.c and margen.c source files. EXAMPLES ======== To show what the software does, here's a play on the GPL, extracted (and reformatted) from the output of the following command : ./marcomp -c 5 -x -r COPYING | ./margen -w 72 -st | more To do one of any works based on the same places to Your New Program `Gnomovision 2 of this License whole which is covered by someone else grants you (whether by patent must make this License any later versions understands intended that version", you use may not distribute and ours, we want to these requirement.) The act of this License any third parties are detail to accept this sections, and modification and copy and conditions; type `show c'; they know you if you may add an explicit geographical distribute the Program `Gnomovision version conditions either language. (Hereinafter, translated so on) of the software is a subroutine line to attach them as such claims or other source code distribute copies other system; it is to copy, modified by the best way you redistribute the Program (or else any other work under that any parties whose sections as published by the executable under this section of a whole which is intended that redistributed (in either work based on it, whether by could have made by third parties to copyright holder saying to free use may copyright notice that everyone under these countries, so the Free Software.
| 0.9357 |
FineWeb
|
The 72nd Force Support Squadron ID card section is located in Bldg. 1, Doors 3 and 4. They can be reached at 739-7646. Here's what you need to know before visiting:
1. You must bring two forms of ID, including a picture ID. Credit cards, line badges and VA cards don't count.
2. Newly retired military must bring a copy of their orders, their DD form 214 and two forms of ID
3. Civilian retirees must bring in a DD form 52 and two forms of ID
4. If replacing a lost or stolen ID you must first go the Visitors Center outside Tinker Gate, and complete a "Lost or Stolen" form
5. Wait times vary from a few minutes to over an hour. Making an appointment is a good idea. Here's how:
How to make an appointment for an ID card:
1. Go online to https://rapids-appointments.dmdc.osd.mil
2. Select "Make Appointment"
3. Use the drop-down menu under "Select a State" to select "OK"
4. Use the drop-down menu under "Select a City" to select "Tinker AFB," click
5. Click "Yes" on the pop-up box for Security Warning (if applicable)
6. Click "Select" under "ID Card Section"
7. Click "Yes" on the pop-up box for Security Warning (if applicable)
8. Select any day on the calendar that appears on the screen that is colored
9. Select any time under "Available Times" block
10. Fill in any applicable information (minimum First Name, Last Name and
11. Click "Submit"
12. You should receive an email confirming your appointment
To update your address, access your DEERS record or create an 1172 (DEERS
Application) visit https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/dwp/index.jsp
| 0.6041 |
FineWeb
|
- About this Journal ·
- Abstracting and Indexing ·
- Advance Access ·
- Aims and Scope ·
- Annual Issues ·
- Article Processing Charges ·
- Articles in Press ·
- Author Guidelines ·
- Bibliographic Information ·
- Citations to this Journal ·
- Contact Information ·
- Editorial Board ·
- Editorial Workflow ·
- Free eTOC Alerts ·
- Publication Ethics ·
- Reviewers Acknowledgment ·
- Submit a Manuscript ·
- Subscription Information ·
- Table of Contents
The Scientific World Journal
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 160687, 8 pages
QPSO-Based Adaptive DNA Computing Algorithm
1Computer Engineering Department, Firat University, Elazig, Turkey
2Computer Programming Department, Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat, Turkey
Received 3 May 2013; Accepted 20 June 2013
Academic Editors: P. Agarwal and Y. Zhang
Copyright © 2013 Mehmet Karakose and Ugur Cigdem. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) computing that is a new computation model based on DNA molecules for information storage has been increasingly used for optimization and data analysis in recent years. However, DNA computing algorithm has some limitations in terms of convergence speed, adaptability, and effectiveness. In this paper, a new approach for improvement of DNA computing is proposed. This new approach aims to perform DNA computing algorithm with adaptive parameters towards the desired goal using quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO). Some contributions provided by the proposed QPSO based on adaptive DNA computing algorithm are as follows: (1) parameters of population size, crossover rate, maximum number of operations, enzyme and virus mutation rate, and fitness function of DNA computing algorithm are simultaneously tuned for adaptive process, (2) adaptive algorithm is performed using QPSO algorithm for goal-driven progress, faster operation, and flexibility in data, and (3) numerical realization of DNA computing algorithm with proposed approach is implemented in system identification. Two experiments with different systems were carried out to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach with comparative results. Experimental results obtained with Matlab and FPGA demonstrate ability to provide effective optimization, considerable convergence speed, and high accuracy according to DNA computing algorithm.
DNA computing is a new field of research which performs computing using the biomolecular structure of DNA molecules. The first study performed in the field of DNA computing was the solution of the problem of traveling salesmen composed of 7 cities by Adleman using real DNA molecules . The application was realized by creating solution environment in the biology laboratory and using biochemical reactions. The cities and distances that make up the problem of traveling salesmen were coded using DNA series and all ways that might be solution were created using polymer chain reaction. Upon the success of the study performed a new algorithm for the solution of multivariable problems was acquired. In the continuation of this study Lipton solved satisfiability problem included in NP (nonpolynomial) problem class using DNA computing in a similar way . Lipton demonstrated the application and that DNA computing can be used for the solution of the problems containing logical equations as well. After this study Lin et al. performed the design and optimization of PI (proportional integral) parameters using DNA computing. Ding and Ren used similar DNA computing algorithm with the abovementioned study for setting turbid inspecting parameters . Kim and Lee applied DNA computing algorithm with a different method for setting the PID parameters . In the study performed DNA molecules were used in coding and setting the PI parameters. The results of the application through computer simulation indicated that high success was acquired in this field. Wang et al. compared DNA computers and electronic computers and suggested that DNA computers were more advantageous . As a result of the applications given above, DNA computing was developed rapidly and used in many scientific studies [7–15]. It has been used frequently, particularly in NP problems, coloring problems of graphics in setting the inspecting parameters, arithmetic operations, signal processing problems, and ciphering the data [16–24]. DNA computing algorithm performs computing using the natural characteristics of DNA molecules. Those characteristics include parallel operations, storing high amount of data, providing energy saving, and having significant role in computing. Those characteristics are listed quite effectively in the solution of complex and difficult problems. In order to use the DNA computing more effectively, scientists dealt with the design of total natural DNA computers composed of DNA molecules .
In Section 2 of this study, DNA computing algorithm is explained in detail. In Section 3 QPSO algorithm is mentioned. In Section 4 DNA computing is made applicable with QPSO algorithm; parameters that increase the effectiveness of DNA computing algorithm are found using QPSO and used for the proposed algorithm. And in the last section the acquired simulation results are given. It is understood from the simulation results that the proposed method produces better values and is more successful.
2. DNA Computing Algorithm
DNA computing is a new optimization algorithm performing computing using DNA molecules which store genetic information of the living things. While performing the computing using DNA, DNA bases that make up the ground of the DNA molecules are used. DNA bases are Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C), and Thymine (T) and in this study they have been converted into numerical values including A-0, G-1, C-2, and T-3 . Adenine and Thymine and Guanine and Cytosine complete each other [26–28]. DNA molecules have a structure due to the double and triple hydrogen ties among those bases and in the computing process where number of hydrogen ties is used. In Particular the completion situations of DNA bases and numbers of hydrogen ties are used in the computing performed in solution environments. There are 2 hydrogen ties between Adenine and Thymine and 3 hydrogen ties between Guanine and Cytosine . DNA molecules exist in the form of single serial and double spiral serial. Using the single DNA serials synthesis and reproduction of DNA molecules is realized. Double spiral DNA serials are created according to the Watson-Crick complementation rule. According to this rule Adenine and Thymine and Guanine and Cytosine combine. No emergence is possible. DNA molecules have many advantages including performing parallel operations, storing high amount of data, and using those data for many years without any corruption. These advantages are used sufficiently while performing the computing; the algorithm produces better results. In Figure 1, the general structure of the DNA molecule was shown.
Parallel computing provides a quick conclusion for operations. It is possible to complete the problems that require very big operation volumes and take a long time in the solution with DNA molecules. Some similar problems have many variables and parameters. Coding these variables and parameters and modeling the system generally require data. DNA molecules make great contributions to the solution of these problems with their capability to store data. While DNA computing is applying, the errors are made in the sequence of DNA serials to affect the result negatively. As a result of DNA computing, the values acquired with other optimization algorithm are not deemed to be final results. The studies performed on DNA computing have been implemented in two different manners. The most commonly used method among these is the computing performed in solution environment [26–28]. The cost of performing the computing in solution environment is more because machines are needed to produce DNA serials and DNA synthesis. Furthermore solution should be prepared and solution tubes should be used. Systems named gel electrophoresis are needed for acquiring and analyzing the results [22, 23]. And another algorithm used for DNA computing is the numerical DNA computing algorithm. In this algorithm DNA serials are created in electronic computers and they are converted into numerical values for computing. Although the cost of computing performed electronically is less, the mentioned advantages of DNA molecules cannot be applied on problems completely because when the DNA molecules are used in solution environment, they only can use the abovementioned characteristics.
Numerical DNA computing algorithm is similar to the genetic algorithms; however it is different from genetic algorithms. It uses A, T, G, and C bases rather than dual number of the systems and the solution set of the problems is composed of these bases . Furthermore DNA computing has two new mutation operations. These are enzyme and virus mutations and provide great advantage while computing is performed. Enzyme mutation is the operation of deletion in one or more DNA parts from any DNA serial. And virus mutation is the operation of adding one or more DNA parts to any DNA serial [9, 19, 20]. Enzyme and virus mutations provide continuous renewal of the population and prevent focusing on local optimum points, thus give the algorithm a global search capacity. In Table 1, the conversion of DNA serials into numerical data has been given.
3. QPSO Algorithm
QPSO is an algorithm having the capacity of global searching. This algorithm has been developed inspired by living things that move as masses including insects, bees and were used for the solution of many problems in the literature. In the QPSO algorithm which is a population-based algorithm, individuals act together and compose the masses. While the speed of population is used in PSO algorithm, the next position of the population is determined by taking the average of the best results acquired by the particles that make up the population in QPSO locally. In order to update the speeds and positions of the particles in QPSO algorithm, (1), (2), and (3) are used .
While preparing the algorithm the best information acquired by each particle (pbest) and the best information realized by the mass (best = min (best)) variables are used. Using these two variables the movement point of the mass value is calculated using (1). The Q1 and Q2 variables in (1) represent random numbers produced in the interval 0-1. In determining the next position of the mass QPSO algorithm uses the variable of mbest which is the best arithmetic average of mass instead of gbest. mbest value is calculated using (2). In (2) n represents the population size. After computing the mbest value for the next step of the population the value is computed by using (3). The variable in (3) is a value to be determined by the applier. And the variable is another one which takes value at the interval of 0-1:
4. QPSO-Based Adaptive DNA Computing Algorithm
In order to increase the global search capacity and effectiveness of DNA computing algorithm in problem solving, parameters should be applicable. The size of the population suitable for this algorithm (Pb), maximum operation number (N), Crossover rate (Mu), enzyme proportion (E), and virus proportion (V) affect the local and global search capacity of the algorithm positively. Making all these parameters adaptable simultaneously can sometimes give negative results. The real target aimed by adapting the parameters is to increase the diversity in the population and prevent the focusing on local optimum points. Furthermore the adaptable algorithms can easily be applied for the solution of many optimization problems. In this study it is aimed to find the optimum values of the parameters considering the conformity values acquired by the population in all iterations of the algorithm. Using the equation depending on conformity function together with the QPSO algorithm, the parameter values are determined. The acquired values are taken as optimized parameter values when optimum solution is achieved. These parameters which are fixed at the beginning are made dynamic and increasing the effectiveness of the algorithm is aimed. In Figure 2, the steps of QPSO based on numerical DNA computing algorithm are shown.
As shown in Figure 3, the proposed approach can be modeled to find the parameters values of DNA computing algorithm using a QPSO algorithm. In the proposed model variables of and are coded with DNA serials at the length of 3 bases. and values are created randomly using A, G, C, and T bases and converted into numerical data using 0, 1, 2, and 3 values, respectively. The serials are converted into first system of 4 then system of 10 and used in numerical environment. The parameter values used for making adaptive DNA computing are explained as follows.
Population Size (Pb). Population size is one of the most significant characteristics that contribute to the solution of the problem. The size of the problem and its complex structure are taken into consideration while determining the value of those parameters. When the population size is increased, a broader solution area is created. The time of solution gets longer. Furthermore unnecessary expansion of the solution area causes big time losses and the solution time for the problem increases rapidly. For this reason optimum value should be selected in the applications. In setting of the population size, (4) is used. The variable given in (4) is the conformity function used for the algorithm. gives the conformity value of the nth element of the population, and gives the conformity value of the first element of the population. Max gives the maximum value of the population and min gives the minimum value. These two values provide information about the distribution of the values belonging to population elements. The number 15 given in (4) is the base value and it is used for the purpose of the probability of the size of the population to be zero. It is determined with the method of trial and error:
Maximum Number of Operations (N). Maximum number of operations gives the number of processes of the cycle in the DNA computing algorithm. When the maximum number of operations is increased, the completing time of the cycles is extended and the number of the performed operations increases. In Particular the number of elements that composes the population and the number of the variables used in the problem are big; the completion time of the algorithm increases rapidly and this causes loss of time and economic losses. Keeping the maximum number of operations in the lowest level decreases the efficiency of the algorithm. The best values should be determined considering all those situations. In this study, in order to find maximum number of operations, (5) has been used. The number 5 given in (5) is the base value and it is used for the purpose of the probability of the size of the maximum number of operations to be zero and it is determined with the method of trial and error:
Crossover Rate (Mu). With Crossover, new elements are created by using the existing population elements. While determining the Crossover rate, the number and selection of the elements to be crossed are taken into account. When the Crossover rate is kept high, the number of elements to be selected increases and the change of the set that shall be created newly is provided. However it is probable that the new created elements may be values close to the parent elements. Furthermore the number of elements to be crossed being high prolongs the duration of completion of the algorithm. In this study (6) has been used for the purpose of finding the Crossover rate. When (6) is used, crossover rate in all iterations is applied at a proportion of 80%:
Enzyme (E) and Virus (V) Proportion. The most significant two parameters used in this study are enzyme and virus mutations. While enzyme mutation provides the deletion of a certain proportion of elements from the population, virus mutation provides the addition of a certain proportion of elements to the population. These two parameters are only used with DNA computing unlike others. The implementing adaptive DNA computing enzyme and virus proportions should be selected well because when the enzyme mutation is not applied in the correct time, it may lead to the loss of elements with good conformity values. One should be careful that the algorithm does not create unnecessary solution area while implementing virus mutation. Equation (7) has been used in the study performed in order to determine enzyme and virus proportions. With the change of the population size, the variation of population at a proportion of 30% is provided in ever iteration. In the selection of the equations found through the trial and error method were taken into consideration and the values acquired by running the system many times were examined in detail and the equations have been given their final forms:
The algorithmic steps of DNA computing algorithm are explained in detail as follows.
Step 1. The first population is created with DNA serials randomly.
Step 2. The serials created were firstly converted into system of four and then into decimal system as it is explained in Table 3 and converted into numerical data. The operations of coding and converting are given in Table 3 in detail. The population elements converted into numerical data are sent to the simulation environment and the error values created in the system are determined.
Step 3. The error values from the simulation are placed in the conformity function and conformity values are obtained. The population elements that minimize sum conformity values are used as the new and values. Equation (8) has been selected for the determination of the conformity value. This conformity function may change in accordance with the preference of the applier as it is explained above.
Step 4. The adaptive parameter values to be used for the adaptive DNA computing algorithm and cycle are found using QPSO and sent to the system. Equation (9) is used for the QPSO conformity function. In the selection of the conformity function the results found through the method of trial and error were taken into consideration and the values acquired by running the system many times were examined in detail and the equations have been given their final forms.
Step 7. The best conformity values found in the above steps are compared. and values in the step where the conformity value is minimum are sent to the system.
Step 8. Those steps are applied till the maximum number of operations is achieved. At the end of maximum operations the most suitable and values are determined:
5. Experimental Results
A transfer function given with equation (12) that is modeling position control of a DC motor was used for the performance measurement of the proposed method. DNA computing algorithm was applied for setting the PI parameters and Matlab m-file was written. For finding the simulation results, the model given in Figure 3 was created in the Simulink environment and the results were obtained. The parameter values used for DNA computing are given in Table 3:
In the application performed, QPSO-based DNA computing algorithm was used for the optimization of the PI parameters. Although various conformity functions were used in the optimization of the PI parameters, in this study the sum of absolute value of error was selected as the conformity function. With the use of this function which is sensitive even to the errors with minimal values it was targeted that upper excess, increase, and setting times would give better results. In the Matlab/Simulink study performed the size of the population used in the application was taken as 80, maximum number of operations as 20, and reference value as 1. For the detection of and values (8) has been used as the conformity function. While performing coding with DNA computing algorithm and values were coded with DNA basis using data of 6 bytes. Firstly 80 individuals in the population were used and each individual was represented with data of 12 bytes. The first 6 bytes of those data of 12 bytes were used for and the other 6 bytes were used for . In every iteration enzyme and virus mutation as much as 30% of the population was applied and the change of the individual was provided as much as population size * 0.3 and the population was renewed. In the application performed, the population elements created in the algorithms were sent to the system and determination of the PI elements has been provided. The results produced by the system as a result of running the program many times are given in Table 3 and Figure 4.
As it is given in Table 2, using the adaptive DNA computing algorithm is found to be 17, 0.4375, placement time 0.08 seconds, and maximum excess approximately 0%. In Figure 4, the comparison of the results found with adaptive DNA computing to DNA computing is given. The maximum excess value found with DNA computing algorithm made adaptive is approximately 0% while the maximum excess value found with DNA computing is computed as approximately 14%. Those results indicate that adaptive DNA computing gets better results.
In Table 3 DNA computing parameters made adaptive with the QPSO algorithm and DNA computing parameters are given. With the activation of the algorithm with QPSO parameter values have changed. With the QPSO algorithm population size was revised as 60, maximum number of operations as 40, Crossover rate as 32%, and enzyme and virus proportion as 12%. New values were applied by being sent to DNA computing algorithm. The values of and used for the conformity function were 15 and 12 when the algorithm started and with the QPSO algorithm they were acquired as 11.8203 and 1.9700 and used for the system. The performance of the proposed approach and comparison results are shown in Figures 5 and 6, respectively. As shown in these figures, the proposed approach finds faster than other algorithms.
DNA computing that the key advantage is parallelism has the natural capabilities of DNA and large information storage abilities. But this computation model has some problems for numerical implementation in real world applications. In particular, the parameters of the DNA computing algorithm are determined by trial and error in the literature. This determination method is usually very difficult, inefficient, and inflexible. A new QPSO-based adaptive DNA computing algorithm is proposed and implemented for optimization problems in this study. The seven parameters of DNA computing algorithm has been simultaneously and online tuned with QPSO for adaptive operation in the proposed approach. Experimental results obtained with computation of parameters of PI controller for system identification application consistently show that proposed approach has effective optimization, high accuracy and high convergence speed according to traditional DNA computing algorithm. In addition, general search capability of the method is not dependent on local optimum points and applicability of the proposed approach is easier, simpler, and faster than traditional DNA computing algorithm.
- L. M. Adleman, “Molecular computation of solutions to combinatorial problems,” Science, vol. 266, no. 5187, pp. 1021–1024, 1994.
- R. J. Lipton, “Using DNA to solve NP-complete problems,” Science, vol. 268, no. 5210, pp. 542–545, 1995.
- C.-L. Lin, H.-Y. Jan, and T.-S. Hwang, “Structure variable PID control design based on DNA coding method,” in Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics (IEEE-ISlE '04), pp. 423–428, May 2004.
- Y. Ding and L. Ren, “DNA genetic algorithm for design of the generalized membership-type Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy control system,” in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, vol. 5, pp. 3862–3867, October 2000.
- J. J. Kim and J. J. Lee, “PID controller design using double helix structured DNA algorithms with a recovery function,” Artificial Life and Robotics, vol. 12, no. 1-2, pp. 241–244, 2008.
- Y. Wang, G. Cui, and Z. Wang, “Research on DNA computer with coprocessor organizational model,” in Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on High-Performance Computing in Asia-Pacific Region (HPC Asia '05), vol. 6, pp. 544–549, December 2005.
- X. Zhang, Y. Niu, and Y. Wang, “DNA computing in microreactors: a solution to the minimum vertex cover problem,” in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Bio-Inspired Computing: Theories and Applications (BIC-TA '11), pp. 236–240, September 2011.
- R. Sridhar and S. Balasubramaniam, “GIS integrated DNA computing for solving travelling salesman problem,” in Proceedings of the IEEE Symposium on Computers & Informatics (ISCI '11), pp. 402–406, mys, March 2011.
- U. Çiğdem and M. Karaköse, “Using of DNA computing for tuning of parameters of PI and fuzzy controllers,” in Proceedings of the Automatic Control National Symposium, pp. 665–670, Izmir, Turkey, 2011.
- F. Li, Z. Li, and J. Xu, “DNA computing model based on photoelectric detection system with magnetic beads,” in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Bio-Inspired Computing: Theories and Applications (BIC-TA '11), pp. 170–175, September 2011.
- Y. Huang and L. He, “DNA computing research progress and application,” in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computer Science and Education (ICCSE '11), pp. 232–235, August 2011.
- J. Xu, X. Qiang, Y. Yang et al., “An unenumerative DNA computing model for vertex coloring problem,” IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 94–98, 2011.
- S. Mitra, R. Das, and Y. Hayashi, “Genetic networks and soft computing,” IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 94–107, 2011.
- H. Jiao, Y. Zhong, L. Zhang, and P. Li, “Unsupervised remote sensing image classification using an artificial DNA computing,” in Proceedings of the 2011 7th International Conference on Natural Computation (ICNC '11), pp. 1341–1345, July 2011.
- Z. Yin, C. Hua, and B. Song, “Plasmid DNA computing model of 0-1 programming problem,” in Proceedings of the IEEE 5th International Conference on Bio-Inspired Computing: Theories and Applications (BIC-TA '10), pp. 148–151, September 2010.
- J. Xu, X. Qiang, K. Zhang et al., “A parallel type of DNA computing model for graph vertex coloring problem,” in Proceedings of the IEEE 5th International Conference on Bio-Inspired Computing: Theories and Applications (BIC-TA '10), pp. 231–235, September 2010.
- Y. Huang, Z. Yin, and Y. Tian, “Design of PID controller based on DNA computing,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Computational Intelligence (AICI '10), pp. 195–198, October 2010.
- Z. Yin, B. Song, C. Zhen, and C. Hua, “Molecular beacon-based DNA computing model for maximum independent set problem,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent Computation Technology and Automation (ICICTA '10), pp. 732–735, May 2010.
- C.-L. Lin, H.-Y. Jan, and T.-S. Hwang, “Structure variable PID control design based on DNA coding method,” in Proceedings of the IEEE International Symposium on Industrial Electronics, pp. 423–428, May 2004.
- C.-L. Lin, H.-Y. Jan, and T.-H. Huang, “Self-organizing PID control design based on DNA computing method,” in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Control Applications, pp. 568–573, September 2004.
- C. V. Henkel, Experimental DNA computing [Ph.D. thesis], Leiden University, 2005.
- Z. F. Qiu, Advance the DNA computing [Ph.D. thesis], Texas A&M University, College Station, Tex, USA, 2003.
- M. O. Rahman, A. Hussain, E. Scavino, M. A. Hannan, and H. Basri, “Object identification using DNA computing algorithm,” in Proceedings of the IEEE Congress on Evolutionary Computation, pp. 1–7, 2012.
- J. M. Chaves-González and M. A. Vega-Rodríguez, “DNA sequence design for reliable DNA computing by using a multiobjective approach,” in Proceedings of the 13th IEEE International Symposium on Computational Intelligence and Informatics, pp. 73–79, 2012.
- H. Zhang and X. Liu, “A general object oriented description for DNA computing technique,” in Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Technology and Computer Science (ITCS '09), pp. 3–6, July 2009.
- H. Jiao, Y. Zhong, and L. Zhang, “Artificial DNA computing-based spectral encoding and matching algorithm for hyperspectral remote sensing data,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 50, no. 10, pp. 4085–4105, 2012.
- W. Liu, S. Sun, and Y. Guo, “A DNA computing model of perceptron,” in Proceedings of the Pacific-Asia Conference on Circuits, Communications and System (PACCS '09), pp. 710–712, May 2009.
- Q. Zhang, X. Xue, and X. Wei, “A novel image encryption algorithm based on DNA subsequence operation,” The Scientific World Journal, vol. 2012, Article ID 286741, 10 pages, 2012.
- J. Xu, X. Qiang, Y. Yang et al., “An unenumerative DNA computing model for vertex coloring problem,” IEEE Transactions on Nanobioscience, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 94–98, 2011.
- M. Xi, J. Sun, and W. Xu, “Parameter optimization of PID controller based on Quantum-Behaved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm,” Complex Systems and Applications-Modelling, vol. 14, supplement 2, pp. 603–607, 2007.
| 0.9867 |
FineWeb
|
Optical Music Recognition (OMR) systems are an important tool for the automatic recognition of digitized music scores. However, handwritten musical scores are especially problematic for an automatic recognition. They have irregularities that go from heterogeneous illumination to variability in symbols shape and complexity inherent to music structure. These issues cause serious difficulties when one wants a robust OMR system facilitating search, retrieval and analysis operations. To transform the paper-based music scores and manuscripts into a machine-readable symbolic format several consistent algorithms are needed. In this paper a method for music symbols extraction in handwritten and printed scores is presented. This technique tries to incorporate musical rules as prior knowledge in the segmentation process in order to overcome the state of the art results.
| 0.9993 |
FineWeb
|
Write a Job Procedure/SOP/Task Instruction Unit Standard 9703
Do you have work procedures that require written instructions?
Do you need to write a standard operating procedure and don't know where to start?
This course is for you!
2018 Public Courses
- 29 October
2019 Public Courses
- 26 February
- 28 May
- 30 July
- 24 September
If these dates don't suit you - Register your interest in a public course here.
We can come and deliver this training onsite at your premises. To inquire about onsite options for your company please register your interest here.
This one day course will provide you with the skills required to write a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP); also known as task instruction, or work procedure.
Who should attend:
Those seeking to learn best practice for writing SOPs, work procedures or task instructions
Successful completion of this course and assessment will demonstrate knowledge of job procedure writing as required for NZQA unit standard 9703 (write a job procedure - level 5, 3 credits).
Gain knowledge and experience in:
- How to write an SOP, in terms of:
- Identifying the job in terms of its key purpose and audience
- Ensuring information is complete, ordered, concise, technically accurate, and matches the identified job
- Describing job components as outcomes and presenting as a series of steps
- Checks to be made and possible constraints
- Language, style, and terminology
- Effective use of graphics
Trainers / Assessors:
Before registering please ensure you have read and understood our training course general information, terms and conditions, note the name and date of the course you would like to attend, then click on register.
| 0.7985 |
FineWeb
|
Tropical cyclones are storms that originate over tropical and subtropical waters during the summer and fall seasons and are classified as follows:
- Tropical Depression:A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots) or less.
- Tropical Storm:A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34 to 63 knots).
- Hurricane:A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots) or higher. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons; similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones.
- Major Hurricane:A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph (96 knots) or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico) is from 1 June to 30 November. As seen in the graph below, the peak of the season is from mid-August to late October, however, deadly hurricanes can occur anytime in the hurricane season.
Tropical cyclones have occurred during every month, however, the vast majority of them occur between June 1st and November 30th. Below are monthly charts showing the most likely areas and tracks for tropical cyclones. These figures only depict “average conditions” and Hurricanes can originate in different locations and travel much different paths from the average.
The risk for a tropical cyclone moving through a particular 5X5 degree square of latitude and longitude during September (the peak of the season) ranges from about 25% to about 45% across the Gulf of Mexico, Southwestern North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. This means that the risk for being near a tropical cyclone at the height of the hurricane season is less than 2% for any given day.
Cruise ships today are very hi-tech and are equipped with the latest communications and navigation systems and often also employ a professional weather routing service. If a tropical storm or hurricane is moving through or forecast to move through their area of operations, they will reroute the ship to avoid the storm or direct the vessel to a different port of call. This doesn’t mean that you will not experience some rough weather, however.
During the summer and early fall, the risk of encountering rough seas (8 feet or more) is generally low (10 percent or less). This does not mean you won’t encounter some rough weather if a cruise ship navigates around a particular storm. During the winter months, however, wind conditions tend to be higher so it can be a bit rougher. The risk for rough seas (8ft or higher) increases in winter up to 40 percent. Fortunately, modern cruise ships use stabilizers to minimize the rocking and rolling motion of the vessel greatly diminishing the chances of passengers being adversely affected.
| 0.8106 |
FineWeb
|
Volkl Adjustable Single Ski Bag
If you have a collection of skis, you need a bag like the Volkl Adjustable Single Ski Bag that can accommodate each of them. This bag is extendable from 170 to 198cm. When you carry a shorter ski you can tuck the extendable part down inside so your skis don't slosh around. When you're packing your powder skis you can let the extension out for extra room. This bag is completely padded to protect your skis, and it's lined in tarp so you can easily wipe it clean.
- Dimensions: Can fit skis up to 170cm long - adjustable to 198cm
- Fully padded to protect contents
- Can hold one pair of skis and poles
- Durable tarpaulin lining can easily be wiped clean
- Compression straps keeps skis from sliding around
- Adjustable shoulder strap for easy carry
| 0.5902 |
FineWeb
|
Courses: Modern Jewish Thought (PHILH281B01)
This course will bring together students and scholars to explore active research in the field of modern Jewish thought and culture. We will analyze pivotal texts by engaging nine scholars who will visit the classroom to discuss their work. Some will actually be present in class; others will be connected via Skype. Each contemporary scholar has proposed readings for the Monday class, and has included his/her own writings for analysis and critique for the Wednesday discussion. These scholars will be present in class (physically or via Skype) when we discuss their work in modern Jewish thought. In this way, we read the primary sources together with contemporary analysis, and discuss these materials with an active scholar in the field. The focus of this class will be American Jewish thought and culture, and will culminate in a symposium during reading period in which all nine scholars will be present to discuss their research. Students will become familiar with this research over the course of the semester, and will actively take part in furthering this field of scholarship. A course blog, maintained throughout the semester, will sustain and energize critical discussions between students and scholars. Furthermore, students will send drafts of their final papers to the relevant scholar who will then read, comment, and discuss these papers with students during the Symposium in May.
Syllabus: View course syllabus
Fulfills: HU III
Haverford, Gest 101
| 0.6294 |
FineWeb
|
- Age of Discovery: Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance, a comparison between our current age and that of the Renaissance period.
- Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar, the most beautiful, heart-felt letters which are sure to make you a more compassionate and understanding human being.
- Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, by the same author from Tiny Beautiful Things: a journey of self-discovery on one of the longest hiking trails in the world.
- Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, a book to remind us as technologists to know what the impact of our technology could be on other humans.
- Daring Greatly by Brené Brown.
- The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations for Clarity, Effectiveness, and Serenity, because we all need to be reminded to stay calm sometimes.
- At Home: A Short History of Private Life, a life-time’s worth of small-talk fun facts and insight into the captivating history of some of the most mundane objects we use daily.
- What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell.
- Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer, a book on the limits of our memory.
- Elon Musk: Inventing the Future by Ashlee Vance.
- What to Talk About: On a Plane, at a Cocktail Party, in a Tiny Elevator with Your Boss’s Boss by Chris Colin, Robert Baedeker, the official guide to making small-talk.
| 0.9311 |
FineWeb
|
A repayment agreement is centrally sent with a demand letter when an overpayment is reported to BOC. Forms used are:
- Demand Letter Intentional Food Stamp Program Violation (Form 2551)
- Repayment Agreement Intentional Food Stamp Program Violation (Form 2551A)
- Demand Letter Inadvertent Household Error (Form 2555)
- Repayment Agreement Inadvertent Household Error (Form 2555B)
- Demand Letter Administrative Error (Form 2556)
- Repayment Agreement Administrative Error (Form 2556A)
The Bureau of Collections makes all repayment arrangements, including negotiating all installment repayment plans for canceled FS cases.
FS units send their repayments to:
Office of Fiscal Services
Cash Management Unit
PO Box 19407
Springfield, IL 62794-9407
Replacing FS Benefits
(FCRC) When replacing voided FS benefits that have had a recoupment deducted, authorize the replacement benefits in the same amount as the issuance that is being replaced (the allotment shown on the Recipient Ledger Inquiry
(PF6) (see IPACS).
Change in Overpayment Amount
(FCRC) If an FCRC finds that the overpayment amount has changed, send Change of Overpayment Information (Form 2404C) to the Bureau of Collections, Assistance Recovery Section.
The overpayment claim in ARS (PF10) is changed:
- if recoupment occurred on a voided Illinois Link issuance and
- benefits were not replaced.
(BOC) Adjusts ARS. The recoupment amount should not have been credited because the FS unit did not participate. The procedure is delayed at least 60 days to allow for replacement actions to occur. The automated procedure
takes place when the benefits were not replaced by a TAR 10.
Example: As of March, Ms. J's claim balance is $235. The balance reflects credit given for a $10 recoupment in January. January benefits were voided because Ms. J moved out of state. The adjustment procedure removes the
$10 credited toward her claim. The overpayment balance after adjustment is $245.
Client Questions about Repaying Overpayment
If a client contacts the FCRC about repaying an overpayment:
- (FCRC) Refer the question to the Financial Recovery Coordinator (FRC).
- (FRC) Forwards the information to BOC.
Payment Made at FCRC
If a cash payment is made at the FCRC:
- (FCRC) Complete Payment Transmittal Slip (Form 3021).
- Check the "Overpayment - Food Stamps" section.
- (FCRC) Send the payment and completed Form 3021 to Office of Fiscal Services.
When an FS unit wants to repay an overpayment by returning Illinois Link benefits:
- 1. (FCRC) Complete Form 2404C and send it to the Bureau of Collections,
Assistance Recovery Section.
- (FCRC) Complete Return of Illinois Link Benefits (Form 3660) .
- (FCRC) Send Form 3660 to the Bureau of Food Stamp Accuracy and
When a client's FS claim has a credit balance, a refund may be due to the client.
- (FCRC) Review the account to decide why there is a credit balance. It is possible that a previously reported claim is not recorded on ARS and that payments/recoupments for that claim were posted to a different claim
causing the credit balance.
- (FCRC) Send Change of Overpayment (Form 2404C) to the Bureau of Collections, Assistance Recovery Section.
- (BOC) Approves the refund to the client, if a refund is due.
- Transfers the payment to another applicable claim and corrects the accounts receivable file, if no refund is due.
| 0.5269 |
FineWeb
|
Comprehensive DescriptionRead full entry
DescriptionSize range: Length 1.0–5.0mm; width 0.6–4.0mm; Body: ovoid to elongate, sides broadly rounded to sub- or fully parallel, convex to very strongly flattened; color rufescent to frequently piceous or metallic; glabrous or rarely finely setose. Head: frons convex, flat, or deeply depressed, frontal stria usually present along inner margin of eyes, variably interrupted or obsolete across front, frons and epistoma frequently separated by weak to strong transverse carina; supraorbital stria present or absent; epistoma depressed to flat or convex, frequently swollen along apical margin, apical margin usually straight; labrum usually much wider than long, up to 4× or more, usually emarginate apically, but may be straight, bisinuate, or weakly produced; antennal scape usually short, stout, only weakly expanded to apex (Fig. 1A), may be longer, and/or expanded apically; antennal club generally completely tomentose, though rarely glabrous basally, annuli absent, but with 4 characteristic sensory slits on upper and lower surfaces (Fig. 1B), rarely with additional subapical sensorial patch (Fig. 54E); submentum angulate at base, truncate to projecting along distal margin, with few simple setae; gular sutures finely impressed, extending anterolaterad, uninterrupted to basal corner of buccal cavity; mentum subquadrate, sides weakly convergent, apical margin truncate to weakly emarginate, bearing few simple setae; labium with palpifers prominent, palpi with three palpomeres, the basalmost very short, the distal two with short, scattered setae; maxilla with cardo short, transverse, glabrous, stipes triangular, bearing few simple setae, palpi with four palpomeres, the basalmost very short; mandibles (Figs 1A, 3A, 28C) generally each with basal tooth, may be blunt or strong and acute, mandible frequently furrowed along lower, outer edge, may have ventral (mesal) pore and associated (presumed) secretory channel (Fig. 1C). Pronotum: sides parallel to convergent apically; marginal stria usually present and continuous around lateral and anterior margins; lateral submarginal stria present or absent; anterior corners nearly always weakly depressed (Fig. 1D); prescutellar impression absent; disk with single pair of anterior marginal gland openings, usually located close to anterior margin, behind eye on each side, discal punctation highly varied. Elytra: with 2–3 epipleural striae, outer subhumeral stria rarely present, inner subhumeral stria frequently present, often restricted to short basal fragment, dorsal striae 1-5 and sutural stria highly varied, variously abbreviated from base or apex or entirely absent; elytral disk nearly always with distinct secondary punctures in apical half or less (Fig. 1E). Prosternum: prosternal keel varied in width, often quite broad in depressed species, basal margin varied from emarginate to truncate, rarely outwardly arcuate; carinal striae generally present, usually complete, free, rarely abbreviated anteriorly, united or obsolete; prosternal lobe short to moderate in length, apical margin subtruncate to broadly arcuate, rarely bisinuate; marginal stria of prosternal lobe usually distinct across middle, variably obsolete at sides. Mesoventrite: anterior mesoventral margin ranging from distinctly emarginate to distinctly projecting, marginal stria complete to absent, rarely with secondary submarginal stria; mesometaventral stria usually present, most frequently arched forward onto mesoventrite, may in some cases partially displace or completely replace marginal mesoventral stria. Metaventrite: Anterior margin, i.e., mesometaventral suture, frequently arched forward (mirrored in most, but not all cases, in mesometaventral stria), inner lateral metaventral stria generally present, extending from near inner corner of mesocoxa toward metacoxa, or toward posterior corner of metepisternum in the most depressed species, variably sinuate or abbreviated apically; outer lateral metaventral stria present or absent; metaventral disk usually coarsely punctate at sides, impunctate at middle. Abdomen: 1st abdominal ventrite with one or two lateral striae along inner edge of metacoxa, disk usually impunctate at middle, but with conspicuous median punctures in various species; abdominal ventrites 2-5 usually punctate at sides, rarely with dense punctures extending across middle of disk (Fig. 43F). Propygidium often with basal transverse stria (Fig. 5E), disk variably punctate sexually dimorphic in one species; single pair of propygidial gland openings usually conspicuous (Fig. 1F), situated on each side variably near basal margin; pygidium never with apical marginal stria, usually densely punctate, very rarely sexually dimorphic, with male’s setose or otherwise modified; both sexes bearing pygidial trichomes in one species.Legs: Protibia usually rather narrow, with 0-5 unevenly spaced marginal teeth (Fig. 2A), the outer margin nearly always finely serrulate along entire length (Fig. 2A); protibial spurs present, usually short, weakly curved; mesotibia usually with 1-2 weak marginal spines (Fig. 2B), rarely lacking spines; metatibia rarely with any marginal spines (Fig. 2C), generally smooth, with outer apical corner slightly prolonged; tarsi not obviously dimorphic, tarsomeres 1-4 short, usually bearing only single pair of apical setae, tarsomere 5 about as long as 2-4 together, usually weakly dorsoventrally curved (Fig. 2D); tarsal claws simple, separate. Male genitalia:Accessory sclerites absent. T8 generally short, broad, with basal rim strongly sclerotized, basolateral edge extending beneath to inner corner of ventrolateral apodeme; ventrolateral apodeme usually acute, with distal portion strongly reduced, T8 usually broadly open beneath; basal emargination very shallow to moderately deep; basal membrane attachment line rarely evident, usually intersecting basal emargination; distal margin weakly sclerotized, poorly defined, usually vaguely emarginate. S8 articulated at basal corners with ventrolateral apodemes of T8, apical guides weakly developed, halves separate or fused; if separate, halves usually strongly divergent from base, with apices narrow, often rounded, bare to conspicuously setose; if halves of S8 fused, apical margin usually weakly emarginate, frequently with apicoventral velar membrane, bare to conspicuously setose. T9 usually divided, rarely united, with basal apodemes long and slender to short and broad; ventrolateral apodemes weak to strong, opposing or recurved basad, very rarely fused beneath; distal apices usually weakly opposed, subacute to truncate; subapical seta often present on sides. T10 entire, weakly sclerotized, apical margin rounded to weakly emarginate. S9 usually desclerotized along midline, rarely entirely divided; stem very narrow to moderately broad, frequently with ventral keel along much of length; stem rarely absent, with entire T9 short, subcordate; head of S9 usually broad, acute apicolaterally, with apical margin shallowly emarginate to sinuate; tegmen relatively simple, shallowly incised apically, parallel-sided to tapered apically, lacking medioventral tooth or process; median lobe narrow, simple, in a few species associated with small, articulated apical denticulate plates (Fig. 41O); basal piece usually short, with superficial membrane attachment line and oval, asymmetrical basal foramen. Female genitalia: T8 forming a single plate, apical margin usually emarginate; S8 entire or with median plate isolated, with basal baculi detached, articulated with sternites, basally subparallel; S9 usually present, elongate; median coxite articulation present; valviferae paddle-shaped; coxites varied in shape, subquadrate to elongate, with 2-5 apical marginal teeth, with distinct, articulated apical stylus; bursa copulatrix usually completely membraneous, rarely with small sclerotizations of bursal wall; generally with single, bulbous, weakly sclerotized spermatheca, inserted near or at apex of bursa copulatrix; single, basically thin and elongate spermathecal gland present, generally attached near midpoint of spermatheca.
| 0.925 |
FineWeb
|
For decades, consumers, investors, government bodies, and others have voiced growing concerns about energy, waste, water, deforestation, and a host of social issues related to food production and distribution—across issue areas as wide-ranging as child labor and farm practices. Many companies involved in food production and selling have responded to the call. Seven of the 10 largest global consumer goods companies have set carbon emissions reduction goals that include reductions in other parts of their supply chains, and eight have ambitious sustainability targets that require engaging significantly with upstream suppliers.
But achieving those high sustainability targets is proving much harder than anticipated. Many of these companies now face a barrier. Retailers and consumer goods companies may have adapted their own production and logistics to lower-resource requirements, for example, and they want to do more. Yet they have discovered they cannot reach higher sustainability objectives without deep collaboration with their agricultural suppliers, who often set less-aggressive goals (see chart below). The primary reason: Suppliers fully understand the on-the-ground challenges. They are much closer to where system-wide operating practice changes must actually happen.
As a result, consumer goods companies and retailers that have worked solely within their own four walls, with only their immediate suppliers (or those that have just flatly asked suppliers to assure them their products and practices are sustainable), now realize they need to get deeper into the details of how those products are produced (see chart below).
Indeed, true progress is hard to achieve. Only two of the seven consumer goods companies with “scope 3” emissions targets (a category of indirect emissions that include both upstream and downstream emissions) reported reductions from purchased goods and services in 2016, with an average reduction of just 1 percent, according to the global environmental platform CDP. Furthermore, even as they tackle climate-related concerns, companies still face other issues. For example, even those with reputations for leading progress on sustainability may still struggle with child- and forced-labor issues.
The situation is highly complex, raising tough economic and regulatory concerns with no easy answers. For example, there is no “most sustainable beef,” as interventions for one given benefit may worsen other issues. Grazing and grass feeding may seem the more natural and sustainable way to feed cattle. But when cows digest grass, they let out more methane, a harmful greenhouse gas many times worse than carbon dioxide, than when they eat grain-based feed in a pen. Getting to the heart of such issues requires that we go beyond making boardroom decisions, and zero in on the numerous micro-decisions and trade-offs people make on farms and throughout the value chain.
Expectations by consumers, investors, NGOs, and other stakeholders are steadily rising. So is the burden of proof. Companies now need third-party auditing in supply chains and detailed transparent reporting on progress, as well as the barriers within large global food systems. Companies may feel that the path to sustainability has become more frustrating and unattainable. Yet, despite these obstacles, there is a promising way forward. Some companies are managing to make real strides in improving upstream agricultural sustainability. These companies’ leaders have learned they cannot simply push the sustainability imperative onto their suppliers and raw material producers. Instead, they take a wider view, engaging a broad set of stakeholders in their efforts, and embracing the complexity and collaboration required.
While this research has focused on consumer goods and retail companies with upstream agricultural supply chains, the lessons we’ve gleaned apply across industries, including apparel, mining, and forestry. Organizations that take a three-step approach can make a meaningful difference in their upstream supply chain:
Step 1: Map out sustainability challenges throughout the supply chain and identify who should address them.
Companies may struggle to take the first step in the long journey toward sustainability, worrying about the prospects of bearing additional costs. While they generally understand the magnitude of the social and environmental challenges, many business leaders don’t actually understand those issues with enough nuance or clarity in terms of what it will actually take to achieve their sustainability goals. Those furthest ahead on the sustainability journey invest in mapping and quantifying issues throughout the value chain. For example, a mapping and quantifying analysis would help retailers understand that while pole-and-line-fished tuna addresses some sustainability concerns when compared with methods such as purse seine (net caught), the required human and capital resources prevent it from scaling.
Companies also may think they are moving in the right direction by responding to sustainability demands raised by NGOs or other groups, but without examining the impact and feasibility of those demands on the entire system, they risk spinning their wheels on actions that are ineffective or have unintended consequences. Mapping and quantifying requires that companies analyze a range of issues and decisions to determine their impact and magnitude, and then evaluate how those issues and decisions relate to one another.
Before taking any actions, companies should develop a deep understanding of the industry structure, economics, and drivers of profits, as well as the broad incentives that promote sustainability and those that could be deterrents. New insights that emerge through this process will enable companies to identify leverage points, have the necessary conversations with suppliers, undertake only the most effective interventions, and chart out the next steps needed to change the system, rather than just take initiatives within their own value chain. They can work with regulators on regulations or with competitors to create new standards, for example.
In the animal protein industry, our mapping and quantifying process revealed that producing and transporting feed accounts for 60 to 80 percent of the emissions in pork and poultry. Feed inputs like corn and rice tend to have a higher carbon footprint than other options like soybeans. This basic knowledge enables producers to make different choices about feed composition to improve sustainability. For example, it led Cargill Meats Europe to focus on improving the sustainability of feed in its supply chain, working with and building on tools such as FeedPrint, which calculates the carbon footprint of feed blends and helps the company incorporate sustainability trade-offs into decision-making.
It is important to remember that while initiatives that emerge from a supply chain analysis are often a sustainability win, the path to success is rarely quick and easy. The process of mapping the value chain of each commodity takes significant time and resources, but ultimately, this kind of long-term investment can help companies ensure their sustainability initiatives pay off.
Step 2: Develop a portfolio of actions with systemic reach
Mapping and analyzing supply chain complexities helps clarify the nature and magnitude of the actions required to reach a sustainability goal. Doing so also generally shows that individual actions are not sufficient. Instead, the most successful companies create a portfolio of actions that creates a virtuous cycle and motivates diverse stakeholders to change the system. They acknowledge that transforming their upstream value chain requires that they put their own house in order to build the credibility they need to ask for industry changes.
That said, companies do not need to wait until their supply chain is 100 percent sustainable before offering sustainable products. Introducing a sustainable variation of a product can help a company determine which sustainability characteristics to highlight and how to present those claims, as well as what price is optimal. It can also create incentives to pay current suppliers more if they deploy sustainable practices, or enable a company to form relationships with, and learn from, new suppliers—all while developing a portfolio of actions for a broader range of products. There are also financial benefits. A single sustainable variation of a product could provide proof points to persuade the business to do more. Indeed, ethical and sustainable food segments are growing much faster than the overall market. In the United Kingdom, sales of ethical food and beverages grew by 9.7 percent in 2015 compared with 2.1 percent for the rest of the market. This is true within individual corporations as well. For example, Unilever’s “Sustainable Living” brands are growing 50 percent faster than the rest of the company’s portfolio.
The experience of agribusiness company Olam’s line of spices illustrates the multiple benefits companies can achieve by working directly with upstream suppliers on targeted sustainability programs. Olam acquired a spice processing facility in Cochin, India, and in August 2011 received a $120 million loan to enhance employee safety, quality control, food safety, and capacity. A large part of its efforts focused not only on the 400 workers employed in the processing facility, but also on the 900 small-scale farmers supplying the factory. Olam deployed a 52-member team to train farmers in areas including labor practices, land use, pesticide and fertilizer requirements, and crop-drying techniques. Two and a half years after the acquisition, farmers had cut costs by 15 percent, reduced pesticide use by 30 percent, and increased outputs by 10 percent.
Companies should also collaborate with other participants in the value chain, including competitors, processors, producers, and NGOs. Joining forces goes a long way toward ensuring that pursuing sustainability puts no company at a competitive advantage. In addition, working with a variety of stakeholders can enable the development of new solutions. Precompetitive collaborations that work on knowledge or standards development, with outputs far from commercialization, can create more power to influence suppliers. It also eliminates the situation in which a company has no incentive to cooperate and where a company that moves first bears more cost than those that follow. The nature and scale of the most-effective collaborative approach depends on the outcome of the mapping efforts in step one.
Trustea, a sustainable tea program in India, was formed to foster collaboration among the country’s largest tea producers and retail brands, including Hindustan Unilever and Tata Global Beverages, which together have a 57 percent market share. It launched a certification program to improve the social and economic conditions of the tea industry while protecting the environment. The initiative led to sustainability gains for companies like Unilever, a founding member, which now acquires 75 percent of its tea from sustainable sources—up from 36 percent in 2013.
In many situations, philanthropy and advocacy help increase the effectiveness of a portfolio of actions. Working with NGOs or government regulators is a way to align incentives to address more-challenging parts of the system, and create effective partnerships that will help push for and implement change. The Walmart Foundation, for example, has awarded grants related to supply chain sustainability, funding areas such as the development of a comprehensive set of data-and-analytics tools for assessing the nature and prevalence of forced labor and trafficking in the Thai seafood sector. The foundation’s grant to Issara Institute is helping elevate workers’ voices though education and access to hotlines. These types of innovations benefit not only workers but also retailers and consumers, who can feel more confident in the integrity of the workforce. Such advances address a part of the system where it is hard to make change happen.
Step 3: Build on successes—and repeat.
The first wave of actions always looks hard, but companies are learning that when it comes to sustainability efforts, success breeds success. The best companies rely on quick wins to create momentum for further change, establishing systems for celebrating those achievements and building on them. They transfer what they learn, improving one supply chain to inform changes to other supply chains, markets, and business units. For example, Olam found that the tools and frameworks it developed to track, monitor, and communicate sustainability attributes of spice products are applicable across its diversified portfolio of commodities.
The German-based retailer Metro started a consultancy called Star Farm to help Chinese producers fulfill international quality standards and implement traceability in the food supply chain. The success of this initiative solidified Metro’s reputation for food safety in China. Based on that, the wholesaler has adapted the program for Pakistan, where it likewise met with great success.
Once companies get started, they generally see a positive shift in the relationship with their customers and consumers, who value purchasing from companies they trust. The momentum also helps boost employee engagement and facilitates buy-in from internal stakeholders such as the C-suite and board.
It isn’t easy to make major gains in pursuit of supply-chain sustainability. If companies have learned anything from their efforts, it is that it takes a systematic approach and a host of engaged participants, all aligned and working together toward the same end goal of positive system changes. No single company can get there alone.
| 0.6058 |
FineWeb
|
You have a hard time picking out stationary objects from any background. For every level of this disadvantage, you have a -1 to vision rolls to notice details or items that are not moving, to a maximum of -10. This penalty applies to Forensics, Observation, Tracking, and Search rolls to spot clues or hidden objects. The penalty also applies to rolls to identify objects whether or not they are moving rather than just noticing them. At level 10, you litterally cannot see things that do not move. At any level less than 10, you can see well enough for basic navigation.
Exception - if you have another discriminatory sense that could reasonably compensate (such as discriminatory smell when tracking), the total modifier of the Motion Sensitive vision penalty and the alternate discriminatory sense bonus will not give a penalty. At this point, you are relying on your other sense rather than sight.
Some level of this advantage is normal for all animals other than primates and birds. Animals with significant levels of this advantage usually have other senses for identifying objects, and just use sight to alert them that something is there.
Back to Modified GURPS Advantages and Disadvantages
| 0.5109 |
FineWeb
|
Following several successful clinical tests on mice, the researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B), India have developed a polymer-based bioartificial pancreas that can be implanted in diabetics for managing the condition. Though, it is still far from being used for treating diabetes in humans, its progress has given a new hope for diabetics all around the world.
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder wherein blood sugar levels in the blood are very high. In a normal person, the body significantly breaks up carbohydrates into glucose for energy. A hormone known as insulin which is produced in the pancreas, aids this conversion. However, in a person with diabetes, either the body is unable to produce enough insulin (Type-1 diabetes) or cannot utilize the insulin (Type 2 diabetes). In certain cases, it could be due to both reasons.
For treating Type 1 diabetes, a disease affecting almost 17 out of every 100,000 children doctors prescribe use of insulin pumps, insulin injections, or transplantation of either islet cells which are responsible for insulin reduction or the whole pancreas . However, a persistent issue with transplantation is biocompatibility. The body treats any transplanted organ as a ‘foreign’ object, thereby triggering an immune response, which can eventually degrade the transplanted organ’s function. In this case, unfortunately, bioartificial pancreas would also be treated as “foreign” by the body.
More About This Breakthrough Research
To overcome this problem, the researchers made patented hollow fiber membranes using a polymer known as polysulfone along with an additive compound, d-α-Tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS).
The research for this ambitious project was initiated back in 2008, considering India is infamously known as “diabetes capital of the world”. There are staggering 40 million diabetics in the country alone.
Prof. Jayesh Bellare from Chemical Engineering department at IIT-B led this research along with few students. He explained that this hollow fiber membrane is an extremely narrow tube which is about 1 mm in diameter with pores in its wall.
This bioartificial pancreas which is produced using polymer based hollow fiber membrane can grow and also harbor insulin producing cells. Prof. Bellare added when liquid is passed through this hollow tube (lumen), the wall can selectively retain certain constituents while simultaneously allowing others to pass through it. He explains that this kind of ‘selective separation’ is utilized in myriad of processes including dialysis.
Polysulfone is known for its stability and toughness. And, the hollow fiber membrane supports the cells’ growth by mimicking the extracellular matrix wherein the cells grow naturally. The hollow fiber membrane allows insulin to reach the diabetic while parallelly preventing an immune reaction from occurring.
The inner side of the hollow fiber membranes has pores in the nanometer range and these pores are responsible for selective separation of insulin. The remaining membrane is far more porous and has larger pores which provide sufficient support. The researchers placed together these hollow fibers to create a small bioreactor where insulin is produced. This is how they created this evolutionary bioartificial pancreas.
The device was tested with both human stem cells that were derived from umbilical cord and islet cells from pig’s pancreas. The researchers implanted these bioartificial pancreas into mice with diabetes for 30 days. They found that these bioartificial implants did not cause any abnormalities to any other organs. Additionally, the immune cells of diabetic mice did not attack implants either. Surprisingly, blood vessels also flourished on the cells of the pancreas.
This breakthrough research has a potential to improve life quality of so many people living with Type-1 diabetes. The researchers at IIT-B are planning to continue studying how this new implant behaves in larger animals and then in humans. Prof. Bellare states that it would take time to test these implants in humans but their device has got the basic requirements to help manage diabetes. Hopefully, this can halt the ginormous diabetes epidemic in India and the world.
| 0.9618 |
FineWeb
|
The advent of data mining opens up a number of interesting prospects to increase competitiveness. To remain competitive, a corporation must strategically manage its information and react quicker than its competitors. However, this information must be kept secure, but accessible. Every organization must be held responsible for ensuring that their data is being used in a legal and ethical manner. This paper highlights both the positive and negative aspects of data mining. In addition, it provides insight into how information systems (IS) professionals and businesses may protect themselves from the negative ramifications associated with improper use of data.
Date of creation, presentation, or exhibit
Department, Program, or Center
Cook, Laura and Cook, Jack, "Ethical data mining" (2002). Accessed from
RIT – Main Campus
| 0.8135 |
FineWeb
|
Effective date: March 24, 2022
- Collection of Information
- Use of Information
- Sharing of Information
- Third-Party Embeds
- Transfer of Information to the United States and Other Countries
- Your Choices
- Your California Privacy Rights
- Additional Disclosures for Individuals in Europe
- Contact Us
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
Information You Provide to Us
We collect information you provide directly to us. For example, you share information directly with us when you create an account, fill out a form, submit or post content through our Services, purchase a membership, communicate with us via third-party platforms, request customer support, or otherwise communicate with us. The types of personal information we may collect include your name, display name, username, bio, email address, business information, your content, including your avatar image, photos, posts, responses, and series published by you, and any other information you choose to provide.
In some cases, we may also collect information you provide about others, such as when you purchase a Medium membership as a gift for someone. We will use this information to fulfill your request and will not send communications to your contacts unrelated to your request, unless they separately consent to receive communications from us or otherwise engage with us.
Information We Collect Automatically When You Interact with Us
In some instances, we automatically collect certain information, including:
- Activity Information: We collect information about your activity on our Services, such as your reading history and when you share links, follow users, highlight posts, and clap for posts.
- Transactional Information: When you purchase a membership, we collect information about the transaction, such as subscription details, purchase price, and the date of the transaction.
- Device and Usage Information: We collect information about how you access our Services, including data about the device and network you use, such as your hardware model, operating system version, mobile network, IP address, unique device identifiers, browser type, and app version. We also collect information about your activity on our Services, such as access times, pages viewed, links clicked, and the page you visited before navigating to our Services.
Information We Collect from Other Sources
We obtain information from third-party sources. For example, we may collect information about you from social networks, accounting services providers and data analytics providers. Additionally, if you create or log into your Medium account through a third-party platform (such as Apple, Facebook, Google, or Twitter), we will have access to certain information from that platform, such as your name, lists of friends or followers, birthday, and profile picture, in accordance with the authorization procedures determined by such platform.
Information We Derive
We may derive information or draw inferences about you based on the information we collect. For example, we may make inferences about your location based on your IP address or infer reading preferences based on your reading history.
USE OF INFORMATION
We use the information we collect to provide, maintain, and improve our Services, which includes publishing and distributing user-generated content, personalizing the posts you see and operating our metered paywall. We also use the information we collect to:
- Create and maintain your Medium account;
- Process transactions and send related information, such as confirmations, receipts, and user experience surveys;
- Send you technical notices, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
- Respond to your comments and questions and provide customer service;
- Communicate with you about new content, products, services, and features offered by Medium and provide other news and information we think will interest you (see Your Choices below for information about how to opt out of these communications at any time);
- Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Services;
- Detect, investigate, and prevent security incidents and other malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity and protect the rights and property of Medium and others;
- Debug to identify and repair errors in our Services;
- Comply with our legal and financial obligations; and
- Carry out any other purpose described to you at the time the information was collected.
SHARING OF INFORMATION
We share personal information in the following circumstances or as otherwise described in this policy:
- We share personal information with other users of the Services. For example, if you use our Services to publish content, post comments or send private notes, certain information about you will be visible to others, such as your name, photo, bio, other account information you may provide, and information about your activities on our Services (e.g., your followers and who you follow, recent posts, claps, highlights, and responses).
- We share personal information with vendors, service providers, and consultants that need access to personal information in order to perform services for us, such as companies that assist us with web hosting, storage, and other infrastructure, analytics, payment processing, fraud prevention and security, customer service, communications, and marketing.
- We may disclose personal information if we believe that disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law or legal process, including lawful requests by public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. If we are going to disclose your personal information in response to legal process, we will give you notice so you can challenge it (for example by seeking court intervention), unless we are prohibited by law or believe doing so may endanger others or cause illegal conduct. We will object to legal requests for information about users of our Services that we believe are improper.
- We may share personal information if we believe that your actions are inconsistent with our user agreements or policies, if we believe that you have violated the law, or if we believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property, and safety of Medium, our users, the public, or others.
- We share personal information with our lawyers and other professional advisors where necessary to obtain advice or otherwise protect and manage our business interests.
- We may share personal information in connection with, or during negotiations concerning, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company.
- Personal information is shared between and among Medium and our current and future parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries and other companies under common control and ownership.
- We share personal information with your consent or at your direction.
- We also share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
TRANSFER OF INFORMATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES
Medium is headquartered in the United States, and we have operations and service providers in the United States and other countries. Therefore, we and our service providers may transfer your personal information to, or store or access it in, jurisdictions that may not provide levels of data protection that are equivalent to those of your home jurisdiction. For example, we transfer personal data to Amazon Web Services, one of our service providers that processes personal information for us in various data center locations across the globe, including those listed here. We will take steps to ensure that your personal information receives an adequate level of protection in the jurisdictions in which we process it.
You may access, correct, delete and export your account information at any time by logging into the Services and navigating to the Settings page. Please note that if you choose to delete your account, we may continue to retain certain information about you as required by law or for our legitimate business purposes.
Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually adjust your browser settings to remove or reject browser cookies. Please note that removing or rejecting cookies could affect the availability and functionality of our Services.
You may opt out of receiving certain communications from us, such as digests, newsletters, and activity notifications, by following the instructions in those communications or through your account’s Settings page. If you opt out, we may still send you administrative emails, such as those about your account or our ongoing business relations.
Mobile Push Notifications
With your consent, we may send push notifications to your mobile device. You can deactivate these messages at any time by changing the notification settings on your mobile device.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
The California Consumer Privacy Act or “CCPA” (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.100 et seq.) affords consumers residing in California certain rights with respect to their personal information. If you are a California resident, this section applies to you.
In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the following categories of personal information: identifiers, commercial information, internet or other electronic network activity information, and inferences. For details about the precise data points we collect and the categories of sources of such collection, please see the Collection of Information section above. We collect personal information for the business and commercial purposes described in the Use of Information section above. In the preceding 12 months, we have disclosed the following categories of personal information for business purposes to the following categories of recipients:
Link to a text version of this table
Medium does not sell your personal information.
Subject to certain limitations, you have the right to (1) request to know more about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect, use, and disclose about you, (2) request deletion of your personal information, (3) opt out of any sales of your personal information, if we engage in that activity in the future, and (4) not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. You may make these requests by emailing us at [email protected] or by completing this webform. We will verify a webform request by asking you to provide identifying information. We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your rights under the CCPA.
If we receive your request from an authorized agent, we may ask for evidence that you have provided such agent with a power of attorney or that the agent otherwise has valid written authority to submit requests to exercise rights on your behalf. This may include requiring you to verify your identity. If you are an authorized agent seeking to make a request, please contact us.
ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURES FOR INDIVIDUALS IN EUROPE
If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have certain rights and protections under applicable law regarding the processing of your personal data, and this section applies to you.
Legal Basis for Processing
When we process your personal data, we will do so in reliance on the following lawful bases:
- To perform our responsibilities under our contract with you (e.g., providing the products and services you requested).
- When we have a legitimate interest in processing your personal data to operate our business or protect our interests (e.g., to provide, maintain, and improve our products and services, conduct data analytics, and communicate with you).
- To comply with our legal obligations (e.g., to maintain a record of your consents and track those who have opted out of non-administrative communications).
- When we have your consent to do so (e.g., when you opt in to receive non-administrative communications from us). When consent is the legal basis for our processing your personal data, you may withdraw such consent at any time.
We store personal data associated with your account for as long as your account remains active. If you close your account, we will delete your account data within 14 days. We store other personal data for as long as necessary to carry out the purposes for which we originally collected it and for other legitimate business purposes, including to meet our legal, regulatory, or other compliance obligations.
Data Subject Requests
Subject to certain limitations, you have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you and to receive your data in a portable format, the right to ask that your personal data be corrected or erased, and the right to object to, or request that we restrict, certain processing. To exercise your rights:
- If you sign up for a Medium account, you may at any time request an export of your personal information from the Settings page, or by going to Settings and then selecting Account within our app.
- You may correct information associated with your account from the Settings page, or by going to Settings and then selecting Account within our app, and the Customize Your Interests page to update your interests.
- You may withdraw consent by deleting your account at any time through the Settings page, or by going to Settings and then selecting Account within our app (except to the extent Medium is prevented by law from deleting your information).
- You may object at any time to the use of your personal data by contacting [email protected].
Questions or Complaints
If you have a concern about our processing of personal data that we are not able to resolve, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority where you reside. Contact details for your Data Protection Authority can be found using the links below:
- For individuals in the EEA:
- For individuals in the UK:
- For individuals in Switzerland: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home/the-fdpic/contact.html
Privacy representative for EEA
VeraSafe Ireland Ltd.
Unit 3D North Point House
North Point Business Park
New Mallow Road Cork T23AT2P
Privacy representative for the United Kingdom
VeraSafe United Kingdom Ltd.
37 Albert Embankment
London SE1 &TU
| 0.5325 |
FineWeb
|
This masterful book investigates and analyzes several aspects of money among the Yoruba of Nigeria. Falola and Adebayo explore the origin, philosophy, uses, politics, and problems of acquiring and spending money in Yoruba culture. No prior book exists on this aspect of a major ethnic group in Africa with established connections with the black Diaspora in North America and the Caribbean. Conceived so that each chapter may be read individually, the volume is divided into three parts. Part 1, "Money and Its Uses," focuses on the transition from barter to cowry currency, the idealistic and pragmatic views of money, the impact of monetization on social stratification, accumulation among members of the elite, and the development of savings, banking, and credit institutions. Part 2, "Money and Its Problems," investigates the social, political, and cultural problems of money, including money-lending, theft, counterfeiting, and corruption. Part 3, "Money and Oil Economy," assesses the impact of the oil industry on the Nigerian state and examines both the positive and negative effects of oil money on Yoruba economy, society, and spending. Concluding chapters detail efforts to arrest the crisis that followed the economic slump after the oil boom and led to the adoption of the Structural Adjustment Program, and also evaluate the effects of currency devaluation on personal and communal responsibilities and social payment. Culture, Politics, and Money Among the Yoruba is timely in view of ongoing political and economic changes in Africa. It will be of interest to economists, sociologists, and African studies specialists.
| 0.7716 |
FineWeb
|
Recently, web browsers have introduced a new form of cookie that uses a method called “DOM storage”. (DOM stands for “Document Object Model”.) This new type of cookie has been possible in Firefox since version 2 and is also enabled in Internet Explorer 8. According to Wikipedia, it is also available in Safari 4, Google Chrome 4, and Opera 10.50. DOM storage items can be substantially larger than conventional cookies and can contain more information. Those who are concerned about privacy can disable DOM storage in the following ways.
Internet Explorer 8
1. Open the “Tools” menu
2. Select “Internet Options”
3. Click the “Advanced” tab
4. Scroll down until you reach “Security”
5. Remove the check by “Enable DOM Storage”
6. Click “OK”
More details about DOM storage in IE8 are at this Microsoft reference.
Firefox 3 and up
DOM storage can be disabled by editing the configuration file in this way:
1. Enter “about:config” in the address bar (without quotes)
2. Agree to the warning "I'll be careful, I promise!" if it appears
3. Scroll down until you reach “dom.storage.enabled”
4. Double-click the entry to change the value from “True” to “False”
5. Close the tab or window
Personally, I use the Firefox extension Better Privacy, which I mentioned in a previous tip about Flash cookies. In addition to settings for Flash cookies, this extension provides for disabling DOM storage without having to edit the Firefox configuration file.
More information about DOM storage in Firefox can be found at this Mozilla link.
Get your own favorite tip published! Know a neat tech tip or trick? Then why not have it published here and receive full credit? Click here to tell us your tip.
| 0.6925 |
FineWeb
|
- Cooking Time:
- Preparation Time:
BackstoryNot sure where I got this recipe, but they are delicious.
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
- 4 eggs
- 3 pints vanilla ice cream (12 scoops)
- 1 jar (12.5 ounces) caramel topping
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Heat oven to 400ºF. Heat water and butter to rolling boil in 2 1/2-quart saucepan. Stir in flour; reduce heat to low. Stir vigorously about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball; remove from heat.
- Beat in eggs, all at once; continue beating until smooth.
- Drop dough by scant 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft, about 30 minutes.
- Cut off top third of each puff and pull out any strands of soft dough. Fill puffs with ice cream; replace tops.
- Cover and freeze until serving.
- Drizzle with caramel topping. Sprinkle with pecans. Store covered in freezer.
| 0.5672 |
FineWeb
|
draGGradients is as a simple tool to generate and customize multiple css3 radial gradients.
I get back an old project that uses a multiple gradient jpg image as a background and started to generate the same image in css-only.
Instead of code only this image I finished doing this little stuff. Hope you enjoy it!
Toggle main controls (also pressing ESC key) to customize, add and arrange each point generator.
Basically the tool works generating radial-gradients from each draggable point, and you could control:
- The main color. Wrinting any valid (rgba, rgb, hex, html, etc) color type or picking one from the colorPicker.
- The position. Dragging each point in the canvas.
- The deep. Sliding or changing the value, you could set the percentage of each radial-gradient.
You could also add, delete and arrange each point from the same section.
In the bottom left menu, you could:
- Toggle points. Switch on/off the points from the main view.
- Change background. It modifies the last child of the gradient that works as background.
Generate random. Clicking on this button.
- Presets from uigradients by Indrashish Ghosh.
You could also create a pen with the generated gradient, clicking on the Codepen logo.
This simple and little tool was made with ❤ by @elrumordelaluz
| 0.9316 |
FineWeb
|
Chris Kilham's Vital Maca™
Vital Maca™ contains the top quality extracts MacaTonic™ and Suma extract, 2 energizing herbs used worldwide for their beneficial effects on vitality and sexual health.*
Introduction to Maca: Tradition and Science
Maca, also sometimes referred to as Peruvian Ginseng, is a hardy plant that was long ago discovered at high altitudes in the Andes Mountains of South America. Its Peruvian region of growth is known as "among the world's worst farmland," with sub-freezing temperatures and wind strong enough to knock people off their horses. Possibly the only crop in the world capable of growing at altitudes of up to 14,500 feet above sea level, maca was domesticated by the Incas as early as 1600 B.C.
On nutritional and biochemical scales, maca has a diverse and robust profile. Amongst its valued components are amino acids, fatty acids (such as linoleic and oleic acid), sitosterols, isothiocyanates, saponins, tannins, several minerals (including calcium, iron, and zinc), Vitamin C, and several B vitamins. Although the variety of nutrients found in maca are important for the local population, the real interest in maca abroad is due to the potential benefits of the bioactive compounds, such as the glucosinolates (including their derived isothiocyanates and p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate). Isothiocyanates are common in the Brassicaceae family of plants, which includes the important cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, turnips, and radishes; in fact, dried maca looks quite like dried turnips or radishes. It has been suggested that the p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanates found in maca is in part responsible for some of its traditional health (especially aphrodisiac) applications.
In addition to holding great value as a dietary staple due to its nutritional value, maca also is prized for its traditional health-promoting uses. It has been used for centuries to enhance fertility in humans and animals—a secret that the Spanish learned of in their conquest of South America.
Wide-ranging traditional Peruvian health applications of maca in humans are both specific and generalized; Maca has been used for energy, stamina, and endurance—but also to strengthen the blood, to enhance memory, to reduce stress, and to support the immune, digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems. Additionally, it has been valued as a tonic for postmenopausal women and in folklore as an aphrodisiac that improves sexual drive and female fertility (both of which can be impaired at high elevations, as in the Andes).*
The Science Behind Maca
In 2000, results from a study of mice revealed for the first time that benefits claimed in folklore had some credence: two maca extracts significantly enhanced the libido and mating performance of normal mice. The following year, a human study was published, with results that demonstrated superior semen parameters in men receiving maca tablets for 4 months. In 2002, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled 12-week parallel trial in healthy men aged 21–56 years was published. Sexual desire improved in the men administered maca tablets, independently of changes in mood or blood hormone levels (testosterone levels did not change when using maca). In 2008, interesting results were also seen in a preliminary study of 14 postmenopausal women. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial, maca supplementation for 6 weeks did not exert an estrogenic effect, yet it appeared to be useful in supporting a positive mental attitude towards sexual activity, compared to placebo. Results from a 2010 meta-analysis that included yet more human studies (of both men and women) suggested that maca positively influences sexual health; however, further research is warranted in these areas.
Maca is traditionally used as an adaptogen—a plant known to influence the body's response to physical, biochemical, and psychological stressors. In modern times, its role as an adaptogen is no less useful than 2,000 years ago.*
Suma - "For All Things"
Suma is the dried root of a ground vine that grows in tropical rain forests of South America. It was introduced to this country as "Brazilian Ginseng" in order to capitalize on ginseng's reputation. Suma is known as Para Toda which means "for all things," since the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region have used the root of Suma for generations as an energy and rejuvenating tonic. Suma also supports a normal, healthy libido. Taking Suma daily enhances energy levels.*
| 0.71 |
FineWeb
|
Created by CK-12 Foundation/Adapted by Christine Miller
Feel the Burn
The person in Figure 10.3.1 is no doubt feeling the burn — sunburn, that is. occurs when the outer layer of the skin is damaged by from the sun or tanning lamps. Some people deliberately allow UV light to burn their skin, because after the redness subsides, they are left with a tan. A tan may look healthy, but it is actually a sign of skin damage. People who experience one or more serious sunburns are significantly more likely to develop skin . Natural pigment molecules in the skin help protect it from UV light damage. These pigment molecules are found in the layer of the skin called the .
What is the Epidermis?
The is the outer of the two main layers of the . The inner layer is the . It averages about 0.10 mm thick, and is much thinner than the dermis. The epidermis is thinnest on the eyelids (0.05 mm) and thickest on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet (1.50 mm). The epidermis covers almost the entire body surface. It is continuous with — but structurally distinct from — the that line the mouth, anus, urethra, and vagina.
Structure of the Epidermis
There are no blood vessels and very few nerve cells in the epidermis. Without blood to bring epidermal cells oxygen and nutrients, the cells must absorb oxygen directly from the air and obtain nutrients via of fluids from the dermis below. However, as thin as it is, the epidermis still has a complex structure. It has a variety of cell types and multiple layers.
Cells of the Epidermis
There are several different types of cells in the epidermis. All of the cells are necessary for the important functions of the epidermis.
- The epidermis consists mainly of stacks of -producing epithelial cells called . These cells make up at least 90 per cent of the epidermis. Near the top of the epidermis, these cells are also called squamous cells.
- Another eight per cent of epidermal cells are . These cells produce the pigment melanin that protects the dermis from UV light.
- About one per cent of epidermal cells are . These are immune system cells that detect and fight pathogens entering the skin.
- Less than one per cent of epidermal cells are , which respond to light touch and connect to nerve endings in the dermis.
Layers of the Epidermis
The epidermis in most parts of the body consists of four distinct layers. A fifth layer occurs in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, where the epidermis is thicker than in the rest of the body. The layers of the epidermis are shown in Figure 10.3.2, and described in the following text.
The is the innermost (or deepest) layer of the epidermis. It is separated from the dermis by a membrane called the . The stratum basale contains stem cells — called — which divide to form all the of the epidermis. When keratinocytes first form, they are cube-shaped and contain almost no keratin. As more keratinocytes are produced, previously formed cells are pushed up through the stratum basale. Melanocytes and are also found in the stratum basale. The Merkel cells are especially numerous in touch-sensitive areas, such as the fingertips and lips.
Just above the stratum basale is the . This is the thickest of the four epidermal layers. The keratinocytes in this layer have begun to accumulate keratin, and they have become tougher and flatter. Spiny cellular projections form between the keratinocytes and hold them together. In addition to keratinocytes, the stratum spinosum contains the immunologically active .
The next layer above the stratum spinosum is the . In this layer, keratinocytes have become nearly filled with , giving their cytoplasm a granular appearance. are released by keratinocytes in this layer to form a lipid barrier in the epidermis. Cells in this layer have also started to die, because they are becoming too far removed from blood vessels in the dermis to receive nutrients. Each dying cell digests its own and , leaving behind only a tough, keratin-filled shell.
Only on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, the next layer above the stratum granulosum is the . This is a layer consisting of stacks of translucent, dead keratinocytes that provide extra protection to the underlying layers.
The uppermost layer of the epidermis everywhere on the body is the . This layer is made of flat, hard, tightly packed dead keratinocytes that form a waterproof keratin barrier to protect the underlying layers of the epidermis. Dead cells from this layer are constantly shed from the surface of the body. The shed cells are continually replaced by cells moving up from lower layers of the epidermis. It takes a period of about 48 days for newly formed keratinocytes in the stratum basale to make their way to the top of the stratum corneum to replace shed cells.
Functions of the Epidermis
The epidermis has several crucial functions in the body. These functions include protection, water retention, and vitamin D synthesis.
The epidermis provides protection to underlying tissues from physical damage, pathogens, and UV light.
Protection from Physical Damage
Most of the physical protection of the epidermis is provided by its tough outer layer, the stratum corneum. Because of this layer, minor scrapes and scratches generally do not cause significant damage to the skin or underlying tissues. Sharp objects and rough surfaces have difficulty penetrating or removing the tough, dead, keratin-filled cells of the stratum corneum. If cells in this layer are pierced or scraped off, they are quickly replaced by new cells moving up to the surface from lower skin layers.
Protection from Pathogens
When pathogens such as viruses and bacteria try to enter the body, it is virtually impossible for them to enter through intact epidermal layers. Generally, pathogens can enter the skin only if the epidermis has been breached, for example by a cut, puncture, or scrape (like the one pictured in Figure 10.3.3). That’s why it is important to clean and cover even a minor wound in the epidermis. This helps ensure that pathogens do not use the wound to enter the body. Protection from pathogens is also provided by conditions at or near the skin surface. These include relatively high acidity (pH of about 5.0), low amounts of water, the presence of antimicrobial substances produced by epidermal cells, and competition with non-pathogenic microorganisms that normally live on the epidermis.
Protection from UV Light
that penetrates the epidermis can damage epidermal cells. In particular, it can cause mutations in that lead to the development of skin , in which epidermal cells grow out of control. UV light can also destroy vitamin B9 (in forms such as folate or folic acid), which is needed for good health and successful reproduction. In a person with light skin, just an hour of exposure to intense sunlight can reduce the body’s vitamin B9 level by 50 per cent.
s in the stratum basale of the epidermis contain small organelles called , which produce, store, and transport the dark brown pigment . As melanosomes become full of melanin, they move into thin extensions of the melanocytes. From there, the melanosomes are transferred to in the epidermis, where they absorb UV light that strikes the skin. This prevents the light from penetrating deeper into the skin, where it can cause damage. The more melanin there is in the skin, the more UV light can be absorbed.
Skin’s ability to hold water and not lose it to the surrounding environment is due mainly to the . arranged in an organized way among the cells of the stratum corneum form a barrier to water loss from the epidermis. This is critical for maintaining healthy skin and preserving proper water balance in the body.
Although the skin is impermeable to water, it is not impermeable to all substances. Instead, the skin is , allowing certain fat-soluble substances to pass through the epidermis. The selective permeability of the epidermis is both a benefit and a risk.
- Selective permeability allows certain medications to enter the bloodstream through the capillaries in the . This is the basis of medications that are delivered using topical ointments, or patches (see Figure 10.3.4) that are applied to the skin. These include steroid hormones, such as (for hormone replacement therapy), scopolamine (for motion sickness), nitroglycerin (for heart problems), and nicotine (for people trying to quit smoking).
- Selective permeability of the epidermis also allows certain harmful substances to enter the body through the skin. Examples include the heavy metal lead, as well as many pesticides.
Vitamin D Synthesis
Vitamin D is a nutrient that is needed in the human body for the absorption of calcium from food. Molecules of a lipid compound named 7-dehydrocholesterol are precursors of vitamin D. These molecules are present in the stratum basale and stratum spinosum layers of the epidermis. When UV light strikes the molecules, it changes them to vitamin D3. In the kidneys, vitamin D3 is converted to calcitriol, which is the form of vitamin D that is active in the body.
What Gives Skin Its Colour?
in the epidermis is the main substance that determines the colour of human skin. It explains most of the variation in skin colour in people around the world. Two other substances also contribute to skin colour, however, especially in light-skinned people: carotene and hemoglobin.
- The pigment is present in the epidermis and gives skin a yellowish tint, especially in skin with low levels of melanin.
- is a red pigment found in red blood cells. It is visible through skin as a pinkish tint, mainly in skin with low levels of melanin. The pink colour is most visible when capillaries in the underlying dermis dilate, allowing greater blood flow near the surface.
Hear what Bill Nye has to say about the subject of skin colour in the video here.
Bacteria on Skin
The surface of the human skin normally provides a home to countless numbers of bacteria. Just one square inch of skin normally has an average of about 50 million bacteria. These generally harmless bacteria represent roughly one thousand bacterial species (including the one in Figure 10.3.5) from 19 different bacterial phyla. Typical variations in the moistness and oiliness of the skin produce a variety of rich and diverse habitats for these microorganisms. For example, the skin in the armpits is warm and moist and often hairy, whereas the skin on the forearms is smooth and dry. These two areas of the human body are as diverse to microorganisms as rainforests and deserts are to larger organisms. The density of bacterial populations on the skin depends largely on the region of the skin and its ecological characteristics. For example, oily surfaces, such as the face, may contain over 500 million bacteria per square inch. Despite the huge number of individual microorganisms living on the skin, their total volume is only about the size of a pea.
In general, the normal microorganisms living on the skin keep one another in check, and thereby play an important role in keeping the skin healthy. If the balance of microorganisms is disturbed, however, there may be an overgrowth of certain species, and this may result in an infection. For example, when a patient is prescribed antibiotics, it may kill off normal bacteria and allow an overgrowth of single-celled yeast. Even if skin is disinfected, no amount of cleaning can remove all of the microorganisms it contains. Disinfected areas are also quickly recolonized by bacteria residing in deeper areas (such as hair follicles) and in adjacent areas of the skin.
Feature: Myth vs. Reality
Because of the negative health effects of excessive UV light exposure, it is important to know the facts about protecting the skin from UV light.
|“Sunblock and sunscreen are just different names for the same type of product. They both work the same way and are equally effective.”||Sunscreens and sunblocks are different types of products that protect the skin from UV light in different ways. They are not equally effective. Sunblocks are opaque, so they do not let light pass through. They prevent most of the rays of UV light from penetrating to the skin surface. Sunblocks are generally stronger and more effective than sunscreens. Sunblocks also do not need to be reapplied as often as sunscreens. Sunscreens, in contrast, are transparent once they are applied the skin. Although they can prevent most UV light from penetrating the skin when first applied, the active ingredients in sunscreens tend to break down when exposed to UV light. Sunscreens, therefore, must be reapplied often to remain effective.|
|“The skin needs to be protected from UV light only on sunny days. When the sky is cloudy, UV light cannot penetrate to the ground and harm the skin.”||Even on cloudy days, a significant amount of UV radiation penetrates the atmosphere to strike Earth’s surface. Therefore, using sunscreens or sunblocks to protect exposed skin is important even when there are clouds in the sky.|
|“People who have dark skin, such as African Americans, do not need to worry about skin damage from UV light.”||No matter what colour skin you have, your skin can be damaged by too much exposure to UV light. Therefore, even dark-skinned people should use sunscreens or sunblocks to protect exposed skin from UV light.|
|“Sunscreens with an SPF (sun protection factor) of 15 are adequate to fully protect the skin from UV light.”||Most dermatologists recommend using sunscreens with an SPF of at least 35 for adequate protection from UV light. They also recommend applying sunscreens at least 20 minutes before sun exposure and reapplying sunscreens often, especially if you are sweating or spending time in the water.|
|“Using tanning beds is safer than tanning outside in natural sunlight.”||The light in tanning beds is UV light, and it can do the same damage to the skin as the natural UV light in sunlight. This is evidenced by the fact that people who regularly use tanning beds have significantly higher rates of skin cancer than people who do not. It is also the reason that the use of tanning beds is prohibited in many places in people who are under the age of 18, just as youth are prohibited from using harmful substances, such as tobacco and alcohol.|
- The is the outer of the two main layers of the skin. It is very thin, but has a complex structure.
- Cell types in the epidermis include that produce and make up 90 per cent of epidermal cells, that produce , that fight in the skin, and that respond to light touch.
- The epidermis in most parts of the body consists of four distinct layers. A fifth layer occurs only in the epidermis of the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.
- The innermost layer of the epidermis is the , which contains stem cells that divide to form new keratinocytes. The next layer is the , which is the thickest layer and contains Langerhans cells and spiny keratinocytes. This is followed by the , in which keratinocytes are filling with keratin and starting to die. The is next, but only on the palms and soles. It consists of translucent dead keratinocytes. The outermost layer is the , which consists of flat, dead, tightly packed keratinocytes that form a tough, waterproof barrier for the rest of the epidermis.
- Functions of the epidermis include protecting underlying tissues from physical damage and pathogens. Melanin in the epidermis absorbs and protects underlying tissues from . The epidermis also prevents loss of water from the body and synthesizes vitamin D.
- Melanin is the main pigment that determines the colour of human skin. The pigments carotene and hemoglobin, however, also contribute to skin colour, especially in skin with low levels of melanin.
- The surface of healthy skin normally is covered by vast numbers of representing about one thousand species from 19 phyla. Different areas of the body provide diverse habitats for skin microorganisms. Usually, microorganisms on the skin keep each other in check unless their balance is disturbed.
- What is the epidermis?
- Identify the types of cells in the epidermis.
- Describe the layers of the epidermis.
- State one function of each of the four epidermal layers found all over the body.
- Explain three ways the epidermis protects the body.
- What makes the skin waterproof?
- Why is the selective permeability of the epidermis both a benefit and a risk?
- How is vitamin D synthesized in the epidermis?
- Identify three pigments that impart colour to skin.
- Describe bacteria that normally reside on the skin, and explain why they do not usually cause infections.
- Explain why the keratinocytes at the surface of the epidermis are dead, while keratinocytes located deeper in the epidermis are still alive.
- Which layer of the epidermis contains keratinocytes that have begun to die?
- Explain why our skin is not permanently damaged if we rub off some of the surface layer by using a rough washcloth.
Jonathan Eisen: Meet your microbes, TED, 2015.
Why Do We Blush?, SciShow, 2014.
The science of skin colour – Angela Koine Flynn, TED-Ed, 2016.
Blausen.com staff. (2014). Medical gallery of Blausen Medical 2014. WikiJournal of Medicine 1 (2). DOI:10.15347/wjm/2014.010. ISSN 2002-4436.
Jeff Bone ‘n’ Pookie. (2020, July 19). Bill Nye the science guy explains we have different skin color. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOkj5jgC4sM&feature=youtu.be
SciShow. (2014, July 15). Why do we blush? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AcQXnOscQ8
TED. (2015, July 17). Jonathan Eisen: Meet your microbes. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27lMmdmy-b8
TED-Ed. (2016, February 16). The science of skin color – Angela Koine Flynn. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_r4c2NT4naQ
The reddening of the skin that occurs when the outer layer of the skin is damaged by UV light from the sun or tanning lamps.
A form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength shorter than that of visible light but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight, and constitutes about 10% of the total electromagnetic radiation output from the sun.
A group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
The outer layer of skin that consists mainly of epithelial cells and lacks nerve endings, blood vessels, and other structures.
The major organ of the integumentary system that covers and protects the body and helps maintain homeostasis, for example, by regulating body temperature.
The inner layer of skin that is made of tough connective tissue and contains blood vessels, nerve endings, hair follicles, and glands.
Epithelial tissue that lines inner body surfaces and body openings and produces mucus.
The movement of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.
A tough, fibrous protein in skin, hair, and nails.
A type of epithelial cell found in the skin, hair, and nails that produces keratin.
A special skin cell that is responsible for producing melanin.
A cell found in the epidermis that functions as an antigen-presenting cell which binds antigens entering through the skin.
Oval-shaped mechanoreceptors essential for light touch sensation and found in the skin.
The innermost (deepest) layer of the epidermis. Consists of a single layer of columnar or cuboidal basal cells.
A thin, fibrous, extracellular matrix that separates the lining of an internal or external body surface from underlying connective tissue.
Found at the bottom of the epidermis — the outermost layer of skin. Basal cells produce new skin cells. As new skin cells are produced, they push older cells toward the skin's surface, where the old cells die and are sloughed off.
A layer of the epidermis found between the stratum granulosum and stratum basale. The main function of the stratum spinosum is to allow keratinocytes (cells that produce keratin) to mature.
A thin layer of cells in the epidermis. Keratinocytes migrating from the underlying stratum spinosum become known as granular cells in this layer. Function is to help to form a waterproof barrier that functions to prevent fluid loss from the body.
A substance that is insoluble in water. Examples include fats, oils and cholesterol. Lipids are made from monomers such as glycerol and fatty acids.
A central organelle containing hereditary material.
A tiny cellular structure that performs specific functions within a cell.
a thin, clear layer of dead skin cells in the epidermis named for its translucent appearance under a microscope. It is readily visible by light microscopy only in areas of thick skin, which are found on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
The outer layer of the skin (epidermis). It serves as the primary barrier between the body and the environment.
Deoxyribonucleic acid - the molecule carrying genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses.
A small organelle in a melanocyte that synthesizes, stores, and transports melanin.
A brown pigment produced by melanocytes in the skin that gives skin most of its color and prevents UV light from penetrating the skin.
A membrane which allows the passage of some molecules or ions and inhibits the passage of others. The capacity to filter molecular transport in this manner is called selective permeability.
The female sex hormone secreted mainly by the ovaries.
A pigment in the epidermis that gives skin a yellowish tint, especially in skin with low levels of melanin.
An oxygen-binding protein containing iron that is the principal component of red blood cells.
A microorganism which causes disease.
Any member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms which have cell walls but lack organelles and an organized nucleus, including some which can cause disease.
| 0.9479 |
FineWeb
|
Background Current legal efforts to document human rights violations typically include interviews in which survivors are asked to provide detailed descriptions of their traumatic experiences during a single meeting. Research on similar interview techniques used as part of a mental health treatment (eg, debriefing) has raised concerns that they might worsen mental health—more than doubling the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder in some studies. While controversy over the mental health impact of debriefing continues, debriefing treatments have been discontinued in most clinics nearly 2 decades ago. The purpose of this article is to promote the development and integration of preventative measures to limit potential mental health damage associated with legal endeavours to address human rights violations and international crimes.
Methods and findings Given the recent growth of the field of global mental health and its current capacity to provide feasible, acceptable, effective care in low-resource settings, we propose a research agenda to identify the mental health impact of current human rights legal practices and test a model of scalable medicolegal care that minimises risk by integrating mental health monitoring and applying up-to-date models of trauma treatment, including multiple meeting sessions, as indicated.
Conclusions As the fields of global health, human rights law, international criminal law and transitional justice increasingly overlap in their efforts to assist communities affected by grave violence, we propose that synchronising efforts may offer important opportunities to improve mental health for survivors.
What is already known about this topic?
Describing emotionally traumatic experiences in detail over a single meeting, may increase the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder.
The expanding role of global legal aid organisations working with survivors of human rights violations often includes gathering the details of victimisation in single meetings with survivors.
The field of global mental health now has proven methods for effectively treating trauma-related mental disorders in low-resource settings, using local, non-specialist personnel.
What are the new findings?
We bring global health researchers and human rights attorneys together to describe a novel implementation research agenda to advance integrated models of mental health recovery and human rights law.
Recommendations for policy
Global health and human rights law share an interconnected commitment to disenfranchised populations in low-resource settings. In order to improve care for individuals and advance implementation strategies for lasting policy change, global health workers must engage with their legal counterparts.
More than two decades ago, research suggested that describing one's traumatic experiences in a detailed one-session manner, as often required for legal documentation, increased the risk of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)—an extremely disabling mental disorder associated with all-cause mortality, violence towards others, depression and substance abuse. In the mid-1990s, mental healthcare for prevention of PTSD included a type of treatment called ‘debriefing’. This treatment consisted of a single meeting in which a survivor of a recent traumatic event was asked to retell the events in detail to a mental health professional. Research on debriefing found, that rather than preventing PTSD, debriefing more than doubled the risk of persistent PTSD 1 year later, and the same heightened risk of PTSD was still present 3 years later, the longest available follow-up period.1 ,2 While the findings of these studies are controversial, based on concerns regarding their design, analyses and interpretation,3 ,4 debriefing has been eliminated as a recommended treatment for traumatised individuals in most clinical settings.
In contrast, Mollica,5 Jones and Kafetsios6 described the complexity of emotional responses among traumatised human rights survivors and the need for culturally informed, gradual review of the trauma ‘story’ or ‘narrative’ with adults and adolescents. Subsequently, prolonged exposure therapy, which involves a measured review of the trauma narrative over many sessions (averaging 10 sessions of 90 min) has become a current ‘gold standard’ in PTSD psychological treatments.7
Human rights legal efforts have proliferated over the past several decades and there are now organisations devoted to providing extensive documentation of human rights law enforcement in most parts of the world. International criminal law has also developed significantly in recent years: the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002, and is the world's first permanent court with jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. While the ICC does provide psychological support, including services from the Victims and Witnesses Unit and the Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) for the ‘victim-witnesses’ who travel to The Hague to provide testimony, and to groups of in-country survivors (TFV), the majority of the victims providing testimony for the ICC are ‘victim-participants’ who testify without leaving their country of origin. For victim-participants, the mechanisms for supporting mental health before, during and after the process of providing testimony are unclear, nor even mentioned in the ICC guide for prospective victim-participants and their assistants.8
Leading human rights organisations are alert to the dangers of retraumatising survivors during interviews, and many have published ‘best practice’ guidelines which reference the need to avoid retraumatisation. One of the prominent early guidelines was the 1999 Istanbul Protocol: a manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, published by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,9 which concluded a section devoted to ‘Risk of re-traumatization of the Interviewee’ by stating: ‘Despite all precautions, physical and psychological examinations by their very nature may re-traumatize the patient by provoking or exacerbating symptoms of post-traumatic stress by reviving painful effects and memories.’ The ICC published regulations in 2009 asserting:
The physical and psychological well-being of persons who are questioned by the Office and are considered vulnerable (in particular children, persons with disabilities and victims of gender and sexual crimes) shall be assessed by a psychology, psycho-social or other expert during a face-to-face interview prior to questioning. This assessment shall determine whether the person's condition at that particular time allows him or her to be questioned without risk of re-traumatisation.
Other prominent organisations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and WHO, have also published guidelines intended to avoid retraumatisation of interviewees.10–12 While these guidelines reflect sensitivity to the potential mental health impact of investigations on survivors of human rights violations, we are not aware of any requirements to monitor or report the actual mental health impact of the investigations. As noted by Amon et al,13 many human rights research organisations do not engage research ethics committees or view human rights documentation as research. With the exception of some organisations which have created their own internal review boards, many human rights organisations do not submit their study plan for independent human subjects protection review, or submit progress reports, with monitoring for, and reporting of, adverse events.
At the time when global human rights legal endeavours began, the field of global mental health (GMH) had not yet been founded. Now, the huge burden of mental disorders suffered in low and middle income countries is not debatable.14 ,15 Also, it is not debatable that common mental disorders, including those occurring in the context of traumatic experiences, can be effectively treated in low-resource settings. GMH has evidence-based methods of measuring mental health status across diverse cultural settings, assessing mental healthcare needs and adapting evidence-based treatments such that they are locally acceptable and feasible, as well as effective, using low-cost, scalable delivery models.16–18 Despite the content similarities discussed above, it is possible that the short-term and/or long-term emotional impact of providing legal testimony is different from that of ‘debriefing’. Given that we now have the ability to deliver evidence-based mental healthcare in low-resource settings and partner for sustained scale-up of evidence-based care where few services have previously existed, evaluating for remediable mental health impact has potential benefits for survivors of human rights violations.
Institutional review boards (IRBs) have been used to approve and monitor biomedical and behavioural research involving human subjects in the USA since 1974. Reacting to abuses by Nazi physicians and the Tuskegee Syphilis study, the goal of IRBs is to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects according to the principles of ‘respect for persons’, ‘beneficence’ and ‘justice’.19
Tension between clinical and legal goals for survivors
Setting a collaborative research agenda
While the parallels between debriefing and providing testimony are concerning in regards to potential mental health impact on the survivors of human rights violations, the topic requires more study for two reasons:1 there remains substantial controversy regarding the actual mental health impact of debriefing, and2 differences between legal and medical context may produce different mental health impacts even when the same strategies are used. Indeed, there is a body of legal literature theorising that empowering legal processes, including testifying, can be part of reparative justice that leads to emotional healing on an individual level for the survivors who provide their trauma narrative.20–23 The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a well-known example of transitional justice, asserted that ‘revealing is healing’—expressing the belief that exposing the details of personal traumas promotes healing for individuals and the nation. However, to date, there is little to no evidence on the specific impact of providing legal testimony, despite the concerns that research on debriefing raises, and harms that are theorised.24 Weinstein and Stover, early investigators of the impact of international criminal law on individuals, surmised that the assumed ‘therapeutic value’ of human rights processing may be ‘more wishful thinking than fact’.25
While medical and legal processes typically operate separately with different goals, we argue that current assumptions regarding the ability of legal testimony to promote psychological healing cross into the territory of health professionals. Indeed, some practices in human rights law, international criminal law and transitional justice bear a strong resemblance to critical incident debriefing, which is now widely regarded as a risk to mental health. Given the growth of the field of GMH and our present ability to provide evidence-based, effective, sustainable mental health treatment to trauma survivors in low-resource settings, we assert an imperative need to investigate and address the mental health impact of these practices. This opinion is in line with expert opinion that the current lack of evaluation and research on mental health in emergency settings is unethical.26 For the purposes of this manuscript, we use victim-participants at the ICC as a case example to illustrate where and how this research could be implemented. However, there is a need for this research, and investigation across the fields of human rights law, international criminal law and transitional justice, and the proposed model could be used with UN human rights bodies, regional human rights commissions and courts, truth, justice and reconciliation commissions and the vast number of national and international non-governmental organisations around the world who frequently interview survivors of human rights abuses and international crimes.
ICC as a case example
In 2002, the Rome Statute established the ICC with a mandate to address to the international community the most serious crimes of concern, such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. While the ICC can support only a relatively small number of ‘victim-witnesses’ to provide legal testimony in The Hague, there are comparatively large numbers of victim-participants, who provide their narratives without leaving their country of origin. As of April 2012, in total, nearly 20 000 victim-participant applications had been received by the ICC, with a 300% rise between 2011 and 2012.
Proposed research agenda: ICC
Phase 1: information access and epidemiology—define the problem
The first step is to better define the health impact of the ICC's processes for gathering testimony across a range of ICC victim-participant processes and sites. The assessment team could measure the mental health impact of providing testimony to an ICC representative by applying low-burden mental health assessment tools in a low-cost manner using local paraprofessionals (eg, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (nine items), Primary Care PTSD screen (four items).27 ,28 Measures could be applied at baseline with prospective ICC victim-participants, and again after they provide their trauma narrative to the ICC representative to test the hypothesis that providing testimony is associated with worsened mental health. Using a mixed-methods design, this quantitative assessment data could be augmented with qualitative interviews before and after testimony regarding expectations/hopes and experiences/mental health impact, respectively. By combining mental health assessment data with demographics and relevant contextual details, risk and protective factors for mental health, the following testimony may be identified. The results of this phase 1 research would provide important prospective data on the mental health impact of providing testimony to the ICC.
Phase 2: monitoring and intervention—IRBs, informed consent, screening tools and mental health interventions
Using data generated from phase 1 research, proposed human rights documentation studies could be submitted to the in-country IRB approval mechanism for biomedical/behavioural research, with use of mental health assessment tools for monitoring, reporting and managing adverse events. Correspondingly, human rights study individuals could participate in an informed consent process that includes the risk to health posed by relaying a detailed trauma narrative in a condensed manner.
A mental health intervention could be tailored to meet the needs of victim-participant groups (figure 1). An initial intervention is simply to substitute the ICC word survivor-participants for the word victim-participant. This semantic change took place nearly a decade ago in the field of mental health trauma care to empower individuals toward recovery. At the first meeting, survivors could undergo a mental health screening—those who are highly symptomatic, or at high risk of decompensation, could be scheduled for mental health trauma care (multisession) prior to legal interaction. Survivors could name a trusted contact to be used in the event of overwhelming emotional distress, and an advocate, such as a healthy community member who completed ICC Victim Participant testimony, could be offered as a supporter who accompanies survivors through the process of providing testimony. Survivors could be offered a choice in how their stories are used and how long they are stored. After providing testimony, survivors could be monitored for recovery with a follow-up mental health screen, and referred for higher-level care, as needed. This mental health monitoring/intervention model could be tested for efficacy with a clustered RCT design of integrated mental health monitoring/treatment versus treatment as usual, testing the hypothesis that providing mental healthcare to those who meet criteria for depression and/or trauma-related disorders will decrease their risk of mental health decompensation following provision of testimony.
Phase 3: effectiveness, implementation and scale-up through policy
Depending on the results from phases 1 and 2, the next phase of the work is effectiveness and implementation research to ascertain generalisability of the intervention, conduct cost-benefit analyses and work with policymakers for scale-up. Specifically, this phase of research could test the hypothesis that providing mental healthcare for individuals who are giving ICC victim-participant testimony, and have depression or trauma-related disorders, would be cost-effective and produce a net economic gain by reducing mental health-related disability early in the course of disease.
The purpose of this article is to promote the development and integration of preventative measures to limit potential mental health damage associated with legal endeavours to address human rights violations and international crimes. Although we express concerns about the potential health impact of the ICC's current engagement with victim-participants, we applaud its focus on survivors and understand that the pioneering effort of the ICC is a work in progress. We include the ICC as only one case example of where this proposed research is needed and would be applicable. As the fields of global health, human rights law, international criminal law and transitional justice increasingly overlap in their efforts to assist communities affected by grave violence, we propose that synchronising efforts may offer important opportunities to improve mental health for survivors.
The authors would like to thank Dr Harvey Weinstein, Dr Stephen Smith Cody and Dr Kim Thuy Seelinger for their discussion of this manuscript.
SMM and SS are joint first authors.
Handling editor Seye Abimbola
Contributors SMM and SS are joint first authors on this manuscript and wrote the manuscript. TCN provided substantial input to the conceptual and editorial revisions of earlier drafts. KM, HVF, MMC, PAV contributed to the conceptual and editorial revisions of earlier drafts. EPG provided critical conceptual guidance on initiation, development and publication of this manuscript.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data sharing statement No additional data are available.
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
| 0.8795 |
FineWeb
|
The Examination Branch churns out professionally competitive engineers. Internal Examinations are conducted for the students. For all the Year student’s average of the 2 Internal Tests and Assignment marks are awarded as Internal Marks. As per JNTU-H rules re-examination can not be conducted for absentees of internal tests. The parents are regularly intimated about their ward’s performance via ,letters,email or telephone. The Branch also conducts JNTU-H External Examination.
Incharges Exam Branch:
email id : [email protected]
K.OBULESH, Asst Professor in CSE, 9848960925 [email protected]
M.GOVIND RAJ, Asst Professor In ECE, 9866822421 [email protected]
| 0.5287 |
FineWeb
|
61. "It is important for us to understand the causes of poverty."
No. There are no causes of poverty. It is the rest state, that which happens when you don't do anything. If you want to experience poverty, just do nothing and it will come. To ask what causes poverty is like asking what causes cold in the universe; it is the absence of energy. Similarly poverty is the absence of wealth. For most of humanity's existence on this planet, poverty has been the norm, the natural condition. People hunted to survive or lived by subsistence farming, and they were poor. In some parts of the world this is still the case.
The unusual condition is wealth. This is what changes things. We should ask what are the causes of wealth and try to recreate and reproduce them. When you ask the wrong question, "What causes poverty," you end up with wrong answers. People fall into the trap of thinking that the wealth of some causes the poverty in others, as if there were a fixed amount of wealth in the world and that rich people had seized too large a share of it.
In fact wealth is created, and it is only during the last 250 years or so that we have found how to do this on a grand scale. Wealth is created by production and enterprise, by the specialization of labour, and most of all it is created by exchange. Instead of trying to take wealth away from rich people and redistribute it, we should be seeking to implement the conditions in which as many people as possible can join in the wealth-creating process for themselves.
Poor countries will not become wealthier because we give them some of our riches. They will climb out of poverty the same way we did, by producing and selling goods and services and by creating wealth in the process.
| 0.8792 |
FineWeb
|
Facility Management System Software
Facility managers balance a myriad of responsibilities every day. Managing resources, vendors, safety, inventory, and assets, all while ensuring their locations are safe and secure, is a significant challenge.
ServiceInsight enables facility managers to effectively manage these responsibilities through mobility, automation, and intelligence. Our solutions are used by over 100,000 users around the globe, so contact us today to learn how we can help you!
Benefits of Our Building Management Solutions for Facility Managers
- Optimize technician and preventive maintenance schedules
- Identify your most expensive problem types and assets so you can take action
- Improve decision-making by having comprehensive information at your fingertips
- Improve efficiency by tracking and evaluating technician and vendor performance
| 0.6378 |
FineWeb
|
I personnally think you easily get confused if you use the same names for the new variables.
so let and
solve for x and y with respect to u and v. this would give something like :
(check the calculations, I did it quite quickly and it's not the most important part)
hey, this is the inverse function !
| 0.8196 |
FineWeb
|
Quantum ergodicity on large graphs
Location: MSRI: Simons Auditorium
probabilistic methods in ergodicity
compact Riemannian manifold
quantum variance of operators
negative curvature manifolds
We study eigenfunctions of the discrete laplacian on large regular graphs, and prove a ``quantum ergodicity'' result for these eigenfunctions : for most eigenfunctions $\psi$, the probability measure $|\psi(x)|^2$, defined on the set of vertices, is close to the uniform measure.
Although our proof is specific to regular graphs, we'll discuss possibilities of adaptation to more general models, like the Anderson model on regular graphs.
Please report video problems to [email protected].
See more of our Streaming videos on our main VMath Videos page.
| 0.6654 |
FineWeb
|
How a Full Moon Can Affect Your Sleep
For years people have blamed a full Moon on poor sleep -- a claim that sounds like it ought to be shelved along with the other old wives' tales of the world right, including the oft-repeated warning that one's eyes can get stuck while crossed.
However, a new study published in the journal Current Biology argues in favor of the statement by demonstrating the connection between human sleep behavior and lunar cycles.
The group, led by Christian Cajochen of the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, analyzed 30 volunteers in two age groups. While they were sleeping, the scientists monitored their brain patterns, eye movements and measured their hormone secretions. In doing so, they discovered that, despite the comforts of modern life, humans still respond to the geophysical rhythms of the moon.
"This is the first reliable evidence that lunar rhythm can modulate sleep structure in humans," Cajochen said in a press release.
The data they collected showed that both the subjective and the objective perception of the quality of sleep changed with the lunar cycles with brain activity in areas related to deep sleep dropping by 30 percent when the Moon was full. People also took an average of five minutes longer to fall asleep and slept for 20 minutes less. Overall, volunteers felt as though their quality of sleep suffered and scientists observed lower levels of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep and wake cycles.
This phenomenon, the scientists hypothesize, could be a leftover from an earlier time in human history when the moon was responsible for synchronizing human behavior as it still is today in animals, especially marine animals.
Today's modern life with its electric light and varying schedules may mask the Moon's influence on us but; however, the authors argue their study shows that in the controlled environment of the laboratory with a strict study protocol, the Moon's hold can be made visible and measurable again.
| 0.8791 |
FineWeb
|
Doctor of Philosophy
Dr. Carol E. Jones
This thesis is divided into 3 investigations. First we present a novel method to estimate the opening angles of Be star disks from interferometric axis ratio measurements, using Bayesian statistics and Monte Carlo techniques. A large set of theoretical axis ratios generated from disk models were compared to observational samples to determine which distribution best reproduces the observations. We find that the observed axis ratio distributions in the K-, H-, and N-band can best be explained by the presence of thin disks while measurements over the H$\alpha$ line point toward slightly thicker disks. Second, using a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code, we studied the density structure of Be star disks in binary systems for a range of misalignment angles and disk viscosity. The truncation, warping, and density structure in the inner and outer parts of the disk are investigated. We find that these parameters affect both the truncation radius and the density of the outer disc, while the inner disk remains mostly unaffected. The scale height of our disks are also compared to analytical values. We find that the analytic values reproduces the scale height fairly well but underestimates the scale height in regions where density enhancements develop. Finally the shape and density structure of these enhancements were also investigated. We find that larger misalignment angles and viscosity values result in more tightly wound spiral arms with shallower density profiles. The orbital phase was shown to have very little effect on the structure of the spiral density enhancements.
Cyr, Isabelle H., "The geometry and density of B-emission star disks from statistical analysis and numerical simulations" (2016). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4348.
| 0.9857 |
FineWeb
|
by Anita Deeley at BeverlyBees.com
Attract honeybees into your yard by planting a bee friendly garden. Your vegetables will thank you.
Spring is fast approaching and if you are a gardener like me you are thinking about how quickly you can get your hands in the soil and get some plants in the ground. I’m reminded of years past and my struggles to grow certain crops. Despite my best efforts, cucumbers were always absent from my garden harvest. Year after year, no matter how hard I tried, I could not get any cucumbers to grow. After I became a beekeeper, the reason for my cucumber troubles became apparent, what was missing from my garden were the honeybees.
Now I always think about how I can accommodate more bee friendly plants and flowers into my yard to make a sanctuary for honeybees and other beneficial pollinators. This is as easy as planting a small patch of native wildflowers, herbs or even a flowering vegetable garden. Keep it chemical free, let it continue to flower and you will be providing a vital food source for the local bee population. As an added bonus you’ll get your vegetables well-pollinated and have an excellent harvest at the same time. Just follow these simple guidelines.
Provide Bee Friendly Habitat
- Choose plants that attract bees – Bees love native wildflowers, flowering herbs, berries and many flowering fruits and vegetables. Some honeybee favorites here in Massachusetts include – mints, basil, sage, thyme, borage, oregano, lavender, chives, buckwheat, berries, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cucumbers, tomato, winter squash, pumpkins, melons, watermelons, flowering broccoli, crocus, snowdrops, jonquils, tulips, sunflowers, asters, dandelions, clovers, lilacs, wisteria, cosmos, black-eyed susans, gaillardia, cup plants, goldenrod, loosestrife, bachelor’s buttons, bee balm, sedum, peony and honeysuckle. If you have the space, planting any type of fruit tree is perfect and trees such as maple, willow, black locust and sumac are also good food sources for bees. Planting Snowdrops or Siberian Squill in your yard is another simple way for a suburban gardener to provide an early spring food source for bees. Read more about it in Blue Pollen, Honeybees and Siberian Squill and Snowdrops for Bees.
- Group the same plants together – Try to plant at least one square yard of the same plant together to make a perfect bee attractor. But if you are short on space planting just a few wildflowers or herbs in a planter or window box is all that’s needed to provide more foraging habitat for the honeybee.
- Pick plants with long blooming cycles – Or choose plants with successive blooms. This way the bees will keep coming back again and again. A seed kit like this makes attracting bees to your garden easy.
- Let your plants flower – Leave the flowers on your plants and deadhead them to allow the honeybees to get the pollen and nectar they need. If you are growing herbs or vegetables such as broccoli, harvest it but leave the plant intact. When you are done let it go to flower for the pollinators and leave it in the garden until the flowers are gone. Last December, I saw firsthand how important a food source like broccoli left to flower in a backyard garden was to my honeybees at a time when nothing else was available for them to eat.
- Provide a fresh water source – A sloping bird bath with stones for bees to stand on, a backyard waterfall, a pool, a dripping hose, almost any shallow water source will do. Cabbage and broccoli leaves full of fresh morning dew, and newly watered potted plants with peat soil are favorite destinations for my bees.
- DO NOT use pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals in your garden – Or anywhere in your yard including your lawn, other gardens and trees. After all, you are trying to attract bees right? Most of these chemicals are toxic to bees and have widespread effects which are detrimental to plants, beneficial insects and other native pollinators. This ban also applies to products your lawn care company uses. When in doubt leave it out. This article explains how toxic some backyard chemicals are to bees.
- Appreciate the beauty of weeds– Dandelions, clovers, loosestrife, milkweed, goldenrod and other flowering weeds are very important food sources for bees. In areas filled with green sprawling lawns, dandelions and clovers are vital plants for a bees survival. Let them grow and flower in your yard and you will soon have your own personal honeybee sanctuary. The next time you see a dandelion going to seed, grab it, blow those seeds around and feel good knowing you are doing your part to help save the bees. It can’t be more simple than that!
In the picture above, my bees are on a poppy flower planted in my wildflower garden.
Copyright © 2011-2014. Anita Deeley, BeverlyBees.com. All rights reserved.
If you enjoy this post, would like to support this blog and need to buy seeds for your bee friendly garden, please click on the Botanical Interests box below. Your cost will be the same and I may receive a small commission for referring you there. Plus all Botanical Interests seeds are bee safe so you can feel confident knowing you are buying safe plants for your bees! Thank you for your support!
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
- Snowdrops: Winter Forage for Bees
- Snowdrops for Bees
- Blue Pollen, Honeybees and Siberian Squill
- The Bees Were Bringing In Orange Pollen Today
- In Case You’re Wondering Bees Can Chew Through Garden Row Cover
| 0.5032 |
FineWeb
|
Russia past and present, from a historian in Cambridge
‘Historians often dislike what happened or wish that it had happened differently,’ wrote AJP Taylor, the great British historian-provocateur of the last century. He concluded: ‘There is nothing they can do about it.’
It doesn’t stop them trying, of course.
Taylor was responding to criticism of his infamous book, The Origins of the Second World War (1961). In this book, Taylor sought to overturn conventional wisdom. Provoking angry international debate, as much on TV as among scholars, he argued that Hitler was not a rapacious lunatic, but a rational statesman in the Bismarckian mould. The war was a blunder, a malfunction of the international system, not an inevitable consequence of a pre-planned genocidal scheme.
The emphasis of Taylor’s argument was wrong. But not all of it. Take the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939.
For Taylor, the Soviet Union turned to Germany in the summer of 1939 after it failed to agree a treaty of collective security with Britain and France. Such a treaty would have been directed against Germany, the undisputed threat to all the other powers, but it failed because the British and French were obstructive. As the clock ticked in the weeks that followed the Nazi occupation of Prague, the only way left for the Soviets to defend themselves against Germany was by allying with — Germany.
So when Germany invaded Poland in September, the Red Army followed up with an invasion from the East. A dreadful occupation of the Baltic and Eastern Polish region followed. Its worst aspects, such as the massacre at Katyn, bear comparison with Nazi crimes. But was this risky foreign adventure really Stalin’s first choice? The evidence suggests it was not. After all, he was usually risk-averse in international affairs.
Although he didn’t always exercise it, Taylor had the gift of seeing the past on its own terms. When some commentators today argue that the Nazi-Soviet Pact was nothing more than Stalin’s plan for importing totalitarianism to eastern Poland and the Baltic States, they are confusing cause and side-effect. In forgetting such moments as the Nazi-Poland Pact of 1934 to 1939, and insisting on tendentious moral frameworks that are too weak to explain international events, they push a presentist agenda that dramatically exaggerates the danger Russia poses to European peace today.
‘I have never seen any sense in the question of war guilt or war innocence,’ Taylor wrote. He went on: ‘As a private citizen, I think that all this striving after greatness and domination [one could add ‘mass destruction’] is idiotic[.] […]. As a historian, I recognize that Powers will be Powers.’
AJP Taylor was not a humble man, but he was more humble than those who turn history into a crusade.
| 0.6023 |
FineWeb
|
(full paper is archived in the Miller Library)
Title: Studies on the larval stages of the barnacle Balanus glandula Darwin, 1854, Balanus tintinnabulum (Linnaeus, 1758), Chthamalus dalli Pilsbury, 1916, and Pollicipes polymerus (Sowerby, 1833)
Student Author(s): Snodgrass, John B.
Faculty Advisor(s): Abbott, Donald P.
Location: Final Papers Biology 175H
Date: June 1967
Abstract: B. glandula and P. polymerus were raised in vitro from hatching to the fourth instar nauplius and C. dalli from hatching to settlement of the cypris. B. tintinnabulum was raised through stage III. Cultures were maintianed at room temperature and fed on a diet of Platymonas sp.. Larval size, shape, and details of the tail and appendages are presented for all species and all stages observed. Definite differences between instars, and between species at the same instar, permit identification of species and stage of development. Setation formulae, particularly of the antennule, though of limited value for distinguishing different species, proved good indicators of specific instars. Body shape and tail morphology provide the most useful characteristics for species recognition.
| 0.6889 |
FineWeb
|
Wooden Ball Run Board Set
Children have a natural inclination to explore and test. They love all things in motion, especially balls!
The Wooden Ball Run Board Set were developed to engage children in play that causes them to think about speed, momentum and gravity. They may not use those terms, but we know these concepts will drive their interest! Perfect for supporting physical science and your STEM curriculum! This set includes ten, 5cm wooden balls and two runs. Each run has a different design affecting the ball differently adding a compare and contrast element to the play.
The runs each measure 120cm long x 29cm wide x 2.5cm thick and come with built in holes to hold extra balls.
Wooden Ball Run Board Set includes:
- Wooden Ball Run Boards, set of 2
- Ten x 5cm balls
Use your own balls of different weights, sizes, textures, and shapes to test how they roll down the tracks, or combine the tracks together to make one long run!
Recommended for ages 3+, perfect for home, child care and preschool use.
- Not intended for permanent use outdoors, not weather or water-resistant
- Inclusions are listed above, not all items in videos or images are included, and are shown only to illustrate how various packs can fit together to further investigative play
| 0.9012 |
FineWeb
|
The rise of huge herbivores around 300 million years ago significantly increased the availability of nutrients globally as the animals defecated waste far from where they ate.
Previous models have predicted this phenomenon, but empirical evidence has been lacking. Christopher Doughty of Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff looked at data on coal deposits from 323 to 299 million years ago, a period before large herbivores walked the planet. He compared these to coal from the Cretaceous period 145 to 66 million years ago, when the largest herbivores ever — the sauropods — roamed Earth.
Concentrations of nutrients vital to plants and animals were on average 136% higher in coal produced by vegetation from the Cretaceous than in coal laid down before the big herbivores appeared. These nutrients were also more widely distributed. But there was no significant difference between the two data sets in the distribution of aluminium, which is shifted around through the weathering of rocks over time and not by animals.
This finding indicates that ongoing reductions in the populations of large herbivores, such as forest elephants, could also impoverish ecosystems.
| 0.7704 |
FineWeb
|
Echinacea is likely safe for most people when taken by mouth in the short-term. Various liquid and solid forms of Echinacea have been used safely for up to 10 days. There are also some products, such as Echinaforce (A. Vogel Bioforce AG, Switzerland) that have been used safely for up to 6 months. There is not enough information to know if echinacea is safe to use as an injection. Some side effects have been reported such as fever, nausea, vomiting, unpleasant taste, stomach pain, diarrhea, sore throat, dry mouth, headache, numbness of the tongue, dizziness, insomnia, disorientation and joint and muscle aches.
Applying echinacea to the skin can cause redness, itchiness or a rash.
Echinacea is most likely to cause allergic reactions in children and adults who are allergic to ragweed, mums, marigolds or daisies. If you have allergies, be sure to check with your healthcare provider before taking echinacea.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Children: Echinacea is possibly safe when taken by mouth in the short-term. It seems to be safe in most children ages 2-11 years. However, about 7% of these children may experience a rash that could be due to an allergic reaction. There is some concern that allergic reactions to echinacea could be more severe in some children. For this reason, some regulatory organizations have been recommended against giving echinacea to children under 12 years of age.
Pregnancy: Echinacea is possibly safe when taken by mouth in the short-term. There is some evidence that purple coneflower might be safe when taken during the first trimester of pregnancy without harming the fetus. But until this is confirmed by additional research, it is best to stay on the safe side and avoid use.
Breast feeding: There is not enough reliable information about the safety of taking echinacea if you are breast feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
An inherited tendency toward allergies (atopy): People with this condition are more likely to develop an allergic reaction to echinacea. It’s best to avoid exposure to echinacea if you have this condition.
| 0.7155 |
FineWeb
|
This paper seeks to demonstrate the controversial nature of heritage as it is expressed through visual media in the former Soviet republics. I explore Soviet-era emblems of cultural heritage in a post-Soviet context specifically to illuminate their influence on national identity. Drawing from imagery in the Baltic States, Belarus, and Ukraine I demonstrate how today’s lingering symbols of communist nationalism obscure the realization of national identity from being completely non-Soviet. Examples such as Grutas Park, Freedom Square and Minsk’s steadfast urban design illustrate how remembrance of the Soviet past through visual media poses a social conflict to transitional change in Eastern Europe.
Harrison, Frances W.
"Reviving Heritage in Post-Soviet Eastern Europe: A Visual Approach To National Identity,"
Totem: The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology:
1, Article 3.
Available at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/totem/vol20/iss1/3
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
| 0.9243 |
FineWeb
|
We have the most adorable DIY Easter Card to share with you today. This cute bunny card is especially easy to make with the help of our downloadable template. It makes a great afternoon Easter craft and is sure to delight anyone who receives it as a cute DIY Easter Card.
HOW TO MAKE A DIY EASTER CARD
- pastel color paper
- white cardstock
- patterned pastel color paper*
- small pink pom pom*
- googly eyes*
- black marker
- glue stick*
*We received these products for free from our friends at Oriental Trading. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.
1. Download the bunny card template at the bottom of this post on white cardstock. Cut out the bunny face and ears.
2. Use the bunny template to cut out the inside of ears sections from patterned pastel colored paper. Then glue the inside ears onto the white ears.
3. Bend the top half of the bunny ears in half to give them some extra texture and dimension and glue them onto the back of the bunny face.
4. Fold the light blue cardstock in half to create your Easter card. Glue the bunny face and ears onto the front of the DIY Easter Card.
5. Glue a small pink pom pom in the center of the bunny face and two googly eyes. Then use a black marker to draw a mouth and whiskers onto the bunny.
YOUR DIY EASTER CARD IS COMPLETE!
Open it up and add a special Easter message on the inside for a friend or family member. You could also make this as a stand alone craft and connect several together to make a cute Easter banner.
| 0.5345 |
FineWeb
|
Amsterdam, September 21, 2021 – Arcadis (EURONEXT: ARCAD), the leading global Design & Consultancy organization for natural and built assets, today announced the commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions (Net Zero) in 2035 within its global operations. The step is part of the ambition the company set out last year in its three-year strategy to build on Arcadis’ pioneering heritage and maximize its impact by reinforcing sustainability at the heart of client solutions, business operations, and the communities of today, tomorrow and the future.
The Net Zero commitment will reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in line with the Science Based Targets initiative supporting the Paris Agreement. The goal of this agreement is to limit global warming to 1.5° C compared to pre-industrial levels by 2050. This commitment, which is part of Arcadis’ journey to Net Zero will be met through the following measures:
- Reduction of scope 1 & 2 global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45% by 2025, from a 2019 base year
- Reduction of scope 3 (GHG) business travel related emissions by 35% by 2025, from a 2019 base year
The plan to achieve Net Zero emissions in 2035 includes a range of short- and medium-term milestones, including:
- Offset 100% of material scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions through high quality offsets, already in place since 2020, as an interim step on the path to Net Zero
- Source 100% renewable electricity globally before the end of 2021
- Reduce 50% of emissions caused by domestic and international flights by 2025
Arcadis’ strategic ambition includes making a significant, quantifiable, and positive contribution to sustainable development, and this Net Zero pledge is a crucial step.
“The next decade will be pivotal in ensuring whether the world will effectively respond to the threat of climate change and mitigate its impact. Arcadis hopes to accelerate our industry’s transition to Net Zero through the solutions it brings to market and the example it sets, so our operational commitment to ‘get to Paris in half the time’ is one we hope becomes the norm across our industry and those we serve. A Net Zero world is about creating a future that is so much better than today - healthier lives; thriving nature; effortless transport; enjoyable places” says Alexis Haass, Arcadis Chief Sustainability Officer.
“To get to Net Zero, we must reinvent economies and rethink business, to help regenerate our communities and restore our world. Arcadis is committed to showing that sustainability isn't just about fixing things, it's about improving quality of life. The recent floods in Northern Europe and the heatwave in the US and Canada reminds us that now is the time for the world to adapt, and this commitment to Net Zero is a natural next step for our organization to play its part in combating climate change,” adds Peter Oosterveer, Arcadis CEO.
Race to Zero
To further reiterate our commitment to becoming a Net Zero company, Arcadis became a signatory to Pledge to Net Zero. Through this commitment we joined the Race to Zero, a UN backed global campaign aimed to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors to take action to shift to a decarbonized economy that prevents future threats, creates jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
ARCADIS CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
Mobile: +31 6 10 26 19 55
ARCADIS INVESTOR RELATIONS
Mobile: +31 6 51599483
Arcadis is the leading global design & consultancy organization for natural and built assets. We maximize impact for our clients and the communities they serve by providing effective solutions through sustainable outcomes, focus and scale, and digitalization. We are over 28,000 people, active in more than 70 countries that generate €3.3 billion in revenues. We support UN-Habitat with knowledge and expertise to improve the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around the world. www.arcadis.com
| 0.6243 |
FineWeb
|
The U-CAT underwater camera
This underwater robot called the U-CAT , built at the Tallinn centre for Biorobotics, Finland, will help us to access shipwrecks! It looks like a small fish or submarine, it moves just like a sea turtle and it is only a few centimetres across. It carries It will be able to get into small cracks in submerged wrecks and buildings which would normally be inaccessible or unsafe for human exploration. It is also mounted with a camera, so a live feed could be accessed, and/or a digital reconstruction of the shipwreck can be created from the footage. The cost is not yet known, but surely the small size of the U-CAT means that it will be reasonably cheap to buy? As there are hundreds of submerged wrecks in the Solent channel alone, this could be a very useful resource to record and inform us about shipwrecks and submerged buildings and landscape in years to come.
Digitally recording archaeology on the cheap?
In archaeology, we can now create models in a number of situations, using cameras (for photogrammetric), laser scans (see previous post about laser scanning here), and even CAD (conmputer aided design) models! With companies like Agisoft and SketchUp providing the software to create models, he range of capabilites are vast. Currently some Universities are using SketchUp to archaeology students to improve the (digital) arcaheological record and the awareness in what software is available to arcaheologists.
www.sketchfab.com is a brilliant free service that allows you to publish 3D models, based on virtual reconstructions, which allows your work to be advertised to a wide audience. So long as you have access to the internet, you can then publish these models! If you upload your model into the SketchUp domain, then you can georeference your model to the real world!
Creating real-life plastic models of archaeology
A number of methods are now available for use for scanning artefacts, particularly X-ray scans. some Universities are pioneering the use of scanning technology for various materials, and then creating real life models out of them! For example, the University of Swansea has combined the use of a CT scanner, 3D visualisation technology and 3-D printers to create a model of a mummified round object from Egypt, about 50cm x 50cm x 60cm. It was assumed to be a baby or a small animal, but it turns out that it was the skeleton of a snake that was 80 cm long! It is difficult to date the snake, or tell what specific species it is based on this model alone, but it tells us that the Egyptians treated many animals with mummification. Why? Turns out that they revered many animals as sacred, not just cats! Many of their gods could metamorphose into animals, which then became sacred to them. This method is also non-destructive, and allows the object to be studied in the future, while the model can be handled by the public. The model on display, despite looking very small, is twice the size of the skeleton! This allows details in the skeleton to be explained to the public more clearly. Other institutions are practicing this too, such as the University of Southampton, who have used graphics software and 3-D printers to recreate the head from a marble statue found at the Roman port of Portus, near to Rome.
| 0.6779 |
FineWeb
|
The structure of the human hand is a complex design comprising of various bones, joints, tendons, and muscles functioning together in order to produce the desired motion. It becomes a challenging task to develop a robotic hand replicating the capabilities of the human hand. In this paper, the analysis of the four-fingered robotic hand is carried out where the tendon wires and a spring return mechanism is used for the flexion and extension motion of the fingers, respectively. Stable grasping and fine manipulation of different objects are desired from any multi-finger robotic hand. In this regard, it becomes necessary to check the performance of the four-fingered robotic hand. Simulations are performed for the hand to grasp objects of different size and shapes, and the hand model is controlled in a MATLAB environment using the SimMechanics toolbox. Here the Kinematics and Dynamics study of the hand system is carried out by importing the Solidworks model into the SimMechanics. Simulation results demonstrate that the developed hand model is able to grasp objects of varying size and shapes securely.
| 0.9988 |
FineWeb
|
Using the latest technologies 3D Imaging Services can provide you with a rapid path to completed Design/Construction documentation on your next renovation project. Incomplete and inaccurate drawings can wreak havoc with renovation projects, and nobody likes the unexpected change order. Let us provide you with the most accurate up to date documentation of the existing facility so you can begin your design with confidence. Are you looking for a rapid path to provide laser scanning services to your clients, without the huge investment for tools, software, and training?
Our 3D Services Include:
3D Architectural interior and exterior visualizations 3D Multimedia presentations 3D Product visualizations 3D Interactive virtual reality 3D Process and engineering animations 3D custom software solutions3D Services in Lebanon is a single-source to the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction sector with a wide range of 3D rendering services including:
Some of the examples where our 3D Architectural Modeling Rendering services can help you:
Advancements in communication facilities have prompted many organizations to outsource their architectural 3d rendering requirements. We strive to provide sensible, efficient, and accurate services to our clients. Our 3D CAD services are intended to help them gain a competitive advantage over their rivals in the industry.
Advantages of architectural 3D modeling and 3D architectural rendering services in Lebanon:
We model the product from scratch referring to the images you have provided in 3D software (Maya). This is a cumbersome process. To give you an idea, assume you have a ball of clay and sculpt it to a finished product. We do the same, the only difference is we do use software digitally.
Assume you have a finished clay model and you need to animate it, you will have to add bones to move individual parts for an animation to be smooth. We follow the same adding more bones to provide expressions to the 3D model.
We will be matching the same colors and textures of the product. It is like adding clothes to a product.
We composite all the 3D & 2D elements ie., Product, Ambience, Lighting, Camera movements.
5. 3D Rendering:
This is a very time-consuming part. The entire finished animation needs to render frame by frame to give a sequence.
6. Post production:
We will be adding special effects we use Maya for 3D rendering and Adobe After effects for Post production (Effects)
7. Final Render:
Now you will have a finished product.
Tetapi, butuh dikenal kalau julukan“ basket” awal mulanya cumalah gelar yang diucapkan salah seseorang muridnya pada dikala mempermainkan perlombaan. Alhasil, game ini kesimpulannya diketahui agen sbobet dengan julukan basket semacam saat ini ini. Dengan metode game bola basket yang diciptakannya, mulailah bola basket ini dipertandingkan. Bola basket awal kali dipertandingkan pada 20 Januari 1892 di tempat kegiatan James Naismith.
| 0.7856 |
FineWeb
|
When An Idea Becomes A Book
I've been a fan of horror stories for as long as I can remember. Any tale that contains an anomaly or includes a twist ending I enjoy reading. This is probably due to my love of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone series, or admiring the way Stephen King transforms an ordinary situation into sheer terror. If you think about it: attending a prom or burying a pet is an activity people do all the time, but once King adds his macabre magic to the page, we shudder about the things that could happen.
After considering how easily our daily routine can slip into a terrifying ordeal, I began to assemble the pieces that eventually became my debut novel, "Something's Not Right With Lucy." I imagined being a child and not only seeing things that weren't there, but also considered how adults would handle such a circumstance. Would they be puzzled? Ask questions? Punish the child? Or seek some professional help?
Then I considered the magic two words of any horror novel: what if? What if the child is right and these things are actually happening? What if these are only hallucinations? And more puzzling: what would cause such a break from reality?
After years of pondering these ideas, I finally put my idea to paper. I wrote my rough draft. The main character became seven-year-old Lucy, who lives with her parents and younger sister, Daisy.
The story is written in third person omniscient, meaning the narrator discloses all of the characters' thoughts. I chose this point of view in storytelling to give the reader a glimpse of each character's reaction to the puzzling behavior of this child.
Now, after three years of developing characters, plot, and tons of research, the story is published. Lucy transformed from my imagination to pages shared with readers. My idea became a book!
| 0.5417 |
FineWeb
|
Step 1: Solar cells
[UPDATE NOTE: as I said you can choose between different sizes and prices of solar panels, and if you want a charger which charges the battery in few hours in direct sunlight, or that charges in shadow too even though slower, you have to spend more and having a bigger surface and weight]
Step 2: Charger modules
In this instructable you see two similar PCB, one has two leds to show charging process (red led) and full charge (green led), other one has no leds and is a bit cheaper. Both are meant to charge a single cell, although you can in theory connect two cells in parallel, but I don't suggest it because that will reduce their life. They also both provide +5V output.
These battery charger modules usually have three pairs of pads for connections, for all three couples of wires beware to respect the polarity (don't follow my example, try to use black and red wires):
- DC input (also marked as "charge", "charging port", "P+ and P-", "3.7V+ and 3.7V-") where you have to connect your solar cell(s), this usually accepts from 3.7 to 6V or more.
- 5V DC output (also marked as "increasing output" or "V+ and V-") where you will connect your device, through an USB or another power female plug, as you see in picture this voltage is very precise.
- Battery connections (usually marked as "B+ and B-"), here connect your battery (or better your battery holder), you can also try to connect two or more batteries in parallel, but I don't suggest it.
Step 3: Batteries
Step 4: Soft-power
Step 5: Prototypes
Step 6: The hub
This is an USB hub with four USB 2.0 (you don't need 3.0 for this project, actually 1.0 is good enough) ports, each one with switch and blue led, all this for only 4$. That’s perfect! I see that there is also a +5V DC-IN socket to receive an external power source. That would be fantastic, we neither need to open it! But I want to put my tiny pcb inside it, so let’s open it to see if there is enough space.
Step 7: Some desoldering and salvage
Before cutting the cable look where the black wire is soldered, that is the ground (-), and it’s connected with the ground pin of the DC-IN socket, we need to know where to solder the wires from the charger.
Step 8: Avoiding power dissipation
Beside I've discovered it's better interrupting the signal traces that come out from the black IC (the plastic drop) and arrive at second and third USB pins. I had some difficulty to power some device before doing that.
You can also decide to replace blue leds with similar red ones (which use less current) or to remove them completely to save energy from the battery, after all this solar psu has to be as much efficient as possible.
Step 9: Wire them all
Step 10: Attach solar panels
Step 11: Accommodate the pcb
Step 12: Complete with battery (holder)
Maybe that pcb will reset when you take off or disconnect the battery. In that case you have to soft-power it again, notice that DC input wires are accessible from the narrow slot between solar cells and container, try to keep an easy accessibility to them, otherwise you have to open the case. Also remember to mark the wires so to know which one is positive and which is negative. Yes I know, much better to use red and black wires... :-P
Step 13: Enjoy the sun
Now enjoy and be sure to not enter a too dark wood ;-)
Step 14: [UPDATE]
I also glued pivots between panels and case, so that the solar charger is foldable.
I've still to add the battery socket, but unfortunately shipping time is very long.
| 0.635 |
FineWeb
|
XIM, short for X Input Method, is the method by which XFree86 allows for international input. Applications which support the xim can be used in conjunction with an xim server to input Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc text without too much user intervention. kinput2 is one of the more frequently used xim servers, and can be used with a canna or freewnn backend for translation of the romaji text into the necessary international script. While xim servers do no
t require the system's locale to be changed, the xim process itself must be run with the target locale set in the LC_CTYPE variable (i.e, LC_CTYPE=ja_JP kinput2 -canna &). Switching in and out of the xim input mode is usually done with a
keycombo, such as ctrl-o or shift-space, and can be done on the fly.
| 0.6158 |
FineWeb
|
A small goose with a mainly black head and neck, breeding in the arctic tundra of Eurasia and Canada.
- Branta bernicla, family Anatidae
More example sentences
- During our latest visit to the reserve brent geese were the main attraction.
- The grazing intensity of wintering brent geese was monitored on areas of grass pasture.
- You can help them by reporting sightings of brent geese away from the coast.
late Middle English: of unknown origin.
Definition of brent goose in:
- The US English dictionary
| 0.9908 |
FineWeb
|
I like perpetual calendars, but I don’t like almanacs. I always feel that almanacs are a compromise. It's so bad. Why bother? Although, I know that the big names that produce calendars are not impossible to make perpetual calendars. In fact, like PP (replicaPatek Philippe, Patek Philippe) and Lange, they do the perpetual calendar first and then the annual calendar. To be more practical, I just want to make more money, the high-end must be occupied, and the mid-range and low-end must also be occupied. Since the positioning has been divided into upper and lower positions in advance, replica watches the result must be high and low. If nothing else, just talk about the dial design. It must be better for the perpetual calendar. For example, 5146, very good design, but at least in my eyes, 5140 is better, and not only a little bit.
I'm very tired of the flooded tourbillon, especially the over-designed tourbillon, which seems to reveal such a sense of urgency for money, such as Jerome Romain's Titanic Day & Night. The earliest design was that there was no hour and minute hands at all, and there were only two on the dial. A tourbillon rotates one during the day and one at night, so it is called Day & Night. When reading, you can only read about it, day or night. Later, the design was changed, and a sub-dial for the hour and minute hand was added, and finally the hour can be read.
I like the FPJ calendar, precisely because of his uncompromising. He once said (the general idea is as follows) that most customers who can afford a perpetual calendar actually don't understand watches or how to use a perpetual calendar. It would be a waste to make a perpetual calendar for them. Therefore, out of respect for watches, he only makes annual calendars, not perpetual calendars. Obviously, like him, a master of resonance and self-sufficiency, wouldn't it be easy to make a perpetual calendar? Later, perhaps the radical method worked, he finally made a perpetual replica Breitling calendar Octa Perpetuelle, limited to 99 pieces. The appearance is almost the same as the Octa Canlendrier. But just looking at the appearance, I still prefer Octa Canlendrier.
| 0.5506 |
FineWeb
|
HGSI Insider – Webinar February 18, 2015
This month I am showing how to integrate intraday data with end of day analysis techniques. At any time during market hours HGSI users can run a full update to get a snapshot of the market. After running the update, both intraday and end of day prospecting techniques can be used to look for potential trades.
Some of the advantages of running a full update intraday are:
1. Intraday SmartGroups are generated
2. Intraday Industries are updated based on current stock prices
3. Intraday Group Inclusion reports can be generated
4. End of day screens can be applied to intraday data
| 0.5258 |
FineWeb
|
Then, some 150 miles off Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, there was a fire in the engine room and that’s when everything went south. With no power to the engines and severely compromised water and plumbing systems, the Triumph drifted for five days as the fun-filled cruise to “Funville” turned into a sewage-filled trip to “Sewerville.”
With no running water, no toilet facilities, and a scarcity of edible provisions, the stench of human waste and rotting food sickened many of the passengers. After five days, the upper deck of the ocean liner looked more like ‘Occupy Triumph’ than a sunny Carnival cruise. To escape the urine- and feces-soaked rooms and hallways, passengers left the ‘poop deck,’ built tents on the upper deck, and relieved themselves in red “poo-poo bags” which crew members dutifully collected.
Read the rest of the article at The Blacksphere.net
| 0.5807 |
FineWeb
|
Benefits over the oil you're using now:
-Increases gas mileage
-Reduced oil consumption (drastic in many cases)
-Significantly less oil changes for most people
-More miles per tank
-Stops wear and tear
-Save the planet
-Doesn't use fossil oil
-Spark plugs last longer
-Avoid future engine overhauls
-Keep your car longer
-Peace of mind
-Great for those who often neglect car maintenance
-Superior quality over what car dealers or quick lubes have to offer
Facts, NOT HYPE!
See why you should be using AMSOIL instead of Castrol, Valvoline, Mobil, Pennzoil or Quaker State
Why you should be using AMSOIL instead of Mobil 1
All products ship from the closest warehouse based on your location. Shipping times can be as fast as 1 day.
FACT: AMSOIL synthetic oils reduct friction more effectively than conventional petrolium motor oils do. Less friction means less engine wear, better fuel economy and improved power and performance.
"I just put AMSOIL in my new Toyota at 6,000 miles and the mileage jumped three miles per gallon - a 10 percent increase. I cannot understand why everyone does not use this fantastic product."
-G.D., Chicago, Illinois
AMSOIL warrants that its filtration products are fit for use according to AMSOIL's recommendations and warrants its products to be free of defective materials, design and workmanship.
| 0.9244 |
FineWeb
|
Understanding the mechanisms by which molecular motors coordinate their activities to transport vesicular cargoes within neurons requires the quantitative analysis of motor/cargo associations at the single vesicle level. The goal of this protocol is to use quantitative fluorescence microscopy to correlate (“map”) the position and directionality of movement of live cargo to the composition and relative amounts of motors associated with the same cargo. “Cargo mapping” consists of live imaging of fluorescently labeled cargoes moving in axons cultured on microfluidic devices, followed by chemical fixation during recording of live movement, and subsequent immunofluorescence (IF) staining of the exact same axonal regions with antibodies against motors. Colocalization between cargoes and their associated motors is assessed by assigning sub-pixel position coordinates to motor and cargo channels, by fitting Gaussian functions to the diffraction-limited point spread functions representing individual fluorescent point sources. Fixed cargo and motor images are subsequently superimposed to plots of cargo movement, to “map” them to their tracked trajectories. The strength of this protocol is the combination of live and IF data to record both the transport of vesicular cargoes in live cells and to determine the motors associated to these exact same vesicles. This technique overcomes previous challenges that use biochemical methods to determine the average motor composition of purified heterogeneous bulk vesicle populations, as these methods do not reveal compositions on single moving cargoes. Furthermore, this protocol can be adapted for the analysis of other transport and/or trafficking pathways in other cell types to correlate the movement of individual intracellular structures with their protein composition. Limitations of this protocol are the relatively low throughput due to low transfection efficiencies of cultured primary neurons and a limited field of view available for high-resolution imaging. Future applications could include methods to increase the number of neurons expressing fluorescently labeled cargoes.
23 Related JoVE Articles!
Monitoring the Assembly of a Secreted Bacterial Virulence Factor Using Site-specific Crosslinking
Institutions: National Institutes of Health.
This article describes a method to detect and analyze dynamic interactions between a protein of interest and other factors in vivo
. Our method is based on the amber suppression technology that was originally developed by Peter Schultz and colleagues1
. An amber mutation is first introduced at a specific codon of the gene encoding the protein of interest. The amber mutant is then expressed in E. coli
together with genes encoding an amber suppressor tRNA and an amino acyl-tRNA synthetase derived from Methanococcus jannaschii
. Using this system, the photo activatable amino acid analog p-benzoylphenylalanine (Bpa) is incorporated at the amber codon. Cells are then irradiated with ultraviolet light to covalently link the Bpa residue to proteins that are located within 3-8 Å. Photocrosslinking is performed in combination with pulse-chase labeling and immunoprecipitation of the protein of interest in order to monitor changes in protein-protein interactions that occur over a time scale of seconds to minutes. We optimized the procedure to study the assembly of a bacterial virulence factor that consists of two independent domains, a domain that is integrated into the outer membrane and a domain that is translocated into the extracellular space, but the method can be used to study many different assembly processes and biological pathways in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In principle interacting factors and even specific residues of interacting factors that bind to a protein of interest can be identified by mass spectrometry.
Immunology, Issue 82, Autotransporters, Bam complex, Molecular chaperones, protein-protein interactions, Site-specific photocrosslinking
Reverse Yeast Two-hybrid System to Identify Mammalian Nuclear Receptor Residues that Interact with Ligands and/or Antagonists
Institutions: Albert Einstein College of Medicine , Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
As a critical regulator of drug metabolism and inflammation, Pregnane X Receptor (PXR), plays an important role in disease pathophysiology linking metabolism and inflammation (e.g.
. There has been much progress in the identification of agonist ligands for PXR, however, there are limited descriptions of drug-like antagonists and their binding sites on PXR3,4,5
. A critical barrier has been the inability to efficiently purify full-length protein for structural studies with antagonists despite the fact that PXR was cloned and characterized in 1998. Our laboratory developed a novel high throughput yeast based two-hybrid assay to define an antagonist, ketoconazole's, binding residues on PXR6
. Our method involves creating mutational libraries that would rescue the effect of single mutations on the AF-2 surface of PXR expected to interact with ketoconazole. Rescue or "gain-of-function" second mutations can be made such that conclusions regarding the genetic interaction of ketoconazole and the surface residue(s) on PXR are feasible. Thus, we developed a high throughput two-hybrid yeast screen of PXR mutants interacting with its coactivator, SRC-1. Using this approach, in which the yeast was modified to accommodate the study of the antifungal drug, ketoconazole, we could demonstrate specific mutations on PXR enriched in clones unable to bind to ketoconazole. By reverse logic, we conclude that the original residues are direct interaction residues with ketoconazole. This assay represents a novel, tractable genetic assay to screen for antagonist binding sites on nuclear receptor surfaces. This assay could be applied to any drug regardless of its cytotoxic potential to yeast as well as to cellular protein(s) that cannot be studied using standard structural biology or proteomic based methods. Potential pitfalls include interpretation of data (complementary methods useful), reliance on single Y2H method, expertise in handling yeast or performing yeast two-hybrid assays, and assay optimization.
Biochemistry, Issue 81, Orphan nuclear receptor, ketoconazole, yeast two-hybrid, Pregnane X Receptor, ligand, antatogist, coactivators SRC-1 (steroid receptor coactivator 1), drug-receptor interaction
Use of Stopped-Flow Fluorescence and Labeled Nucleotides to Analyze the ATP Turnover Cycle of Kinesins
Institutions: University of Nottingham.
The kinesin superfamily of microtubule associated motor proteins share a characteristic motor domain which both hydrolyses ATP and binds microtubules. Kinesins display differences across the superfamily both in ATP turnover and in microtubule interaction. These differences tailor specific kinesins to various functions such as cargo transport, microtubule sliding, microtubule depolymerization and microtubule stabilization. To understand the mechanism of action of a kinesin it is important to understand how the chemical cycle of ATP turnover is coupled to the mechanical cycle of microtubule interaction. To dissect the ATP turnover cycle, one approach is to utilize fluorescently labeled nucleotides to visualize individual steps in the cycle. Determining the kinetics of each nucleotide transition in the ATP turnover cycle allows the rate-limiting step or steps for the complete cycle to be identified. For a kinesin, it is important to know the rate-limiting step, in the absence of microtubules, as this step is generally accelerated several thousand fold when the kinesin interacts with microtubules. The cycle in the absence of microtubules is then compared to that in the presence of microtubules to fully understand a kinesin’s ATP turnover cycle. The kinetics of individual nucleotide transitions are generally too fast to observe by manually mixing reactants, particularly in the presence of microtubules. A rapid mixing device, such as a stopped-flow fluorimeter, which allows kinetics to be observed on timescales of as little as a few milliseconds, can be used to monitor such transitions. Here, we describe protocols in which rapid mixing of reagents by stopped-flow is used in conjunction with fluorescently labeled nucleotides to dissect the ATP turnover cycle of a kinesin.
Chemistry, Issue 92, Kinesin, ATP turnover, mantATP, mantADP, stopped-flow fluorescence, microtubules, enzyme kinetics, nucleotide
Isolation and Chemical Characterization of Lipid A from Gram-negative Bacteria
Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Austin.
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the major cell surface molecule of gram-negative bacteria, deposited on the outer leaflet of the outer membrane bilayer. LPS can be subdivided into three domains: the distal O-polysaccharide, a core oligosaccharide, and the lipid A domain consisting of a lipid A molecular species and 3-deoxy-D-manno-oct-2-ulosonic acid residues (Kdo). The lipid A domain is the only component essential for bacterial cell survival. Following its synthesis, lipid A is chemically modified in response to environmental stresses such as pH or temperature, to promote resistance to antibiotic compounds, and to evade recognition by mediators of the host innate immune response. The following protocol details the small- and large-scale isolation of lipid A from gram-negative bacteria. Isolated material is then chemically characterized by thin layer chromatography (TLC) or mass-spectrometry (MS). In addition to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) MS, we also describe tandem MS protocols for analyzing lipid A molecular species using electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled to collision induced dissociation (CID) and newly employed ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) methods. Our MS protocols allow for unequivocal determination of chemical structure, paramount to characterization of lipid A molecules that contain unique or novel chemical modifications. We also describe the radioisotopic labeling, and subsequent isolation, of lipid A from bacterial cells for analysis by TLC. Relative to MS-based protocols, TLC provides a more economical and rapid characterization method, but cannot be used to unambiguously assign lipid A chemical structures without the use of standards of known chemical structure. Over the last two decades isolation and characterization of lipid A has led to numerous exciting discoveries that have improved our understanding of the physiology of gram-negative bacteria, mechanisms of antibiotic resistance, the human innate immune response, and have provided many new targets in the development of antibacterial compounds.
Chemistry, Issue 79, Membrane Lipids, Toll-Like Receptors, Endotoxins, Glycolipids, Lipopolysaccharides, Lipid A, Microbiology, Lipids, lipid A, Bligh-Dyer, thin layer chromatography (TLC), lipopolysaccharide, mass spectrometry, Collision Induced Dissociation (CID), Photodissociation (PD)
Flexural Rigidity Measurements of Biopolymers Using Gliding Assays
Institutions: Lawrence University.
Microtubules are cytoskeletal polymers which play a role in cell division, cell mechanics, and intracellular transport. Each of these functions requires microtubules that are stiff and straight enough to span a significant fraction of the cell diameter. As a result, the microtubule persistence length, a measure of stiffness, has been actively studied for the past two decades1
. Nonetheless, open questions remain: short microtubules are 10-50 times less stiff than long microtubules2-4
, and even long microtubules have measured persistence lengths which vary by an order of magnitude5-9
Here, we present a method to measure microtubule persistence length. The method is based on a kinesin-driven microtubule gliding assay10
. By combining sparse fluorescent labeling of individual microtubules with single particle tracking of individual fluorophores attached to the microtubule, the gliding trajectories of single microtubules are tracked with nanometer-level precision. The persistence length of the trajectories is the same as the persistence length of the microtubule under the conditions used11
. An automated tracking routine is used to create microtubule trajectories from fluorophores attached to individual microtubules, and the persistence length of this trajectory is calculated using routines written in IDL.
This technique is rapidly implementable, and capable of measuring the persistence length of 100 microtubules in one day of experimentation. The method can be extended to measure persistence length under a variety of conditions, including persistence length as a function of length along microtubules. Moreover, the analysis routines used can be extended to myosin-based acting gliding assays, to measure the persistence length of actin filaments as well.
Biophysics, Issue 69, Bioengineering, Physics, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, microtubule, persistence length, flexural rigidity, gliding assay, mechanics, cytoskeleton, actin
Models and Methods to Evaluate Transport of Drug Delivery Systems Across Cellular Barriers
Institutions: University of Maryland, University of Maryland.
Sub-micrometer carriers (nanocarriers; NCs) enhance efficacy of drugs by improving solubility, stability, circulation time, targeting, and release. Additionally, traversing cellular barriers in the body is crucial for both oral delivery of therapeutic NCs into the circulation and transport from the blood into tissues, where intervention is needed. NC transport across cellular barriers is achieved by: (i) the paracellular route, via transient disruption of the junctions that interlock adjacent cells, or (ii) the transcellular route, where materials are internalized by endocytosis, transported across the cell body, and secreted at the opposite cell surface (transyctosis). Delivery across cellular barriers can be facilitated by coupling therapeutics or their carriers with targeting agents that bind specifically to cell-surface markers involved in transport. Here, we provide methods to measure the extent and mechanism of NC transport across a model cell barrier, which consists of a monolayer of gastrointestinal (GI) epithelial cells grown on a porous membrane located in a transwell insert. Formation of a permeability barrier is confirmed by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), transepithelial transport of a control substance, and immunostaining of tight junctions. As an example, ~200 nm polymer NCs are used, which carry a therapeutic cargo and are coated with an antibody that targets a cell-surface determinant. The antibody or therapeutic cargo is labeled with 125
I for radioisotope tracing and labeled NCs are added to the upper chamber over the cell monolayer for varying periods of time. NCs associated to the cells and/or transported to the underlying chamber can be detected. Measurement of free 125
I allows subtraction of the degraded fraction. The paracellular route is assessed by determining potential changes caused by NC transport to the barrier parameters described above. Transcellular transport is determined by addressing the effect of modulating endocytosis and transcytosis pathways.
Bioengineering, Issue 80, Antigens, Enzymes, Biological Therapy, bioengineering (general), Pharmaceutical Preparations, Macromolecular Substances, Therapeutics, Digestive System and Oral Physiological Phenomena, Biological Phenomena, Cell Physiological Phenomena, drug delivery systems, targeted nanocarriers, transcellular transport, epithelial cells, tight junctions, transepithelial electrical resistance, endocytosis, transcytosis, radioisotope tracing, immunostaining
Visualizing Clathrin-mediated Endocytosis of G Protein-coupled Receptors at Single-event Resolution via TIRF Microscopy
Institutions: Carnegie Mellon University.
Many important signaling receptors are internalized through the well-studied process of clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Traditional cell biological assays, measuring global changes in endocytosis, have identified over 30 known components participating in CME, and biochemical studies have generated an interaction map of many of these components. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that CME is a highly dynamic process whose regulation is complex and delicate. In this manuscript, we describe the use of Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy to directly visualize the dynamics of components of the clathrin-mediated endocytic machinery, in real time in living cells, at the level of individual events that mediate this process. This approach is essential to elucidate the subtle changes that can alter endocytosis without globally blocking it, as is seen with physiological regulation. We will focus on using this technique to analyze an area of emerging interest, the role of cargo composition in modulating the dynamics of distinct clathrin-coated pits (CCPs). This protocol is compatible with a variety of widely available fluorescence probes, and may be applied to visualizing the dynamics of many cargo molecules that are internalized from the cell surface.
Cellular Biology, Issue 92, Endocytosis, TIRF, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, clathrin, arrestin, receptors, live-cell microscopy, clathrin-mediated endocytosis
Cargo Loading onto Kinesin Powered Molecular Shuttles
Institutions: University of Florida, Columbia University.
Cells have evolved sophisticated molecular machinery, such as kinesin motor proteins and microtubule filaments, to support active intracellular transport of cargo. While kinesins tail domain binds to a variety of cargoes, kinesins head domains utilize the chemical energy stored in ATP molecules to step along the microtubule lattice. The long, stiff microtubules serve as tracks for long-distance intracellular transport.
These motors and filaments can also be employed in microfabricated synthetic environments as components of molecular shuttles 1
. In a frequently used design, kinesin motors are anchored to the track surface through their tails, and functionalized microtubules serve as cargo carrying elements, which are propelled by these motors. These shuttles can be loaded with cargo by utilizing the strong and selective binding between biotin and streptavidin. The key components (biotinylated tubulin, streptavidin, and biotinylated cargo) are commercially available.
Building on the classic inverted motility assay 2
, the construction of molecular shuttles is detailed here. Kinesin motor proteins are adsorbed to a surface precoated with casein; microtubules are polymerized from biotinylated tubulin, adhered to the kinesin and subsequently coated with rhodamine-labeled streptavidin. The ATP concentration is maintained at subsaturating concentration to achieve a microtubule gliding velocity optimal for loading cargo 3
. Finally, biotinylated fluorescein-labeled nanospheres are added as cargo. Nanospheres attach to microtubules as a result of collisions between gliding microtubules and nanospheres adhering to the surface.
The protocol can be readily modified to load a variety of cargoes such as biotinylated DNA4
, quantum dots 5
or a wide variety of antigens via biotinylated antibodies 4-6
Cellular Biology, Issue 45, motility assay, microtubules, kinesin, motor protein, molecular shuttle, nanobiotechnology
Simple Microfluidic Devices for in vivo Imaging of C. elegans, Drosophila and Zebrafish
Institutions: NCBS-TIFR, TIFR.
Micro fabricated fluidic devices provide an accessible micro-environment for in vivo
studies on small organisms. Simple fabrication processes are available for microfluidic devices using soft lithography techniques 1-3
. Microfluidic devices have been used for sub-cellular imaging 4,5
, in vivo
laser microsurgery 2,6
and cellular imaging 4,7
. In vivo
imaging requires immobilization of organisms. This has been achieved using suction 5,8
, tapered channels 6,7,9
, deformable membranes 2-4,10
, suction with additional cooling 5
, anesthetic gas 11
, temperature sensitive gels 12
, cyanoacrylate glue 13
and anesthetics such as levamisole 14,15
. Commonly used anesthetics influence synaptic transmission 16,17
and are known to have detrimental effects on sub-cellular neuronal transport 4
. In this study we demonstrate a membrane based poly-dimethyl-siloxane (PDMS) device that allows anesthetic free immobilization of intact genetic model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans
larvae and zebrafish larvae. These model organisms are suitable for in vivo
studies in microfluidic devices because of their small diameters and optically transparent or translucent bodies. Body diameters range from ~10 μm to ~800 μm for early larval stages of C. elegans
and zebrafish larvae and require microfluidic devices of different sizes to achieve complete immobilization for high resolution time-lapse imaging. These organisms are immobilized using pressure applied by compressed nitrogen gas through a liquid column and imaged using an inverted microscope. Animals released from the trap return to normal locomotion within 10 min.
We demonstrate four applications of time-lapse imaging in C. elegans
namely, imaging mitochondrial transport in neurons, pre-synaptic vesicle transport in a transport-defective mutant, glutamate receptor transport and Q neuroblast cell division. Data obtained from such movies show that microfluidic immobilization is a useful and accurate means of acquiring in vivo
data of cellular and sub-cellular events when compared to anesthetized animals (Figure 1J
and 3C-F 4
Device dimensions were altered to allow time-lapse imaging of different stages of C. elegans
, first instar Drosophila
larvae and zebrafish larvae. Transport of vesicles marked with synaptotagmin tagged with GFP (syt.eGFP) in sensory neurons shows directed motion of synaptic vesicle markers expressed in cholinergic sensory neurons in intact first instar Drosophila
larvae. A similar device has been used to carry out time-lapse imaging of heartbeat in ~30 hr post fertilization (hpf) zebrafish larvae. These data show that the simple devices we have developed can be applied to a variety of model systems to study several cell biological and developmental phenomena in vivo
Bioengineering, Issue 67, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Microfluidics, C. elegans, Drosophila larvae, zebrafish larvae, anesthetic, pre-synaptic vesicle transport, dendritic transport of glutamate receptors, mitochondrial transport, synaptotagmin transport, heartbeat
Purification of the M. magneticum Strain AMB-1 Magnetosome Associated Protein MamAΔ41
Institutions: Ben-Gurion University.
Magnetotactic bacteria comprise a diverse group of aquatic microorganisms that are able to orientate themselves along geomagnetic fields. This behavior is believed to aid their search for suitable environments (1)
. This capability is conferred by the magnetosome, a subcellular organelle that consists of a linear-chain assembly of lipid vesicles each able to biomineralize and enclose a ~50-nm crystal of magnetite or greigite. A principle component of the magnetosome that was shown to be required for the formation of functional vesicles is MamA. MamA is a highly abundant magnetosome-associated protein which is one of the most characterized magnetosome-associated proteins in vivo (2-6)
. This article focuses on the purification of MamA, which despite being studied in vivo
, no clear functional or structural details have been identified for it. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that MamA is a tetra-tricopeptide repeat (TPR) containing protein. TPR is a structural motif found as such or forming part of a bigger fold in a wide range of proteins, it serves as a template for protein-protein interactions and mediates multi-protein complexes (7)
. TPRs are involved in many crucial tasks in eukaryotic cell organelle processes and many bacterial pathways (8-14).
In order to understand MamA, a unique TPR containing protein, highly purified protein is required as a first step. In this article, we present the purification protocol for a stable MamA deletion mutant (MamAΔ41) from M. magneticum
Cellular Biology, Issue 37, Recombinant protein purification, magnetotactic bacteria, magnetosome, MamA
Biochemical Reconstitution of Steroid Receptor•Hsp90 Protein Complexes and Reactivation of Ligand Binding
Institutions: Seattle University, Seattle University, University of Washington.
Hsp90 is an essential and highly abundant molecular chaperone protein that has been found to regulate more than 150 eukaryotic signaling proteins, including transcription factors (e.g. nuclear receptors, p53) and protein kinases (e.g. Src, Raf, Akt kinase) involved in cell cycling, tumorigenesis, apoptosis, and multiple eukaryotic signaling pathways 1,2
. Of these many 'client' proteins for hsp90, the assembly of steroid receptor•hsp90 complexes is the best defined (Figure 1
). We present here an adaptable glucocorticoid receptor (GR) immunoprecipitation assay and in vitro
GR•hsp90 reconstitution method that may be readily used to probe eukaryotic hsp90 functional activity, hsp90-mediated steroid receptor ligand binding, and molecular chaperone cofactor requirements. For example, this assay can be used to test hsp90 cofactor requirements and the effects of adding exogenous compounds to the reconstitution process.
The GR has been a particularly useful system for studying hsp90 because the receptor must be bound to hsp90 to have an open ligand binding cleft that is accessible to steroid 3
. Endogenous, unliganded GR is present in the cytoplasm of mammalian cells noncovalently bound to hsp90. As found in the endogenous GR•hsp90 heterocomplex, the GR ligand binding cleft is open and capable of binding steroid. If hsp90 dissociates from the GR or if its function is inhibited, the receptor is unable to bind steroid and requires reconstitution of the GR•hsp90 heterocomplex before steroid binding activity is restored 4
. GR can be immunoprecipitated from cell cytosol using a monoclonal antibody, and proteins such as hsp90 complexed to the GR can be assayed by western blot. Steroid binding activity of the immunoprecipitated GR can be determined by incubating the immunopellet with [3
Previous experiments have shown hsp90-mediated opening of the GR ligand binding cleft requires hsp70, a second molecular chaperone also essential for eukaryotic cell viability. Biochemical activity of hsp90 and hsp70 are catalyzed by co-chaperone proteins Hop, hsp40, and p23 5
. A multiprotein chaperone machinery containing hsp90, hsp70, Hop, and hsp40 are endogenously present in eukaryotic cell cytoplasm, and reticulocyte lysate provides a chaperone-rich protein source 6
In the method presented, GR is immunoadsorbed from cell cytosol and stripped of the endogenous hsp90/hsp70 chaperone machinery using mild salt conditions. The salt-stripped GR is then incubated with reticulocyte lysate, ATP, and K+
, which results in the reconstitution of the GR•hsp90 heterocomplex and reactivation of steroid binding activity 7
. This method can be utilized to test the effects of various chaperone cofactors, novel proteins, and experimental hsp90 or GR inhibitors in order to determine their functional significance on hsp90-mediated steroid binding 8-11
Biochemistry, Issue 55, glucocorticoid receptor, hsp90, molecular chaperone protein, in vitro reconstitution, steroid binding, biochemistry, immunoadsorption, immunoprecipitation, Experion, western blot
Organelle Transport in Cultured Drosophila Cells: S2 Cell Line and Primary Neurons.
Institutions: Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Basque Foundation for Science.
S2 cells plated on a coverslip in the presence of any actin-depolymerizing drug form long unbranched processes filled with uniformly polarized microtubules. Organelles move along these processes by microtubule motors. Easy maintenance, high sensitivity to RNAi-mediated protein knock-down and efficient procedure for creating stable cell lines make Drosophila
S2 cells an ideal model system to study cargo transport by live imaging. The results obtained with S2 cells can be further applied to a more physiologically relevant system: axonal transport in primary neurons cultured from dissociated Drosophila
embryos. Cultured neurons grow long neurites filled with bundled microtubules, very similar to S2 processes. Like in S2 cells, organelles in cultured neurons can be visualized by either organelle-specific fluorescent dyes or by using fluorescent organelle markers encoded by DNA injected into early embryos or expressed in transgenic flies. Therefore, organelle transport can be easily recorded in neurons cultured on glass coverslips using living imaging. Here we describe procedures for culturing and visualizing cargo transport in Drosophila
S2 cells and primary neurons. We believe that these protocols make both systems accessible for labs studying cargo transport.
Cellular Biology, Issue 81, Drosophila melanogaster, cytoskeleton, S2 cells, primary neuron culture, microtubules, kinesin, dynein, fluorescence microscopy, live imaging
Protein-protein Interactions Visualized by Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation in Tobacco Protoplasts and Leaves
Institutions: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München.
Many proteins interact transiently with other proteins or are integrated into multi-protein complexes to perform their biological function. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) is an in vivo
method to monitor such interactions in plant cells. In the presented protocol the investigated candidate proteins are fused to complementary halves of fluorescent proteins and the respective constructs are introduced into plant cells via agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Subsequently, the proteins are transiently expressed in tobacco leaves and the restored fluorescent signals can be detected with a confocal laser scanning microscope in the intact cells. This allows not only visualization of the interaction itself, but also the subcellular localization of the protein complexes can be determined. For this purpose, marker genes containing a fluorescent tag can be coexpressed along with the BiFC constructs, thus visualizing cellular structures such as the endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus or the plasma membrane. The fluorescent signal can be monitored either directly in epidermal leaf cells or in single protoplasts, which can be easily isolated from the transformed tobacco leaves. BiFC is ideally suited to study protein-protein interactions in their natural surroundings within the living cell. However, it has to be considered that the expression has to be driven by strong promoters and that the interaction partners are modified due to fusion of the relatively large fluorescence tags, which might interfere with the interaction mechanism. Nevertheless, BiFC is an excellent complementary approach to other commonly applied methods investigating protein-protein interactions, such as coimmunoprecipitation, in vitro
pull-down assays or yeast-two-hybrid experiments.
Plant Biology, Issue 85, Tetratricopeptide repeat domain, chaperone, chloroplasts, endoplasmic reticulum, HSP90, Toc complex, Sec translocon, BiFC
A Protocol for Computer-Based Protein Structure and Function Prediction
Institutions: University of Michigan , University of Kansas.
Genome sequencing projects have ciphered millions of protein sequence, which require knowledge of their structure and function to improve the understanding of their biological role. Although experimental methods can provide detailed information for a small fraction of these proteins, computational modeling is needed for the majority of protein molecules which are experimentally uncharacterized. The I-TASSER server is an on-line workbench for high-resolution modeling of protein structure and function. Given a protein sequence, a typical output from the I-TASSER server includes secondary structure prediction, predicted solvent accessibility of each residue, homologous template proteins detected by threading and structure alignments, up to five full-length tertiary structural models, and structure-based functional annotations for enzyme classification, Gene Ontology terms and protein-ligand binding sites. All the predictions are tagged with a confidence score which tells how accurate the predictions are without knowing the experimental data. To facilitate the special requests of end users, the server provides channels to accept user-specified inter-residue distance and contact maps to interactively change the I-TASSER modeling; it also allows users to specify any proteins as template, or to exclude any template proteins during the structure assembly simulations. The structural information could be collected by the users based on experimental evidences or biological insights with the purpose of improving the quality of I-TASSER predictions. The server was evaluated as the best programs for protein structure and function predictions in the recent community-wide CASP experiments. There are currently >20,000 registered scientists from over 100 countries who are using the on-line I-TASSER server.
Biochemistry, Issue 57, On-line server, I-TASSER, protein structure prediction, function prediction
Design and Analysis of Temperature Preference Behavior and its Circadian Rhythm in Drosophila
Institutions: Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center, JST.
The circadian clock regulates many aspects of life, including sleep, locomotor activity, and body temperature (BTR) rhythms1,2
. We recently identified a novel Drosophila
circadian output, called the temperature preference rhythm (TPR), in which the preferred temperature in flies rises during the day and falls during the night 3
. Surprisingly, the TPR and locomotor activity are controlled through distinct circadian neurons3
locomotor activity is a well known circadian behavioral output and has provided strong contributions to the discovery of many conserved mammalian circadian clock genes and mechanisms4
. Therefore, understanding TPR will lead to the identification of hitherto unknown molecular and cellular circadian mechanisms. Here, we describe how to perform and analyze the TPR assay. This technique not only allows for dissecting the molecular and neural mechanisms of TPR, but also provides new insights into the fundamental mechanisms of the brain functions that integrate different environmental signals and regulate animal behaviors. Furthermore, our recently published data suggest that the fly TPR shares features with the mammalian BTR3
are ectotherms, in which the body temperature is typically behaviorally regulated. Therefore, TPR is a strategy used to generate a rhythmic body temperature in these flies5-8
. We believe that further exploration of Drosophila
TPR will facilitate the characterization of the mechanisms underlying body temperature control in animals.
Basic Protocol, Issue 83, Drosophila, circadian clock, temperature, temperature preference rhythm, locomotor activity, body temperature rhythms
Preparation of Segmented Microtubules to Study Motions Driven by the Disassembling Microtubule Ends
Institutions: Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology, Moscow, Russia, University of Pennsylvania.
Microtubule depolymerization can provide force to transport different protein complexes and protein-coated beads in vitro
. The underlying mechanisms are thought to play a vital role in the microtubule-dependent chromosome motions during cell division, but the relevant proteins and their exact roles are ill-defined. Thus, there is a growing need to develop assays with which to study such motility in vitro
using purified components and defined biochemical milieu. Microtubules, however, are inherently unstable polymers; their switching between growth and shortening is stochastic and difficult to control. The protocols we describe here take advantage of the segmented microtubules that are made with the photoablatable stabilizing caps. Depolymerization of such segmented microtubules can be triggered with high temporal and spatial resolution, thereby assisting studies of motility at the disassembling microtubule ends. This technique can be used to carry out a quantitative analysis of the number of molecules in the fluorescently-labeled protein complexes, which move processively with dynamic microtubule ends. To optimize a signal-to-noise ratio in this and other quantitative fluorescent assays, coverslips should be treated to reduce nonspecific absorption of soluble fluorescently-labeled proteins. Detailed protocols are provided to take into account the unevenness of fluorescent illumination, and determine the intensity of a single fluorophore using equidistant Gaussian fit. Finally, we describe the use of segmented microtubules to study microtubule-dependent motions of the protein-coated microbeads, providing insights into the ability of different motor and nonmotor proteins to couple microtubule depolymerization to processive cargo motion.
Basic Protocol, Issue 85, microscopy flow chamber, single-molecule fluorescence, laser trap, microtubule-binding protein, microtubule-dependent motor, microtubule tip-tracking
Protein WISDOM: A Workbench for In silico De novo Design of BioMolecules
Institutions: Princeton University.
The aim of de novo
protein design is to find the amino acid sequences that will fold into a desired 3-dimensional structure with improvements in specific properties, such as binding affinity, agonist or antagonist behavior, or stability, relative to the native sequence. Protein design lies at the center of current advances drug design and discovery. Not only does protein design provide predictions for potentially useful drug targets, but it also enhances our understanding of the protein folding process and protein-protein interactions. Experimental methods such as directed evolution have shown success in protein design. However, such methods are restricted by the limited sequence space that can be searched tractably. In contrast, computational design strategies allow for the screening of a much larger set of sequences covering a wide variety of properties and functionality. We have developed a range of computational de novo
protein design methods capable of tackling several important areas of protein design. These include the design of monomeric proteins for increased stability and complexes for increased binding affinity.
To disseminate these methods for broader use we present Protein WISDOM (http://www.proteinwisdom.org), a tool that provides automated methods for a variety of protein design problems. Structural templates are submitted to initialize the design process. The first stage of design is an optimization sequence selection stage that aims at improving stability through minimization of potential energy in the sequence space. Selected sequences are then run through a fold specificity stage and a binding affinity stage. A rank-ordered list of the sequences for each step of the process, along with relevant designed structures, provides the user with a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the design. Here we provide the details of each design method, as well as several notable experimental successes attained through the use of the methods.
Genetics, Issue 77, Molecular Biology, Bioengineering, Biochemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computational Biology, Genomics, Proteomics, Protein, Protein Binding, Computational Biology, Drug Design, optimization (mathematics), Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins, De novo protein and peptide design, Drug design, In silico sequence selection, Optimization, Fold specificity, Binding affinity, sequencing
Analyzing Protein Dynamics Using Hydrogen Exchange Mass Spectrometry
Institutions: University of Heidelberg.
All cellular processes depend on the functionality of proteins. Although the functionality of a given protein is the direct consequence of its unique amino acid sequence, it is only realized by the folding of the polypeptide chain into a single defined three-dimensional arrangement or more commonly into an ensemble of interconverting conformations. Investigating the connection between protein conformation and its function is therefore essential for a complete understanding of how proteins are able to fulfill their great variety of tasks. One possibility to study conformational changes a protein undergoes while progressing through its functional cycle is hydrogen-1
H-exchange in combination with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HX-MS). HX-MS is a versatile and robust method that adds a new dimension to structural information obtained by e.g.
crystallography. It is used to study protein folding and unfolding, binding of small molecule ligands, protein-protein interactions, conformational changes linked to enzyme catalysis, and allostery. In addition, HX-MS is often used when the amount of protein is very limited or crystallization of the protein is not feasible. Here we provide a general protocol for studying protein dynamics with HX-MS and describe as an example how to reveal the interaction interface of two proteins in a complex.
Chemistry, Issue 81, Molecular Chaperones, mass spectrometers, Amino Acids, Peptides, Proteins, Enzymes, Coenzymes, Protein dynamics, conformational changes, allostery, protein folding, secondary structure, mass spectrometry
Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
Institutions: University College London.
Inhibitory neurons act in the central nervous system to regulate the dynamics and spatio-temporal co-ordination of neuronal networks. GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. It is released from the presynaptic terminals of inhibitory neurons within highly specialized intercellular junctions known as synapses, where it binds to GABAA
Rs) present at the plasma membrane of the synapse-receiving, postsynaptic neurons. Activation of these GABA-gated ion channels leads to influx of chloride resulting in postsynaptic potential changes that decrease the probability that these neurons will generate action potentials.
During development, diverse types of inhibitory neurons with distinct morphological, electrophysiological and neurochemical characteristics have the ability to recognize their target neurons and form synapses which incorporate specific GABAA
Rs subtypes. This principle of selective innervation of neuronal targets raises the question as to how the appropriate synaptic partners identify each other.
To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, a novel in vitro
co-culture model system was established, in which medium spiny GABAergic neurons, a highly homogenous population of neurons isolated from the embryonic striatum, were cultured with stably transfected HEK293 cell lines that express different GABAA
R subtypes. Synapses form rapidly, efficiently and selectively in this system, and are easily accessible for quantification. Our results indicate that various GABAA
R subtypes differ in their ability to promote synapse formation, suggesting that this reduced in vitro
model system can be used to reproduce, at least in part, the in vivo
conditions required for the recognition of the appropriate synaptic partners and formation of specific synapses. Here the protocols for culturing the medium spiny neurons and generating HEK293 cells lines expressing GABAA
Rs are first described, followed by detailed instructions on how to combine these two cell types in co-culture and analyze the formation of synaptic contacts.
Neuroscience, Issue 93, Developmental neuroscience, synaptogenesis, synaptic inhibition, co-culture, stable cell lines, GABAergic, medium spiny neurons, HEK 293 cell line
Determination of Protein-ligand Interactions Using Differential Scanning Fluorimetry
Institutions: University of Exeter.
A wide range of methods are currently available for determining the dissociation constant between a protein and interacting small molecules. However, most of these require access to specialist equipment, and often require a degree of expertise to effectively establish reliable experiments and analyze data. Differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) is being increasingly used as a robust method for initial screening of proteins for interacting small molecules, either for identifying physiological partners or for hit discovery. This technique has the advantage that it requires only a PCR machine suitable for quantitative PCR, and so suitable instrumentation is available in most institutions; an excellent range of protocols are already available; and there are strong precedents in the literature for multiple uses of the method. Past work has proposed several means of calculating dissociation constants from DSF data, but these are mathematically demanding. Here, we demonstrate a method for estimating dissociation constants from a moderate amount of DSF experimental data. These data can typically be collected and analyzed within a single day. We demonstrate how different models can be used to fit data collected from simple binding events, and where cooperative binding or independent binding sites are present. Finally, we present an example of data analysis in a case where standard models do not apply. These methods are illustrated with data collected on commercially available control proteins, and two proteins from our research program. Overall, our method provides a straightforward way for researchers to rapidly gain further insight into protein-ligand interactions using DSF.
Biophysics, Issue 91, differential scanning fluorimetry, dissociation constant, protein-ligand interactions, StepOne, cooperativity, WcbI.
Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR
Institutions: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Copper (I) binding by metallochaperone transport proteins prevents copper oxidation and release of the toxic ions that may participate in harmful redox reactions. The Cu (I) complex of the peptide model of a Cu (I) binding metallochaperone protein, which includes the sequence MTCSGCSRPG (underlined is conserved), was determined in solution under inert conditions by NMR spectroscopy.
NMR is a widely accepted technique for the determination of solution structures of proteins and peptides. Due to difficulty in crystallization to provide single crystals suitable for X-ray crystallography, the NMR technique is extremely valuable, especially as it provides information on the solution state rather than the solid state. Herein we describe all steps that are required for full three-dimensional structure determinations by NMR. The protocol includes sample preparation in an NMR tube, 1D and 2D data collection and processing, peak assignment and integration, molecular mechanics calculations, and structure analysis. Importantly, the analysis was first conducted without any preset metal-ligand bonds, to assure a reliable structure determination in an unbiased manner.
Chemistry, Issue 82, solution structure determination, NMR, peptide models, copper-binding proteins, copper complexes
Collecting Variable-concentration Isothermal Titration Calorimetry Datasets in Order to Determine Binding Mechanisms
Institutions: McGill University.
Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is commonly used to determine the thermodynamic parameters associated with the binding of a ligand to a host macromolecule. ITC has some advantages over common spectroscopic approaches for studying host/ligand interactions. For example, the heat released or absorbed when the two components interact is directly measured and does not require any exogenous reporters. Thus the binding enthalpy and the association constant (Ka) are directly obtained from ITC data, and can be used to compute the entropic contribution. Moreover, the shape of the isotherm is dependent on the c-value and the mechanistic model involved. The c-value is defined as c = n[P]tKa, where [P]t is the protein concentration, and n is the number of ligand binding sites within the host. In many cases, multiple binding sites for a given ligand are non-equivalent and ITC allows the characterization of the thermodynamic binding parameters for each individual binding site. This however requires that the correct binding model be used. This choice can be problematic if different models can fit the same experimental data. We have previously shown that this problem can be circumvented by performing experiments at several c-values. The multiple isotherms obtained at different c-values are fit simultaneously to separate models. The correct model is next identified based on the goodness of fit across the entire variable-c dataset. This process is applied here to the aminoglycoside resistance-causing enzyme aminoglycoside N-6'-acetyltransferase-Ii (AAC(6')-Ii). Although our methodology is applicable to any system, the necessity of this strategy is better demonstrated with a macromolecule-ligand system showing allostery or cooperativity, and when different binding models provide essentially identical fits to the same data. To our knowledge, there are no such systems commercially available. AAC(6')-Ii, is a homo-dimer containing two active sites, showing cooperativity between the two subunits. However ITC data obtained at a single c-value can be fit equally well to at least two different models a two-sets-of-sites independent model and a two-site sequential (cooperative) model. Through varying the c-value as explained above, it was established that the correct binding model for AAC(6')-Ii is a two-site sequential binding model. Herein, we describe the steps that must be taken when performing ITC experiments in order to obtain datasets suitable for variable-c analyses.
Biochemistry, Issue 50, ITC, global fitting, cooperativity, binding model, ligand
Actin Co-Sedimentation Assay; for the Analysis of Protein Binding to F-Actin
Institutions: University of California, San Francisco - UCSF.
The actin cytoskeleton within the cell is a network of actin filaments that allows the movement of cells and cellular processes, and that generates tension and helps maintains cellular shape. Although the actin cytoskeleton is a rigid structure, it is a dynamic structure that is constantly remodeling. A number of proteins can bind to the actin cytoskeleton. The binding of a particular protein to F-actin is often desired to support cell biological observations or to further understand dynamic processes due to remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. The actin co-sedimentation assay is an in vitro assay routinely used to analyze the binding of specific proteins or protein domains with F-actin. The basic principles of the assay involve an incubation of the protein of interest (full length or domain of) with F-actin, ultracentrifugation step to pellet F-actin and analysis of the protein co-sedimenting with F-actin. Actin co-sedimentation assays can be designed accordingly to measure actin binding affinities and in competition assays.
Biochemistry, Issue 13, F-actin, protein, in vitro binding, ultracentrifugation
| 0.6709 |
FineWeb
|
Recently a uniqueness condition for Gibbs measures in terms of disagreement percolation (a type of dependent percolation involving two realizations) has been obtained. In general this condition is sufficient but not necessary for uniqueness. In the present paper we study the hard-core lattice gas model which we abbreviate as hard-core model. This model is not only relevant in Statistical Physics, but was recently rediscovered in Operations Research in the context of certain communication networks. First we show that the uniqueness result mentioned above implies that the critical activity for the hard-core model on a graph is at least Pc (1 - Pc), where Pc is the critical probability for site percolation on that graph. Then, for the hard-core model on bi-partite graphs, we study the probability that a given vertex v is occupied under the two extreme boundary conditions, and show that the difference can be written in terms of the probability of having a 'path of disagreement' from v to the boundary. This is the key to a proof that, for this case, the uniqueness condition mentioned above is also necessary, i.e. roughly speaking, phase transition is equivalent with disagreement percolation in the product space. Finally, we discuss the hard-core model on Zd with two different values of the activity, one for the even, and one for the odd vertices. It appears that the question whether this model has a unique Gibbs measure, can, in analogy with the standard ferromagnetic Ising model, be reduced to the question whether the third central moment of the surplus of odd occupied vertices for a certain class of finite boxes is negative. © 1994.
van den Berg, J., & Steif, J. E. (1994). Percolation and the hard-core lattice gas model. Stochastic Processes and Their Applications, 49(2), 179–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-4149(94)90132-5
| 0.875 |
FineWeb
|
]Ten warning signs of a potentially unsafe group/leader.
1. Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability.
2. No tolerance for questions or critical inquiry.
3. No meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget, expenses such as an independently audited financial statement.
4. Unreasonable fear about the outside world, such as impending catastrophe, evil conspiracies and persecutions.
5. There is no legitimate reason to leave, former followers are always wrong in leaving, negative or even evil.
6. Former members often relate the same stories of abuse and reflect a similar pattern of grievances.
7. There are records, books, news articles, or television programs that document the abuses of the group/leader.
8. Followers feel they can never be "good enough".
9. The group/leader is always right.
10. The group/leader is the exclusive means of knowing "truth" or receiving validation, no other process of discovery is really acceptable or credible.Ten warning signs regarding people involved in/with a potentially unsafe group/leader.
1. Extreme obsessiveness regarding the group/leader resulting in the exclusion of almost every practical consideration.
2. Individual identity, the group, the leader and/or God as distinct and separate categories of existence become increasingly blurred. Instead, in the follower's mind these identities become substantially and increasingly fused--as that person's involvement with the group/leader continues and deepens.
3. Whenever the group/leader is criticized or questioned it is characterized as "persecution".
4. Uncharacteristically stilted and seemingly programmed conversation and mannerisms, cloning of the group/leader in personal behavior.
5. Dependency upon the group/leader for problem solving, solutions, and definitions without meaningful reflective thought. A seeming inability to think independently or analyze situations without group/leader involvement.
6. Hyperactivity centered on the group/leader agenda, which seems to supercede any personal goals or individual interests.
7. A dramatic loss of spontaneity and sense of humor.
8. Increasing isolation from family and old friends unless they demonstrate an interest in the group/leader.
9. Anything the group/leader does can be justified no matter how harsh or harmful.
10. Former followers are at best-considered negative or worse evil and under bad influences. They can not be trusted and personal contact is avoided.
Also see [www.culteducation.com
]Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, who wrote the definitive book about thought reform (often called "brainwashing") also wrote a paper about cult formation. Lifton defined a cult as having the following three characteristics:
1. A charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship as the general principles that may have originally sustained the group lose power.
2. A process [is in use] call[ed] coercive persuasion or thought reform.
3. Economic, sexual, and other exploitation of group members by the leader and the ruling coterie.
]The key factors that distinguish coercive persuasion from other training and socialization schemes are:
The reliance on intense interpersonal and psychological attack to destabilize an individual's sense of self to promote compliance
The use of an organized peer group
Applying interpersonal pressure to promote conformity
The manipulation of the totality of the person's social environment to stabilize behavior once modifiedRobert Lifton labeled the extraordinarily high degree of social control characteristic of organizations that operate reform programs as their totalistic quality (Lifton 1961). This concept refers to the mobilization of the entirety of the person's social, and often physical, environment in support of the manipulative effort. Lifton identified eight themes or properties of reform environments that contribute to their totalistic quality:
Control of communication
Emotional and behavioral manipulation
Demands for absolute conformity to behavior prescriptions derived from the ideology
Obsessive demands for confession
Agreement that the ideology is faultless
Manipulation of language in which cliches substitute for analytic thought
Reinterpretation of human experience and emotion in terms of doctrine
Classification of those not sharing the ideology as inferior and not worthy of respect
This chart done by psychologist Margaret Singer demontrates and dileneates the differences between various forms of persuasion, as contrasted with throught reform, commonly called "brainwashing".
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/25/2012 09:58PM by rrmoderator.
| 0.6294 |
FineWeb
|
I am promoting a response to a comment from Tom Brown to a post. Tom's question was: "How would you describe [the original arXiv paper] to someone?"
I personally like the first line of Fielitz and Borchardt's abstract as an answer: "Information theory provides shortcuts which allow [one] to deal with complex systems." The specific thrust of their paper is that it looks at how far you can go with the maximum entropy arguments without having to specify "constraints". This refers to partition function constraints optimized with the use of "Lagrange multipliers". In thermodynamics language it's a little more intuitive: basically the information transfer model allows you to look at thermodynamic systems without having defined a temperature (Lagrange multiplier) and without having the related constraint (that the system observables have some fixed value, i.e. equilibrium ).
This is how the information transfer model allows you to use maximum entropy while liberating you from having to either identify a "temperature" or even be in equilibrium. The downside is that the resulting approach has very limited dynamics and may not tell you much.
However this makes it a great approach to economics because it's a complex system with large numbers of things swirling about and there is no real concept of "temperature" or (sorry, economists) equilibrium. That is to say, more generally, there are no constraints in an economic system to use Lagrange multipliers for. There are
The resulting economic information transfer model is successful but with some pretty limited scope. It doesn't capture the "business cycle"; it captures long run trends. However that alone can be seen as a significant success (in my view). It also makes some predictions about low growth and low inflation in the future of advanced economies. Even the rudimentary information transfer model approach may be way more well defined than the current state of economics that has to resort to "expectations" (macro outcomes may be dependent on whether people consider the central bank to be "credible") and where there still are arguments about how money works.
Interestingly, the partition function approach I've been using seems to say is that there may actually be a Lagrange multiplier/temperature we can use that's a function of log M0 (currency component of the monetary base) and the "constraint" may be something that reduces to the quantity theory of money in certain limits (an economy in equilibrium is one that satisfies the quantity theory to some approximation ). In this view, a large economy with a large monetary base may be thought of as a "cold" economy that has low inflation and mostly has its low-growth markets occupied (like a cold thermodynamic system has its low energy states occupied).
The constraint is generally that the system have some fixed energy, which involves both energy conservation and thermal equilibrium (i.e. the energy isn't changing).
After originally writing this sentence, I wanted to make sure it was true. It turns out Samuelson identified a conservation law and Ramsey's bliss point may be seen in this light.
I also found this quote by Samuelson:
There is really nothing more pathetic than to have an economist or a retired engineer try to force analogies between the concepts of physics and the concepts of economics. How many dreary papers have I had to referee in which the author is looking for something that corresponds to entropy or to one or another form of energy. Nonsensical laws, such as the law of conservation of purchasing power, represent spurious social science imitations of the important physical law of the conservation of energy; and when an economist makes reference to a Heisenberg Principle of indeterminacy in the social world, at best this must be regarded as a figure of speech or a play on words, rather than a valid application of the relations of quantum mechanics.
As Bennett McCallum puts it: the quantity theory is not just the equation of exchange. It includes long run neutrality. I've made the supposition before that long run neutrality may be an approximate symmetry of economics. This symmetry, via Noether's theorem (vaguely), may be related to the "conservation law" given by the quantity theory. The analogous situation in thermodynamics is that time-symmetry leads to energy conservation (a thermodynamic system that is constant in time is one that is in equilibrium with a fixed value of energy).
| 0.9334 |
FineWeb
|