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Dickson Realty Market News October 23, 2017
Posted by Jeff Sallan on Monday, October 23rd, 2017 at 6:31pm.
Let's review the Reno-Sparks real estate market, comparing month over month activity from August to September 2017, and comparing year-over-year to September 2016.
According to the Reno Sparks Association of Realtors, the Median Sold Price for single family homes and condos in the Reno/Sparks area decreased by 2.3% to $318,750 through September. Despite the small decrease, we see an 8.1% increase when we compare this price to a year ago. The sustained demand and low inventory will continue to drive prices up in the long term. If you are thinking of selling, now is a great time, as lower inventories mean less competition for the homes currently listed for sale.
The number of homes sold decreased by 20% in September, with 674 sales versus 842 in August. There was also a 6.8% decrease in the number of homes sold compared to September of last year. The low inventory in the price ranges below $600,000, where over 90% of sales occur, is the biggest contributing factor to this decrease in sales.
There were 649 new listings on the market in September, which was a 22.2% decrease from 834 in August. This number was also 18.5% lower than the 796 new listings in September 2016. We expect a strong seller’s market to remain until more new listings are offered for sale in the region.
As we look at the Inventory numbers, there were 1,090 homes available for sale at the end of September, which was a 9.6% decrease from the 1,206 on the market in August. A much more significant decrease of 40.7% was seen in the number of available homes for sale in Reno and Sparks when compared to September of last year. A Dickson Realty neighborhood expert can explain how the demand for your house will be strongest at times when there is less competition among sellers, which can often lead to a shorter time on market and possibly a higher sale price.
The Month’s Supply of Inventory for homes in Reno and Sparks increased very slightly in September to 1.6 months from 1.4 months in August, but decreased 36.4% from September of last year. This reaffirms that now is a time that homes can be sold in most price ranges, and sold quickly, for those considering selling and moving up to a price range where buyers have more control over the market.
What does all this information mean to you, and why should it matter if you are a home buyer or seller? The low housing inventory and our region’s economic growth will continue to drive home prices up. We still have very low mortgage rates, which will contribute to a steady stream of home buyers. As prices increase, concerns of affordability will stay in the headlines. For up to the minute information on the local Reno and Sparks real estate market, contact us at 775-453-4568. | http://www.renotahoerealestate.net/blog/dickson-realty-market-news-october-23-2017.html |
Editor’s Note: Dr. Patchin wrote the blog post below in her official capacity as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association.
Health Affairs recently published an interview with Kerry Weems, former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In the interview, inaccurate statements were made about the role of the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC), which advises CMS regarding the relative levels of reimbursement for different medical procedures performed by physicians.
Every time the RUC has been asked to review payments for E&M (evaluation and management) codes, the RUC has sent CMS recommendations that would lead to higher payments.
To clarify: The RUC makes recommendations to CMS, and then CMS makes its payment decisions. CMS has often disregarded recommendations related to primary care. In fact, under Kerry Weems’ tenure as CMS administrator, the RUC sent recommendations for new ways to describe and pay for:
· telephone calls
· team conferences
· management of care over a 90-day period for patients on blood-thinning medication.
CMS chose not to implement these recommendations, which would have directly helped primary care physicians. If implemented, these recommendations would have also helped move the nation toward the model of care we are working for with health reform this year, which emphasizes care coordination and disease management.
In 2008, the RUC unanimously supported Medicare’s medical home demo by developing payment methods specific to this project. At that time, Weems wrote to the RUC that “we express our sincere appreciation for the work of the RUC and its workgroup in supporting the Medical Home Demonstration project. … CMS applauds the conscientious manner in which the RUC approached this very important task and the professionalism that marks your recommendations.”
While Weems complains that the resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) is based on “inputs” — meaning the resources used to perform a health care service — instead of value, the fact is that CMS is required by law to base the payment system on resource costs. CMS established the rules for measuring resource costs, and the RUC process is based on these rules. The RUC does not have the power or authority to establish its recommendations on societal or market value.
Bottom line: the RUC makes recommendations, CMS makes payment decisions. Under the direction of Kerry Weems, CMS chose not to implement RUC recommendations on improving payments to primary care. | http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2009/06/24/the-rucs-record-defending-primary-care/ |
People with diabetes, which includes both type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as prediabetes, are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and circulatory problems. Diabetics are at particular risk for heart attack, stroke, atherosclerosis, microvascular and macrovascular disease as well as hypertension. These health conditions are typically attributed to the high levels of LDL (the low density lipoproteins) and VLDL (or very low density lipoproteins) and a low HDL (the good cholesterol levels). In fact in studies the LDL and VLDL particle in people with type 2 diabetes are actually physically smaller and different in shape than the LDL seen in non-diabetics. Coupled with this imbalance in the HDL:LDL ratio is the high triglyceride levels that are also very common.
What Is Cardiovascular Disease?
Cardiovascular disease, also sometimes labeled as heart disease, is actually a group of conditions that include the blood vessels, the veins, arteries and capillaries, as well as the heart which make up the cardiovascular system. Heart disease is considered to be the leading cause of death over all forms of cancer.
The major risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease include advanced age, family history of cardiovascular disease, being male, hypertension, cigarette smoking, obesity, dyslipidemia and diabetes. However, in studies of autopsies of children and youth who died of accidental causes, it was found that atherosclerosis was present in teens and young adults. High body mass index, irregular blood pressure and high levels of LDL were also found in these studies in youth and young adults. 2
Cardiovascular disease can include any of a number of different conditions. Commonly associated with both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are hypertension (high blood pressure), peripheral arterial disease (PAD), stroke and heart attack. Coronary artery disease, also known as hardening of the arteries, is caused by the plaque from fatty deposits stopping the normal blood flow to the heart. This can, over time, lead to a complete stoppage of the blood supply. The result is a myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack.
A stroke occurs when pieces of the plaque break off from the walls of the arteries that travel from the body to the brain. Small pieces of debris enter the brain and, in the gradually narrowing blood vessels, lodge the smaller blood vessels that feed the brain. This stops blood flow beyond the blockage, which can lead to permanent brain damage. Brain cells do not regenerate, but other areas of the brain can compensate for the dead cells with therapy, time and training.
Cardiovascular disease risks can be minimized with weight loss and healthy weight management, regulation of blood sugar, taking medications to reduce cholesterol if needed, quitting smoking, and maintaining a physically active lifestyle. Talking with a doctor about options to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is important if you have a diagnosis of diabetes or if there is a family history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
Cardiovascular Testing
Individuals that have prediabetes, hypertension, a family history of diabetes or coronary disease or that are diagnosed with diabetes should have routine cardiovascular testing. This will help determine the degree of any damage or decrease in blood flow and prevent serious complications that can occur.
There are many different cardiovascular tests available and different tests are more commonly used once a diagnosis of some type of cardiovascular disease has been made. In general, most people with a diagnosis of diabetes will be required to have regular annual cardiovascular tests.
- Blood pressure tests – regular blood pressure testing is simple with a battery operated blood pressure monitor that is available at the drug store. While not always completely accurate, any changes in blood pressure are easily tracked using the device and can signal to the individual that a trip to the doctor is necessary. Research shows that early and intensive blood pressure reduction can have positive effects on the risk for stroke, causing reductions of up to 31% in a large group study of over 73,000 patients. 3
- Cholesterol levels – checking cholesterol levels through a full lipid profile is important. This is because this will determine levels of bad and good cholesterol as well as the triglycerides in the blood. Most adults will have one of these tests every five years, but it can be more often if diabetes or cardiovascular disease is a concern.
- Electrocardiogram – this is a non-invasive test that allows the doctor to “see” the heart rate and the rhythm of the heart in real time through the electric current produced in the heart. Irregularities are distinctive and indicate damage to the heart muscle.
- Exercise stress test – using the same technology used in an electrocardiogram, the patient’s heart is monitored during physical activity. The patient runs and walks on a treadmill and the heart’s ability to handle increased blood volume is measured. Patients that are not able to use a treadmill can still take an medication stress test where specific drugs are used to increase the rate of heartbeat and blood volume.
- MRI or CT scan – these are imagining options that allow the doctor to see the heart in action in the body. The tests create 2D and 3D images that can also trace the blood flow through the heart and in the large veins and arteries.
When abnormalities are present in these exams, more invasive options are possible if there is a concern for blockage of the heart or the blood vessels. Angiograms or angioplasty can be used to determine the extent of the blockage and to correct appropriate restrictions in the blood vessels.
References
1 Bloomgarden, Z. T. (2002). Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes . Diabetes Care , 1230-1237.
2 Daniels, S. R., Pratt, C. A., & Hayman, L. L. (2011). Recent Advances in Preventive Cardiology and Lifestyle Medicine. Circulation , 1673-7686.
3 Reboldi, G., Gentile, G., Fabiob, A., et al. (2011). Effects of intensive blood pressure reduction on myocardial infarction and stroke in diabetes: a meta-analysis in 73 913 patients. Journal of Hypertension , 1253-1269.
This article was originally published July 12, 2012 and last revision and update of it was 9/10/2015. | https://diabetes.us/diabetes-tests/cardiovascular-tests-for-diabetes/ |
Dear Lewistown Families,
I hope that you and your loved ones are in good health and finding some time to enjoy the summer. I wanted to provide another brief update as it relates to the 2020-2021 school year. I know that this is a difficult time for parents and the usual “back to school” routines have been disrupted for us all.
On Wednesday, July 29th, the Board of Education voted to begin the 2020-2021 school year in a full virtual model. While we all yearn to enter the building as we once did, we are excited for the opportunity to start a new school year! There have been many unknowns placed in our path as we strive to find balance in our approach to meeting the needs of our students academically and emotionally, while protecting everyone's safety. I want you to know that at LES our commitment to health, safety, wellness and academic achievement drives everything that we do.
During this spring’s school building closure, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) staff gathered student, parent and educator feedback and reflected on learned experiences. As a result, FCPS has adopted enhancements that will improve the virtual learning experience for students, parents and educators.
These enhancements include:
- Increased live digital interactions/expectations between students and educators
- A single digital platform for students and parents to access instruction, communication and feedback
- Virtual courses that are more rigorous and challenging
- Robust professional learning opportunities for educators to increase their skill set for teaching in a virtual environment which include on-demand professional learning videos and courses for educators
- New parent resources
- Student training videos that will enhance their abilities to access and learning in a virtual environment
- Strategies to provide a significant focus on tending to individual student needs
- Continued efforts to connect each and every child digitally
FCPS is strongly positioned to teach students in a virtual environment and is excited to start the 2020/2021 school year.
The Board of Education has charged staff to identify targeted small groups of students to participate in face-to-face instruction to support individualized educational needs, to ensure access to virtual options, and to address specific courses requiring in person instruction.
More information will be provided to parents regarding these options. Parents/guardians will ultimately reserve the right to decline these services if they have concerns regarding their child's health in a face-to-face FCPS school building. Specific health measures will be in place to protect the health of both students and staff.
Lewistown Elementary School will be ready to support your family as we navigate through this school year. During virtual learning, you can expect daily student and teacher schedules to help provide structure and support expectations. We will be ready with support and training for parents as you work with your children at home. Increased electronic device deployment will be communicated as the beginning of the year approaches. If you have multiple children in your home who need access to a device, we will be ready to support your needs.
Regardless of whether our students are physically present in classrooms, relationships with their teachers will shape their learning environments and their social, emotional, and academic growth.These are challenging times, but we have each other. We live and follow our mission to Learn, Excel and Succeed in everything we do at Lewistown. I know that the obstacles faced for some families are greater than others. Our LES staff is committed to providing challenging, supporting and optimal learning environments for our students. We love what we do, and are ready to meet any challenge with a successful mindset!
It is an honor to be the Principal of Lewistown Elementary School and we will do whatever it takes to ensure our student’s health and safety during this upcoming school year. You are not alone, please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or if you are in need. Our office remains open weekly Monday- Thursday throughout the summer. As we move closer to the start of school, I will continue to provide any updates that are relevant for our families and communities.
Together in heart and mind, | https://www.smore.com/z6d20 |
Multinational companies used to distribute industrial compressors through vendors in India in the early 1900s. The first reciprocating compressors manufacturing plant was established in the country in 1965 by Ingersoll Rand. Since then, India's industrial compressors industry has come a long way. The total market was valued at Rs 33 billion in FY 2014 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9%, to reach Rs 50 billion in FY 2019.
Almost 85% of the overall industrial compressors market is organized. The market is dominated by companies like Atlas Copco, Ingersoll Rand, Elgi Equipments and Kirloskar Pneumatic.
Screw compressors have a major market share of industrial compressors, and they will continue to dominate in the future as well. Centrifugal compressors, the next generation compressors, are expected to witness the highest growth as they are more energy efficient and have a noise-free operation. They are expected to contribute to 38% of the market.
45% of the total value of industrial compressors sold in India is imported. Germany, USA and China are the top exporters to India. | http://myiris.com/newsCentre/storyShow.php?fileR=20140630101558199&dir=2014/06/30&secID=livenews&code1=&code= |
Abstract Swarm robotics is a fast growing field, where robots come together to collectively tackle tasks difficult to achieve otherwise. Physical connection is a common requirement, where a particular shape is desired. A line is one of the more common shapes, and leading research in the field demonstrates a line built sequentially, one robot at a time. This thesis discusses methods for significantly speeding up line formation by assigning the robots in parallel. A comprehensive approach is discussed. In order to reduce robot travel times, a regression line calculation is proposed. A total of seven different algorithms are presented, which assign the robots to the calculated line. A simulation environment is utilized to test run the proposed algorithms. Simulation results are compared against each other to draw performance conclusions, and select a winning algorithm. | http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/361/ |
Library Policies: Laptop Liability Policy
All customers checking out laptops are required to agree to the following:
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Borrowers must be at least 18 years of age and in good standing, without overdue materials or excessive fines on their account.
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Borrowers must present a current, valid Keokuk Public Library card, state-issued identification card, or school-issued identification card to check out a laptop. Identification cards will be kept at the Circulation Desk until the laptop is returned.
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This laptop is for use in the Keokuk Public Library only. Laptops must not be taken to the restroom or outside of the building. If the laptop is taken out of the building, it will be considered missing and the Police Department may be notified of a theft. Under no circumstances should a laptop computer be left unattended in the library. This is the sole responsibility of the patron who has checked out the laptop.
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No software may be installed on the laptop. Software may not be copied from the laptop or modified.
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The Library shall have no responsibility for liability for any claims relating to the use or functioning of the hardware or software included with the borrowed laptop and accessories.
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Work must be saved to a flash-drive, CD-R/RW, or DVD-R/RW (provided by the borrower). Due to the security software installed on these laptops, all data saved to the hard drive will be lost when the computer is logged-off or shut down.
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The library’s wireless network is not secure. Information sent from or to the laptop can be captured by anyone else with a wireless device and the appropriate software. The Keokuk Public Library shall not have any responsibility or liability for any claims relating to the loss, damage or interception of any information, data, work product, or other material viewed, searched or stored on the laptop or its accessories.
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Library staff is not able to provide technical assistance. Users are expected to have a working knowledge of computers and programs.
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Power cords and any other accessories must be returned with the laptop. Checkout is for two (2) hours and may be extended if requested and no one else is waiting. All laptops must be returned at least 30 minutes before closing to a library staff member at the Circulation Desk. The laptop must be returned to the Library’s Circulation Desk by the agreed-upon check-in time.
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Black-and-white printing is sent to the Circulation Desk printer and can be received for a cost of $0.15/page. If color prints are needed, save to a flash drive, etc. and print at a public computer.
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The borrower is responsible for the laptop and any accessories checked out with it. Any damages to the laptop or accessories will result in the borrower being charged for cost of repairs and replacement parts, or for the full cost of computer replacement, if necessary (approximately $800).
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The borrower will be charged for replacement costs if the laptop and accessories are not returned on time.
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All activities performed must be consistent with the Keokuk Public Library’s Computer and Internet and Library Behavior policies. The library reserves the right to restrict or terminate computer use privileges of any patron who is misusing or abusing library equipment or not acting in accordance with library policies. The library reserves the right to update and change this policy at any time without notice. It is the responsibility of the user to read and accept the current version of the policy.
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I agree to all terms and conditions listed in the Keokuk Public Library Laptop Liability Agreement and acknowledge that I will pay all costs associated with any damage to, replacement of, or theft of any laptop computer and related equipment checked out under this agreement. Furthermore, I understand and agree that failure to follow all written guidelines of this program may result in fees and/or loss of privileges, as determined by the director. | https://www.keokuklibrary.org/laptop-liability-policy |
"People remember experiences. They don’t remember attributes or benefits."
This morning I stood in front of the mirror contemplating my cheeks, which were covered in a layer of super aloe shave gel. I raised the 3-blade, lubricated, swivel-head razor and traced a path through the shave gel. It slid easily across my cheek. What a different experience from the one I had when I first began shaving: single blades that lasted only a few days before rusting; nicks and cuts that had to be stanched with a styptic pencil; a face that ended up feeling as if an overzealous woodworker had gone over it with sandpaper.
Today, when I finished shaving, rinsed my face, and rubbed my chin my skin felt smooth and soft. The razor, which cost more than the single blades I used to buy, now lasts weeks, not days, and has an indicator strip that tells me when it's getting dull. Shaving has certainly evolved over the last 20 years. I'm thinking I'll take the next step in the evolution and try out the latest innovation: a battery-powered, 5-bladed phenomenon with a microchip and an accompanying manual. I can't wait to find out what kind of experience that will be.
The days of viewing a product as a collection of features providing benefits to a customer are long over. With the increasing complexity of the world and the increasing sophistication of customers, companies are abandoning traditional ways of approaching product design. They're thinking about not just features and benefits but the experience a customer has when using a product or service. My experience of shaving every morning is just one of hundreds of experiences during which I interact with various products and services throughout the day.
This article describes how considering customer experience -- be it in a business-to-consumer or business-to-business environment -- offers valuable new insights into product design. The cornerstone of this new approach is something you probably already understand well: the need to listen to the voice of the customer (VOC). PDC's Customer Experience Taxonomy provides a framework for these new insights. (See my article, co-authored with Robin Karol, "The Corporate Innovator’s Challenge – Creating a Winning Bundle of Customer Experiences").
Customer experience has always been part of PDC's work to help companies create market-winning new products and services, although we haven't necessarily called it that. For years, we have espoused the importance of listening to the voice of the customer to understand what sacrifices customers make in their experiences and thus what they value and will pay for.
Capturing the voice of the customer offers a way to understand what customers really care about, what hurts, and what could fix the hurt. We believe that in order to offer a true picture of customer pain points and needs, you must conduct VOC research face to face, preferably in the environment in which the customer works or lives. You must dig deeply to get below superficial observations and responses, following up initial questions with further probing. When you do, you capture the essence of customers' experiences. You understand not only the experiences they're having today that they'd like to get rid of (those that are irritating, disappointing, stressful, or causing pain) but also the experiences they are not having that they would be delighted to have (those that would make them feel valued, interested, happy, pleased). When you couple this understanding with a prioritization of which experiences customers value most highly, you gain critical insights into what customer experiences your products or services need to deliver to win in the marketplace.
Erika Bajars, US Marketing Director at PDC client BD Medical, led a team that was tasked with figuring out how to grow the pediatric segment of BD's medication delivery business. To do so, Bajars worked with a cross-functional team to, as she describes it, "paint a picture of what it's like to be our customer today."
Bajars and her team decided early on that they didn't want to begin by asking what customers did or didn't like about BD products (in this case, the devices for delivering vaccines that were part of a relatively commodity-driven market) but wanted to take a step back to understand the broader context of the company's ultimate customer, the physician. What keeps doctors up at night? What are the major challenges of their jobs? In short: what are the experiences they have as physicians?
The customer experience is not one-dimensional but multi-dimensional. We have identified at least six elements of how customers interact with and perceive products, which, in aggregate, form a taxonomy that's useful for viewing the customer's overall experience. This taxonomy can help you think through the design process in a way that goes far beyond the old feature/benefit or functional performance model.
This portion of an image diagram from BD's work with physicians leaves you feeling as if you are there in the room with them as they deal with vaccinating children -- a true portrayal of the experience of the physician.
Emotion turned out to be a big part of the experience for BD Medical customers. "By asking questions about what our customers do and how they feel about it, we got at the whole emotional aspect of their experience," Bajars says. "We got a really strong feeling from them about what it's like to be in primary care pediatrics today." (See figure above.) BD Medical found that its customers, in this case pediatricians and their staff, were most affected by the social, emotional, and financial elements of their experience.
After deconstructing the customer experience by gathering data through a mix of phone and in-person interviews, Bajars and her team identified the specific requirements that would lead to an offering that would give pediatricians more experiences they liked and fewer that they didn't like. The team winnowed an initial 1,400 images to 26 to create an image diagram, from which they derived measurable requirements. They then tested these requirements via a quantitative survey. Bajars comments, "To me the key was not just getting the prioritized requirements, but determining what was really important and what was not so important… Understanding what areas were already being taken care of helped us focus on where we could make the most difference. We came up with a few ideas that fell in the 'delighter' category."
In a unique twist, the BD Medical team had decided from the outset that they did not want to pursue product solutions. Rather, any new ideas would be in the realm of marketing, packaging, content, or educational programs. "If we had looked at the data through a different lens, we certainly could have come up with new product ideas," Bajars says.
BD Medical's approach was consistent with the idea of designing for customer experience, since the customer's experience consists of the product and everything wrapped around the product. Designing for experience opens up a broad realm to innovation. Perhaps your innovation will be, as it was in the case of BD Medical, a change to a labeling system or to the development of an educational program to help parents understand and deal with the vaccination process. Regardless of whether you are creating a new product or service or creating something new to wrap around the product or service, your aim is to change your offering in a way that contributes to a more positive customer experience.
At this very moment, users of your product or service are going about their work days, experiencing joy, frustration, satisfaction, impatience, and a hundred other possible states of being. They are making coffee, shaving, washing clothes, delivering vaccines to children, providing corporate financial services, or creating machinery to sell to aircraft manufacturers. No doubt, they also feel pain or discord around some aspect of their daily experience. By tapping into customers' experience of the world, you can ensure that your products and services (and whatever wraps around them) help customers have more of the experiences they want and fewer of those they don't want. And you can help eliminate pain and discord from their daily experiences -- which translates into a winning proposition for all.
Richard Tait is an innovation expert whose accomplishments are highlighted by a 22-year research, management, and consulting career with DuPont. He served as a founding member and innovation manager for the DuPont Center for Creativity and Innovation and was a co-developer of the Institute for Inventive Thinking for the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His recent work with PDC focuses on design for customer experience. | https://www.pdcinc.com/newsletter/volume-6/issue-7/discoveries |
Medical imaging is one of the heaviest funded biomedical engineering research areas. The second edition of Pattern Recognition and Signal Analysis in Medical Imaging brings sharp focus to the development of integrated systems for use in the clinical sector, enabling both imaging and the automatic assessment of the resultant data. Since the first edition, there has been tremendous development of new, powerful technologies for detecting, storing, transmitting, analyzing, and displaying medical images. Computer-aided analytical techniques, coupled with a continuing need to derive more information from medical images, has led to a growing application of digital processing techniques in cancer detection as well as elsewhere in medicine. This book is an essential tool for students and professionals, compiling and explaining proven and cutting-edge methods in pattern recognition for medical imaging.
Key Features
- New edition has been expanded to cover signal analysis, which was only superficially covered in the first edition
- New chapters cover Cluster Validity Techniques, Computer-Aided Diagnosis Systems in Breast MRI, Spatio-Temporal Models in Functional, Contrast-Enhanced and Perfusion Cardiovascular MRI
- Gives readers an unparalleled insight into the latest pattern recognition and signal analysis technologies, modeling, and applications
Readership
Biomedical engineers; Electrical and electronics engineers; medical physicists; clinical and medical professionals; biomathematicians
Table of Contents
- Foundations of Medical Imaging; Feature Selection and Extraction; Theory of Subband Decomposition and Wavelets; The Wavelet Transform in Medical Imaging; Genetic Algorithms; Statistical Pattern Recognition; Syntactic Pattern Recognition; Neural Networks; Theory; Neural Networks: Applications; Fuzzy Logic: Theory and Clustering Algorithms; Computer Aided Diagnosis Systems
Product details
- No. of pages: 466
- Language: English
- Copyright: © Academic Press 2014
- Published: March 5, 2014
- Imprint: Academic Press
- eBook ISBN: 9780124166158
- Paperback ISBN: 9780128101162
About the Authors
Anke Meyer-Baese
Professor in the Department of Scientific Computing at Florida State University. Professor Meyer-Baese has a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering and has been active in the field of pattern recognition applied to bioengineering and systems biology problems both in teaching and research for the past twenty years. Her research has been sponsored by NIH, NSF and private foundations and she won many international and national research awards. She is author of over 200 journal and conference publications, and three books.
Affiliations and Expertise
Department of Scientific Computing, Florida State University, USA
Volker Schmid
Professor in the Bioimaging Group at the Department of Statistics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich. Professor Schmid has a PhD in Statistics and is an expert in Bayesian methods and spatial statistics for medical and microscopy imaging. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College, London.
Affiliations and Expertise
Department of Statistics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
Ratings and Reviews
There are currently no reviews for "Pattern Recognition and Signal Analysis in Medical Imaging" | https://www.elsevier.com/books/pattern-recognition-and-signal-analysis-in-medical-imaging/meyer-baese/978-0-12-409545-8 |
KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES:
- Tracking and trending closure of deviation, OOT and change control
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- Review SOP base on any changed pharmacopeial requirement or feedback from shopfloor or any comments from previous audit, incorporate changes, inform supervisor seek appropriate approval and authorisation to ensure update of SOPs
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- Ensure the SOPs are in line with the practice and revision thereof if required
- Facilitate timely completion and effective implementation of QMS system
- Ensure batch records are disposed-off on time
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- Review of master BMR/BPR and issuance of BMR/BPR
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- Online review and report of GMP non-compliance to QA Head
- Review of incidents and deviations related to exhibit, validation & qualification batches
- Involve in the generation of User Requirement Specification, preparation of Design, Installation Operational, performance protocol of equipment, utilities & facility to validate its compliance so as to meet the predefined quality attributes of the products
- Timely submission of protocols and reports related to exhibit and validation batches
- Participate in the CFT meeting related to exhibit and validation batches and ensure the completion of the pending actions prior to batch manufacturing
- Co-ordinate with QA, QC, Production and another functional departments for maintaining Quality standards and to have a continuous compliance as per regulatory requirements
- To identify and implement process improvement opportunities, cost improvement and monitor the effectiveness of the same
- Optimize usage of all existing resources, identify new/additional resources as required
- Participate in periodic reviews to ensure that business/regulatory needs are met
COMPLIANCE & QUALITY REQUIREMENT:
- Personnel must have knowledge and experience of qualification/QMS principles and their practical application
- Ability to pay attention to detail and to work independently, outstanding organizational, interpersonal and analytical skills, excellent verbal and written communication skills required
- Must demonstrate multitasking and organizational skills.
- Must be able to interact and lead effectively in a team-based environment.
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Explorer.
- Familiarity with regulatory/compliance (cGMP, USP, BP, FDA) in Solid oral dosage drug manufacturing.
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE:
- Degree a scientific discipline or equivalent.
- Experience in a regulated industry preferred. | https://vcf.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/engine-room/job/qa-executive---qms--sgunitedjobs-TUNGLTIwMjAtMDMwMDIwNA,, |
Nutritional yeast can simply be sprinkled on popcorn, but for a more indulgent, cheesy, nutty treat, Alexander suggests flavoring popcorn this way:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- ½ cup organic corn kernels, popped
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbs. grass-fed butter
- Options:
- For a vegan version, use a plant oil such as coconut.
- For an extra kick, season with chipotle powder or cayenne pepper.
Instructions
- Melt butter, stir in nutritional yeast, and pour over top of popcorn.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 300 Fat: 14g Saturated fat: 8g Carbohydrates: 37g Sugar: 0g Sodium: 105mg Fiber: 7g Protein: 8g Cholesterol: 30mg
3.5.3226
For more about nutritional yeast – Nutritional and Brewer’s Yeasts: What’s the Difference? | http://www.betternutrition.com/cheesy-popcorn-recipe/ |
In a small bowl, combine all the spices.
Remove the giblets from chicken, clean the cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.
Rub the spice mixture onto the chicken, both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin.
Place in a resealable plastic bag, seal and refrigerate overnight.
Before roasting chicken, stuff cavity with onion, and place in greased crock pot.
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Chicken will literally fall off the bone. So good! | https://faithfulprovisions.com/easyrecipe-print/6344-0/ |
A delicious healthy meal made by stuffing bell peppers with a mixture of meat, rice, and veggies simmered in a tomato sauce. Top with cheese for a family favorite!
Prep Time
20
mins
Cook Time
30
mins
Total Time
50
mins
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
American
Keyword:
bell peppers, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed peppers
Servings:
6
peppers
Calories:
352
kcal
Author:
Michelle Miller
Ingredients
3
bell peppers
any color
1
tablespoon
olive oil
1
onion
minced
3
cloves
garlic
minced
1/2
cup
celery
cut into small chunks
1
tablespoon
Italian seasoning
1
teaspoon
salt
1/2
teaspoon
cumin
1/4
teaspoon
red chili flakes
1
pound
ground turkey
or chicken or beef
1
cup
brown rice
cooked
1
cup
kale
chopped
1/2
cup
olives
chopped
2
cans
crushed tomatoes
15 ounce each
6
slices
cheddar cheese
US Customary
-
Metric
Instructions
Slice and deseed peppers, and place in a baking tray.
Bake in the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven for 15 minutes at 425º F. If using a conventional oven, preheat the oven to 425º F and bake the peppers for 22 minutes.
Prepare the stuffing by first adding olive oil to a skillet over medium high heat.
Saute minced onions, garlic and celery for about 10 minutes until softened. Add the spices and salt, and then the ground meat. Break up the meat as it cooks, and simmer until the meat has evenly browned.
Add the tomato sauce, olives, and kale, and allow to simmer together for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the stuffing to each pepper halve. Top each stuffed pepper with a slice of cheddar cheese.
Return to the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven to Bake/Reheat at 425º F for 15 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the cheddar is melted.
If baking in a conventional oven, return to oven for 20-25 minutes.
If making these in advance, stuff the peppers and top with cheddar, and then wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake. Since the mixture will be cold, up the baking time by 5 minutes in the Sharp Superheated Steam Countertop Oven, or 8-10 minutes in a conventional oven.
Video
Nutrition
Calories:
352
kcal
|
Carbohydrates:
26
g
|
Protein:
29
g
|
Fat:
15
g
|
Saturated Fat:
6
g
|
Cholesterol:
70
mg
|
Sodium:
972
mg
|
Potassium:
923
mg
|
Fiber:
5
g
|
Sugar:
9
g
|
Vitamin A:
3695
IU
|
Vitamin C:
104
mg
|
Calcium:
304
mg
|
Iron: | https://sunkissedkitchen.com/wprm_print/8645 |
Genomic instability and cancer.
Tumorigenesis can be viewed as an imbalance between the mechanisms of cell-cycle control and mutation rates within the genes. Genomic instability is broadly classified into microsatellite instability (MIN) associated with mutator phenotype, and chromosome instability (CIN) recognized by gross chromosomal abnormalities. Three intracellular mechanisms are involved in DNA damage repair that leads to mutator phenotype. They include the nucleotide excision repair (NER), base excision repair (BER) and mismatch repair (MMR). The CIN pathway is typically associated with the accumulation of mutations in tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes. Defects in DNA MMR and CIN pathways are responsible for a variety of hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes including hereditary non-polyposis colorectal carcinoma (HNPCC), Bloom syndrome, ataxia-telangiectasia, and Fanconi anaemia. While there are many genetic contributors to CIN and MIN, there are also epigenetic factors that have emerged to be equally damaging to cell-cycle control. Hypermethylation of tumor suppressor and DNA MMR gene promoter regions, is an epigenetic mechanism of gene silencing that contributes to tumorigenesis. Telomere shortening has been shown to increase genetic instability and tumor formation in mice, underscoring the importance of telomere length and telomerase activity in maintaining genomic integrity. Mouse models have provided important insights for discovering critical pathways in the progression to cancer, as well as to elucidate cross talk among different pathways. This review examines various molecular mechanisms of genomic instability and their relevance to cancer.
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The Dubai Health Authority’s (DHA) newly formed CEO council held their first meeting today to discuss how to meet the vision of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide quality health services to the people of Dubai.
Humaid Al Qutami, DHA Director-General, chaired the meeting, which was attended by DHA’s 12 CEOs.
The council will meet regularly to discuss pertinent issues and monitor performance and developmental projects to fulfil the Authority’s strategic goals, which are in line with Dubai Plan 2021.
Earlier this week Al Qutami formed the CEO council for the DHA and assigned members to the council with the aim to ensure integration and coordination between the various corporations and sectors in line with the new DHA structure.
The formation of this council will help accelerate DHA’s plan towards implementing the authority’s new structure; it will help enhance decision-making processes, efficiencies and help improve the overall functioning of the sector.
The new DHA structure was announced earlier this month. It aims to streamline the sector that is one of the growing sectors in the Emirate and emphasized that provision of high quality specialized care, patient safety and satisfaction are at the core of the Authority’s priorities.
Commenting on the new structure Al Qutami said, "The medical sector in Dubai is one of largest sectors with 31 hospitals, around 3700 private health clinics that have around 35,000 employees with more than 8 million patient visits annually in the private sector. Additionally, there are 40 DHA governmental health facilities (DHA hospitals, primary healthcare centres, medical fitness and specialised healthcare centres) with around 13,000 employees that see around 4 million customers annually. Such a large sector needs streamlining and governance framework to enhance efficiencies and further improve patient care, which is our key area. The new structure provides us with an ideal business and operating model to achieve our objectives."
Al Qutami, said: "Transparency and accountability are key to uphold the provision of high quality healthcare services and the regulation sector plays a key role to achieve this. We will implement easier medical regulation processes in line with international best practices. We are working on revamping the health governance structure, which will result in increased accountability of hospitals and further improve patient safety and experience. The total number of health professional license increased by 15 per cent and number of licensed facilities increased by about 27 per cent." | https://www.emirates247.com/business/dubai-health-authority-s-newly-formed-ceo-council-holds-first-meeting-2018-05-30-1.669770 |
The new millennium has seen the number of missions of humans traveling to space increase in leaps and bounds. One notable method used in human missions to space is the space probe. A space probe can be defined as a robotic spacecraft that goes beyond the earth space. We have seen them traveling to the moon and beyond the interplanetary space. A space probe will flyby, orbit and eventually land on the intended planetary body.
A good example of a space probe is Voyager 1, which started its journey back on September 5, 1977. Voyager 1 was launched by NASA to study the outer solar system. As we speak, it is 11.7 billion miles from Earth and is zipping at 61,000 km/h. Voyager 1 has discovered many things including volcanic eruptions in Jupiter. Also, it has sent pictures of a dark spot on Neptune and possible liquid on Saturn’s moon, just to mention few.
To understand some of the tech challenges that emerge during the building of a space probe, let’s look at some missions that did not turn out well:
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory
This was a mission by NASA that did not succeed. The mission was to look at how carbon dioxide moved through the atmosphere. It failed to touch the orbit because the containing satellite could not separate from the rocket. In the process, the whole assembly crashed into the ocean.
The DART spacecraft
This spacecraft was to dock on another satellite and provide maintenance. The mission was to autonomously navigate towards an existing communication satellite. The mission failed because the computer controlling this satellite miscalculated the distance between the two satellites, which made it bump into the other satellite causing it to burn all of its fuel. In the end, it crashed into the ocean.
NASA Helios
This spacecraft was designed to fly in the upper atmosphere. Its mission was to conduct some atmospheric research. This craft didn’t make it after 30 minutes as it hit a powerful wind shear.
Genesis
This spacecraft was designed for the scientist to study the original composition of the solar system. The spacecraft went into space to fetch solar wind so that scientists could study actual pieces of the sun. The problem arose when the satellite was on its way back since it was too delicate to land. NASA engineers jumped on helicopters to catch the capsules but it did not work. The spacecraft landed in a desert thanks to the hard materials that it was made of. It was built with strong wafers which enabled NASA to collect a few samples from the crash scene.
The necessary technology needed for a space probe to work properly
The proper propulsion
A space probe travels long distances, which is why it needs a proper propulsion system that enables it to maintain its course in precision. The service modules must have multiple engines with specific functions in case one fails, there is a back-up. For instance, the Orion spacecraft has about 33 engines.
Besides its propulsion, fuel is another vital component since it enables the spacecraft to travel long distance. They should also have backups in case the main engine fails.
The ability to resist heat
The spacecraft should be designed with materials able to counter-attack heat. As we all know, space probes travel at high speed. This process eventually generates heat as hot as lava. The material should have an advanced heat shield like the Orion spacecraft, for example, which uses AVCOAT, that enables it to endure heat up to 5000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Protection against radiation
A space probe travels beyond the earth’s magnetic shield, which poses a high risk of being hit by a solar storm that can eventually shut down computers. In this case, even if the space probe’s material is radiation resistant, there should be backup computers just in case one fails.
Communication and navigation
They do travel beyond the global positioning systems (GPS) and hence needs space communication network. Tracking and data relay will only work if there’s a space network that will communicate with near earth objects.
Fuel for the space probe
As we all know, here on earth we burn fuel to get energy but things are different for the space probe since they spent years on space. Carrying fuels like gas, coal, wood or oil would be an unrealistic task since the spacecraft would have to be huge, the size of the Asian continent.
One of the alternatives that have been used is solar panels. However, these panels need to be directed towards the sun. If the panel is in deep space, maybe behind the moon or another planet, it will not generate electricity. The solar panel is only applicable when the mission is in direct line of sight to the sun.
One of the more advanced means of energy for a spacecraft is the Radioisotope. These forms generate heat by the decay of the radioactive material. The material itself is tiny, almost the size of a golf ball, and can supply energy for decades.
Collecting and sending information
For the mission to be successful there has to be a channel of communication from space probe and earth. Special tools are designed for communication. For instance, NASA spacecraft are equipped with special antennae. These antennae receive and send information using a Radio signal. The radio signal is carried by powerful radio dishes that signal command. In most case, NASA uses DEEP SPACE NETWORK to send a signal to spacecraft.
Landing on a different atmosphere
For the space probe to land smoothly on a surface, it needs to slow down from orbital speed. Re-entry on earth is made possible using the parachutes but landing on the moon landing is different because it has no atmosphere. As a solution, a rocket has been used in the past to drag the space probe all the way down to the Moon surface.
Mars, on the other hand, has a very thin atmosphere which does not offer much resistance to a slow space probe. In such cases, NASA uses;
- Airbags which bounce when they reach the surface for soft landing.
- Rockets. When the space probe is near the surface, a rocket engine is fired to slow it down.
- Aero-shell. The shell is heatproof and encloses the fragile space probe inside.
- Parachute. They are released once the spacecraft is past high temperatures.
- Supersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator. It can be used to land a larger payload on the surface.
Share with us other potential tech challenges that might arise during the building of a space probe and explore what ennomotive has to offer. | https://www.ennomotive.com/tech-challenges-space-probe/ |
In “Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church” adopted by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, the death penalty is condemned, in part because it denies the criminal the opportunity for repentance:
Pan-Orthodox Sanctity of Life Prayer Service at St. George Antiochian Church condemns capital punishment, euthanasia, and abortion. See http://www.romarch.org/news.php?id=1540 . In attendance were His Eminence Metropolitan Iakovos from the Greek Metropolis of Chicago, His Eminence Archbishop Nicolae, and His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos.
– this list of links is a work in progress; the page editor is Danny Abbott.
Christianity in the United States has had a unique experience compared to the rest of the western world. U.S. church attendance is substantially higher than most other western democracies (noteworthy exceptions include Ireland and Malta). Since World War II, similar democracies with our shared western heritage – the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, France and numerous others – have become increasingly secular. American citizens still self-report in high numbers to be “born-again” Christians. The United States, however, despite its high level of self-identification with Christianity, has nevertheless retained the death penalty in the federal government and majority of states, and shows few signs of abandoning the practice.
Despite increasing secularization, the rest of the western world has in some ways caught up with mainstream Orthodox Christian teaching opposing the death penalty.
In a recent issue of In Communion, the journal of the Orthodox Peace Fellowship, Fr. Ted Bobosh recalled that years ago he was present when the Orthodox Church of America voted in favor of a resolution condemning the death penalty. Recently, Metropolitan Evangelos of the New Jersey Greek Orthodox Metropolis of New Jersey applauded the state’s abolition of the capital punishment. Perhaps most interestingly of all, Fr. Ted noted that in 988, when Saint Vladimir, prince of Kiev, converted to Christianity, he banned capital punishment. In May 1998, almost a thousand years after the mass baptism of the people of Kiev, the late Patriarch of Russia, Alexei II, spoke out against capital punishment. In an interview in the newspaper “Ochnaya Stavka,” published by Russia’s Prosecutor-General’s office, Patriarch Alexei stated that capital punishment is tantamount to premeditated murder and that it violates the biblical commandment of “Thou shalt not kill.”
Traditionally “Orthodox countries,” with the exception of Belarus, banned the death penalty following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia itself has refrained from executing criminals since 1996.
Multiple multilateral conventions adopted since World War II have either banned capital punishment or limited its use to crimes committed during times of war. Major conventions, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, American Convention on Human Rights, and importantly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, have all been amended to ban the death penalty. The United States was a signatory to the American Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but never ratified the amended versions banning the death penalty. Although the multilateral conventions banning the death penalty were only legally binding in countries in which they were ratified, they did reflect the growing consensus that the death penalty is illegal under international law.
Briefly, from 1972 until 1976, the United States banned the practice of the death penalty. In the seminal case regarding capital punishment in the United States, Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court held that the practice of the death penalty violated the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution’s prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishments” essentially because it was carried out in an irrational manner. Justice Byron White stated that there “was no meaningful basis for distinguishing the few cases in which it is imposed from the many cases in which it is not.” The Court also noted that African-Americans were also much more likely to have the death penalty imposed than white defendants. The Supreme Court, however, did not hold that capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment per se but that the penalty’s application was unconstitutional.
In 1976 the Supreme Court held, in Gregg v. Georgia, that the death penalty was not a violation of the Eighth Amendment and that with proper safeguards the practice could be constitutional. Justice Thurgood Marshall dissented that the death penalty is unconstitutional, no matter the circumstances and noted a study by a United Nations Committee that stated it is “generally agreed between the retentionists and abolitionists, whatever their opinion about the validity of comparative studies of deterrence, that the data which now exist show no correlation between the existence of capital punishment and lower rates of crime.”
Thirty-two years later, the available data still does not suggest that the use of the death penalty deters crime, despite deterrence being the justification often used for the practice’s retention. Years of longitudinal data have consistently confirmed that, in American states with the death penalty, the murder rate is in fact significantly higher than in states in which the death penalty has been abolished. The FBI’s study, “Crime in the United States,” noted that in the years between 1996 and 2006, in states retaining the death penalty, the murder rate ranged from a low of 5.7 per 100,000 people in 2000, to a high of 7.72 per 100,000.
During that period the murder rate peaked in abolitionist states at 5.36 per 100,000 in 1996. In terms of percentage, the murder rate ranged from 28% to 46% higher in states that retain the death penalty in the period studied. Deterrence has not been demonstrated but a positive correlation between the application of the death penalty and higher murder rates is consistently shown. This should not be counter-intuitive, given that it is not entirely logical that the public will be taught that the taking of life is wrong via the state sanctioned killing of another human being.
While internationally the practice of the death penalty has increasingly become seen as an ineffective and barbaric form of punishment, the execution of juveniles and the mentally retarded has come to be seen as particularly egregious. Worse, the United States has practiced both until very recently and only then was the practice abolished by Supreme Court decisions determined by narrow majorities.
Critics of international laws often argue that it is completely voluntary, unlike other legal disciplines such as contract or property law. However, it is accepted, in virtually every legal system, that some practices and crimes are considered to be so egregious that any court in the world has jurisdiction over them. This applies without regard to where the crime took place (a concept referred to as universal jurisdiction). Such crimes are referred to as jus cogens, and under international law no deviation is ever tolerated. Despite the critics of international law, the concept of jus cogens is recognized and enforced in the federal courts of the United States. Examples of jus cogens include such heinous acts as piracy, torture, genocide, slavery, “crimes against humanity,” sexual slavery and according to almost all international legal experts, the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded.
The concept of jus cogens is taken so seriously in international law that the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties renders any agreement in violation of it completely void.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights declared in 2002 that customary international law had evolved to the point that the execution of juveniles constituted jus cogens. By 1990, the remaining eight countries known to execute juvenile offenders were Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Nigeria, Congo, China, and the United States. Missing from the list were the countries President Bush’s labeled as belonging to the “axis of evil”: Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. By early 2005, all of the aforementioned nations had either outlawed the execution of juveniles or gone on record disavowing the practice, leaving the United States as the international community’s sole offender.
One is left to wonder about the implications of what would have transpired had the United States been in compliance with international law regarding the execution of minors, and had Iraq been in violation prior to the removal of Saddam Hussein. Obviously the United States would have gone to war with Iraq regardless, but had the Hussein regime executed minors in violation of international law and the United States had not, one can easily imagine that apologists for the Iraqi War would use it as one more justification for the initial invasion.
In Thompson v. Oklahoma, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1988 that the execution of a 15-year-old violated the Constitution’s ban against cruel and unusual punishment. Nevertheless the decision was 5-3 and Justice Scalia argued that executing a 15-year-old did not violate the Constitution. The Supreme Court in a subsequent 1989 decision, Stanford v. Kentucky, held that executing 16- and 17-year-olds was not a violation of the Eighth Amendment. The issue was finally revisited in 2005 by the Court in Roper v. Simmons, when the Court noted that allowing the practice of executing 16- and 17-year-olds would leave the United States essentially alone in the world. Again, however, the vote was 5-4.
The international community had for quite some time expressed particular frustration over execution of the mentally retarded in the United States. In 1989 the U.N. Economic and Social Council recommended that nations take steps to eliminate capital punishment for people “suffering from mental retardation.” The European Parliament passed a resolution in 1995 expressing that the death penalty is “cruel and inhuman” in every instance, but emphasized that the American practice of allowing the execution of the mentally retarded was particularly disturbing.
Finally, in 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Court held (in a 6-3 vote) that the execution of the mentally retarded was unconstitutional. The dissenting judges, Clarence Thomas, William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, complained that the majority had relied on following international trends and foreign laws in reaching its decision. They argued that what is “cruel and unusual punishment” should be determined only by “American conceptions of decency.”
The international community’s opinion of U.S. retention of the death penalty has continually regressed and diminished the standing of the U.S. as a protector of human rights and as a society in which the sanctity of human life is valued.
As early as 1989, the European Court of Human Rights, in Soering v. United Kingdom, forbade the United Kingdom from allowing the extradition of a young German national to the United States when any possibility existed that the defendant would face the death penalty. On the condition that he not be subject to execution, the defendant was eventually extradited to the U.S., where he is now serving two life sentences in a Virginia prison.
The decision was extremely important because it set precedent for what would become customary international law on the manner in which countries banning the death penalty treat extraditions when there is the possibility that a defendant will be extradited to the United States for a crime carrying the possibility of the death penalty.
In a very similar decision in 2001, United States v. Burns, the Canadian Supreme Court held it was a violation of Canada’s Constitution and of international law to allow the extradition of a criminal defendant to the United States where the possibility of capital punishment exists. Interestingly, in the body of the decision the Court noted that Amnesty International had made the argument that among nations banning the death penalty, Canada was the only country at that time that allowed the extradition of defendants where the possibility of the death penalty existed. The Canadian Supreme Court, while not conceding or affirming Amnesty International’s point, it did not challenge or offer evidence to the contrary. The Canadian Supreme Court cited a resolution of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights regarding extradition: “States that have received a request for extradition on a capital charge to reserve explicitly the right to refuse extradition in the absence of effective assurances from relevant authorities of the requesting State that capital punishment will not be carried out.” The decision made the international legal standard concerning the illegality of extraditing defendants to the United States where the death penalty can be sought part of Canadian domestic law.
In 1992, Paul Efthemios Tsongas, a Greek Orthodox contender for the U.S. Presidency, stated during a debate that he would prefer that the murderer of his wife, should such an event occur, be rehabilitated rather than to receive the death penalty. This was viewed by most as a blunder. Some have argued this statement prevented him from being elected president. However, what people considered laughable was entirely consistent with Orthodox Christianity. (Former Governor Michael Dukakis, another Orthodox Christian, exhibited a spirit of forgiveness rather than vengeance and exhibited concern for the reform of a sinner.)
Our nation’s love affair with capital punishment is entirely irrational. The United States was at one time the world’s foremost defender of human rights. However, we have retained a practice that has cost us the respect of our allies and that puts us in company of some of the world’s foremost human rights abusers.
Given the correlation between higher murder rates in jurisdictions retaining the death penalty, the U.S. loses more than just respect around the world. We also generate higher loss of human life and produce a public that becomes even more desensitized regarding the sanctity of life.
Orthodox Christians should regard capital punishment as being similar in nature to abortion and euthanasia, and act accordingly. As citizens of a democracy, Americans are able to express their beliefs concerning the death penalty and its inconsistency with Jesus’ teachings to their elected representatives.
* * *
Danny Abbott has a law degree and currently works as an insurance claims analyst and adjudicator
We are followers of Christ, who killed no one nor blessed anyone to kill and who on one occasion prevented a legal execution, saying to those who intended to take part, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” The Savior taught us a way of life that centers on love and forgiveness and which seeks the conversion rather than the destruction of our enemies.
It is chiefly through the love and care of others that each of us gradually comes to know the love of God. Can we not hope that people who have committed serious crimes, even murder, might also change for the better and even reach repentance and conversion? Consider the story Dostoevsky tells in Crime and Punishment of how a murderer, Raskolnikov, is led to repentance.
Many people cannot afford capable lawyers and, if indigent, may be assigned lawyers who invest little time or care in their defense. To favor capital punishment is to support a system that of its nature discriminates against the poor. As Sister Helen Prejean has written, “The death penalty is a poor person’s issue… After all the rhetoric that goes on in the legislative assemblies, in the end, when the deck is cast out, it is the poor who are selected to die in this country.”
Mistakes happen. Again and again cases come to light of innocent people who have been executed. We easily make mistakes — based on circumstantial evidence, what seem to us good guesses based on what we think we know about other people and other “types” of people. The film “Twelve Angry Men” is about a jury that comes within a hair’s breath of convicting an innocent man but, thanks to the resistance of thoughtful juror, realizes a mistake has been made and so finds the accused not guilty. In real life, unfortunately, the story could easily have had a different ending: the ritual killing of a man who happens to resemble a murderer, who belongs to a racial minority, has no money, is without effective legal defense, and isn’t articulate.
Consider two events in Russian history.
After the baptism of Rus’, Saint Vladimir abolished executions as being incompatible with the Gospel. It is one of several indications we have of how profound was his conversion.
One of the most impressive reforms that happened in Russia in the 19th century was the effective abolition of capital punishment. Instead convicts were sent to do hard labor, mainly in Siberia. It is striking that Russians usually call those in prison, no matter what their crime, not “crooks” or villains,” but “the unfortunate.” There is an attitude of compassion suggested in this that is missing in American culture. Perhaps this lack of compassion is itself a factor in the rising rate of crime.
One of the most loved saints in the Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, bishop of Myra, intervened to prevent three executions. In icons of St. Nicholas in which biographical panels are included, you always find the scene of Nicholas in his episcopal vestments putting his restraining hand on the raised executioner’s sword.
To this day priests are forbidden to kill, a law which comes down from the prohibition within the early Church of killing for all baptized persons. Consider why such a canon exists.
Consider also the words of an early Greek convert to Christianity, the philosopher Athenagoras of Athens (ca. 133-190): “We see little difference between watching a man being put to death and killing him.” He reminds us that to be implicated in murder, one does not have to commit murder. We can become accomplices in the violent death of others through the words we utter or through passivity.
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The debate and issues related to gender parity within the workforce have been long-standing.
Questions as to whether females are barred indirectly from progressing into more senior roles or whether females experience negative attitudes in the workplace can be polarizing. However, statistics glaringly show lower numbers of women in more senior roles. Women make up 22% of the STEM workforce in comparison to the 78% of men (Statistics Canada, 2014), compounded with a gender pay gap of 30% (Statistics Canada, 2013) and differing attitudes towards working women, this article aims to observe some of the most recent cases of women in the modern day workplace.
One particular attitude of recent memory, that I believe showcases how much more we need to do with regards to stereotypes was in 2015 at the World Conference Centre of Science Journalists, South Korea. 2001 Nobel Prize Winner Sir Tim Hunt indicated that “Three things happen when they (women) are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them they cry.” At the time, a flood of outrage poured over social media sites, leading to Sir Hunt’s public apology and his resignation from the Royal Society and University College London (UCL). Reports indicated that Sir Hunt’s remarks had been taken out of context and that he had not been serious in decrying the “emotional status” of female scientists. In fact, it appears that the above comments were followed by “Now seriously…. science needs women and you should do science despite all the obstacles.”
Whether Sir Tim Hunt’s comments were taken out of context or not, they still showcased that even at the highest levels of leadership or experience, there are discrepancies and misunderstandings when it comes to attitudes towards women in the workplace. In light of the comments made by Sir Tim Hunt, I would like to draw your attention to some examples of gender discrimination lawsuits and claims made in recent memory that were notable in the media:
1) The Pao Effect:
Ellen Pao and the employment discrimination lawsuit she carried out against her former employer Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was considered both historic and brought the issue of gender disparity to the forefront. Ellen Pao joined Kleiner Perkins (venture capital firm) in 2005 working her way up to a junior partner position; she would later file a gender discrimination lawsuit in 2012. The lawsuit alleged that Ellen was not given the opportunity to move up into a more senior role and was passed over, despite her consistent hard work. In addition, the lawsuit also alleged retaliation and negative behavior from another male junior partner. According to the venture firm Pao was described as fiercely competitive, too quiet and difficult to work with, traits that were not sought after in a senior level position. The ensuing trial was heavily followed by social media outlets through live blogging and tweets. After the 24 day trial, the courts ruled in favour of Kleiner Perkins, whom in turn decided to not pursue legal costs from Pao if she chose not to appeal.
As of June, Pao has demanded $2.7 million from her former employer to not appeal the decision and could very well head back to the courts. The trial seemed to have generated a reality check for Silicon Valley and tech companies alike, as more gender discrimination cases came up since Pao’s case, an occurrence that was dubbed the “Pao Effect”. Pao carried out a lengthy interview on the re/Code conference stage following the court’s decision, where she referenced the leaky pipeline effect: “It’s a much bigger issue. It’s the leaky pipeline, it’s not treating people fairly when they come in and when they get there. It’s not making it a fair playing field. It’s not giving people opportunities. It’s not giving people the recognition when they do succeed. There’s a whole slew of things that people can do to make it fairer and to give people an even playing field. And when you talk about the pipeline, that’s an excuse to not do anything.”(i)
2) Tinder vs Wolfe:
The massive dating app, Tinder, was faced with a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit by one of its former employees Whitney Wolfe. Wolfe has been credited as being an instrumental key player in Tinder’s early days, particularly in the marketing and sales side of things. Wolfe had been responsible for visiting college campuses and various social venues to promote the app in its early stages. The story has had different viewpoints and perspectives, with Wolfe allegedly being accused of using the co-founder title inappropriately. The lawsuit alleged that Wolfe was stripped of her title due to a claim that having women in senior positions made the company “look like a joke”. The lawsuit also included verbal harassment instances seen through text messages between Wolfe and Justin Mateen, Tinder Co-founder and CMO. The text messages showcased a series of vaguely threatening and aggressive texts that in turn forced Wolfe to resign from the company. The text messages also depicted a blatant disregard for Wolfe when she tried asking for help and assistance from Tinder’s founder Sean Rad. The parties settled out of court, with Wolfe allegedly receiving $1 million in compensation. Wolfe is now busy setting up a new dating app, Bumble, which will allow more freedom for women in responding to matches.
3) FIFA’s All-Exclusive Boys Club:
There have been a number of cases against FIFA with regards to its treatment of female athletes and its lack of female representation on executive committees, giving off an air of an exclusive boys club. Recently resigned and embattled FIFA President Sepp Blatter has been known to make sexist remarks, with his infamous 2004 comment on how female soccer players should wear “tighter shorts” to make the game more appealing. With regards to salaries, women soccer players are on the lower scale, earning $6000 to $30,000 (ii) annually, whilst their male counterparts earn anywhere from $7.1 million to the average salary of $207,831 (iii) (does not include brand endorsements, bonuses, etc). FIFA has also been known to exclude women from senior positions, including executive committees and auditory bodies. Alexandra Wrage, the former Independent Governance Committee member, resigned from her post due to “blatant sexism” within the corporation where she had been asked by FIFA executives “to stop recommending female candidates for governance positions.” (iv)
In 2015, 84 female soccer players from 13 countries filed a gender discrimination lawsuit with the Ontario Human Right’s Tribunal against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association due to the fact that women soccer players would be forced to play on turf (artificial grass) as opposed to natural grass ahead of the 2015 women’s FIFA competition. Turf has been known to increase player injury and cause serious career-ending injuries. It’s interesting to note that male players never play on artificial grass and are provided with natural grass to play on. Shockingly as it may sound, FIFA threatened to bar all women participating in the lawsuit from playing for their countries in the upcoming Women’ s FIFA tournament being held in Canada that summer and soon after, the suit was dropped.
4) Twitter’s Glass Ceiling:
Tiny Huang, a female engineer, has been with Twitter since its early days, and is cited as being one of its earliest employees. However, Huang filed a lawsuit against Twitter for its alleged male dominated environment, where men were favored for promotion to more senior roles. Huang went on to further allege that Twitter intentionally overlooked women for promotion regardless of hard work and effort put in. Her case goes on to further describe how her male counterparts were promoted to senior roles while she was been overlooked and passed over despite her work ethic, glowing reviews, and stellar performance. What seemed to be even more damaging was that Huang wasn’t offered any adequate explanations for why she was being passed over, nor was she given any advice or tips for future improvements. Twitter has released its diversity report citing a clear 9:1 (v) split ratio of male to female tech employees, showing a strong and irrefutable gender disparity issue. Huang has since left Twitter determined to pursue her case citing that the tech giant “creates a glass ceiling for women that cannot be explained or justified by any reasonable business purpose.”
These cases represent a small fraction of the many gender discrimination cases that have arisen over time and include the Wal-Mart vs Dukes case, JPMorgan sexual harassment, Sterling Jewelers, Prada etc. It’s important to note here that the women associated with these cases are all highly educated individuals with consistent work ethic: Ellen Pao holds an electrical engineering degree, law degree, and an MBA, while Whitney Wolfe completed her International Studies degree and helped launch a successful dating app with clever marketing tactics. My point is that these women all have the potential and capabilities of moving forward; they have the resilience and drive to work hard and do not lack the expertise or the problem-solving skill set. So what is the issue? And how will we address these issues to 1) keep women within the workforce and 2) promote and encourage growth?
I think the reason why Sir Tim Hunt’s comments, although clarified as not having any ill-intentions, were heavily attacked because at this point in time there are far better things to say and do with regards to gender parity in the workplace as opposed to making a light-hearted remark. Additionally, if Sir Tim Hunt deserves an apology for the treatment he received over his ill-timed remarks, I also believe that the women who have been discriminated against and vilified deserve some consolation as well.
Previously published on Scinapsis (BenchSci)
i “Ellen Pao has somethings to say” re/code( 2015). http://recode.net/2015/06/22/here-comes-that-troublesome-ellen-pao-full-video/.
ii, iii “Sepp Blatter is leaving. FIFA’s sexist policies should go with him.” theguardian(2015). http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/sepp-blatter-leaving-fifa-sexist-policies.
iv “Sepp Blatter is leaving. FIFA’s sexist policies should go with him.” theguardian(2015). http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/03/sepp-blatter-leaving-fifa-sexist-policies.
v “Female engineer sues Twitter in latest discrimination case to hit Silicon Valley.” The Telegraph(2015).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11489181/Female-engineer-sues-Twitter-in-latest-discrimination-case-to-hit-Silicon-Valley.html. | https://healthtech2017.blog/2017/05/08/the-many-faces-of-gender-discrimination-and-why-it-wont-go-away/ |
The COVID-19 coronavirus has taken a toll on incarcerated people and prison staff, alike, across the U.S. Now, it’s in Iowa’s justice system. On Friday, the state’s Department of Corrections reported that a correctional officer at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center tested positive for the virus.
Though this is the first such case in Iowa, it likely won’t be the last. As other areas of the country have shown, once COVID-19 shows up behind bars, it spreads quickly.
Iowa should be commended for the steps it has taken so far to protect its correctional population from the virus. Speeding up the release of 700 people approved for parole and work release last month was a smart decision. Prisons are already difficult places to practice social distancing, and in Iowa — whose correctional facilities are overcrowded by 22 percent — it’s almost impossible. Therefore, safely depopulating prisons could literally save lives. But there’s more the state can do without any risk to public safety.
According to a recent report by the Council of State Government Justice Center, 40 percent of people in Iowa State prisons in 2018 were there because they violated a condition of community supervision programs like probation or parole. 1 out of every 4 of these violations was technical in nature; Minor infractions such as filing faulty paperwork or missing an appointment with a supervision officer.
With COVID-19 now having penetrated Iowa’s prison walls, the state should release people who are locked up for these minor technical violations immediately. No one should face a potential death sentence over a victimless crime.
Beyond the imminent need to protect this population from the pandemic, Iowa legislators should work on long-term fixes to the state’s supervision system when they return to session.
There are more than 27,000 people in Iowa currently under probation. And approximately 91 percent of people in Iowa prisons will ultimately be placed under parole supervision after they’re released.
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The intention of community supervision is to hold individuals accountable in their community while also connecting them to the services they need to become a contributing member of society. However, in current practice, probation and parole in Iowa rarely meets this standard. Rather than successfully aiding re-entry, community supervision often serves as a pit stop on the path to prison.
With COVID-19 now having penetrated Iowa’s prison walls, the state should release people who are locked up for these minor technical violations immediately. No one should face a potential death sentence over a victimless crime. -
But if policymakers rethink the way Iowa does community supervision, they can begin to curb this problem and create a truly effective community supervision system.
First, by instituting a graduated response system, Iowa can cut down the steady flow of individuals from community supervision to prison due to technical violations. Graduated responses allow for a wide range of reactions to an individual’s behavior and permit probation and parole officers to tailor their response based on the circumstances and severity of the behavior. For example, individuals with a minor infraction may be referred to treatment or ordered to perform community service. In this system, a range of responses — positive and negative — are permissible to help curb behavior and revocations of supervision are reserved for only the most serious violations.
States like South Carolina have seen great success with this model. After adopting the use of graduated responses to technical violations in 2010, South Carolina saw the number of supervision revocations for technical violations drop by over 40 percent by 2015.
Second, Iowa can make community supervision more productive and effective by rethinking the conditions placed on individuals on probation and parole. Iowans on community supervision can face travel restrictions, be required to complete drug tests, and pay a supervision fee, among other things. Policymakers should ask themselves whether or not these conditions actually address each person’s criminogenic factors and build upon their strengths or if they’re just one more needless barrier to re-entry success.
Finally, Iowa should refocus its community supervision resources on individuals with the greatest risk and allow for refined probation terms. As noted by the task force recently convened by Gov. Kim Reynolds, “Historically, too much time and money has been spent on providing unnecessarily high levels of supervision for low risk individuals who are on probation or parole.”
Research suggests that placing individuals on overly intensive community supervision, particularly low risk individuals, doesn’t help and can actually undermine success and lead to worse public safety outcomes. On the other hand, failing to connect high risk individuals to the community treatment and services they need hinders their ability to successfully rejoin society.
By allowing people to earn time off their probation term after they’ve fulfilled their supervision goals and proven themselves to be law-abiding and productive citizens, policymakers can shift resources toward those who demonstrate a true need for greater supervision. At the same time, they can expand liberty for those who don’t.
The costs of a failing community supervision system are too high not to act. Every day, people lose their freedom for somewhat arbitrary and unproductive technical violations. Others who are lacking the support they need return to crime and a prison cell. Taxpayers fork over millions of additional dollars toward incarceration in place of other critical state priorities. And families and communities are left without their loved ones.
Iowa must act immediately to protect people locked up for technical violations from COVID-19. And as soon as the legislature returns to session, policymakers need to stop the needless cycle of incarceration and pass thoughtful community supervision reform.
Arthur Rizer is the Criminal Justice and Civil Liberties Policy Director at the R Street Institute.
Jessica Jackson is the Chief Advocacy Officer at the REFORM Alliance.
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OCLC WorldCat.
New York Public Library
Connections
|Connections Sort descending||Author name||Excerpt|
|Publishing||Sir J. M. Barrie||
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A typescript used as a prompt book at New York the following year and now held by the New York Public Library appears to be the earliest known form of the text, which was first...
|Publishing||Mary Tighe||
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A copy of the privately printed edition, beautifully inscribed to John Richardson at London on 24 July 1805, is now British Library C. 95 b. 38. A copy once owned by Lytton Strachey (with his...
|Publishing||Edith Mary Moore||
|
Her full name (Edith Mary Croucher Moore) appears in connection with this book in OCLC WorldCat though not on its title-page. Cassell advertised it in the TLS repeatedly until early June,
TLS Centenary Archive Centenary Archive [1902-2012].
(14 January 1909): 11; (3 June 1909): 205; (10 June 1909): 213
|Reception||Anita Desai||
|
Many critics agree that AD is a formidable writer, at home in intimate psychological worlds
as well as in social, historical, and political polemics. Salman Rushdie has named her central subject as solitude, and...
“Dictionary of Literary Biography online”. Gale Databases: Literature Resource Center-LRC.
271
|Reception||Sarah Grand||
|
At her death, SG left all her manuscripts, copyrights, and published works to her step-granddaughter, Elizabeth Genevieve Bernadine Crawford Haldane McFall , daughter of Haldane McFall .
Her letters and papers are now...
Kersley, Gillian. Darling Madame: Sarah Grand and Devoted Friend. Virago Press, 1983.
334-5, 100
|Reception||Tillie Olsen||
|
To mark the publication of TO 's Yonnondio, Lola Sladitz mounted an exhibition of manuscripts at the Berg Collection in the New York Public Library .
Reid, Panthea. Tillie Olsen: One Woman, Many Riddles. Rutgers University Press, 2010.
263-4
|Reception||Grace Aguilar||
|
Another indication of her popularity in the US is that one of the oldest libraries in New York City, founded in 1886, was named in her honour as the Aguilar Library ; it is now...
|Reception||Maya Angelou||
|
MA became an iconic figure during her lifetime, symbolizing the struggle of the excluded for recognition, and eventually the reconciliation of Americans black and white. In February 2011 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom...
|Reception||John Oliver Hobbes||
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Despite this assessment, and despite JOH 's own belief that her writing was in advance of her times, she is presently in literary limbo, out of print and with little recent critical work apart from...
|Reception||Laurence Hope||
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The Garden of Káma proved extremely popular, and was reissued in each of the next fourteen years under various combinations of the two titles (with later editions tending to lose the accent in Káma)...
|Textual Production||W. H. Auden||
|
The major collections of WHA 's papers are at the New York Public Library and the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center .
|Textual Production||Harriett Jay||
|
The two arrived in New York with the completed work, but the managers rejected it. Buchanan decided to stage it himself at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, where it first appeared on 30...
|Textual Production||Berta Ruck||
|
This novel was revised for volume publication from its serial form in the magazine Home Chat.
It reached a second edition the same year, and was reprinted in 1929, 1974, and in 1981 as...
Shattock, Joanne. The Oxford Guide to British Women Writers. Oxford University Press, 1993.
|Textual Production||Harriett Jay||
|
A prompt-book for a New York performance of 1907 survives at the New York Public Library .
HJ and Robert Buchanan (who had now been dead for six years) had co-written this farce under the...
OCLC WorldCat.
|Textual Production||May Sinclair||
|
MS destroyed many of her papers. What she left was carefully saved by her housekeeper and companion Florence Bartrop , and is lodged at the University of Pennsylvania .
Other papers are in the...
Raitt, Suzanne. May Sinclair: A Modern Victorian. Clarendon Press, 2000.
8-9
Timeline
No timeline events available. | https://orlando.cambridge.org/organizations/6ce70f83-fd2a-4495-91b3-04f082079df3 |
- 1 The loss of a species from an ecological community can trigger a cascade of secondary extinctions. Here we investigate how the complexity (connectance) of model communities affects their response to species loss. Using dynamic analysis based on a global criterion of persistence (permanence) and topological analysis we investigate the extent of secondary extinctions following the loss of different kinds of species.
- 2 We show that complex communities are, on average, more resistant to species loss than simple communities: the number of secondary extinctions decreases with increasing connectance. However, complex communities are more vulnerable to loss of top predators than simple communities.
- 3 The loss of highly connected species (species with many links to other species) and species at low trophic levels triggers, on average, the largest number of secondary extinctions. The effect of the connectivity of a species is strongest in webs with low connectance.
- 4 Most secondary extinctions are due to direct bottom-up effects: consumers go extinct when their resources are lost. Secondary extinctions due to trophic cascades and disruption of predator-mediated coexistence also occur. Secondary extinctions due to disruption of predator-mediated coexistence are more common in complex communities than in simple communities, while bottom-up and top-down extinction cascades are more common in simple communities.
- 5 Topological analysis of the response of communities to species loss always predicts a lower number of secondary extinctions than dynamic analysis, especially in food webs with high connectance. | http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01041.x/abstract?globalMessage=0 |
Are there any consumer protection laws that are relevant to franchising? Are there any circumstances in which franchisees would be treated as consumers?
Franchise & Licensing
Angola
The Consumer Protection Law in Angola (approved by Law 15/03, dated 22 July 2003) does not expressly predict any specific protection to franchisees, and, in general, franchisees are not considered as consumers, which are defined in article 3 no. 1 of the Consumer Protection Law as being: “(…) any natural or legal person to whom are supplied goods and services or assigned any rights for purposes of using them as final consumer, provided that the supply or assignment are made by someone that undertakes an economic activity seeking profit.”
As the franchisee would not in principle qualify as final consumer, but rather a retailer, we are of the view that he would not benefit from the provisions set out in the consumer protection law.
Canada
Although no consumer protection laws specific to franchising and franchise sales exist in Canada, Franchisors (and each individual franchisee) are still required to abide by all such laws in the day-to-day operations of their businesses. This includes the relevant consumer protection law in each province and territory (such as the Consumer Protection Act in Ontario), that regulates topics like the delivery of goods, remedies available to a party harmed by a seller’s misrepresentation, consumer cooling-off periods, etc.
Chile
No.
Denmark
The Marketing Practices Act includes statutory rules on consumer protection and applies to franchising structures in Denmark.
When entering into a franchise agreement, the franchisee is considered to act in the course of business, and the franchisee will therefore not be treated as a consumer in accordance with any of the Danish laws concerning consumer protection. However, the parties’ position of strength may be of relevance in relation to Section 36 in the Contracts Act (see Question 9).
Azerbaijan
N/A
Egypt
Due to the fact that the franchise agreement is based on that the franchisor grants the franchisee the license to use the franchisor’s commercial rights for example the know-how and trademarks etc. in order to sell and market the franchisor’s goods or services, therefore, the Consumer Protection Law will not be applied to the relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee but rather it shall be subject to the provisions of the executed franchisee agreement. However, the franchisee being producer or service/goods provider will be subject to the provisions of Law No. 181 of 2018, throughout the practice of the business with the end user/ consumer.
France
Article A441-1 of the Commercial Code requires the franchisee to inform consumers that it acts as an independent undertaking. This information must appear on all information documents, particularly advertising.
It is unlikely that a franchisee could be treated as a consumer, as the notion of consumer is only applicable to natural persons who act for purposes that do not fall within the scope of commercial or industrial activity. This distinguishes the consumer from a trader or legal persons, such as a business entity.
Greece
According to art. 6 of Law 2251/1994 on Consumer Protection, a product liability claim may be filed against the franchisor for a defective product, if the franchisor is the producer of said product, or the person who imports said product into the European Union for sale, hire, lease, or any form of distribution in the course of his business.
According to art. 1a par. 1 of the same Law 2251/1994, as recently amended, ‘consumer’ means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession. On the basis of the above, a franchisee is unlikely to be considered as a consumer.
Mexico
In terms of the Federal Consumer Protection Law (FCPL), a consumer is considered to be the “the natural person or entity that acquires or enjoys goods, products or services as the final beneficiary of the same”, while a supplier is considered to be “the natural person or entity that regularly offers, distributes, sells, leases or grants the use of goods, products, services or a combination of those”.
According to the Mexican legislation, a franchisee may be considered to be more a supplier than a consumer, except for when a transaction between a franchisee and a third-party supplier involves a claim equal to or less than 367,119.59 pesos, in which case the franchisee would be considered to be a consumer under the FCPL, and therefore may benefit from its protection.
Additionally, if the franchisee is an entity, it may be considered to be a consumer if it is considered to be a micro-entity in terms of the Law for the Development of Competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Entities and the Federal Law for the Promotion of the Micro-Industry and Handicraft Activity.
Lebanon
The Consumer Protection Law No 659/2005 is applicable to franchise agreements in Lebanon due to the similarities between the franchisor and the supplier on one hand and the franchisee and the consumer on the other hand in relation to the rights and obligations of the parties (eg. disclosure requirements, safety of the goods and services, etc.).
China
When selling goods or service to customers, the franchisee shall comply with the Law of the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers, Cyber-security Law and other related laws and regulations relating to customer protection and collection, disclosure, use and protection of personal information and data, etc.
There is no legal definition of a “consumer” under the PRC laws. According to the Law of the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers, the rights and interests of consumers who purchase and use goods or receive services for life consumption needs will be protected by the Law of the Protection of Rights and Interests of Consumers. Considering the franchisee purchases goods or services from the franchisor for the purpose of business operation rather than life consumption, generally speaking, the franchisee would not be treated as consumer.
Peru
There are not consumer protection laws that are relevant to franchising specifically, but the franchisee must know that the final consumer may seek consumer protection under the Consumer Protection and Defence Code. In this regard, it is important for the franchisee to know elementary rights of consumers, such as:
- Supplier must provide consumers with all relevant information to make a decision or an appropriate choice of consumption, and to make proper use or consumption of products or services.
- Supplier shall remain liable for the suitability and quality of the products and services offered; the authenticity of brands and legends displayed by his products or the signs supporting the service supplier, for inconsistencies in commercial advertising of products and services, as well as the content and product lifecycle indicated on the package, if appropriate.
According to the Consumer Protection and Defence Code, franchisees would not be treated as consumers.
Philippines
The primary local law on consumer protection is the Consumer Act of the Philippines (“Consumer Act”). Under the Consumer Act, “consumer products and services” are defined as goods, services and credits, debts or obligations which are primarily for personal, family, household or agricultural purposes, which shall include but not limited to food, drugs, cosmetics, and devices. Arguably, the sale of a franchise is not covered by the Consumer Act because a franchise is not “primarily for personal, family, household or agricultural purposes.”
Russia
Consumer protection legislation is applicable to individuals who are acting as natural persons, but not commercial organizations or business entities. In other words, the local consumer protection law governs business-to-consumer (B2C) relations, while the franchise relationship may only be created in the business-to-business (B2B) sphere. Therefore, franchisees cannot be treated as consumers under the law, although consumer-related legislation will be primarily applied to relations between franchisee and third party consumers (individuals), who are buying goods and services from franchisee.
At the same time, there are situations in practice when franchisor bears subsidiary or even joint and several liability for third party product claims that may be addressed to franchisee. More specifically, pursuant to the provisions of Article 1034 of the Russian Civil Code, if a customer of a franchisee brings a claim alleging that the quality of the goods or services sold or delivered by the franchisee is insufficient or improper, the franchisor faces the risk of subsidiary liability for such a quality violation. With respect to the subsidiary liability, if a franchisee refuses to satisfy the claim of the customer, or a customer has not received, within a reasonable time, a proper response to the claim, then the claim may be filed by the customer directly against the franchisor. Moreover, if a customer of the franchisee brings a claim of insufficient quality of goods that are manufactured by the franchisee, in such an instance the franchisor will bear joint and several liability (together with the franchisee) for such a product quality breach. With respect to such joint liability, the customer has the right to present the claim to the franchisor and the franchisee jointly, and also to each of them separately, for the purpose of recovering the whole amount of debt, or part of the same.
New Zealand
The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 applies between businesses and consumers. However, the relationship between a franchisor and a franchisee is usually outside the ambit of the Act.
United States
Most U.S. state consumer protection statutes apply only to consumer transactions, as opposed to commercial transactions such as the purchase of a franchise. Thus, in nearly all cases that the author is aware in which a franchisee asserted a claim against its franchisor under a state consumer protection statute arising from the purchase of a franchise, the claim has been dismissed.
That fact notwithstanding, U.S. franchise laws - - such as the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) Franchise Rule (the “FTC Rule”), which governs the offer and sale of franchises in all 50 states, Washington DC and all U.S. territories; the 14 U.S. states which have enacted laws requiring pre-sale registration and disclosure; and, the 23 U.S. jurisdictions which feature franchise relationship laws governing the on-going relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee - - may be construed as quasi consumer protection statutes, in that they serve to protect the franchisee. In addition, many states (including states with no franchise laws or regulations of their own) have enacted statutes, colloquially referred to as “Little FTC Acts,” which render illegal any conduct that would be violative of the FTC Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder (including the FTC Rule). Unlike the FTC Act and the FTC Rule, however, these Little FTC Acts often confer private rights of action upon aggrieved franchisees (either expressly by statute or by virtue of case law that has conferred standing under such statutes) rather than reserving those rights to governmental authorities alone. If a franchisor violates the FTC Rule, its franchisee may attempt to hold it liable under an applicable state Little FTC Act (if any).
Norway
Norway has strong consumer protection laws which are applicable for the sale of goods, which would be relevant in the business relation between a franchisee and consumer customers. Consumer customers may also make claims for refund, compensation, redelivery of goods, etc. against other companies in the supply chain. Depending on the set-up of the supply chain in the franchise organisation, such claims may therefore be made against the franchisor. It is therefore important to regulate in the franchise contract how claims from consumer customers shall be dealt with and mitigation of the financial risk for such claims. Norway also have consumer protection laws for certain financial agreements.
The definition of 'consumer' implies the subject to be a physical person acting in a non-business context. A franchise agreement would normally by its nature be business related to such extent that the franchise arrangement would normally fall outside the definition of a consumer relation. Careful consideration should be made if an individual person is required to undertake obligations as part of a franchise relation, for example by making guarantees or providing security. Depending on the circumstances it can be argued that the person has acted as consumer.
Italy
In 2012 protection against unfair commercial practices was extended also to the so-called “micro-undertakings” (i.e entity companies or associations that, regardless of their legal form, engage in an economic activity, even as an individual or family, that employs fewer than ten persons and generates an annual revenue or total annual balance sheet not in excess of two million euros).
United Kingdom
No. Franchisees are not likely to be treated as consumers for the purposes of consumer protection law. Companies are never considered to be consumers, even if an individual sets up a company for the sole purpose of entering into the franchise agreement. | http://www.inhouselawyer.co.uk/wgd_question/are-there-any-consumer-protection-laws-that-are-relevant-to-franchising-are-there-any-circumstances-in-which-franchisees-would-be-treated-as-consumers/ |
One-step UV-induced modification of cellulose fabrics by polypyrrole/silver nanocomposite films.
Cellulose fabrics were coated with polypyrrole-silver (PPy/Ag) nanocomposite films via one pot photopolymerization in aqueous media. This process was optimized for various concentrations of pyrrole/textile weight ratios with fixed molar ratio of [pyrrole]/[AgNO(3)] as 2.5. Simple weight measurements of the fabrics indicated progressive coating of PPy/Ag versus initial pyrrole/fabric weight ratio and photopolymerization time. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data confirm the nano-size (10-30 nm) and metallic state of Ag crystallites. The metallic state of silver particles was also confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). We demonstrate that UV-induced polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of AgNO(3) is simple and fast compared to chemical oxidative polymerization in the absence of UV light. More importantly, it permits to coat cellulose fabrics in one pot by polypyrrole/Ag nanocomposites films in environmentally friendly aqueous solutions at room temperature.
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“The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.”
Those words were first spoken by Benjamin Graham, hailed as the “Father of Value Investing” and the “Dean of Wall Street”. What separates an investor from a speculator, according to Graham, is the use of thorough analysis when making investment decisions.
Even though he spoke these words many decades ago, they still hold true today. The financial landscape is constantly evolving, which is why intelligent investors are always updating their knowledge to stay ahead of the curve and keep their portfolios relevant.
As we move deeper into 2018, here are three important trends that you should take into consideration when updating or creating your investment portfolios.
Trend #1: Rising interest rates
In the wake of the global financial crisis at the end of the last decade, central banks everywhere loosened monetary policies in order to stimulate economic growth. For years, interest rates, particularly in the developed world, remained at rock bottom—and even negative—levels.
Recently however, interest rates have been on an upswing. The US Federal Reserve has raised its federal funds rate six times since the financial crisis, with the last rate hike occurring in March 2018. This trend is widely expected to continue. The Bank of Canada, for instance, has raised rates three times since July 2017, with two more hikes expected in 2018.
While rising interest rates are a sign of a recovering economy, too rapid an increase can risk jeopardizing said recovery and suppressing growth. What follows is a delicate balancing act.
What this means for your portfolio
Bond prices have an inverse relationship with interest rates. As such, you should expect continued downward pressure on bond prices as monetary tightening continues. Over the long term however, bonds, as well as cash market funds, may become more attractive.
While stock prices are not directly affected by rising interest rates, tightening monetary conditions make it harder for companies to raise funds and repay debt. Companies that have relied on such easy access to funds in the past may also run into trouble. On the other hand, certain sectors, such as banking and insurance, have traditionally benefited from rising interest rates.
In short, whether you’re a cautious investor or you’re willing to take on high-risk investments, you should examine your equity portfolios carefully to see whether they have any companies that were only thriving due to the low interest rate environment.
Trend #2: The return of emerging market economies
For many years, long-term investors with the capacity to invest in the S&P 500 index benefited greatly. Over the past 10 years, assuming reinvested dividends, the S&P 500—which indexes 505 stocks issued by 500 of America’s largest companies—generated an annualized return of 9.84%. By contrast, other indexes fared much worse, including the MSCI Europe Index (2.51%), the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (2.17%), and the MSCI Far East Index (4.22%).
But in the last year, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the MSCI Far East Index returned 21.71% and 22.49%, respectively. The S&P 500 had an annualized return of -0.76%. While this trend is far from a guarantee of market performance, it is certainly worth exploring how other emerging markets may provide valuable investment options at a time when the S&P 500 is performing below its long term average.
What this means for your portfolio
With political uncertainty and tensions rising in the US, you may want to start paying the emerging market economies more attention. Some common ways of doing this include exploring emerging market ETFs and investing in stocks that do a lot of business in those markets. Ultimately, diversifying your investments with different geographical locations is always a good idea, and will help to ensure that your entire portfolio isn’t affected by global or political crises in a given area.
Trend #3: Alternative assets and the crypto economy
The global financial crisis created doubts in many investors’ minds as to whether a portfolio of only traditional equities and fixed income instruments was good enough. Investors now have increasing access to alternative asset investments, which have been steadily gaining in popularity.
The figures speak for themselves: total alternative assets under management increased to over $4 trillion by the end of 2016, a near 10% increase. Sovereign wealth funds now hold 23% of their assets as alternative investments. PwC expects $18.1 trillion in global alternative investments by 2020.
When speaking about alternative investments, the rise of the crypto economy cannot be ignored. While it’s true that the cryptocurrency market is still volatile, investors shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that it is ultimately the underlying blockchain technology that gives it lasting value. The crypto economy is still in its infancy, and it could become as valuable and ubiquitous as the tech economy is today.
What this means for your portfolio
If you are willing to do the necessary research into these alternative investments, you may be able to make better returns than those sticking to the traditional model. Before making such investments, you should carefully consider and manage your risk tolerance levels. For example, investing in Neptune Dash allows you to gain exposure to the crypto economy without needing to hold any cryptocurrencies—which may be the smartest play for mid-risk or low-risk portfolios.
The financial industry is ever-changing, but keeping an eye on ongoing trends can help you get ahead of any dramatic market shifts. Instead, take the time to figure out how these trends present exciting investment opportunities outside of the “traditional” way of doing things. Sure, some investment habits stand the test of time. But with technology rapidly changing the way we do business and new emerging markets flourishing in unexpected ways, old investment strategies are no longer sufficient for the new financial landscape. Smart investors will be wise enough to change their investment habits—and their portfolios—accordingly.
Learn more about how the cryptocurrency market fared in Q2 and how to start investing in Dash today. | https://www.neptunedash.com/blog/the-financial-industry-is-changing-heres-how-you-can-keep-your-portfolio-relevant/ |
Growth characteristics and nutrient removal capability of eco-ditch plants in mesocosm sediment receiving primary domestic wastewater.
Eco-ditches are being explored to maximize their capability of capturing pollutants and mitigate any harmful side effects in rivers. In this study, mesocosm plastic drum sediment and field experiments were set up to screen 18 plant species found in ditches and identify those with potential for high biomass production and nutrients removal. Terrestrial plants grown in the mesocosm system were shown to be able to acclimate to aquatic conditions and to survive in primary domestic sewage. About 73-95% increase in plant biomass was recorded. Removal efficiencies for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and ammonium-nitrogen from the sewage of 72-99%, 64-99%, and 75-100%, respectively, were recorded. Furthermore, complete removal of the applied nitrate-nitrogen load was achieved in mesocosm systems. Findings also show that all species, but especially Acorus calamus, Canna indica, Canna lily, Cyperus alternifolius, Colocasia gigantea, Eichhornia crassipes, Iris sibirica, and Typha latifolia had the highest efficiencies for nitrogen and phosphorous removal. The N and P mass balance analysis demonstrated that plant uptake and sediment N and P accumulation accounted for 41-86% and 18-49% of the total influent TN and TP loads, respectively. In addition, the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous uptake by these plant species were influenced significantly by biomass. The field-culture experiment further identified Canna indica followed by Cyperus alternifolius as the most promising for high biomass production and nutrients uptake. Therefore, these plants may be recommended for extensive use in treating highly eutrophicated rivers. Outcomes of this work can be useful for model design specifications in eco-ditch mitigation of sewage pollution.
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Some common terms that relate to issues of homelessness include:
Homeless: Federally defined as “a person sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation (e.g. living on the streets) OR living in a homeless emergency shelter.”
Hidden homeless: These include people who are precariously housed and at eminent risk of becoming literally homeless. They may be doubled up with friends or relatives, or temporarily staying in a motel or sleeping in their cars. Hidden homeless refers to the fact they are not visibly homeless.
Chronic homelessness: Federally defined as “either (1) an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has been continuously homeless for a year or more, OR (2) an unaccompanied individual with a disabling condition who has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years.”
Throwaway youth: A term used to describe two types of circumstance: 1) A child who is asked or told to leave home by a parent or other household adult, without adequate alternative care being arranged for the child by a household adult, and with the child out of the household overnight, or 2) A child who is away from home and is prevented from returning home by a parent or other household adult, without adequate alternative care being arranged for the child by a household adult, and the child is out of the household overnight.
Affordable housing: Housing, either ownership or rental, for which a household will pay no more than 30% of its gross annual income.
Continuum of care: Organization of service providers established by Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to oversee community planning around homelessness. Continua work together to define needs, plan strategies, and prioritize funding for supportive housing services.
Emergency housing: Temporary housing provided on an emergency basis. Stays at emergency shelters are limited in time and the amount of time varies among shelters. For some programs, emergency shelters are the first step in a series of steps as homeless adults and youth move from emergency to transitional to permanent housing.
Transitional housing: Housing that is more stable than emergency housing and that can be for a longer period of time, such as 1 to 2 years. Once homeless youth and adults have been stabilized in emergency housing, they may move to transitional housing as a next step.
Supportive housing: Subsidized housing directly tied to specific supportive services for homeless individuals or families who have come from emergency shelters or the streets. Supportive housing may be categorized as transitional (people may stay for up to 2 years) or permanent (there is no limit on the length of stay and clients abide by a lease).
Housing First: A term that that has come to mean providing a chronic homeless person with direct and immediate access to housing. It reverses the traditional concept of “treatment first and then housing” to “housing first and then appropriate treatment.” Housing first is a consumer driven model. It is producing successful outcomes for keeping people from returning to the streets.
Harm reduction: Harm reduction is a nonjudgmental philosophy that allows young people and adults to have input into their own recovery plans. A harm reduction approach begins with the person, allowing each person to progress at a comfortable pace.
Case management: The process of arranging for provision of an array of services and supports for an individual or family that is based on assessment of their unique needs and designed to address the specific needs identified. | https://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/extending-our-reach-reducing-homelessness-through-library-engagement-1 |
How to Learn about — and Help Improve — Local and State Policies That Can Prevent Wrongful Convictions
Certain police and government practices have been found to contribute to wrongful convictions. Eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, crime lab errors and other factors have led to wrongful convictions nationwide that were later overturned by DNA. While some states have laws or court rulings governing these practices, they are often decided locally (by police departments and sheriff’s departments, for example). Many jurisdictions have already implemented policies and procedures that can prevent wrongful convictions and help determine the truth in post-conviction cases. You can find out what the practices are in your community – and help make sure that policies and procedures are in place to prevent wrongful convictions.
There are some simple ways to figure out practices in your state, county or town. By finding out what your jurisdiction is doing, you can clearly signal to decision-makers that their constituents care about these issues and are engaged in their improvement.
The Innocence Project prioritizes the following issues in our work to exonerate innocent prisoners and prevent wrongful convictions:
for more background on the causes of wrongful conviction and click here to read about
reforms nationwide
.
To determine policies and procedures in your own community, you’ll need to get in touch with your local and state entities. While every local jurisdiction is different, many of them operate similarly. To that end, here are some steps to get started:
You can call your local police department, county sheriff’s office or local crime lab director – and simply ask them what their policies are vis-à-vis each of the issues above. (For example, “Do you electronically record all custodial interrogations?” or “What is your practice for preserving evidence after someone has been convicted?” or “How are lineups and other identification procedures conducted?”)
Explain that you are calling simply as a member of the community – not on behalf of any organizations or entities – and that you have learned that local practices can help prevent wrongful convictions or help determine the truth post-conviction, so you are calling to inquire about local procedures.
Offer to send follow-up information (which you can print from the Innocence Project’s website or others) on practices that have proven effective in other jurisdictions.
States generally have a number of agencies dedicated to criminal justice policy and enforcement. In your state, you may find a Department of Criminal Justice Services or a Department of Public Safety. You can call them and ask for the same information you would request of a local law enforcement agency; at the state entity, you can ask for statewide guidelines and/or an articulation of local procedures and practices. Since state agencies often have written policies or guidelines, you should ask for any documentation they can provide.
If you learn that policies and procedures are not in place to help prevent wrongful convictions, you can ask what the process is for revisiting these decisions and implementing practices based on what scientific research and practical experience shows can help prevent wrongful convictions.
Sometimes, government entities require you to make requests for documents in writing. Every state has a “freedom of information” law, under which you can make requests for the relevant documents. Unless government offices have specific reasons to withhold the documents from you, they have to provide you with copies of them. To draft a request for documents, we suggest you use an online freedom of information request generator provided by the Student Press Law Center.
Click here
and follow the simple instructions.
However you pursue information about local practices, you are helping ensure that decision-makers understand that these issues are a priority for their communities.
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Situated in the historical district, this inn is within 1 mi (2 km) of People's Park, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, and University of California - Berkeley. Greek Theater and University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley are also within 3 mi (5 km).
Property Features
This inn features coffee/tea in a common area, a business center, and a meeting room. Free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Other amenities include a 24-hour front desk, free newspapers, and a lobby fireplace.
Room Amenities
All 40 rooms offer free WiFi, flat-screen TVs with digital channels, and free newspapers. Other amenities available to guests include ceiling fans, hair dryers, and showers.Would you like to give us feedback? Share it! Opens in a new window
Rose Garden Inn2740 Telegraph Ave Berkeley CA 94705
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
High-speed wireless Internet access is complimentary. This 3-star property offers access to a business center and a meeting room. Guests can enjoy a complimentary breakfast. This Berkeley inn also offers a terrace, coffee/tea in a common area, and complimentary newspapers in the lobby. Limited complimentary onsite parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- 24-hour front desk
- Business center
- Coffee/tea in common areas
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Fireplace in lobby
- Free breakfast
- Free self parking
- Free WiFi
- Luggage storage
- Number of floors - 2
- One meeting room
- Parking (limited spaces)
- Terrace
- Total number of rooms - 40
Internet
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Parking
Free self parking, Parking (limited spaces)
Room Amenities
- Air conditioning
- Ceiling fan
- In-room climate control (air conditioning)
- Free newspaper
- Free toiletries
- Daily housekeeping
- Desk
- Digital TV service
- Flat-panel TV
- Free WiFi
- Hair dryer
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Premium TV channels
- Private bathroom
- Shower only
Where to Eat
A complimentary breakfast is offered.
Nearby Things to Do
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Hiking/biking trails nearby
- Mountain biking nearby
Accessibility
To make requests for specific accessibility needs, complete the "Special or Accessibility Requests" section of "Trip Preferences" when you book your hotel.
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in
Check-in time starts at 3 PM
Payment types
Pets
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed. | https://www.expedia.com/Oakland-Hotels-Rose-Garden-Inn.h437761.Hotel-Information?chkout=05/29/2013&chkin=05/26/2013 |
Most of the time, you visit your doctor for treatment whenever you are unwell. How often people seek medical attention may vary – for some, it may be after several months, others once or twice a year. Visiting your doctor when nothing is wrong may seem peculiar. However, an annual physical exam in West New York is recommended for everyone regardless of age. Physical exams performed by your primary care physician help determine your health status and give way to early intervention and prevention of any conditions that may put you at risk. A physical exam lets your doctor assess your overall body function and state regardless of whether or not you have symptoms of an illness.
Why are physical exams important?
A physical exam offers you the opportunity to ask your doctor any health questions that have been on your mind. A well-check allows your doctor to diagnose any health problem during its early stages before it worsens. Medical conditions such as cancer respond better to treatment during onset stages. Early treatment will also save you outrageous financial costs that may be incurred if the problem is detected later on. Besides ensuring you are in good health, a physical exam helps you forge a relationship with your primary care provider. This bond makes it easier to open up to your doctor whenever you have a pressing health concern.
What to expect during your physical examination
- A measure of height and weight
These may seem like basic or standard measurements. However, they offer a baseline and a way to track your well-being. For example, significant weight changes, including gain and loss, can signify health problems.
- Checking vital signs
This step includes taking a reading of your blood pressure and checking your heart rate. It is advised to get your blood pressure checked at least once every year. However, if you have a family history of heart disease, your doctor may recommend regular check-ups.
- A review of your current health
It is important to tell your doctor how your body generally feels, including if you have been having new symptoms or are living with a chronic condition. Be sure to update your doctor in case of any changes in your overall health. For example, inform your doctor if you are using new medications and supplements.
- Visual examination
Your doctor will check your appearance for signs of any possible problems. This analysis includes reviewing your body’s different parts, such as your head, chest, eyes, abdomen, hands, and nervous system functions like walking and speech.
- Laboratory tests
Your doctor may draw blood to conduct several laboratory tests. For example, a complete metabolic panel that tests your blood plasma helps the doctor identify existing issues in your liver, kidneys, immune system, and blood chemistry. Another test that your doctor may conduct includes a complete blood count. These tests help your doctor detect any abnormalities in your body that may indicate severe conditions. Patients at risk of stroke, heart disease, and heart attack may require a lipid panel or cholesterol test.
Regular physical examination helps you stay healthy and reduces your risk of lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Schedule a session with your health care provider at The Doctor’s House for a physical exam to improve your quality of life. | https://www.pakarkista.com/learn-why-physical-examination-is-important-for-you.html |
I recently had the chance to ask Toni SR some questions about her journey as a ballerina. Toni is an amazing dancer, she graces the stage with incredible poise and grace, her passion and dedication to ballet is incredible. Below are her repsonses.
Q1: When did you start ballet?
I started dancing as soon as I could walk and enrolled in several different types of movement classes when I was younger. However, I didn’t start taking proper ballet classes until I was about 6 or 7.
Q2: Where do you currently dance?
I dance at Pacific Ballet Academy in California’s Bay Area.
Q3: How long have you been en pointe for?
I have been en pointe for a little over five years!
Q4: What pointe shoes do you currently wear?
I alternate between the softer Suffolk Spotlight and the harder, more durable Suffolk Stellar. I darn my Spotlights and I 3/4 the shank of the Stellars.
Q5: How did you first get involved in ballet?
I first got involved in ballet when I signed up for some tap / ballet classes and decided that I preferred ballet over anything else I could have done.
Q6: What is your favourite variation?
My favorite variation is either Sleeping Beauty Act III or Grand Pas Classique. Sleeping Beauty is such an elegant ballet and takes a special blend of technique and artistry to pull off. Grand Pas is a sheer test of technique and endurance.
Q7: What company would you love to work for?
Really anywhere, as long as I keep dancing! I love the Royal Ballet, ABT, as well as Boston Ballet. I had the honor of attending Boston Ballet’s summer intensive last year and am a few days away from starting Royal Ballet’s intensive!
Q8: Do you have a favourite memory/moment in ballet?
My favorite moment in ballet is when you take the first step onto stage during a performance. Nothing beats the feelings of months of preparation, sweat, and hard work that goes into making the show possible. And a pretty tutu doesn’t hurt, either!
Q9: Who are your ballet roles models? Dancers that inspire you.
One of my all-time favorite dancers is Misa Kuranaga, from Boston Ballet. She’s so strong, has gorgeous feet and lines, impeccable technique, and a wonderful quality that makes her such a joy to watch.
Q10: Best advice you’ve ever received from a teacher?
To let the music guide your movements and to remember that dance isn’t all technique — it’s an artistic sport which means emotion and expression is part of the movement.
Q11: Classical or romantic tutu?
Classical!
Q12: What do you like to do when you aren’t dancing (your free time)? | https://abenderfan.com/2018/07/12/qa-with-american-ballerina-toni-sr/ |
PPG, longtime developer of paints, coatings and other materials, has announced it has entered into a partnership with SiNode Systems, an advanced materials company developing silicon-graphene materials for next-gen batteries, to accelerate the commercialization of high-energy anode materials for advanced battery applications in electric vehicles.
The 30-month project will focus on the development and demonstration of anode materials that will store more energy than conventional lithium-ion battery materials, enabling electric vehicles to travel farther on a single charge or to have a lighter-weight battery. The project will focus on improving the stability and scalability of SiNode’s anode materials to meet or exceed USABC targets for a battery’s active materials, which store the energy. Raymor Industries (that recently secured a $2.3 million grant from the Canadian government to integrate graphene into lithium-ion batteries) will provide graphene to PPG, which will then prepare the material for SiNode. PPG will help both Raymor and SiNode scale up their manufacturing processes to production volumes to support the project.
In 2016, SiNode was selected among several competitors to receive a contract for the project from the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC), which is providing 50% of the project’s funding through the U.S. Department of Energy. Project partners are funding the remaining 50 percent. | https://www.graphene-info.com/sinode-and-ppg-jointly-develop-anode-materials-electric-vehicles-using-raymors-graphene |
Communications – Institute for Dance, Inc.
It is the responsibility of the parent or adult student to be aware of all school activities, including observation days, recitals, extra classes, upcoming payments and dates the school is open or closed. Parents must provide the studio with at least one valid email address so that all such notices can be emailed to them. We also recommend that an email address for each high-school age student be provided so that those students can be responsible for staying informed about studio events, rehearsals, etc. The school will also post all notices on bulletin boards around the studio. It is the parent’s responsibility to regularly check email and these boards to ensure they are informed. It is the responsibility of the parents or adult students to inform the school of any email, address or phone number changes.
A monthly newsletter is sent via email to all parents and families of dancers currently registered at the studio. If you do not wish to receive emails, you are responsible for picking up a hard copy in the main office during business hours. The monthly newsletter contains information regarding important dates, upcoming events, studio news, audition opportunities, recital information, and more.
Our teaching staff is happy to speak to you regarding your child. To arrange a time to meet, it is best to leave a request in the teacher’s mailbox in the main office during business hours. To preserve the quality of class, and the limited time, teachers are unable to meet during class times. If your request goes unanswered by the teacher within a week, please bring it to the attention of the front office.
If you need to speak with the Studio Director or a member(s) of the Board of Directors, you can attend the monthly board meetings (dates listed in the monthly newsletter), or you can leave a request in the BOD mailbox (located in the main office). If your request goes unanswered by the board within a week, please bring it to the attention of the front office. | https://institutefordance.org/policies-and-tuition-2/communications/ |
This report presents the findings of a study on approaches that have been taken to prevent and respond to antisocial and violent behaviours among football fans, and the extent to which these approaches proved effective. The report has been prepared to inform preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but is intended to be of interest to practitioners, policy-makers, academics and people interested in the field of sport spectator safety.
Review of interventions
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Arabic language version (summary only)
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Disorder and violence at football matches are well-recognised issues that have attracted considerable attention in the media as well as among policymakers and practitioners. In an effort to prevent and respond to the phenomenon, numerous strategies and interventions have been implemented by relevant stakeholder groups, including police and other security professionals, football clubs and associations, fan organisations and local and national governments. However, despite the wide range of tools available, there are gaps in the understanding of the current state of practice and its effectiveness.
RAND Europe was commissioned by Qatar University to provide a series of reports looking into the issues of violence and antisocial behaviour at major sporting events. This second report responded to the gaps in our current understanding through a focused, structured literature search and aimed to provide a critical assessment of previous research into these issues. The review observed a multitude of strategies that can be and have been implemented to counter antisocial behaviour at football matches. They can broadly be grouped into four categories: 1) organisation of the venue (e.g. equipping stadiums with cameras, seating-only arrangements), 2) organisation of the events (e.g. arranging transport for away fans; setting up early kick-off times); 3) approaches to policing (e.g. dialogue-based policing, police liaison teams); and 4) laws, policies and partnerships (e.g. higher penalties for hooliganism, cooperation with fan associations).
With respect to the effectiveness of these interventions, the review found that the existing evidence base (at least as captured by the parameters of the review) is underdeveloped. The review found evidence pertaining only to a subset of interventions. Of the studies offering an effectiveness assessment, the majority faced notable methodological limitations.
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
Key findings on the quality of the identified evidence and the evidence base
Chapter Three
Detailed findings: interventions regarding rules of attendance
Chapter Four
Detailed findings: logistical organisation of matches
Chapter Five
Detailed findings: in-stadium equipment, features, services
Chapter Six
Detailed findings: policing interventions
Chapter Seven
Discussion
Annex A
Methodology
Annex B
Overview of implemented strategies
Annex C
Data extraction template
The research described in this report was prepared for Qatar University and conducted by RAND Europe.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. | https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2532.html |
Patients and families coping with serious illness face many challenges. Support from friends within the St. Jude family can be an important part of the treatment process. Also, St. Jude urges its patients and families to keep in touch with loved ones at home to nurture those relationships.
The St. Jude staff knows that one common way to maintain these relationships, both inside and outside of St. Jude, is through social media. This is most true when you are a long distance from your friends and family. A few examples of social media sites are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and CaringBridge. While these resources might be helpful for you, it is important to be aware of the risks and the ways you can help keep you and your child safe.
What you can do to protect the privacy of you, your child, and others
- Use the privacy settings provided by the social media channel to restrict who can see your information, including email addresses, photos, messages, etc. Check your settings often, as social media channels often reset them to a more public default setting.
- Be aware that even if your setting is on “private,” friends of friends might still be able to see and share your posts.
- Don’t post personal information, such as your email address, phone number, mailing address, patient identification number, or financial information to your social media page or someone else’s page.
- Be careful to check the privacy settings of Facebook groups you join. Many are public.
- Get the permission of another patient’s family before posting pictures or video of that patient on your own website or social media pages. In the same way, if a friend on a social media site posts a photo of you or your child that you do not want shared with their network, kindly ask them to remove it.
- Get permission from hospital staff and volunteers before taking and sharing photos and videos of them with you or your child.
- Per state and federal laws, and St. Jude policies, St. Jude employees and volunteers are forbidden from “friending” or directly connecting with patients and patient family members—or sharing or exchanging messages with patients or patient family members—on social media. Please do not ask them to friend or connect with you or your child on social media.
- You are not allowed to photograph, videotape, stream, or audiotape medical care being given to the patient. To learn more, see “Do You Know… Photographing, videotaping, streaming, audiotaping.”
Other resources
To learn more about how to protect your privacy online, visit OnGuardOnline.gov, a website run by the Federal Trade Commission.
This document is not intended to take the place of the care and attention of your personal physician or other professional medical services. Our aim is to promote active participation in your care and treatment by providing information and education. Questions about individual health concerns or specific treatment options should be discussed with your physician.
St. Jude complies with health care-related federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.
ATTENTION: If you speak another language, assistance services, free of charge, are available to you. Call 1-866-278-5833 (TTY: 1-901-595-1040).
ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-866-278-5833 (TTY: 1-901-595-1040).
تنبيه: إذا كنت تتحدث باللغة العربية فيمكنك الاستعانة بخدمات المساعدة اللغوية المتوفرة لك مجانا. .يرجى الاتصال بالرقم. 5833-278-866-1 (الهاتف النصي: 1040-595-901-1). | https://www.stjude.org/treatment/patient-resources/caregiver-resources/patient-family-education-sheets/general-information/using-social-media.html |
Home › Forums › Buurtforum › Cost of IP Litigation
This topic contains 0 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by viadeo 3 months, 3 weeks ago.
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6 april 2021 at 08:30 #1043
viadeoMember
Proving evidence intellectual property litigation
Difficulty in obtaining evidence and proving evidence
Because of the intangible characteristics of intellectual property rights object, coupled with the judgment of infringement requires professional technical knowledge.Therefore, it is much more difficult to prove the infringement of tangible property in intellectual property litigation whether the parties provide factual evidence of infringement or persuade the evidence provided.The emergence of this phenomenon makes the distribution of burden of proof in litigation put forward higher requirements for judges. Only by flexibly and accurately applying the transfer and inversion rules of burden of proof can judges better reflect the principle of fairness in litigation.
In addition, the proof scope of intellectual property litigation is more complicated than that of general infringement litigation, because it is different from the infringement litigation of tangible property.In intellectual property litigation, for the plaintiff, the first thing to do is to provide evidence of the court’s jurisdiction.Second, it is necessary to prove not only that the defendant has a tort, that he has damage consequences and that there is a causal relationship between the two, but also that he has legitimate sources of effective intellectual property rights and the scope of his intellectual property rights.
Take copyright infringement litigation as an example. Under normal circumstances, the plaintiff should first prepare the following evidence according to the different situations of his own copyright source:
1) Work registration certificate;In the absence of registration, the original work or the copyright page of the published work should be provided;
2) If it is a commissioned work, a commissioned creation contract shall be provided;
3) If the work is a legal person, it shall provide proof that the work was created according to the will of the legal person and the legal person shall bear the responsibility;
4) If it is a work performed on duty, evidence of completion of the work performed on duty shall be provided;
5) If it is a cooperative work, the original copy and other evidence shall be provided;
6) If it is a work of inheritance or assignment, proof of right inheritance or assignment shall be provided;
7) In addition, the plaintiff shall provide evidence of infringement by the defendant, such as infringing works;
8) If the property loss is claimed, evidence of the calculation method of the loss shall also be provided;
9) If a claim is made for mental loss, evidence of mental damage shall also be provided.
The scope of the evidence, and the degree to which it is proved, varies from case to case and requires the client (the lawyer) or the judge to weigh and decide.Cost of IP Litigation
website:http://www.guocai-lawfirm.com/ip-litigation/
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You must be logged in to reply to this topic. | http://buurtambassade.nl/topic/cost-of-ip-litigation/ |
Kwame Nkrumah, who won independence for Ghana in 1957, was the first African statesman to achieve world recognition. Nkrumah and his movement also brought about the end of independent chieftaincy—one of the most fundamental changes in the history of Ghana.Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention Peoples’ Party was committed not only to the rapid termination of British colonial rule but also to the elimination of chiefly power.
El Dorado in West Africa
The Gold Mining Frontier, African Labor, and Colonial Capitalism
By Raymond E. Dumett
The second half of the nineteenth century witnessed some of the greatest gold mining migrations in history when dreams of bonanza lured thousands of prospectors and diggers to the far corners of the earth—including the Gold Coast of West Africa.El Dorado in West Africa explores the first modern gold rush of Ghana in all of its dimensions—land, labor, capital, traditional African mining, technology, transport, management, the clash of cultures, and colonial rule.
African Studies · Business and Economics · Political Science · African History · History
Willing Migrants
Soninke Labor Diasporas, 1848–1960
By François Manchuelle
The first major study of the Soninke labor migration within Africa and to France, Willing Migrants is based upon critical analysis of French precolonial and colonial records and oral interviews with Soninke migrants. | https://ohioswallow.com/series/Western+African+Studies/2 |
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80 407 Images of Egypt
Prerequisites
BA
This elective course is integral to, and a mandatory part of, OCCAS studio: Egypt.
Recommended prerequisite knowledge
Interest in scholarly, theoretical and historical reflection on architecture and visual material.
Course content
Ancient Egypt has kept its spell on the European mind across centuries. After the French-British battle of dominance of the area since the late eighteenth century, followed by the massive relocation of Egyptian antiquities to European museums, the interest has but increased. For two centuries, Egyptian imagery has echoed in European architecture, art, design, fashion and fiction. This seminar looks into images of Egypt as represented in world exhibitions and popular culture in the nineteenth and twentieth century. We will watch a number of movies, read novels, dig into the illustrated press, and follow depictions of Egypt – factual and fictitious – across media.
Debates on orientalism and myths will provide the theoretical framework for our work on images, as addressed in political science, comparative literature and exhibition studies since the 1970.
‘Images of Egypt’ pertains to the OCCAS studio: Egypt, run as part of OCCAS’ new, international research project Printing the Past (PriArc), part of the EU research program ”Uses of the Past”.
Learning outcomes
Knowledge: The students will gain insights into debates on orientalism, cultural geopolitics, visual analysis, as well as fiction.
Skills: The seminar will give training in academic thinking and practice, and how to work with historical and contemporary sources, objects, and documents in many media.
General Competence: Readings and seminars will provide the students with insight into political, cultural, and anthropological perspectives on Egypt and the orient. In a broader sense, it will enable students to deal with visual material in a critical manner. Furthermore, the course will equip students with academic reasoning skills as well as abilities to present arguments in oral, visual, and written forms.
Working and learning activities
We will discuss texts and visual material on a weekly basis. Occasionally we will invite national and international scholars to give talks on various aspects of the seminar.
Professor in charge
Mari Lending
Assessment
Assessment
Date
Duration
Grade scale
Oral examination
Rapport
Individual
Pass / Fail
Comment:
Each student will hand in a well-illustrated essay for assessment and give a presentation of the selected theme with emphasize on the selected visual material. The essay and the presentation will be examined by two external censors.
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I gave this presentation at the LLAS event for new staff 'Life and work in Academia,' 12th April, 2012, at Aston University. It gives an introduction into concepts of open educational resources and why engaging with openness is a good thing.
A collection of articles that represents a diverse range of views on the use of the Internet in the history and philosophy of science.
This resource contains examples of sophisticated online multiple-choice questionnaires and challenges English lecturers to emulate them. It consists of three parts: 1. An overview of the activity; 2. An activity that can be carried out by individual lecturers; 3.An activity that can be done with a group (useful to leaders of accredited courses).
The object of this collection of resources is to both familiarise lecturers with the scope of online learning in English studies and to encourage thinking about the design, delivery and assessment of online learning.
This resource contains a pair of exercises that explore ways in which the Creative Writing workshop might be supported by technology in face-to-face, blended or distance learning contexts.
The activity in this resource, available for a group or individual, exposes the student to a selection of voices within the discipline who have different perspectives on the use and assessment of online discussion.
In this resource there is a group or individual activity that demonstrates a variety of approaches that a practitioner might take to assist their students to discover information contained within complex online databases efficiently.
This resource looks at the types of new media that a lecturer in English studies might employ when working online, the various contexts where that technology might be employed and the pedagogical strategies they might employ. There are two activities both available for individuals or groups. The first activity explores the range of technologies and their uses, the second involves the design of a learning activity around a piece of new media.
This resource explores how we structure online learning activities and the way we present them for our students. It contains two activities that involve exploring a range of interactive online activities from English Literature courses. Participants should also gain a wider appreciation of the means by which online activities can be delivered (structure, presentation etc).
This resource introduces some of the key concepts, tools and benefits of using e-learning in the teaching of English Studies and provides a useful starting point for introducing colleagues to the benefits of using a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). The resource is made up of two activities one for use with groups and one for individuals.
The object of this collection of resources is to both familiarise lecturers with the scope of online learning in English studies and to encourage thinking about the design, delivery and assessment of online learning.
Your Gateway to a Growing Repository of Arabic eLearning Resources (In-House & Third Party). The (eArabic Learning Portal) provides a reference and access point to all our e-Learning resources and projects designed, developed and led by Mourad Diouri, the eLearning Lecturer, to support learners and teachers of Arabic as a foreign language.
The e-Arabic Tandem Network is an initiative to support Arabic language learners to find partners from the Arabic-speaking world who are interested to support you with your Arabic language study. This is a mutual language partnership of two or more learners, where all involved benefit equally. This service is intended to help Arabic language learners to find an e-Tandem partner with whom they can improve their language skills as well as expand their cultural understanding of the target culture. To join the network, go to: http://etandem.ning.com/
This is a dedicated social and professional network for anyone involved in "Arabic as a foreign language" teaching, research or support. EatNet is a place where Arabic teaching professionals support each other. You are welcome to: ask questions, share and disseminate your experience, good practice, and relevant resources. To join the network, go to: v-Arabic.net
This is a word cloud of Obama’s full speech in Cairo, Egypt. Credits: © Mourad Diouri Word Cloud created with wordle.net Read full speech in Arabic and English at http://www.v-arabic.com/vra/word-cloud-obamas-speech-in-egypt/
The Visual Arabic Library (مكتبة الموارد المرئية لتعليم اللغة العربية لغير الناطقين بها) is a Growing Library of Realia (i.e.real-life) Images and& Videos To Improve Your Visual Learning Of The Arabic Language www.v-Arabic.com/vra
A presentation about a research paper on gathering european e-learning case studies
Guide for training new users of Second Life
The set of resources in this collection comprise item banks for the creation of objective question learning activities. Each resource contains items from different Year 1 undergraduate modules, including a study skills unit. The file formats are compatible with Moodle and can be imported directly into the relevant application for deployment there. Items can be selected at will to make up different types of learning activities (e.g., summative assessment, guided study, progress orientation, seminar preparation, exam revision, etc.) according to individual needs. The team at Winchester continue to develop further item banks in a range of subject areas and would be interested in partnering with institutions who would like to participate. | http://humbox.ac.uk/view/keywords/elearning.html |
the largest consumer of raw materials, further depleting scarce resources.
To address these concerns, the World Economic Forum established the Shaping the Future of
Construction project three years ago. Since then, the initiative has successfully served as a platform
for Forum Partners, governments, academia and civil society to shape the industry’s agenda and find
innovative solutions to support the industry’s transformation and enhance productivity, sustainability
and affordability.
In the initial two-year phase of the project, we prepared a guide for industry transformation and shared
lessons learned from leading innovators. At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2017 in
Davos-Klosters, the Governors of the Infrastructure and Urban Development community renewed a
strong mandate and requested that we analyse how technological change is disrupting the industry
and what implications that has for business strategy, organizational design, including talent and skills,
financing and risk allocation.
This report is the culmination of that work. During the project’s third and final year, we examined
what the IU industry could look like in the future and the strategic implications of that for the key
stakeholders and broader society. The outlined transformation imperatives should help the IU industry
prepare for a prosperous future.
We would like to thank and acknowledge the Forum Partner companies that served on the initiative’s
steering committee: foremost engineering and construction, chemicals, building materials, real estate, | https://www.invenomica.com.ar/future-scenarios-and-implications-for-the-industry/ |
Motorway- and operational exits as well as parking entrances represent neuralgic points in the ASFINAG network, with regard to noise protection, sight distances and traffic safety. Traffic safety problems arise especially due to reaction errors by drivers, because of a lack of attention and inappropriate speed. In the current situation, the overlapping of noise protection walls is standard in the Austrian highways- and expressways network in the area of exit and entry traffic island elements with necessary noise protection measures. In comparison with continuous noise protection systems, this results in a reduced efficiency. Furthermore, noise protection systems can affect visual conditions for drivers at the exit.
The project team is familiar with the challenges of a traffic safety related design in the proposed vicinity due to ongoing conducts of Road Safety Inspections (RSI). There is also the necessary expertise available in terms of effects of different noise measures and technical design of guardrails with already implemented projects and research plans. Within the project emmission measurements are carried out at different points of selected road section, to evaluate the effectiveness or possible shielding gap of noise protection systems. With the aid of noise emmission measurements, solutions for the shielding are delivered with different noise protection wall layouts (differences in height, overlapping or shape).
The findings of the noise emmission measurements and traffic safety analyses enter into the development of solution concepts for the entire area around the exit and entry traffic island element. Different variants are developed, for example with and without guardrails. Different connections of concrete traffic safety walls and guardrails as well as the possibility of integrating noise protection measures are considered. For the developed solution concepts, advantages and disadvantages regarding traffic safety and noise protection are presented as well as an evaluation of effectiveness, cost calculations and a cost benefit comparison of the individual solutions.
In consultation with the client, the main output of the project will be the development of a user manual. The user manual will include a compilation of the solution concepts for a safety- and noise- optimized features and suggested areas of application. This user manual is intended to provide a basis for the design in Austria. Requirements concerning the traffic control, Car-2infrastructure information exchange as well as requirements of the future development of autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles are included.
- Public institution
- Public (national/regional/local)
- "Tools for noise and vibration reduction""" | https://trimis.ec.europa.eu/project/safety-and-acoustics-isolating-tip |
Description: Sounds like a Native American storm. It has psychological storm messages as well as the overt feeling of an impending thunderstorm. Contains native instruments and sounds. Great for setting a scene of the western desert, the reservation or of a Native American lost in a modern city.
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Social Media Link: http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/archive/Americana/Native-American-Contemporary-Dramatic/Native-American-Storm/191629
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Artist or Group: Matt Kjeldsen
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Keywords: Native American Storm Soundtrack Thunder Desert Scenery Searching Lost Scenic Expanse Visions of the American West Canyons Plateaus Vistas Reservation Life
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Music Genre > Sub-genre
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Americana Music
Native American | Contemporary Dramatic Music
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Extended Properties
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Duration: 1:36 Tempo: Slow BPM: 78
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Arrangement: Band / Ensemble
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Instruments: Indigenous Percussion, Indigenous Wind, Percussion, Sampler
Vocal Mix: Instrumental
Language: | https://www.audiosparx.com/sa/summary/play.cfm/crumb.36/crumc.0/sound_iid.191629 |
Research Team of Pavel Hyršl
Keywords:
innate immunity, insect immunity, entomopathogenic nematodes, eicosanoids, silkworm, Bombyx mori, wax moth, Galleria mellonella, Drosophila melanogaster, Photorhabdus bacteria, fish immunology, immunology of birds, comparative immunology
|Group leader:||assoc. prof. RNDr. Pavel Hyršl, Ph.D.|
|Office:||UKB – A36/123|
|E-mail:||[email protected]|
|Telephone:||549 494 510|
|List of teaching|
|List of publications|
|Projects|
Ph.D. students:
Bachelor and Master students:
- Andrea Ehrenbergerová (SOČ)
- Natálie Balgová (PdF)
- Pavel Streit
- Filip Stuchlík
- Bc. Martina Šindlerová
- Robert König
The cornerstone of defence for most of the organisms are innate immune reactions. Moreover, there is adaptive immunity in the vertebrates which is developed during life of the organism. Comparative immunology focuses on adaptations of immune system during evolution and it searches for differences or conformity in homeostatic processes and immune reactions. The innate immune reactions act as the first response to invading pathogens, it is source of antibacterial compounds, eliminate foreign particles and it is part of other immune reactions, e.g. coagulation cascade. Research conducted on insect immune system is utmost important because it can help to understand immune system of much more sophisticated vertebrates. Methods used to study innate immune reactions are similar for invertebrates same as for vertebrates; therefore, we focused on examining of immune system in insect, fish and birds (representatives of invertebrates, cold-blooded and warm-blooded organisms).
Our research is focused on insect immune system, which we chose from wide range of physiological and immune reactions. Insect immune system, which is comprised from humoral and cellular parts, is highly specialized and original way of defence against pathogens. It is different, compare to mammalian immune system; however, there are some analogous reactions. The differences between insect and mammalian immune systems are given to size of the insect, simplicity of nervous system, solid cuticle on the surface of the body and other reasons due to morphological, anatomical and physiological variances of the insect.
At first the immune responses are activated by some stressor what is followed by measurement of changes in, e.g. proteomic spectrum of haemolymph, production of free radicals, activity of antibacterial and antioxidative system etc. As the stressor can be used for example temperature variations, injury, pathogen injection, natural infection by entomopathogenic nematodes etc. Many immune responses can be influenced by exposure to hormones or chemicals like insecticides or pollutants.
Fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster), greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella), domestic silk moth (Bombyx mori), honey bee (Apis mellifera) or other are used as model organisms. Most of the experiments are conducted on haemolymph collected from above mentioned model organism. We employ broad spectrum of methods to determinate immune status of the organism like polyacrylamide electrophoresis, luminometric methods, biochemical kits, ELISA, PCR, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, behavioural methods etc.
Recently, entomopathogenic nematodes have received much attention due to their possible use as biological control of insect pests. Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema feltiae are mostly used for experiments in our group. These two species differ in pathogenicity and the hosts utilize different immune reactions in fight with the them. The experiments are mostly conducted on D. melanogaster and G. mellonella under various conditions.
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora is symbiotically associated with entomopathogenic bacteria of genus Photorhabdus forming nematobacterial complex. This bacterial genus is the only known terrestrial bacteria with natural bioluminescence activity. Luminometric detection of bioluminescence and its changes under various stressors is the basic tool to study these bacteria. The obtained knowledge can be used for example in various detections systems based on viability of bacteria.
We use natural infection of D. melanogaster larvae by entomopathogenic nematodes to study innate immune responses of the host body to bacteria released from nematodes. Various mutant or RNAi lines of D. melanogaster can be used to study which genes are involved in innate immune reactions of insects. This procedure can be employed in study of coagulation cascade, eikosanoids, antimicrobial peptides, and many other immune reactions.
Moreover, our group focus on study of honey bee longevity and differences between short-living and long-living generations in hive. Honey bee immune system, same as in other insect species, is composed from humoral and cellular part; however, honey bees possess also social immune system, which incorporate complicated behavioural patterns inside the colony leading to better efficiency of the immune responses. Measurements of physiological and immune parameter can help us to establish burden of parasites, pathogens or chemicals influencing the hive.
We cooperate with other laboratories on studies fish and bird innate immune reactions. In collaboration we measure properties of leucocytes (oxidative ignition) and antibacterial activity of plasma (complement system, concentration of lysozyme). We use several freshwater fish species (carp, trout, tench, crucian carp, roach, grayling) and birds (hens, quails, partridges, titmouse).
Current research: | https://www.sci.muni.cz/ofiz/en/pavel-hyrsl/ |
Summary: "Vairë the Weaver [...] weaves all things that have ever been in Time into her storied webs [...]" - "Valaquenta", Silmarillion It is hard to love the world that is. Nevertheless, someone has to do it...
Read the Story ✧ Backup Story Link
Reviewed by: Thundera Tiger ✧ Score: 10
Dwimordene has a wonderful and enviable talent for being able to put words to things so far beyond the ken of mere mortals that understanding seems nigh unto impossible. This talent seems most evident whenever Dwimordene tackles the Valar, though since everything is about to get deep and metaphorical, I should take more care with my own words. "Tackling" is not what happens here. "Singing" is a much better word to describe the lyrical beauty of this little ficlet. I always love it when Dwimordene writes about Song (note the capital letter) because her own writing is more poetry than prose and the idea of Song weaves effortlessly into the story. So in this, Dwimordene takes it one step further and discusses that weaving, but on a world-scale. Enter Vairë and a host of philosophical questions. I thoroughly enjoyed the concept that "having been" makes it so that one "is" forever as Vairë captures all things in web of fabric both wondrous and grievous. That she herself does not look save once is also telling. With that single look, I have to admit that I was too fascinated by the concept of Vairë weaving herself into the web (as well as a myriad of thoughts on determinism vs agency) to catch that the handmaid in question was Ungoliant. I only realized that once I hit the notes at the end, which meant I had to go reread the entire thing all over again. But it truly is a puzzle and a paradox of sorts: [the one free act of Lady Fate within Time]. I came away from this story with much to think about and a deep appreciation for how well Dwimordene sings the intangible.
Reviewed by: Himring ✧ Score: 10
This is an amazing portrait of Vaire-as-spider. It seems quite reasonable that a Vala who is a Weaver should naturally assume spider form rather than a human one (although there is, as it turns out, another reason why Dwimordene attributes spider form to Vaire and her helpers), especially when that Vala is not communicating with any of the Children--and Vaire in this piece is very much self-isolated from the Children. She cannot afford to communicate with them, although at the same time she is very intimately involved with their fates. Dwimordene has integrated early theories of Levinas's with the cosmogony of the Ainulindale, and it works surprisingly well as a fictional portrait, especially because she manages to maintain such empathy with Vaire in her non-human form. The function of Vaire's weaving, according to Dwimordene, is not merely to record, but to accept the present and, by doing so, tie the fluidity and possibilities of the future down into the unchangeable past, knot by knot. Accepting the present is hard; it forbids Vaire any personal preferences or wishes and requires self-abnegation and even a form of self-mutilation: Vaire blinds herself to what she does in order not to disturb the process of being and becoming. The consequences of not doing so are destruction and nothingness: the story implies a very interesting theory about the origin of Ungoliant and the nature of her fall. In contrast to Vaire, Ungoliant, who was apparently a favourite Maiarin handmaid of Vaire's, was unable to accept what is, and her bottomless greed and desire to feed everything into nothing are the consequences of that failure. Vaire is atoning for Ungoliant's fall as well as fulfilling her task--it is the only personal desire she still allows herself. Not for the arachnophobic, obviously, but if you like a bit of philosophy with your Tolkien, this is a wonderful piece.
Reviewed by: Starlight ✧ Score: 9
This is one of the most interesting pieces I have read. Dwimordene does a wonderful job of fleshing out the Valar for us (she has several pieces, all of them equally engrossing), in this case Vairë and her function as Weaver of history and the world. I am not a philosopher, so I am sure I am missing a lot of what this story has to offer, but what struck me the most (I am sorry, Dwim, if I am misinterpreting your awesome work!) is the idea that love brings with it some form of sacrifice. Vairë blinds herself, as do her maidens, because seeing for her means that she might be tempted to change, which she dare not do-- from experience, she knows what happens to those who attempt it: not only Ungoliant; she must have thought of Melkor also. Another fascinating notion is the thought of loving what is for its having been, not for what it may yet be, which for a Valië of Vairë's nature makes perfect sense. I'd be interested to see how they all (the Valar) view and understand this concept. I, for one, will probably be pondering about it for a while. Great work, Dwimordene, as always.
Reviewed by: Virtuella ✧ Score: 6
Dear Dwimordene, I found myself impressed with this ficlet that renders the old theme of weaving history in a new and compelling form. The rhythm of this piece is beautiful and the way words and phrases are brushed against the grain and twisted into new forms ââ¬â Heideggeresque, one might say ââ¬â catches the attention and provokes thought. Yes, it is indeed harder to love that which has passed, which is fixed in its shape forever, than the potential which we may yet shape fit to our purposes and desires. And there is a touch of Heisenberg in the notion that looking at the weave might unravel it. I also liked that the physical form of Vairë vaguely resembles the avatar of a Hindu deva, since in many ways the Valar seem akin to Hindu deities. An original and engaging piece which I really enjoyed.
Reviewed by: Altariel ✧ Score: 3
I don't pretend to understand even the basics of the philosophy underpinning this story, but I'm captivated by the idea of Vairë taking bodily form as a spider. The Weaver accepts the present in order to give substance to the past, and mourns Ungoliant (once a favourite handmaiden) who could not accept things as they are.
Reviewed by: Ellynn ✧ Score: 1
Such a wonderful, poetic description of Vaire and her work. Well done. | https://mefawards.org/story.php?story=83&year=2011 |
The PTEN tumor suppressor gene on 10q23.3, responsible for the Cowden and Bannayan-Zonana syndromes, encodes a dual-specificity phosphatase able to dephosphorylate both tyrosine phosphate and serine/threonine phosphate residues. Mutational inactivation of PTEN has been reported in various malignancies, including endometrial cancers, ovarian cancers, and glioblastomas. In this study, we investigated PTEN gene mutations in 10 gastric cancer cell lines and 58 primary gastric cancers by polymerase chain reaction single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). Hypermethylation of promoter region CpG islands, an alternative mechanism of gene inactivation to coding region mutations, was also evaluated by methylation specific PCR (MSP). Only one (1.7%) of the 58 primary tumors carried a somatic 5-bp deletion in intron 7 of PTEN, which did not alter the mRNA sequence, and no mutations were detected in any of the cell lines. Similar levels of PTEN mRNA expression were observed in all cell lines and primary tumors studied by RT-PCR, and PTEN promoter CpG islands remained unmethylated. Therefore, we conclude that PTEN does not participate in gastric carcinogenesis as a tumor suppressor gene. | https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/analysis-of-genetic-and-epigenetic-alterations-of-the-pten-gene-i-3 |
The most common challenge I help people address, across every sport, is the difficulty transferring skills from practice to competition.
For some it's a complete mystery: How can I hit everything perfectly on the practice range and then fall apart on the course? How can I be so comfortable in practice and so uncomfortable when it comes time to compete on a bigger stage? What is so different?
The answer to these complex questions is a simple word – noise. The difference between practice and competition is the mental and physical “noise” associated with performing when it matters most.
To keep the analogy going, as athletes what we’re really after is the signal. The signal is your purpose, your process, your execution. So just like most things when it comes to the mental game, this is simple…but not easy. It’s as simple as focusing on the execution of the task at hand, but it’s not easy due to the noise involved when we move from training to competing.
Conscious thought: you over-analyze and over-think things, leading to a performance that’s more mechanical than fluid, as opposed to just trusting your training and performing “without thinking” (think of signing your name or driving a car – you don’t have to talk yourself through these actions once you’ve learned them).
Past/Future-based thinking: you get caught up in what happened on the last hole, play, etc., or what might happen next, instead of developing an ever-increasing ability to play in the moment, focused on the task at hand.
Muscle tension: when your goal as an athlete is to perform naturally and with fluidity, muscle tension is kryptonite. A lack of blood flow and oxygen to the necessary muscles creates a tense, uncomfortable feeling which can prevent you from transferring your skills from training to competition. This tension is the byproduct of the mental noise above, so we can’t think of them as separate.
Keep yourself in the moment by keeping your self-talk, and the questions you ask yourself, in the present tense. When you get distracted, use your inner dialogue to bring your attention back to “the signal”. And, as I tell all my athletes, stay in the process (and out of the results) - keep your focus on the task at hand and your execution of the current shot, pitch, point, etc.
So remember – your ability to perform during competition at the same (or higher) level as practice will depend on your ability to separate the signal from the noise. | http://www.mattlongmpc.com/blog/2016/6/22/separating-the-signal-from-the-noise |
This week, we take a question from SOS Subscriber Stephen Wood (Leicestershire/UK), who asked the following question about simple fight moves:
*Q: “What are the simplest hand-to-hand combat techniques to put down an attacker as quickly as possible in an unarmed encounter?”
For additional simple fight moves download this free video mini course on surviving any knife fight from an attacker!
We contacted experts in the field and included their responses to Stephen’s question below:
Name: Lars Fidler
Bio: A student mainly of Hardy Holm’s (Chief Instructor at Students of Goju Ryu) multifaceted system of self defense, Lars Fidler has studied and practiced self defense martial arts since 1997 and has taught it regularly since 2007. Lars holds belted ranks and/or experience in other forms of martial arts as well. He holds a teaching certification from Stockholms Universitet and is a martial arts instructor, focusing on self defense, at Students of Goju Ryu in Mariefred, Sweden.
Response: Techniques are simple in different ways. Some are mechanically simple to perform, some are easier to succeed with, etc. That is, however, only when you look at the techniques on their own. The reality is that there is no technique you can say before the fight. “This will be an easy way to put my opponent down”. You can only look back on the fight and say,”Woah, that could have gone worse”, if you’re lucky.
It all depends greatly on your opponent, on you and your training (my own favorite techniques would probably not be the best tactics for you, for example, and many of the other content providers on this site probably favor techniques that I couldn’t rely on in a fight), and on the situation, but while there is a lot more to say on this, of course some things are more advisable than others:
-The sleeper-choke is not always the easiest technique to land against an aggressor, but it’s simple enough mechanically, can be very difficult to escape, and can end the fight very quickly.
–Elbow-strikes are, when you’re in range for them, extremely fast, very versatile, relatively safe, and ridiculously effective.
Name: Eric Fletter
Bio: Eric holds a 1st degree black belt from The Degerberg Academy of Martial Arts where he is a multi-discipline and multi-level instructor across the four pillars of the DAMA Blend (striking, grappling, self defense, weapons). Holding formal ranks in BJJ, Muay Thai, Savate, and Shorei Goju-Ryu Karate, Eric has compiled more than a decade of competition training in Western Boxing, Full Contact Kickboxing, BJJ, submission grappling, Kali/Eskrima, and Judo. An active Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blue belt competitor, training under 8x World Champion Robson Moura, he is a member of and beginning-level instructor in the Robson Moura Nations United association.
Response: Specifically to put down an unarmed attacker quickly, I find elbows and head-butts to be some of the most effective strikes you could utilize. This is because of how they play into some of the most important concepts of self defense, including my own favorite — the element of surprise. Along with being unexpected, both strikes (done correctly) are some of the hardest to absorb by an opponent. Knockouts and knock downs are common, while shattering noses, jawbones, teeth, and orbital bones can be debilitating outcomes, even when an opponent does not drop.
Elbows and head-butts can also be utilized without creating much of an opening in your own defenses. They are quick, short, and direct — allowing you to get back into a defensive structure in a split second. Both are also quite repeatable. This is because not only are the elbow and skull stronger than the bones in our hands and feet, but they also require less energy to throw.
Punches and kicks (not to mention grappling), especially while adrenaline is rushing and potentially dumping, can leave your limbs feeling heavy and misses can be exhausting. Even pro boxers have been known to break their hands when throwing bare knuckle to an opponent’s head. In self defense situations, it is important to protect and maintain as many of your weapons as possible. In unarmed attacker situations (and unarmed defender), I consider elbows and head-butts to be great equalizers.
Analyzing the Experts:
- Takeaway 1: While your level of training and the size, skill and other attributes of your opponent matter (as voiced by Lars), chances are that almost anyone who finds themselves unarmed and attacked will want to use moves that are most effective in a minimal space and short amount of time. As Eric points out, if you move your limbs around a lot with punches and kicks – especially when you’re adrenaline is pumping – you run the risk of missing and hurting yourself in the process. Try to master a few core skills (see next takeaway) that are super effective at debilitating an attacker quickly and that conserve energy.
- Takeaway 2: Lars calls them “ridiculously effective”, and Eric uses the term “great equalizer”, but one thing is certain: both experts agree that elbow strikes are where it’s at when it comes to simple and effective defense techniques against an attacker or opponent.
*The above question has been edited slightly by the SOS team for clarity. | https://scienceofskill.com/article/learn-simple-fight-moves-experts/ |
Business Development Manager
An exciting opportunity to join a leading high-end application, website development and bespoke business solutions organisation as a Business Development Manager.
This role is integral to create new opportunities for the company and drive significant sales across the different arms to the organisation.
Based in Northwood, you will be reporting directly into the Managing Director and be a fundamental driving force in facilitating new business opportunities across different sectors.
Key Responsibilities: -
Cold calling senior leads and establishing relationships with potential new clients and businesses through extensive networking.
Contributing to the successful creation and implementation of business development plans.
Undertaking research to identify market trends and targets as well as opportunities to partner with external organisations to reach new audiences.
Helping to further develop the business’ presence in the market and explore ancillary avenues to expand the reach of the business’ network.
Attend senior meetings across the country with internal and external senior stakeholders and new clients.
Closing deals on a consistent basis; generate brand new leads, build a professional relationship and secure their ongoing business.
Writing proposals on developing new business opportunities.
Key Requirements: -
A background in the digital and print publication arena is essential with a knowledge of software development.
Self-motivated with superb initiative and a confident and approachable manner- both in person and over the phone.
Strong organisational and time management skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Enthusiasm, positive energy, and ability to maintain composure under pressure.
Ability to communicate effectively in technical and business environments with both colleagues and clients.
Mobile, flexible and willing to travel (often at short notice).
Professional, switched-on and articulate.
A positive, friendly personality who will seamlessly fit into the team.
Due to the anticipated interest in this role, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
By applying for this role you will be asked to consent to the V&C GDPR Policy. | https://www.vandc.uk/jobs/locations/hertfordshire/13 |
Chemotaxis in bacteria.
Motile Escherichia coli placed at one end of a capillary tube containing an energy source and oxygen migrate out into the tube in one or two bands, which are clearly visible to the naked eye and can also be demonstrated by photography, microscopy, and densitometry and by assaying for bacteria throughout the tube. The formation of two bands is not due to heterogeneity among the bacteria, since the bacteria in each band, when reused, will form two more bands. If an anaerobically utilizable energy source such as galactose is present in excess over the oxygen, the first band consumes all the oxygen and a part of the sugar and the second band uses the residual sugar anaerobically. On the other hand, if oxygen is present in excess over the sugar, the first band oxidizes all the sugar and leaves behind unused oxygen, and the second band uses up the residual oxygen to oxidize an endogenous energy source. The essence of the matter is that the bacteria create a gradient of oxygen or of an energy source, and then they move preferentially in the direction of the higher concentration of the chemical. As a consequence, bands of bacteria (or rings of bacteria in the case of agar plates) form and move out. These results show that E. coli is chemotactic toward oxygen and energy sources such as galactose, glucose, aspartic acid, threonine, or serine. The full repertoire of chemotactic responses by E. coli is no doubt greater than this, and a more complete list remains to be compiled. The studies reported here demonstrate that chemotaxis allows bacteria to find that environment which provides them with the greatest supply of energy. It is clearly an advantage for bacteria to be able to carry out chemotaxis, since by this means they can avoid unfavorable conditions and seek optimum surroundings. Finally, it is necessary to acknowledge the pioneering work of Englemann, Pfeffer, and the other late-19thcentury biologists who discovered chemotaxis in bacteria, and to point out that the studies reported here fully confirm the earlier reports of Beijerinck (4) and Sherris and his collaborators (5,6) on a band of bacteria chemotactic toward oxygen. By using a chemically defined medium instead of a complex broth, it has been possible to study this band more closely and to demonstrate in addition the occurrence of a second band of bacteria chemotactic toward an energy source. Beijerinck (4) did, in fact, sometimes observe a second band, but he did not offer an explanation for it.
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If you want to guarantee sharp photos, I propose that you always make sure your hand-held photos are shot with a shutter speed that is double your focal length.
Let me explain.
Most sharpness problems with your photos are not because your lens isn’t good enough. It usually isn’t because of a bad focus or aperture setting (although those certainly happen). Rather, it is because your shutter speed is too slow. You moved the camera slightly during the shot.
This problem gets exacerbated as you zoom in. The more you zoom in, the more tiny movements matter. Therefore, as you zoom in (or increase your focal length) you need to use a faster shutter speed.
As you can see, the shutter speed needed to ensure a sharp picture changes depending on your focal length. To provide guidance to those trying to make sure they were using a fast enough shutter speed to get a sharp picture, the photography world developed a rule of thumb called “the Reciprocal Rule.” This rule says that your minimum shutter speed should be the reciprocal of your focal length (I have written about it previously here). In other words, if you are using a 50 mm lens, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/50th of a second. If you are shooting at 300 mm, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/300th of a second. And so on.
Problems With Reciprocal Rule
Nevertheless, I keep seeing pictures that comply with that rule but are still blurry or at least not as sharp as they should be. Sometimes they are my own pictures, and sometimes the pictures of others. There are 3 reasons for this that I see:
1. The Reciprocal Rule Fails to Account for Modern (Smaller) Digital Sensors
The Reciprocal Rule was invented in the days of 35mm film before APS-C and Micro 4/3 sensors became common. When you use a camera with an APS-C sensor, it has a crop factor that causes effective focal lengths to increase by 40%. If you are using a 50 mm lens, all of a sudden it behaves like an 70 mm lens, so now a shutter speed of 1/50th of a second isn’t good enough.
The crop factor is even greater for Micro Four-Thirds cameras, since their sensors are even smaller. They have a 100% crop factor such that effective focal lengths are double what is shown on the lens. If you are using a 50 mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera, your minimum shutter speed should be 1/100 second.
The Reciprocal Rule assumes a 35 mm (or full frame) image. You could make an adjustment to compensate for a smaller image sensor, but you don’t want to be out in the world taking pictures and trying to figure out what is the reciprocal of 1.4 times your focal length. Well, most of us don’t anyway. Doubling your focal length makes it easier. It avoids tricky math.
2. Higher Resolution Increases the Standard
The resolution of cameras continues to escalate. Nikon has had cameras shooting at 36 megapixels for some time. Canon just introduced two new cameras that shoot at over 50 megapixels. Sony just increased the A7r line from 36 megapixels to 42 megapixels. Increased resolution means more detail, and that detail needs to be sharp.
This increased resolution means that even the smallest of movements during exposure will show up in your pictures. In fact, many photographers urge that you always shoot these high-resolution cameras from a tripod. That way you can ensure that the resolution offered by these cameras results in sharp details.
Of course, you are going to want to take pictures while hand-holding these high-resolution cameras at least some of the time. To make sure that the details are sharp, you will need to use a fast shutter speed. These high-resolution cameras are all full-frame, so you don’t have the problem mentioned above, but still you are going to need to shoot with a faster shutter speed than the Reciprocal Rule calls for.
In other words, the Reciprocal Rule does not take the need for increased sharpness into account. If you used a shutter speed that is double the reciprocal of the focal length, it would.
3. It Is A Minimum for Sharp Photos
In any case, keep in mind that the Reciprocal Rule is a minimum. It is designed to get you pictures that are acceptably sharp. If you are reading this, you are probably not the sort of person that just wants acceptably sharp pictures. You want super-sharp pictures. You need to go well beyond the minimum.
Sure there are times where acceptably sharp will do. Sometimes sharpness is the foremost thing on your mind when you are shooting, and sometimes it is not. But for those times when sharpness is paramount, it will not do to flirt with the minimum.
Decreasing “Cost” of Faster Shutter Speeds
At the same time that you have these changes going on that have created a need for faster shutter speeds, the cost of an increased shutter speed continues to decrease. What is the “cost” of increasing the shutter speed? Light.
As you shorten the shutter speed, you let less light into the camera. Unless you make an offsetting move, the picture will be underexposed. There are only two ways you can offset the shorter shutter speed and let more light into the camera:
- you can increase the size of the opening in the lens that allows light into the camera (i.e., increasing the aperture), or
- you can make the camera’s digital sensor more sensitive to the light it receives (i.e., increasing the ISO).
If you increase the aperture, you decrease the depth of field of the picture. If you increase the ISO, you increase digital noise. So neither of these options is always an attractive option.
Times have changed though. Now camera manufacturers make cameras with outrageously good low light performance. That means the cost of increasing the ISO isn’t that high. It used to be that everybody shot at ISO 100 whenever possible and only went above ISO 400 in dire circumstances. Any higher ISO than that and you were sure to have a noisy picture.
Now, it is fine to use ISO 200 as a default and most photographers think nothing of cranking up the ISO to 800. In fact, many photographers routinely go much higher with their ISO settings. I think it is fair to say that the low light performance of modern cameras is at least 1 stop better than cameras of 5-10 years ago. (Remember that a stop is a doubling of light). You can easily double your ISOs and thereby give you room to double your shutter speeds.
Using Increased Low-Light Performance to Increase Shutter Speeds
Let me give you a quick example to make this concrete. Let’s say you are outside shooting a scene and you look at your exposure settings and they are:
- Shutter Speed: 1/80 second
- Aperture: f/8
- ISO 200
Your focal length is 80 mm (with no crop factor).
You technically comply with the Reciprocal Rule, but let’s say you want to use a faster shutter speed to ensure a sharp picture. You could easily double your ISO from 200 to 400. There will be no negative consequence to this in modern cameras, since significant noise will not kick in until higher ISO levels.
Having increased your ISO by 1 stop (by doubling it), you are now 1 stop overexposed. You shorten your shutter speed by 1 stop to correct that and get a proper exposure. Doing so shortens your shutter speed from 1/80 second to 1/160 second. You now have a proper exposure and a pretty fast shutter speed.
What’s more, you have a shutter speed that is double the focal length you are using. You have done this by using one of the prime advantages of modern cameras – improved low-light performance – to increase your shutter speed and guarantee a sharp photo.
Making Sure You Get Sharp Photos
From now on, if you want to ensure a sharp picture when you are hand holding your camera, try to use a shutter speed is at least double the reciprocal of your focal length. It will take into account the crop factor and higher resolution.
Do you need to do this all the time? NO WAY!!! I don’t. In fact, I violate it all the time. There are times when you have other priorities, and having a shutter speed that fast just isn’t realistic. Plus I haven’t even mentioned Image Stabilization in this article, but that may give you a stop or two (or more) to work with.
This is just something to use when you want to make sure that your picture is sharp. Perhaps the number one reason most images are not sharp is that the shutter speed is too slow. You still have to focus, use the right aperture, and all that stuff. But this will fix sharpness problems related to shutter speed – guaranteed.
Related Articles
Here are a few related articles on taking sharp pictures: | http://www.outdoorphotoacademy.com/a-simple-rule-to-guarantee-sharp-photos/ |
We live in interesting times. Technology continues to advance at breakneck speed and the fourth industrial revolution is upon us. What were once concepts relegated to science fiction have become integral to our everyday lives. Our smart phones allow us to connect with virtually anybody in the World in real time, and I’d bet that most of us are completely unaware of the extent that artificial intelligence and machine learning pervades the interactions we have with our phones (you can read more here).
One might assume that this advancement may in part be attributed to the compounding effect that newer technologies have in raising our productivity levels. That would seem to make sense; with access to the World’s body of knowledge at our fingertips and virtual collaboration ever easier, surely the large strides that we are making are being facilitated by the improvements made in the past which compound our future output?
The data would seem to disagree with this hypothesis. In a fascinating paper released by Bloom, Jones, van Reenen and Web, an argument is put forward that while our economic growth rate and rate of technological advancement is being maintained, the effective number of researchers required to maintain that growth rate has increased enormously, giving rise to a dramatic reduction in the research productivity of each researcher.
Put another way, maintaining the rate of technological advancement that we have enjoyed since the second industrial revolution has come at a price; in this case the cost is in the number of research hours required to invent and industrialize a new technology.
In fact since the 1930’s, while the Total-factor Productivity growth-rate has hovered below 5 % per annum, the number of researchers required to fuel this growth has risen by a factor of almost 25 times!
Bloom et al applied this insight to a number of industries including a study of the fabled Moore’s Law, pharmaceutical innovation and mortality, and crop yields in the US.
Let’s take a closer look at two: Moore’s Law and Agricultural Yield.
Moore’s Law
Moore’s Law has been hailed as a key driver of economic growth during the last fifty years. The observation is named after Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, and who observed that the number of transistors per integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. This observation first made in 1965, has held remarkably constant for over 50 years. This is an absolutely stunning growth rate which translates to an exponential growth rate of 35 % per year!
While the output side of Moore’s Law shows constant exponential growth, it is only by looking at the corresponding input side of the equation that we see the full picture. The constant exponential growth has certainly come at a cost: today there are 18 times more researchers working on semiconductors than in 1971.
Put another way, as a result of the declining research productivity, it is around 18 times harder today to generate the exponential growth that underlies Moore’s Law than it was in 1971.
Crop Yields
A second very interesting example in the decline of research productivity is in the evolution of crop yield growth over time on US farms. With agricultural yield being of such importance to the well-being of an economy, there is a wealth of published data showing the growth in yield over time. Yields on four US crops were measured; Corn, Soybeans, Cotton, and Wheat, and all show that the yields across the four crops studied, roughly doubled over the course of 55 years (1965 to 2015). This equates to an annual growth rate of around 1.5 % per year.
In order to achieve these compounding growth rates, the number of active researchers working in the biological efficiency (cross-breeding and genetic modification) and crop protection and maintenance (including the development of herbicides and pesticides) fields has increased by a factor that ranges from 3 to 25 depending on the crop and research measure.
As with Moore’s Law, the large increase in the number of researchers required to maintain historic yield growth rates equates to substantial reduction in research productivity with factors ranging from 6 for wheat to 23 for both Corn and Soybeans. On average, research productivity in the area of crop yield declines by between 4% to 6 % per year.
My Thoughts
My biggest takeaway from the research presented here is that incremental gains in the advancement of a technology are progressively move difficult to achieve as that technology matures. Advancement, whether in medicine, agriculture, medicine or technology, is hard fought and exhibits a clear law of diminishing return. However, this has not stopped companies from matching the increased demand for additional researchers with supply in order to continue to match the growth rates of previous years.
This demonstrates to me just how critical it is to the industries studied that historic growth rates are maintained. The marginal cost of increasing research input to maintain output must be surpassed by the resulting increase in demand for more advanced products. The increased demand from industrial sectors that are growing rapidly, such as the semi-conductor industry, more than compensates for the growing R & D burden placed on those companies to maintain their growth trajectory. Neglecting or reducing R & D in one of these industries would relegate that company to the graveyard, as the technological advances which result in today’s state-of-the-art are deemed obsolete tomorrow.
Simply put, with such an explosion in demand for ever faster CPU’s, the semiconductor industry with continue to suffer the decline in research productivity in order to achieve the gains associated with Moore’s Law. Similarly, with populations still expanding across the globe, crop yields must necessarily increase in order to feed the growing population. Here again, the increase in demand for crops must necessarily outstrip the increase in R & D costs associated with improving and growing crop yields.
I don’t think that one should look at the decline of research productivity in a negative light at all. Scientific research is a high paying and highly skilled profession and should certainly be encouraged as this is how we as humanity advance. This is especially true when one considers that the companies producing the goods and services that we all consume, shoulder a large portion of the increased research burden.
The paper does however cause me to question the sustainability of the current status quo. How much longer will the diminishing returns in new idea generation associated with these sectors continue to outstrip increased demand for the product/service?
Perhaps this is just another angle from which to approach the Technology Life Cycle; as products/technologies reach maturity, incremental improvements become harder and harder to effect. With increased competition, there is also an increased burden on the incumbents to remain a market leader, leading to an increased R & D spend to maintain their dominance. All of this however, is good for you and me as the consumer, as the increased competition plus increased research spend results in improved technology at reduced prices.
Perhaps also we are just nearing the peak of both the semiconductor and traditional agriculture industry before disruptive innovations such as quantum computing and brand new farming methods render the current technology obsolete?
Additional Reading
- This topic was first introduced to me by the highly recommended Freakonomics Podcast.
- Bloom et al – Are Ideas getting harder to Find? | https://andrewrwood.com/research-productivity/ |
The persent invention relates to universal handles for sports articles, more particularly to the handles of rackets, bats swords or the like.
The known handles of various sports articles are substantially sticklike. For example, the handle of tennis racket or badminton racket is often shaped into elongated stick with octagonal section. There are no grooves on the surface of the handle to help a player rotate the racket by his fingers, so the player cann't change the orientation of the racket surface rapidly. Furthermore, the racket may be slipped forward from a player's hand when the player changes his thumb from resting on the handle sideward into pressing on it. Thus the racket tends to be slipped out of the player's hand during the game. When a player applies force through his palm, the contacting area of the palm with the handle is quite large so that there are no distinct force-applying points and directions. A player must use both sides of the racket surface for forehand stroke and backhand stroke repectively because the long aocis of the section of the hand is disposed to be parallel to the racket surface and the player can only grip the racket sideward.
As the result, the player can't adjust the orientation of the racket surface rapidly because his finger's movement for this adjustment is relatively large. Since the gravity-centre of the racket is much near the top end of it, a player has to use the upper portion of the handle as a major force-applying area so that he cann't apply force on it by his palm and leaves the lower portion free within his palm.
The known configurations of the handle of table tennis bat have a disadvantage that the orientation of the bat can hardly be stable because a player's thumb and index finger extend into the bat surface in order to adjust the orientation of it and to increase flexibility. Nevertheless, the adjustment of the orientation of the bat is confined within a small range between the thumb and index finger. Other disadvantages are just as same as that existed in the case of tennis racket or badminton racket.
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It's easy to eat like a pig when this cute cake is on the table.
Ingredients
- 1 baked dome cake (baked in a 1-liter bowl, such as Pyrex)
- 1 baked 9" round cake
- 4 baked cupcakes
- 2 to 3 cups pink icing
- 2 green Hi-C Fruit Slices (hooves)
- 1 pink Hi-C Fruit Slice (mouth)
- 2 Jujube candies (nose)
- 2 Jujyfruit candies (eyes)
- Red shoestring licorice (ears and eyelashes)
- 1 red Sour Belt (tail)
Instructions
1. For the basic shape, set a dome cake upside down in the center of a round cake and secure with icing, as shown.
2. Cut one cupcake in half and place it as shown for the ears, then arrange two more cupcakes as legs. Add a cupcake snout. | https://www.share-collections.com/2020/12/fat-piggy-cake-recipe.html |
When choosing how to secure your business it is important to understand the crime rates in your area in order to ensure that your business is sufficiently secure.
A recent study from the National Business Crime Centre, based upon data supplied by police forces across the country has revealed the true extent of business crime across the UK.
The data includes a variety of crimes such as, shoplifting, burglary, theft by an employee and making off without payment and has also revealed that, more often than not, the criminal isn’t reprehended.
Key Findings
- There were a total of 606,282 crimes against businesses in England and Wales.
- An average of 69.2 crimes every hour affecting businesses
- 1,032 business crimes for every 100,000 people living in the country
- Shoplifting was the most common business crime with 374,395
- 103,391 burglaries against commercial properties
- 58% of business crime cases were unresolved, with no suspect identified
- Cleveland (North East), Humberside and Northumbria were the three areas most effected
- 16,886 attempted burglaries
- The number of crimes targeting businesses has decreased compared to the previous year, when there were 657,718.
- 8,256 robberies, 9,835 thefts by employees and 4,050 thefts from an automatic machine or meter.
Crime rates by area
Overall the highest rate of business crime per person was in the North East, where for every 100,000 people there were 1948 incidents of crime.
However, the North East isn’t the only place where business crime rates are alarmingly high with some of the larger areas being affected just as much. These areas include Humberside (1567 incidents*), Northumbria (1532*) and Nottinghamshire (1402 incidents*).
A deeper look at the numbers revealed that across all areas there were 69.2 crimes affecting businesses every hour – roughly 1032 incidents per 100,000 people living in the country.
However, the good news is that the total number of business related crimes has decreased from the previous year going from 657,718 to 606,282 – a decrease of 51,436
Furthermore, it is important to remember that the larger areas like Manchester, London and Nottinghamshire will naturally have a higher number of business crime rates as more people live and work there. However whilst this may be the case security should be an essential priority for any business owner regardless of location.
*Per 100,000 people
The most common offences
Whilst knowing the potential for crime in a given area is essential, it is just as important to have an understanding of the types of crimes that are likely to occur.
Across the country the most common crime, accounting for over half of all business crime, was shoplifting with a recorded 374,395 incidents. This is over triple the amount of the next most common crime which was burglary with 109,391 incidents.
The figures also reveal 83,032 cases of making off without paying, 9835 thefts by employees, 8256 robberies, 6886 attempted burglaries, and 437 aggravated burglaries – when criminals attempted a burglary with a weapon.
Knowing this information is the first step to securing your business and ensuring that your premises, customers and staff remain safe.
Crime by industry
As a business owner looking to secure your business against crime, it is important to understand the industries at the highest risk of business crime and if you fall into that category. A 2018 study from the home office revealed that the highest risk sector is wholesale and retail with 42% of businesses reporting a theft to the police in 2018.
The next highest risk sectors are agriculture, forestry and fishing collectively. However despite this, incidents of theft, vandalism, assault and burglary have fallen steadily since 2013 with only minor increases in cases of fraud and robbery.
Similarly, the home office report specifies the accommodation and food sectors as the next highest risk sectors yet these too have experienced little to no crime increase over the last few years with only 5000 incidents per 1000 premises reported in 2018. | https://www.newgate.uk.com/blog/uk-business-crime-is-your-business-at-risk/ |
Probably, for the first time since 1917, Russia defaulted on its foreign debt, that is, it was not able to pay the interest on government bonds issued in foreign currencies in a timely manner. Russian negligence – which was confirmed by various media, including Bloomberg – However, it is very unusual: Russia did not pay not because it did not want or did not have the funds to do so, but because economic sanctions imposed by the West prevented it.
On Sunday, June 26, the deadline for paying nearly $100 million in interest on dollar-denominated bonds to Russia expired. The repayment officially expired on May 27, but in these cases a “grace period” of one month is always given, to allow the debtor to comply. But by the end of Sunday, interest payments had not yet arrived.
Thus, Russia is now in a default situation, that is, a state of insolvency in which the government of a country is unable (or in rare cases refuses) to pay all or part of its debt.
If confirmed, this is the first time Russia has defaulted on its foreign debt since 1917, when Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, immediately after the Bolshevik Revolution, refused to repay international debts that had been paid by the old Tsar Empire. Russia also defaulted in 1998, but due to domestic debt (although there is some controversy on this issue, and some believe that the country also defaulted on external debt in 1998).
However, at the moment, neither the rating agency nor various institutional bodies (such as the US Credit Derivatives Committee) have declared that Russia is in default: because they are probably waiting for clearer confirmations, and because this default is certainly strange, and perhaps these are A unique case in history: it was caused primarily by the fact that the sanctions made it impossible for Russia to repay the amount.
Both the United States and Europe in recent months have cut off Russia from the international economic system, sanctioning several banks that have processed debt payments and effectively eliminating any possibility for Russia to conduct the necessary payment transactions.
Russia, which had relatively small external debts and large cash reserves from the sale of hydrocarbons and raw materials, could have easily repaid the debt, and tried to do so in various ways. Until May, the country was still able to pay thanks to some waivers granted by the US administration, which were nonetheless permanently delete Close to the $100 million interest due date.
Also for this reason, it is very likely that Russia will refuse to define a default: a few days ago, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that his country would “refuse to label” the default and called the whole situation a farce. But as many economists have noted, this does not mean that Russia plays no role in the situation: Western sanctions are a direct consequence of its invasion of Ukraine.
The consequences of default are usually very severe for the economy that announces it: among other things, the exit of foreign investment and the difficulty of refinancing in international markets. However, in this case, the consequences for Russia will be modest because all of these things have already happened: investors have exited at the start of the invasion and the country has been cut off from the markets for months.
However, the consequences of default are likely to emerge anyway, especially if at some point the country tries to refinance itself in the markets.
This bizarre Russian default also poses many legal complications, as creditors will find it more difficult to recover the money. Creditors can usually sue the insolvent state and demand repayment of the debt, or in any case initiate a negotiation to defer or reorganize the payments. However, it is very likely that Russia will say that it has fulfilled its duties, and that the failure to pay is the fault of the West alone. It is not entirely clear what will happen at this point: there is no precedent. | https://www.newsnetnebraska.org/russia-may-have-defaulted/ |
I’ll spare you the perfunctory preamble as to the relative merits and demerits of cinema in 2012, as to whether I loved it or loathed it, as to whether it was a great year for film or a dreadful. It was, as ever, simply a year for film: bearing positive experiences and negatives, depending entirely on the eyes and ears set upon them. It was a year in which, more than any before it, I gave myself compulsively to criticism, resulting in an eligible list of some two hundred releases from which these mere ten were whittled down. I lack the restraint to relent from the brief mention of those nine films painstakingly lost from the crème de la crème shortlist of which what you see below was eventually forged; they are, alphabetically: Attenberg; Beasts of the Southern Wild; Breathing; Cosmopolis; Dreams of a Life; Keyhole; Samsara; Silent Souls; This is Not a Film. I love them each dearly, and the idea of not expatiating further thereupon distresses me deeply. But there can only be ten, and here, at last, they are:
10. Kill List
Steering the striking fusion of social realism and shocking violence of his attention-grabbing debut Down Terrace to new heights of horrific impact, Ben Wheatley proved himself one of the world’s most promising upcoming directorial talents with Kill List, an extraordinary collusion of technically-driven tension that manages, with Laurie Rose’s invasively intimate cinematography and Jim William’s incessantly harrowing score, to make viscerally manifest the horrors of familial instability in this modern world of financial insecurity and societal collapse. Its steady evolution from awkward family drama to sheer unbearable terror is expertly orchestrated in Wheatley’s abrasive visual style, loading the simplest of moments with disquieting tension and rendering the most suddenly violent scenes in stomach-churning detail. Horror cinema is always at its most powerful when speaking to a world beyond the screen; skewed and scarred through the mirror may be, Kill List is one of the most accurate images of modern mankind in recent cinematic memory.
9. Detachment
Absent from fiction filmmaking for fourteen years in the wake of his unsurprisingly failed efforts to have American History X, edited by New Line without his approval, rebranded as “a film by Humpty Dumpty”, Tony Kaye returned with equal parts fury and fatigue in Detachment, a movie so searing with raw feeling that it leaves the viewer bruised and battered, as emotionally drained as Adrien Brody’s astoundingly-performed central substitute teacher. Eroded by apathy, he trudges through life a desolate shell of a man, the non-existent prospects of the generations both above and below offering little reason to carry on with life, and yet he does: and yet we all do. It’s Kaye’s unwavering insistence on portraying the almost-insurmountable difficulty of life that makes Detachment a film so powerful, so overwhelming, so unbearably true to reality. The secret to life is finding the strength to strive on: here is a film that, quite curiously, bequeaths it.
8. Beyond the Black Rainbow
Where Kill List has Wheatley espousing the horrors of contemporary life, and Detachment sees Kaye painfully depicting the agony of existential uncertainty, Panos Cosmatos’ visionary debut does both in one, its stylised science fiction surface belying one of the year’s most extraordinarily incisive interpretations of the hunt for meaning that dominates so many of our lives. Michael Rogers’ transfixing performance as the eerie head of an imposing research facility is but one of many captivatingly cinematic tools Cosmatos puts to use in the concoction of this grand and grotesque allegory, Jeremy Schmidt’s hauntingly entrancing score and Norm Li’s creepily chromatic cinematography ensuring the sustained terror of every audience member as the film slowly creeps toward its shocking series of final reveals. An enigmatic odyssey through the most ethereal aspects of human consciousness, Beyond the Black Rainbow offers the most singularly scary viewing experience of the year, and with it one of the most richly rewarding.
7. Excision
Take the trophy though he may for 2012’s scariest film, the young Cosmatos nonetheless bows to a fellow first-timer where best horror is concerned, Richard Bates Jr’s startling expansion of his 2008 short easily earning that honour. Excision’s ingenious generic blend fuses the frightening frankness of Bates’ sanguine sequences with some of the most riotous comedy to be seen onscreen this year, casting AnnaLynne McCord as the would-be surgeon whose total rejection of societal expectations gradually gives way to a deceptively deep rumination on the profound psychological scarring inherent in prescribed gender roles. What a wonderful piece of work is this movie, its audacious breed of atrocious violence and eccentric humour hiding the hand of Bates as he subtly turns the screws in this domestic situation, eventually hitting us with an overwhelmingly powerful dramatic punch nothing before could have prepared us for. Scarcely has the purpose and potential of horror been put to better use.
6. Oslo, August 31st
Norwegian director Joachim Trier exudes immense restraint in paring down the excess style of his 2006 debut Reprise, presenting with follow-up Oslo, August 31st a film that’s all the more emotionally wrenching for its relative visual stoicism. For all the modest maturation his evolution attests, though, Trier still knows how to use technical abstraction to enormous effect, his soundtrack trickery and quick-paced cutting setting one scene in particular aside as a masterful testament to the young filmmaker’s tremendous talents. To make in only a second film a work on the visual level of Louis Malle’s masterpiece The Fire Within—the two loosely share a source novel—is suggestion of great things to come, to also match its emotional implications is proof. Anders Danielsen Lie’s central performance is perfection incarnate; tailored like Trier’s aesthetic to an aloof account of this character, its constant quietness makes all the louder every minute, measured nuance of this man’s life.
5. The Master
Moving the opposite direction to Trier, toward territories altogether more stylised and cinematically strange, is Paul Thomas Anderson, whose eagerly awaited and earnestly divisive follow-up to 2007’s There Will Be Blood sees the acclaimed American auteur probing deeply the psyche of one man and all men. Like the tantalising tension of Punch-Drunk Love’s third act expanded across two and a half hours, The Master employs a wealth of odd angles, eerie musical cues, and relentless long takes in pursuit of some degree of understanding of its central characters, a charismatic cult leader and the jaded WWII veteran he makes his chief subject. As toweringly intense as any of Anderson’s masterful directorial techniques, Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman together enact a comprehensive portrait of earthly existence across their spellbinding scenes together, their exemplary performances imbuing this enormous treatise on humanism and animalism with an antagonistic ambiguity central to the effect of Anderson’s impressionism.
4. Holy Motors
A film alive and abreast with an ambiguity to make The Master look positively straightforward, Holy Motors’ polemic plot—or indeed lack thereof—has even its director arguing the implications of the often surreal imagery therein presented. He is Leos Carax, and with his first feature film in 13 years he has created a sublime cinematic voyage interpreted variously as a take on digital alienation, existential strife, transient identity, and even cinema itself. It’s the true genius of Holy Motors, then, that none of these readings precludes the others, each take a valid reading of what is inherently a subjective experience, peculiar to each individual viewer. What stays true to all, though, are the unshakeable achievements that form the blank canvas on which Carax casts his ink blot: the effulgent, ever-evolving cinematography; the vibrant, vivacious originality of each and every vignette; the magnetic performance(s) of Dennis Lavant, a man as bored by this bold brilliance as we are bowled over.
3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
As simple a story as the first four words of its title would suggest, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s almighty trek through the Turkish countryside in search of a murdered man’s corpse—like the pale, distant car lights which illuminate these steppes through the night from afar—languidly explores the darkness, searching for the answers in tandem with its cast of policemen and their suspect. Moving with all the momentum and deliberation of a snail, Ceylan’s widescreen gaze so enthrals with its expansive vision of this case and the wider themes it gradually examines that it moves with more momentum than most action movies. It’s the intent of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia’s bumper length and bare pacing to convey the staggering immensity of this quest, yet such is the warmth of its humour, the depth of its drama, and the dazzling majesty of its multifarious meanings that it could easily wind on for hours unnoticed.
2. Amour
Despite the amazement of many at seeing a director infamous for his unflinching portraits of the emotional glaciation of the world now presenting a tenderly compassionate love story, it’s the biggest surprise of Amour that Michael Haneke, a director standing aloft at the top of his craft, continues to evolve; to improve, even. His characteristically clinical aesthetic captures in this latest film the titular emotion as well as any camera ever has, making together with the unparalleled work of octogenarians Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant his most compelling and complete characters—and thereby relationship—yet, rendering them in a romantic glow that makes all the more devastating the ill that befalls them. It’s a film at once warmer and colder than its predecessors in Haneke’s oeuvre, admitting that—yes—there is joy to be had in life, but that even this is doomed to be lost amidst an overwhelming tide of despairing defeat and interminable indignity.
1. The Turin Horse
That most quintessential of European art house auteurs, the Hungarian Béla Tarr, begins his soi-disant swansong with a patent disavowal of any such status: The Turin Horse’s title card identifies each of Tarr’s long-time collaborators as equally worthy of the appellation of authorship of the film as he himself. And how right he is; in every department these talents bring only the best to bear, together crafting a beautifully bleak masterpiece that, though minimalist to the last, manages across its mere thirty-eight shots to comment comprehensively upon every last aspect of human existence. Amidst the howling winds of The Turin Horse’s oppressive soundscape and the horrible drones of Mihály Víg’s harrowing leitmotif, among the sparse mound of dinner potatoes and meagre collection of cutlery and crockery, across the weather-beaten face of this family and the windswept plains they call home, there lies the greatest story, the grandest emotions, the most gut-wrenching and god-damning film of 2012. | https://nextprojection.com/2013/01/04/ronan-doyles-top-ten-films-of-2012/ |
Certain anticholinergic drugs might increase the risk of dementia when taken long-term.
Depression rates are at an all-time high in the U.S. and so is the use of medication to combat it. According to the National Institutes of Health, antidepressant use in the U.S. increased nearly 65 percent from 1999 to 2014.
This rise in the use of antidepressants has some researchers once again speculating about the long-term effects the drugs could have on patients. While the potential for memory-related risks with the use of certain antidepressant medications is not necessarily new news, interest in the topic has been rekindled in recent months.
As such, a first-of-its-kind study published in April 2018 in the journal BMJ suggests that patients with a history of taking certain medications from a class of drugs known as anticholinergics – which include some drugs that have been commonly prescribed for depression, among other conditions – might be at increased risk of dementia over time.
Because it can be confusing for patients to keep up with this topic, we’ve put together the most current information about these drugs and what patients need to know about their risk.
Which drugs increase the risk for dementia?
Many of the medications covered in the study, including some older antidepressants, are no longer frequently prescribed today because more advanced drugs with fewer side effects have been developed. But the BMJ study is an important start in this discussion. To determine more defined risk factors, it will be necessary to conduct a future-looking study of young adults today who take anticholinergic medications and evaluate incidents of dementia decades from now.
When it comes to individual risk, dosage is an important factor for some medications. If you take just one anticholinergic drug, the effects you might experience likely will be less severe than if you take several drugs with high anticholinergic activity. The length of time that you take the drugs also might affect your risk.
The risks described in this study do not extend to every medication prescribed for depression, urinary symptoms, or Parkinson’s disease. For depression, paroxetine was the only drug in the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that carried the higher risk. Other medications with very low anticholinergic effects are also commonly prescribed for depression. These include serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), such as desvenlafaxine (Pristiq), and norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs), such as bupropion (Wellbutrin).
If your doctor recommends an antidepressant medication, educate yourself about how the drug works to make an informed decision. Your doctor will help you weigh the benefits and potential risks and help you choose the right medication for your condition.
If you’re concerned about your risk for dementia, or if you need to see a doctor for depression, call 214-645-8500 or request an appointment online. | https://utswmed.org/medblog/depression-medication-dementia/ |
The Bubonic Plague has been identified in the skeletons of two people who were buried side by side in Russia… 3,800 years ago.
The remarkable discovery shows one of the world’s most feared diseases has been wiping out humans since the Bronze Age – about 1,000 years earlier than thought.
It also sheds fresh light on the early stages of the evolution of Yersinia pestis – the notorious killer bug that caused the Black Death.
Scientists found by this time it was already able to cause the bubonic form spread through fleas.
The victims – the oldest confirmed cases of Bubonic Plague to date – were members of the Srubnaya culture.
These people were known for the timber framed graves they peppered throughout the flat grasslands, or steppes, of Russia.
They brought with them metallurgy and animal herding skills.
They are also believed to be responsible for the mysterious Proto-Indo-European ancestral tongue from which 400 languages spring, including English.
The researchers analysed nine individuals from tombs on the outskirts of Samara, a southern city on the Volga River which today is home of Russia’s space programme.
Two were determined to have been infected with Y. pestis at the time of their deaths. They were buried together in a single grave.
Palaeopathologist Dr Kirsten Bos, of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany, said: “Both individuals appear to have the same strain of Y. pestis.
“And this strain has all the genetic components we know of that are needed for the bubonic form of the disease.
“So plague, with the transmission potential that we know today, has been around for much longer than we thought.”
The study published in Nature Communications said the strain is the oldest sequenced to date that contains the virulence factors considered characteristic of the Bubonic Plague.
It is the ancestor of the strains that caused the Justinian Plague – the first recorded pandemic in 541 AD which killed more than 25 million people – and the Black Death that claimed 50 million lives in Europe between 1348 and 1350.
Bubonic Plague has triggered a string of deadly pandemics including ones that swept through China in the late 1800s and caused 10 million deaths.
The disease continues to affect populations around the world today.
But despite its historical and modern significance, the origin and age of the disease are not well understood.
In particular, exactly when and where Y. pestis became able to kill humans through a bite from a flea that carries it has been unclear.
Recent studies of ancient Y. pestis genomes identified its earliest known variants, dating to the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age.
But these did not show the genetic signatures that helped it survive in fleas which act as the main vectors that transmit the disease to mammals – including humans and rats.
The researchers used the data collected in combination with previously sequenced Y. pestis strains.
This enabled them to calculate their newly identified lineage is around 4,000 years old – pushing back the proposed age of the bubonic plague by 1,000 years.
First author Dr Maria Spyrou, also of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, said: “Our Y. pestis isolates from around 4,000 years ago possessed all the genetic characteristics required for efficient flea transmission of plague to rodents, humans and other mammals.”
The study suggests there were at least two plague lineages circulating at the same time during the Bronze Age and that they may have encompassed different transmission and virulence characteristics. | https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/black-death-was-around-in-the-bronze-age-90929/ |
Q:
How to simplify $\frac{\sqrt{4+h}-2}{h}$
The following expression:
$$\frac{\sqrt{4+h}-2}{h}$$
should be simplified to:
$$\frac{1}{\sqrt{4+h}+2}$$
(even if I don't agree that this second is more simple than the first).
The problem is that I have no idea of the first step to simplify that.. any help?
A:
If you multiply both the top and the bottom by $\sqrt{4+h}+2$, you get $\frac{(\sqrt{4+h}-2)(\sqrt{4+h}+2)}{h(\sqrt{4+h}+2)}$, which simplifies to $\frac{h}{h(\sqrt{4+h}+2)}$. Then, divide both by $h$ (assuming $h\neq 0$), and you get $\frac{1}{\sqrt{4+h}+2}$.
A:
It is really simple. Let us just do what is most intuitive, multiply numerator and denominator with what you want to have in denominator. You get: $$ \frac{(\sqrt{4+h} - 2)(\sqrt{4+h} + 2)}{h(\sqrt{4+h}+2)} $$
Then observe the numerator has a difference of squares. Multiply the numerator easily using that and then your left with
$$\frac{h}{h(\sqrt{4+h}+2)}$$
Just assume $ h \neq 0 $ and get "rid" of it.
A:
HINT $\rm\displaystyle\quad\quad g^2 = 4+h\ \ \Rightarrow\ \ \frac{g-2}h\ =\ \frac{g-2}{g^2-4}\ =\ \frac{1}{g+2}$
Usually the "simplification" is the opposite inference - known as rationalizing the denominator.
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We investigate the informational content of options-implied probability density functions (PDFs) for the future price of oil. Using a semiparametric variant of the methodology in Breeden and Litzenberger (1978), we investigate the fit and smoothness of distributions derived from alternative PDF estimation methods, and develop a set of robust summary statistics. Using PDFs estimated around episodes of high geopolitical tensions, oil supply disruptions, and macroeconomic data releases, we explore the extent to which oil price movements are expected or unexpected, and whether agents believe ...
Working Paper
An Empirical Analysis of Futures Margin Changes: Determinants and Policy Implications
Margin regulation raises two policy concerns. First, an alignment of margins to volatility can amplify procyclicality, leading to a build-up of excess leverage in good times and a forced deleverage in bad times. Second, competition among central counterparties (CCPs) can result in lower margin levels in order to attract more trading volume, which is referred to as a "race to the bottom." Motivated by these issues, we empirically analyze the determinants of margin changes by using a data set of various futures margins from Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group. We first find that CME ... | https://fedinprint.org/search?facets%5B%5D=keywords_literal_array:futures |
- slide 1 of 4
Louis Pasteur is best known for two things: pasteurization and vaccination. This brilliant scientist accomplished an enormous amount during his lifetime, with several important discoveries to his credit.
- slide 2 of 4
Chirality
Chirality is a property of certain molecules which essentially means they can exist in one of two mirror image formations. Chemically they are identical, despite this structural difference. They also reflect light differently, and it is this property which led Pasteur to discover the existence of chiral molecules.
- slide 3 of 4
Germ Theory and Pasteurization
Spontaneous generation, also known as abiogenesis, is the belief that living organisms are generated by the decay of organic matter. This was a fairly commonly-held belief in history: Aristotle, for example, noted that it was common to see mice arising from dirty hay, and crocodiles from rotting logs in bodies of water.
In the mid-sixteenth century, physician Girolamo Fracastoro theorized that diseases might be caused by tiny particles, and following this several other noted scientists formulated similar theories. However, it was not until 1861 that Louis Pasteur confirmed this theory. Pasteur’s experiments involving boiling nutrient-rich broth, and then exposing the broth to air which was filtered to prevent the entry of any particles. Nothing grew in the broth, thus proving that the organisms which grew in such media had not spontaneously generated from the broth itself.
Other experiments Pasteur conducted showed that fermenting beverages could be contaminated by certain microorganisms. After establishing this fact, he invented a process which would kill the contaminating microbes: pasteurization, in which liquid was heated to kill bacteria and other microorganisms.
- slide 4 of 4
Immunology and Vaccination
Later in life, Pasteur worked with diseases such as cholera in chickens. During the course of this work, he attempted to infect chickens with a culture of the cholera bacteria which had, unbeknownst to him, spoiled. The chickens did not become diseased, and Pasteur re-used them in a later experiment. However, although they were this time exposed to an infectious culture of cholera, the chickens again failed to contract the disease.
Pasteur realized that the chickens might now be immune to cholera, after having been exposed to a strain which was too weak to cause severe disease. This was not a new concept – Edward Jenner had previously discovered, in the 1790s, that an infection with cowpox could provide cross-immunity to smallpox.
However, Pasteur’s work was particularly important because it showed that an artificially-weakened disease-causing organism could provide protection, meaning there would be no need to locate naturally weak disease forms which could provide cross-immunity.
It was also Pasteur who produced and tested the first rabies vaccine, and who also risked serious legal implications during the testing. The vaccine was made from rabies virus which had been grown in rabbits. Nerve tissue of the rabbits was then harvested and dried, to weaken the virus.
On July 6, 1885, a nine-year-old boy named Joseph Meister was attacked by a rabid dog. The young boy faced almost certain death, but even so, using the vaccine was a serious personal risk for Pasteur, who was not a licensed physician and might therefore have faced prosecution if the boy had died.
Luckily for Pasteur, and for immunological research, the boy’s treatment was a huge success – Joseph Meister made a fulll recovery, Pasteur was a hero, and the legal implications of the episode were ignored. | https://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/12678-louis-pasteurs-scientific-contributions/ |
The fibrillin microfibril scaffold: A niche for growth factors and mechanosensation?
Abstract
The fibrillins, large extracellular matrix molecules, are polymerized to form „microfibrils.“ The fibrillin microfibril scaffold is populated by microfibril-associated proteins and by growth factors, which are likely to be latent. The scaffold, associated proteins, and bound growth factors, together with cellular receptors that can sense the microfibril matrix, constitute the fibrillin microenvironment. Activation of TGFβ signaling is associated with the Marfan syndrome, which is caused by mutations in fibrillin-1. Today we know that mutations in fibrillin-1 cause the Marfan syndrome as well as Weill-Marchesani syndrome (and other acromelic dysplasias) and result in opposite clinical phenotypes: tall or short stature; arachnodactyly or brachydactyly; joint hypermobility or stiff joints; hypomuscularity or hypermuscularity. We also know that these different syndromes are associated with different structural abnormalities in the fibrillin microfibril scaffold and perhaps with specific cellular receptors (mechanosensors). How does the microenvironment, framed by the microfibril scaffold and populated by latent growth factors, work? We must await future investigations for the molecular and cellular mechanisms that will answer this question. However, today we can appreciate the importance of the fibrillin microfibril niche as a contextual environment for growth factor signaling and potentially for mechanosensation.
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The willingness for parties to work together is minimal, they would rather rip each other apart while offering no viable options or alternatives.
COLUMN: 2019 could build political bridges in Canada, Alberta
So long 2018, and good riddance.
Every time the calendar turns over to a new year there are those who want to proclaim it the best-ever or the worst-ever. It is all subjective. For me, the past 12 months were among the most divisive we have been through as a province, a country, and international community in my life time. This without Canada being involved in a major international conflict.
In every facet of our society, the angst and anger has been ratcheted up. This is not a new phenomenon, this has been building for the last four years, but we are reaching a tipping point with a new round of elections on tap for 2019, provincially and federally.
Politicians have tapped into the fears of their bases and preyed on them. They have created an us-against-them mentality where there is no middle ground. It is impossible to even like policy from one side without being lambasted and lumped in with a political party. The willingness for parties to work together is minimal, they would rather rip each other apart while offering no viable options or alternatives.
This has leached into the rest of our society.
Believe me, it is possible to get together and work towards a better situation for our world.
We saw this for generations, to differing results and willingness.
I have long said Canada operates best with minority governments for this reason, as that requirement to get together on issues and find a viable solution is necessary. Stephen Harper’s best years as prime minister were prior to his majority government. Our current federal and provincial governments are prime examples of what happens when a majority throws caution to the wind and tries to ram ideological policy after ideological policy through without proper consultation. You may appease your base, but you drive a wedge between yourself and the rest of the electorate.
I like to think there is a growing disdain among the populace for these types of politics as well, where instead of actual solutions we get finger pointing. Especially from the ruling party always passing the buck back on to the previous government despite having majorities and a mandate to do what they wish for the last four years.
People are fed up with the inaction and lack of realistic options.
It gives me hope that we will end up with a pair of minority governments in 2019.
I see a major dent being made in the federal Liberal house in October. I do not know if it will be enough to flip parliament to blue, but the level of public confidence in Trudeau is dropping according just about every poll out there. I’m just not sure the people are ready to trust Andrew Scheer, yet. The NDP will likely leave a smoking crater in whatever is left of their party after the election, while the big question will be what happens in Quebec and if the Green Party can actually go from the fringe to a legitimate mainstream party. Though with provincial governments in Ontario and New Brunswick jumping back to the right there is potential for that momentum to carry over into the federal election.
In Alberta, I’m not sure how much can be trusted in the United Conservative Party’s massive lead in the polls. We have seen polls with massive swings in just the weeks leading up to a vote (see the 2012 provincial elections in Alberta and B.C., and even our most recent provincial election), and we have not even had an election called yet. Again, it comes down to trust, and while the UCP will almost assuredly make a big jump in seats this year, it will come down to how many voters are willing to trust Jason Kenney and his platform, if he ever actually makes one public. This is where the Alberta Party can potentially make some headway as an option for those who want to flee from the NDP but are looking for a moderate party in between.
I think there is a strong possibility for some cooperation. Finally.
We’ll just have to wade through a river of garbage to get there. | https://www.stonyplainreporter.com/opinion/columnists/column-2019-could-build-political-bridges-in-canada-alberta/wcm/9b6e2dd5-7326-4f03-aff7-1c2f7b3c1643 |
This year-long geologic investigation studied potential subsurface storage of natural gas liquids (NGLs), namely ethane, from the Marcellus and Utica-Pt. Pleasant gas plays in eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and southwestern Pennsylvania. Development of these wet-gas producing plays will have a large impact on the petrochemical industry. The ASH web site contains a wealth of resources including reports, data, maps, presentations, and stratigraphic correlation diagrams.
A project funded by the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA). Battelle Memorial Institute contracted WVGES along with the Kentucky Geological Survey, NSI Technologies, Ohio Division of Geological Survey, Pennsylvania Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, and Ohio Oil Gathering Corporation to conduct the study.
The project information page has a link to the fact sheet.
The objective of this 2.5-year project was to develop a geologic and operational framework for brine disposal in the Northern Appalachian Basin.
This project was a two-year study to evaluate abandoned coal mines as potential groundwater sources.
This two-year study examined the Utica and Point Pleasant formations at various granularities, ranging from basin-scale stratigraphy and architecture to the creation of nano-porosity as gas was generated from organic matter in the reservoir.
This report presents the findings of an assessment conducted on the potential location of a coal-to-liquids production plant or geologic storage of CO2 in deep saline aquifers in Devonian or Silurian sandstones in West Virginia.
This map and report is an examination of geographic and temporal trends in gas production in West Virginia through the creation of a digital oil and gas pipeline map of West Virginia to show approximate gas transport capacity and distribution capability.
This web site provides public access to well-specific data and region-wide products for six significant regional tight-gas accumulations in the central Appalachian Basin with links to raw data (scanned well records, scanned wireline logs, digitized wireline logs, production data, core analysis reports, digital photographs of cores, scanned maps and cross-sections, and related data), an interactive map, and the final report.
This web site presents the data and findings of a resource assessment model of Trenton-Black River reservoirs in New York, Ohio and West Virginia with links to raw data, presentations, an interactive map, interim and final reports.
This report and supporting files contain the results of research conducted by the Rome Trough Consortium, a partnership of three state geological surveys, several energy industry companies and the U.S. Department of Energy. The Consortium was headed by the Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. Research was also conducted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey in Columbus, Ohio and the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey in Morgantown, West Virginia. This consortium was formed to gain a better understanding of the geology and deep hydrocarbon potential of the Rome Trough, a Cambrian-age depositional basin located in eastern Kentucky, northern West Virginia, and southeastern-most Ohio. The Consortium was initiated in January 1999, and research lasted 2 years, with a final project review and core workshop on January 24, 2001 at the Kentucky Geological Survey in Lexington, Kentucky. At this meeting members decided to continue research on core material that arrived near the end of the project. This report documents all research done through mid-2002. Significant new research resulted from the extra time allowed to continue this work.
Download the zip file (225 MB) for free or order a CD for a fee at this link.
Also see our Posters and Presentations page.
Page last revised February 13, 2019. | http://www.wvgs.wvnet.edu/www/coop_rpts/coop_research.htm |
- The purpose of this course is to obtain a solid understanding of employment laws and forms the foundation of an effective supervisor. This worksheet provides resources and guided activities.
Recommended Videos
- Business Law for Managers: Harassment
- Preventing Harassment in the Workplace
- Business Law for Managers: Discrimination
- Business Law for Managers: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
Recommended Books
- The Drama-Free Workplace: How you can Prevent Unconscious Bias, Sexual Harassment, Ethics Lapses, and Inspire a Healthy Culture by Patti Perez
- Employment Law: The Essentials, Fifteenth Edition by David Lewis, Malcolm Sargeant
Session 201 — DiSC
Module Specific Goals
- Learn about DiSC and the Everything DiSC Workplace Map
- Identify your style and explore the priorities that drive you
- Discover similarities and differences among the DiSC styles
- Discover your reaction to different DiSC styles
- Identify what works for you and what challenges you
- Use DiSC to understand the people you work with
Session 202 — ELI Civil Treatment®
Module Specific Goals
- This course will be used to provide participants with resources to create a more civil, inclusive, and productive workplace, leveraging real-world case studies to test resources and prepare for civil interactions.
Session 301 — Recruiting and Workforce Planning
Module Specific Goals
- Understand workforce and succession planning
- Understand career development
- Understand the purpose and uses of a job description
- Understand the hiring and recruitment process
- Recognize ways to ensure a fair and equitable search
Recommended Videos
- Having Career Conversations with your Team
- Diversity Recruiting
- Hiring, Managing and Separating From Employees: Job Descriptions
- Hiring, Managing and Separating From Employees: Questions you Can’t Ask Job Applicants
- Attracting, Hiring, and Working with Gen Z
- Finding and Retaining High Potentials
- Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging: Engage and Retain Diverse Talent
Recommended Books
- Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting, & Orienting New Employees, Sixth Edition by Diane Arthur
- Successful Interviewing and Recruitment by Rob Yeung
- Field Tested: Recruiting, Managing, and Retaining Veterans by Emily King
- Recruiting, Retaining, and Promoting Culturally Different Employees by Lionel Laroche, Don Rutherford
- Career Planning and Succession Management: Developing Your Organization's Talent-for Today and Tomorrow, Second Edition by William J. Rothwell, Robert D. Jackson, Cami L. Ressler, Maureen Connelly Jones, Meg Brower
- Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing Optimized Talent Strategies for Future Growth by Ross Sparkman
- Effective Succession Planning, Fifth Edition by William J. Rothwell
- Building an Inclusive Organization: Leveraging the Power of a Diverse Workforce by Stephen Frost, Raafi-Karim Alidina
- The Power of Stay Interviews for Engagement and Retention by Richard P. Finnegan
Session 302 — Performance Management: Managing, Addressing and Recognizing Performance
Module Specific Goals
- Understand the role of performance management and setting expectations in a supervisory relationship
- Outline performance management processes and resources
- Identify ways in which performance management influences employee success
- Utilize performance standards as a management strategy
- Understand how to provide effective performance feedback
Recommended Videos
- Delivering Employee Feedback
- Fighting Gender Bias at Work
- Unconscious Bias
- Managing High Potentials
- Performance Management: Conducting Performance Reviews
- Setting Team and Employee Goals
Recommended Books
- The Essential Performance Review Handbook by Sharon Armstrong
- Fearless Performance Reviews: Coaching Conversations that Turn Every Employee into a Star Player by Jeffrey Russell, Linda Russell
- Driving Performance Through Learning: Develop Employees Through Effective Workplace Learning by Andy Lancaster
- In Great Company: How to Spark Peak Performance By Creating an Emotionally Connected Workplace by Louis Carter
Session 303 — Managing an Effective and Engaged Workforce
Module Specific Goals
- Understanding the fair and equitable process for determining post-hire employment actions
- Build awareness of and understand how to manage leaves of absences, time away from work and time and location issues
- Gain a broader understanding of workplace accommodations, the interactive process and your role related to workplace accommodations
- Increase awareness of wellness resources and your role in championing Carnegie Mellon University’s wellness initiatives
Recommended Videos
- Practicing Fairness as a Manager
- Hiring, Managing and Separating from Employees: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Hiring, Managing and Separating from Employees: Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Managing Virtual Teams
- Management Foundations: Advanced Applications
Recommended Books
- The Manager's Guide to HR: Hiring, Firing, Performance Evaluations, Documentation, Benefits, and Everything Else You Need to Know, Second Edition by Max Muller
- 50 Top Tools for Employee Wellbeing: A Complete Toolkit for Developing Happy, Healthy, Productive and Engaged Employees by Debbie Mitchell
- Mindfulness at Work: How to Avoid Stress, Achieve More, and Enjoy Life! by Stephen McKenzie
Session 401 — Establishing Rapport and Setting Expectations
Module Specific Goals
- Understand the importance of building rapport and trust within your organization
- Identify and practice skills to build rapport within diverse groups
- Describe the critical importance of setting clear expectations in the workplace
- Explore and practice tools and strategies for setting and sharing expectations in the workplace
- Create a plan to strengthen your own skills in rapport building and expectation setting
Recommended Videos
- Coaching and Developing Employees
- Managing a Diverse Team
- New Manager Foundations
- Jeff Weiner on Managing Compassionately
- Facilitation Skills for Managers and Leaders
- Leading Inclusive Teams
- Delivering Employee Feedback
- Building a Coaching Culture: Improving Performance Through Timely Feedback
- Qualities of an Enlightened Leader
- Building Trust
Recommended Books
- The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey
- The Decision to Trust: How Leaders Create High-Trust Organizations by Robert F. Hurley
- Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace: Seven Steps to Renew Confidence, Commitment, and Energy by Dennis S. Reina, Michelle L. Reina
- Perfect Phrases for Coaching Employee Performance: Hundreds of Ready-to-Use Phrases for Building Employee Engagement and Creating Star Performers by Laura Poole
- Coaching for Performance: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership by John Whitmore
- Managing Conflict: A Practical Guide to Resolution in the Workplace by David Liddle
Session 402 — Performance Management: Addressing Challenging Employee Issues
Module Specific Goals
- Communicate expectations and responsibilities.
- Understand how to ensure a fair and consistent process.
- Explore strategies to document and investigate employee performance.
- Practice strategies for giving constructive feedback to team members with performance issues.
- Discuss when and how to reach out to your HR Business Partner.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to motor controls and more particularly to transient-based speed estimation for closed-loop motor control with transient excitation.
In many industrial automation applications, it is desired to start and stop AC electric motors according to a specified speed profile. Motor control systems have been developed and employed to control speed and other aspects of motor performance during startup using variable frequency drives. Alternatively, induction motor systems often include soft-starters to energize the stator windings during starting and stopping, with the soft startup controls being bypassed once the motor reaches the normal operating speed. To accurately control the motor speed during starting and stopping, it is necessary to measure or estimate the actual rotational speed of the rotor. Many motor control systems employ some form of tachometer or other sensor device mechanically coupled to the motor shaft to produce a feedback signal representing the motor speed, which can then be used in feedback control of the motor during starting, stopping, and steady-state operation. However, such external sensors add cost and weight and require maintenance. Therefore, sensorless systems have been proposed which utilize speed estimation apparatus to derive a speed estimate based on measured electrical motor signals. In certain proposed sensorless speed estimation approaches, the zero-crossing times of the stator winding currents are measured and the corresponding phase angle errors between consecutive zero-crossings are analyzed to produce a signal frequency which is ideally related to the rotor speed. However, experimentation has shown that the detected signal is only strong enough for reliable speed identification over a small portion of the speed range, and the measured signal is easily corrupted by power supply disturbances. Consequently, there is a need for improved motor control apparatus and sensorless speed estimation techniques and systems for motor control applications, particularly for controlling motor speeds during starting and stopping.
One or more aspects of the invention are now summarized to facilitate a basic understanding of the invention, wherein this summary is not an extensive overview of the invention, and is intended neither to identify certain elements of the invention, nor to delineate the scope thereof. The primary purpose of the summary, rather, is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form prior to the more detailed description that is presented hereinafter. The present invention relates to AC motor control systems, startup controllers, and motor control methodologies in which the motor speed is estimated according to measured motor transients, and the motor transients are excited or re-excited so as to maintain the ability to continue sensorless speed estimation throughout the motor speed range. In this manner, the measured transient signal is effectively amplified or re-energized for robust speed estimation essentially throughout the motor speed range by introduction of transients into the AC motor and thus reduces the susceptibility of the speed estimate to power supply disturbances. The transient excitation may be employed in conjunction with any number of measurable transient signals that relate to the motor speed, whereby the techniques of the present invention may find particular utility in controlling AC induction motors using virtually any form of transient-based speed estimation for closed-loop type motor control during starting, stopping and steady-state regulated operation.
In accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention, AC motor switching systems and motor speed control systems are provided for operating AC induction motors. The switching system comprises switching devices that selectively couple motor leads to an AC power source according to switch control signals. The motor speed control system includes a motor controller which provides an output to control the motor speed during starting and stopping according to a desired speed profile and according to a rotor speed estimate, and a switch control system provides the switch control signals during starting and stopping according to the motor controller output. The motor speed control system also includes a transient excitation system which operates to selectively modify at least one switch control signal to excite a motor transient, and a transient-based speed estimation system receiving feedback from the switching system and providing the rotor speed estimate at least partially according to the feedback signal or value. In one embodiment, the transient-based speed estimation system measures one or more transient speed-related signals associated with the motor transient, and determines the rotor speed estimate based at least in part on the transient speed-related signal.
The speed estimation system may measure any type of speed-related signal or signals, including but not limited to phase error, phase lag, peak current, voltage integral, motor winding voltage, switching device voltage, and voltage zero crossing signals. Any form of transient excitation may be used, wherein certain embodiments involve modification of the switching control signal pulse streams. In certain examples, the transient excitation system selectively removes individual pulses or pairs of pulses from the switching control signal pulse stream to excite the motor transient or selectively modifies spacings between select pulses in the switching control signal to excite the motor transient. The pulse stream modifications, moreover, may be performed according to a modulation waveform, for example, a sine wave, a square wave, a sawtooth wave, etc., or the modification may be based at least partially on the rotor speed estimate. In certain implementations, moreover, the system may also provide a rotor flux initialization system that selectively initializes the rotor flux in the motor prior to activating the transient excitation system.
Other aspects of the invention relate to methods for controlling motor speed during starting and stopping, which comprise providing switch control signals to a switching system for selectively coupling motor leads to an AC power source to control the motor speed, selectively modifying one or more of the switch control signals to excite a motor transient, measuring a transient speed-related signal associated with the motor transient, and providing the rotor speed estimate at least partially according to the transient speed-related signal. In certain implementations, the selective modification of the switch control signals comprises selectively removing individual pulses from the switching control signal to excite the motor transient, or modifying spacings between select pulses in the switching control signal to excite the motor transient. The methods may further include selectively initializing rotor flux in the motor prior to selectively modifying the switch control signals. The transient excitation, moreover, may be done at any suitable time to allow acceptable measurement of the motor transient for speed estimation, for example, by periodically modifying the switch control signal to excite a motor transient or according to an amplitude of the measured transient speed-related signal.
Referring now to the figures, several embodiments or implementations of the present invention are hereinafter described in conjunction with the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout, the invention is hereinafter illustrated and described in the context of speed control for a three-phase WYE connected induction motor, although the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples and can be employed in controlling AC motors of any number of phases, any winding configuration (WYE or DELTA) and any controller configuration (LINE or Inside-the-DELTA). The embodiments illustrated below facilitate closed-loop control of motor speed during starting and stopping using a transient-based speed estimate derived from speed-related motor transient signals without the need for external tachometers or other speed sensors, and can be implemented in any type of motor control apparatus to provide sensorless closed-loop speed control that is generally immune to power supply disturbances for implementing linear ramp or other desired speed control profile or operating mode, including but not limited to current limiting mode, soft start mode, current limit with kickstart mode, soft start with kickstart mode, etc., for both no load and loaded operation.
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Referring initially to , an exemplary motor control system is provided with a motor speed control system having a transient-based speed estimation system and a transient excitation system in accordance with one or more aspects of the invention. The motor speed control system also comprises a switch control circuit or system , and a motor controller providing a controller output to the switch control system for speed control according to a speed profile , such as a linear ramp in one example. In addition, the exemplary motor speed controller includes an optional rotor flux initialization system . The various components of the motor speed control system can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, or combinations thereof. The motor control system selectively provides power to a polyphase induction motor from a three phase AC power source by controlled operation of a switching system with three pairs of SCR switching devices , , coupled between power supply lines A, B, and C of the AC power source and leads R, S, and T of the motor , respectively. Although illustrated as SCR type switches –, any type of electrical switching devices may be used in the system and for the bypass switches . The individual switching devices are operated according to a corresponding switch control signal to selectively couple a corresponding motor lead to the AC power source such that portions of the power supply voltages are applied to the motor windings to generate/create motor phase currents I, I, and I. The phase couplings in the illustrated system also include optional bypass switches , , and to selectively bypass the switch pairs , , and after startup by connecting the motor leads R, S, and T directly to the AC power source lines A, B, and C according to a bypass control signal from a bypass control component when the speed estimate ω′r reaches a threshold value , although the bypass features of the illustrated control system are not strict requirements of the present invention.
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The switching system is operated by the motor speed control system for controlling the motor speed during starting, wherein the control system comprises inter alia a transient-based speed estimation system for providing a rotor (motor) speed estimate ω′r according to one or more feedback signals or values (e.g., measured voltages, currents, etc.) from the switching system . The measured motor feedback signals include transient information that can be correlated to motor speed, whereby the speed estimation system is operable to extract one or more types of speed-related transient signals from the feedback , in order to derive or otherwise provide the speed estimate ω′r as illustrated and described in greater detail below. The inventors have appreciated that certain speed-related signals are transient in character and decay over time, and/or are reliably discernable over only a portion of the motor speed range. To address this difficulty, the exemplary motor speed controller includes a transient excitation system operatively coupled with the switch control system to selectively modify one or more of the switch control signals so as to excite or re-excite the motor transient for improved measurability of the transient speed-related feedback signal(s) from the feedback by the speed estimation system . This transient excitation feature of the invention can thus be advantageously employed to help ensure that the transient-based estimation system can reliably obtain measurable speed-related signal information from the feedback throughout the entire speed range of the motor , even in the presence of power source disturbances. The motor speed control system and the various components thereof, including the transient-based speed estimation and excitation systems and , respectively, can be implemented as any suitable hardware, software, and/or combinations thereof.
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The exemplary control system also provides a switch control system or circuit with circuitry and/or other suitable hardware or software to provide a plurality of switch control signals , , to control operation of the switching devices , , and , respectively, during starting and stopping of the motor according to one or more control output signals from the motor controller . The motor controller may be implemented as any suitable controller or regulator by which the motor is controlled according to feedback and an estimated motor speed signal ω′r from the speed estimation system . In addition, the motor controller can be operated in a number of different modes or control schemes, including controlling torque, speed, position, etc., wherein the exemplary motor controller operates in the illustrated examples to control the speed of the induction motor during starting and stopping according to a user defined speed profile , although the particular motor control scheme or application is not a strict requirement of the present invention. The switch control system is operative during motor starting and stopping (and optionally thereafter) to provide appropriate switching signals to operate the motor in accordance with the motor control output(s) , wherein the switch controls may provide pulse width modulation (PWM) or other forms of switch timing control. The switch control signals , moreover, may be selectively modified by the transient excitation system to selectively excite or re-excite one or more motor transients as set forth in greater detail below.
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The speed estimation system operates in generally continuous fashion to provide the speed estimate ω′r to the motor controller for comparison to the desired speed profile at any given point during starting and stopping. In the illustrated system , the speed estimation system measures at least one transient speed-related signal in the feedback , where the transient speed-related signal is associated with a motor transient. The system then determines the rotor speed estimate ω′r at least in part according to the transient speed-related signal. The motor control aspects of the present invention are hereinafter illustrated in the context of speed estimation based on one or more speed-related transient phase error signals determined according to the firing and zero-crossing points in the motor phase voltage signals, although the invention is not limited to use of any particular speed-related signal for speed estimation. In this regard, the transient-based speed estimation may be done using any suitable speed-related signal, including but not limited to a phase error signal, a phase lag signal, a peak current signal, a voltage integral signal, a motor winding voltage signal, a switching device voltage, and a voltage zero crossing signal
FIGS. 2 and 3
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Referring also to , a plot in illustrates three motor phase current curves I, I, and Iin the motor control system of , and shows a plot illustrating three line-to-neutral power source voltage curves V, V, and V, and corresponding switch control signals , , and , respectively, in the system . The motor current waveforms I, I, and Iin are the result of selectively connecting the power source phases A, B, and C to the motor leads R, S, and T by controlled provision of the switching signals , , and to the switching system , respectively. As best seen in , the exemplary switch control system provides the switching signals as a series or stream of pulses, and in this example, as a series or pulse pairs including a first (leading) pulse and a second (trailing) pulse in each pulse pair, with the first pulse beginning at the firing point (F, F, F, F′, F′, and F′). The pulse pairs are repeated as a series of pulse pairs with the firing angle (the angle between the beginning of the positive portion of the corresponding supply phase voltage waveform and the firing time F) varying in closed-loop fashion according to the output () from the motor controller .
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In one possible embodiment, the transient-based speed estimation system measures the feedback phase current signals (I, Iand Iin ) or the switching device voltages and determines the motor speed ω′r using the zero-crossing points. In this case, an error signal set is generated and analyzed in the time domain, and a speed-related signal frequency is then produced in the speed estimation system . In the graph of , the positive motor current zero-crossings (the times when the corresponding SCR switching devices are turned off) for the phases R, S, and T are indicated as Z, Z, and Z, respectively, and the corresponding zero-crossings associated with the opposite (e.g., negative) current direction are denoted as Z′, Z′, and Z′. Similarly, the firing points for the positive and negative half-cycles are indicated as F, F, and Fand F′, F′, and F′, respectively, representing the controlled time at which the SCRs are initially turned on (e.g., via the leading pulses ) according to the switching signals from the switch control system
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Certain phase-angle type transient speed-related signals can be derived from measurement of the times Z, Z, Z, Z′, Z′, Z′, F, F, F, F′, F′, and F′. In one example, a 60 degree detection technique can be used, in which the time differences between two adjacent zero-crossings of the three-phase motor currents is obtained and ⅙ of the supply period T is subtracted to obtain a phase error value. In this 60 degree detection technique, phase interval error signals in time units can be developed as (1) Z′−Z−T/6, (2) Z−Z′−T/6, (3) Z′−Z−T/6, etc. The frequency of the phase error values has been found to be indicative of the rotor speed ω′r (e.g., the phase error signal frequency can be correlated to the slip frequency) and the speed estimation system provides the estimate ω′r accordingly. In another possible implementation, a 180 degree detection may be used, by measuring and computing data points (1) Z′−Z−T/2, (2) Z′−Z−T/2, (3) Z′−Z−T/2, etc., wherein the concept of the 180 degree detection may be extended to 360 degree detection, 540 degree detection, 720 degree detection, etc., with higher degrees being preferred in high speed ranges to increase the signal magnitude.
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Other possible speed-related signals can be derived from the feedback and used for motor speed estimation in accordance with the invention, including but not limited to phase lag, peak current, voltage integral, motor winding voltage, switching device voltage, and voltage zero crossing signals, for example. Phase lag signals can be generated for deriving the estimated rotor speed ω′r, wherein the speed estimation system measures the time delay between the supply voltage zero-crossings Zand the shutoff Z on each individual phase (e.g., Z−Z, Z−Z, Z−Z, etc.). In this technique, these individual delay values are subtracted from the average delay, and the resulting points create a signal having an AC component indicative of the rotor speed ω′r, wherein the average or the DC offset of the signal changes with the firing angle and with changes in the motor load.
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Another transient speed-related signal that can be used by the speed estimation system is a current amplitude signal, wherein the three-phase motor currents I, I, and Iof the feedback are sampled at a sampling frequency, and the maximum absolute current value is determined. The resulting signal has a large DC component that varies with the firing angle, and which can be removed by taking the difference between the present signal and a past signal, wherein the interval employed between the past and present sample has an impact on the frequency spectrum of the revised current amplitude signal. In practice any delay can be used for this DC component removal to obtain a signal with a discernable frequency component indicative of the rotor speed f′r. In one possible embodiment, multiples of one sixth the supply period are believed to yield a clear signal under ideal power supply conditions.
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Yet another possible speed-related transient signal can be found in the integral of the motor terminal voltages, such as the integral of the line-to-neutral motor voltages. Using integration software or hardware integrator circuits in the speed estimator , with the corresponding integrator output being reset at the start of the corresponding conduction (e.g., firing) time, the absolute value of the integral at the end of each SCR conduction period is sampled and used for speed calculation. In this regard, the inventors have found that the voltage integral signal includes a DC offset similar to that obtained in the raw current amplitude technique described above, and which may be removed in similar fashion by subtraction from a previous value. In the voltage integral technique, moreover, the inventors have found that errors may occur in the voltage integral signal when the firing angle is large and the motor current is small, wherein the current zero-crossing occurs around the center of the expected conduction period, at which point the measured voltage will generally not be same as the line voltage. In this technique, therefore, it may be preferable to avoid operating at that condition.
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Other possible speed-related transient signals include motor winding voltage, switching device voltage, and voltage zero crossing signals. The motor winding voltage can be measured from the feedback during the time when the SCR is off (e.g., during the “notch” period). In one implementation, this winding voltage is sampled once during each notch period, preferably at some non-zero time following the zero-crossing when the SCR switching device turns off so as to avoid perturbations caused by operation of snubber circuits or other switching disturbances. In this technique, the absolute value of the motor winding voltages sampled at each notch period of all three phases can be used to determine a speed related signal, from which the rotor speed ω′r can be derived, with suitable DC offset removal performed in a manner similar to that described above in connection with the current amplitude signal approach.
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Another speed-related transient signal can be found by measuring the voltage across the switching devices (e.g., the voltage across the SCRs in one implementation of the switching system ) during the “notch” period when the device is turned off. In this case, the amplitudes of these voltage signals vary with a frequency corresponding to the rotor speed ω′r. The notch voltage may be sampled once during each notch period, preferably some non-zero time after the SCR is turned off to avoid measurements during any snubber-related oscillation in the measured voltage signal. The absolute values of the notch voltages can be sampled at each notch period of all three phases in one implementation so as to form a signal set to determine the slip speed in the speed estimation system , with any DC component being removed by suitable techniques such as that described above for the current amplitude signal approach. The rotor speed ω′r can then be easily derived from the slip speed in the speed estimation system
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Another speed-related transient signal can be derived from the measurements of the phase-to-phase voltage zero crossing times. In one example, a 180 degree detection technique can be used in which the time differences between two adjacent zero-crossings on each phase is obtained and one half the average supply period T is subtracted to obtain a speed-related signal. In this technique a speed-related signal can be developed as: (1) Z′−Z−T/2, (2) Z−Z′−T/2, (3) Z′−Z′−T/2. The frequency of this speed related signal is indicative of rotor speed ω′r and the speed estimation system provides the estimate ω′r accordingly.
FIGS. 4A–4D
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Referring now to and , any suitable technique may be used to selectively modify one or more of the switch control signals using the transient excitation system so as to selectively excite/re-excite a motor transient by which the transient-based speed estimation system can derive a rotor speed estimate ω′r in reliable fashion across the speed range of interest, even in the presence of power source noise or disturbances. As discussed above in connection with , the motor currents I, I, and Iare created by the selective connection of the power source phases A, B, and C to the motor leads R, S, and T by the switching signals , , and from the switch control system , where the signals or the generation thereof can be modified using the transient excitation system operatively coupled with the switch control system , In the illustrated embodiment, the switch control system provides the switching signals as a series or stream of pulses , , (e.g., above) provided as pulse pairs with the leading pulse beginning at the firing point (F, F, F, F′, F′, and F′) followed by a trailing pulse to prevent inadvertent (early) SCR shutoff before the actual current zero-crossing. In this implementation, the pulse pairs are repeated as a series of pulse pairs with the firing angle being determined according to the closed-loop motor controller output () from the motor controller .
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A first embodiment is shown in a plot in , in which the transient excitation system operates to selectively inhibit the provision of certain pulses by the switch control system , thereby selectively removing individual pulses from the switching control signal to thereby excite the motor transient. In the example of , moreover, the excitation system causes removal of a pulse pair in the circled time period . This pulse pair removal causes a transient excitation in the motor , resulting in excitation or re-excitation of the speed-related motor transient signals, such as those described above or other motor transient that results in a measurable or discernable speed-related signal in the feedback . Referring also to , an exemplary stream of paired firing pulses is shown for a single motor phase R, along with an exemplary phase error signal curve derived from the feedback of the driven motor , wherein the selective excitation of the motor transient is done periodically at times T, T, T, etc., by selectively removing a pulse pair , at portions , wherein an excitation period of about 1 Hz is used in this example for a supply frequency of 50 Hz. As can be seen in the plot , the periodic removal of a firing pulse pair , causes a noticeable increase in the amplitude of the phase error signal, whereby the invention provides for measurable transient signal strength regardless of power supply disturbance and motor speed, thereby facilitating robust, accurate sensorless speed estimation during the critical motor starting and stopping periods and thereafter as needed,
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Other suitable periods may be selected for periodic transient excitation, to ensure that a measurable transient speed-related signal can be obtained from the motor feedback by the transient-based speed estimation system . In other possible implementations, the transient excitation need not be periodic. In this regard, the transient excitation system selectively modifies the switch control signal(s) to excite a motor transient at least partially according to an amplitude of the measured transient speed-related signal. Thus, the system may determine that the transient speed-related signal amplitude has fallen below a predetermined threshold value, and the excitation system accordingly reacts be re-exciting the transient. In this fashion, the excitation may be carried out via the system on an as-needed basis.
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Another transient excitation example is illustrated in plot of , wherein the transient excitation system selectively removes one of the two pulses forming a select pulse pair at time . In this example, the system causes removal of the leading pulse , although other implementations could involve removal of the trailing pulse . Other examples are shown in plots and of , in which the temporal spacing between the leading and trailing pulses and , respectively, is modified (e.g., increased or decreased) by the transient excitation system at time periods and , respectively.
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In other possible implementations, the spacings of the leading and trailing pulses , of consecutive pulse pairs may be modified (e.g., increased and decreased) to excite the motor transient. Furthermore, this modification may be made according to a modulation waveform, such as a sine wave, a square wave, a triangular sawtooth wave, or other modulation waveform. In a preferred example, the increase or decrease is done by a relatively small amount of time for the leading pulses to provide an essentially continuous change to the firing angle in one or more of the phases R, S, and/or T. It is noted that compared to the above examples wherein entire pulses , are removed or the pulse position (e.g., spacing modification) is rather large, the slight modification of consecutive pulses or pulse pairs may mitigate large changes to the firing angle while still causing re-excitation of a measurable speed-related motor transient for speed estimation by the system . This selective modification can be done according to a modulation waveform, or alternatively, as a function of the speed signal ω′r. In one possible example, a gain term may be provided for multiplication with the speed estimate ω′r to determine the firing angle modification along with a phase shift, wherein the phase shift can also be a function of the frequency of the speed estimate ω′r.
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In accordance with another exemplary implementation of the transient-based speed estimation and excitation aspects of the invention, the motor control system of also includes an optional rotor flux initialization system or component , which may be any suitable hardware and/or software operative to selectively initialize rotor flux in the motor during starting prior to activating the transient excitation system . In this regard, for the exemplary three-phase motor , the rotor flux initialization system may be adapted to cause the switch control system to selectively activate select ones of the switching devices such that supply voltage is applied to only two of the motor phases R, S, and T for several power cycles to selectively initialize rotor flux to a preset level THin the motor . Once the rotor flux has been thus built up, the normal switching pulse stream and selective transient excitation operation may be started as described above. In this regard, the initial rotor flux initialization may advantageously improve the initial speed estimation in the low speed range at startup, wherein the inventors have appreciated that certain motor transients may be difficult to measure due to low initial rotor flux values in the motor absent such flux initialization.
FIGS. 6 and 7
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Referring now to , further aspects of the invention relate to methods for controlling motor speed during startup, wherein shows an exemplary startup method . Although the exemplary method and other methods of the invention are illustrated and described below in the form of a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the various methods of the invention are not limited by the illustrated ordering of such acts or events except as specifically set forth herein. In this regard, except as specifically provided hereinafter, some acts or events may occur in different order and/or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and described herein, and not all illustrated steps may be required to implement a process or method in accordance with the present invention. The illustrated method and other methods of the invention, moreover, may be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, or combinations thereof, in order to provide improved sensorless motor speed estimation in the control of AC electric motors, although the invention is not limited to the specific applications and implementations illustrated and described herein.
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The method of begins at , with switching signals (e.g., switch control signals in the system above) being started at . The switching signals can be provided at and thereafter during startup and/or throughout the motor operation in any suitable fashion, such as by providing a plurality of switch control signals to a switching system for selectively coupling the motor leads R, S, T to an AC power source to control the motor speed according to a desired startup speed profile and according to a rotor speed estimate ω′r in the above exemplary system . Any form of switching signals may be applied, including but not limited to a series or stream of pulses or pairs or other groupings of multiple pulses as exemplified in the above described embodiments or others.
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The method further includes selectively modifying at least one of the switch control signals at to excite transient in a speed related signal, which can be any suitable signal for example, such as a phase error signal, a phase lag signal, a peak current signal, a voltage integral signal, a motor winding voltage signal, a switching device voltage, and a voltage zero crossing signal. The selective modification at may take any suitable form that operates to excite a motor transient associated with a speed-related signal. In the case of pulse-based switch control signals as depicted and described above, several possible examples provide for selectively removing individual pulses from the switching control signal, selectively modifying spacings between select pulses in the switching control signal, selectively removing select pulse pairs from the switching control signal, selectively removing one pulse from select pulse pairs of the switching control signal, selectively modifying spacings between pulses of select pulse pairs in the switching control signal, and/or modifying spacings between pulses of consecutive pulse pairs in the switching control signal to excite the motor transient.
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At , a speed-related signal associated with the motor transient is measured, and a rotor speed estimate is provided at based at least partially on the measured transient speed-related signal. The switches are then controlled at according to the desired speed profile and according to the rotor speed estimate ω′r. A determination is optionally made at as to whether the rotor speed has reached steady state, and if not (NO at ), the process continues at – as described above. Otherwise (YES at ), the motor startup is completed at , wherein alternative embodiments may continue the switch control signal provision during steady state operation with continuing speed estimation and transient excitation.
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FIG. 7
FIG. 6
Another exemplary motor speed control method is illustrated in , beginning at . In this example, voltage is applied to a pair of motor windings at to initialize rotor flux in the motor prior to beginning the switching signals at and selectively modifying the switching signal application at for motor transient excitation. The method then proceeds generally as in the example of , with the speed-related signal or signals being measured at and the rotor speed being estimated in accordance therewith at . At , the switches are controlled according to the desired speed profile and the estimated rotor speed ω′r. The method further includes determining at whether the rotor speed has reached steady ′state. If not (NO at ), the method returns to – as described above, and otherwise (YES at ) the motor startup is completed at .
FIG. 8
FIG. 1
FIG. 6
800
802
122
804
114
116
128
110
122
122
804
106
128
100
122
800
122
810
812
814
816
128
820
820
810
816
820
822
Referring now to , the various aspects of the invention are also applicable to controlling motor speed during stopping, as exemplified in the motor stopping control method beginning at . Switching signals (e.g., signals above) are started at , such as when the bypass control system in deactivates the bypass signal to begin controlled motor stopping according to a desired speed profile using the switching system under control of the switching signals . The switching signals can be provided at and thereafter during stopping in any suitable fashion, for selectively coupling the motor leads R, S, T to the AC power source to control the motor speed according to the desired stopping speed profile and according to the transient-based rotor speed estimate ω′r in the system . Moreover, as with the startup examples described supra, any form of switching signals may be applied, including but not limited to a series or stream of pulses or pairs or other groupings of multiple pulses. The method further includes selectively modifying at least one of the switch control signals at to excite transient in a speed related signal as described previously for . A speed-related signal associated with the motor transient is measured at , and a rotor speed estimate is provided at based at least partially on the measured transient speed-related signal. The switches are then controlled at according to the desired speed profile and the rotor speed estimate ω′r, and a determination can optionally be made at as to whether the rotor speed has reached zero. If not (NO at ), the process continues at – as described above, and if so (YES at ), the motor stopping is completed at .
The above examples are merely illustrative of several possible embodiments of various aspects of the present invention, wherein equivalent alterations and/or modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading and understanding this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, systems, circuits, and the like), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component, such as hardware, software, or combinations thereof, which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the illustrated implementations of the invention. In addition, although a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Also, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in the detailed description and/or in the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising ”.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following description and drawings set forth certain illustrative implementations of the invention in detail, which are indicative of several exemplary ways in which the principles of the invention may be carried out. The illustrated examples, however, are not exhaustive of the many possible embodiments of the invention. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1
is a detailed schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary motor control system with a motor speed control system for driving an induction motor, including a transient-based speed estimation system and a transient excitation system according to one or more aspects of the present invention;
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
is a graph showing three phase current curves in the motor of ;
FIG. 3
FIG. 1
is a graph illustrating three line-to-neutral power source voltage curves and switch control signals in the system of ;
FIG. 4A
FIG. 1
is a graph showing selective removal of pulse pairs in the switch control signal for excitation of the motor phase error signal in the system of ;
FIG. 4B
FIG. 1
is a graph showing selective removal of an individual pulse of a pulse pair in the switch control signal for excitation of the motor phase error signal in the system of ;
FIGS. 4C and 4D
FIG. 1
are graphs showing selective modification of the spacing between switch control pulses for excitation of the motor phase error signal in the system of ;
FIG. 5
FIG. 1
is a graph illustrating periodic transient excitation by selective removal of pulse pairs in the system of ;
FIG. 6
is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for controlling the speed of an induction motor during starting using transient-based speed estimation and selective transient excitation in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 7
is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary method for startup motor control, including initialization of rotor flux prior to transient excitation according to the invention; and
FIG. 8
is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for controlling the speed of an induction motor during stopping using transient-based speed estimation and selective transient excitation in accordance with the invention | |
The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) is expressed on many cell types and can influence a variety of cellular functions. This receptor can mediate cell survival or cell death, can promote or inhibit axonal growth and can facilitate or attenuate proliferation, depending on the cell context. The emerging picture regarding p75NTR indicates that it can partner with different coreceptors to dictate specific responses. It then signals by recruiting intracellular binding proteins to activate different signaling pathways. The function of p75NTR has mainly been studied in neurons; however, it is also expressed in a variety of glial populations, especially during development and after injury, where its roles have been poorly defined. In this review, we will examine the potential roles for p75NTR in glial function. | https://www.researchwithrutgers.com/en/publications/the-function-of-p75supntrsup-in-glia |
CRYPTO: CBN directs banks to shutdown all accounts
Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) and Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) local financial institutions have been directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN against having any transactions in crypto or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.
This was disclosed by the apex bank in a letter forwarded to all DMBs, OFIs and NBFIs. The regulator noted that “breaches of this directive will attract severe regulatory sanctions.”
The circular signed by Director of Banking Supervision, Bello Hassan stated:” The CBN circular of January 12, 2017 refFPRIDIRGENT R/06/010 which DMBs, NBFIs and OFIs and members of the public on the risks associated with transactions in crypto currency refers.
“Further to other regulatory directive on the subject, the bank hereby wishes to remind regulated institutions that dealing in crypto currencies or facilitating payment from cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited. | https://www.withinnigeria.com/2021/02/05/crypto-cbn-directs-banks-to-shutdown-all-accounts/ |
Fluorine was isolated for the first time as a pure element in 1886 by H. Moissan, who carried out the electrolysis of potassium fluoride solutions in anhydrous hydrofluoric acid. It is a relatively abundant element in nature where, given its high reactivity, it is not in the free but combined state and constitutes about 0.03% by weight of the earth’s crust. It is found essentially in the following minerals: fluorite (CaF2), cryolite (Na3AlF6) and apatite.
As a free element it is a pale yellow gas with a pungent odor. Because of its high electronegativity, it reacts with almost all metals, with most inorganic and organic compounds, and forms compounds with all elements except noble gases. In particular, even at low temperatures, it reacts explosively with hydrogen used in the Fluorochemical Industry.
It reacts violently by combining with water hydrogen and developing oxygen. In the human body, fluorine is present in the hard tissues of the tooth and is particularly important in the prevention of dental caries. For this reason, some of its salts (sodium fluoride, tin fluoride) are usually added to toothpaste.
Some fluorides on the other hand can carry out dangerous toxic actions: they can inhibit the activity of numerous enzymes, block cellular respiration, exert anticoagulant effects and, if taken in fair quantities, can produce serious alterations to the bone structure.
Fluorine compounds
Fluorine used in the Fluorochemical Industry generally forms ionic-type compounds with metals and covalent with non-metals, in which it has the oxidation number -1. Hydrogen fluoride HF (hydrofluoric acid if in aqueous solution), is a liquid that evaporates easily, colorless and irritating, which smokes in the air.
It is miscible with water in all proportions and forms an azeotrope with it; unlike HCl, in aqueous solution the HF behaves as a relatively weak acid, of a strength comparable to that of formic acid.
Both in the anhydrous state and in the aqueous solution the hydrogen fluoride has the characteristic property of reacting with silica and silicates, and is therefore able to attack glass, porcelain and similar materials. In the anhydrous state it does not cold attack metals, so that it can be stored in steel containers, but it easily reacts with oxides or halides thereof. It is produced from fluorite, which is purified by flotation and then treated with 98% sulfuric acid at a temperature of about 250 ° C:
AlF3 aluminum fluoride, a white solid used as an electrolyte in aluminum refining. Calcium fluoride CaF2, is the fluorite mineral, from which fluorine is derived. Potassium fluoride KHF2, white solid, soluble in water, used as an electrolyte in fluorine production. | https://wordstanza.com/introduction-to-the-fluorochemical-industry/ |
When I am reading papers that compares bulk RNA sequencing and single-cell RNA sequencing, we often see papers describe bulk RNA seq measures the average cell expression.
For example, in this paper Single-Cell RNA-Seq Technologies and Related Computational Data Analysis
bulk RNA-seq mainly reflects the averaged gene expression across thousands of cells
And this paper A practical guide to single-cell RNA-sequencing for biomedical research and clinical applications
the averaging that occurs in pooling large numbers of cells does not allow detailed assessment of the fundamental biological unit—the cell—or the individual nuclei that package the genome
And this paper Differential expression analyses for single-cell RNA-Seq: old questions on new data
Standard RNA-Seq experiments need millions of cells for sequencing [2,3], and therefore can only get averaged measurements of gene expressions of the cells sequenced.
My question is, when we perform the bulk RNA seq and calculates parameters like TPM, we don't actually divide the total number of mRNA transcripts with the number of cells (I think sometimes we don't even have an accurate number on the number of cells that we used in bulk RNA seq), we simply normalise it with the transcript length and count.
Therefore, if we DID NOT divide the number of transcripts with the total cell number, how are we measuring the average of expression, but not the total expression?
Or in other words, what is the "average expression" referring to? Average to what? | https://bioinformatics.stackexchange.com/questions/18639/why-is-bulk-rna-sequencing-reflecting-average-expression-but-not-total-expressio |
There are several situations where salt can damage plants: some areas have saline soils, there may be occasional seawater flooding, or slightly saline irrigation water can accumulate in the soil. Coastal areas can have salt spray that affects the local plant communities. In those situations, problems can arise, particularly in plants out of their native range or when unusual conditions spread salt out of it’s usual area. For instance, hurricanes can cause plant damage up to 10 miles inland, not just by breakage but by salt injury to foliage.
But the most common and widespread situation where salt damages trees is when it is applied to roads . Salt may be applied to paved roads and lots for the purpose of deicing. It may also be applied to unpaved roads for dust abatement.
Salt affects roadside plants via two routes: through the soil, where it is taken up by roots, and as salt spray that is deposited on aerial plant parts.
Salt uptake via soil
Areas affected are below road grade, usually quite close to road, especially where tree’s roots are all in low area with limited drainage. Symptoms: leaf scorch, premature defoliation, dieback, can contribute to death. Can see in red pine in the Adirondacks and many species in the Rocky Mountains. Sugar maple is susceptible. Mechanisms: osmotic concentration in soil too high, roots can’t obtain enough water. Chloride accumulates to toxic levels in tissues, especially those with greatest transpiration. Na may replace cations like Ca and K in soil, creating deficiency. Na also raises pH, making iron unavailable. Na also degrades soil texture.
The featured image at top shows Populus tremuloides (trembling aspen) acutely affected by MgCl2 along an unpaved road where the salt was used for dust abatement.
Deposition of salt spray
Up to 50 meters of highway, especially downwind. Exposed plants collect the most droplets so get the most damage. Symptoms: needles brown at the tips, drop early. Hardwoods- buds die, twigs die back –> brooms. Mechanisms: Cl- toxicity seems to be the big problem, accumulates at tips and margin. Kills tissue, impairs cold hardiness. Tolerant plants limit accumulation.
Nutrient Deficiency
In natural and quasi-natural forests, symptoms of nutrient deficiency are not normally seen, although growth can be increased by fertilization. Deficiency symptoms can be seen on occasion in ornamentals and off-site plantations.
Symptoms vary with the tree species, and can be complicated by combinations of nutrients. Worse, the symptoms are rarely diagnostic, meaning the symptoms are non-specific and, considered alone, do not usually allow a reliable diagnosis. Without vast experience with particular cultivars in a particular area, extensive analyses may be necessary to confirm a diagnosis.
Still, there are some generalities that are useful and practical to keep in mind. Here are some facts about two nutrients as examples:
- Nitrogen deficiency usually causes chlorosis, interveinal in hardwoods. Also slow growth, stunted leaves. Nitrogen is highly mobile in the plant, and new growth gets first priority, so chlorosis may be most in older growth. Nitrogen is frequently limiting, and symptoms of deficiency can sometimes be seen in nature.
- Iron deficiency also causes chlorosis, but iron is immobile once put to use in the plant, so symptoms show up more in the newest foliage. In the soil, iron is most soluble at low pH. Trees adapted to low pH often experience iron deficiency when grown in soil that is too alkaline.
More general information is available on abiotic diseases and injury. | https://forestpathology.org/abiotic/salt-nutrient-deficiency/ |
- Maintain an exemplary standard of professional competence, conduct, ethics and integrity in all the business, professional and personal practices.
- Sustain and improve the knowledge and skills within the areas of expertise to render the professional services diligently that will reflect the professional competency.
- Respect and follow all the rules and regulations for the smooth conduct of the conference and restrain from all activities that may bring harm to the public or affect the reputation of the conference.
- Provide the services objectively and be reverent and fair in extending services to all the members of the Technical Program Committee (TPC), Organizing Committee, speakers, delegates, reviewers, volunteers, and other serving members. Any form of discrimination on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, family status, gender identity, nationality, race, religion or belief may be treated as an explicit violation of the Code.
- Be honest and trustworthy and do not indulge in or encourage activities for vested interest at the expense of the Conference.
- Clearly, understand the publication ethics and strictly adhere to the copyright policies of the publishers.
- Do not intentionally interfere with the contractual policies and legal rights of others.
- Members should refrain themselves from all types of activities which are being influenced by a conflict of interest or would create any conflict between their own personal interest.
- Keep the confidentiality of privileged information obtained through any mode. Respect privacy and members should not disclose any information which may reasonably be considered to be prejudicial to the individuals or organizations.
- Use only legal and ethical means for all the conference proceedings and respect the principles of the Code. | http://coconet-conference.org/2019/?q=ethics |
This series of video/light installations transforms an existing space into a virtual environment, offering a visually illusionary perception.
Our visual perception of an environment is not determined by a solid-void dialectic just as a presence-absence of matter.
Instead it is defined by the presence of light: the various ways in which a surface reflects, refracts, absorbs or phosphoresces light can alter dramatically the visually perception of what is solid.
Our visual perception is also strongly effected by depth. Perspective is used to represent depth, and, associated with the use of light create illusion of three-dimensionality.
The viewer experiences illusionary perceptions of a space where ephemeral and two-dimensional elements become visually predominant on its three-dimensional and solid-void physical properties. | http://spaceink.net/arcimg.htm |
Quantum mechanics famously contains many troubling and highly counterintuitive features, which may even seem to be paradoxical. At the same time, these features lie at the heart of the promise of quantum technologies to revolutionize our world by performing information processing tasks better than any classical computer can - the *quantum advantage*.
We shall argue that quantum mechanics, and in particular the key feature of quantum contextuality, lives at the borders of paradox — and that this is an exciting place to be! The talk will be illustrated by examples of visual paradoxes due to Maurits Escher and Roger Penrose; and by examples drawn from elementary logic and the information world around us.
Our world *is* contextual; and we are beginning to learn how to work with contextuality, and to exploit its quasi-paradoxical features.
Workshop
This lecture is part of the Lorentz Center workshop ‘Logical Aspects of Quantum Information’, which will take place in Leiden from 30 July to 3 August 2018.
The topic of this workshop is the emerging interaction between quantum information and logic in computer science. The aim is to bring together researchers, both junior and senior, from different communities in an effort to communicate state-of-the-art advances, strengthen the existing interaction and create new bridges between the different areas. | https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/agenda/2018/08/lecture-contextuality-at-the-borders-of-paradox |
Head muscles . They help the skin of the face and skull to move ; to the opening and occlusion of the facial orifices, to the movement of the bones involved in chewing, and to mimic expression.
Summary
[ hide ]
- 1 Classification
- 2 Chewing muscles
- 1 Masseter muscle
- 2 Temporal muscle
- 3 Lateral pterygoid muscle
- 4 Medial pterygoid muscle
- 5 Functions
- 3 Mimic muscles
- 1 Evolution of facial musculature
- 4 Calvaria muscles
- 1 Head muscles
- 2 Functions
- 5 extraordinary muscles
- 1 Cancer muscle
- 2 Orbicularis oculi muscle
- 3 Muscles of the oral cleft seen from the inside
- 6 Perioral muscles
- 1 Minor zygomatic
- 2 Greater zygomatic
- 3 risorio muscle
- 4 Mouth angle depressant
- 5 Mouth Angle Elevator
- 6 Lower lip depressor
- 7 Mental muscle
- 8 Buccinator
- 9 Orbicular of the mouth
- 7 Perinasal muscles
- 1 Nasal muscle
- 8 Fascia of the head
- 9 Sources
Classification
Excluding the striated muscles belonging to the sense organs ( sight and hearing ) and to the upper part of the digestive system , the other muscles of the head can be classified into the following groups:
- Mastication muscles: derived from the first visceral (mandibular) arch, innervated by n. trigeminal.
- Mimic muscles: derived from the second visceral arch (hyoid), innervated by n. facial.
- Pterygoid muscles(Fig. 1)
Fig. 1. Pterygoid muscles .
- Zygomatic bone(serrated), maxilla
- Greater zygomaticus muscles
- Buccinator muscles
- MouthAngle Depressant
- Parotid duct
- Pterygomandibular raphe
- mandibular style
- Medial pterygoid muscles
- Styloid process
- External acoustic meatus
- Articular disc
- Condylar process (serrated)
- Lateral pterygoid muscles
Fig. 2. Anterior part of the skull with the mandible and the chewing muscles ; internal view.
Anterior part of the skull with the jaw and the chewing muscles; internal view. (Fig. 2)
- Medial pterygoid muscle
- Lateral pterygoid muscle
- Masseter muscle
- Mylohyoid muscle (start)
- Genioglossus muscle onset
- Genihyoid muscle start
Chewing muscles
The four muscles of chewing, on each side, are genetically related to each other (origin of the same visceral arch, the mandibular), morphologically (all are inserted into the jaw , to which they move), and functionally (they carry out the movements chews of the jaw, which determines its location).
Masseter muscle
The masseter muscle is thick, quadrilateral in shape. It begins at the lower edge of the zygomatic bone and in the arch of the same name, and is inserted into the maseteric tuberosity and on the external face of the mandibular branch.
Temporal muscle
Due to its wide initiation, the temporalis muscle occupies the entire space of the temporal fossa of the skull , reaching the temporal line from above. The muscular fascicles, arranged in a fan shape , converge in a consistent tendon that passes behind the zygomatic arch and is going to insert into the coronoid process of the jaw .
Lateral pterygoid muscle
The pterygoideus lateralis muscle begins on the underside of the greater wing of the sphenoid and in the pterygoid process. The muscle is directed almost horizontally backward and laterally and inserts into the neck of the mandibular condyle , as well as into the capsule and articular disc of the temporomandibular joint (Figures 1 and 2).
Medial pterygoid muscle
The pterygoideus medíalis muscle begins in the pterygoid fossa of the pterygoid process. It is directed down and laterally, and is to be inserted on the inner side of the angle of the mandible , symmetrically with the masseter muscles , in the homonymous tuberosity.
Features
The masseter, temporal and medial pterygoid muscles , when the mouth is open, attract the jaw towards the maxilla or, in other words, close the mouth. In the joint contraction of the two lateral pterygoid muscles, the advance of the mandible takes place.
The opposite movement is made by the posterior fibers of the temporal muscles, which are directed almost horizontally from back to front. When the lateral pterygoid muscle contracts exclusively on one side, the jaw moves from the opposite side to the contracting muscle.
The temporal muscles are also related to articulated language, giving the jaw a certain position during the process.
Mimic muscles
The visceral musculature of the head , originally related to the viscera of the head and neck , was gradually transformed in part into the cutaneous musculature of the neck, from which, by way of differentiation into thin independent fascicles, the musculature was formed. mimicking the face. This explains the intimate connection between the mimic muscles and the skin they set in motion. This also explains the other peculiarities of the structure and function of these muscles.
Thus, unlike skeletal muscles, mimic muscles do not have bilateral insertion in the bones , and are necessarily attached to the skin or mucosa at one or both ends. Because of this they lack fascia and by contracting they set the skin in motion . When relaxing, the skin recovers its previous position by virtue of its elasticity, which is why the role of the antagonistic muscles is, in this case, considerably less than that of the skeletal muscles.
The mimic muscles appear as small and thin muscle fascicles, grouped around the natural holes: mouth , nose , orbits and ears , participating in one way or another in closing or, conversely, opening these holes.
The closing muscles (sphincters) are currently located around the annular hole and the dilators are in the radial direction. By varying the shape of the holes and moving the skin with the formation of different folds, the mimic muscles give the face a certain expression, corresponding to this or that state of mind.
Those variations in the expression of the face are called mimicry, from which the name of the muscles is derived. Apart from its main function, the expression of sensations, the mimic muscles also participate in language , chewing, etc.
Fig. 3 Evolution of the facial musculature.
Evolution of the facial musculature
The facial musculature evolved as shown (Fig. 3):
- Primitive reptile
- Contemporary reptile (gatteria Sphenodon punctatus)
- Primitive mammal(echidna)
- Gorilla
- Man
The shortening of the mandibular apparatus and the participation of the lips in articulated language lead to the particular development of the mimic muscles around the mouth , and on the contrary, the musculature of the ears , so well developed in animals, in man is it was reducing, remaining only in the form of rudimentary muscles.
Calvaria muscles
Almost the entire calvaria ( skull vault ) (Fig. 4) is covered by the thin epicranial or occipitofrontal muscle ( epicranius muscles), which has an extensive tendon part, the epicranial aponeurosis or aponeurotic galea, and a muscular part subdivided into three parts or independent bellies:
- Anterior belly, frontal muscle or frontal belly, begins in the skinof the eyebrows and continues with the anterior part of the fascia.
- Posterior belly, occipital muscle or occipital belly, starts at the superior nuchal line and continues at the posterior part of the fascia.
- Ventre lateralis subdivided into three small muscles that are directed to the pinna of the ear; ahead, the anterior auricular muscle; above, the upper earpiece, and behind, the posterior earpiece. The three atrial muscles are continued with the lateral part of the epicranial fascia. The aponeurotic galea covers the middle part of the calvaria, constituting the central part of the epicranial muscle.
Head muscles
Fig. 4. Muscles of the head .
The muscles of the head include (Fig. 4.):
- Gale Aponeurotica
- Temporal fascia (superficial lamina)
- Temporal fascia (deep lamina)
- Temporal muscle
- Front belly
- Orbicularis oculi muscle
- Superciliary corrugator muscle
- Cancer muscle
- Medial palpebral ligament
- Minor zygomatic muscle
- Elevator muscle of upper lip and nose wing
- Elevator muscle of the upper lip
- Nasal muscle (transverse portion)
- Nasal muscle (wing portion)
- Depressor muscle of the nasal septum
- Elevator muscle of the angle of the mouth
- Orbicularis muscle of the mouth
- Depressor muscle of the corner of the mouth (sectioned)
- Mental muscle
- Depressor muscle of lower lip
- Submandibular gland
- Sternocleidomastoid muscle
- Trapezius muscle
- Masseter muscle
- Buccinator muscle
- Parotid gland
- Parotid duct
- Adipose body of the mouth
- Greater zygomatic muscle
- Occipital belly
Features
Having a loose bond with the periosteum of the skull bones , the epicranial fascia is, on the contrary, very well attached to the scalp, so it can slide together with it, as a result of contraction of the frontal or occipital muscle .
When the epicranial fascia is fixed by the occipital belly, the frontal belly raises the eyebrows in an arch and forms transverse folds in the forehead. The auricular muscles (lateral belly of the epicranial muscles) in most people are developed so weakly that their action is almost nil. The vestiges of it in man are a classic example of rudimentary organs . As is known, people able to move their ears are observed with very little frequency.
According to another wording of the PNA, the auricular muscles constitute an independent group of muscles located around the ear; the other two bellies of the epicranial muscles, frontal and occipital, constitute the occipitofrontal muscle.
Extraordinary muscles
Cancer muscle
The procerus muscle is the muscle of the proud. It begins in the bony dorsum of the nose and in the fascia of the nasal muscle and will end in the skin of the glabella region, continuing in the frontal muscle. It is a depressant of the skin of the mentioned region and causes the formation of transverse folds in the eyebrows.
Orbicularis oculi muscle
The orbicularis oculi muscle outlines the aditum of the orbit, being arranged on its wide peripheral part on the bony edge of the orbit, the orbital portion, and on its central part, the palpebral portion, on the eyelids . A third, small part, the lacrimal portion is still distinguished. The latter is part of the palpebral portion, originating from the walls of the lacrimal sac, which, when dilated, influences the aspiration of tears through the lacrimal canaliculi.
The palpebral portion occludes the eyelids. The orbital portion due to its intense contraction makes the eyes squint . The upper fibers of this portion, due to their isolated contraction, cause the brow skin to drop together with the eyebrows , giving the brows a rectilinear disposition, erasing the transverse folds of the [forehead]. In this sense, it is an antagonist of the frontal belly of the epicranial muscle.
In the orbicularis oculi muscle there is still a small portion, located below the orbital portion, the corrugator muscle of the eyebrows (superciliary) ( corrugator supercilii muscles ).
This portion of the eye socket brings the eyebrows closer together and causes the formation of vertical folds or wrinkles between the eyebrows, a space located above the root of the nose . Frequently, in addition to these vertical folds, short horizontal wrinkles are formed on the eyebrow, located in the middle third of the forehead and conditioned by the joint action with the frontal muscle. This position of the eyebrows is observed in states of suffering, pain, being very characteristic in the expression of serious emotional feelings.
Fig. 5 Muscles of the oral cleft.
Muscles of the oral cleft seen from the inside
Looking at the muscles of the oral cleft from the inside, you get the following:
- 1, 6 nasal muscles
- 2, 3 orbicularis muscles of the mouth
- 4 buccinator muscles
- 5 lip depressor muscles
Perioral muscles
Upper lip elevator ( levator labii superioris muscles ). It begins in the form of a quadrangular lamella at the infraorbital edge of the maxilla, and converging its fascicles, it continues mostly in the skin of the nasolabial fold (Figures 4 and 5).
A fascicle that goes to the wing of the nose is detached from this muscle, which is why it received the independent name of the levator labii superioris and the nose wing muscles ( levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscles ). By contracting this muscle , the upper lip rises, deepening the nasolabial sulcus ( suclus nasolabialis ) and pulling the wing of the nose upward, widens the nostrils (nares).
Minor zygomatic
The zygomaticus minor muscle begins in the zygomatic bone and attaches to the nasolabial fold, deepening it with its contraction.
Greater zygomatic
The zygomaticus major muscle ). It extends from the lateral aspect of the zygomatic bone to the lip commissure and in part to the upper lip. It pulls the angle of the mouth up and laterally, causing the nasolabial fold to intensify. With the contraction of these muscles, the face becomes smiling and therefore the zygomaticus major muscle is preferably a laughing muscle.
Risorio muscle
The risorius muscle is made up of a small transverse bundle. It begins in the parotid and masonic fascia and is directed towards the angle of the mouth ; often this muscle does not exist. Extend your mouth during laughter ; in some people, as a result of the insertion of this muscle into the skin of the cheeks , a small fossa forms on the side of the lip during its contraction.
Mouth Angle Depressant
The depressor anguli oris muscles constitute a triangular muscular lamina that begins at its base at the lower edge of the mandible , lateral to the mental tubercle. Due to its vertex, it is inserted into the skin , near the corner of the mouth and upper lip. It is a depressor of the angle of the mouth and converts the nasolabial fold into a rectilinear one. The descent of the corners of the mouth gives the face an expression of sadness .
Mouth angle elevator
The levator anguli oris muscles are quadrilateral, located below the elevator of the upper lip and the greater zygomaticus, it begins in the canine fossa of the maxilla (that is why it was previously called canine muscle), below the infraorbital hole and is going to insert into the lip commissure. It is an elevator and adductor of the lip commissure.
Lower lip depressor
The depressor labü inferioris muscle is located directly on the bone . It begins at the edge of the jaw , constituting a prolongation of the platysma, and going obliquely it will insert into all the skin of the lower lip, reaching the free edge of it. Pull the lower lip down and somewhat laterally, as seen, for example, in the mime gesture of disgust.
Mental muscle
The mentalis muscle is one of the most powerful mimic muscles. Part of the alveolar eminence of the lower incisors and canines and will be inserted into the skin of the chin . It raises the skin of the chin forming small pits as well as the lower lip, compressing it against the upper one.
Buccinator
The buccinator muscle appears as a large quadrilateral muscle layer, which forms the lateral wall of the oral cavity, being in direct contact with the mucosa of the mouth .
It begins in the alveolar process of the maxilla at the level of the first molar and continues backwards, up to the pterygoid process, then descends along the pterygomandibular raphe ( raphe pterygomandibularis ) (fibrous ligament extended between the pterygoid hook and the buccinator crest of the mandible ) and continues along the buccinate crest and the lateral wall of the alveoli of the molars, going forward, up to the corner of the lips. At the level of the second upper molar, the muscle is crossed by the parotid duct (ductus parotideus).
The external face of the buccinator muscle is covered by the oropharyngeal fascia, to which the fatty body of the cheek (Bichat) is applied . The action of the muscle consists essentially in expelling the contents of the buccal vestibule to the outside, for example, the air when playing a wind instrument , from where the name of those muscles comes (buccinator muscles, trumpet muscle).
Orbicular of the mouth
The orbicularis oris muscle is located in the thickness of the lips , forming a circle or crown around the oral cleft. The muscle fibers, in both the upper and lower lip, run from the lip corners to the midline, where they interlock with the homologous fibers on the opposite side.
A multitude of fascicles of neighboring muscles are associated with the muscle. As the peripheral portion of the orbicularis muscle contracts, the lips thicken moving forward, as in the kiss ; If the portion below the red lip edge contracts , the lips come into intimate contact, folding inward, causing the red lip to disappear.
The mouth orbicular , located around the mouth, serves as a sphincter, that is, a muscle that closes the oral cleft. In this sense, it is an antagonist of the radial muscles of the mouth, that is, of the muscles that start from the orbicular region as divergent rays and that act by opening the mouth (levator muscles of the upper lip and of the buccal angle, lip pressors lower and buccal angle, etc.).
Perinasal muscles
Nasal muscle
The nasalis muscle is weakly developed, partially covered by the elevators of the upper lip. It begins in the maxilla, in the alveolar eminences of the upper lateral incisors, immediately subdividing into three parts: transverse portion ( pars transversa ), alar portion ( pars alaris ) and depressor muscle of the nasal septum (depressor septi nasi muscle ).
The most lateral portion, the transverse portion, rises towards the dorsum of the nose in its cartilaginous portion, continuing in a tendinous lamella that joins the homonymous lamella on the opposite side; By contracting it depresses the cartilaginous part of the nose. The wing portion, muscle of the wing of the nose, constitutes a short portion that goes to the nasal wing, causing it to descend as it contracts, which is why it is called the depressor muscle of the nasal septum.
Head fascia
The epicranial fascia (Fig. 4) covers the calvaria, in its lateral parts it thins considerably until it forms a loose fibrous lamella, below which the dense, shiny temporal fascia extends, covering the homonymous muscle , beginning with up the timeline. Below, this fascia is inserted into the zygomatic arch unfolding into two sheets of which the superficial one adheres to the external face of the arch, and the deep one to its internal face. A space filled with fatty tissue is delimited between both sheets.
The temporal fascia converts the temporal fossa into an osteofibrous receptacle that contains the temporal muscle and a certain amount of adipose tissue. The masseter muscle is covered by the maseteric fascia ( masseteric fascia ), which wraps around the muscle and inserts above the zygomatic arch, below the edge of the jaw, and behind and in front of the branch. Backwards and, in part, on its anterior face, it is related to the parotid fascia (parotid fascia ), which forms the capsule of said gland .
There are no fasciae in the facial region, since the mimic muscles are located directly under the skin . The only exception is the buccinator; This muscle is covered at the back by the high-density oropharyngeal fascia, which later becomes lax, fusing with the cheek tissue ; behind it adheres to the pterygomandibular ligament, continuing with the connective tissue that covers the pharyngeal muscles . | https://notesread.com/head-muscles/ |
Asked in US Constitution
What are the rights duties and responsibilities of an American citizen?
Answer
Wiki User
08/20/2012
The rights and duties of a citizen are to be a good citizen and abide the laws in the Constitution. You have to support and defend the Constitution, serve the country when required, participate in the democratic process, respect and obey federal, state, and local laws, respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others, and participate in your local community. The rights that you have are you can vote in federal elections, serve on a jury, bring family members to the United States, obtain citizenship for children born abroad, travel with a U.S. passport, run for federal office, keep and bear arms, and become eligible for federal grants and scholarships.
Being a citizen of the US comes with a lot of great responsibilities. A few are Paying attention to what is happening in the world, Voting, paying taxes, speaking up for what you believe, education, volunteering, have faith in what the people have chosen, obey the law, adapting to new things or laws, jury duty, and for some being in the military is a big one. There are plenty more than that, but I would have to say that paying attention and voting are the two most important by far. Voters are who pick the people that run the country you live in. If voters don't know what is happening or who can fix it, their uneducated vote could change the future. It is all about the responsibilities of the citizens.
Obeying all the city, state, and national laws
Paying all your Taxes
Jury Duty (when needed)
Serve as a Witness on jury
Register for the Draft when you turn 18
Vote
defending the nation
A American citizen votes in local, state and national elections but this is NOT required. They also abide by the laws of the state and nation. They agree to defend the nation, when called to do so.
Obey the laws
Pay taxes
Serve on jury (linked to Taxes)
Attend school (State Laws)
Defend the country; Join service
You can vote for the politician of your choice and have full participation in United States democracy. Remember, as a voter, the politicians will listen to you.
As a U.S. citizen, you are eligible for all state and federal jobs, and other jobs where U.S. citizenship is required.
You can protect yourself from government policy changes that target non-citizens, such as welfare and Supplemental Security Income.
Unlike other immigration papers, you never have to renew your citizenship certificate.
If you become a citizen before your children turn 18, in most cases they also become citizens and receive benefits that all citizens are entitled to.
You can help more of your family members come to the United States.
You can petition for your parents, married children, and siblings whether they are married or single, and fiancés. In most cases the unmarried children of U.S. citizens get permanent residence faster if the parents are citizens than if the parents are permanent residents.
Finally, you have the privilege of traveling in and out of the United States more freely and you enjoy the benefits of holding a U.S. Passport.
"If you're going to be involved in government in the United States, citizenship is a must. To be a Senator or Representative, you must be a citizen of the United States. To be President, not only must you be a citizen, but you must also be natural-born. Aside from participation in government, citizenship is an honor bestowed upon people by the citizenry of the United States when a non-citizen passes the required tests and submits to an oath." | https://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_rights_duties_and_responsibilities_of_an_American_citizen |
Q:
How to change the counter of problems or questions and solutions to start from any number?
I have a homework. The problems chosen by the lecturer are often not in arithmetic sequence so I have to change the problem counter (and its solution counter) manually.
\documentclass[preview,varwidth,border=12pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{exsheets}
\SetupExSheets
{
solution/print=true, % default false
}
\begin{document}
\begin{question}
How to change the counter of problems or questions and solutions to start from any number?
\end{question}
\begin{solution}
I don't know the counter name!
\end{solution}
\end{document}
A:
\setcounter{question}{99}
You could guess it is question or it may be documented or you could look in the log where every counter allocation is logged:
\c@question=\count146
| |
2nd Administrative Reforms commission in its 12th report entitled "Citizen Centric Administration-the Heart of Governance" has recommended for making government organisations transparent accountable and citizen friendly. To achieve this objective the "seven steps model for citizen centricity" has been documented by the department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances(DARPG), Government of India as "Sevottam" framework meaning "Uttam-Seva" or Service Delivery Excellence. Sevottam is a continuing journey to revamp and refurbish our public service delivery mechanism to a level of excellence desired by the citizens. It incorporates e-Governance solutions, capability building of public servants and partnership with social groups to achieve transparency and accountability .With this object in mind, DARPG has designed the Sevottam framework as an assessment tool of the public service delivery. Accordingly, it has established Sevottam Cells in Administrative Training Institutes of most of the states including Haryana. The proposed Sevottam framework is a commitment to raise the standard of public service, enhance the customer's satisfaction, provide effective and efficient services besides bringing a continuous improvement in its services and delivery process. This model basically has three modules - Citizen's Charter, Public Grievance Redress Mechanism and Service Delivery Capability.
Citizen's Charter is a written declaration by a government that highlights the standard of service delivery that it subscribes to, availability of choice for consumers, avenues for grievance redressal and other related information. In brief, it is a set of commitments made by a department regarding the standard of services provided by it. Thus, Citizen's Charter is intended to empower the citizens by enabling them to demand committed standards of services and avail remedies in case of non-compliance by the service provider organisation/department. The basic thrust of the charter is to make the public services "citizen Centric" i.e. demand driven rather than supply driven.
Grievance has been defined as an indignation or resentment arising out of a feeling of being wronged. It is an expression of dissatisfaction made to an organisation related to its services. It includes complaints by the service recipients against the non delivery of the services in a standardised manner. It is a protest against the denial of the due. Many a times it results in to contempt against the service provider and sometimes leads to the social unrest as well.
Grievance Redressal Mechanism is a process set up by the organisation to receive, record, investigate, redress, analyse, prevent or take any appropriate action in respect of grievances lodged against them.
Capability building is the process of training and equipping the individuals with the knowledge, skill and preparedness that enables them to perform effectively and promptly. The goal of capacity building is to enhance the ability to evaluate and address the crucial needs and aspirations of the public in an efficient manner. It is a long term, continuing process in which all the functionaries of the service providing department/organizations, stakeholders and NGOs participate to make the process of service delivery transparent, people friendly and effective.
The Seven Steps to Citizen's Charter in Sevottam are - define all services which a department provides and identify clients; set standards and norms
for each service; develop capability to meet the set standards; perform to achieve the standards; monitor performance against the set standards;
evaluate the impact through an independent mechanism and continuous improvement based on monitoring and evaluation results.
Seven Steps to Grievance Redress System in Sevottam are-well established system of receipt of grievances; convenient for all users and its wide publicity; timely acknowledgement; time norm for redress; communication of action taken on redress; platform for appeal and analysis of grievance prone areas for making systemic improvements. | https://hipaco.in/sevottam/aboutus.php |
The Iran UD3 based neutron trigger story seems to suggest the following. China used such a trigger to generate neutrons for its early nuclear weapons programme. It would seem that China then passed an early nuclear design over to Pakistan. This would, of course, have included an integrated design for an entire nuclear weapon. We know that China passed on such info to Pakistan and that in turn the AQ Khan network would have passed along some, if not all, of that info on to Iran (and Libya).
In commentary on the UD3 story a nifty little photo of AQ Khan in front of a blackboard showing a crude schematic of a nuclear weapon is depicted. In the photo you will see that a UD3 neutron initiator is depicted at the centre.
This has attracted a lot of attention for its suggests a design heritage for an Iranian bomb; from China to Pakistan and from Pakistan to Iran via the AQ Khan network.
However, let’s take a look at that photo again. You can see it at the ISIS analysis on the UD3 story and at a blog post at the ArmsControlWonk
See the reference to UD3? It’s hard to miss.
What I would like you to focus on is something else. Look at AQ Khan. Actually, look at what he is holding. He is holding a soccer ball (football; I don’t know how Americans can get away calling NFL “football”).
Why a football?
As the ACW explains
…AQ Khan graces the cover, holding a soccer ball (which is basically the size and configuration of the shell of high explosives in a nuclear weapon), standing in front of a blackboard showing a nuclear weapon diagram. The most shocking detail is the notation “Uran Deuteride Initiator.”…
Wiki has a good little discussion on this
…The Fat Man bomb had two concentric, spherical shells of high explosives, each about 10 inches (25 cm) thick. The inner shell drove the implosion. The outer shell consisted of a soccer-ball pattern of 32 high explosive lenses, each of which converted the convex wave from its detonator into a concave wave matching the contour of the outer surface of the inner shell. If these 32 lenses could be replaced with only two, the high explosive sphere could become an ellipsoid (prolate spheroid) with a much smaller diameter…
There might be a bit of a contradiction in all these leaks about Iranian weaponisation.
I am referring to two-point implosion. Global security.org has a good little primer on two-point linear implosion. The football reference here is to what Americans call a “football”.
…The two ends of a cylinder, or an ovoid, could be driven toward each other to create a high-density sphere. This two-point detonation greatly reduced the diameter and the weight of the primary.
A linear implosion allows for a low density, elongated non-spherical (football shaped) mass to be compressed into a supercritical configuration without using symmetric implosion designs. This assembly is accomplished by embedding an elliptical shaped mass in a cylinder of explosive. The explosive is detonated on both ends, and an inert wave shaping device is required in front of the detonation points. Extensive experimentation was needed to create a workable form, but this design enables the use of Plutonium as well as Uranium…
For two-point spherical implosion, which is actually more relevant, see the link to Wiki above.
It has been alleged that Iran has a two-point implosion based weaponisation programme.
The Guardian had a good story on Iran and two-point implosion
…The UN’s nuclear watchdog has asked Iran to explain evidence suggesting that Iranian scientists have experimented with an advanced nuclear warhead design, the Guardian has learned.The very existence of the technology, known as a “two-point implosion” device, is officially secret in both the US and Britain, but according to previously unpublished documentation in a dossier compiled by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iranian scientists may have tested high-explosive components of the design. The development was today described by nuclear experts as “breathtaking” and has added urgency to the effort to find a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis…
…Documentation referring to experiments testing a two-point detonation design are part of the evidence of nuclear weaponisation gathered by the IAEA and presented to Iran for its response…
The Guardian also notes
…The first implosion devices, like the “Fat Man” bomb dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, used 32 high-explosive hexagons and pentagons arrayed around a plutonium core like the panels of a football. The IAEA has a five-page document describing experimentation on such a hemispherical array of explosives…
If the UD3 story is true, that Iran might have resumed an active weaponisation programme, then the two-point implosion story might be false. This is because this story basically alleges that Iran is working on a nuclear weapon initially designed by the Chinese and handed down to Pakistan which in turn was handed to Iran.
AQ Khan is holding a football/soccer ball (the number of panels in the actual Chinese design is irrelevant).
That’s not two-point implosion.
Perhaps Iran has dabbled with both and has given two-point implosion away as being too risky. Perhaps Iran is using a UD3 trigger for its own design based on two-point implosion or perhaps the two-point implosion story is false.
If the latter, then at least one of the documents much discussed in the context of Iranian weaponisation is baloney.
As matters currently stand we are in no position to determine which of these possibilities is correct. | http://scisec.net/the-iran-ud3-neutron-trigger-story-and-two-point-implosion/ |
Every user wants the best performance out of his computer system. But unfortunately not everyone has enough money to frequently invest in new hardware. The objective of this post is to share the best tip on how to make your computer faster without upgrading your hardware. No matter if you own an older PC running Windows XP or a new Desktop, Laptop or Notebook with Windows 7 or Windows 8, this tip is equally effective. All you need is to learn how to keep your computer system optimized for maximum speed and performance.
Why Do Computers Slow Down?
Many computer users believe that a computer system slows down with age. But in reality, a computer slows down with weight. The most common factors that make your system heavier and lead to a slower PC performance include; the clutter (junk files) that comes with new software that you install, additional programs which run at startup and updates from different software e.g. Windows and Antivirus programs. Another common reason that slows down a computer is the inappropriate system settings that users apply without knowing the consequences.
How to Increase Computer Speed?
In order to maximize the speed of your computer you need to use your system responsibly. Make it a habit to regularly delete all the junk files that are unnecessarily occupying the system memory. Keep eagle eye on the programs that automatically run at startup. Defrag your hard drive. Install a reliable antivirus program that consumes lesser system resources. It is also a good idea to occasionally run Chkdsk to fix any errors on your computer’s hard disk.
Of course it is absolutely possible to perform all these tasks manually. But you need to be an advanced PC user with many free hours every week in order to keep your computer running faster. If you are someone like me, I hope you will prefer to automate the PC maintenance process to concentrate on more important things. | https://plaintips.com/how-to-make-your-computer-faster |
Denver Water is Colorado’s oldest and largest water utility, but that does not mean it is living in the past. In fact, the organization is forward-thinking and proactive, according to media spokesperson and PRSA member Jose Salas. Salas says Denver Water employees have been leveraging technology to conduct business long before COVID-19 became an issue. That’s why, when it made the decision to move any employees with the ability to work remotely to full-time remote work in early March, the company was able to quickly and effectively do so without interrupting business.
It was no small feat, but the IT team got over 50% of employees set up to work fully remote within a matter of days, while still supporting the needs of the utility’s many remote sites that continued to operate. Thanks to systems and practices already in place, Denver Water staff who normally work together in an office setting were well-equipped to work remotely. The health and safety of employees was the number one factor in this decision, Salas says. Safe and healthy employees are vital for the public utility to continue providing high quality water to the residents of Denver and surrounding areas.
With the first priority taken care of, Salas and the Denver Water communications and public affairs team had their work cut out for them. The two major challenges they faced as the COVID-19 situation unfolded were assuring customers of continued water safety and engaging employees without in-person contact.
“We knew that the water quality would not be affected,” says Salas. “Our normal process would take care of any bacteria or viruses, including COVID-19. But we needed to continually reassure our customers.”
Denver Water’s primary external messaging - through channels such as its website, blog, and social media - switched from regularly scheduled topics to stories that emphasized the work being done to provide uninterrupted access to high-quality drinking water to customers.
From the employee side, Salas says one of the biggest changes has been maintaining effective communication from leadership while many employees are in a remote setting. Prior to COVID-19, in-person communication played an important role throughout the organization. Now, the communications team must find new ways to engage with workers who have access to technology all day and those who don’t. Another challenge was finding a balance between operational updates and communications about the health and well-being of employees and their family members—without overwhelming employees as well as their inboxes. So, while communication has become more frequent it also has become clearer and more concise than ever before.
One positive impact from the shift to a more remote workforce has been seen in employee engagement through distributed storytelling. Instead of having a member of the public affairs team travel to report and record stories from the field, they now rely on employees across locations and roles to capture media and share what’s happening with the rest of the company. Salas says his team requests specific types of content from the rest of the workforce and then receives photos, videos, and stories back electronically.
“Employees enjoy seeing their contribution in the final product, plus it’s a fun process for the company, and now everyone has more insight into what Public Affairs and Communications functions do here,” states Salas.
Denver Water provides a great example of what proper planning can achieve. Although a global pandemic may not have been on their list of likely crises, Salas says the utility has long been preparing for any number of situations that could interrupt their workforce and service. Thanks to their commitment to crisis communications and business continuity planning, Denver Water has been a true success story during the switch to remote and socially distanced work.
Salas notes that the added flexibility in his role, for example, being able to conduct interviews via Zoom, has been a positive. On the flip side, one of the cons has been dealing with the large variety of preferred video conferencing platforms when dealing with media and other contacts outside of Denver Water.
So, as the world enters its fourth month of lockdown, quarantine, and limited in-person interaction, customers of Denver Water can rest assured that their faucets will keep running with the same high-quality drinking water they’ve come to expect. Because, while not much can be considered “business as usual” during these times, Denver Water can proudly claim that is exactly what its customers will get. | https://prsacolorado.org/blog/id/219 |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
TECHNICAL FIELD
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This patent application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/472,511 filed on Mar. 16, 2017, entitled “Wearable Cardiac Defibrillator With Separable ECG Acquisition Features,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.
The disclosed subject matter pertains generally to the area of medical devices, and more specifically to the area of wearable cardiac defibrillators.
Some people, such as those who have had a myocardial infarction (MI), are at increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). But for a number of reasons, they may not be considered good candidates for implantable cardiac defibrillators. For example, those who have had an MI are not good candidates for a period of time after recovering from the MI.
To address that concern, special devices have been developed to service a patient either until the patient can receive an implantable cardiac defibrillator (if that is intended) or if the patient cannot receive an implantable cardiac defibrillator. These special devices are referred to as wearable cardioverter defibrillators or sometimes wearable cardiac defibrillators (“WCDs”). A WCD is typically implemented as a unitary garment, such as a harness or vest, that the patient wears. The WCD includes electronic components, such as a defibrillator and electrodes, integrated within the garment.
When the patient wears the WCD, the electrodes make electrical contact with the patient's skin, and therefore can help detect the patient's heart rhythm. In this way, the WCD monitors the electrocardiogram (ECG) of the patient. It can sense if the patient appears to be experiencing an SCA. If a shockable heart arrhythmia is detected, the defibrillator delivers an electric shock to the patient, hopefully eliminating the arrhythmia and returning an adequate heart rhythm.
For reasons that should be apparent, accurate detection of an SCA is an important aspect of the effectiveness of the WCD. The downside of delivering an unnecessary defibrillation shock to a patient is exceeded only by the downside of not delivering a necessary defibrillation shock.
Improvements to wearable cardioverter defibrillators are constantly being sought by those skilled in the art.
This disclosure is directed to a superior wearable cardioverter defibrillator. Embodiments provide one or more remote sensors (e.g., ECG electrodes) that are separable from the rest of the WCD system, which holds the defibrillation electrodes on the body and may also hold a preamplifier for the electrodes. This feature enables ECG electrodes (or other physiological sensors) to be more securely affixed to the patient's body without adversely affecting the patient's desire to don the rest of the WCD.
In certain embodiments, an additional separate component may be provided to keep the main electronics module in close proximity to the elements secured to the WCD garment. In certain embodiments, signals from ECG electrodes could be sent wirelessly or via a wire to either a preamplifier or the main electronics module of the WCD.
Generally stated, this disclosure is directed at improvements in monitoring a patient's condition (e.g., electrocardiogram) for an extended period of time in the application of a wearable cardiac defibrillator (WCD). This disclosure begins with an overview to describe, generally, aspects of several of the embodiments as distinguished from existing WCD technology. Next is a description of one example of a medical device that may be used in specific embodiments. Finally, unforeseen benefits realized by embodiments of the disclosure are discussed.
Overview of the Disclosure
Much has been learned in the pursuit of a superior WCD system. For instance, an important aspect of successful use of a WCD is the patient's compliance in continuously wearing the WCD except, for instance, while bathing. Existing WCDs use a single garment on which are mounted ECG electrodes, defibrillation electrodes, and Analog Front End (AFE) electronics. While the garment should keep the defibrillation electrodes in contact with the body, the main purpose of the garment is to hold the ECG electrodes in place against the body with sufficient pressure while minimizing the motion of the electrode on the skin. A single garment designed to hold the defibrillation electrodes and the AFE along with the ECG electrodes must be larger and stiffer than that required to hold the ECG electrodes alone. Both the size and stiffness work against minimizing motion of the ECG electrodes as well as keeping consistent pressure on them.
In addition, the single garment requires the ECG electrodes to be removed from the body every time the patient removes the garment. This results in poorer ECG signal quality because the signal quality is usually compromised during the first 10-30 minutes after the ECG electrodes make contact with the body. Finally, it is highly unlikely that a single garment system could be designed that could be worn while bathing. The electronics would be difficult to be made water proof and the garment material itself would need to be dried after bathing. Furthermore, a single garment is likely to cover large areas of the torso thus preventing normal bathing. Thus the current art has several disadvantages which result in decreased comfort for the patient, more alarm conditions the patient must deal with, and reduced utility since it must be taken off during bathing.
The disclosed embodiments overcome these deficiencies by separating the ECG electrodes from the rest of the WCD. In short, a WCD garment is provided that holds a substantial portion of the components of the WCD system (e.g., the defibrillator and defibrillator electrodes), and a separable component is provided which houses sensors, such as ECG electrodes. The WCD garment and the separable component are in detachable communication such that ECG signals collected by the ECG electrodes are delivered to components on the WCD garment. The WCD garment and the separable component may be either in wired or in wireless communication.
The present disclosure can be implemented in many different embodiments. Several illustrative embodiments will now be described in conjunction with the associated drawings, which form a part of this disclosure.
Description of Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator
FIGS. 1A and 1B
FIG. 1A
FIG. 1B
FIGS. 1A and 1B
FIG. 1
together provide a conceptual diagram generally showing components of a medical device that may be adapted to implement embodiments of this disclosure. In this particular example, the medical device is a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) system. is a front view of the WCD system; and is a rear view of the WCD system. may be collectively referred to as “.”
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FIG. 1
A patient , who is ambulatory, is shown in . Patient may also be referred to as “wearer,” since the patient wears at least some components of the WCD system.
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FIG. 1
One component of the WCD system is a garment that is wearable by patient . The garment acts as a support structure for several of the other components of the WCD system. The garment is a semi-rigid wearable element sufficient to support and contain at least some other components of the WCD system. The illustration shown in is provided merely to describe concepts about the garment , and is not to be construed as limiting how garment may be implemented in various embodiments, or how it is worn.
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Garment can be implemented in many different ways. For example, it may be implemented as a single component or as a combination of multiple components. In some embodiments, garment includes a harness, one or more belts or straps, etc. In such embodiments, those items can be worn around the torso or hips, over the shoulder, or the like. In other embodiments, garment includes a container or housing, which may be waterproof.
FIG. 1
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As shown in , the WCD system includes an external defibrillator , defibrillation electrodes , and electrode leads which couple the defibrillator to the defibrillation electrodes . In many embodiments, defibrillator and defibrillation electrodes are supported by garment . In other embodiments, defibrillator may be supported by an ancillary article of clothing, such as the patient's belt.
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The WCD system may also include a monitoring device (e.g., monitor ) to monitor the patient , the patient's environment, or both. In many embodiments, the monitor is coupled to one or more sensors, such as electrocardiogram electrodes. Using those sensors, the monitor detects criteria upon which a shock/no-shock decision can be made.
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In certain embodiments, monitor is implemented as a component of the defibrillator . In other embodiments, monitor may be implemented as a stand-alone monitoring device supported by the garment or perhaps worn separately, such as on the patient's wrist or belt. In such cases, monitor may be communicatively coupled with other components, which are coupled to garment . Such communication can be implemented by a communication module, as will be described below.
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Optionally, the WCD system may include a fluid that can be deployed between the defibrillation electrodes and the patient's skin. The fluid can be conductive, such as by including an electrolyte, for making a better electrical contact between the electrode and the skin. Electrically speaking, when the fluid is deployed, the electrical impedance between the electrode and the skin is reduced. Mechanically speaking, the fluid may be in the form of a low-viscosity gel, so that it does not flow away, after it has been deployed. The fluid can be used for both defibrillation electrodes , and sensing electrodes .
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The WCD system is configured to defibrillate the patient by delivering an electrical shock (sometimes referred to as a pulse, defibrillation shock, therapy, or therapy shock) to the patient's heart through the patient's body. When defibrillation electrodes make good electrical contact with the body of patient , defibrillator can administer, via electrodes a brief, strong electric shock through the patient's body. The shock is intended to go through and restart the patient's heart, in an effort to save the life of the patient .
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In accordance with this disclosure, embodiments further provide remote sensors, such as ECG electrodes, which are in operative communication with the defibrillator . The remote sensors provide the defibrillator with physiological information upon which the shock/no-shock decision can be made. In further accordance with this disclosure, these remote sensors are either separate or separable from the garment .
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FIGS. 2-4
In most cases, the garment is worn over the remote sensors (e.g., the mechanism that supports ECG electrodes). show illustrative embodiments of remote sensors without the outer garment in place.
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FIG. 3
FIG. 4
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Turning now to , a supporting band around the patient's midsection or torso may be used. In such an embodiment, ECG electrodes (or other physiological sensor) may held in place by the supporting band . Turning to , ECG electrodes , may have an adhesive which is compatible with long term wear by the patient . ECG electrodes , may be implemented with built-in wireless capability so that the ECG electrodes , can communicate with defibrillator wirelessly. shows another embodiment using individual wired ECG electrodes which would be connected to the outer garment through ECG leads.
FIG. 2-4
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The examples illustrated in are conceptual and demonstrate the general concept that remote sensors may be implemented that are separable from the main outer garment of the WCD system. This feature enables the WCD system to achieve certain unforeseen benefits, as will be discussed below. It should be appreciated that the particular number of remote sensors illustrated in is for purposes of disclosure only. Alternative embodiments are envisioned with any number of remote sensors without materially deviating from the teachings of this disclosure.
Electronic Components of the WCD
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In the interest of complete disclosure, reference is now made to certain electrical components of a typical WCD system according to this disclosure. Turning to , functional components of one illustrative WCD system , in accordance with these teachings, are shown. Generally stated, the core operative components of the WCD system include a defibrillator and a remote sensor . Each of those components will now be described, followed by a brief overview of the operation of the WCD system.
Defibrillator of the WCD System
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The defibrillator of the illustrative WCD includes at least a processor, a power source, an energy storage module, and a discharge circuit. The processor may be implemented as a digital and/or analog processor, such as microprocessors and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs); microcontrollers; software running in a machine; programmable circuits such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Field-Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAAs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), any combination of one or more of these, and so on.
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The processor may include, or have access to, a memory that may be either volatile, nonvolatile, or some combination of the two. Computer executable instructions may be stored in the memory . The instructions generally provide functionality by defining methods as may be disclosed herein or understood by one skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. The memory may be implemented as Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory, any combination of these, or the like.
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The power source may be any type of electrical component sufficient to provide power, such as a battery. Other types of power source could include an AC power override, for where AC power will be available, an energy storage capacitor, and so on. Appropriate components may also be included to provide for charging or replacing power source .
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The defibrillator may additionally include an energy storage module . Energy storage module is where electrical energy is stored temporarily in the form of an electrical charge, when preparing it for discharge to administer a shock. Energy storage module can be charged from power source to the desired amount of energy. In typical implementations, module includes a capacitor, which can be a single capacitor or a system of capacitors, and so on. In some embodiments, energy storage module includes a device that exhibits high power density, such as an ultracapacitor.
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The defibrillator component also includes a discharge circuit . When the processor determines that a shock is appropriate (as described below), the processor instructs the discharge circuit to discharge the electrical charge stored in energy storage module to the patient. When so controlled, the discharge circuit causes the energy stored in energy storage module to be discharged to defibrillation electrodes , so as to cause a shock to be delivered to the patient.
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In accordance with this disclosure, defibrillator also includes a communication module configured to enable communication with remote components. In certain embodiments, communication module includes a wireless communication facility to enable wireless communication between the defibrillator and remote components. Examples of wireless communication that may be enabled include 802.11 (WiFi) communication, Bluetooth communication, Near Field Communication (NFC), infrared communication, or the like.
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In other embodiments, communication module includes a wired communication facility to enable wired communication. In such embodiments, defibrillator may include a communication port through which the wired communication may be effected. Examples of such wired communication may include a universal serial bus connector (e.g., USB-C, micro-USB, mini-USB, USB-A, or the like), a coaxial connector, an Ethernet connector, a 12-lead connector, or the like.
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The communication module enables the defibrillator to receive input data from remote sensors. In this way, the processor may receive sensory input data upon which it can base a shock/no-shock decision. In one specific example, communication module enables wireless communication between a remote ECG sensor attached to the patient. In this way, the remote ECG sensor (e.g., remote sensor ) can be more securely attached to the patient while remaining in operative communication with the defibrillator . Similarly, a detachable wired connection could be made between the remote ECG sensor and the communication module to obtain a similar benefit.
Remote Sensor of the WCD System
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The remote sensor is another component of the WCD system . The remote sensor includes at least a sensor circuit and a communication module . The communication module of the remote sensor may function similar to the component of the same name described above (i.e., communication module ). In other words, the communication module of the remote sensor may enable either wired or wireless communication between the remote sensor and the defibrillator (or any other component of the WCD system ).
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In wireless embodiments, the remote sensor may further include a power source and a remote processor . In such embodiments, the remote processor is configured to control and manage the operation of the several components of the remote sensor and to cause physiological signals to be transmitted from the remote sensor to the defibrillator . In wired embodiments, both power and processing capability may be provided to the remote sensor from the defibrillator over the wired connection. Of course, the use of a wired connection does not foreclose the inclusion of a processor, or a power supply, or both on the remote sensor .
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In many embodiments, remote sensor is operative to sense one or more physiological conditions of the patient, such as the patient's heart rhythm. In such embodiments, the remote sensor may be implemented, for example, as a wireless ECG electrode or sensor which can be securely affixed to the patient. In certain embodiments, Analog Front End (AFE) electronics may be included as part of the remote sensor and transmit the data wirelessly to the main electronics module (e.g., defibrillator ).
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Sensor circuit may be implemented as an ECG electrode as has been stated repeatedly. However, sensor circuit may alternatively be implemented as one or more of various other sensors. Examples of such alternative sensors include mechanisms for monitoring the patient's blood oxygen level, blood flow, blood pressure, blood perfusion, pulsatile change in light transmission or reflection properties of perfused tissue, heart sounds, heart wall motion, breathing sounds and pulse. Examples of such sensors or transducers include a perfusion sensor, a pulse oximeter, a device for detecting blood flow (e.g. a Doppler device), a sensor for detecting blood pressure (e.g. a cuff), an optical sensor, illumination detectors and sensors perhaps working together with light sources for detecting color change in tissue, a motion sensor, a device that can detect heart wall movement, a sound sensor, a device with a microphone, an SpO2 sensor, and so on.
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The sensor circuit may alternatively or additionally include a position detector . Such a position detector can be configured to detect a location or movement of the patient. Such a position detector can be implemented in many ways as is known in the art, such as, for example, an accelerometer, a GPS location sensor, or the like. Environmental parameters may also be monitored, such as ambient temperature and pressure. Moreover, a humidity sensor may provide information as to whether it is likely raining. Still other sensor circuits may be implemented which detect many other environmental criteria, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
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Embodiments of the remote sensor may be implemented in many ways. For instance, remote sensor may be implemented as a monitor that adheres directly to a patient's body, such as is shown in . Alternatively, remote sensor may be implemented as a wearable device, such as a smartwatch or other wrist-worn band. In yet other alternatives, remote sensor may be implemented as a component of a mobile device (e.g., a specially adapted cellular phone) which the patient may carry in the hand or, perhaps, in a pocket.
Operation of the WCD System
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FIG. 1
In operation, the patient attaches the remote sensor as appropriate, e.g., adhesively to the patient's upper torso. The patient then dons the rest of the WCD system, such as garment (). As the patient wears the WCD system, the remote sensor of the preferred embodiment constantly provides the patient's ECG information to the defibrillator . In the event that the processor detects that patient's ECG suggests that a life threatening arrhythmia is occurring, the processor may trigger an alarm, providing the patient with an opportunity to override the shock should the patient be conscious and understand that the alarm represents a false positive. In the absence of a terminating signal from the patient, the processor may instruct discharge circuit to discharge the electrical charge that is stored in energy storage module to the patient, hopefully thereby remedying the arrhythmia.
Benefits Realized by this Disclosure
Embodiments of the disclosure enable numerous benefits over existing technologies. Most of these benefits were unforeseen and have resulted in improvements to WCD systems which were not anticipated. Some of the benefits of this disclosure are enumerated below.
Implementations of this disclosure allow relative motion between the larger, heavier outer garment and the lighter-weight ECG electrode mechanism.
Embodiments also allow for placement of the ECG electrodes where the outer garment is unlikely to change the pressure applied to the electrodes. Both of these features result in reduced ECG artifacts due to ECG electrode movement.
With separable remote sensors (e.g., ECG electrodes), more robust attachment mechanisms (e.g., adhesives) can be employed to provide better ECG readings. The improvement in ECG detection and monitoring realized by this feature results in fewer false positives (e.g., alarms being sounded when no life threatening arrhythmia is actually occurring), which results in the patient having greater confidence that the WCD system will in fact operate properly if and when necessary.
The outer garment can be removed without affecting the integrity of the ECG electrode to skin interface. This feature decreases the time required between when the outer garment is put on and good signals are obtained, thereby reducing the amount of time, even slightly, that the patient is at high risk.
Embodiments of the disclosure enable sensors to be used which cover a smaller area of the body. This increases patient comfort and can feel less constricting.
Existing WCD systems require an extensive process for removing the electrodes and electronics before laundering and then re-assembling the system after laundering has been completed. Embodiments of the disclosure allow for the outer garment to be prepared for laundering with a much simpler process. In embodiments that use a wired connection between the WCD garment and the remote sensor, a single connection point allows for ECG electrodes to be more quickly disconnected and reconnected, thus simplifying the laundering process.
Waterproof remote sensors can be used which are more-securely affixed to the patient. of both instantiations thus allowing the patient to bathe with the electrodes in place. The amount of torso covered by the ECG electrodes is minimized allowing the patient more normal bathing practices.
Other embodiments may include combinations and sub-combinations of features described above or shown in the Figures, including, for example, embodiments that are equivalent to providing or applying a feature in a different order than in a described embodiment, extracting an individual feature from one embodiment and inserting such feature into another embodiment; removing one or more features from an embodiment; or both removing one or more features from an embodiment and adding one or more features extracted from one or more other embodiments, while providing the advantages of the features incorporated in such combinations and sub-combinations. As used in this paragraph, “feature” or “features” can refer to structures and/or functions of an apparatus, article of manufacture or system, and/or the steps, acts, or modalities of a method.
In the foregoing description, numerous details have been set forth in order to provide a sufficient understanding of the described embodiments. In other instances, well-known features have been omitted or simplified to not unnecessarily obscure the description.
A person skilled in the art in view of this description will be able to practice the disclosed invention. The specific embodiments disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense. Indeed, it should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that what is described herein may be modified in numerous ways. Such ways can include equivalents to what is described herein. In addition, the invention may be practiced in combination with other systems. The following claims define certain combinations and subcombinations of elements, features, steps, and/or functions, which are regarded as novel and non-obvious. Additional claims for other combinations and subcombinations may be presented in this or a related document.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGS. 1A and 1B
are conceptual diagrams of a wearable cardioverter defibrillator system made in accordance with this disclosure.
FIG. 2
is another conceptual diagram of a patient having remote sensors, which form a part of a wearable cardioverter defibrillator system, affixed to the patient's body.
FIG. 3
is still another conceptual diagram of a patient having remote sensors, which form a part of a wearable cardioverter defibrillator system, affixed to the patient's body.
FIG. 4
is yet another conceptual diagram of a patient having remote sensors, which form a part of a wearable cardioverter defibrillator system, affixed to the patient's body.
FIG. 5
is a functional block diagram generally illustrating components of a wearable cardioverter defibrillator system made in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. | |
The indicator's output is calculated base on mathematical approach.
Calculate Price Speed:
Galileo defined speed as the distance covered per unit of time. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed)
where v is speed, d is distance and t is time. In this indicator we will define d as distance between price series and t is in minute. We use minute instead of second because second is to fast while sometime we found no price movement for minutes. This could be annoying for some peoples.
Calculate Average Speed of Price:
Indicator calculate Average Speed using Arithmetical Mean. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetical_mean)
Equation:
If n numbers are given, each number denoted by ai, where i = 1, ..., n, the arithmetic mean is the [sum] of the ai's divided by n or
in this indicator n is days, a is speed and AM is output of indicator buffer calculated in point/minute.
The Moving Average drawn on the basis of Gauss algorithmThe asymmetry indicator
The indicator which defines the moments when the market becomes asymmetric and there are strong trend changes
The trend indicator drawn on the basis of a comparison of six levels of simple Moving Averages with High and Low of the current candlestickFX_Sniper_Ergodic_CCI
The ergodic CCI. | https://www.mql5.com/en/code/1544 |
BACKGROUND
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
The disclosure generally relates to mobile terminal systems, and more particularly relates to, a dual mode mobile terminal system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Dual mode mobile terminals typically employ two different network standards, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) network and global system for mobile (GSM) network. A CDMA antenna is employed in the dual mode mobile terminal to receive and transmit CDMA signals, and a GSM antenna is employed in the dual mode mobile terminal to receive and transmit GSM signals.
The CDMA antenna and the GSM antenna need to be separately placed in a relatively far distance to obtain high isolation and avoid mutual interference when transmitting CDMA signals and GSM signals. However, in design, the CDMA antenna and the GSM antenna need a large design space in the dual mode mobile terminal, so that it is not conducive to the miniaturization of the mobile terminal, while making the circuit more complex and increasing the design cost.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.
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The drawing shows an exemplary embodiment of a dual mode mobile terminal system , which can be used in various wireless communication devices, such as dual mode dual standby mobile phones. The dual mode mobile terminal system includes an antenna , a switch , a diplexer , a first power amplifier , a second power amplifier , a first communication module, a second communication module, and a baseband chip . The communication modules can be can globe system for mobile (GSM) chips, code division multiple assess (CDMA) chips, wideband CDMA (WCDMA) chips, or time division-synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) chips. In this exemplary embodiment, the first communication module is a CDMA , and the second communication module chip is a GSM chip .
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The antenna is capable of receiving and transmitting wireless signals, such as CDMA signals, GSM signals. In this exemplary embodiment, the antenna can be a dual mode antenna to receive and transmit the wireless signals, which frequency bands are 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, or 1940-1955 MHz.
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The switch can be an analog switch and includes an antenna port , a first signal transceiving port , a second transceiving port , and a signal control port . The antenna port is electrically connected to the antenna to communicate wireless signals with the antenna . The first signal transceiving port is electrically connected to the diplexer to transmit and receive the CDMA signals. The second signal transceiving port is electrically connected to the first power amplifier to transmit and receive the GSM signals.
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In this exemplary embodiment, the antenna port is electrically connected to the first signal transceiving port to receive and transmit the CDMA signals. The signal control port is electrically connected to the first power amplifier to receive a command signal to control the antenna port to selectably connect the first transceiving port or the second transceiving port . For example, when the signal control port receives a logical 1 command signal from the first power amplifier , the antenna port is switched to connect the second transceiving port to receive and transmit the GSM signals.
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The diplexer is capable of isolating the receiving path and the transmission path of the CDMA signals and includes an antenna signal interface , a signal receiver port and a signal transmitter port . The antenna signal interface is electrically connected to the first transceiving port to receive and transmit CDMA signals. The signal receiver port is electrically connected to the CDMA chip ; the signal transmitter port is electrically connected to the second power amplifier . The signal receiver port and the signal transmitter port are isolated from each other to respectively receive CDMA signals from the antenna signal interface and send CDMA signals to the antenna signal interface , which is enabled to avoid signal interference.
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The second power amplifier can be a linear amplifier and is electrically connected to the signal transmitter port of the diplexer and the CDMA chip . The second power amplifier amplifies the CDMA signals from the CDMA chip , which are then transmitted to the diplexer .
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The CDMA chip is electrically connected to the baseband chip and includes a signal receiving pin and a signal transmitting pin . The signal receiving pin is electrically connected to the signal receiver port of the diplexer to receive the CDMA signals, the received CDMA signals are modulated and then are transmitted to the baseband chip . The CDMA chip is further capable of demodulating baseband signals from the baseband chip into corresponding CDMA signals, and then sending the CDMA signals to the second power amplifier .
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The first power amplifier can be a non-linear amplifier and can be integrated with an antenna switch module (ASM). The first power amplifier is electrically connected between the switch and the GSM chip to amplify the GSM signals from the GSM chip . The first power amplifier includes an antenna signal pin , a signal control pin , a signal output pin , and a signal input pin . The antenna signal pin is electrically connected to the second transceiving port to receive and send the GSM signals. The signal control pin is electrically connected to the signal control port to provide a command signal. For example, when the signal control pin outputs and provides a logical command signal for the signal control port , the antenna port is then switched from the first transceiving port to the second transceiving port , therefore, the dual mode mobile terminal system is switched from a CDMA standard to a GSM standard.
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The GSM chip is electrically connected to the baseband chip and includes a signal receiving pin and a signal transmitting pin electrically connected to the signal input pin . The signal receiving pin is electrically connected to the signal output pin to receive the GSM signals, the received GSM signals are modulated and then are transmitted to the baseband chip . The GSM chip is further capable of demodulating baseband signals from the baseband chip into corresponding GSM signals and sending the GSM signals to the signal input pin of the first power amplifier to amplify the GSM signals.
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The baseband chip is electrically connected to the GSM chip and the CDMA chip to respectively receive the baseband signals. The baseband chip is capable of decoding the baseband signals into corresponding audio signals, and is further capable of compiling or synthesizing audio signals into corresponding baseband signals, providing for the GSM chip and the CDMA chip .
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In this exemplary embodiment, since the signal receiver port of the diplexer , the signal output pin of the first power amplifier , the signal receiving pin of the GSM chip and the signal receiving pin of the CDMA chip are electrically connected to each other, whatever the antenna port of the switch is switched to connect the diplexer or the first power amplifier , the GSM chip and the CDMA chip are electrically connected to the antenna . Thus, the dual mode mobile terminal system support GSM network standard and CDMA network standard and can switch to different operation modes to achieve dual-mode function.
FIG. 1
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Further referring to , in use, when the dual mode mobile terminal system works in CDMA network, the antenna port is electrically connected to the first signal transceiving port of the switch to receive and transmit the CDMA signals. The antenna , the switch , the diplexer , the second power amplifier , the CDMA chip , and the baseband chip form a first signal transmission path. The baseband chip converts audio signals into corresponding baseband signals, the baseband signals are modulated by the CDMA chip to generate corresponding CDMA signals. The CDMA signals are amplified by the second power amplifier , and then are transmitted by the antenna though the diplexer and the switch . Due to the signal isolation function of the diplexer , the received wireless signals and the transmitted wireless signals are isolated from each other to avoid interference.
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When the dual mode mobile terminal system works in GSM network, the antenna port is switched to electrically connect the second signal transceiving port of the switch to receive and transmit the GSM signals. The antenna , the switch , the first power amplifier , the GSM chip , and the baseband chip form a second signal transmission path. Because the GSM signals are directly transmitted along the second signal transmission path, and the second signal transmission path is isolated with the first signal transmission path, which is enabled to avoid interference.
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In addition, the dual mode mobile terminal system can also be used in other communication network standards, such as WCDMA network, and TD-CDMA network. Moreover, the second power amplifier can be integrated with the CDMA chip therein.
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In summary, in the dual mode mobile terminal system of the exemplary embodiment, the first (CDMA) signal transmission path and the second (GSM) signal transmission path share the antenna to receive and transmit wireless signals, reducing design space and cost. The signal receiver port of the diplexer , the signal output pin of the first power amplifier , the signal receiving pin of the GSM chip and the signal receiving pin of the CDMA chip are electrically connected to each other, making mobile terminals to be in the dual mode state. Moreover, the CDMA signal transmission path and the GSM signal transmission path are isolated and separated from each other, avoiding interference.
It is to be understood, however, that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the exemplary disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the exemplary disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of exemplary disclosure to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Many aspects of an exemplary dual mode mobile terminal system can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the exemplary dual mode mobile terminal system. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements of an embodiment.
The drawing is a block view of a dual mode mobile terminal system, according to an exemplary embodiment. | |
TucSon Casineros has been together since 2012, started by Virna Fratt and Art Garcia who currently direct the group. The main focus is to build community through education about Cuban dance and culture. TucSon Casineros is a non profit that holds weekly classes and occasional workshops in order to bring world renowned instructors to our dance community. They practice a style of dance called Casino, a partner dance similar to salsa, and Rueda de Casino, a social circle dance. | https://tucsonmeetyourself.org/performer/tucson-casineros/ |
Our intermediate grammar course is designed for learners who want to consolidate or refresh their grammar knowledge at the intermediate level (B1 and B2). The course is also suitable if you are currently in a B2 or C1 course.
Contents of the intermediate grammar course include:
- sentence structure and word order in main and subordinate clauses
- verb tenses, passive voice, subjunctive II
- Noun and adjective declension
- Attributes (nouns, adjectives, relative clauses)
- Complements and indications
We review the rules, clarify open questions and practice systematically and in small steps.
Course extent: | https://unsgermany.de/en/intermediate-grammar-courses-2/ |
In June 2010 one of these birds was recaught, allowing our scientists to download the data collected over the winter months. You can see the route below.
Soon after the bird began its return migration to the UK, the geolocator that it had carried for the previous ten months failed. The bird made it successfully back though, being caught fifty metres from where it was trapped.
Seven of the tagged birds were re-captured but the innovative tracking devices are at the cutting edge of technology and it came as no surprise that though 6 other Nightingales returned with geolocators, these failed at some point on the journey.
Since this amazing piece of research, the tiny tracking devices have improved still further, and halved in weight. As technology improves, increasing possibilities will be opened up to scientists to discover more about our migrating birds.
Related content
BTO goes batty
Through the Endangered Landscapes Programme, scientists using the BTO Acoustic Pipeline to support biodiversity monitoring are making some amazing discoveries. | https://www.bto.org/our-science/topics/tracking/tracking-studies/nightingale-tracking |
There is much variation in the compendiums for this pattern, the original, from Finley's collection called FOLLOW THE LEADER, the simplest (upper right, but without the same variety and dark and light in color and fabrics). THE PERFECT PATCH-WORK PRIMER (1973) by Beth Gutcheon offers perhaps the most complex, including the design illustrated upper left and tiled as a tessellation below — two of the corner squares are removed and the parallelograms overlapping the center alternate between the vertical and horizontal. Gutcheon reflects on the importance of originality in rendering this and other quilt designs, perhaps in conjunction (or opposition) with the pattern's secondary name, FOLLOW THE LEADER (p.64):
"When you first choose a block from a quilt or this book, you see it colored a certain way. It used to be that people followed each other so closely in the use of colors within a traditional block, that frequently the exact same pattern has two different names depending on how the lights and darks are arranged. But you should consider the arrangement of shades in each block as merely examples; changing the quality and placement of colors can change the effect of the block completely, and it is one of the most important parts of the design."
The colors here were inspired by a wild and wonderful stain painting by the abstract expressionist, Helen Frankenthaler, illustrated left, which demonstrates a technique in color harmony of combining "near" complements: that is, combining colors nearly (though not exactly) opposite each other on the color wheel), and often balanced by mitigating neutrals, in this case grey and navy-black. For an interesting book on color combinations in modern art and design, see DESIGNER'S GUIDE TO COLOR (Vol. 3) by Jeanne Allen.
See TUTTI FRUITY, for more on Frankenthaler. Compare with other off-beat designs at this site, including CRAZY QUILT or LEAPFROG, also ENTERTAINING MOTIONS. | https://www.earlywomenmasters.net/quilts/c/crazy_ann/index.html |
Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, has cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids that are essential for bacterial fitness, are antigenic, and could be important in mediating interactions with cells of the eukaryotic host. We show that the spirochetes can acquire cholesterol from plasma membranes of epithelial cells. In addition, through fluorescent and confocal microscopy combined with biochemical approaches, we demonstrated that B. burgdorferi labeled with the fluorescent cholesterol analog BODIPY-cholesterol or 3H-labeled cholesterol transfer both cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids to HeLa cells. The transfer occurs through two different mechanisms, by direct contact between the bacteria and eukaryotic cell and/or through release of outer membrane vesicles. Thus, two-way lipid exchange between spirochetes and host cells can occur. This lipid exchange could be an important process that contributes to the pathogenesis of Lyme disease.
Author Summary
Lyme disease, the most prevalent arthropod-borne disease in North America, is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Cholesterol is a significant component of the B. burgdorferi membrane lipids, and is processed to make cholesterol-glycolipids. Our interest in the presence of cholesterol in B. burgdorferi recently led to the identification and characterization of eukaryotic-like lipid rafts in the spirochete. The presence of free cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids in B. burgdorferi creates an opportunity for lipid-lipid interactions with constituents of the lipid rafts in eukaryotic cells. We present evidence that there is a two-way exchange of lipids between B. burgdorferi and epithelial cells. Spirochetes are unable to synthesize cholesterol, but can acquire it from the plasma membrane of epithelial cells. In addition, free cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids from B. burgdorferi are transferred to epithelial cells through direct contact and through outer membrane vesicles. The exchange of cholesterol between spirochete and host could be an important aspect of the pathogenesis of Lyme disease.
Introduction
Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease , , is unusual among prokaryotes in that in addition to phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol – and many different lipoproteins , , –, it has free cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids in its outer membrane (OM). The glycolipids of B. burgdorferi are mono-α-galactosyl-diacylglycerol (MGalD), which does not contain cholesterol; cholesteryl-β-D-galacto-pyranoside (CGal); and cholesteryl 6-O-acyl-β-D-galactopyranoside, or cholesteryl 6-O-palmitoyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (ACGal/Bb-GL-1), which contain cholesterol , –. The cholesterol-glycolipids constitute a significant portion, 45% , of the total lipid content , , , , –. B. burgdorferi does not have the biosynthetic ability to synthesize cholesterol or any long-chain-saturated and unsaturated fatty acids that are required for growth . As a result, the lipid composition of B. burgdorferi reflects that of the culture medium or host animal fluids or tissues . Furthermore, it has been hypothesized that in addition to the activity of galactosyltransferase bb0454, other uncharacterized spirochetal transferases could be responsible for constructing the cholesterol-glycolipids . Important to the pathogenesis of B. burgdorferi, ACGal, and to a lesser extent MGalD and CGal, are antigenic , –, . These glycolipids induce antibody responses throughout all stages of Lyme disease, being most prominent in the late stages , , , , . Additionally, we demonstrated that antibodies to the cholesterol-glycolipids cross-react with host gangliosides and antibodies to the gangliosides cross-react with the glycolipids , . Borrelia lipid antigens can also be presented in the context of CD1d on NKT cells –.
Using ultrastructural, biochemical, and biophysical analysis, we previously determined that the cholesterol-glycolipids in the OM of B. burgdorferi are constituents of eukaryotic-like lipid raft domains . In eukaryotic cell membranes, lipid rafts are microdomains that are rich in sterols, sphingolipids, and phospholipids with saturated acyl tails that allow for tight packing of these lipids into ordered domains , . These cholesterol-rich domains segregate from the disordered membrane domains that contain mostly unsaturated lipids , . In addition to the enrichment of specific lipids, lipid-anchored proteins such as glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI) proteins and proteins covalently linked to saturated acyl chains are targeted to lipid rafts . Lipid rafts are important for the segregation of plasma membrane proteins –, –, and contribute to endocytosis, exocytosis, vesicle formation, and budding –. Furthermore, lipid rafts have been identified as important platforms in cell signaling .
The presence of free cholesterol and cholesterol-glycolipids with saturated acyl chains in B. burgdorfericreates an opportunity for lipid-lipid interactions with constituents of the lipid rafts in eukaryotic cells. This is of particular interest since B. burgdorferiadheres to many different cell types , . Lipid-lipid interactions could also facilitate the ability of the spirochete to adhere to many different types of cells – and to cellular and matrix proteins –. Furthermore, exchange of lipids between spirochetes and host cells could be important for cholesterol acquisition by the spirochetes, acting as an important nutritional source. Additionally, acquisition of spirochetal antigens by the cells could result in presentation of these antigens in a manner that would be recognized by the immune response leading to a potential mechanism for cellular damage.
The requirement for cholesterol is important for other bacteria. The presence of a cholesterol glucoside in spirochetes was first identified in B. hermsii , an agent of relapsing fever. In addition, cholesterol has been documented in the membranes of Helicobacter, Mycoplasma, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and Brachyspira–. It is unknown whether raft-like structures similar to that in B. burgdorferi form in these other bacteria. However, acquisition of cholesterol from the plasma membrane of host cells has been documented with H. pylori, another prokaryote that has cholesterol in its OM , and this organism associates with cholesterol rich areas of the eukaryotic cells , .
We show here that there is a two-way exchange of lipids between B. burgdorferi and eukaryotic cells and that this exchange is accomplished through direct contact with the spirochete as well as contact with outer membrane vesicles (OMV).Go to:
Results
B. burgdorferi attach to HeLa cells and acquire cholesterol
We first investigated whether B. burgdorferi acquires cholesterol through direct contact with HeLa cells using BODIPY-cholesterol. BODIPY-cholesterol is an environment sensitive, lipophilic probe that only fluoresces in hydrophobic, but not aqueous environments –. When B. burgdorferi were incubated with HeLa cells labeled with BODIPY-cholesterol at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 40∶1, we observed colocalization (yellow) between the BODIPY-cholesterol and B. burgdorferi outer membrane protein OspB on the spirochete and at the point of attachment with the HeLa cell (Figure 1, S1 for additional images). Colocalization of BODIPY-cholesterol and the spirochetes was demonstrated in single 0.5 µm Z-slices and showed the uptake of cholesterol by adherent B. burgdorferi (Figure 1, S1). Furthermore, BODIPY-cholesterol labeling extended outward from the point of attachment along the length of the spirochete (Figure 1, S1). Acquisition of BODIPY-cholesterol is not detected at the start of the experiment (Figure 1, 0 min panels). HeLa cells do not release BODIPY-cholesterol into the supernatant over the course of the 1 hr coincubation (data not shown); therefore, B. burgdorferi most likely acquired BODIPY-cholesterol directly from the labeled HeLa cells and not the supernatant. | https://www.rawchase.com/research-file/lipid-exchange-between-borrelia-burgdorferi-and-host-cells-research-mirror |
INTRODUCTION:
The promise of static analysis is compelling but our most frequently-asked question is, "Where do we start?" Security is a top-of-mind concern, so we are also frequently asked questions such as, “How vulnerable is our software and how do we start to fix it?” This post describes a reasonable starting point and process for understanding your current vulnerabilities and adopting static analysis as part of an ongoing improvement process.
Related:
- Performing a Security Audit with CodeSonar (Video)
- Performing a Security Audit with CodeSonar
- Don’t trust any input! Prevent vulnerabilities from becoming exploits with tainted data analysis
Where to Begin with Static Analysis Tools for Security Audits
As with any automated software tool, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. In the case of discovering a system’s vulnerabilities, a security audit makes sense. This does require some manual homework ahead of time -- for example, if a system doesn’t have a formal threat analysis, it’s a good time to consider doing one. Understanding the threat environment and attack surface of your system is critical in a security audit.
Threat Model and Attack Surface
The probability of a cyber attack affecting a device is a function of both the attack's potential impact and the attack being possible. A threat assessment is performed in order to establish a threat model and attack surface, by looking at the motivations and intents of potential attackers, their possible avenues to attack your system, and the probability of them being successful in that attack:
- Attack sources and motivations - Threats can be insiders, activists, terrorists, criminals, state-sponsored actors, or competitors. Understanding the sources of attacks and their motivations can help you understand the goals of an attack and whether such a group could achieve the attack.
- Roles and privileges of authorized users - Identifying users and their access rights is essential to enforcing a key security principle of least privilege. Limiting access of operational users to prevent dangerous operation or leakage of important data prevents insiders and attackers from gaining more than their privilege level allows.
- Identification of potential electronic attack vectors - Typically, network connections and other peripheral I/O provide intrusion access to attackers. In some cases, the attack vector may be internal from local access to the user interface or local area network. In other cases, access via a wide area network or even the Internet is a possibility.
- Assessing attack difficulty - The loss assessment indicates which services and functions would have the most impact if attacked. The relative difficulty of these attacks must be evaluated based on the attackers and their intrusion vector.
- Assigning a threat metric - It's not possible to foresee every attack, nor is it efficient to attempt to protect against every possible attack. Attacks from outside the defendable network segment, for example, that have a large impact and a low attack difficulty would have a high threat metric. Scoring each combination of source and motivation, attack vector, and attack difficulty is required.
A thorough threat assessment yields an understanding of what external interfaces are the biggest threats for attack. This information pinpoints which interfaces and types of tainted data (from input) allow security vulnerabilities to be exploited. Detecting vulnerabilities in source code, including potenitally hazardous data flows, is particularly well suited to advanced static analysis tools. Knowing which interfaces need to be analyzed (for example, network) helps narrow the scope of the analysis.
Configuring Static Analysis Tools
Advanced static analysis tools such as GrammaTech CodeSonar ship with a set of default warnings and errors. These are the most critical and useful quality and security defects that customers need; however, these are not always the most relevant to an individual case. When performing early security audits, it’s more important to narrow down the analysis in order to create a reasonable amount of errors and warnings for evaluation. This is done by adjusting the following parameters:
- Warning Classes: Most static analysis tools allow for turning on or off checkers and warnings. The default settings are likely not ideal for a security audit. Enabling the key error classes and limiting the non-essentials is recommended.
- Tainted data types: Not all sources of data are potential attack vectors or present in all systems. For example, network sources of data are common for connected devices, but user or file input may not be – the thread analysis and attack surface gained from the previous step is important here. Trimming the analyzed sources reduces false positives and number of reports.
- Uninteresting Code: It’s possible to limit the subsystems to analyze and remove unwanted code from the analysis. The tools don’t understand the intent of the software so trimming the applicable code manually focuses the analysis on key parts of the system.
- Thoroughness versus time: The depth of analysis is sometimes tunable and should be set to the highest settings for a security audit. It’s important that the analysis is as complete as possible before taking action with regard to discovered vulnerabilities.
Narrowing the analysis to the high-priority vulnerabilities is important to provide a first-look at security readiness. These parameters can change over time to provide a more complete audit, as shown below.
Figure 1: A simple process for adopting static analysis tools for security audit and ongoing security improvement.
Analyzing Results
Using the narrowed set of results configured in the previous step, the analysis begins. Prioritizing the results further focuses the work on critical vulnerabilities. For example, buffer overflow errors are likely to be considered more critical than a coding-style warning. Therefore, the recommended approach is as follows:
- Prioritize: Rank the errors in terms of relative priority before analyzing their validity. It’s possible to have false positives in reported errors, but to save time it makes sense to only analyze the highest priority ones first. Lowest priority reports may not need checking at all (meaning they likely should be disabled as above).
- Evaluate: Checking the error reports from the tools in priority order is required at this stage. Serious errors and their corresponding dataflow should be checked in detail. Tools such as CodeSonar provide detailed reports to assist in verifying each error with the ability to mark as false or true and provide annotations as needed.
- Annotate and Report: Most advanced static analysis tools provide reports of each analysis run on the source code. After critical vulnerabilities have been validated and annotated, a source code security audit is ready.
A completed security audit can be used for further risk management, fixing and testing, and for comparison against subsequent versions of the software. It’s critical that static analysis become part of an iterative approach to security improvement.
CONCLUSION:
Static analysis tools are a powerful weapon that helps to improve security, but adopting the tools and creating a starting point for your development team might seem daunting at first. Understanding the aims and goals of your security audit and threat assessment can narrow the focus, making the analysis results relevant and useful. Configuring the tools and prioritizing the results help streamline the audit process, resulting in actionable results. | https://resources.grammatech.com/improve-security/how-vulnerable-are-you-3 |
Published at Sunday, February 09th 2020, 20:53:35 PM by Arnold Klish. sofa table. To add rustic look to your living room add a barn wood sofa table with cross legs. You can also use a barn wood table with metal legs and a wooden foot shelf. Experiment with the look by combining an old wood table top with slightly carved and painted white elegant legs.
Published at Sunday, February 09th 2020, 21:35:01 PM by Perceval Fernandez. sofa table. You need to take informative decision while choosing fabrics for your furniture. If your sofa is used recurrently, you need to choose hard wearing covering. Usually, people avoid choosing velvets or raised patterns as they look old even after few days of use. Upgrade fabrics may be more expensive than the standard ones. Upgrade fabrics look classier as it incorporates a variety of colored weaves, woven closely and more thickly. Some of the tips mentioned below may help you to choose the right fabric for your home interior.
Published at Saturday, February 29th 2020, 00:34:21 AM. sofa antique By Leclerc Charpentier. Add style to your room by adding an antique sofa table to it. Antique furniture is easily available online. In case you want to get one made than go for a table made in polished dark wood with intricate carvings and carved legs.
Published at Thursday, February 27th 2020, 02:50:20 AM. modern chabudai By Arvin Lakin. Analyse your living room theme first, and choose something that can blend with it perfectly. For example, a coffee table that has ornate designs will look odd in a modern styled room where other furniture units have simple and sleek designs.
Published at Thursday, February 27th 2020, 02:49:39 AM. tainoki table By Armon Kitelinger. Before buying a coffee table, you need to think about the purpose of having it. Ponder over the questions like whether you want it to enhance the beauty of your living room or will it serve as storage space for the coffee table books. The more you research on your needs, the better choice you will be able to make.
Published at Thursday, February 27th 2020, 02:49:21 AM. vitra noguchi By Armin Kinderman. Shop for different kind of coffee tables from eFurnitureMart.com at affordable prices. Make sure you also get sofa tables to complement the coffee tables and accentsPsychology Articles, and add just more style appeal to the home decor.
Published at Thursday, February 27th 2020, 02:49:02 AM. rustic coffee By Armin Kinderman. Modern coffee tables are available in various shapes, and each of them has different usage. For example, a round table is perfect for homes that have kids because such table has no sharp corners to bump into and it is perfect for playing indoor games too. Similarly, a long and elongated rectangular coffee table is more practical for serving food and beverages to the guests as it can be accessed easily from all sides.
Published at Thursday, February 27th 2020, 02:48:50 AM. sobro nightstand By Leclerc Charpentier. Moreover, being placed in the expanse between the sofa set and the television, it serves as a focal point of attraction in the living room and therefore has a tremendous impact on the room's decor and ambiance. While a well-crafted and elegant looking wooden coffee table can inject a unique sophistication in the room, a poor choice can make it look drab and ugly. So, you need to be careful while buying it.
Published at Wednesday, February 26th 2020, 02:15:10 AM. aquarium table By Warrane Da. The top surface is of glass these tables look stylish and modern. You can’t place heavy decoration pieces on glass coffee tables. A coffee table is basically designed to place in front of sofa. Coffee table is also known as cocktail table.
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Everyone is creative. Or, creativity is reserved for the special few, for artists. Which is it?
Like most debates, in which the sides are polarized, there is truth in each.
Everyone is Creative
Everyone is creative. You would not be alive without creativity. You use it daily to navigate the unpredictability of life and our world, to create your own life, to solve problems, to get dressed or decorate your home. To envision futures, even to plan vacations.
But not just that.
If you put a piece of paper and crayons in front of any child, who has not been too wounded by others, she will happily make art. And, her art will be original, unique to her. Likewise, any child can—and will, if given a chance—sing, dance and invent remarkable stories, poems and wild ideas with her fertile imagination.
Generally, in indigenous cultures you will find that the entire tribe participates in singing, dancing, drumming and elaborate cultural rituals that involve a great deal of creativity. You don’t hear these people say, “I can’t dance,” for instance.
We all have this capacity. We are all creative. If encouraged in the right way and not hindered, we can all make art of various kinds, art that is original, authentic and interesting. I see this every week in my classes.
Artists Are Special
And yet, artists are also a special breed. We are not all born with the same gifts and talents.
Each of us have our own unique calling and capacities to develop. We have differing levels of innate talent and abilities that then need to be honed. Yes, environment and training play a huge role in this, but there are still significant innate differences.
Just as professional athletes have extraordinary physical capacities, which they have also worked extremely hard to develop, exceptional artists have unusual creative capacities, which they then have to work very hard to cultivate.
One person has a knack for mechanics, another for science, and a third for art. They were not born the same. Their minds, their senses, their hearts do not respond in the same way to life.
Artists see, feel, hear, taste, experience the world differently, acutely and more imaginatively than most people. They make connections many people would never dream of. And they are driven to create.
A Portrait of the Artist
My entire life I have been making art of all kinds.
As a child, I made figures out of clay, sewed clothes for my dolls, arranged elaborate tableaux in my dollhouse, wrote and performed plays with my best friend, played the violin (though no one in my family at the time was musical), took dance lessons, made up songs and wrote stories and poems, among other creative pursuits.
In adulthood, I play music, dance, write, make collages, garden and do graphic design, among other things.
I am obsessed with creativity and happiest when I am making things. If I go for as little as two weeks without making anything, I become depressed and start to feel life is lacking in meaning.
But even beyond that, the way I process new experiences and information is imaginative. I am constantly inventing, making unusual connections between things. The way I think, dress, speak, do most things is artistic. It is hard-wired in me. I am an artist.
It’s Not Either Or
Artists are both born and made.
We are all creative. We can all make art. The immense pleasures and benefits of making art and being creative are available to all and are meant for all in some way. They are a part of our humanness.
And at the same time, those who have a calling to be artists have special gifts, capacities, ways of experiencing, processing and relating. Those capacities can be cultivated and require care and practice to be honed.
Even within those who are called to be artists, there are widely varying levels and kinds of innate talent. Look around and you see that this is true.
We are not made the same.
What This Means For You
We each have gifts to bring forth. We each have unique abilities and ways of seeing and being. Those gifts, that essence of who you are, are valuable and needed. That is why you are here. It is also your key to your joy, passion and fulfillment in life.
And there is nothing wrong—in fact, everything right—in having joyful, creative hobbies, even if you feel you are not born to be an artist. Making art or crafts, being creative, brings so many blessings to a life.
So my recommendation to you is this:
Rather than wasting time wishing you were someone else, find your gifts, whatever they are, and develop them. Cultivate your unique voice, your style, your Self. And also, let yourself have hobbies and pastimes just for fun. Do what you love, follow your dreams.
If you would like insider access to my creative process, projects and journey, join me on Patreon. I share my best things there. And you get loads of rewards. | https://brilliantplayground.com/are-artists-born-or-made/ |
Manages the operation of the service department. Ensures customers’ (internal and external) service and parts needs are addressed in a timely manner. Ensure the workflow in the service department is smooth from the time work is open to the work order is closed. Responsible for the housekeeping of the service department area.
Duties and responsibilities
- Inspect and monitor work areas, examine tools and equipment, and provide employee safety training to prevent, detect, and correct unsafe conditions or violations of procedures and safety policies.
- Investigate accidents or injuries and prepare reports of findings
- Monitor employees’ work levels and review work performance
- Inspect, test, and measure completed work, through the use of hand tools or gauges to verify conformance to standards or repair requirements
- Develop, implement, or evaluate maintenance policies and procedures
- Confer with personnel, such as management, HR, or customers, to coordinate work activities, resolve employee grievances, or identify and review resource needs
- Monitor the condition of the shop to ensure adequate working conditions
- Counsel employees about work-related issues and assist employees to correct job –skill deficiencies
- Recommend or initiate personal actions, to include new hires, promotions, transfers, discharges, or disciplinary measures
- Meet with vendors to discuss products used in repair work
- Review all work orders and timecards
- Answer any service calls as needed
- Listen to customer and employee complaints and find a solution to resolve the issue
- Keep the work in progress report up to date and ensure all work orders are closed within 10 business days after the opening of the work order
- Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with branch and company policies and federal regulations
- Responsible for directing work orders as they come in
- Perform other tasks as required by branch manager and corporate managers
- Analyze work orders for accuracy
Qualifications
Education/Experience
- High School Diploma or equivalent, and
- 2 years of college, preferred, or
- 5+ years of experience
Knowledge
- Mechanical
- Administrative
- Management
- Safety
- Security
- Computers
- Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint)
- Current equipment
- Industry
Skills
- Excellent leadership skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Good critical thinking skills
- Good human capital skills
- Analyzing data
Abilities
- Train employees
- Multi-task
- Motivate employees
- Work as a team
- Work under extreme pressure
- Calculate figures and analyze data
- Resolve any problems in a timely manner
- Interpret instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form
Other characteristics such as personal characteristics
- Commitment to company vision and mission
Travel
While performing this duty, the employee will travel as necessary
Working environment and Physical demands
The work environment characteristics described here representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Working environment
While performing this duty, the employee will be exposed to noisy shop environment. When performing the duties of this job, it is a requirement to wear Personal Protective Equipment whenever necessary.
Physical requirements
While performing this duty, the employee will required to frequently sit, walk, talk, and listen. The employee is required to frequently use hands to fingers, handle, feel objects, or controls, including products we rent, computer, and other office equipment. Employee must often stand, walk, lift, and/or move up to 30 pounds. Appropriate material handling equipment should be used to lift or move items that are heavy or bulky. Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
Other Duties
Please note this job description in not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Direct reports
- Service dispatch
- Service admin
- Technicians
To apply for this job please visit jobs.medleycompany.com. | http://jobs.medleycompany.com/job/service-manager/ |
A phenomenon I’ve noticed among many people, but not all. People are grateful for different things. For instance, when you give them money, a present, or anything that is tangible. Who isn’t thankful about that? I know I am.
There are other types of gifts that you give a person: your time, your ears when they need to talk about their issues, moral support, encouragement, and your presence overall especially during difficult times. Very few reciprocate such actions. They forget that professionals like counselors or therapists exist. You pay them, and they listen. You hope that they can help you figure out issues, whatever those may be.
When a loved one or a friend dedicate time to your problems, that’s called caring. They do it for free without any other thought in mind. Nonetheless, these are the actions the most people turn a blind eye, people forget and are ungrateful about it.
Most people and I’ve been guilty of this one, hear your problems, and they want to give you a solution. “Bam, there you go. Solved!” or they might say, “Stay positive. Everything will work out.” It’s still a great statement because things do get better. However, at times, a person needs you to listen.
I took a few interpersonal communication classes, and I like to read about it in my spare time. I am no expert on the matter. But many people lack interpersonal communication skills; these are key to have healthy relationships of all kinds like at work, school, at home, etc. The skills aren’t about education or being intelligent. All types of people can lack these skills.
Here’s one definition of interpersonal communication skills Interpersonal: “Communication is the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages: it is face-to-face communication.” We convey messages even through non-verbal communications.
Communication is reciprocal. It’s not one avenue. It builds people. I believe that if you dedicate time to friends and loved ones but if they don’t reciprocate, I don’t think this is positive. Loved ones and friends should be present both great and challenging times. But if it’s onesided, it’s probably time to walk away, especially if they didn’t show appreciation for what you’ve done for them because they only see their actions.
There’s a difference between a toxic person and someone who is going through a rough patch. Overall, we need to understand that there’s always room for improvement. We aren’t the holders of truth and perfect actions. Sometimes, we can self-asses.
I’m a big fan of inner reflection and changing negative characteristics and bad habits that harm relationships. Self-love is important. But it’s also important to be empathic to the needs of those we care. It’s simple and complicated at the same. It takes dedicating a bit of time from our busy schedules. Here’s a list for the characteristics of interpersonal communication. I provided the link as well. Thank you.
- Give and collect information.
- Influence the attitudes and behavior of others.
- Form contacts and maintain relationships.
- Make sense of the world and our experiences in it.
- Express personal needs and understand the needs of others.
- Give and receive emotional support.
- Make decisions and solve problems.
- Anticipate and predict behavior.
- Regulate power.
Let me know your thoughts on all this, please. | https://anaprose.com/2018/10/05/interpersonal-communication/ |
Frontiers publishes several of the most cited Open Access journals in the world, and is today one the largest and fastest-growing open-access publishers, receives millions of monthly page views.
“An analysis of Gold open-access journal performance in the 2014 Journal Citation Reports (JCR) revealed that Frontiers journals generated the #1 highest number of citations in the categories of Psychology, Neurosciences, Plant Sciences, and Physiology and the #2 highest number of citations in the categories of Pharmacology & Pharmacy and Microbiology” (Frontiers tops open-access journal).
Frontiers was founded by Henry Markram and Kamila Markram - two neuroscientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland - in 2007, with a vision to:
- empower researchers to take publishing back into their own hands;
- provide impact metrics for articles and researchers;
- make peer-review more efficient and transparent;
- contribute to progress in the direction of Open Access (OA) publishing (with the first OA journal Frontiers in Neuroscience in 2008).
Today the entire content of all present and past journals published on Frontiers, - covering more than 400 specialties across academia in Science, Health, Technology, Engineering as well as Humanities and Social Sciences:
(Source: frontiersin.org)
is immediately and permanently accessible online free of charge and published under the CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and the source are credited.
Frontiers is based on a solid business publishing model (i.e. the standard the gold OA publishing model based on article publication fees), which allows Frontiers to provide immediate OA to entire published content and to ensure the long-term stability of its program.
Article processing charges (APCs) to authors submitting their research works:
|
|
A Type Articles:
Classification, Clinical Trial, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, Original Research, Protocols, Review, Technology Report
B Type Articles:
Case Report, Clinic-Pathological Conference (CPC), Evaluation, Mini Review, Perspective
C Type Articles:
Code, Data Report, Opinion
D Type Articles:
Book Review, Core Concept (Young Minds), Editorial, Field Grand Challenge, Focused Review, Frontiers Commentary, General Commentary, New Discovery (Young Minds), Specialty Grand Challenge.
to Frontiers (see: author guidelines) are among the lowest in OA publishing. Frontiers is striving to maintain this prerogative (see: How to become a Frontiers Institutional Member) so that publication costs do not become an obstacle to publishing, even though waivers are also available.
All contributions of comprehensive Research Topics (over 2,500 topics posted to date) are bound into e-books and Abstract books, past hardcopy issues as well as other academic literature that can be downloaded for free in PDF and EPUB format.
Frontiers OA publishing platform is merged with a dedicated research network platform, Loop highlighting authors and editors with online profiles and direct links to the content and team of their Research Topics, thus catalyzing collaboration and research dissemination. Loop is fully integrated across the Frontiers website and since 2015 also on nature.com, amplifying the discoverability, dissemination, readership and impact for authors and their articles.
Frontiers has also introduced different new and revolutionary concepts to publishing and research networking.
Browse this list: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z of publishing and Frontiers jargon that you may find useful.
All decisions on content are decided by an external Editorial Board (in conformity with Editorial Policies) that is not financially incentivized to accept articles. Review Editors are empowered by requiring unanimous decision making to accept or reject an article; Associate Editors are empowered to accept articles; Chief Editors are empowered to enhance the integrity of peer-review. Frontiers is providing the state of art Digital Editorial Office to all its Editors where they can perform all the operations required to run a Frontiers Journal, completely independently and at any time of the day or night.
The Frontiers collaborative peer-review is centered on objective criteria of the soundness, timeliness and validity of the work presented. In particular, Frontiers:
- reviews are standardized, rigorous, fair, constructive, efficient and transparent;
- includes two review phases: an independent review and an interactive, collaborative phase;
- reviewers and the handling Editor are acknowledged on published articles;
- average time to final decision is 85 days.
By taking OA publishing entirely online, developing new technologies to make peer-review more efficient and transparent, and merging OA publishing with a research network platform Loop, Frontiers “grand vision is to build an Open Science platform where everybody has equal opportunity to seek, share and generate knowledge, and that empowers researchers in their daily work”.
(Source: Frontiers facts)
Recommend Frontiers Institutional Plans to your Librarian by clicking HERE.
Contact Frontiers for more information.
Sources:
Find out more:
Get the latest Frontiers news from Frontiers blog
Watch Frontiers Science Heroes Series
Learn more about Frontiers on Frontiers Vimeo page
Open Access Explained: learn more about Open Access publishing! (video)
Benefits of Open Access Journals (PLOS)
Open Access to science papers will be default by 2020, say European ministers (Frontiers blog)
Fifty shades of open (First Monday)
Related contents on AIMS: | http://aims.fao.org/activity/blog/frontiers-community-rooted-open-access-academic-publisher |
City of York Council said it continues to work closely with its partners as part of the York and North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which includes police and fire services as well as North Yorkshire County Council, Met Office and Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency said the River Ouse has now peaked at around 4.4m.
Both the council and Environment Agency are continuing to monitor this with the river expected to be high for the next day or two.
Residents are urged to stay up-to-date with the latest forecast and river level prediction.
Councillor Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, said: “York remains open for business, with lots to see and do this half-term.
“Our incredible teams are continuing to staff flood defences 24/7 and with our partners we are closely monitoring the situation.
“I also want to thank residents for their patience and support as the city deals with storms on consecutive weekends. Stories of residents helping our frontline workers, thanking them for their work and on occasion offering them tea and biscuits show what a fantastic and welcoming city we are, one which I am proud to live in.
“Whilst this prediction is lower than the peak predicted yesterday, we are continuing to remain vigilant and ask that residents do the same and keep safe by staying away from flood water.”
The Environment Agency river forecasters will continue to monitor the flood situation 24/7 and provide further updates.
Keep up to date with the latest flood warnings and situation in your area here.
This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here | |
Women in Wisconsin and across the country used social media on January 3 to share photos of their traditional Palestinian gowns. It was a celebration of the day that Representative-elect Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) was sworn into the 116th Congress.
Along with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), Representative Tlaib is one of the first two Muslim women to join Congress. She announced last month that she would wear a Palestinian thobe when she was sworn into Congress.
The hand-embroidered gowns are considered one way Palestinian women can show pride for their heritage. The gowns typically represent the city the person wearing the clothing is from.
Susan Muaddi Darraj, a professor and novelist from Maryland, created the #TweetYourThobe hashtag on social media, asking people to share photos of themselves in the traditional garment. She wanted to do something to educate people, while also celebrating Tlaib’s achievement.
“Palestinian-American women all have these thobes. They are given to us by our mothers and are often handed down through families,” Muaddi Darraj explained. “They are worn to very special occasions, weddings, baptisms and graduations, so it’s very appropriate she’s wearing this dress, which her mother gave her, to her swearing-in.”
Congresswoman Tlaib’s decision to wear a thobe on the House floor sparked a wave of social media users to share photos of themselves in the gowns with the hashtag #TweetYourThobe.
Congresswoman Omar will be the first person to wear a hijab or headscarf on the floor after gaining religious exemption from the 181-year-old rule barring hats in the chamber.
Across Wisconsin
Across Social Media
This collection of posts come from Twitter and Instagram, and share the national excitement and solidarity of Palestinian Americans for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. | https://wisconsinmuslimjournal.org/wisconsin-women-join-tweetyourthobe-in-support-of-rashida-tlaib/ |
American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)
The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) is the leading voice on educator preparation. AACTE represents more than 800 postsecondary institutions with educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are ready to teach all learners. As of 2018, College of Education Dean, Kim Metcalf, serves as chair-elect of the AACTE Executive Committee of the Board of Directors.
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
AERA, a national research society, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.
UNLV COE faculty members and students at were proud to present ongoing scholarly activity at the 2020 AERA National Meeting.
American Counseling Association (ACA)
The American Counseling Association is the world's largest organization representing professional counselors in various practice settings. Its mission is to promote the professional development of counselors, advocate for the profession, and ensure ethical, culturally-inclusive practices that protect those using counseling services.
National Organization of Human Services (NOHS)
As the human services profession has grown and developed over the past 30 years, the National Organization for Human Services has always been there. Starting as an organization exclusively for human service educators, our membership — and our mission — now en-compasses educators, students and practitioners. The human services profession makes life better for children, families and the community. We begin by helping individuals solve problems in their lives. Then we work toward helping individuals be prepared to meet their life’s needs. And we look even further — toward making systemic changes so that the entire community is stronger.
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
ASHE is a scholarly society dedicated to higher education as a field of study. Headquartered here at UNLV, the association is committed to diversity in its programs and membership, and has enjoyed extraordinary success in involving graduate students in association activities.
Conference on Academic Research in Education (CARE)
CARE is a juried, national research conference held annually in Las Vegas, NV. The conference provides faculty and students alike ample opportunities to exchange theoretical ideas, share research results, help advance practice, make collaborative connections, and learn from one another's scholarship.
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
The Council for Exceptional Children is a professional association of educators dedicated to advancing the success of children with exceptionalities. We accomplish our mission through advocacy, standards, and professional development.
Ethnographic & Qualitative Research Conference (EQRC)
EQRC is a longstanding national research conference that has become a staple forum for presentations and engagement of ideas in qualitative research. EQRC enjoys a national reputation for quality and distinction in the qualitative research community. The supporting publication, the Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, is subscribed by over 10,000 libraries, worldwide.
Southwest Consortium for Innovative Psychology in Education (SCIPIE)
The Southwest Consortium for Innovative Psychology in Education (SCIPIE) is a professional organization devoted to the study of psychology in education. At the core of SCIPIE are devoted consortium members who maintain leadership roles in educational research around the country. SCIPIE hosts a biennial conference where researchers develop innovative approaches to research. | https://www.unlv.edu/education/community-partnerships/conferences |
Each year Penninghen puts into place a variety of school professional partnerships with companies and renowned brands. This gives students valuable insight into the professional design industry and gives them a chance to take part in real professional design projects.
These partnerships are not considered as design competitions or tenders but represent a real opportunity for students to work in a professional design context with specific educational objectives, these partnerships are regularly renewed. This interactive professional collaboration enables students to understand and develop design concepts in keeping with the client brief; adapting and implementing professionally based work methods while advancing both professionally and personally. Teachers take on the role of Creative Director and Project Manager. Thereby, the school transforms itself into a professional design studio. Discussing the project progress as part of a team, including client feedback, creates a dynamic and positive environment conducive to creativity and productivity. By facing the real challenges involved in a design project, students are able to develop a wide range of techniques and skills and refine their work methods. It’s also an opportunity to expand and apply their know-how and creative style in order to find appropriate and pertinent design solutions.
Project
Project Puissance 3
is an on-going educational partnership
Puissance 3 is an on-going educational partnership where the objective is to gather together students specialised in three ...
Le Mans Driver
Pescarolo
L’Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the largest automotive group in France and famous for being the organising entity behind ...
Exhibition to
The Mois du graphisme
Our 5th year Masters Degree students, mentored by their design professor Michel Bouvet, were invited to participate in the Graphic ... | https://www.penninghen.com/network/partnerships |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for producing a shape memory alloy (SMA) member having a range of specific physical and mechanical properties and more particularly to the control of the physical and mechanical properties by the introduction of predetermined internal stresses into the alloy prior to a predetermined memory imparting heat treatment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A nickel-titanium alloy, such as Nitinol (NiTi) is known to have the ability to recover its original shape when deformed in its Martensite and/or Rhombohedral phase(s), and then heated to the Austenite phase. This characteristic of shape memory alloy is generally attributed to the basic chemical composition of the alloy, processing, and the memory imparting heat treatment.
There are a number of articles which describe the aforementioned characteristic of SMA. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,310,354 and 3,174,851 as well as an article from the Naval Surface Weapons Center entitled "Effects of Stresses On The Phase Transformation of Nitinol" (NSWC TR 86-196 1986) and "Effect of Heat Treatment After Cold Working on the Phase Transformation of TiNi Alloy" Transactions of the Japan Institute of Metals, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1987) pages 83-94.
All of these articles are concerned with the generally known processes for making a SMA alloy. This includes the steps of initially selecting an alloy of a predetermined composition, forming the alloy to a desired shape, and subjecting the alloy to a predetermined memory imparting heat treatment. Even though close control of the alloy's chemical composition and memory imparting heat treatment is maintained, a considerable variation in transformation temperatures has been known to occur. This has generally been attributed to process variables and other unknown factors. This limits the use of SMA alloys in applications where more precise transformation temperatures, and other mechanical and physical properties are sought.
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A “Marxist” refers to those individuals who ascribe to the political and economic theories espoused by the 19th century German philosopher Karl Marx. Marx, best remembered for The Communist Manifesto, wrote that economics had become a struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
There is perhaps, no single definition of Marxism that suffices. Marx believed that economics was the primary driving force in history and that the modes of production were the originator of all social relations. As the modes of production increased in complexity, thanks to the Industrial Revolution, inefficiencies in social organization became manifest in society. These inefficiencies formed the basis of class struggle, specifically the struggle between the workers (proletariat) and the capitalists (bourgeoisie).
Marxists believe that the struggle between classes is ultimately a political struggle. The capitalists, the smaller societal group, eventually end up controlling both the means of production and the surplus of wealth created by labor. Marxists hold that this imbalance will eventually lead to revolution.
Marxism believes that revolution will eventually lead to the establishment of communism, where the workers control the means of production. Communism is ideally, a classless society in which everyone contributes according to his or her ability. Marxism served as the intellectual underpinning of the 1917 Soviet Revolution. | https://www.papermasters.com/marxist.html |
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