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These ideas are unified in the concept of a random variable which is a numerical summary of random outcomes.
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- What is a Probability Distribution?
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- Probability density function
In probability and statistics, a randomvariable is a variable whose value is subject to variations due to chance i. As opposed to other mathematical variables, a random variable conceptually does not have a single, fixed value even if unknown ; rather, it can take on a set of possible different values, each with an associated probability.
The procedure that we have used is illustrated in Figure 7. All we do is draw a random number between 0 and I and then find its "inverse image" on the t -axis by using the cdf. Then Example 2: Locations of Accidents on a Highway.
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A probability distribution is a table or an equation that links each outcome of a statistical experiment with its probability of occurrence. To understand probability distributions, it is important to understand variables. Generally, statisticians use a capital letter to represent a random variable and a lower-case letter, to represent one of its values. For example,. An example will make clear the relationship between random variables and probability distributions. Suppose you flip a coin two times.
In probability theory , a probability density function PDF , or density of a continuous random variable , is a function whose value at any given sample or point in the sample space the set of possible values taken by the random variable can be interpreted as providing a relative likelihood that the value of the random variable would equal that sample. In a more precise sense, the PDF is used to specify the probability of the random variable falling within a particular range of values , as opposed to taking on any one value. This probability is given by the integral of this variable's PDF over that range—that is, it is given by the area under the density function but above the horizontal axis and between the lowest and greatest values of the range. The probability density function is nonnegative everywhere, and its integral over the entire space is equal to 1. The terms " probability distribution function " and " probability function " have also sometimes been used to denote the probability density function. However, this use is not standard among probabilists and statisticians.
What is a Probability Distribution?
Mathematics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people studying math at any level and professionals in related fields. It only takes a minute to sign up. There is no way to be sure what distribution gives rise to your data. First, there is no assurance that your data fit any 'named' distribution. Second, even if you guess the correct parametric distribution family, you still have to use the data to estimate the parameters.
Probability distribution for a discrete random variable. The numbers in the numerators is a set of binomial coefficients. 1 Let X have p.d.f.
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There are two types of random variables , discrete random variables and continuous random variables. The values of a discrete random variable are countable, which means the values are obtained by counting. All random variables we discussed in previous examples are discrete random variables. We counted the number of red balls, the number of heads, or the number of female children to get the corresponding random variable values. The values of a continuous random variable are uncountable, which means the values are not obtained by counting.
Documentation Help Center Documentation. Probability distributions are theoretical distributions based on assumptions about a source population. The distributions assign probability to the event that a random variable has a specific, discrete value, or falls within a specified range of continuous values. Use Probability Distribution Objects to fit a probability distribution object to sample data, or to create a probability distribution object with specified parameter values. Use Probability Distribution Functions to work with data input from matrices.
Associated to each possible value x of a discrete random variable X is the probability P x that X will take the value x in one trial of the experiment. The probability distribution A list of each possible value and its probability. The probabilities in the probability distribution of a random variable X must satisfy the following two conditions:. A fair coin is tossed twice.
Probability density function
Джабба открыл рот. - Но, директор, ведь это… - Риск, - прервал его Фонтейн. - Однако мы можем выиграть. - Он взял у Джаббы мобильный телефон и нажал несколько кнопок.
Домой? - ужаснулся Бринкерхофф. - Вечером в субботу. - Нет, - сказала Мидж. - Насколько я знаю Стратмора, это его дела. Готова спорить на любые деньги, что он. Чутье мне подсказывает. - Второе, что никогда не ставилось под сомнение, - это чутье Мидж.
А я-то думал, что ты будешь это отрицать. - Подите к черту. - Очень остроумно. - Вы болван, Стратмор, - сказал Хейл, сплюнув. - К вашему сведению, ваш ТРАНСТЕКСТ перегрелся.
The Mean and Standard Deviation of a Discrete Random Variable
Это была правда. Банк данных АНБ был сконструирован таким образом, чтобы никогда не оставался без электропитания - в результате случайности или злого умысла. Многоуровневая защита силовых и телефонных кабелей была спрятана глубоко под землей в стальных контейнерах, а питание от главного комплекса АНБ было дополнено многочисленными линиями электропитания, независимыми от городской системы снабжения. Поэтому отключение представляло собой сложную серию подтверждений и протоколов, гораздо более сложную, чем запуск ядерной ракеты с подводной лодки. - У нас есть время, но только если мы поспешим, - сказал Джабба. - Отключение вручную займет минут тридцать. Фонтейн по-прежнему смотрел на ВР, перебирая в уме остающиеся возможности.
Что ж, попробуйте! - Он начал нажимать кнопки мобильника. - Ты меня недооценил, сынок. Никто позволивший себе угрожать жизни моего сотрудника не выйдет отсюда.
ОНА ОТБРОСИТ АНБ НАЗАД НА ДЕСЯТИЛЕТИЯ. Сьюзан как во сне читала и перечитывала эти строки.
Да! - Соши ткнула пальцем в свой монитор. - Смотрите. Все прочитали: - …в этих бомбах использовались разные виды взрывчатого вещества… обладающие идентичными химическими характеристиками. Эти изотопы нельзя разделить путем обычного химического извлечения. Кроме незначительной разницы в атомном весе, они абсолютно идентичны.
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Sociology brief introduction 12th edition pdf statistics for business stine and foster solutions pdf
The distribution function for a discrete random variable X can be obtained from its In Problem what is the relationship between the answers to (c), (d), and. | https://etcc2016.org/and-pdf/1055-random-variable-and-probability-distribution-solution-sets-pdf-697-198.php |
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) letter addressed to the government to sponsor the Law Commission to work with the ICC and its partners to remove all remaining legal obstacles to the digitisation of documentation relating to trade transactions and align UK law with international best practice [UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferrable Records].
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Claude Resources Hits More High-Grade at Santoy Gap
Claude Resources (CRJ.TSX, AMEX: CGR) released a summary of results from its recently completed 2012 drill program at the Santoy Gap, located within the Company’s 100%-owned, 14,400 hectare Seabee Gold Project. The Canadian gold mining company announced that newly released results have extended the mineralized system down-dip to 650 meters depth and along strike to the south toward the Santoy 8 Mine.
Claude Resources also reported that the program has discovered a sub-parallel lens to the Santoy Gap, approximately 150 meters to the east. The latest drill intercepts continue to confirm the high prospectivity of the Santoy Regional Shear Zone, hosting multiple deposits over a three kilometer strike length.
* Claude noted that holes -679 and -677 have outlined a significant high-grade core to the Santoy Gap deposit
Brian Skanderbeg, Senior Vice President and COO of Claude Resources:
“The 2012 drill program at Santoy Gap has yielded a new hanging wall discovery as well as expanded and confirmed resource continuity…We look forward to integrating these results into an updated National Instrument 43-101 resource and the Seabee Life of Mine Plan.”
Following ongoing concerns of hackers interfering with the 2016 Presidential election, President Barack Obama has called for a complete report into hacking efforts that took place during the election cycle.
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Rock am Ring, one of the biggest music festivals in Germany, has been evacuated and suspended for the day due to “concrete indications” of a terrorist threat, local police say. Only few details were immediately available.
The incident happened at around 9 p.m. local time on Friday when police instructed organizers to interrupt the festival. “The circumstances are concrete indications due to which we cannot exclude a possible terrorist threat,” a police spokesperson said.
Police declined to provide specific details about the nature of the threat, adding that an investigation is currently underway. “Safety is the first priority and a threat to festival visitors must be excluded as far as possible, so it was decided to suspend the festival for the day,” police said.
As a result, thousands of people who were attending the first day of the rock festival were evacuated. The event is taking place at the Nürburgring motorsports complex in Nürburg, not far from the border with Belgium and about 96 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Frankfurt.
Security for the event had already been increased as a result of last month’s suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena in England, killing 22 people. About 1,200 security personnel were called up to provide security for the high-profile event.
Other details were not immediately available. | https://www.streetwisejournal.com/rock-am-ring-festival-in-germany-evacuated-due-to-terror-threat/ |
Hippocratic Oath in the general perspective is considered to be the traditional phenomenon of medical professionalism. By its origination, the oath was written to provide a guideline to the medical practitioners in order to generate a certain amount of ethical responsibility among them. The oath was dignified after the name of a well-known Greek physician, Hippocrates (460-380 BC). Notably, the applicability of Hippocratic Oath has been changed largely from that of the past with a wider implication and a more realistic approach. Today, similar kinds of oath are not only applied to the medical practitioners but also to other professions, such as the police, the educators, the politicians and the lawyers who have a defined responsibility towards the society they live in and humanity at large. Conversely, the objective of the oath has not been changed, i.e. to signify the ethical responsibilities of a professional with virtue of his/her duties. This paper will thereby focus on the need and the significance of an oath for the legal professionals.
Hippocratic Oath had been prescribed in the case of medical practitioners in order to build up an ethically responsible behaviour among the professionals. Similarly, the enforcement of taking Hippocratic Oath in the case of lawyers also denotes to confirm the ethical responsibilities of the legal professionals. With a pessimistic viewpoint, it can be stated that such kind of enforcement raises a big question on the professionalism and the truthfulness of lawyers. But on the contrary, with an optimistic and from a more realistic and logical viewpoint, it can be stated that the oath in actual terms can be highly beneficial for the society by reducing the occurrences regarding the misconducts of legal profession. It is worth mentioning that the professional and the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer play a major role in signifying the requirement of a Hippocratic Oath, which is in turn strictly driven by the legal system of a society. The legal systems practiced in the society are enforced with the ultimate objective to ensure the behaviour of the people is against any kind of crime or harm. Whereas, in technical terms these enforced legal systems are the accumulated versions of certain well-defined and specified statements to regulate and control the living of the society. Therefore, the statements need to be re-enforced in the real life practices and accordingly require to be monitored with the aim that the actions of peoples are not against the legal boundaries. Moreover, the actions needs to be judged in-depth as in the practical consequences, it is not always that a person performing actions which are against the legal statements can be termed to be a criminal. For instance, a person who has committed a murder to protect himself in self-defence cannot be termed as criminal. Hereby, it is the duty of the lawyer or the legal professional to prove the real fact. Therefore, the core responsibilities of a legal professional are to increase the efficiency of legal statements and enhance the societies' well-being. To be summarised, it is the professional responsibility of a lawyer to signify the efficiency and the integrity of the legal systems enforced to regulate and control various actions of a society. Therefore, the professional responsibility of a lawyer is of crucial value to the society which raises the necessity of ethical behaviours from the end of the professionals. Notably, the ethical responsibilities of a lawyer depend highly on their professional responsibilities. For instance, according to the rule 1 code of conduct it is stated that one of the core professional responsibilities of a lawyer is to take care of the "best interests of clients" with confidentiality. It also states to maintain integrity in order to justify with the client's trust (Solicitors Regulations Authority, 2009). It is to be noted that the legal statements are considered to be bias-free and equally applicable in the case of each party, i.e. the victim party and the accused party. Consequently, both the parties are eligible to hire a legal representative to preach in their favour. However, if it is realised that the accused party is an offender in real terms, a certain ethical challenge arises for the legal representative fighting the case in favour. In other words, the lawyer in this situation needs to select one single option, i.e. either to save his/her client's interest with confidentiality or to maintain integrity and reveal the truth in the court. Incidentally, both these options state to be against each other though they appear to be justifiable according to the professional responsibility of the lawyer. Similar to the situation mentioned above, there are several other instances where the legal professionals come across and they are required to choose one option, all related to their professional responsibility and ethical responsibility as well. In this milieu, a few relevant real life examples are illustrated in the further discussion.
The occurrences of legal malpractices have attracted various authors and researchers to the issue related to the responsibilities of the attorneys in different parts of the world. Illustratively, the Akzo case, ruled by the European Court of Justice is one of the most recent and indeed the most significant cases to be related with the ethical responsibilities of the attorneys. The decisions concluded by the court in this case states that the level of independence enjoyed by the in-house lawyers is insufficient. On the contrary, the legal systems of England and Wales state that the in-house solicitors are somewhat bound to abide by their professional and ethical responsibilities. This would in turn compel them to blow the whistle against any kind of unlawful practice of their employers. However, there are also certain consequences later if they opt to blow the whistle and speak out the truth without a gauge in terms of employment and legislation (Rothwell, 2010). Followed by several other lawsuits occurring from the medieval period of the legal system in England and Wales, the regulatory body has directed a particular jurisdiction to deal with any and every kind of lawsuits filed against the attorneys by their clients. The body is titled as the Office of Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) presently, and was known as Solicitors' Complaint Bureau until 1996. However, the records of the regulatory body reveal that during 1995 almost 18,966 complaints were registered under several legislative measures, among which over 95% were against the professional and the ethical responsibilities of the lawyers. The statistical data also revealed that almost 27 out of every 100 solicitors were accused (Sherr & Webley, 1997). Furthermore, in spite of downsizing, the numbers of complaints heaped against the legal professionals raised to over 17,000 during 1999 as was filed under the OSS. This was further followed by another major instance when the director of OSS, Mr. Peter Ross was suspended by the Law Society of England and Wales. This was a result of his inscription to the plaintiffs to wait for a year for their cases to be ruled (Verkaik, 1999).
The above represented evidences apparently depict the frequency of legal malpractice under the supervision of Law Society of England and Wales which is indeed a controversial issue regarding the professional and the ethical responsibilities of the lawyers. It is due to this reason that the authority has initiated to educate the future solicitors in terms of morality. To further strengthen the aspect of ethical responsibility among the legal professionals, the implication of Hippocratic Oath is also under discussion. Nevertheless, a certain question raises based on the affectivity of such an oath. To be illustrated, Hippocratic Oath has been in use from ages to regulate the doings of professional practitioners in an ethical manner. However, despite taking the oath there are numerous cases heaped against the malpractices of professional practitioners. This can also be assumed to occur in the case of legal professionals, strongly influencing the appropriateness of the oath. Therefore, it can be stated that only an oath in the introductory stage of a profession, especially the legal profession is not sufficient and requires various other reforms. However, taking such an oath shall stimulate the ethical understanding of the responsibilities of a legal professional and thereby shall prove to be beneficial.
According to my point of view, the requirement of Hippocratic Oath is quite essential to stimulate professionalism within the future solicitors. Of course merely swearing an Oath will not save the legal profession from ethical and moral criticisms levelled against it but it can have the potential to resound with new practitioners entering the profession do the right things morally and ethically. As what I had gained from these tasks, personal values differs from everyone and by swearing a Hippocratic Oath, even with different personal moral views, they should obey what they swear because the oath act as an ethical model to tell what the new lawyers should do or not to do, no matter what is his own beliefs. It is more or less carrying the same doctrines of the code of conduct. And as a professional, he should not betray what he swears to follow. For example, by medical standard it is ethical to treat a soldier from another enemy even though that man was just trying to kill your teammate, because the Hippocratic Oath says it is ethical to do so which non-doctors are not require to do so. Same doctrines apply to legal profession. Due to this reason I would treat Hippocratic Oath as a general ethical guidelines to regulate lawyer therefore I would opt to swear a Hippocratic Oath. But the affectivity is somewhat doubtful with the provided reason that under the legal system of England and Wales, the solicitors require to perform under several pressures. For instance, they have to abide by both their professional and ethical responsibilities which restrict their whistle blowing power and their independence in turn. Considering these facts certain major steps should be initiated to prevent the legal malpractices and ensure the ethical behaviour from the end of the solicitors. | https://samples.edusson.com/analysing-the-requirement-of-the-hippocratic-oath-law-essay/ |
Computers contributed tremendously to the development of human civilization in terms of living convenience improvement, however many health problems may occur to long term computer users, occasionally resulting in death within certain cases. Due to these effects, this study proposes the multifunctional health monitor service, using a blood-oxygen sensor mouse as well as a pressure detection seat cushion to detect the user blood oxygen level and seating posture. Using these sensing design applications that can help the user to offer a long term monitor service for the self-management of users to prevent long term negative effects and solve these societal problems. | https://researchoutput.ncku.edu.tw/en/publications/multifunctional-pressure-and-oxygen-sensoring-health-monitor-syst |
Calligraphy is a unique form of art in the cultural history of the world. Not only used as writing for communication in daily life, calligraphy in China has also long since developed into a comprehensive and independent system of theory and practice. The course of evolution in Chinese calligraphy and its aesthetic criteria has been a subject of attention for centuries. This exhibition presents a special selection of seal script to introduce one particular style in this art form, its changes that have taken place over time, and the different perspectives for its appreciation.
The forms of seal script that emerged in China over the years are many, including ancient writings on oracle bones, bronzes, pottery, tallies, slips and silk, seal faces, coinage, and in stone engravings. Roughly speaking, this style of Chinese calligraphy can be divided in large and small seal script, with writing that appeared before the Qin dynasty unifying the writing system into the third century BCE generally referred to as large seal script. However, clerical script, which had developed and matured between the Qin and Han dynasties, would become the written language of common use. This led to the gradual decline of seal script as the mainstream form of writing, though it was still used for special decorative purposes. Later, starting in the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, running and regular scripts would become the main forms of written communication. And not until much later, in the Qing dynasty, when ancient writing increasingly came to light from excavations, and combined with the influence of pragmatic trends in learning, did calligraphers begin re-investigating the brush methods of seal script in earnest, leading to new developments in this form of Chinese calligraphy.
Even though seal script long ago departed from everyday use in China, it still survives and flourishes today on the basis of its exceptional artistic qualities. The brush methods of seal script may appear simple and the variations of its curving lines limited, but the arrangements and structures of such characters are quite diverse and beautiful. Ranging from squarish to flat as well as irregular forms, seal script remains suitable for use in many mediums. A calligraphy theorist of the Tang dynasty, Sun Guoting (ca. 647-ca. 690), once wrote, "Seal script upholds curving and flowing," identifying two of the obvious and important defining criteria for appreciating it. For seal script to attain a realm of curvilinear beauty and graceful flowing, strokes not only need to have fluidity and body, methods of spatial arrangement must also be accommodated, and only then will the unique aesthetic qualities of seal script be manifest. | https://www.npm.gov.tw/en/Article.aspx?sNo=04011063 |
The programme will deliver vital reforms that strengthen the humanitarian response and ways of working in protracted crisis, maintain the lives and dignity of over 550,000 vulnerable people a year across Sudan and build the resilience of communities vulnerable to conflict and displacement in Darfur.
UK Aid Match allows the UK public to have a say in how an element of the aid budget is spent. DFID will match fund, pound for pound, public donations to appeals made by selected not-for-profit organisations, enabling them to increase their poverty reduction and development work in DFID priority countries.
To tackle Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) also known as Kala –Azar, in South Asia and East Africa, this disease is spread by sandflies and when untreated leads to death in 95% of cases. The programme will increase access to effective prevention and prompt treatment for VL and will accelerate progress towards the elimination of VL in South Asia.
To provide the people of Eastern Sudan with access to sustainable clean drinking water sources, improved sanitation facilities, and hygiene promotion by 2018. This will be achieved by implementing water and sanitation projects in selected rural areas of Gadaref, Kassala and Red Sea States and by designing a comprehensive and feasible plan for rehabilitation and expansion of Port Sudan water and sanitation systems. The programme contributes to the seventh Millennium Development Goal that is to ensure environmental sustainability by reducing the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. 40% ICF funding.
This programme will address the root causes of crisis in Darfur by tackling one of the main drivers of local conflict and poverty – availability of water. Water is scarce and there is competition over its use. This can result in conflict and lead to unsustainable livelihoods, forcing people to migrate to find alternatives. The climate is likely to get hotter and drier, further increasing scarcity of water. The programme will increase the availability of water for drinking and livelihoods for 250,000 people, and will support communities to sustainably manage their water resources for the benefit of all users. This will increase communities’ resilience to the impacts of drought, contributing to more sustainable livelihoods and reducing the risk of conflict, overall improving stability in Darfur and reducing the pressure to migrate. In addition, the programme will improve sanitation and hygiene behaviour, improving the health and well-being of communities. 80% ICF funding.
To improve the capacity of women and men and groups who represent them to collaborate on issues of concern to their communities at the local, state and national level in Sudan
To decrease the prevalence of Female Genital Cutting in Sudan thereby promoting gender equality and empowerment of women (MDG 3). | https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/countries/SD/projects |
COVID Update - 16 May
Kia ora everyone,
Thankfully, our COVID numbers have really slowed so from now on I will only provide updates on a Friday in our regular newsletter. Attendance is almost back to normal for the time of year.
Here's our daily summary:
Total Positive Cases: 105 students and 9 staff members
Current Cases: 4 students
Recovered students back at school: 101
Current Isolating Household Contacts: 2 students
Take care, | https://hail.to/waimate-high/article/OjAaqbJ/accessibility |
Minnesota teachers union renews call for fewer tests
The Minnesota teachers union is aiming to influence the debate over the tests students must take as Congress moves to finish a long overdue rewrite of a federal school accountability law.
The Minnesota teachers union is aiming to influence the debate over the tests students must take as Congress moves to finish a long overdue rewrite of a federal school accountability law.
Education Minnesota was set to release a policy paper Monday at the Minnesota State Fair that renews the union's call for better but fewer assessments given to public school students. It's a change the union has long advocated for and one that has many fans and detractors.
The union's "Testing Better" policy report says less-frequent "grade span" tests would provide plenty of data to hold schools accountable. Regular classroom assessments should be focused on measuring students' higher-level skills and inform teachers' instruction, the report says.
Teachers administer a variety of tests each year. State and federal law requires students from elementary school to high school take Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments, or MCAs, in math and reading and science each spring.
Results of those exams are used to rate schools and identify those that are succeeding and struggling. This year's MCA scores were stagnant.
Education Minnesota President Denise Specht said public education has become too focused on high-stakes tests that eat up classroom time and distract teachers and students from focusing on deeper academic skills.
"The toxic testing approach is really narrowing curriculum," Specht said. "Let's talk about better assessments that look at higher-level skills.
We need to be working on more than just filling in bubbles."
Specht added that student artwork and robotics projects on display at the State Fair Education Building are perfect examples of important curriculum that often gets overlooked. "There is learning displayed at the Fair that is never measured by standardized tests," she said.
Supporters of annual proficiency testing argue that without regular measures of student academic achievement, Minnesota would not know the extent of its persistent achievement gap between poor and minority students and their classmates.
"The MCAs are the best evaluation of how kids are doing relative to our standards," said Jim Bartholomew, education policy director of the Minnesota Business Partnership. "People want more quality information about how their kids are doing, not less."
The debate over the place of standardized testing will surely heat up this fall as Congress begins work to finalize a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law. The legislation, signed by George W. Bush in 2002, ushered in an era of annual proficiency tests for school accountability.
Educators found a requirement of the law that every student reach grade-level proficiency by 2014 unrealistic, and Congress has been unable to update the legislation for years. The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed different versions of a rewrite this summer, and they head to conference committee with widespread hope of a deal.
The Minnesota Legislature just had a heated debate over testing during the last legislative session. Gov. Mark Dayton has long been a critic of what he says are excessive standardized tests and pushed for a reduction similar to what union leaders want.
The idea was rejected by the U.S. Department of Education and Minnesota Republicans. Instead, lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal to incrementally reduce the exams the state requires while continuing annual MCAs.
Specht says now is the time for the next step. Educators need to speak up and encourage state and federal lawmakers to fix what she says is an obsession with standardized tests.
The teachers union created the Educator Policy Innovation Center to give classroom teachers more of a say in policy decisions, she said.
"We've seen too many policy debates are being shaped by people who don't work in schools," Specht said.
Liz Proepper, a teacher at Bay View Elementary in the Proctor school district, helped write the "Testing Better" report. She said educators have much better assessment tools at their fingertips than the MCAs.
"They show us things the MCAs are just blind to," Proepper said.
She added that schools now spend so much time time focusing on academic skills that can be easily measured that they spend less time on other important skills like collaboration and creative problem solving.
MCA supporters downplay the rigidity of annual proficiency tests. They say the consistency they offer is a good thing because it gives historic, longitudinal data about student achievement.
"Consistency is something we have struggled with," said Al Fan, executive director of Minnesota Comeback, a nonprofit working to improve education in the region. "That is what we need in education, so we can make plans, set goals and measure progress." | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/minnesota-teachers-union-renews-call-for-fewer-tests |
By Tina M. Zottoli, Tarika Daftary-Kapur and Besiki Kutateladze
On Nov. 9, Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a program requiring the New Jersey attorney general to record and analyze data on all adult defendants adjudicated in New Jersey.
Coming on the heels of other recent criminal justice reforms in the state, the new law is being heralded as groundbreaking in scope and potential. In addition to defendant and victim race, ethnicity, gender and age, the law requires the collection of information on case processing decisions and dispositions, including information about plea negotiations — a process that, unlike a trial, is typically hidden from public scrutiny. Tracking these data over time should help policymakers identify and remediate racial and economic disparities in the system, as well as enhance community safety and build trust.
As social scientists who work on criminal justice issues, we welcome its passage. We also recognize, however, that its success will depend on more than just progressive ideals.
To ensure the promises of the law are fully realized, robust planning is necessary to create a realistic timeline to implement it — one that takes into account the deficiencies in the current infrastructure. In addition, the state must be committed to adequate and sustained funding to build the infrastructure, establish data collection practices, and train prosecutors to connect data to their decisions, including support for a competent and experienced team dedicated to these functions. Finally, we encourage the state to invest in partnerships with local research scientists to facilitate planning and to aid in the analysis, synthesis and interpretation of data.
The state of Florida provides a cautionary tale. Florida’s Criminal Justice Data Transparency Law, enacted in 2018, mandated the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to collect and make publicly available similar data on all misdemeanor and felony cases in the state.
The law was heralded as the most transparent in the country and, much like New Jersey’s new law, as a blueprint for the nation. Unfortunately, the FDLE was not equipped for the task, nor was this ambitious undertaking sufficiently planned or funded. As a result, to date, there is no infrastructure in place to collect, organize, store and disseminate statewide data in the state of Florida.
However, Florida has seen some successes at the local level. Working with a research team at Florida International University, and with funding from the MacArthur Foundation, the Jacksonville and Tampa prosecutors offices will soon launch Florida’s first public-facing dashboards to track a set of empirically supported prosecutor performance indicators. In addition to partnering with researchers to plan and develop the data collection systems, the prosecutors’ offices are leveraging these relationships to build stronger ties with the local communities.
In New Jersey, the justice system is centrally organized and the data-reporting systems across prosecutors’ offices are more compatible than those in states where prosecutors are elected at the county level and where offices have not adopted common metrics or standards. This is an advantage that points to a high likelihood of success for New Jersey’s data law, if planned and implemented effectively.
While New Jersey prides itself in its top-tier universities, researcher-prosecutor partnerships are rare. We encourage the state to look at the local-level success achieved in Florida and leverage its own resources to ensure the success of this groundbreaking legislation and make it more than a just set of lofty goals.
Tina M. Zottoli is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at Montclair State University.
Tarika Daftary-Kapur is an associate professor in the Justice Studies Department at Montclair State University.
Besiki Kutateladze is an associate professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department of Florida International University.
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There are four phases of the Data Life Cycle: planning, implementation, assessment, and reporting. The Data Life Cycle illustrates how data are generated and used.
In the
planning
stage, prospective data users decide what type, quantity, and quality of data will be needed to serve their needs.
The planning stage begins with the Data Quality Objectives (DQO) Process, a systematic planning process based on the scientific method that helps investigators define the problem to be investigated; the constraints and limitations of the investigation; and the type, quantity, and quality of the data needed. Investigators also use the DQO Process to develop a sampling design for collecting the data. The outputs of the DQO Process and the resulting sampling design are documented in the
Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP)
. The QAPP also details the management authorities, personnel, schedule, policies, and procedures for the data collection event. Where possible, the QAPP incorporates Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which ensure that data are collected using approved protocols and quality measures. Some
sample QA materials
are provided. It is useful to include random spiked samples with field samples as a form of routine testing of laboratory QA/QC; you want to know how well the laboratory performs when you haven't told it you are doing a QA check!
In the
implementation
stage, data are collected according to the methods and procedures documented in the QAPP. During the data collection event, technical assessments (TAs) are conducted to assess whether or not data are being collected as stated in the QAPP; these assessments also generate QA/QC data that accompany the results during the assessment phase.
In the
assessment
stage, analysts use technical knowledge and statistical methods to determine whether or not the collected data meet the user's needs. The data are verified and validated to ensure that the measured values are free of gross errors due to procedural or technical problems. Investigators may then analyse the data using the
Data Quality Assessment (DQA)
Process, which determines whether or not the data meet the user's performance criteria as stated in the outputs of the DQO Process. Next, investigators examine the results of the DQA Process and develop scientific conclusions to the problem.
In the
reporting
phase, the data collected by the study are reported with all the relevant quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) data so that decision makers can judge the quality of scientific information available to support their decisions. Reporting also helps the future users of the data determine whether and how these data might be applied to additional studies or in different contexts.
More information on data handling is provided in:
Quality assessment and control for environmental sampling
Provides some practical guidelines and background for sampling quality assurance and quality control.
Principles of environmental sampling. | http://monitor2manage.com.au/ecms/home/pages/common/show-story10df.html?story_id=6830 |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to garments, and in particular to an active wear garment having detachable hood, sleeve, and pants portions.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
There have been disclosed a number of garments which are intended to provide convenient and comfortable clothing for exercise and other activities. As described below, however, there remains a need for a garment which is more stylish and more adaptable to different types of activities.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,601,066 describes a garment having built-in warming wraps disposed at the extremity portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,996 discloses a garment having a trouser portion releasably attached to a jacket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,682 describes a convertible jacket having a sleeveless vest that is detachably connected to an upper, sleeved component.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,546 discloses a resilient exercise suit having reinforced portions which give resistance to provide exercise.
In general, these and other inventions have not provided a garment which is adaptable to different types of weather and to different exercise activities. In particular, the prior art garments have not provided a clothing which can be conveniently and fashionably converted between various levels of covering, ranging from a full- body garment to a "shorts-and-T-shirt" configuration. The present invention provides such a garment, having both functional and aesthetic advantages over the prior art active-wear inventions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an improved garment, suitable for use in a variety of exercises and other activities. The invention comprises upper and lower body coverings having detachable hood, collar, sleeve, and leg portions. The components of the garment can be attached and detached to create an outfit most suited to the conditions of any particular activity.
The invention may be manufactured in a variety of fabrics, depending on the tastes of the wearer and the intended uses for the garment. The upper portion of the invention includes a sleeveless, vest- like component having attachment means at the neck, sleeve, and collar regions. The attachment means preferably consist of strips having both snap and hook-and-loop type closures. The upper portion also comprises sleeves, a hood, and a collar, each of which has an attachment strip with closures, providing a means to attach the components to the vest portion. The sleeves are further segmented, having upper and lower components detachably connected by the means described above. The sleeves may thus be converted between long and short sleeve versions, or else removed altogether.
The lower portion of the invention comprises a pants portion having detachably connected leggings. The pants portion preferably has an adjustable, drawstring-type waistband. The leggings further have zippered openings on the sides thereof, to provide ventilation and comfort.
The invention further has detachable design strips of various colorations, providing the wearer with a means to alter the look of the garment to fit individual tastes. In use, the invention provides a garment which is readily adaptable to a variety of uses and aesthetic configurations.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved garment.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a garment which is adaptable to suit different weather conditions, exercise activities, and individual tastes.
It is still further an object of this invention to provide a garment which is stylish, inexpensive, comfortable, and convenient.
It is still further an object of this invention to provide a garment having detachable sleeves, leggings, hood, and collar portions.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become fully apparent from the detailed description below, when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the present invention having all the detachable components thereof attached together to form a full body covering.
FIG. 2 a perspective view of the components of the present invention with some of the components detached.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary view of the preferred sleeve attachment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the invention having detachable, decorative strips attached thereto.
FIG. 5 is a view of two of the detachable collars that can be used with the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention having detachable, decorative strips attached thereto.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of one of the detachable, decorative strips.
FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of another of the detachable, decorative strips.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, the garment of the present invention 1 may be seen in FIG. 1 comprising a vest 2, a lower pants portion 3, sleeves 4, leggings 5, a hood 6, and a collar 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the components of the invention 1 may be attached together to form a full body covering. As shown best in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 taken together, the sleeves 4, hood 6, and collar 7 are detachably connected to the vest 2, and the leggings 5 are detachably connected to the pants portion 3. The sleeves 4 are also segmented at 4c, providing for short 4 and long 4e sleeve configurations. Thus, a variety of garment configurations may be created by attaching and detaching the various components of the invention 1 by the means described below.
As shown in FIG. 3 the arm opening of the vest 2 and the sleeve 4 each have fastening strips 2a, 4a sewn on the margins thereof. The fastening strips 2a, 4a preferably are constructed from hook-and- loop type closure material, more commonly known by the trademark VELCRO hook and loop fasteners. The fastening strips 2a, 4a may be sewn or otherwise securely fastened to the vest 2 and to the sleeve 4. The fastening steps 2a, 4a further have a plurality of snap fasteners 2b, 4b mounted thereon. As depicted by the directional lines in FIG. 3, the upper edge of the sleeve 4 is detachably connectable to the arm opening of the vest 2, the snap fasteners 2b, 4b and the fastening strips 2a, 4a coming together to form a seam between the sleeve 4 and the vest 2.
The hood 6, collar 7, and leggings 5 are attached to the vest 2 and the pants 3 by the same means described immediately above. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, taken together, each of these components 2-7 has disposed on the margin thereof a fastening strip constructed from hook- and-loop closure material. The fastening strips are also provided with snap fasteners identical to those described above. The hood 6 and collar 7 may thus be detachably connected at the head opening of the vest 2, and the leggings 5 may be similarly attached to the lower pants portion 3 at 3a.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the leggings 5 and the sleeves 4 have zippered openings 4c, 5c extending partially down either side thereof. The zippered openings 4c, 5c provide a means to give ventilation and flexibility to the wearer's legs and arms. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the vest 2 also has a zippered opening 2c extending down the front thereof.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the hood 6 and pants portion 3 are preferably provided with drawstring closures 3c, 6c for tightening the components to fit the particular wearer. As depicted in FIG. 4, the sleeves 4 preferably are provided with elastic cuffs 4d. Of course, the hood 6, pants 3, and sleeves 4 may be provided with either elastic openings or drawstring closures, and these or other adjustable closures may be used without departing from the scope of the invention.
As shown in FIGS. 5, the collar 7 may be constructed as a standard, folding collar such as that seen on a dress shirt. It may also be constructed in a turtleneck version 7c. The turtleneck collar 7c would preferably be constructed from thick, flexible material capable of being rolled up and down.
FIG. 4 depicts the present invention having decorative stripes 8 (only one of which is shown) detachably connected to the vest 2, sleeves 4 and the leggings 5 at the areas designated 9 in FIG. 4. The stripes 8 are preferably connected by hook-and-loop closure means, but they may also be connected by snaps or other suitable means without departing from the scope of the invention. The stripes 8 could be variously colored, affording the wearer the ability to easily and quickly change the stylistic arrangement of the garment.
FIG. 5 depicts another embodiment of the present invention having decorative strips 8' (only one of which is shown) detachably connected to a jacket which has cuffs 4d' and detachable sleeves which detach at 2a. The strips can also be attached to the pants which have pockets 11 and have legs that are detachable at 3a. The stripes 8' are preferably connected by VELCRO hook-and-loop fastener means 14, but they may also be connected by snaps 12 or other suitable means without departing from the scope of the invention. The stripes 8' could be variously colored, affording the wearer the ability to easily and quickly change the stylistic arrangement of the garment.
In FIG. 6, only one stripe is shown, but the location of other stripes are shown by the dotted lines 10. Each stripe may be provided with an integral pocket 13 that may be closed by a flap or a zipper, which is shown on stripe 8" at 16 in FIG. 8.
As shown in FIG. 6, the stripes on the jacket are positioned under epaulets 15 which are secured to the jacket by fastening means such as, but not limited to, VELCRO hook and loop fasteners 14. The epaulets 15 will help to secure the stripes 8' to the jacket.
The components of the invention 1 may be made from a variety of fabrics using traditional cut and sew techniques. A thicker, waterproof material may be preferable for winter activities, whereas a thinner, more ventilated fabric would be preferable for summer activities. The invention may be constructed inexpensively by using a "serger" or "overlock" machine, which can stitch seams, trim excess fabric, and overcast raw edges in one operation.
The article's construction also requires the use of numerous stitching processes. A few of these methods and techniques are commonplace and easily understood by all. Easestitching is a technique used to join a longer fabric edge to a slightly shorter one. This technique is similar to the type used for gathering, but there should be no folds or gathers visible on the outside of the article once the seam is stitched. Edgestitching is a technique forming an extra row of regulation-length stitches appearing on the outside of a bag. It is placed approximately 1/8" (3 mm) or less away from a seam-line or a fold- line, or close to a finished edge. This type of stitch is similar to a topstitch but is less noticeable because it is closer to the edge and is always performed in matching thread.
Reinforcement stitching is a technique for strengthening the stitching areas that will be closely trimmed, such as comers or along deep curves that will be clipped or notched at frequent intervals. The basic premise is that a shorter stitch length is used.
Staystitching is a line of regulation stitching preventing curved or bias edges, such as necklines, shoulders and waistlines, from stretching out of shape as they are handled. Staystitching requires a regulation length stitch of one half inch from the cut edge of the fabric.
Stitch-in-the-ditch is a technique which allows a quick way to hold layers of fabric in place at the seams. It is an effective way to secure neckline, armhole, or waistband facing as well as fold up cuffs.
Topstitching is a technique forming an extra row of stitching on the outside of the bag along or near a finished edge. Although topstitching is usually added as decoration, it can also be functional. Understitching is a technique forming a row of stitching which prevents an inside layer of fabric, usually a facing, from rolling to the outside of the bad.
Understitching is performed after the seam allowances are trimmed, graded and clipped or notched.
Seams are the backbone of a finished manufactured product. A seam is basically a line of stitching that joins two or more layers of fabric. Seams are stitched on the seam line. The seam allowance is the distance between the seam line and the cut edge. There are several types of seams. The Double-Stitch Seam is a combination seam and edge finish that creates a narrow seam especially good for sheer fabrics and knits. This seam prevents the fabric from raveling and is stitched twice.
A Plain Seam consists of right sides together, stitched along the seam line, which is usually 5/8" from the cut edge, with a regulation length stitch.
Stretch knits need seams that are supple enough to give with the fabric. These fabrics may be manufactured with straight stitches, zig zag stitches or one of the stretch stitches which are found in many factories.
Flat-Felled Seams are frequently used on sportswear, men's wear and reversible bags. These seams are accomplished by bringing wrong sides of the fabric together and stitching a plain seam, pressing the seam allowances to one side.
The French Seam adds a contour look to the inside of bags made from sheers and lightweight silks. The finished seam which is very narrow, completely encloses the raw edges of the seam allowances.
Lapped seams are frequently used on non-woven fabrics, such as synthetic suede and leather, as well as real suede and leather, because their edges do not fray.
Topstitched Seams accent seam lines. They also help keep the seam allowances flat--a great benefit when working with crease resistant fabrics.
Welt Seams are a good way to reduce bulk and hold seam allowances flat on heavyweight fabrics. From the outside, it looks like a topstitched seam; the double-welt version looks like a flat- felled seam.
There are three basic styles of sleeves-set-in, i.e. kimono and raglan. The set-in sleeve provides the smoothest fitting sleeve, one without dimples or tucks along the seam of the sleeve cap. The one thing that separates the set-in sleeve from the others is the fact that the sleeve itself is slightly larger than the armhole of the garment.
Kimono sleeves are formed as part of the garment front and back. This sleeve is the easiest to make since there is nothing to deal with but an underarm sleeve.
Raglan sleeves are joined to the garment front and back by diagonal seams which run from the underarm to the neckline
In use, the present invention 1 provides a versatile, comfortable, stylish and convenient garment which is suitable for many different types of activities and weather conditions. The components of the invention may be attached and detached to create outfits which cover as much or as little of the body as desired.
Although the garment and the method of using the same according to the present invention has been described in the foregoing specification with considerable details, it is to be understood that modifications may be made to the present invention which do not exceed the scope of the appended claims and modified forms of this invention done by others skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be considered infringements of this invention when those modified forms fall within the claimed scope of the invention. | |
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J., Oct. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) today provided a regulatory update on Translarna (ataluren) for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD).
U.S. Regulatory Update
PTC Therapeutics announced today that at the end of last week, the Office of Drug Evaluation I (ODE-I) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied the company's first appeal of the refuse to file letter issued by the FDA's Division of Neurological Products (DNP) on February 22, 2016 regarding PTC's New Drug Application (NDA) for Translarna for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy (nmDMD).
The company intends to escalate its appeal to the next supervisory level of the FDA. This is an iterative process and the company anticipates that multiple cycles of appeals to progressively higher levels of the FDA may be required.
PTC continues to assert that a proper assessment of the data and analyses from multiple clinical studies, including two of the largest placebo-controlled trials ever conducted in DMD, can only be accomplished in the context of a full and fair review by the FDA. This would include an advisory committee meeting that allows clinical experts and representatives of the patient community to express their views on Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD. The company believes that Translarna is the only therapy in clinical development designed to target the underlying cause of nmDMD. In addition, a favorable safety profile has been consistently demonstrated in PTC's clinical trials, which have enrolled over 1,000 individuals to date.
"We believe that fair consideration of the totality of Translarna's data requires a full review of our application by the FDA," said Stuart W. Peltz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, PTC Therapeutics, Inc. "In light of this, continuing the formal dispute resolution process reflects our ongoing commitment to work with regulators and the Duchenne community to make Translarna available to nmDMD patients in the United States."
In addition, the company maintains its position that PTC should, under existing law and in fairness to patients, be provided the same opportunity for full review that the DNP gave to other recent applicants for products in development for different subsets of the DMD population.
"I am disappointed that a treatment for patients with nonsense mutation DMD is still not receiving a fair opportunity in front of the FDA," said Pat Furlong, President and Founder of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. "This inconsistency is unacceptable and is concerning for the entire community. This devastating, muscle-wasting disease cuts short the lives of boys and young men and every day that we wait for treatments, is a day in which muscle function is lost and not regained. As a community, we cannot rest until there are treatments for all the boys and young men."
European Regulatory Update
PTC recently participated in an oral explanation meeting before the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in connection with the company's ongoing annual renewal of its marketing authorization for Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD in ambulatory patients aged five years and older. The marketing authorization in the European Economic Area (EEA), originally granted in August 2014, is subject to an annual renewal process, including an assessment by European regulators of a risk-benefit profile in favor of Translarna authorization.
Following conclusion of the recent oral explanation, the CHMP issued a request for supplemental information (RSI), including a request categorized as a major objection. Generally speaking, renewal of a marketing authorization requires a company to adequately address the points raised in a major objection. As with prior RSIs received by the company during this renewal process, the major objection relates to the efficacy and overall risk-benefit profile of Translarna as well as the design and conduct of an additional clinical trial that would provide comprehensive clinical data. The RSIs also include requests categorized as other concerns, which do not rise to the level of a major objection, and are generally associated with the primary pharmacology of Translarna and label matters.
The company continues to believe that if the CHMP issues a positive opinion in favor of the renewal of Translarna's marketing authorization, such renewal, and any subsequent annual renewals, will be coupled with an obligation to conduct an agreed upon new clinical trial of Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD. The EMA could also impose other new conditions to the authorization for renewal or make other recommendations, including the potential withdrawal of the marketing authorization.
PTC anticipates that an opinion regarding its marketing authorization renewal request will be adopted by the CHMP before the end of 2016. The company expects that its current marketing authorization will remain valid while the EMA's assessment is ongoing and until it is concluded with a decision from the European Commission.
About Translarna (ataluren)
Translarna, discovered and developed by PTC Therapeutics, Inc., is a protein restoration therapy designed to enable the formation of a functioning protein in patients with genetic disorders caused by a nonsense mutation. A nonsense mutation is an alteration in the genetic code that prematurely halts the synthesis of an essential protein. The resulting disorder is determined by which protein cannot be expressed in its entirety and is no longer functional, such as dystrophin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Translarna is licensed in the European Economic Area for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy in ambulatory patients aged five years and older. Translarna is an investigational new drug in the United States. The development of Translarna has been supported by grants from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Inc. (the nonprofit affiliate of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation); Muscular Dystrophy Association; FDA's Office of Orphan Products Development; National Center for Research Resources; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.
About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Primarily affecting males, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive muscle disorder caused by the lack of functional dystrophin protein. Dystrophin is critical to the structural stability of skeletal, diaphragm, and heart muscles. Patients with DMD, the more severe form of the disorder, lose the ability to walk as early as age 10 and experience life-threatening lung and heart complications in their late teens and twenties. It is estimated that a nonsense mutation is the cause of DMD in approximately 13 per cent of patients.
About PTC Therapeutics
PTC is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of orally administered, proprietary small molecule drugs targeting an area of RNA biology we refer to as post-transcriptional control. Post-transcriptional control processes are the regulatory events that occur in cells during and after a messenger RNA, or mRNA, molecule is copied from DNA through the transcription process. PTC's internally discovered pipeline addresses multiple therapeutic areas, including rare disorders and oncology. PTC has discovered all of its compounds currently under development using its proprietary technologies. PTC plans to continue to develop these compounds both on its own and through selective collaboration arrangements with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information on the company, please visit our website www.ptcbio.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
All statements, other than those of historical fact, contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the future expectations, plans and prospects for PTC; the timing and outcome of PTC's regulatory strategy and process, including (i) when the EMA's CHMP will issue an opinion with respect to the renewal of the marketing authorization for Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD and, when issued, whether such opinion will be positive, (ii) the nature of any conditions or restrictions that may be placed on any renewal of the marketing authorization by the European Commission (if such marketing authorization is renewed), (iii) PTC's ability to design an acceptable new clinical trial in nmDMD with input from the EMA, (iv) PTC's ability to resolve the matters set forth in the RSIs received to date from the CHMP, and (v) the timing and outcome of future interactions PTC has with the FDA with respect to Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD, including PTC's ability to resolve the matters set forth in the Refuse to File letter with the FDA or otherwise advance Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD in the United States (whether pursuant to the formal dispute resolution process or otherwise); the clinical utility and potential advantages of Translarna; PTC's strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues or projected costs; and the objectives of management. Other forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "potential," "expect," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "may," "possible," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," "project," "target," and similar expressions.
PTC's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements it makes as a result of a variety of risks and uncertainties, including those related to: PTC's ability to maintain its marketing authorization of Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD in the EEA, including whether the EMA determines that the benefit-risk balance of Translarna authorization supports renewal of the company's marketing authorization in the EEA and whether the European Commission determines to renew such authorization; the nature and scope of any new nmDMD trial that PTC may design with the input of the EMA and PTC's ability to enroll, fund and conduct such trial; the outcome of future interactions PTC has with the FDA with respect to Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD, including whether PTC is required to perform additional clinical and non-clinical trials at significant cost and whether such trials, if successful, may enable FDA review of a NDA submission; the EMA's determinations with respect to PTC's variation submission which seeks to add Translarna for the treatment of nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis to PTC's marketing authorization in the EEA; the scope of regulatory approvals or authorizations for Translarna (if any), including labeling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of Translarna; the outcome of ongoing or future clinical trials or studies, including ACT CF and the Phase 2 study of Translarna for nmDMD in pediatric patients; the eligible patient base and commercial potential of Translarna and PTC's other product candidates; PTC's ability to commercialize and commercially manufacture Translarna in general and specifically as a treatment for nmDMD, including its ability to establish and maintain arrangements with manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and production and collaboration partners on favorable terms; the outcome of pricing and reimbursement negotiations in those territories in which PTC is authorized to sell Translarna; whether patients and healthcare professionals may be able to access Translarna through alternative means if pricing and reimbursement negotiations in the applicable territory do not have a positive outcome; expectations for regulatory approvals, including PTC's ability to make regulatory submissions in a timely manner (or at all), the period during which the outcome of regulatory reviews will become available, adverse decisions by regulatory authorities, other delay or deceleration of the regulatory process, and PTC's ability to meet existing or future regulatory standards with respect to Translarna; PTC's ability to fulfill any additional obligations, including with respect to further trials or studies relating to cost-effectiveness, obtaining licenses or satisfying requirements for labor and business practices, in the territories in which it may obtain regulatory approval, including the United States, EEA and other territories; the initiation, conduct and availability of data from clinical trials and studies; PTC's scientific approach and general development progress; the sufficiency of PTC's cash resources and PTC's ability to obtain adequate financing in the future for PTC's foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditures; and the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of PTC's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as well as any updates to these risk factors filed from time to time in PTC's other filings with the SEC. You are urged to carefully consider all such factors.
As with any pharmaceutical under development, there are significant risks in the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of new products. There are no guarantees that Translarna will receive full regulatory approval in any territory or maintain its current marketing authorization in the EEA, or prove to be commercially successful in general, or specifically with respect to the treatment of nmDMD.
The forward-looking statements contained herein represent PTC's views only as of the date of this press release and PTC does not undertake or plan to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in plans, prospects, assumptions, estimates or projections, or other circumstances occurring after the date of this press release except as required by law.
SOURCE PTC Therapeutics, Inc.
Posted: October 2016
Related Articles
- PTC Therapeutics Receives Formal Dispute Resolution Request Decision from the FDA's Office of New Drugs - February 20, 2018
- PTC Therapeutics Receives Complete Response Letter for Ataluren's NDA - October 25, 2017
- PTC Therapeutics Announces FDA Acknowledgment of New Drug Application Filing for Translarna for the Treatment of Nonsense Mutation Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - March 6, 2017
- PTC Receives Refuse to File Letter from FDA for Translarna (ataluren) - February 23, 2016
- PTC Therapeutics Begins Rolling NDA Submission to the FDA for Translarna to Treat Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - December 23, 2014
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Further information
Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances. | https://www.drugs.com/nda/translarna_161017.html |
Summary of all experiments carried out in the soil column.
Abstract
This work represent the incorporation of information procurement (DAQ) equipment and programming to acquire information (LabVIEW) as well as real-time transport to show parameter appraises with regard to subsurface stream and transport issues. The main objective is to understand the mechanism of water and solute transfer in a sandy medium and to study the effect of some parameters on the transport of an inert tracer. In order to achieve this objective, a series of experiments were carried out on a soil column equipped with a tensiometer to monitor the state of saturation of the medium and by two four-electrode probes for measuring the electrical conductivity in the porous medium.
Keywords
- tracer test experiments
- groundwater contaminant
- transport in porous media
1. Introduction
The comprehension of contaminant destiny in groundwater conditions is of high enthusiasm for supply and the executives of water assets in urban regions. Contaminant discharges invade through the dirt to cross the vadose zone and achieve the water table where they spread after the specific stream bearings and hydrodynamic states of groundwater bodies. Localization and checking of contaminants is the primary essential advance to remediation systems [1, 2].
In any case, exact data are generally compelled by the absence of thickness of inspecting areas which are illustrative of the region of the boreholes yet do not render of nearby heterogeneities and particular stream headings of the crest .
A slug of solutes (tracers) promptly infused into permeable media with a uniform stream field is normally alluded to as the slug-tracer test. The injected tracer will go through permeable media as a pulse with a peak concentration eventually after injection. This sort of test is utilized generally to determinate contaminant transport parameters in permeable media or subsurface conditions [4, 5]. The transport parameters including porosities, pore velocities, and dispersivities are imperative to examine the fate and transport of the contaminants and colloid in permeable media and groundwater [6, 7, 8, 9].
Many studies showed that the type of array and the sequence of measurements incredibly affected the shape and intensity of the resistivity contrasts ascribed to tracer temporal spreads [10, 11].
2. Experimental study
2.1 Materials and methods
The experimental setup (Figure 1) consists of a cylindrical glass column of 36 cm long and 7.5 cm in diameter. The column is closed below with a plastic cover having a hole at the center of diameter 1 cm and provided with a filter grid preventing the passage of the solid phase beyond the column. The pressure within the column is measured using a tensiometer located 5 cm from the bottom of the column. This blood pressure monitor is of type Soilmoisture model 2100F. There are also two four-electrode probes located 5 and 30 cm from the base of the column. These probes make it possible to follow the transport of a tracer by measuring the electrical conductivity in the ground.
2.1.1 Pressure measurement
The 2100F Soilmoisture Tester (Figure 2) is an instrument designed to measure soil pressure potentials. This model is ideal for laboratory measurements such as measurement of soil suction at fixed depth in a soil column. This blood pressure monitor consists mainly of a porous ceramic stem (ceramic is rigid and permeable), a ventilation tube, a plastic body, and a Bourdon manometer. This circulatory strain screen comprises for the most part of a permeable earthenware stem (artistic is unbending and penetrable), a ventilation tube, a plastic body, and a Bourdon manometer.
The operating principle of this blood pressure monitor is simple. Indeed, when the porous ceramic saturated with water is placed in the unsaturated soil, a water potential gradient appears between the interior of the porous ceramic and the soil. These results in a transfer of water to the soil which exerts a depression (suction) on the water contained in the tensiometer. The transfer of water takes place through the porous wall of the ceramic and can only exist if the liquid phase is continuous from the ground, the wall of the rod, and the inside of the tube. It is necessary to calibrate the monitor before use to ensure proper function. This calibration is performed as follows:
The first step is to immerse the porous ceramic in the water. At the same time, remove the drain screw and fill the plastic tube. It should be noted that filling is done slowly to prevent the occlusion of a large unwanted air volume in the nylon tube. The tube is continued to fill until a flow of water without air bubbles at the aeration tube is obtained. To purge all the air bubbles and make sure that the tube is completely filled with water, the drain screw is tightened, and the moisture present in the porous ceramic is removed.
As the water evaporates on the surface of the porous ceramic, an increase in the Bourdon tube needle is observed due to the increase in vacuum in the tube. After an hour or two, the manometer reading increases to a value equal to or greater than 60 centibar. This is an accumulation of air volume trapped in the nylon tube and the plastic tube. To remove this accumulated air, first tap the plastic tube to remove air bubbles as much as possible, then remove the lid of the plastic tube, and add water as previously done. The inner nylon tube is then trimmed so that it does not exceed 6.35 mm. After balancing, tighten the drain screw and cover.
Acquisition of pressure through a current transducer (Figure 3) is accomplished through the NI-DAQ 6009 acquisition card (Figure 4). The transducer output is connected to the analog input of the board. The LabVIEW software supplied with the acquisition card allows, thanks to its graphic environment, to obtain the desired measurements. Another solution for the acquisition is the direct use of the NI-DAQmx acquisition card driver with a small code on MATLAB R2012, certainly less developed but which also allows to acquire the pressure data.
Using NI-DAQmx, one must first choose the type of the property to be measured (voltage, current, strain gauge/pressure, temperature, etc.) and then start the acquisition by choosing the number of samples to be measured and the sampling period.
It should be noted that the current transducer used is of the 4–20 mA current loop type. That is, this device measures the pressure by converting it into current such that the minimum value (0cbar) corresponds to 4 mA and the maximum value (100 cbar) corresponds to 20 mA. Measurements can be voltage measurements by connecting the current transducer to a 500 Ω resistor.
2.1.2 Concentration measurement
Two four-electrode probes for the measurement of the electrical conductivity in the soil were carried out within the ENIM, in collaboration with the electrical engineering department. For each probe (Figure 5), a printed circuit has been designed which has four equidistant copper surfaces of 6 mm representing the four electrodes. The purpose of manufacturing these probes is to measure the electrical conductivity in the soil as a function of time at a given depth.
The operating principle of these probes consists of sending an alternating electric current into the ground through the two surface electrodes and measuring the potential difference by means of two inner electrodes.
The method of four electrodes was chosen from several generally non-destructive electrical methods because its principle is simple and the application disrupts very little the flow in the ground. The geometry of these probes is based on the Wenner configuration (Figure 6).
The electrical resistivity of the ground is written as
where a is the distance that separates each electrode from the other.
The apparent electrical conductivity is then determined by
where k = a*(1/4) is a constant; f is the temperature correction factor; and Rs is the electrical resistance equal to ΔV/I.
It is essential to know the electrical behavior of the manufactured probe so that we can draw good results and especially choose the appropriate acquisition system. Thus, several tests were carried out with sand and NaCl solution. The probe is pushed into the sand and the solution is injected. At the same time, the response of the probe is visualized on an oscilloscope. It has been concluded that the probe behaves similar to a capacitive impedance since the current and voltage output signals are out of phase (Figure 7). In addition, the frequency behavior performed with a GBF also confirms this.
2.2 Data acquisitions
Regarding the acquisition of the data signals, the LabVIEW software was manipulated to record the results acquired by the three current sensors (pressure sensor and two electrical conductivity sensors). We chose an average acquisition frequency corresponding to 1800 points for the tracer injection phase and 720 points for the leaching phase. The acquisition principle diagram under LabVIEW (program front panel (Figure 8)) is as follows:
2.2.1 Synthesis of the experiments carried out on the soil column
A total of four experiments was performed on homogeneous porous media under saturated conditions with a slot injection of a tracer. The tests carried out are summarized in Table 1. The main tasks performed are mentioned and dissolved for each experiment.
The column is filled with initially dry soil, and the sand is well sanded to prevent maximum entrapment of air bubbles in the porous medium.
During filling, two four-electrode probes are introduced at two levels of the column, z = 5 and z = 30 cm, to measure the electrical conductivity in the soil. The tensiometer is also introduced at a height of 5 cm from the bottom of the column.
A well-defined volume of water is fed at the top of the column for saturation of the medium.
The pressure load within the column is monitored until it reaches a positive and stable value indicating saturation of the medium (Figure 9a).
Once assured that our medium is saturated, we begin the tracer injection with a peristaltic pump (Roth Cyclo I) at a constant average flow rate.
|Experiences|
|A||B||C||D|
|Type of injection||Slot||Slot||Slot||Slot|
|Average injection rate (l.min−1)||0.044||0.053||0.053||0.07|
|Tracer used||NaCl||KCl||KCl||KCl|
|Tracer concentration (g.l−1)||2.8||0.74||0.74||0.74|
|Medium studied||Sousse sand||Monastir sand||Sousse sand||Sousse sand|
|Water status of the saturated medium||Distilled water||Distilled water||Distilled water||Distilled water|
|Medium saturation condition||Saturated||Saturated||Saturated||Saturated|
3. Results and discussions
3.1 Evolution of electrical conductivity
The four experiments are described well, through the evolution of the electrical conductivity in the soil and the phenomena of convection and dispersion. Indeed, moving away from the upper base of the column (tracer injection point), that is, to say down the height of the column, the electrical conductivity decreases. It is clear, by comparing two curves of the same sample at z = 5 cm and z = 30 cm, that there is a significant delay (Figure 10).
This delay and this small peak are the reasons for the quasi-total dispersion of the tracer in the soil water and, subsequently, the decrease of the electrical conductivity. The high value of the electrical conductivity in the Sousse sand in experiment A (Figure 10a) is justified by the high concentration of the NaCl tracer injected into the column.
3.2 Effect of the hydraulic conductivity of the medium
It can be seen from Figure 11 that the electrical conductivity curve for slot tracer injection in the Sousse sand has the same behavior as the Monastir sand. The peaks of the ascending part of two curves are at very close moments. This indicates that the hydrodynamic characteristics of two media are close and that there is no interaction between the tracer and the medium . The peak shape of the curve of the Monastir sand sample proves that during the flow, there is no preferential path creation. The small offset in ordinates for the two curves can be justified by the nature of sandy environment. The sand of Sousse is thinner and has a lower saturation hydraulic conductivity than the sand of Monastir. The low hydraulic conductivity of the Sousse sand results in greater retention of the tracer and an increase in the measured electrical conductivity.
3.3 Injection flow effect
The influence of injection rate of a tracer KCl on the curves of the electrical conductivity in a sandy medium (sand of Sousse region) at a height z = 30 cm from the bottom of the column is studied. The two selected flow rates are high and correspond to flow rates in the column of 0.327 and 0.458 cm/s. By increasing the flow, the tracer appears faster and disappears more slowly. Indeed, the higher the flow rate, the greater the dispersion phase of the breakthrough curve . In our case, the two flow values are close, which explains why the variation has no significant effect on the shape of the tracer restitution curve (Figure 12).
4. Conclusion
In this chapter, we studied the transport of two inert tracers in a homogeneous porous medium (sand). The effects of injection rate and permeability of the medium on the evolution of the tracer elution curve were examined. | https://www.intechopen.com/books/data-mining-methods-applications-and-systems/tracer-transport-in-a-homogeneous-porous-medium-experimental-study-and-acquisition-data-with-labview |
Disciplined in their craft and highly capable, the professional seafarer is a unique individual. Employed in an ancient trade, they embody the collective knowledge of generations. Where once seafarers voyaged oceans relying solely upon their native skills and analogue tools, today the waters have evolved into an interconnected technological ecosystem. From integrated navigational bridge systems to satellite communications and automated cargo management, it is critical in today’s industry that the mariner expands their situational awareness from the sea to the digital systems crucial to marine operations.
Understanding the threat
Arguably the greatest threat to modern shipping is cybercrime. Increasingly reliant on technology, vessels are no longer isolated in their sea-going ways. In 2017, the industry experienced perhaps the most detrimental incidents of cybercrime to date. What stemmed from a single computer’s out of date software opened the door, which took down the world’s largest shipping firm, Danish company Maersk.
In late June of that year, the crew of Maersk’s global fleet would find themselves caught up in near total operational chaos. Virtually all Information Technology was down. Ship’s computers flashed black screens, vast amounts of documents and data was gone. Cargo manifests deleted, customs files and port information lost, company email down. Maersk was in near total shambles. Captains could only communicate with the Office via satellite phone, and cargo had to be managed with handwritten papers taped to containers. Crew rotations were disrupted as the company worked around the clock to maintain operations.
The virus, released by Russian cybercriminals, exploited a particular vulnerability of the Windows operating system. The virus could infiltrate a single out of date computer and, in turn, spread to all other devices in the network. Unfortunately, Maersk, who were not a specific target of that attack, had neglected to update parts of their software. The virus spread indiscriminately and infected the shipping company’s entire network. At sea and ashore, everything was lost except for isolated systems. For nearly two weeks, solutions had to be improvised and done manually. In total, the company lost an estimated $300,000,000, and it took almost two months before the entire network was fully back in order.
Cyber systems on board
Virtually every aspect of maritime operations is becoming digitalized. What were once paper charts and analogue gauges are now terabytes of computer code and automated systems. On a ship’s bridge, you’ll find multiple electronic chart plotters with input from digital radar, GPS, weather charts, and AIS. In the engine room, power management systems direct the flow of electricity throughout the ship. There are mechanical monitoring systems, constantly interpreting data, algorithms processing the status of cargo, and digital relays from the control room to ballast pumps.
Seafarers are hands-on people who tend to adapt their routine to what is practical and proven. Unless pertinent to operations, many will regard new technologies and processes as nuisances to work around. As systems become increasingly advanced, it is becoming increasingly important for seafarers to understand the basic principles which form a ship’s technological systems. If armed with such knowledge, crews will be far more capable of preventing cybercrime and dealing with it should a breach occur.
In the realm of cyber security, maritime operations are unique. Perhaps the closest terrestrial example of a ship would be an industrial power plant, with a network connecting the facility’s information and data, another managing machinery, and physical systems. A large portion of marine systems are typically isolated from the rest of the digital world. However, as technology advances and internet connectivity at sea becomes more common, networks will increasingly become interconnected and the lines defining these segregations will fade.
As in 2017 with Maersk, when a ship experiences a cyberattack, it is most often the Information Technology (IT) networks that are affected. These systems often send and receive information through a network and interact with the internet leaving them vulnerable. Examples of potentially vulnerable equipment could be administrative computers, chart plotters, stability computers, and possibly satellite communications systems. A security breach could be dangerous, but IT software does not manage physical equipment directly. Ships have fallback systems, equipment and processes that don’t rely on IT, meaning the crew can usually maintain the safety of their ship. However, if an issue is not quickly spotted and corrected for, such a breach could be catastrophic.
Operational Technology (OT) interacts with the real-world. OT software controls the physical components and systems. These include the power management systems of generators and battery chargers, a ship’s autopilot, and relays between the bridge and engine. Typically, these systems are segregated and operate independently of other networks. A breach of OT systems could mean imminent danger to ship, cargo, crew, or passengers. As OT systems are often stand-alone and isolated from other technology, they are far more resilient to cyberattacks than a vessel’s IT systems. However, as shoreside monitoring and automation become commonplace, these systems are becoming increasingly interconnected and vulnerable.
How to protect your ship
Cyber security problems can hit like a rock beneath the keel or manifest subtly. For this reason, the prudent mariner should foster a high sense of digital awareness.
Install and use antivirus software
Malicious software can gain access to a ship’s systems via either digital or physical channels. It is of the utmost importance that all hardware, software, and files not used exclusively within the ship’s network be scanned by reputable anti-virus software. Even a seemingly innocent word document from ashore can take advantage of user permissions and wreak havoc through an entire network. Sometimes updates are sent from ashore to the ship’s administrative computer. If these files are moved to separate navigation hardware without being scanned by antivirus, they may unknowingly transfer malicious software.
Scan devices before they are connected to any equipment
Maintaining the security of ships’ networks is a significant challenge. Bridge systems can be particularly vulnerable. Contractors visiting a vessel or crew members could compromise the network by directly connecting a personal device such as a flash drive or by plugging their phone into a USB port to charge it. Such an action could compromise the entire navigation network. All devices and hardware must be scanned before connecting to any ship’s equipment, and it should only be connected if it needs to be for operational reasons. Often overlooked is the specialized hardware of service technicians. It is often used to assess supported equipment and exposed to other vessels, meaning it can unknowingly spread malware.
Keep software up to date
Consistently using the most up to date software is incredibly important and cannot be stressed enough. Microsoft had released a security patch that could have secured Maersk against the devastating 2017 cyberattack. As updates typically address recently discovered vulnerabilities, maintaining software provides a reliable shield against cybercrime.
Scan personal devices
The ship’s crew presents a unique risk. They bring with them unchecked personal devices, exposed to the internet and outside networks. Often crew will exchange movies and files downloaded from less than reputable websites. A strict policy of scanning these devices should be enforced before they ever have a chance to plug into the ship.
Only use encrypted Wifi when ashore
After long hauls at sea, a mariner may have the opportunity of shore leave. Often starved of connectivity to the outside world, they flock to a favourite of cybercriminals: free public Wi-Fi. Hackers can easily relay between the user and the connection point. From there, they can see all transferred data, passwords, private emails, and banking information. Routing programs can also become hacked, prompting users to agree to download malware disguised as an update or application. Thus, the virus scanning policy should be strictly enforced during visits to port.
Understand your company cyber security policy
As per IMO guidelines, most companies should have cyber security protocols within their SMS. From the highest levels of management down, there must be individuals with specific responsibilities to prevent and respond to breaches. Certain crew and shoreside personnel should be designated for cyber security and response. Crew must understand company policy and the immediate chain of command. Any incidents or suspicions should be immediately reported to individuals responsible.
The importance of maritime cyber security cannot be stressed enough. Cybercriminals are continually seeking to exploit vulnerabilities and seed chaos. The price of negligence could cause a breakdown in operations and put cargo and crew in danger. Just as a seafarer looks to the horizon for dark clouds, so should they consider the technology that surrounds them. | https://thetius.com/cyber-security-principles-for-seafarers/ |
Practice Theory gained considerable significance in the field of sociology and anthropology during the late 20th century. Although the framework is largely attributed to the French sociologist, Pierre Bourdieu (1930 – 2002), his book, An Outline of the Theory of Practice (1972), relies on a significant amount of social theory set forth by scholars such as Max Weber, Marcel Mauss, Anthony Giddens, and Jean-Francois Lyotard. The theory of practice disassembles the binary understanding of the relationship between structure and agency by parsing out the interaction between fields, habitus (and doxa), and capital.
Within practice theory, people, or agents, are socialized within a field, which is a structured social space comprised of a dynamic arrangement of social roles and relationships. The ways that the agent engages in social roles and relationships within the field is influenced by different forms of capital, such as wealth and status. Through constant interaction, the agent eventually becomes habituated to social roles and expectations within the field and they take on a disposition, or ‘ways of acting,’ that is referred to as habitus. The agent’s habitus is informed by their doxa, which is the learned, yet unconscious, beliefs about the social order that is assumed to be ‘common sense’ and taken for granted. For example, socially constructed ideas about gender and race are often taken for granted and accepted as part of a ‘natural order,’ and a person’s doxa regarding gender or race informs their habitus. Without realizing it, people often modify their ‘way of acting’ according to the gender and/or race of the person they encounter. Oftentimes, people are unaware of the changes in their demeanor and behavior, or habitus, because it has become a naturalized part of their interaction. Habitus is like wearing a pair of socks; the sensation is recognizable when the socks are initially placed on the feet, but the sensation eventually fades and the socks are forgotten even though they continue to perform their function for the feet.
It is through habitus that structure and agency are turned inside-out. Habitus is internalized structure, and the actions between agents is externalized agency. In lieu of the dichotomized ‘structure’ versus ‘agency’ debate, practice theory presents a more complex model that is based on dialectical interactions between ‘internalizing the external’ and ‘externalizing the internal’.
A significant contribution from practice theory within anthropology is the recognition that integral aspects of culture and society are unapparent because actors are unaware of their existence and operation in day to day living. This brings us back to the first module which presented the idea set forth by Mary Douglas, that we cannot truly come to understand ourselves until we try to understand others. It is through the attempt to understand others, that we can become aware of and identify our own doxa which shapes our habitus. | http://www.anthrocervone.org/PeoplesandCultures/modules/agency/practice/ |
Located in Posadas, Poytava restaurant celebrates both the guaraní and Misiones province culinary heritages. Its philosophy centers around preserving the native jungle, sustainability, economic and social consciousness, and seasonal eating. Native fruit, wild herbs, and funghi regain value, and the restaurant’s team is careful to replant any flora that’s at risk of disappearing over time. Poytava supports and drives local, organic agriculture, prioritizing internal consumption and fair trade. At the restaurant's organic garden, there’s an ever-growing variety of beans, wild herbs and aromatics, tubers, tamarillo, native fruit, cassava, sweet potato, and much, much more.
Poytava’s culinary approach is rooted in two general concepts: cultural exchange and the reduction of food waste. The menu is hyper-seasonal and adapts to what’s available in the garden and at the local markets; dishes are prepared using local materials and techniques that include smoking and fermentation. Relationships with producers are at the forefront of the daily routine, and free workshops are made available to them as a way to gain more tools and knowledge when selling their goods.
On its blog - De la Tierra Colorada - the team shares photos and stories that add depth and context to all that they do. Tatarendy is a collaborative project with local guaraní communities from the center of the province, highlighting both their cultural richness and socioeconomic strife. They also run cooking classes that provide food to local community kitchens, raising awareness about the importance of community, organic gardens among the diverse group of students. Poytava also produces its own line of preserves: Mamboreta, flavors of Misiones, that includes mushrooms, native fruits, wild chili peppers, bamboo, and more. | https://festivalatlantico.org/en/lineup/poytava/ |
Technical debt (also known as tech debt or code debt) is the outcome of activities taken by development teams to speed the delivery of a piece of functionality or a project that subsequently needs to be refactored. In other words, it’s the outcome of putting speed ahead of perfection.
Is There an Easy Way to Define Technical Debt?
Because metaphors are inherently ambiguous, the exact meaning of technical debt is subject to interpretation. Over the years, several people have formed their own particular definitions of it. Several extremely sophisticated interpretations have emerged over time, but at a high level.
As a tool:
Technical debt is frequently used as a strategy for “getting ahead,” similar to how someone may take out a loan on a home to enter into a hot real estate market before being priced out. The relevance of technical debt can be explained in the context of a startup company as “any code created today that will require additional work to rectify later—typically with the goal of attaining immediate results.”
As Consequences
Technical debt is considered as any code that diminishes efficiency as the project develops but never as a terrible code or broken code because a genuine technical debt is always deliberate and never unintentional.
Technical debt explained through some relevant examples:
Technical debt can manifest itself in a variety of ways, but here are six examples:
1. Inadequate software code quality:
Poor-quality software code is the most visible kind of technical debt. There are several reasons for poor code quality, including the following:
- Developers who are eager to adopt the latest technologies despite the fact that there is no practical reason for the tool in the project;
- Developers’ utter lack of defined coding standards
- onboarding and training of an inadequate developer
Other problems include time constraints that arise as a result of bad scheduling or when developers must rework outsourced code. These kinds of instances can quickly accumulate technical debt.
2. Inadequate IT leadership:
3. Work from home and remote employment
4. There is no documentation
5. Job security via obscurity
6. Inadequate software testing
The Bottom Line:
To control technical debt, the development and operations teams must first recognize it in the project portfolio. When IT operations teams spot indicators of technical debt, they should devise a strategy and timetable for paying it off, including coding standards and developer’s training as part of the plan.
Furthermore, stakeholders, project managers, and developers must work together to prioritise activities in order to establish an organization’s future state of software delivery, the exact Zenkoders management practice, which is followed to avoid bringing up a situation of technical debt while delivering any project to our clients. Once priorities have been established and IT operations teams have assessed the code and branched the codebase to begin technical debt cleanup work. | https://zenkoders.com/what-is-technical-debt/ |
Harrogate Ladies shine once again as Southport are thrashed
Helena Landau
Harrogate RUFC Ladies produced another stunning display of attacking rugby as they steamrollered visiting Southport at the Stratstone Stadium.
Lucy Barnett’s team, who put 112 points on Manchester last time out, sit top of the Women’s Championship North Two standings following four wins in as many games
Despite only being promoted at the end of last season, ‘Gate have been running riot thus far, and Sunday’s 79-0 success over the Merseysiders means that they have now scored 308 points and conceded just 15.
Their visitors did begin the game strongly and offered some resistance during the opening 10 minutes, the away pack crashing into the home defensive line without managing to actually break through it.
A Harrogate knock-on then saw Southport awarded the put-in at a scrum, however the hosts won the ball against the head.
Scrum-half Rose Jay picked up and cut through a gap in the away defence, dancing around a couple of opponents before shipping the ball to the left wing where Simone Christopher battled through a tackle on the line and touched down.
A second try followed soon afterwards as a result of more powerful Harrogate scrummaging.
Number eight Anna Hamilton picked up from the base of a scrum on Southport’s five-metre line and dived over to make the score 10-0.
With the home side on a roll, touchdown number three arrived courtesy of some fine teamwork.
The forwards played the phases and the ball eventually made its way from fly-half Kelly Morgan through the centres and then into the hands of full-back Lauren Bolger, who finished off.
With Southport still competing fiercely, Barnett’s charges conceded a number of penalties inside their own half.
They managed to turn the ball over inside their own 22, however, and it was passed to Bolger to clear her lines with a cross-field kick.
Winger Rachel Demoraes led the ‘Gate chase, pipping the visiting defence to the ball, followed by Bolger.
The latter then popped it up to Jay, who sprinted the remaining 40 metres to the Merseysiders’ try-line.
Bolger booted over the extras to bring the score to 22-0.
Harrogate added another touchdown following a driving maul. Captain Jay picked up possession and danced around the defence to score under the sticks, another conversion from Bolger making it 29-0.
Next, prop Grace Keyes ripped the ball away from an opponent at a maul and passed it quickly out to the wing, Bolger sprinting away to finish under the posts and then adding the extra two points herself.
With half-time approaching, a Southport player suffered a nasty injury and necessary medical attention was given.
The second period began after a pitch change, but Harrogate were immediately back on the front foot as Freya Wilde finished off a good team move by touching down just two minutes in.
Shortly after, Evie Jackson scored on the right wing after receiving the ball on halfway and sprinting away from the cover.
Achele Agada then broke through the visiting line and finished herself, Wilde kicking the extras for 55-0.
Though Southport then managed to apply some pressure of their own, Harrogate won a penalty and their forwards combined well, Keyes popping the ball to Hamilton after drawing in the defence, before the latter sprinted away to score and Wilde converted.
n the closing minutes of the game, the home team added three more tries, the pick of which saw Christopher catch a low Jay offload to wrap things up at 79-0. | |
As the United States prepares for the transition to the next administration, we should grapple with the fact that the next President of the United States will inherit multiple wars, both overt and covert. Perhaps the defining aspect of President Obama’s counterterrorism legacy is the dramatic expansion of the covert drone war over the past eight years. By the administration’s own statistics, more than 400 strikes outside of active military operations have killed at least 2,372 enemy combatants and as many as 116 civilians.[i] In July, President Obama signed Executive Order 13732 “taking additional steps to institutionalize and enhance best practices” regarding the use of drone strikes in counterterrorism operations.[ii] This is only the most recent in a series of Presidential initiatives aimed at providing greater transparency for ongoing covert action. But while these efforts seem progressive, the dangers of institutionalizing the United States’ vague legal rationale for drone strikes outside of the theater of regular military operations remain unclear. As armed drone technology proliferates, it is fair to ask if the US legal rationale has made it easier for others to engage in targeted killings outside of traditional combat zones?
In order to answer this question, one must first understand how the United States justifies strikes and how that justification influences other states’ behavior. Since the US government has not provided the domestic and international legal framework underlying these actions, scholars have relied on a combination of common sense and public statements by current and former administration officials to determine what legal authorities and interpretations provide the basis for drone strikes. [iii]
The United States claims that it is “in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, the Taliban, and associated forces.” Numerous officials have cited the right to self-defense within UN Article 51 to justify U.S. operations in Afghanistan and the accompanying 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF). The AUMF, a mere 60 words long, authorized “all necessary and appropriate force” against anyone linked to the 9/11 attacks or anyone aiding and harboring someone linked to the attacks.[iv] The AUMF is bound by neither time nor geography and provides much of the legal basis for the ongoing war on terror.
Technically, the United States is explicitly prohibited from participating directly or indirectly in assassinations by Executive Order 12333 sect. 2.11-12. However, in the wake of the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, then-President Clinton relaxed this constraint on the use of lethal force in regards to terrorist organizations such as al-Qaida by issuing a presidential finding.[v]. As early as October 28, 2001, The Washington Post reported that the Central Intelligence Agency, who operates the covert side of the drone war, had drawn upon this finding to justify targeted killings of terrorists.[vi]
More recently, CIA Director John Brennan publicly stated that the United States conducts “targeted strikes because they are necessary to mitigate an actual ongoing threat — to stop plots, prevent future attacks, and save American lives.”[vii] However, a leaked 2011 Justice Department White Paper explains that because the United States cannot know the details of all terrorist plots, it “cannot be confident that none is about to occur”.[viii] The logic justifies lethal action against any person associated with a terrorist organization on the presumption they will engage in an act of terror if they were able to do so. This not only radically redefines “imminence” as understood in international law but arguably conflates an imminent threat with an individual’s status, something specifically prohibited under the international law of self-defense.
In failing to delineate its reasoning under international law, the United States’ position of strategic ambiguity has an inherently destabilizing effect. Ambiguity is anathema to a consensus-based system like international law. In the long term, ambiguity of interpretation can be far more damaging than clearly illegal behavior. When there is no consensus on the acceptability of the ambiguous practices, ambiguity erodes the fixed meanings that had previously constrained state action.[ix]
Ambiguity encourages other states to reach a consensus and unify disparate interpretations of international law; counterintuitively, this may normalize the practice of drone strikes in the international legal system. States are unlikely to completely reject US interpretation given the United States’ remains the only global military superpower, preventing a credible enforcement mechanism. The most likely course of action is the adoption of a framework consistent with the United States’ behavior. The current policy of strategic ambiguity would leave it up to the international community to reconcile America’s behavior with international law. The United States has essentially opted out of a re-interpretive process with wide-reaching effects far beyond drone strikes. It is no longer clear, for instance, how the United States interprets relationships between concepts such as sovereignty, self-defense, and imminence. Nor how it precisely defines terms unrecognized by international law, such as “targeted killings” and “active hostilities”.[x]
By formalizing the practices of drone strikes, the Obama administration has lowered the cost for the next president to continue that policy. However, by refusing full transparency into its rationale, it may also have created a space where norms surrounding drone strikes are defined by other nations. The United States will be in a tough position to protest these emerging norms when they run counter to US interests because they have been created, in part, to accommodate past US behavior.
[i] Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “Summary of Information Regarding US Counterterrorism Strikes Outside Areas of Active Hostilities,” July 1, 2016, https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/reports-and-publications/214-reports-publications-2016/1392-summary-of-information-regarding-u-s-counterterrorism-strikes-outside-areas-of-active-hostilities.
[ii] White House Office of the Press Secretary, “FACT SHEET: Executive Order on the U.S. Policy on Pre & Post-Strike Measures to Address Civilian Casualties in the U.S. Operations Involving the Use of Force & the DNI Release of Aggregate Data on Strike Outside Area of Active Hostilities,” July 1, 2016, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/07/01/fact-sheet-executive-order-us-policy-pre-post-strike-measures-address.
[iii] Stimson Center. “Obama Administration Receives Poor Grades On Reforming US Drone Policy,” February 23, 2016, http://www.stimson.org/content/obama-administration-receives-poor-grades-reforming-us-drone-policy.
[iv] Authorization for Use of Military Force, PL 107-40, S. J. RES. 23
[v] Presidential findings are a type of executive decree, separate from an executive order, that are generally understood to be limited in authority to the covert actions of the Central Intelligence Agency which the President deems “important to the national security of the United States”. For more in depth explanation see Pam Benson, “What’s allowed by a ‘presidential finding’?” CNN, March 31, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/03/31/libya.presidential.finding/.
[vi] Barton Gellman, “CIA Weighs ‘Targeted Killing’ Missions: Administration Believes Restraints Do Not Bar Singling Out Individual Terrorists”, The Washington Post. October 28, 2001, http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fac2%2Fwp-dyn%2FA63203-2001Oct27%3Flanguage%3Dprinter&date=2008-12-30.
[vii] John Brennan speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center, May 1, 2012, http://www.npr.org/2012/05/01/151778804/john-brennan-delivers-speech-on-drone-ethics.
[viii] US Department of Justice, “Lawful Use of a Lethal Operation Directed Against a US Citizen Who is a Senior Operational Leader of Al-Qa’ida or an Associated Force”, White Paper, 2011. Released February 4, 2013 by NBC News, https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/files/1903-doj-white-paper.
[ix] Rosa Brooks, “Drones and the International Rule of Law”, Ethics & International Affairs, 28 no. 1 (2014), 84.
[x] Lynn E. Davis, Michael McNerney, and Michael D. Greenberg, “Clarifying the Rules for Targeted Killing: An Analytic Framework for Policies Involving Long Range Armed Drones”, RAND, 2016, http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR1600/RR1610/RAND_RR1610.pdf. | https://georgetownsecuritystudiesreview.org/2016/11/11/drone-policy-international-law-and-the-next-administration/ |
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Addie LaRue is expected to follow the same path taken by all other young girls in 1714: get married and have a family. Stifled by societal norms and desperate for her independence, she strikes a deal with the devil to live out her life answering to nobody but herself. But with every deal comes a price, and Addie’s curse is to be forgotten by everyone who ever meets her. Deeply moving and poignant, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue will make you laugh, cry, and most of all, fall in love with life and develop a perspective on happiness that will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
There is so much to adore about this novel – while I typically binge books that I enjoy, I found myself savoring every word and page, sometimes reading sentences over and over again. The plot itself is captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed the way in which fantasy elements were incorporated into the story; the balance between realism and magic felt perfect. Faustian narratives are far from novel, but Schwab manages to apply her own interpretation to the age-old archetype, creating a stunningly refreshing story that will go down as one of my favorites. Her writing is equally sublime, and every line is infused with so much craft and passion that it is impossible not to feel each moment with Addie. And truly, that is what makes this book so special: everything it makes you feel. It is nostalgic and thought-provoking, melancholic and at once joyous; the multiple dichotomies blend to truly elevate the reader’s emotional experience, and leaves you pondering the true meaning of human desire and satisfaction.
For how much I loved this book, there is not much that I would change. The storyline itself ebbs and flows, so there are certain sequences that progress very slowly. The first few chapters especially took a while for me to get through, and I was only unable to put it down once I read about 50% of the novel. Similarly, certain themes or ideas were reiterated often in moments where subtlety may have been more powerful, and felt a little repetitive. The ending is also somewhat predictable, but I loved it anyways.
I would highly recommend this novel to every reader – especially if you enjoy romance, fantasy, or historical fiction, as there is a little of each genre weaved into this tale. If you do not enjoy slower moving novels then this might prove more cumbersome as events do take time to unfold. Have you read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue? Drop your thoughts in the comments below! | https://abibliophilessecrets.com/2021/02/22/book-review-the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue/ |
All work shown is encaustic and oil on panel.
Artist Statement
My paintings reference the mutability of light and form, the impermanence of being and matter. I observe ever-changing situations of light, form, and color in nature, focusing on where and how multiple elements converge. Responding to observations of these relationships through movement, gesture and color, I draw and paint out of these experiences. I seek to enter into color in as pure a way as possible, to be fully engaged with it as though swimming in it. Form emerges out of color, rather than color describing a pre-conceived idea of form. Whether working directly from nature “plein air” or inside the studio, the process is rather the same. It is a breathing process that provides the context to connect with an awareness of how things come into being, are formed or created, grow, and die away. Nature inspires this understanding that the only true reality is transience and metamorphosis, the eternal cycle of life forming, dying away, and re-becoming on the microcosmic level as well as the macrocosmic.
My work is based on the concept that the human body is an instrument designed for image making through the integrated activity and unified, authentic engagement of all the senses. The act of painting is for me a way of entering directly and honestly into that process of becoming; a way of recognizing our interconnectedness and what it means to be present here, conscious and awake within this space where past and future converge. It is a process of unfolding—a dialogue between the conscious and unconscious; an opportunity to connect with that which could otherwise be lost, or might go by unnoticed, and yet, paradoxically becomes something which can exist out of time. It is my wish that something of this experience, or state of being, can then be communicated to and meaningfully shared with the viewer.
Biography
Born in Washington D.C., Kristin Barton is a painter known for her nature-based encaustic paintings which have been described as “experiences of bathing in textured light.” She was educated and has exhibited in Washington, D.C., New York, and Italy. A highlight in her biography was the opportunity to assist with the post-earthquake restoration of the frescos by Cimabue at The Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, Italy in 1997. Her work is influenced by the use of light in in the paintings of artists such as Turner, Monet, Bonnard, and her teacher Esteban Vicente. Kristin lives nestled in the woods in Columbia County, NY with her two sons. | https://www.valleyvariety.com/portfolio-item/kristin-barton/ |
UAE Participates In GCC Commercial Cooperation Committee Meeting
RIYADH, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 31st Oct, 2019) A delegation from the Ministry of Economy representing the UAE participated in the 49th GCC Under-Secretaries Committee of Commerce and Industry, which took place today at the headquarters of the council’s General Secretariat in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
The meeting was held to prepare for the 58th GCC Ministerial Committee for Commerce meeting, which will be hosted by the Omani capital, Muscat, in November.
The UAE delegation was led by Humaid bin Butti Al Muhairi, Assistant Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Commercial Affairs. It included Ahmed bin Soliman Al Malik, Representative of the Cooperation and International Organisations Administration at the Ministry.
Al Muhairi highlighted the importance of the committee’s meetings to reinforce the cooperation between GCC countries in the areas of the economy, commerce and investment, as well as discussing ways of enhancing their future coordination and collaboration and addressing the challenges faced by the region.
He also pointed out that the preparatory meeting discussed various related issues, such as how to support GCC economic integration.
The agenda of the preparatory meeting comprised several topics related to strengthening the economic environment in GCC member countries, most notably patents, the challenges faced by GCC countries in the areas of trade, innovation and small and medium-sized enterprises, developments to the GCC competition system, and e-commerce.
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The Appellate Division recently handed down a clear and unambiguous message to triall courts and litigators alike regarding custody disputes and how they should be handled procedurally, regardless of whether the case is pre- or post-judgment. The case, entitled D.A. v. R.C., involved the biological parents of a fourteen (14) year old boy each seeking to be designated as the parent of primary residence approximately ten (10) years after entering into a consent order resolving all issues of custody between them. Ultimately, the Appellate Division ordered the parties to be referred to mediation with the trial court to remain actively involved with that process to ensure that progress is being made or to take back jurisdiction if progress is not being made. If jurisdiction is to ultimately be taken back, the trial court was instructed to conduct a plenary hearing on the matter. Lastly, the trial court was ordered to either interview the child or place specific reasons on the record as to why the trial court refused to interview the child.
The Appellate Division based its decision as to the mandatory mediation pursuant to the mandates of Rule 5:8-1. The Appellate Division based its decision as to the interview process pursuant to the mandates of Rule 5:8-6 and N.J.S.A. 9:2-4(c), which specifically require the trial court to either interview the child or place onto the record the specific reasons for the decision not to do so. In this particular instance, the parties had diametrically opposing views of the circumstances present, which was notably referred to by the Appellate Division’s decision as being further exacerbated by the allegations continuously set forth by counsel for both parties without proper proofs being demonstrated. Specifically, one party accused the other of utilizing corporal punishment and unjustified discipline on the child, while the other party accused the other party of exposing the child to a violent and dangerous atmosphere due to the marital discord between that party and his current spouse. Furthermore, each party made accusations that the child did not want to spend time with the other party.
After several appearances before the trial court, the judge ultimately entered an order that provided for a 50/50 custody and parenting time split for the parties without placing any findings of fact or conclusions of law onto the record. There were absolutely no specifics set forth as to how this arrangement, which the trial court seemingly pulled out of thin air based upon the record present, was in the best interests of the child. Furthermore, this decision in no way set forth the basis for how the judge resolved those diametrically opposite positions presented by the parties, their counsel and their respective pleadings, especially since an evidentiary hearing was never held. It was quite clear from reading the Appellate Division’s decision that the procedural steps, or lack thereof, in addition to the very informal decorum of the proceedings, were woefully inadequate and therefore specific rulings were made to ensure that the matter would proceed effectively and efficiently forward in the future.
In addition to requiring the parties attend mediation, the Appellate Division added that “In order to provide a reasonable and meaningful opportunity for mediation to succeed, the trial court should confer with counsel and thereafter enter a case management order: (1) identifying the issues the mediator should address to resolve the parties’ custodial dispute; and (2) setting an initial two-month deadline to report back as required under Rule 5:8-1, with the proviso that this time period can be extended ‘on good cause shown.'” If mediation proves unsuccessful, which the Appellate Division acknowledges is quite likely given the parties’ positions in the past, the trial courts were advised to be quick to pull back the case and begin the plenary hearing process in order to ensure an efficient resolution one way or another. In addition to requiring a plenary hearing, the Appellate Division also suggested that the trial court strongly consider appointing a mental health professional to work with the parties and their child and/or perform a best interests/custody evaluation under the parameters of Rule 5:3-3(b).
Last, but certainly not least, the Appellate Division set forth the parameters regarding the interview of the parties’ child, with a strong suggestion that the trial court take advantage of interviewing the now sixteen (16) year old child to determine his perspective would be considered as one of the factors in making the ultimate best interest decision as to custody and parenting time. The Appellate Division makes clear that if the trial court ultimately decides not to interview the child, the trial court is required by statute to place its reasons for not interviewing the child on the record. The Appellate Division also seemingly states that the trial court needs a better reason than it would be awkward or uncomfortable to interview the child. Moving forward, under the mandates of this decision, it appears that custody disputes should have a clear procedural path to an ultimate determination that, as always, should be in the best interests of the child. The attorneys at James P. Yudes, P.C., are well equipped to deal with these types of issues and are available to discuss any current custody disputes that may have come to light. | https://www.newjerseydivorcelawyer-blog.com/custody-dispute-crackdown/ |
Thanks to generous support from our donors, we have successfully reached our fundraising goal for this project.
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Giant Golden-crowned Flying foxes. Photo by Brian Evans
Composed of a sprawling network of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines contain lowland tropical rainforest, wetlands, mangroves and thousands of miles of coastline. The astounding variety of habitats makes the country a thriving hotspot for biodiversity with the highest rate of new animal species being discovered, as 15 new mammal species were discovered just in the last 10 years.
Despite the nation’s incredible biodiversity value, many of its natural resources remain unprotected. Smaller islands within the Philippines are rich in rare and endemic species, like Dinagat Island off the north coast of Mindanao, and they are particularly at risk. Recognized as a Key Biodiversity and Important Bird Area with several rare and endemic species, Dinagat Island remains without any formal government-sanctioned protected areas. The island provides a haven to the Critically Endangered Dinagat Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat, the shrew-like Dinagat Gymnure (also known as the Dinagat Moonrat) and an endemic form of the Philippine Tarsier.
To save the island’s unique and endangered wildlife, Rainforest Trust is working with local partner Green Mindanao to create four new protected areas that will secure much-needed forest and coastal habitat. Given the global downturn in commodities, the locally progressive government is poised to seize this opportunity to work together with local mining companies for the mutual benefit of both conservation and sustainable development on Dinagat Island.
Biodiversity
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Photo by Juan Ramos
Known for its lush rainforests, Dinagat Island is home to 400 plant and over 100 bird species, including the Vulnerable Philippine Duck and Mindanao Broadbill and the Near Threatened Writhed Hornbill. Twenty species of vertebrates and 13 species of plants that occur here are threatened with extinction.
The four proposed protected areas are home to a wealth of unique and rare wildlife species. Found only in the Philippines, the Endangered Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox, one of the largest bats in the world with more than a five-foot wingspan, today faces the real possibility of extinction due to poaching and destruction of forest habitat. Additionally, the targeted areas will safeguard at least two incredibly rare and endemic species of rodents, including the Critically Endangered Dinagat Bushy-tailed Cloud Rat and the Endangered Dinagat Gymnure. Also found in the area, the Near Threatened Philippine Tarsier may soon be classified as a distinct and threatened species of primate.
A wide variety of marine life is also found along Dinagat Island’s many bays, lagoons and coastal habitats, such as Dugongs, Manta Rays, Whale Sharks, sea turtles and dolphins.
Challenges
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Mining on the island. Photo by Rick Passaro/Rainforest Trust
The primary threat to the wildlife of Dinagat Island is from open pit mining in search of raw chromite and nickel for export. Other detrimental activities include hunting, illegal timber felling and the making of charcoal, as well as agricultural expansion and land conversion for industrial purposes.
Communities
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Local fisherman. Photo by Ronald Tagra
Local communities on Dinagat Island rely primarily on farming, fishing, timber and mining, as well as small-scale seaweed cultivation.
Challenges remain to incorporate hunters, loggers and charcoal makers into the conservation process, but local leaders, communities and other stakeholders are widely supportive of the new protected areas.
Led by teachers, church workers and local indigenous groups, there is a palpable desire for conservation and sustainable development on Dinagat Island, as evidenced by community-led protests against destructive mining companies. In addition, environmental education and outreach activities such as campaigns, competitions and festivals commonly highlight environmental and social awareness.
Landscape
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Lush forests of Dinagat Island. Photo by Rick Passaro/Rainforest Trust
Located just north of the Philippines’ large southern island of Mindanao, Dinagat Island is one of the most environmentally significant provinces in the Philippines, possessing a large number of endemic flora and fauna.
Encompassing lowland tropical rainforest, wetlands, mangroves and coastal habitats, Dinagat Island is surprisingly diverse for its small size. Together with the island’s isolation, this has led to ideal conditions for speciation to occur, resulting in a plethora of endemic plant and animal species found nowhere else.
Solutions
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Rick Passaro, Asia Conservation Officer, with Manuel Segador. Photo by Rick Passaro/Rainforest Trust
To ensure a future for Dinagat Island’s remarkable biodiversity, Rainforest Trust is working with its local partner Green Mindanao to protect 16,413 acres. This effort will establish four new protected areas that will serve as refuges for the island’s unique and endemic species.
A management council composed of representatives from the municipal government and local people will oversee the new protected areas, and forest guards and local police will be involved in enforcing new regulations. Incorporating these new protected areas into the wider Dinagat Conservation Areas scheme will help secure funding and technical support in the long term.
A newly elected anti-mining congresswoman native to the island along with local officials are negotiating with mining interests to select where the new protected areas will be established. So far, these officials have secured the approval of nine out of 10 participating mining companies. Financial support will be utilized to map and delineate the new protected areas, as well as enable workshops for management and protection training. Patrol equipment, ranger stations, wildlife habitat assessments and policy adoption are key components of this project.
Creating this new network of protected areas with the support of local communities is a major step forward to ensure a lasting future for Dinagat Island’s remarkable and rare species, many of which are found nowhere else on the planet. | https://www.rainforesttrust.org/project/safeguarding-endangered-rats-bats-dinagat-island/ |
- The board acknowledged that the notes sent out for the past three meetings accurately reflected the work of the board.
- Jeff presented current data on the Housing Selection Process. Application numbers are well ahead of this time last year. Deadline for applications is Friday, February 29, 2008.
- Residential Learning Community proposals are also due February 29th. None have been submitted to this date.
- RSA is doing a survey to answer some questions about lighting in the North Halls living units in response to the concerns that were expressed at the January CDAB meeting.
- 5. We discussed the currently proposed version of the alcohol policy. Many comments were made regarding clarification of the purpose of the policy. Specifically, we want to more clearly state the positive intent of the policy at the beginning and end of the policy. A clear concise statement should be created to summarize the policy. Amber and Andrea are working to present a version of the policy that reflects the comments made today for our next CDAB meeting.
- The next meeting will be Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. Our remaining meetings for the semester are 3/27, 4/10, 4/24). | https://studentaffairs.lasalle.edu/tbae/2008/02/21/meeting-minutes-february-21-2008-2/ |
Precarious work can be defined, in a general way, as a lack of security in employment that affects multiple dimensions such as the contract period, the labor rights, the wages, and the employment relationship.
In the last years, we are going through a period of economic and humanitarian crisis. Wars, refugees, hunger, etc. are the real main problems that our society is facing nowadays. The United Nations (2018) has launched an initiative known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which is composted by a total of 17 objectives which main goal is to deal and improve the current situation. This initiative was born in 2015 when the worldwide leaders agree a set of objectives to eradicate poverty, to protect the planet, and to ensure a sustainable development. Specifically, it was in 2016 when it comes into force until year 2030. Before SDG the United Nations also carried out another initiative known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) which was composed by eight objectives. Focusing on the SDG, their main aim is to achieve a sustainable and inclusive development through the consecution of the 17 goals which are in Table 1.
This entry is focused on the analysis of precarious work in Europe. The International Labour Office (2011b) explains as the concept “precarious work” is challenging to define precisely due to the differences between countries which have different regulations and social structures. Blustein et al. (2016) explain as based on Benach et al. (2014) precarious work is composed by four elements: insecurity in terms of employment, vulnerability (lack of power to exercise rights), the level of protection, and the level of income.
Workers on temporary contracts with variable durations directly employed or hired through an agency.
A lack of trade union rights.
Broughton et al. (2016) have also published a report where the starting point for the analysis of the precarious work is based on the conceptual framework elaborated by Olsthoorn (2014). In this, three main components are highlighted: the first is the lower level of security in employment (work obtained through a temporary agency, short-time contracts, etc.), the second is the fact that rights are vulnerable (e.g., lower economic subsidies), and the third is related with the vulnerability of the work (e.g., lower incomes) (Fig. 1).
In terms of contractual agreements, the duration of the contract (which is limited: fixed-term, short-term, temporary, seasonal, day-labor, or casual labor) and the nature of the employment relationship (triangular and disguised employment relationships, bogus self-employment, subcontracting, or agency contracts) are the main characteristics of precarious work.
On the basis of these contributions, a general definition of precarious work can be shown. It can be seen as a lack of security in employment that affects multiple dimensions such as the contract period, the labor rights, the wages, and the employment relationship.
Precariousness in employment. This is a concept which contains several dimensions related to specific characteristics of job which trigger insecurity, such as a weak regulatory protection, low wages, and low levels of control over wages, hours, or working conditions from the perspective of employees.
Precarious work. It is referred to those jobs that accumulate several dimensions of precariousness, such as nonstandard jobs or the so-called bad jobs.
Precarious workers. It is making reference to those individuals with precarious works, affected by the consequences of precariousness.
Examples: migrant workers with physically difficult or dangerous jobs or underemployed young workers in order to have work experience and prove their reliability.
Precariat. This is linked with the group of precarious workers which are an emerging class, due to the increase of people in this situation.
Precarity. This concept describes a widespread condition of social life, associated with the uncertainty and instability that suffer the precarious workers. It can be extending to other areas such as housing, welfare provision, and personal relationships. The hyper-precarity relates to severe forms of labor exploitation suffered, for example, by migrant workers.
Taking into account this context, the main objective of this entry is to analyze each one of these levels in order to obtain some conclusions that could shed light in the design of better future policies in terms of the SDG, specially, considering that one of the SDG is related with the promotion of decent work.
The rest of the entry is organized as follows: The second section deals with the question of the precariousness in employment. The third section analyzes precarious work and the fourth section precarious workers. In addition, the fifth section studies the precariat while the sixth section is focused on precarity. This entry ends with a discussion of some important conclusions in the last section.
Considering these dimensions, it is important to review the role of labor regulation in precariousness in employment. The labor market situation has developed substantially in the last decades. However, the legislative frameworks failed to follow this development, allowing a substantial increment in precarious work arrangements (International Labour Organization 2011b). Both national and international labor regulations have weaknesses, omissions, and gaps. Some specific categories, such as agricultural and domestic workers, are often excluded from the protection of labor legislation. In other cases, the use of temporary and subcontracted labor is not sufficiently restricted. Moreover, access to trade union rights is limited, due to the practice of hiring temporary and subcontracted workers and due to the legal limits of workers to be members of trade unions, for example.
Analyzing the legal factor at national level, International Labour Office (2011b) suggests that one of the law factors that can contribute to the expansion of precarious work is the type of work relationship. Some examples of precarity within an employment relationship are identified below.
Low income. Countries with a wide low pay sector generally have neither comprehensive collective bargaining coverage nor statutory minimum wages. This situation is becoming noticeably worse during periods of high unemployment.
Weak labor regulatory. Weak enforcement of labor law has serious consequences for workers. Even if they are protected, they feel precarious. This situation comes most often in governments that separate the regulation, the implementation, and the labor law enforcement in different ministries.
From an international perspective, there are international labor standards that seek to protect all workers. Conventions and recommendations adopted by the International Labour Conference are of general application, unless otherwise specified. The International Labour Organization emphasizes the freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the nondiscrimination, the abolition of forced labor, and the eradication of child labor.
Besides the role of legal factors, it is also necessary to consider the role of economic drives of precarious work as it has also been remarked by the International Labour Office (2011b). In this sense, it is crucial to consider multiple combinations of several factors, such as the abuse of dominant economic position, the liberalization of the economy, or the increasing global mobility in the markets (in addition to mentioned before, weak protective labor laws, leading by lobbies, and some policies guided by the belief in the efficiency of free markets). Thus, in the past few years, most societies have seen an improvement in its economy. The growth in Africa, postcommunist countries, and Latin America has led to a convergence process of the gross domestic product (GDP) on an international level since 2001 (Milanovic 2012). However, the wages and salaries do not follow the same rhythm (International Labour Organization 2011b).
The standard employment relationship in industrialized countries was based on labor rights, social security, rising wages, and collective representation. This standard has contributed to the establishment of a broad middle class and to the upward social mobility. Welfare-state provisions and collective bargaining have been achieved at the same time. Nevertheless, they are now in risk. With the advent of globalization, the trend of the long postwar period was reversed. Employers have started to use inexpensive labor in order to cut staff expenditures and maximize profits. In addition, they are able to hire labor on increasingly less secure contracts within formal firms. A divide et impera strategy has been (and is being) applied to undermine the standard employment relationship. In this regard, precarious work is the result of a change of the rules of the game. Currently, with the global capital mobility and the global sourcing options, it is easier for companies to relocate their operations to areas with cheaper labor or, alternatively, outsource them, which has caused a job contraction. New information and communication technology advancements, together with the falling transport costs, are contributing in this process.
The theory of unemployment entrapment in neoliberal economics emphasizes that acute economic deprivation is an important stimulus for a more intense search for employment and for greater flexibility when accepting a job (Gallie et al. 2003). From this neoliberal perspective, precarious work is the solution to the job contraction. To achieve full employment, it is necessary to deregulate labor markets and make work “more flexible.” But this neoliberal doctrine needs a government that makes the social transfers conditional on accepting any kind of work, facilitating low-pay and precarious work. Therefore, this type of employment policies led to an increase in working poor. Other factors to take into account in creating the precariat are laws that allow easy layoffs; the exclusion of vulnerable groups like young people, women, or the elderly from labor protection; and the simultaneous increase of agency work and reliance on temporary workers.
As a result, the employment market created over the last decades is working outside control and without an appropriate structure. This supposes a big challenge for policymakers, employers, trade unions, and other social actors. Traditionally, the responsibility was shared between employer and employee within the framework of labor and social rights. Currently, the unprotected employee bears the burden, resulting in precarity. According to the International Labour Office (2011b), to stop this trend, it is necessary to implement sustainable labor policies that allow secure jobs, which provide decent wages and working hours that are compatible with family life.
There is no perfect correlation between specific types of employment and precarious work. While casual and external forms of work are growing, the growing of precarious work may be affected by many factors in addition to this. However, there are certain forms of work that have a high correlation with the increase of precarity, such as temporary employment, specifically fixed-term contracts, and temporary agency work (International Labour Organization 2011b).
What has been the evolution over time of precarious work? Focusing on the temporary forms of employment, they are increasing alarmingly. Figure 2 shows as since the 1980s, there is a trend to increase the percentage of temporary workers both in European Union (EU) and in the OECD (from 8–9% to 12–14%). This trend is increasing until 2006–2007, and after this period, a slight decrease is observed. It is surprisingly that nowadays the percentage of temporary working has no suffered important decreases. In addition, it is also important to emphasize that the economic crisis does not seem to have had importance in terms of temporal contracts.
The problem is moving toward an employment arena in which employers only provide a permanent work to core workers, while all other employees have no security, low wages and benefits, and a miniscule chance of professional advancement (International Labour Organization 2011b).
When talking about temporary employments (one of the types of employment over the category of precarious work), it is crucial to consider whether this work is chosen voluntarily or on the contrary whether it is an involuntary situation. Table 2 shows as the percentage of employees that could not find a permanent job in the EU has been increasing over time with a 4.6% in year 2002 and a 7.8% in 2017. Once again, the past economic crisis seems not to be behind these numbers because this increase took place in year 2006. Another important and worrying issue is the percentage of employees with temporary jobs because they could not find a better job. In this case the trend is the same; in year 2002 around 37.3% of the population in the EU was in this situation, while in year 2007, the percentage is about 53.9%. This means than more than the half of individuals with temporary contracts are in this situation because they are not able to find better jobs. Thus, the increase was preferably involuntary. The employees must choose this option because no better work is available.
At this point, it is important to note that according to data from the Eurofound (2017), the workers with permanent contracts report more favorable job quality, in general, than workers on temporary contracts. Although the number of temporary involuntary jobs seems not to be affected by the financial and economic crisis of 2008, during these years it was easier for companies to adjust the number of temporary workers and their hours than the number of employees with permanent contracts (Vandekerckhove et al. 2012).
In a country-by-country analysis conducted by the International Labour Office (2011b), Western Continental Europe countries have increased the temporary forms of employment ranging from about 3% for Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany to 16% for Spain, with Portugal, France, Italy, and the Netherlands standing between 5% and 9%. Scandinavian countries showed stable or slightly declining rates over that period. On the other hand, Central European countries suffered an increase over the period. Greece and Turkey have a declining trend, having started at around 20% in the 1980s, with shares hovering around 13% in 2007.
In order to analyze the evolution of precarious work in the strictest sense, Eurostat (2018a) provides the percentage of workers that are in this situation since year 2002 to year 2017. Thus, in 2002 around 1.6% of workers were under a precarious situation, while in year 2005, this percentage increases to 2.3%, and this number is maintained until 2017. Analyzing the geographical differences nowadays (year 2017), Croatia and Montenegro have the higher rates of precarious work in the EU (over 7%), followed by Turkey (6.4%) and Slovenia, France, and Spain (about 5%).
Attending to differences between economic sectors, Table 3 shows the data provided by Eurostat. It highlights the “Agriculture, forestry, and fishing” sector as having the higher percentages of precarious work in the EU.
Another point to have in mind when focusing on the social aspect is that part-time jobs may be precarious, but not in the same way for all people. For example, it’s not the same for a student who combines school and a part-time job as to the head of the household who depends on employment to keep the family afloat. The impact in their lives is especially relevant in the presence of social conditions, such as the dependence of full-time workers on the wage for their subsistence, family relations, social norms, education, and the welfare regimes (Campbell and Price 2016). Social relations outside the workplace and the action of institutions may imply different effects on workers. The welfare-state payments in order to reduce the risk of poverty could be considered a positive effect. On the contrary, an example of a negative effect could be immigration rules that position workers in a precarious status.
Regarding agency workers, Convention No. 181 (1997) favors their access to their fundamental rights at work improving their working conditions, although does not limit the use of this type of workers.
The Part-Time Work Convention (1994) (No. 175) seeks for part-time workers to receive the same protection as full-time workers. Part-time employees should benefit from conditions equivalent to maternity protection, end of contract, paid annual leave and paid bank holidays, and sick leave. This convention also seeks to protect workers against involuntary part-time, promoting initiatives aimed at preventing workers from being trapped in part-time employment.
Table 4 presents the percentage of temporary employees by age and as it can be seen younger people are the most affected by this type of employment. Therefore, during the last year and according to the data of Eurostat (2018c), it seems that younger people are becoming the new precariat class.
Both precariousness and precarious work are related to labor insecurity. The employers are taking advantage of the weak labor regulation to reduce labor costs and the quality of employment. And the consequences for precarious workers may range from a decrease of physical, mental well-being to the decline of other aspects of social life linked to paid work (Campbell and Price 2016). Paid work is relevant for the quality of life because of the income but also because it provides identity to people and opportunities to socialize with others (Stiglitz et al. 2009).
The new economy approaches focus the attention on those objective characteristics on which people’s quality of life depends. These characteristics include the personal activities, and decent work is within these. It is necessary pointing to the high costs of involuntary unemployment for people’s quality of life. In addition to income, nonpecuniary effects of job instability (sadness, stress, and pain) among the unemployed and of fears and anxieties generated by unemployment in the rest of society must be mentioned (Stiglitz et al. 2009).
Most modern societies are faced with an accelerated urbanization process. Population groups of different origins and cultures move to cities in search of better opportunities. However, in many cases, they are forced to accept those jobs that nobody wants. According to Peter Drucker, the problems of social minorities originate in the lack of a position and a social function. He argues that the way to integrate into the group is through the property or the contract. In this way, employment is one of the mechanisms to obtain a position and a social function (Stein 2008).
Between these population groups are the migrant workers. These individuals suffer a considerable job insecurity: they have higher unemployment rates, and when in employment, they are frequently segregated into low-paid, unskilled, and precarious employment. Table 5 shows data available regarding the lack of opportunities for these people in access labor market in EU countries. Fewer opportunities for training, language barriers, limited access to the public sector and to managerial positions, ethnic prejudices, legal barriers, and discrimination by colleagues or educational qualifications are some factors that contribute to the hyper-precarity of migrant workers. Finally, it is important to remark that due to the crucial role played by migrant workers in the economic growth of countries, Eurofound (2007) recommends paying more attention to their employment and working conditions.
Different countries in the world present the same characteristics: wage employment is increasing, but with more insecurity for the employees. In this situation, labor protection laws play a crucial role. In countries with the absence of permanent forms of contract, the employers can abuse workers’ rights because the employees’ main goal is the renewal of contract. The fear leads to workers not to join trade unions, increasing their vulnerability to precarious work arrangements. Therefore, it is necessary to include the labor market policies in a broader set of measures, which must be consistent and complementary. Even under the current globalization regime, it is possible that countries improve social economic outcomes with this type of policies.
Through the literature review conducted in this study, it has been found that the achievement of a full employment should be considered as one of the main economic goals (ILO 2011b). Therefore, policymakers should consider that fiscal and monetary policies could help, for example, reducing the financial market volatility, strengthening progressive tax structures, and investing from the public administration aiming to reach the socioeconomic equity and sustainability. Previous studies also remark that the collective bargaining favor the wage growth and the importance of limiting temporary contracts that should only be used for peak periods of labor demand. It is important to note that achieving good working conditions is crucial to provide universal access to education, health, and care facilities. | https://rd.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-71058-7_19-1 |
NCI complies with requirements for privacy and security established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This page outlines our privacy and security policy as they apply to our site as well as third party sites and applications that NCI uses (for example, Facebook, YouTube).
Your visit to the NCI website is private and secure. When you visit the NCI website, we do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) about you, unless you choose to explicitly provide it to us. We do, however, collect some data about your visit to our website to help us better understand public use of the site and to make it more useful to visitors. This page describes the information that is automatically collected and stored.
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As part of the Open Government Directive, NCI uses a variety of new technologies and social media tools to communicate and interact with our audiences. Use of some of these applications could cause personally identifiable information (PII) to become available or accessible to NCI, regardless of whether NCI solicits or collects it. The table below lists the websites and applications we use. If any of these sites or applications collect PII, we describe what is collected and how NCI protects the information.
NCI uses Twitter to send short messages (up to 140 characters) or “Tweets” to share information about NCI with our audiences and respond to comments and inquiries sent via Twitter to NCI. While users may read the NCI Twitter feeds without subscribing to them, users who want to subscribe to (or follow) NCI Twitter feeds must create a Twitter account at www.twitter.com.
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Submit proposals to the Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research solicitation (NSF 21-502).
The Instrumentation Programmatic Area supports the design of novel and innovative instrumentation and associated methods that address a clearly defined gap in biologists’ ability to capture observations of biological phenomena and that have the potential to be broadly applicable in biology. Proposed projects may include instrumentation for observing any level of biological phenomena (e.g., molecular, cellular, organismal, ecosystem, biome), and may propose either new and innovative instrumentation; instrumentation that significantly improves the accuracy, resolution, or throughput of data capture; or advancements that reduce costs of instrument construction or operation. The scope of the proposed instrumentation and associated methods can include, but is not limited to: microscopy; spectroscopy; imaging; environmental or biological sensors; robotic sampling; or remote image acquisition. Projects are expected to have a significant application to one or more biological science questions and have the potential to be used by a community of researchers beyond a single research team. In addition, PIs should include a description of the instrument design, the development plan, testing of a prototype, a plan for obtaining user community feedback, and a plan to broaden dissemination or future access of instruments to other researchers. | https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505836&org=DBI |
Vulnerability to oxidative stress and different patterns of senescence in human peritoneal mesothelial cell strains.
Both the ascites fluid-derived mesothelial cell line LP-9 and primary cultures of human omentum-derived mesothelial cells (HOMCs) are commonly used in experimental studies. However, they seem to have a different replicative potential in vitro. In the present study, we have attempted to determine the causes of this discrepancy. HOMCs were found to divide fewer times and enter senescence earlier than LP-9 cells. This effect was coupled with earlier increases in the expression of senescence-associated-beta-galactosidase and cell cycle inhibitors p16INK4a and p21WAF1. Moreover, almost 3 times as many early-passage HOMCs as LP-9 cells bore senescence-associated DNA damage foci. In sharp contrast to LP-9 cells, the foci present in HOMCs localized predominantly outside the telomeres, and the HOMC telomere length did not significantly shorten during senescence. Compared with LP-9 cells, HOMCs were found to enter senescence with significantly lower levels of lipofuscin and damaged DNA, and markedly decreased glutathione contents. In addition, early-passage HOMCs generated significantly more reactive oxygen species either spontaneously or in response to exogenous oxidants. These results indicate that compared with LP-9 cells, HOMCs undergo stress-induced telomere-independent premature senescence, which may result from increased vulnerability to oxidative DNA injury.
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Hope that school might return to normal in the fall is quickly dimming as new COVID-19 variants threaten to pummel communities throughout the country and COVID hospitalization rates increase.
Many districts are dusting off COVID-19 safety and cleaning protocols and shoring up remote learning options. All signs point to record teacher and staff departures at schools across the country. Pandemic era shortages continue to plague school districts, affecting everything from the availability of nutritious food for school lunches to basic classroom supplies. And that’s to say nothing of the impact of high inflation and record-high gas prices on schools. Meanwhile, school and district leaders continue to try to regain ground against so-called “learning loss” that occurred during the pandemic, investing in tutoring programs and summer school options.
Faced with these daunting realities, it’s understandable that school and district leaders might put deep investment in students’ physical and mental health on the back burner.
But that would be a mistake.
Children’s Health Is Crucial to Closing the Achievement Gap
Student wellbeing—including physical and mental health—is deeply intertwined with learning outcomes. In short, healthy children learn better than children who are suffering from health-related problems. That’s the big takeaway from decades of research and emerging findings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on student outcomes.
Researchers have shown that mental health risks—including aggression, depression, and suicidal behaviors—are often present for students experiencing struggles in school. On the other hand, researchers have found a positive correlation between physical exercise and particular types of cognitive skills, particularly executive function. Executive function includes many of the core skills needed for learning: memory, attention, planning, and the ability to manage multiple tasks.
Even short amounts of physical activity have been shown to improve students’ cognition. In one study, researchers asked children to complete cognitive tasks after either watching television or engaging in physical activity for 30 minutes. The children who participated in exercise significantly outperformed those who watched television. In another study, researchers administered academic achievement tests after children walked on a treadmill at a moderate pace. Children who walked on the treadmill performed better on the achievement tests than those who rested prior to testing.
There’s a key equity dimension of this research. Health challenges disproportionately affect children in low-income communities, particularly children of color in urban areas, resulting in a widening achievement gap. Children in low-income communities are more likely to experience pollution, food insecurity, housing insecurity, and stress, among other factors affecting physical and mental health, which, in turn, affect learning.
The pandemic has only exacerbated these challenges. More than 200,000 children have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19, affecting Black and Hispanic children at nearly twice the rate of white children. Researchers have documented declines in children’s mental health during remote learning and social distancing. Just a few months into the pandemic, one in three parents reported that their child was experiencing harm to their mental or emotional health. One study found that during the pandemic, adolescents showed more signs of anxiety and depression and a decrease in life satisfaction.
Researchers have also found substantially decreased physical activity among children during the pandemic, with socioeconomically disadvantaged children faring especially poorly. Many experts have raised concerns that these disparities could lead to increased risk of diabetes, obesity, and other adverse health outcomes for children in the long-term. In turn, such health challenges could significantly affect students’ learning—especially among students from low-income communities—further widening an achievement gap that has become more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What can schools do about these health challenges?
Research has shown that school investments in physical education and mental health services can play a role in improving student learning outcomes. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools have stepped up or extended existing programs to provide food and social services to students and families. But with few trained counselors, nurses, or other professionals, and with so many other demands on educators’ time and energy, it’s hard for many schools and districts to help address students’ mental and physical health at scale.
Instead, statewide initiatives offer an opportunity to leverage pandemic-era learnings in order to offer health services at scale. One such model is the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) partnership with the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) to provide telehealth services to K-12 students. The partnership officially launched earlier this year, with clinical implementation beginning in July.
Leveraging Investments in Tech for Better Health
The $17.6 million telehealth delivery system grant is funded by the MDE out of the state’s COVID-19 relief funds. The program will draw on UMMC personnel to provide telehealth services to K-12 schools in Mississippi across the following areas: remote urgent care, remote behavioral health, dental health education, and lifestyle coaching of students at risk for developing diabetes.
UMMC will conduct needs assessments with schools and districts, and set up and maintain the program locally, training school nurses and other staff on how to use the system. UMMC staff will convene local stakeholders to identify goals and metrics to evaluate locally and will continue to monitor progress for the duration of the grant. The program will initially be available in four districts, but telehealth services will expand to all districts throughout the state by July 2023.
The goal of the program? To use preventative services to improve health outcomes of Mississippi’s students, in order to improve learning.
Carey Wright, the recently retired Mississippi state superintendent of education, explained the goals of the partnership this way: “Healthy students learn better. … This program can potentially reduce absenteeism, help parents and guardians get quicker access to services for a child and even save lives.”
The MDE leverages the technological capacity that the MDE has built through its Mississippi Connects program. That initiative provides computing devices to students and teachers throughout the state, and offers the infrastructure to support use of these devices, including professional development, software, curricula, broadband, and other resources. These devices and services are critical for students accessing telehealth services.
The telehealth partnership also leverages the expertise of UMMC’s professionals in delivering telehealth services. UMMC’s Center for Telehealth has more than 200 sites in 73 of the state’s 82 counties and has expanded its telehealth capacity during the pandemic.
That reach and expertise has been particularly important for serving the state’s most vulnerable populations, according to Dr. Saurabh Chandra, chief telehealth officer at UMMC’s Center for Telehealth. “Telehealth has provided means to increase access and delivery of care, especially in the rural and underserved communities,” Chandra says.
It’s too soon to say how effective the partnership will be. But the MDE’s telehealth partnership with UMMC has the promise to address health disparities that have become more pronounced during the pandemic, and that threaten students’ learning. It’s a model that other states would be wise to monitor. | https://jobseekernewshubb.com/2022/07/30/students-physical-and-mental-health-declined-during-the-pandemic-could-a-new-telehealth-initiative-help/ |
The Schedule D form is what most people use to report capital gains and losses that result from the sale or trade of certain property during the year.
Schedule D
Most people use the Schedule D form to report capital gains and losses that result from the sale or trade of certain property during the year. In 2011, however, the Internal Revenue Service created a new form, Form 8949, that some taxpayers will have to file along with their Schedule D and 1040 forms.
Capital asset transactions
Capital assets include all personal property, including your:
- home
- car
- artwork
- collectibles
- stocks and bonds
- cryptocurrency
Whenever you sell a capital asset held for personal use at a gain, you need to calculate how much money you gained and report it on a Schedule D. Depending on your situation, you may also need to use Form 8949. Capital assets held for personal use that are sold at a loss generally do not need to be reported on your taxes unless specifically required such as if you received a Form 1099-S for the sale of real estate. The loss is generally not deductible, as well.
The gains you report are subject to income tax, but the rate of tax you’ll pay depends on how long you hold the asset before selling. If you have a deductible loss on the sale of a capital asset, you might be able to use the losses you incur to offset other current and future capital gains.
- Capital gains and losses are generally calculated as the difference between what you bought the asset for (the IRS calls this the “tax basis”) and what you sold the asset for (the sale proceeds).
- Certain assets can have "adjustments" to the basis that can affect the amount gained or lost for tax purposes.
Short-term gains and losses
The initial section of Schedule D is used to report your total short-term gains and losses. Any asset you hold for one year or less at the time of sale is considered “short term” by the IRS.
For example, if you purchase 100 shares of Disney stock on April 1 and sold them on August 8 of the same year, you report the transaction on Schedule D and Form 8949, if required, as short-term.
When your short-term gains exceed your short-term losses, you pay tax on the net gain at the same ordinary income tax rates you pay on most of your other income, such as your wages or interest income.
Long-term gains and losses
Capital assets that you hold for more than one year and then sell are classified as long-term on Schedule D and Form 8949 if needed. The advantage to a net long-term gain is that generally these gains are taxed at a lower rate than short-term gains. The precise rate depends on the tax bracket you’re in.
Preparing Schedule D and 8949
Any year that you have to report a capital asset transaction, you’ll need to prepare Form 8949 before filling out Schedule D unless an exception applies.
Form 8949 requires the details of each capital asset transaction. For example, if you execute stock trades during the year, some of the information you must report includes:
- name of the company to which the stock relates
- date you acquired and the date you sold the stock
- purchase price (or adjusted basis)
- sales price
Also, just like Schedule D, there are two sections that cover your long-term and short-term transactions on Form 8949. You then compute the total gain or loss for each category and transfer those amounts to your Schedule D and then to your 1040.
There are two exceptions to having to include transactions on Form 8949 that pertain to individuals and most small businesses:
- Taxpayers can attach a separate statement with the transaction details in a format that meets the requirements of Form 8949.
- Taxpayers can omit transactions from Form 8949 if:
- They received a Form 1099-B that shows that the cost basis was reported to the IRS, and
- You did not have a non-deductible wash sale loss or adjustments to the basis, gain or loss, or to the type of gain or loss (short term or long term).
If one of the exceptions applies, then the transactions can be summarized into short-term and long-term and reported directly on Schedule D without using Form 8949.
If an exception applies you can still voluntarily report your transactions on Form 8949 which might be easier if you have some transactions that meet the exception requirements and some that don't.
Let a tax expert do your investment taxes for you, start to finish. With TurboTax Live Full Service Premier, our specialized tax experts are here to help with anything from stocks to crypto to rental income. Backed by our Full Service Guarantee. You can also file your own taxes with TurboTax Premier. Your investment tax situation, covered. File confidently with America’s #1 tax prep provider. | https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/investments-and-taxes/guide-to-schedule-d-capital-gains-and-losses/L1bKWgPea |
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There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios, c. By the mid-10th century, there was already a Christian community among Kievan nobility, under the leadership of Byzantine Greek priests, although paganism remained the dominant religion.Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus′ to convert to Christianity, either in 945 or 957.is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates.
This occurred five years prior to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and, unintentionally, signified the beginning of an effectively independent church structure in the Moscow (North-Eastern Russian) part of the Russian Church.
The Kievan church was a junior metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical patriarch appointed the metropolitan, who usually was a Greek, who governed the Church of Rus'.
The Metropolitan's residence was originally located in Kiev itself, the capital of the medieval Rus' state.
The spot where he reportedly erected a cross is now marked by St. By the end of the first millennium AD, eastern Slavic lands started to come under the cultural influence of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In 863–69, the Byzantine Greek monks Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius, both from Greek Macedonia, translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic language for the first time, paving the way for the Christianization of the Slavs and Slavicized peoples of Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Ukraine, and Southern Russia. | https://shchukinconference2020.ru/russian-dating-in-australia-3465.html |
Figure 1 Exhibition
This month and until the end of June, the Learning Zone presents Figure 1. It’s a new exhibition which “engages with the tradition of figurative representation”.
Figure 1 showcases artwork from twelve OCAD University students working in various media and artistic styles to depict the human form.
Approaches range from realistic life painting to the exploration of abstract forms. Some artists chose to focus on expression, gesture, or emotion, while others tackled our relationships to objects, each other and the spaces we occupy.
Francis Tomkins curated Figure 1 and includes works by Misbah Ahmed, Alexandria Boyce, Wil Brask, Will Carpenter, Jisu Lee, Wenting Li, Clara Lynas, Natalie Mark, James Okore, Rem Ross, Brianna Tosswill, and Dalbert Vilarino. | http://blog.ocad.ca/wordpress/learningzone/2017/05/ |
The Chow test tells you if the regression coefficients are different for split data sets. Basically, it tests whether one regression line or two separate regression lines best fit a split set of data.
Split Data Sets and the Chow Test
Sometimes your data will have a break point or structural point (a period of significant or violent change), splitting a data set into two parts. For example:
- Donations given to an organization before and after a natural disaster.
- Stock market prices before and after Black Friday.
- House prices before and after a significant interest change.
- Asset prices before and after civil war.
If the two parts can be represented by one single regression line, we say that the regression can be “pooled.”
Let’s say your linear regression analysis of two parts of a data set (shown on the right) resulted in the following two linear regression equations:
- First part of the data: yt = X1*b1 + μ1
- Second part of the data: yt = X2*b2 + μ2
The Chow test would tell you if the coefficients b1 = b2 and μ
Running the Test
The null hypothesis for the test is that there is no break point (i.e. that the data set can be represented with a single regression line).
- Run a regression for the entire data set (the “pooled regression”). Collect the error Sum of Squares data.
- Run separate regressions on each half of the data set. Collect the Error Sum of Squares data for the two regressions.
- Calculate the Chow F statistic using the SSE from each subsample. The formula is:
where:
- RSSp = pooled (combined) regression line.
- RSS1 = regression line before break.
- RSS2 = regression line after break.
- Find the F-critical value from the F-table.
- Reject the null hypothesis if your calculated F-value falls into the rejection region (i.e. if the calculated F-value is greater than the F-critical value).
Reference:
Chow, G.C. (1960), “Tests of Equality between Sets of Coefficients in Two Linear Regressions,” Econometrica, 28, 591-605.
Stephanie Glen. "Chow Test: Definition & Examples" From StatisticsHowTo.com: Elementary Statistics for the rest of us! https://www.statisticshowto.com/chow-test/
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Comments? Need to post a correction? Please post a comment on our Facebook page. | https://www.statisticshowto.com/chow-test/ |
A peaceful country location with 200 feet of road frontage on a paved town road. The land consists of a mix of timberland including hardwoods, pine, and hemlock. From the road the land runs over 1,500 feet to the back of the property line providing plenty of room to hunt, hike, and relax. Less than 1 mile from Neils Creek, a NYS stocked trout stream. 70 miles south of Rochester.
Size: 6.68 Acres Price: $13,900
Town: Cohocton County: steuben
5 acres Hunting Land with Stream in Nunda NY Walsworth Road
Over 5 acres of hunting land in Nunda NY within minutes to over 2,000 acres of State Land. Great land to build your new cabin! Lots of whitetail deer and other wildlife signs throughout. Nice flowing stream on the property. Electric is available at the road which is a year-round maintained road.
Size: 5.14 Acres Price: $11,900
Town: Nunda County: livingston
51 acres Hunting Land with Storage Building in Middleburgh NY 1050 Mill Valley Road
Beautiful 51 acres in the hills of Schoharie County! New driveway leads up to a great building site. Many deer runs throughout this piece of land. ATV trails make it easy to get from front to back as it is quite a deep parcel at nearly a mile. Enclosed tree stand for maximized hunting potential! Storage building with concrete floor already in place to store your gear and equipment and even utilize as a camp!
Size: 51.82 Acres Price: $99,900
Town: Middleburgh County: schoharie
50 acres Field, Stream and Forest with Views in Greene NY County Road 9
Enjoy valley sunset views and walks along the wooded stream banks. This attractive versatile property has a 6 acre organic hay field, 13 acres of pasture and brush for livestock and game cover, and 31 acres of stream side eastern white pine, hemlock and northern hardwood forest. The land is fairly level with no steep banks to climb. Near the Chenango River and Bowbell State Forest.
Size: 50 Acres Price: $77,900
Town: Greene County: chenango
41 acres Building Lot in Hyde Park NY 42 Willow Cross Road Hudson Valley Region
Vacant, buildable 41 acres in the Town of Hyde Park NY in the Heart of the Hudson Valley. Great location ready for your new house, your country get-away or for 4 season recreation. It offers rolling topography with several hiking/ATV trails, unique rock outcrops and stone walls along with some small streams crossing the property, as well as signs of wildlife. This amount of undeveloped land in the Town of Hyde Park is a unique find!
Size: 41.427 Acres Price: $116,900
Town: Hyde Park County: dutchess-county
38 acres Hunting Land with Stream in Pine City NY 11907 Birch Creek Road
Mostly wooded tract of land includes 1,350 feet of road frontage and has a 2 acre field separating the road from the year-round stream. Woodlands consist primarily of hardwoods including oak, cherry, maple, and ash. Plenty of wildlife sign throughout the property including several noticeable deer trails. Great opportunity to own a country property of your own with plenty of space for your camp or cabin.
Size: 37.94 Acres Price: $52,400
Town: Caton County: steuben
22 acres with Water Views of Alma Pond in Alma NY County Road 38
Property consists of mostly hardwoods with some pine trees. Well-maintained gravel driveway off the road to build a cabin or camp. Mostly sloped with some level areas. Includes 935 feet of road frontage. Across the road is a New York State Fishing access site with a small boat launch. Alma Pond is great for canoeing, kayaking, fishing and swimming. Whitetail deer and other wildlife sign throughout the property.
Size: 22.7 Acres Price: $24,900
Town: Alma County: allegany
28 acres Building Lot near the Village of Marathon NY Maraview Lane
This nice quiet location is partially in the Village off of Mara Lane. Build here and leave you and yours plenty of room to play on, ride ATVs and enjoy nature. Residential location with extra acreage. Horses? Hunt? You can do it all! Nice location for those who enjoy the four seasons of Upstate New York. From skiing or snowmobiling to waterways and ATVs, this area has so much to do.
Size: 28.56 Acres Price: $64,900
Town: Marathon County: cortland
Building Lot in Great Valley NY 5728 Bonn Ridge East with Owner Financing
Over a half acre wooded lot on a quiet dead-end road. Perfect location for building your new home or cabin with beautiful valley views! Electric is available at the road. The land has a slight slope and is mostly hardwoods with lots of whitetail deer sign. Located just minutes away from Ellicottville NY and Holiday Valley for skiing. Under an hour to Buffalo NY.
Size: 0.61 Acres Price: $32,900
Town: Great Valley County: cattaraugus
81 acres Timberland in Westdale NY
Whether you are looking to build, invest, or just have a recreational place to hunt and call a getaway stay; this property has significant opportunities. An older farmhouse sits on the property that has a newer septic and dug well. There is a beautiful creek bed that has an ample amount of water any time of year! The timber on this property would surely offset your initial investment.
Size: 81.61 Acres Price: $89,900
Town: Camden County: oneida
30 acres Farm Fields with Pond in Summit NY Charlotte Valley Road
The road frontage is basically level for a country home that would make a perfect spot to have a walk-out basement as the land gently slopes down to the pond and natural spring-like terrain. Past the pond is open meadow until you get to the back half of the property that has part of Charlotte Creek running through the land.
Size: 30.88 Acres Price: $39,900
Town: Summit County: schoharie
21 acres Woodlands in Pleasant Valley NY Rossway Road
21 wooded acres is located directly across from a horse farm and offers serenity and privacy. Only minutes from the Taconic State Parkway. Less than a mile away from the 900 acre Taconic Hereford Multiple Use Area which is very popular with mountain bikers, joggers, horseback riders, dog walkers and even has 5 miles of snowmobile trails. If you desire a country feel in a suburban setting, this may be the perfect fit!
Size: 21 Acres Price: $158,900
Town: Pleasant Valley County: dutchess-county
10 acres House with Large Barn in Friendship NY 7738 County Road 20
10 acres with a 3 bedroom, 2 full bath home and large barn. Barn is 30 x 50 with hoist, electric, concrete floor and large 2nd floor which would be a great area for a workshop. Mixture of tillable land, pines, wood and shrub. Pasture area for horses or other grazing animals. House and barn sit on 6 acres and the lot across the street is a little over 4 acres with small pond, electric, and well water. The small hay field is currently in use.
Size: 10.4 Acres Price: $72,900
40 acres Waterfront Land on Cincinnatus Lake in Willet NY Route 41
Nice building lot with room to play and an acre on the water. Kayak, canoe or just have a seat and look over the water. The land is currently maintained for farming but with a little work could be an awesome building lot. NY-41 spits the acre on the waterfront from the acreage across the road.
Size: 40.97 Acres Price: $98,900
Town: Willet County: cortland
100 acres Hunting Land in McGraw NY Elm Street Cortland County
Amazing property loaded with deer just outside of the Village of McGraw, NY. This all-wooded 100 acres has trails throughout with a swale field full of deer trails. GREAT location just 1 mile off Route 81 EXIT 10. HUNTING LAND! There are logging roads that run through the woods offering great access.
Size: 100 Acres Price: $109,900
Town: McGraw/Cortlandville County: cortland
21 acres Hunting Land and Building Lot in Friendship NY 5492 Pigtail Road
This 21.9 acres consists of mostly hardwoods with some pine trees scattered throughout. Roughly 5 acres of open field to build your cabin or house. Land lays mostly flat with some slope towards the back of the property with 2 different creeks running through. 950 ft. of road frontage makes accessing the property easy and convenient. Across the street from State land for more recreational opportunities.
Size: 21.9 Acres Price: $39,900
703 acres Timberland and Tillable Farmland in Cameron NY Jackson Hill Road
Situated on a hilltop in central Steuben County is this large property consisting of six contiguous parcels, totaling over 700 acres of Timberland and Farmland. A rare opportunity to own a large property with great access featuring 3.2 miles of road frontage on three roads. The secluded property offers plenty of locations to build and would make a great destination for a family retreat, hunting camp, farm, or dream home.
Size: 703.23 Acres Price: $995,000
Town: Cameron County: steuben
3 acres Hunting Camp and Building Lot on Blaine Road in Friendship NY
Great building lot overlooking a pond with access to well and electric. This 3 acres is mostly open with some hardwood trees. Located on a private driveway just minutes from Friendship. The land is secluded from the main road which makes it an excellent area to build your private cabin or home.
Size: 3.1 Acres Price: $19,900
5 acres Building Lot in Verona NY Dunbarton Road
Located directly across from the Old Erie Canal Tow Path and just off State Route 46 for a quick ride into Oneida or Rome to get on the Thruway for travel east or west. Mainly wooded but it would not take much to clear a spot for a home or cabin. This land used to be a farm lot not too many years ago. Adirondacks, Sylvan Beach and snowmobile trails are all within a very short drive to suit your outdoor frenzy!
Size: 5.9 Acres Price: $19,900
Town: Verona County: oneida
101 acres in Palermo NY Island Road in Oswego County with Development Potential
Looking for one piece of property to build your forever home? Looking to subdivide and sell parcels? This one has it all. Over 101 acres with 2990 feet of frontage on Island Road and 740 feet on CR-45.
Size: 101.8 Acres Price: $129,900
Town: Palermo County: oswego
2.35 acres Prime Commercial Real Estate on Seneca Road in Hornell NY
Rare opportunity to buy a large commercial lot located in a high traffic area and less than one half mile from the new hospital. The corner lot includes more than 2 level lying acres with over 700 feet of road frontage on Seneca and Loon Lake Road.
Size: 2.35 Acres Price: $499,900
Town: Hornellsville County: steuben
13 acres New Metal Building in Homer NY 4832 Kinney Gulf Road
New 30 x 40 building with concrete floors, electric and an automatic garage door opener awaits you on Kinney Gulf Road in the town of Homer, NY. Add 13+ acres to this picture and you have a nice property to build your home in Cortland County. Close to I-81, Ithaca and Cortland, NY. 200 amp service. Panel on the wall (100 amps) in the garage and a pig tail for the future home. Talk about a turn-key property!
Size: 13.92 Acres Price: $99,900
Town: Homer County: cortland
7 acres Cabin with Pond in Birdsall NY 3726 Worden Road
This nice finished cabin includes a loft, bathroom, full septic and cased water well. Also, includes a recently installed 200 amp electric service. Open meadow with a small area of woods. Plenty of acreage for raising livestock and riding ATVs. Breathtaking views of the valley! Also, there is a large spring-fed pond that was built a year ago. It is ready to be stocked with fish, and is great for swimming.
Size: 7.8 Acres Price: $39,900
Town: Birdsall County: allegany
5 acres Building Lot in Berkshire NY Phillips Road
This 5 acre lot is located on Phillips Road in the Town of Berkshire. Phillips Road is a paved dead end road with very little traffic. The lot gently slopes down from the road offering a perfect opportunity for a walk-out basement with a southern exposure. There are very few neighbors and some newer homes built in the area. Close to Owego, Vestal and Ithaca.
Size: 5.4 Acres Price: $19,900
Town: Berkshire County: tioga
5 acres with Catskill Mountain Views in Stamford NY Castle Mountain Road
Hunting-Recreational wonderland just on the outskirts of the Catskill Mountains! A great little spot for hunting, or just an escape away from city life to be in a quiet atmosphere! | https://nylandquest.redbarnportal.com/property-category/building-lots/ |
MLS#:
1844164
Price:
$37,900
Property Information
Lot Description:
Lot Size:
.39
Builder:
Zoning:
R-1
Improvements:
Curb/gutter, Sidewalk
Available Information:
Approved plat map, Certified survey, Restrictions/covenants
Elem Sch:
River Valley
Middle Sch:
River Valley
High Sch:
River Valley
School District:
River Valley
Specific Builder Req.:
Waterfront:
Listed Defects:
Financial Information
Legal:
The Prairie Lot 29 039A Prt NW SE 7-8-4
Parcel:
182-0889-00000
Land Assess:
$100
Imp Assess:
$0
Total Assess:
$100
Assess Year:
2019
Net Taxes:
$2
Tax Year:
2019
Property Features
Utilities Available:
All underground, Cable, Electricity, Natural gas, Telephone
Water:
Municipal water available
Waste Disposal:
Municipal sewer available
Road:
Paved
Special Assess:
Miscellaneous:
Topography:
Level
Type:
City
Exterior Features:
County:
Sauk
Area:
Q30
Price:
$37,900
Total Acreage:
0.39
Wetland Acres:
0.0
Pasture Acres:
0.0
Tillable Acres:
0.0
Wooded Acres:
0.0
Price/SqFt:
$2.23
Number of Lots:
1
Subdivision:
The Prairie
Section Number:
0
The newest Business and Residential Subdivision to Spring Green. Soon to be the gateway to Spring Green. Several business lots now available with Hwy 14 frontage and access to US Hwy 23. Now's the opportunity to start that new business with super visability and great potential. Call today for a list of lots available, sizes, and maps. New Construction & New Offices already constructed. A great place - ck Spring Green out - see photo's
Directions: | https://www.firstweber.com/PUB:2652310&pres_agent= |
The term of office of any person chosen at a special election to fill a vacancy in any public office shall commence as soon as he shall qualify and give bond, if bond is required, and shall continue for the unexpired term of such office. Any person so elected shall qualify and give bond, if bond is required, no later than thirty days following the date on which the special election was held.
Code 1950, § 24-144; 1970, c. 462, § 24.1-75; 1982, c. 146; 1993, c. 641 .
1. Definition for Special election
Any election that is held pursuant to law to fill a vacancy in office or to hold a referendum.
See § 24.2-101.
2. Definition for Person
Any individual or corporation, partnership, business, labor organization, membership organization, association, cooperative, or other like entity.
For the purpose of applying the filing and reporting requirements of this chapter, the term “person” shall not include an organization holding tax-exempt status under § 501(c) (3), 501(c) (4), or 501(c) (6) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which, in providing information to voters, does not advocate or endorse the election or defeat of a particular candidate, group of candidates, or the candidates of a particular political party.
See § 24.2-945.1.
3. Definition for Election
A general, primary, or special election.
See § 24.2-101. | https://ebenchbook.org/virginia/statutes/%C2%A7-24-2-201-when-term-of-officer-elected-to-fill-vacancy-commences-and-expires/ |
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Nurse Informatics Data Analyst, Biomedical Informatics
Vanderbilt Health
| |
Description
JOB SUMMARY:
Department/Unit Summary:
The mission of the Vanderbilt Department of Biomedical informatics has complementary themes that include education, research, service, and a commitment to our colleagues in our own institution and around the world. The Educational Mission is to educate undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate trainees in the theory and practice of biomedical informatics. The Research and Service Mission is to develop and evaluate innovative technologies for the storage, retrieval, dissemination, and application of biomedical knowledge, in order to support clinical practice, biomedical research, life-long learning, and administration and as a result, to contribute to the professional body of knowledge in the field of biomedical informatics. The Professional and Ethical Mission is to maintain cooperation and collegiality with all those who learn and work with us locally, nationally, and internationally; and, to develop and disseminate ethical and professional standards for the conduct of biomedical informatics research and for the use and evaluation of health care informatics applications.
Position Shift:
Day Shift/ Exempt Position
Click here to view how Vanderbilt Health employees celebrate the difference they make every day:
Click Here To View The VUMC Promise of Discovery
Discover Vanderbilt University Medical Center:
Located in Nashville, Tennessee, and operating at a global crossroads of teaching, discovery and patient care, VUMC is a community of individuals who come to work each day with the simple aim of changing the world. It is a place where your expertise will be valued, your knowledge expanded and your abilities challenged. It is a place where your diversity -- of culture, thinking, learning and leading -- is sought and celebrated. It is a place where employees know they are part of something that is bigger than themselves, take exceptional pride in their work and never settle for what was good enough yesterday. Vanderbilt's mission is to advance health and wellness through preeminent programs in patient care, education, and research.
VUMC Recent Accomplishments
Because we are committed to providing the best in patient care, education and research, we are proud of our recent accomplishments:
* US News & World Report: #1 Adult Hospital in Tennessee and metropolitan Nashville, named to the Best Hospitals Honor Roll of the top 20 adult hospitals, 10 nationally ranked adult specialty programs, with 3 specialties rated in the top 10 nationally, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt named as one of the Best Children's Hospital in the nation, with 10 out of 10 pediatric specialties nationally ranked.
* Healthcare's Most Wired: Among the nation's 100 "most-wired" hospitals and health systems for its efforts in innovative medical technology.
* Becker's Hospital Review: named as one of the "100 Great Hospitals in America", in the roster of 100 Hospitals and Health Systems with Great Oncology Programs and to its list of the 100 Hospitals with Great Heart Programs.
* The Leapfrog Group: One of only 10 children's hospitals in the to be named at Leapfrog Top Hospital.
* American Association for the Advancement of Science: The School of Medicine has 112 elected fellows
* Magnet Recognition Program: Received our third consecutive Magnet designations.
* National Academy of Medicine: 22 members, elected by their peers in recognition of outstanding achievement
* Human Rights Campaign Healthcare Equality Index: 6 th year in a row that Vanderbilt University Medical Center was a Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality.
Additional Key Elements/ Responsibilities:
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES:
Position Qualifications: | https://jobs.mhanet.com/jobs/14299193/nurse-informatics-data-analyst-biomedical-informatics |
Political parties boost election campaigning, human rights activists reiterate the political prisoners issue
Political parties are attempting to mobilise their activists to participate in the ongoing local election campaign, but have little success amid the low interest in the campaign from the media and the population. Tell the Truth! is attempting to engage local population, which is most discontent with the current socio-economic policy and is willing to apply pressure on the authorities within the legal framework, in the campaign. Some opposition parties have focused on human rights issues to strengthen the conditionality of the Belarusian-European dialogue.
So far, the ongoing local election campaign, which is characterised by very few opposition representatives in the territorial election commissions (7 out of 10500), has been low-profile for the independent media and civil society. Nevertheless, registered parties have increased their nominees to the district commissions. In addition, opposition parties are attempting to promote the local elections among the population and mobilize citizens for participation in the campaign. For instance, regional forums held by Tell the Truth! have demonstrated the growth in interest in alternative proposals from the political opposition among the population: according to the organizers, more than 300 people participated in their events. Most likely, discontent with the authorities’ socio-economic policies is quite high in the regions, however it does not translate into open forms of street activity or confrontation with law enforcement, rather transforms into non-conflict participation.
The electoral activity in the regions is likely to be higher than in the capital, which traditionally reports low turnout, mainly ensured by early voting and ‘compulsory’ voting. Some pro-government political parties (for instance, the Communist Party, Liberal Democrats and Work and Justice Republican Party) aim to boost pressure on the Belarusian leadership, to nominate more candidates than in the previous local elections, to demonstrate the growing need for parties and local self-government in the Belarusian society.
In turn, some opposition parties are attempting to bring political issues back to the international agenda and domestic media space. Belarusian human rights activists have enhanced the information pressure on the Belarusian authorities to mitigate the attitude of penitentiary to convicts and organized an international campaign with the help of Amnesty International in support for Dmitry Polienko, a prisoner of conscience. Right-centrists and some other parties have reiterated the problem of political prisoners at the fifth Political Prisoners Forum. According to different assessments by the Belarusian opposition and human rights defenders, there are 2 to 9 political prisoners in Belarus. In addition, human rights activists continue to promote reforms in the Belarusian army after a public outcry following the deaths of servicemen in military units. The country’s top leadership has been prompted to respond to public pressure and take additional measures to build trust of the population.
Political parties are likely to have hard times overcoming the apathy and the lack of interest among the population in the local elections, especially in the capital. However, in the regions, the opposition has better chances to mobilise the population groups which formed the core of the protest movement against the decree on social dependants earlier this year, and those ready to apply non-conflict forms of pressure on the authorities. | https://belarusinfocus.info/society-and-political-parties/political-parties-boost-election-campaigning-human-rights-activists/ |
The Pileated woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America and is a keystone old growth associated species that is entirely dependent upon the specific characteristics of mature forests for its core habitat. Logging activities destroys much of this vital habitat and has had a profound impact on their existence. The removal of large diameter dead and living trees is the most significant impact affecting pileated woodpeckers because it eliminates nesting, roosting and feeding sites. Forest fragmentation also reduces population density by exposing birds to predation as they fly between patches. This species has also been the victim of extensive shooting and is currently protected from such actions though they are still shot to this day. Other threats considered to be most influential in the demise of species include: the conversion of forest habitats to non-forested habitats; monoculture and plantation style forestry; forest fragmentation; and removal of fallen logs and downed wood from the forest floor. In particular, the removal of logging residue and downed wood takes away the nutrients and foraging opportunities for pileated woodpeckers and also reduces the overall water content of the forest floor, making it less suitable for the insect species that species is dependent on.
Pileated woodpeckers occupy areas with mature, late successional forests that contain a lot of dead trees, or snags. particularly those which have become infected with heart rot. They typically excavate one large nest each year in the cavities of these snags, thus creating habitat for other large cavity nesters as they move on to new nest sites. The pileated woodpecker occupies both coniferous and deciduous forests and they can also be found along river corridors. Its primary food consists of carpenter ants living in fallen timber, dead roots, and stumps. It is found on each National Forest in the Sierra Nevada and therefore its range is quite diverse.
Pileated woodpeckers play an important role within their ecosystems as a keystone species by excavating nesting and roosting cavities that are subsequently used by many other birds and by many small mammals -- including the rare Pacific fisher, as well as reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. Appropriate management for maintaining viable habitat and populations should focus on maintaining foraging and nesting habitat, and retaining dead and dying trees in a range of habitats. Clear-cutting of old-growth and other forests currently has the most significant impact on pileated woodpecker habitat. Riparian forested habitats along rivers and large streams are also vitally important to pileated woodpeckers and logging operations in riparian areas can be especially devastating.
The pileated woodpecker is not currently listed as a threatened or endangered species, although it is a protected species. National Forests in the Sierra Nevada which currently list the species as a management indicator species (MIS) are the Eldorado, Lassen, Modoc, Sequoia, Stanislaus National Forests and the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. However, under recent amendments of the MIS requirements in the region, the pileated woodpecker has been dropped from monitoring requirements with the excuse that they have become too hard to locate.
Aubry, K.M. and C.L. Raley. 2002. The pileated woodpecker as a keystone habitat modifier in the Pacific Northwest [262 KB PDF]. In Laudenslayer, W.F. et al, eds. 2002. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests. Reno, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-181. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station; 949 p.
Laudenslayer Jr., William F.; Shea, Patrick J.; Valentine, Bradley E.; Weatherspoon, C. Phillip; Lisle, Thomas E. 2002. Proceedings of the Symposium on the Ecology and Management of Dead Wood in Western Forests. Reno, NV. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-181. Albany, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station; 949 p. | https://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/FC_SierraNevadaWildlifeRisk/PileatedWoodpecker.php |
Does Urdu use Arabic script?
Does Urdu use Arabic script?
Urdu is written in an adapted form of Arabic script. During the 8th Century the Persians began to use the Arabic script, adding a few letters for Persian sounds that did not occur in the Arabic language.
Is Urdu and Arabic script same?
It is a modification of the Persian alphabet, which is itself a derivative of the Arabic alphabet. The Urdu alphabet has up to 39 or 40 distinct letters with no distinct letter cases and is typically written in the calligraphic Nastaʿlīq script, whereas Arabic is more commonly written in the Naskh style.
Which Indian language also uses Urdu script?
Urdu shares its origins with Hindi, sometimes referred to as a ‘sister’ language of Urdu due to the similar grammar base that they share. However, Hindi went on to be written in ‘Devanagri’, the same script as Sanskrit, and its vocabulary has more of a Sanskrit influence than a Persian and Arabic influence.
Is Urdu written in Devanagari script?
Urdu has traditionally been written in the Arabic script, whereas Hindi is written in Devanagari.
Is Urdu the sweetest language?
An official language of six states of India, plus the national language of Pakistan, Urdu is spoken by over 200 million people in the world. All put together, Urdu has got the sweetness of languages like Bangla and Japanese, the ceremony and formality of the English language, and the elegance of the French language.
Is Urdu older than Hindi?
Urdu, like Hindi, is a form of the same language, Hindustani. It evolved from the medieval (6th to 13th century) Apabhraṃśa register of the preceding Shauraseni language, a Middle Indo-Aryan language that is also the ancestor of other modern Indo-Aryan languages.
Is Urdu written?
Urdu is closely related to Hindi, a language that originated and developed in the Indian subcontinent. Their distinction is most marked in terms of writing systems: Urdu uses a modified form of Perso-Arabic script known as Nastaliq (nastaʿlīq), while Hindi uses Devanagari.
What is the script of the Urdu language?
The Urdu script is an abjad script derived from the modern Persian script, which is itself a derivative of the Arabic script. As an abjad, the Urdu script only shows consonants and long vowels; short vowels can only be inferred by the consonants’ relation to each other.
What is Urdu grammar?
Urdu is a language of Indo-Aryan and its ancient form called Vedic Sanskrit. Urdu and Hindi grammar and vocabulary have very close similarities. But some principles and script is different. Urdu Letters and the Urdu Alphabets. Urdu letters and words are written from right to left opposed to English.
What country speaks Urdu?
Urdu is one of two official languages spoken in in Pakistan – the other language is english. Urdu is also an official language of five Indian states of India.
What is the meaning of Urdu?
Definition of Urdu. : an Indo-Aryan language that has the same colloquial basis as standard Hindi, is an official language of Pakistan, and is widely used by Muslims in urban areas of India. | https://www.ohare-airport.org/does-urdu-use-arabic-script/ |
Do you know where Georgia (country) is? It's a small country in Caucasus, surrounded by Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia and the Black Sea. Georgia has many things to be proud of, but the first and the most important is its alphabet, which is one of the 14 written scripts in the world and is among the 10 oldest languages still spoken in the world today. This amazing language is included in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List of Humanity and I'm going to tell you why!
Three Complete Written Script
Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli. Bit hard to pronounce, right? These are the names of three writing systems, all of which were/are used to write Georgian language.
Origin Of The Scripts
Asomtavruli is the oldest Georgian script. The name Asomtavruli means "capital letters", from aso(ასო)- "letter" and mtavari(მთავარი) - "principal/head". It's also known as Mrgvlovani, meaning "rounded" , as the letters have rounded shape. Despite its name, the script is unicameral, just like the modern Georgian script, Mkhedruli. The oldest Asomtavruli inscriptions found so far date back to 5th century, but recently, a new inscription was found which is way older than this and according to some researchers it brings us back to 10th century BC!
Language And Religion
Georgia is a Christian ( Orthodox) country. This religion started to establish in Georgia from the very first century, but it became country's official religion in 4th century. Christianity played a big role in country's cultural development and it wouldn't be surprising if I said that the language and literature reflected religion's symbolism and characteristics. The second Georgian script - Nuskhuri - first appeared in 9th century and became dominant over Asomtavruli in 10th century. But Asomtavruli had its comeback as the illuminated capitals. They were both used in religious manuscript together.
Symbolism
While looking at the Nuskhuri alphabet, the letter + (kani) will catch your eyes. It is the first letter of the name "Christ" in Georgian and has the shape of a cross, which reminds us of the True Cross, the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Also, the letter X (jani) is thought to be Christ's initials, however, some think that its shape is the closing remark of the alphabet.
Use Of Asomtavruli And Nuskhuri Today
Asomtavruli is used intensively in iconography, murals and exterior design, especially in stone engravings. Georgian linguist Akaki Shanidze made an attempt in the 1950s to introduce Asomtavruli into the Mkhedruli (3rd) script as the capital letters to begin sentences, but it did not catch on. Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri ( together - Khutsuri) are officially used by the Georgian Orthodox Church alongside Mkhedruli. Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia has called on people to use all three scripts and we are actually doing so. Asomtavruli is taught in schools and almost every Georgian ten-year-old school pupil is able to write in both scripts.
Although these two older script are not widely and officially used in management and advertisements, some Georgian restaurants or stores still use old written scripts. The reason behind this is that they look magical and stunning... Well, also owners want to impress tourists by the countless number of letters!
The Third And The Current Script
The script that we use today in everyday life is called Mkhedruli. It literally means "cavalry" or "military". Mkhedruli first appears in the 10th century. The oldest Mkhedruli inscription is found in Ateni Sioni Church dating back to 982 AD. Mkhedruli was mostly used then in the Kingdom of Georgia for the royal charters, historical documents, manuscripts and inscriptions. Mkhedruli was used for non-religious purposes only and represented "civil", "royal" and "secular" script.
Mkhedruli Alphabet - მხედრული ანბანი
ა(ani) ბ(bani) გ(gani) დ(doni) ე(eni) ვ(vini) ზ(zeni) თ(tani) ი(ini) კ(k'ani) ლ(lasi) მ(mani) ნ(nari) ო(oni) პ(p'ari) ჟ(zhani) რ(rae) ს(sani) ტ(t'ari) უ(uni) ფ(pari) ქ(kani) ღ(ghani) ყ(q'ari) შ(shini) ჩ(chini) ც(tsani) ძ(dzili) წ(ts'ili) ჭ(ch'ari) ხ(khari) ჯ(jani) ჰ(hae)
Letters Removed From The Georgian Alphabet
Currently, we have 33 letters in our alphabet, but we used to have 38! In 1879, The Society for the Spreading of Literacy among Georgians, founded by Ilia Chavchavadze discarded five letters from the alphabet as they had become redundant.
All the letters(except უ-uni) in Georgian alphabet were used for numeracy, instead of numbers. We had our own chronological system called Qoronikoni, which was based on this kind of usage of letters.
Kartvelian Languages
Georgian is a Kartvelian language. This language family also includes other languages which are used by people living in Georgia. Those languages shared the same root in the ancient era, but then developed differently.
These languages are:
- Svan
- Mingrelian
- Laz
Here I have to mention that I'm Laz and my people have very interesting history and culture, which I'll try to write about later!
Why Is Georgian Important For The World ?
Every language is unique in its own way. Georgian has many unique characteristics, that's why it's considered as the heritage of humanity. Here are few reasons why Georgian is important:
- Georgian literature is the treasure of Christian world. Our Hagiography is rich with Biblical symbolisms and parallels.
- Georgian is an ancient language and our chronicles have a vast information about national and world history.
- If you're fond of Mythology, then Georgia will be your paradise. Georgia, or Kolkha( old Georgian kingdom) is mentioned in some of the Greek myths, like the myth of Argonauts. Furthermore, despite the fact that the Georgia is the Christian country, we have our own mythological world which is still part of our everyday life.
Georgian Mythological Hero
Can I Learn Georgian?
YES! Although it's ranked as "exceptionally difficult" level 4 (out of 5) language, Georgian is not as hard to learn as it seems. Foreigners are sometimes frightened because of its uniqueness, Actually, Georgian is pretty easy to catch on. The only big difficulties are the pronunciation and the verb conjugation system. Here are some facts about the language which are quite interesting:
- Georgian language has about 18 dialects. They share the similar morphology and syntax, but they still retain their unique features.
- Hello in Georgian means "victory"(gamarjoba) and Good morning/evening means "morning/evening of peace" ( dila/saghamo mshvidobisa).
- The third person in Georgia doesn't have a gender - another simplicity!
- You can tell which region a person is from by their surname/
- Numerals are similar to French. e.g. 84 is pronounced as " four times twenty and four".
- There are three words for "yes"- Diakh (formal), ki (informal) and ho/xo (colloquial).
Goodbye in Georgian is pronounced as Nakhvamdis, which means "until next time", or Mshvidobit, meaning- "be in peace".
Georgia Made By Characters
Questions & Answers
Comments
No comments yet. | https://owlcation.com/humanities/Georgian-Language-A-Whole-New-Adventure |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
FIELD
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
This application claims priority of Taiwanese Invention Patent Application No. 107141226, filed on Nov. 20, 2018.
The disclosure relates to information identification, and more particularly to a screen identification method to identify a boot stage for each screen during execution of a basic input/output system (BIOS).
When a testing personnel intends to configure setting of a BIOS executed by a computer when the computer is powered on, the testing personnel has to know what the current boot stage is in order to perform the corresponding setup procedure. Conventionally, the testing personnel needs to pay attention to the information that is shown in the images displayed on a screen of the computer in order to know the current boot stage from the information. Such operation is not effective in terms of time and the use of manpower.
Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a method capable of automatically identifying a boot stage for a current BIOS screen image during execution of a BIOS of a computer device.
According to the disclosure, the method is proposed for identifying a boot stage of a BIOS of a computer device that, during execution of the BIOS, generates a plurality of BIOS screen images each corresponding to one of multiple boot stages of the BIOS. The method includes:by a control terminal that is communicatively coupled to the computer device, receiving screen information data indicative of a current BIOS screen image that corresponds to current operation of the BIOS of the computer device; by the control terminal, acquiring current screen information corresponding to the current BIOS screen image based on the screen information data; by the control terminal, acquiring a plurality of feature vectors based on the current screen information; and by the control terminal, using an image classification model that is used for classification of the BIOS screen images to classify, based on the feature vectors, the current screen information into one of a plurality of screen categories each corresponding to one of the boot stages, and generating boot stage information indicative of one of the boot stages that corresponds to said one of the screen categories.
Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics.
FIG. 1
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1
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Referring to , the embodiment of the method for identifying a boot stage of a BIOS of a computer device according to this disclosure is implemented by a system including the computer device , and a control terminal communicatively coupled to the computer device .
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The computer device may be, for example but not limited to, a personal computer, a notebook computer, a server, or a cloud server, and includes a computer-end communication module , a computer-end storage module , and a computer-end processing module coupled to the computer-end communication module and the computer-end storage module . The computer-end communication module may include a network card, an RS-232 controller, a baseboard management controller (BMC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a debug tool board, or a combination thereof. The computer-end processing module may include one or more processors, and may be selectively coupled to a computer-end display module (e.g., an LCD display) via a computer-end platform controller hub (PCH) or a computer-end signal output port (e.g., an HDMI port, a display port, a DVI port, a D-sub port, etc.).
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The computer-end storage module may include a non-volatile storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive, a flash memory module, an EEPROM, etc.) that stores the BIOS . The computer-end processing module is configured to load the BIOS into a volatile memory module (not shown) and to execute the loaded BIOS . During execution of the BIOS and in response to operation of the BIOS , the computer-end processing module generates a plurality of BIOS screen images for display by the computer-end display module . Each of the BIOS screen images corresponds to one of multiple boot stages, and indicates an operation status or a setup interface of the BIOS . During the boot process of the computer device , a local user may press specific keys on a keyboard connected to the computer device , or a remote user may send an instruction via a network, in order to interrupt the boot process and to enter the setup interface that causes the computer device to output an image of a BIOS setup menu. A main page of the BIOS setup menu may include several functional options for the user to adjust BIOS settings, and several options for entering subpages that are relevant to the BIOS setup menu. If the option corresponding to a subpage is selected by the user, the computer device outputs images of the subpage.
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The control terminal may be, for example but not limited to, a personal computer, a notebook computer, a server or a cloud server, and includes a control-end communication module , a control-end storage module , and a control-end processing module coupled to the control-end communication module and the control-end storage module . The control-end processing module may include one or more processors, and may be selectively coupled to a control-end display module (e.g., an LCD display) via a control-end PCH or a control-end signal output port (e.g., an HDMI port, a display port, a DVI port, a D-sub port, etc.). The control terminal may remotely communicate with and control operation of the computer device .
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In this embodiment, the control-end storage module includes a permanent storage region and a buffer storage region . In this embodiment, the permanent storage region is realized using a non-volatile storage device (e.g., a hard disk drive, a flash memory module, an EEPROM, etc.) , and the buffer storage region is realized using a volatile storage device, such as a RAM module, but this disclosure is not limited in this respect.
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The permanent storage region stores a plurality of setting information pieces respectively related to different BIOS versions of the BIOS. Each of the setting information pieces includes a plurality of training screen information pieces that correspond to multiple different BIOS screen images of the corresponding one of the difference BIOS versions, and further includes, for each of the training screen information pieces thereof, one of multiple screen categories to which the training screen information piece corresponds. Each of the screen categories corresponds to one of the boot stages. The correspondences between the screen categories and the boot stages may be stored in the permanent storage region , and thus are known to the control-end processing module .
In this embodiment, the screen categories exemplarily include a category of power-on self-test (POST), a category of BIOS boot specification (BBS) menu, a category of setup menu, a category of command line, and a category of preboot execution environment (PXE).
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The buffer storage region is used to store screen information data transmitted by the computer device . The screen information data is indicative of a current
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BIOS screen image that corresponds to current operation of the BIOS of the computer device , and includes a plurality of character strings, and a plurality of control codes corresponding to the character strings. The control codes may include positional control codes indicative of positions of the character strings in the current BIOS screen image, and graphic control codes indicative of colors in relation to the character strings in the current BIOS screen image. For example, “ESC[5;1HESC[1;37;47m Memory Voltage” is a piece of screen information data that includes a character string “Memory Voltage”, a positional control code “ESC[5;1H” that represents a position of row and column in the current BIOS screen image, and a graphic control code “ESC[1;37;47m” that represents increased intensity, a foreground color of white, and a background color of gray.
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In this embodiment, the method for identifying a boot stage of the BIOS includes a classification model training procedure, and a boot stage identification procedure.
FIG. 2
exemplarily illustrates steps of the classification model training procedure.
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In step , for each of the screen categories, the control-end processing module uses sklearn.svm.LinearSVC to obtain a plurality of training feature vectors that correspond to the respective (particular) screen category based on those of the training screen information pieces which correspond to the respective screen category, of all of the setting information pieces. Since sklearn.svm.LinearSVC is a conventional technique and is not a key point of this disclosure, details thereof are omitted herein for the sake of brevity.
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In step , the control-end processing module uses a machine learning algorithm to acquire an image classification model based on the training feature vectors obtained for each of the screen categories. In this embodiment, the machine learning algorithm is a support vector machine, but this disclosure is not limited in this respect.
FIG. 3
exemplarily illustrates steps of the boot stage identification procedure.
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In step , the computer-end processing module transmits the screen information data indicative of the current BIOS screen image to the control terminal when executing the BIOS . The current BIOS screen image corresponds to a current operation or a current setup interface of the BIOS .
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In step , the control-end processing module receives the screen information data from the computer-end processing module , and acquires current screen information corresponding to the current BIOS screen image based on the screen information data.
FIG. 4
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Referring to , step exemplarily includes sub-steps to in this embodiment.
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In sub-step , upon receipt of the screen information data, the control-end processing module stores the screen information data into the buffer storage region , and starts to time a data receiving event when the data receiving event is recorded as being in an initial state (e.g., when the control-end processing module has not started timing yet). In some embodiments, the control-end processing module may not have the timing function, and the action of timing would be omitted.
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In sub-step , the control-end processing module determines whether the buffer storage region is full (i.e., the remaining available space is smaller than a predetermined amount). The flow goes to sub-step when the control-end processing module determines that the buffer storage region is not full, and goes to sub-step when otherwise. In some embodiments, sub-step may be omitted, and the flow may directly go from sub-step to sub-step .
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In sub-step , the control-end processing module determines whether a duration of the data receiving event thus timed has reached a predetermined time length. In other words, the control-end processing module determines whether the time elapsed thus far after timing has begun (also referred to as “data receiving period”) has reached the predetermined time length. The flow goes to sub-step when the control-end processing module determines that the duration of the data receiving event has reached the predetermined time length, and goes to sub-step when otherwise. In some embodiments, the control-end processing module may not have the timing function, and sub-step would be omitted.
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In sub-step , the control-end processing module acquires the current screen information based on the screen information data stored in the buffer storage region , followed by emptying the buffer storage region , stopping the timing of the data receiving event, and resetting the data receiving event to the initial state (e.g., resetting the data receiving period to zero or an initial value). Then, the flow goes to step .
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Referring to , the acquiring the current screen information in sub-step includes sub-steps A and B in this embodiment.
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FIGS. 6 and 7
In sub-step A, the control-end processing module generates a simulation screen image that corresponds to the current BIOS screen image based on the character strings and the positional control codes of the screen information data stored in the buffer storage region . For each of the character strings, the control-end processing module locates the character string in the simulation screen image at a position corresponding to that indicated by the corresponding one of the positional control codes, so the position of the character string in the simulation screen image corresponds to that in the current BIOS screen image. exemplarily show a current BIOS screen image and a corresponding simulation screen image, respectively. The control-end processing module may cause the control-end display module to display the simulation screen image to notify a testing personnel of the current BIOS operation, but this disclosure is not limited in this respect because displaying the simulation screen image on the control-end display module is not necessary for the control terminal to identify the boot stage of the BIOS of the computer device .
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In sub-step B, the control-end processing module acquires the current screen information based on the simulation screen image. In this embodiment, the current screen information is a text file or an image file. In other words, the control-end processing module converts, in sub-step B, the simulation screen image into a text file or an image file that serves as the current screen information, but this disclosure is not limited in this respect.
FIG. 4
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Referring back to , in sub-step , the control-end processing module continues to receive the screen information data from the computer device , and stores the screen information data into the buffer storage region upon receipt of the screen information data. The flow goes back to the end of sub-step after sub-step .
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It is noted that the timing of the data receiving event, which begins in sub-step , continues throughout sub-steps , and , and eventually stops in step .
FIG. 3
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Referring to again, in step , the control-end processing module uses sklearn.svm.LinearSVC to obtain a plurality of feature vectors based on the current screen information.
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In step , the control-end processing module uses the image classification model that is obtained in step to classify the current screen information into one of the screen categories based on the feature vectors, and generates boot stage information indicative of one of the boot stages that corresponds to said one of the screen categories.
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In practice, the testing personnel may set, in advance, a target boot stage in which a setup procedure is to be performed, and uses the control terminal to execute, during execution of the BIOS of the computer device , the boot stage identification procedure to identify the boot stage to which the current BIOS screen image of the computer device corresponds. When the control terminal determines that the current BIOS screen image corresponds to the target boot stage, the control terminal may automatically transmit desired setup instructions related to the target boot stage to the computer device , so the computer device can perform relevant setup operation in response to the setup instructions received thereby. For example, the testing personnel may install a testing program that includes multiple sets of setup instructions for different boot stages in the control terminal . The control terminal that executes the testing program may automatically send, in response to the boot stages identified using the boot stage identification procedure, corresponding sets of setup instructions to the computer device to perform the desired setup.
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In summary, the method for identifying a boot stage of the BIOS of the computer device according to this disclosure generates the simulation screen image based on the character strings and the control codes of the screen information data that is related to the current BIOS screen image of the computer device , acquires the current screen information based on the simulation screen image, and acquires feature vectors based on the current screen information. Then, the image classification model that is trained in advance is used to classify the current screen information into one of the screen categories based on the feature vectors, so as to generate the boot stage information indicative of the current boot stage of the BIOS . By virtue of the automatic identification of the boot stage of the BIOS , the testing personnel may perform the desired setup procedures for the BIOS more efficiently, thereby saving time and manpower.
In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment(s). It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure.
While the disclosure has been described in connection with what is (are) considered the exemplary embodiment(s), it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment(s) but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment (s) with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1
is a block diagram illustrating a system to implement an embodiment of the method for identifying a boot stage of a BIOS of a computer according to the disclosure;
FIG. 2
is a flow chart illustrating steps of a classification model training procedure of the embodiment;
FIG. 3
is a flow chart illustrating steps of a boot stage identification procedure of the embodiment;
FIG. 4
62
is a flow chart illustrating step in more detail;
FIG. 5
624
is a flow chart illustrating sub-step in more detail;
FIG. 6
is a schematic diagram exemplarily showing a current BIOS screen image; and
FIG. 7
FIG. 6
is a schematic diagram exemplarily showing a simulation screen image corresponding to the current BIOS screen image shown in . | |
I think it goes without saying that being prepared for that big upcoming interview is more than just showing up in business casual, being professional, and knowing the STAR method, right? While these things along with other interviewing essentials are seen as no-brainers, many candidates often miss what are seen as minimum requirements in terms of interviewing. Interview preparedness includes the not-so-little things that can make a big difference to the interviewer, and ultimately be the defining factor between you and another candidate. What you say and do after your interview has concluded is just as important as your performance throughout the interview.
Recently, I was able to interview with our Founder & CEO, Sasanka Atapattu and he mentioned at one point how he appreciated I had questions for him. I was shocked to find out this isn’t a common practice for all candidates when going for a role. Sasanka and I briefly discussed how often candidates miss the mark when being asked “Do you have any questions for me?” Near the ending of the interview or after it has concluded. I personally believe you should always have at least one question for your interviewer, but you should aim for there to be upwards of three or more questions total. These questions can be about the role, the company, or the interviewer themselves. Here are a few questions that can be asked no matter what company or role you’re going after!
- “What does the average day look like in this role?” Asking questions about the role shows the interviewer early on that you are open to learning and it also gives you a better understanding of what your tasks will be if you are offered the position.
- “What are some of the DEI initiatives the company is currently working toward/on?”, this is a personal favorite of mine and if you’re anything like me you love knowing how a company is working to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This can give you a little background on the companies’ current environment surrounding DEI and their values.
- Speaking of values, another great question to ask your interviewer is “What are the values of the company?” Sometimes you may find in doing your research on a company, they have their values listed somewhere along their website but for others this isn’t always the case. Finding a company that values some of the same things you do can make your time there should you be offered a position much more enjoyable. Your interview is your chance to really dig into the company and role so you should ask as many questions as you can to really feel out the company.
Asking questions in an interview may seem like no big deal, but I believe showing up to an interview (in person or virtual) and not having any questions for the interviewer shows such a lack of preparation on the candidate’s part. It not only says to the interviewer that you haven’t done the necessary research on the company or the role, but that you aren’t as serious about the role as some other candidates may be. I ask you all as you branch out into the world and begin your journey of applying for roles to consider asking questions a minimum requirement and see how far you’ll go! | https://launchsource.com/2021/07/21/the-minimum-requirement/ |
As important as adding new features, app developers need to start placing more emphasis on the security aspect of the applications they design. After all, more app features mean more data residing within an app. Without proper security controls in place, that data can be vulnerable to intruders.
SOLID Design Principles Explained: The Single Responsibility Principle
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Overview The addition of the Stream was one of the major features added to Java 8. This in-depth tutorial is an introduction to the many functionalities supported by streams, with a focus on simple, practical examples. To understand this material, you need to have a basic, working knowledge of Java 8 (lambda expressions, Optional, method references). Introduction First of all, …
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Programming languages have made applications more efficient and easy to use, raising user experience to the next level. Let’s look at the top programming languages defining the future of code and hiring trends. 1. Python Python is widely accepted as the best programming language for beginner developers as it is simple and easy to use and deploy. It is widely used …
10 of the Most Popular Java Frameworks of 2020
There are plenty of reasons why Java, being one of the older software programming languages, is still widely used. For one, the immense power one wields when using Java is enough to make it their staple. Couple that with the possibilities that using good Java frameworks bring and you could lessen the turnaround time for big projects. This post will …
5 Best Security Practices for Tomcat Servers
Tomcat servers are widely used application servers for today’s development architectures, popular for hosting Java based applications. Below is a guide on best security practices for security your Tomcat Server environment. 1. Beware of Banner Grabbing What is banner grabbing? Banner grabbing is the process of gaining information from computer systems including services, open ports, version, etc. How banner grabbing …
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You may have heard of aspect-oriented programming, or AOP, before. Or maybe you haven’t heard about it but have come across it through a Google-search rabbit hole. You probably do use Spring, however. So you’re probably curious how to apply this AOP to your Spring application. In this article, I’ll show you what AOP is and break down its key …
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Java Performance Monitoring Tools: 9 Types of Tools You Need to Know!
Monitoring an application’s performance is one of the hardest challenges in software development. That’s true for virtually any programming language and platform. Java performance monitoring presents some unique challenges of its own. For instance, one of those challenges has to do with garbage collection. Java features automatic memory management, which frees the developer from having to manually dispose of obsolete …
Equality in Java: Operators, Methods, and What to Use When
Equality is an essential concept when programming, not only in Java but in pretty much all programming languages. After all, much of what we do when writing code has to do with comparing values and then making decisions based on the results of such comparisons. Unfortunately, dealing with equality can often be tricky, despite being such a vital part of …
What Is Spring Boot? | https://stackify.com/content/java/ |
The heads of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) have met in London to discuss supply chain security and related matters, which cut across the mandates of the organizations.
IMO Secretary-General Mr. Koji Sekimizu, welcomed his counterparts, Mr. Raymond Benjamin, Secretary-General, ICAO, and Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary-General, WCO, to IMO Headquarters on Monday where the three considered the further enhancement of collaboration between the Organizations in the fields of aviation, border and maritime security and facilitation. ICAO and the IMO perform their roles as specialized agencies of the United Nations, while the WCO is an independent intergovernmental body.
“A sustainable maritime transportation system is reliant on a smooth and efficient supply chain and it is essential that we work together to mitigate any potential threats. A key element of this is building partnerships to support technical assistance and cooperation, particularly in the developing countries and in any high-risk areas, to address vulnerabilities in global supply chain security and create opportunities to enhance trade facilitation”, IMO Secretary-General Sekimizu said.
“ICAO recognizes and fully supports that effective cooperation is the basis for realizing the objectives of our organizations. The constantly evolving threats posed by global terrorism must be met with highly coordinated transportation security and border control measures in order to minimise adverse impacts on international passenger and trade flows”, said ICAO Secretary-General Benjamin.
Secretary-General Mukuriya of the WCO highlighted that: “Meaningful, dynamic and effective partnerships at the international level are critical to how all our Organizations meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities presented by the 21st century border and trade environment. Today’s globalized trade and travel requires new thinking, coordinated approaches and connectivity between all stakeholders to efficiently secure and facilitate legitimate trade, support economic competiveness and provide protection to societies.”
The Secretaries General exchanged information on progress in further developing and harmonizing the international frameworks for aviation, border and maritime supply chain security and facilitation under their respective instruments.
They acknowledged the potential impact of major disruption at critical transport nodes on global supply chains and expressed the need to manage risks in a holistic and system-oriented manner. The importance of innovation and creative thinking to optimize security and facilitation of international transport and trade was stressed during the meeting.
The Secretaries General underlined the need for joint technical assistance and cooperation efforts to address vulnerabilities in global supply chain security and grasp opportunities to enhance trade facilitation. They undertook to promote dialogue at State level between transport security and Customs authorities to enhance information sharing, align national legal frameworks and requirements, and maximize synergies.
The Secretaries General agreed to meet again in a trilateral setting to review progress in this area.
IMO and WCO co-operate in the fields of maritime and supply chain security, facilitation of international maritime transport, and maritime law enforcement as well as on countering maritime terrorism. IMO and ICAO co-operate on a number of matters, including search and rescue, supply chain security, and facilitation. The ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group on Harmonization of Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue holds regular meetings.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source. | https://shipsandports.com.ng/icao-imo-and-wco-chiefs-strengthen-ties-in-promoting-global-supply-chain-security/ |
Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS) in District 49, is a “way of doing business” to support every student. While this can be a formal process, in its most basic form, MTSS is also how schools link assessment and instruction on the Colorado Academic Standards on a day-to-day basis. The goal is to continue to improve outcomes for each individual student and all students. Schools use data and information in a systematic way to determine what’s working and what’s not to make real-time adjustments in instruction. Many times, instruction can be adjusted to meet the needs of learners but when needs become apparent, schools provide interventions to increase support. Resources for intervention come from the curriculum or other school resources, from the zone and district as additional supports are needed, as applicable.
Partnering with parents is KEY for success. Our teachers and schools rely on parents and guardians' input to best serve their children; so in District 49 we communicate frequently to connect parents to the learning process. You can learn more about how MTSS connects with our processes in District 49 Board of Education Policy and from the Colorado Department of Education.
Learn more here from our partners at the Colorado Department of Education.
About Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Supports
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Colorado Multi-Tiered System of Supports (COMTSS) is a prevention-based framework using team-driven leadership and data-based problem solving to improve the outcomes of every student through family, school, and community partnerships, comprehensive assessment, and a layered continuum of supports. Implementation science and universal design for learning are employed to create one integrated system that focuses on increasing academic and behavioral outcomes to equitably support the varying needs of all students.
To learn more about MTSS in District 49, reach out to your child’s teacher or school leadership team. | https://www.d49.org/Page/9784 |
Many people are confused about the equestrian team, and sometimes don’t know that it involves horses, junior Western rider Katelyn Gray said.
“We often get [people who confuse us] aquatics or weird things like that,” Gray said. “These girls put a lot of hard work into what they do, and it takes a lot emotionally, physically and mentally to go out and not only perform individually like most athletes do, but we also have to get horses ready.”
Team members practice for about an hour each, but that does not account for the 45-minute drive to Springtown, the location of the TCU Equestrian facility. They also have to saddle and unsaddle the horses, which adds time to the process. Depending on their event, some of the team members have additional practices.
“It’s a big time commitment,” Gray said. “We have weekend practices and when we host home games it’s a lot of hours, but it’s part of it.”
Equestrian is one of the few sports in which athletes have to learn how to control not only themselves but an animal as well.
“What’s so special about our athletes is that they are not trying to control a ball,” Director of Equestrian Haley Schoolfield said. “They are trying to control an animate object with a mind of its own, and I think that makes them exceptional athletes.”
“They’re an athlete in top physical condition trying to control another athlete in physical condition and that makes our sport unique,” she said.
Equestrian competitions are divided into two types of riding, Western and Hunt Seat.
Western riding is judged on both horsemanship and reining. A slower trot, called a jog, is preferred. Western patterns include elements of reining and trail.
Hunt Seat involves jumping fences as one of its key elements. Judges assess the horse’s movement and form as well as the rider’s ability both on the flat and over fences.
The rider who earns the highest score on their horse wins the head-to-head match and scores a point for their team. If there is a tie in the overall competition, raw scores given by the judge are added up and used to determine the winner. A raw score is drawn from all of the athletes’ individual scores.
Equestrian is a competitive sport and something to take seriously, head Western coach Kindel Walter said. | https://www.tcu360.com/story/18749beginners-guide-equestrian/ |
Populations in Asia are not only at risk of harm to their health through environmental degradation as a result of worsening pollution problems but also constantly threatened by recurring and emerging influenza epidemics and. pandemics. Situated in the area with the world's fastest growing economy and close to hypothetical epicenters of influenza transmission, Hong Kong offers a special opportunity for testing environmental management and public health surveillance in the region. In the Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA*) project, the Hong Kong research team assessed the health effects of air pollution and influenza as well as the interaction between them. The team also assessed disparities in the health effects of air pollution between relatively deprived and more affluent areas in Hong Kong. The aim was to provide answers to outstanding research questions relating to the short-term effects of air pollution on mortality and hospital admissions; the health effects of influenza with a view to validating different measures of influenza activity according to virologic data; the confounding effects of influenza on estimates of the health effects of air pollution; the modifying effects of influenza on the health effects of air pollution; and the modifying effects of neighborhood social deprivation on the health effects of air pollution.
DATA
Data on mortality and hospital admissions for all natural causes, as well as the subcategories of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and respiratory diseases (RD), were derived from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department and the Hospital Authority. Daily concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < or = 10 pm (PM10); and ozone (O3) were derived from eight monitoring stations with hourly data that were at least 75% complete during the study period. Three measures of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity were derived from positive isolates of specimens in the virology laboratory of Queen Mary Hospital (QMH), the main clinical teaching center at The University of Hong Kong and part of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority network of teaching hospitals: influenza intensity (defined as the weekly proportion of positive isolates of influenza in the total number of specimens received for diagnostic tests); the presence of influenza epidemic (defined as a period when the weekly frequency of these positive isolates is > or = 4% of the annual total number of positive isolates [i.e., twice the expected mean value] in two or more consecutive weeks); and influenza predominance (defined as a period of influenza epidemic when the weekly frequency of RSV was less than 2% for two or more consecutive weeks). The weekly proportion of positive isolates of RSV in total specimens was determined in the same way as for influenza intensity. A social deprivation index (SDI) was defined by taking the average of the proportions of households or persons with the following six characteristics in each geographic area using the census statistics: unemployment; household income < U.S. $250 per month; no schooling at all; never-married status; one-person household; and subtenancy. A Poisson regression with quasi-likelihood to account for overdispersion was used to develop core models for daily health outcomes, with a natural spline smoothing function to filter out seasonal patterns and long-term trends in this time-series study of daily mortality and hospital admissions, and with adjustment for days of the week, temperature, and relative humidity (RH). Air pollutant concentration values were entered into the core model to assess the health effects of specific pollutants. The possible confounding effects of influenza were assessed by observing changes in magnitude of the effect estimate when each influenza measurement was entered into the model; and interactions between air pollution and influenza were assessed by entering the terms for the product of the air pollutant concentration and a measurement of influenza activity into the model. A Poisson regression analysis was performed to assess the effects of air pollution in each area belonging to low, middle, or high social deprivation strata according to the tertiles of the SDI. The differences in air pollution effects were tested by a case-only approach. RESULTS The excess risk (ER) estimates for the short-term effects of air pollution on mortality and hospitalization for broad categories of disease were greater in those 65 years and older than in the all-ages group and were consistent with other studies. The biggest health impacts were seen at the extremes of the age range. The three measures employed for influenza activity based on virologic data-one based on a proportion and the other two using frequencies of positive influenza isolates-were found to produce consistent health impact estimates, in terms of statistical significance. In general, we found that adjustment for influenza activity in air pollution health effect estimations took account of relatively small confounding effects. However, we conclude that it is worthwhile to make the adjustment in a sensitivity analysis and to obtain the best possible range of effect estimates from the data, especially for respiratory hospitalization. Interestingly, interaction effects were found between influenza activity and air pollution in the estimated risks for hospitalization for RD, particularly for 03. These results could be explained in terms of the detrimental effects of both influenza viruses and air pollutants, which may be synergistic or competing with each other, though the mechanism is still unknown. The results deserve further study and the attention of both public health policy makers and virologists in considering prevention strategies. IMPLICATIONS In Hong Kong, where air pollution may pose more of a health threat than in North American and Western European cities, the effects of air pollution also interact with influenza and with residence in socially deprived areas, potentially leading to additional harm. Asian governments should be aware of the combined risks to the health of the population when considering environmental protection and management in the context of economic, urban, and infrastructure development. This is the first study in Asia to examine the interactions between air pollution, influenza, and social deprivation from an epidemiologic perspective. The biologic mechanisms are still unclear, and further research is needed. | https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/21446214/Part_4__Interaction_between_air_pollution_and_respiratory_viruses:_time_series_study_of_daily_mortality_and_hospital_admissions_in_Hong_Kong_ |
San Francisco Moves to Prohibit New Free Cafeterias But NOT Free Food
On Tuesday, July 24, GGRA Executive Director Gwyneth Borden joined Supervisors Ahsha Safai and Aaron Peskin as they introduced legislation to prohibit non-retail cafeterias in new office buildings. The legislation is not retroactive and does not prevent on-site retail/paid cafeterias and it does not prevent the provision of free food; the press release is here and legislative digest can be found here. The legislation is done in support of restaurants and small businesses which are negatively impacted when companies don’t support the retail around them. The legislation goes through the legislative process in September.
As we’re acutely aware, restaurants only exist through patronage and restaurants located in cities do so to serve local businesses, residents and tourists alike. San Francisco’s planning code has always required mixed-use office buildings, meaning that office buildings are required by code to provide ground floor retail space, but now more than ever space is being unfilled as employees aren’t leaving their offices to eat. The vibrancy of the city with bustling retail and people is in jeopardy when the business community is not spending their money in local restaurants and shops. Restaurants often provide the anchor to get people on the street to patronize other retail. Traditional retail has been hurting with the growth of online shopping, so anything that increases activity at the street level has the multiplier effect of supporting other local businesses. And restaurants and other small businesses, unlike global companies that have private cafeterias, are reliant upon generating all their revenue locally so actual foot traffic is crucial to their survival. And while there will always be competition for the food dollar, it goes without saying that it’s hard to compete with free, so why not use local restaurants to support these employee benefit efforts?
San Francisco’s Mid-Market is a great example of an area where a record number of jobs located and the accompanying restaurants that followed struggled to gain traffic. Other nearby restaurants that pre-existed the Mid-Market redevelopment found that their traffic slowed when their customers were relocated to spaces with large-scale cafeterias. And it should be noted that businesses that located in the Mid-Market were provided a tax break with their promise of economic benefits to the area beyond just occupying the offices, so it’s not as if city intervention is new on these issues. Employees that never leave their offices is of little economic benefit to the city around them if their companies are not purchasing food from local businesses. There are some businesses that cater-in food from local restaurants and others that provide employee gift-card or vouchers for some or all times, which do support local businesses and we encourage this. We are not against free meals, the issue is how they’re provided.
We look forward to working with other business leaders, elected officials and others on this issue moving forward. | http://ggra.org/san-francisco-moves-to-prohibit-new-free-cafeterias/ |
New River Gorge Learning Cooperative (NRGLC) is a Montessori-based learning center whose mission is to educate the minds, hearts and bodies of our students in a challenging, vibrant experiential learning community.
We proudly partnered with West Virginia University and Grow Wise Institute to design our unique interdisciplinary experience-based Middle School Program, debuting fall of 2018.
Our program integrates permaculture, mindfulness and social justice into an immersive educational experience suitable for any learner. Our pedagogy inspires a love of learning and an appreciation for hard work, curiosity, creativity and compassion. In addition to meeting or exceeding West Virginia state standards, our curriculum is designed to address the need for responsibility and independence during this adolescent plane of development.
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Permaculture
We aim to integrate the principles of permaculture into every aspect of learning and interacting -- to learn to be mindful of the ramifications of our decisions, to be thoughtful in our designs, to be thorough in our education. Our vision is to teach students to be stewards of the land, and to shift away from being consumers and learn to become producers- not just of food, but producers of ideas, of acts of kindness; producers of commerce and of community.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Our vision of social justice is one which begins with the self: loving yourself, treating yourself well, learning to stand up for your fair share- and spirals upward, developing into a sense of compassion for all living beings and a belief that all lives have value as a part of an interconnected system.
Mindfulness
Our students will develop mindfulness practices to support their emotional, physical, and educational needs during a life period of great internal change. Our practice of mindfulness- of being aware of our emotions, of our surroundings, and the living beings in the world around us- will be integrated into daily lessons in a way that holistically develops well-rounded thinkers and workers.
Life & Earth Sciences
We integrate life and earth sciences with a strong foundation of biology, geology, and global ecological responsibility, practiced daily with permaculture site work and our Garden projects.
Technology
Our technology objectives range from learning research skills to WVU student- teacher led lessons on the hard skills of carpentry, electrical work, small engine repair, and soldering. Engineering is woven into our math and science curriculum to create memorable experiences for reflection and retention.
Engineering
Engineering skills are developed through the identification, prioritization, planning, and in doing the physical work involved to design solutions to solve problems.
Visual & performing arts
Visual and performing arts instruction is integrated into math, permaculture, and other projects constantly, giving our learners much more than the typical 2 classes per week.
Mathematics
We utilize the Singapore Math curriculum, which exceeds WV state standards in every meaningful way, with functional math skills practiced with numerous hands on projects year-round.
Capstone projects
Our curriculum is built around Capstone Projects designed to meet learning objectives through experiential education.
Capstone Projects are large-scale undertakings which require the combination of multiple Learning Objectives. Capstone projects will be unveiled periodically and the NRGLC community will then be invited to be a part of the process. | https://www.nrglc.org/secondary-middle-school-program.html |
We’ve completed two weeks of the National Football League season, and millions of football fans are playing fantasy football. Many fantasy managers are looking to add, drop or trade players to help improve their teams based on two weeks of data.
This is a risky time to be making these changes, however. What we’ve seen in the first two weeks of the season is not necessarily predictive of future performance.
For example, if we extrapolate the performance of some players after two games to an entire season, there are many players currently on track to annihilate statistical records. Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is currently on pace to throw 76 touchdown passes, which would be 21 more than any quarterback in history.
Likewise, there are star players who are tracking to underperform their standard production levels by 80 to 90 percent because of two uncharacteristically poor games.
Fantasy managers tend to race toward overperformers and avoid or cut underperformers. However, the reality is these managers should be wary of reading too much into these extremes. While some early stars end up being breakout players for the entire season, and other players are beginning a long-term decline, the best strategy for many managers may be to bet against the outliers.
The reason for this is that, over the course of a full season, we are likely to see a regression to the mean.
The concept of regression to the mean was first discovered by the statistician and sociologist Sir Francis Galton. As part of his research, Galton observed that tall parents tended to have children who were shorter than them, whereas short parents often had children who were taller than them.
Based on this, Galton developed the principle of regression to the mean, which states that in any series with complex phenomena that are dependent on many variables, where chance is involved, extreme outcomes tend to be followed by more moderate ones. In other words, if something extremely unexpected happens, it is likely to be followed by something that’s more aligned with statistical projections or expectations.
We have a tendency to overreact to results in the short term and use those outcomes to make long term decisions, ignoring the reality of regression to the mean. In particular, we tend to ignore the role of luck and timing when evaluating extreme early outcomes.
For example, if I have a player on my team who has scored an average of eight touchdowns per 16 game season, and that player has scored four touchdowns in the first two games, that means he’s already halfway to his standard season average. I should not count on the player maintaining that performance, and should maybe consider benching him, as the probability of the player keeping up the same pace is much smaller than the probability that he will end up somewhere near his historical season total. He may even be about to enter a streak of subpar games.
Of course, the inverse is also true: a player on a cold streak is likely to return to their long-term average production in the future and therefore may even be due for a strong run of games.
Regression to the mean applies beyond fantasy football. It presents a distinct challenge for leaders who are trying to determine if something is the start of a long-term trend or a brief statistical aberration.
For example, anyone who has led a sales organization knows how much luck and timing can impact sales performance. In the short-term, overreacting to outlier performance can result in assigning too much credit or too much blame, especially to individual reps. A hot streak or a cold streak might have more to do with luck and timing, rather than indicating a longer-term pattern.
The trick for both leaders and fantasy owners is to better understand which aspects of improved or diminished performance are reliable indicators and which might be due to outside forces. It’s also important to look at historical data for context and for benchmarking.
One trend that we measure across many different departments in our business is the rolling twelve-month average, as it tends to be a better indicator of upward and downward trends and removes short-term aberrations that can cause panic or overconfidence.
Where might you be overreacting and making a choice that may look misguided once things regress to the mean? | https://www.robertglazer.com/friday-forward/regression-to-mean/ |
Mentoring a Ph.D. Dissertation Literature Review
A dissertation literature review contributes 40 percent of weight. Hence, more effort should be taken to collect exhaustive, up-to-date literature, which has been published from various countries or conducted among different ethnic groups. The challenging things in literature review are: Comparison of different authors’ view, critically viewing the methodology, finding gaps in research, going through the research study having linkage to previous studies, understanding the parameters of research, etc. All these challenging needs do require reviewing the literature extensively. In this respect, the requisite is to collect relevant literature including the aspect of empirical, historical, philosophical literature related to a problem stated. A review of available literature is an important part of any academic research study.
Recognizing the challenging needs of reviewing vast literature, experts from Ph.D. Assistance do render the services in this respect to ease the academic burden. We have the Ph.D. experts to review the literature in context to the research study and developing the section of dissertation review in detail. We have decades of experience in rendering literature review content to the needy students in all the disciplines of dissertation research.
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Engaging expertise who have studied the topic would enhance your research - A Trusted Ph.D. Literature Review Mentoring Support
Our team of Ph.D. experts will carry out an extensive review of contextual published research on relevant theoretical concepts or models on which you intend to base your dissertation. It requires comparing the views and conclusions of a wide range of authors to have own views. The views enunciated out of it must be 'critical' in nature and not just a regurgitation of the literature. We will try to highlight the limitations or contentious aspects of studies you have gone through (for example, their theoretical underpinnings, research design or interpretation of findings) or identify gaps in the literature. Identifying the gap in the study is the rationale behind reviewing literature.
However, there is a systematic way to review the literature to identify and discuss the key themes and contributions. This results in getting aware of relevant issues on the part of researchers. Others have received far less attention, perhaps because their origins are relatively recent or because they have simply been neglected. Hence, the need is to have the quality of research studies at the disposal having relevance to your research topic. Once the Ph.D. dissertation literature is reviewed, we will reflect the gaps in the literature for addressing and/or which models/frameworks or ideas will take forward to help structure Ph.D. literature review.
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The present invention relates generally to the field of human genetics. Specifically, the present invention relates to the discovery that some alleles of the A-T gene cause susceptibility to cancer, in particular breast cancer. More specifically, the present invention relates to germline mutations in the A-T gene and their use in the diagnosis of predisposition to breast cancer. The invention further relates to somatic mutations in the A-T gene in human breast cancer and their use in the diagnosis and prognosis of human breast cancer.
The publications and other materials used herein to illuminate the background of the invention, and in particular, cases to provide additional details respecting the practice, are incorporated by reference, and for convenience are referenced in the following text by author and date and are listed alphabetically by author in the appended bibliography.
Breast cancer is a frequent cancer; there are approximately 183,00 new cases and 46,000 deaths from this cancer each year in the United States. It is the second most common cancer among women today, ranking only behind lung cancer. It has been estimated that the lifetime risk for a woman to develop breast cancer is about 1 in 9, although this figure must be interpreted with caution because not every women lives to age 100.
Breast cancer is treated by surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. New approaches to treatment have improved the survival of women with diagnosed breast cancer. Still, the most reliable approach to reducing mortality from this cancer is to detect it so early that treatment is more effective. It is well established that screening women by mammography beginning at age 50 leads to a substantial reduction in mortality from this cancer.
The concept that women in certain families were more likely to develop breast cancer than women in other families was noted in antiquity, observed several times in the ninteenth century, and established by family studies in the twentieth century. The observation of familial disposition to breast cancer had modest practical consequences because nothing could be done to decrease the risk of breast cancer for women in high risk families and there was no evidence that knowledge about this problem improved survival. Indeed, one could make a case that the awareness of familial predisposition led primarily to increased anxiety while having limited practical benefit.
In general, there are more cases of breast cancer among first and second degree relatives of breast cancer patients than would be expected according to the incidence of breast cancer in the general population. In a minority of families, the incidence of female breast cancer is so high that the pattern appears to follow a Mendelian autosomal dominent pattern of inheritance. Two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, have been shown responsible for the breast cancers in about two-thirds of families in which there are four or more cases of breast cancer. These genes have each been cloned and sequenced. A commercial laboratory, Myriad Genetics, now offers to test individuals to see if they carry BRCA1 or BRCA2, based on sequencing of the DNA from the individuals who are tested. Such testing will be valuable to those womenxe2x80x94probably less than 1% of the populationxe2x80x94who come from families in which the density of breast cancer is high.
The ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) gene represents another approach to identifying a gene responsible for some breast cancers. This gene was first recognized because it causes a distinctive autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by cerebellar ataxia and oculocutaneous telangiectasia in children who have two copies of this gene (Swift, 1993). A great deal has been learned about the clinical features and laboratory findings in A-T since its description in the late 1950s. One of the most important facts to emerge was that patients with A-T (who will be called A-T homozygotes) developed cancer at a rate approximately 100-fold greater than children of the same age who do not have A-T (Morrell et al., 1986). It also became evident that the A-T gene makes homozygous patients and their cells many-fold more sensitive to the harmful effects of ionizing radiation. Lymphoid cancers predominate in childhood, while epithelial cancers including breast cancer are seen in adolescent and young adult A-T patients (Swift et al., 1990b).
Still, A-T homozygotes are rare and this gene might be of only theoretical interest except for the series of studies that suggested and now have confirmed that A-T heterozygotes, who constitute approximately 1.4% of the population, are also predisposed to cancer. The first evidence for this came from a study in the early 1970s in which it was shown that the cancer mortality in A-T blood relatives exceeded that of spouse controls in the same families by a statistically significant amount (Swift et al., 1976). This hypothesis was confirmed further by the retrospective analysis of 110 Caucasian A-T families in the United States in which there was a highly significant excess of cancer in the blood relatives when the incidence was compared to that in spouse controls. This study, published in 1987, provided the first evidence that the A-T gene predisposed to breast cancer. (Swift et al., 1987) Further support for the hypothesis was provided by a large scale prospective study of cancer incidence in A-T blood relatives and spouse controls published in 1991 (Swift et al., 1991), and by other smaller studies including two independent studies in Europe (Morrell et al., 1990; Peppard et al., 1988; Borresen et al., 1990).
The interpretation of these previous studies is limited by the facts that not all A-T blood relatives carry the A-T gene and by the inevitable question of how well the spouse controls are matched to the blood relatives. Though the study methods were standard, these limitations on interpretation remained. Further, findings from these earlier studies were characterized by several scientists as xe2x80x9ca controversial suggestion,xe2x80x9d (Kasten, 1995) xe2x80x9ca possibility,xe2x80x9d (Savitsky et al., 1995; Collins, 1996) or, xe2x80x9cjust a hypothesisxe2x80x9d (Boice, 1995).
Thus, it is important to confirm that the A-T gene is associated with breast cancer using the best available genetic methods and identifying mutations in the A-T gene in families with breast cancer.
The present invention relates generally to the field of human genetics. Specifically, the present invention relates to the discovery that some alleles of the A-T gene cause susceptibility to cancer, in particular breast cancer. More specifically, the present invention relates to germline mutations in the A-T gene and their use in the diagnosis of predisposition to breast cancer. The invention further relates to somatic mutations in the A-T gene in human breast cancer and their use in the diagnosis and prognosis of human breast cancer.
In accordance with the present invention, the hypothesis that A-T heterozygotes are predisposed to breast cancer has now been confirmed with unassailable rigor by collecting a group of female blood relatives with breast cancer in A-T families and testing DNA from each of these individuals to determine which of them carried the A-T gene. The method utilized highly polymorphic, tightly linked flanking markers (Gatti et al., 1994) and the index-test method (Swift et al., 1990a).
In addition, the association of the A-T gene with breast cancer is conclusively established by the identification of specific germline mutations in the A-T gene in families with breast cancer.
The present invention relates generally to the field of human genetics. Specifically, the present invention relates to the discovery that some alleles of the A-T gene cause susceptibility to cancer, in particular breast cancer. More specifically, the present invention relates to germline mutations in the A-T gene and their use in the diagnosis of predisposition to breast cancer. The invention further relates to somatic mutations in the A-T gene in human breast cancer and their use in the diagnosis and prognosis of human breast cancer.
In accordance with the present invention, the hypothesis that A-T heterozygotes are predisposed to breast cancer has now been confirmed with unassailable rigor by collecting a group of female blood relatives with breast cancer in A-T families and testing DNA from each of these individuals to determine which of them carried the A-T gene. The method utilized highly polymorphic, tightly linked flanking markers (Gatti et al., 1994) and the index-test method (Swift et al., 1990a).
In addition, the association of the A-T gene with breast cancer is conclusively established by the identification of specific germline mutations in the A-T gene in families with breast cancer.
Briefly, the hypothesis that female heterozygous carriers of the A-T gene are predisposed to breast cancer has now been established as described further below. In this test of the hypothesis, carriers of the A-T gene were identified by tracing the gene in families of A-T homozygous probands through tightly linked DNA markers. This is just one of the ways in which A-T heterozygotes can be identified. Indeed, in these carriers we have directly shown that they carry an A-T mutation in two of them, as described below.
More specifically, the hypothesis that A-T heterozygotes are predisposed to breast cancer was tested by the unbiased statistically powerful index-test method based on molecular genotyping. The A-T gene carrier status of 775 blood relatives in 99 A-T families was determined by tracing the A-T gene in each family through tightly linked flanking DNA markers. There were 33 women with breast cancer who could be genotyped; 25 of these were A-T heterozygotes, compared to 14.9 expected (odds ratio 3.8; 95% confidence limits 1.7-8.4; one-sided P=0.0001). This demonstrates that the A-T gene predisposes heterozygotes to breast cancer. For the 21 breast cancers with onset before age 60, the odds ratio was 2.9 (1.1-7.6; P=0.009) and for the 12 cases with onset at age 60 or older, the odds ratio was 6.4 (1.4-28.8; P=0.002). Thus the breast cancer risk for A-T heterozygous women is not limited to young women but appears even higher at older ages. Of all breast cancers in the United States, 6.6% may occur in women who are A-T heterozygotes. This proportion is several-fold greater than the estimated proportion of carriers of BRCA 1 mutations in breast cancer cases with onset at any age.
These new findings demonstrate that a test that reliably identifies heterozygous carriers of the A-T gene identifies individuals whose risk of breast cancer is substantially greater than the risk of non-carriers or the general population. The most efficient and least costly way to identify carriers of this gene may vary from situation to situation, according to the prior art. In one embodiment of the present invention, the least expensive, reliable way to identify gene carriers in families in which the A-T gene is known to be segregating is through tightly linked flanking markers, as in Examples 1 and 2 below.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, this predisposition to female breast cancer in the general population can be detected at present through testing an individual""s DNA for mutations at the A-T gene locus. Any reliable laboratory or clinical test that will determine who carries the A-T gene will, according to the use proposed in this patent, be suitable for testing for cancer predisposition.
As an example of the second embodiment, heteroduplex analysis of two of the heterozygous carriers with breast cancer reported in the attached manuscript was used to identify two mutations. For heteroduplex analysis each exon of the A-T gene is amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using as template genomic DNA from the test subject. The PCR product is then run on an MDE gel which detects heteroduplexes due to differences between the PCR products from the subject""s two chromosomes. If there are no differences, then only a single band is seen and there is no sequence variation in that exon in that subject. When an additional band is seen, the PCR products are cloned so that DNA from each chromosome can be sequenced. The mutation is verified by comparison of the variant sequence to the known sequence of that exon in the A-T gene (Platzer et al., 1997). Further confirmation of the mutation is obtained by sequencing the same exon in close relatives of the subject.
The identification of these mutations conclusively confirms the involvement of the A-T gene in breast cancer. Specifically, one mutation is the nucleotide change ATCxe2x86x92TGAT at base 3245, codon 1082 in exon 24. A second mutation was a deletion of 150 basepairs beginning at nucleotide 8269 of codon 2757, leading to the deletion of exon 59. The first mutation predicts a truncation of the protein and the second predicts a deletion of 50 amino acids. These mutations and those noted herein are numbered with respect to the coding sequence of the A-T gene.
Alternatively, each exon of the A-T gene is amplified by PCR using primers based on the known sequence. The amplified exons are then sequenced using automated sequencers. In this manner, the exons of the A-T gene from families with breast cancer are sequenced until a mutation is found. The mutation is then confirmed in individual with breast cancer. Using this technique, an additional four mutations have been identified. One of these mutations is the deletion of 5 nucleotides beginning at nucleotide 2689 of exon 20. A second mutation is the deletion of AA beginning at nucleotide 1402 of exon 12. A third mutation is the deletion of GAAA beginning at nucleotide 1027 in exon 10. A fourth is the nucleotide change TTTxe2x86x92C at nucleotide 9003 in exon 65.
Also provided by the present invention are methods of detecting a polynucleotide comprising a portion of the A-T locus or its expression product in an analyte. Such methods may further comprise the step of amplifying the portion of the A-T locus, and may further include a step of providing a set of polynucleotides which are primers for amplification of said portion of the A-T locus. The method is useful for either diagnosis of the predisposition to cancer or the diagnosis or prognosis of cancer.
It is a discovery of the present invention that mutations in the A-T locus in the germline are indicative of a predisposition to breast cancer cancer. Finally, it is a discovery of the present invention that somatic mutations in the A-T locus are also associated with breast cancer, which represents an indicator of this cancer or of the prognosis of this cancer. The mutational events of the A-T locus can involve deletions, insertions and point mutations within the coding sequence and the non-coding sequence.
According to the diagnostic and prognostic method of the present invention, alteration of the wild-type A-T locus is detected. xe2x80x9cAlteration of a wild-type genexe2x80x9d encompasses all forms of mutations including deletions, insertions and point mutations in the coding and noncoding regions. Deletions may be of the entire gene or of only a portion of the gene. Point mutations may result in stop codons, frameshift mutations or amino acid substitutions. Somatic mutations are those which occur only in certain tissues, e.g., in the tumor tissue, and are not inherited in the germline. Germline mutations can be found in any of a body""s tissues and are inherited. If only a single allele is somatically mutated, an early neoplastic state is indicated. The finding of A-T mutations thus provides both diagnostic and prognostic information. An A-T allele which is not deleted (e.g., found on the sister chromosome to a chromosome carrying an A-T deletion) can be screened for other mutations, such as insertions, small deletions, and point mutations. It is believed that many mutations found in tumor tissues will be those leading to decreased expression of the A-T gene product. However, mutations leading to non-functional gene products would also lead to a cancerous state. Point mutational events may occur in regulatory regions, such as in the promoter of the gene, leading to loss or diminution of expression of the mRNA. Point mutations may also abolish proper RNA processing, leading to loss of expression of the A-T gene product, or to a decrease in mRNA stability or translation efficiency.
Useful diagnostic techniques include, but are not limited to direct DNA sequencing, PFGE analysis, allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO), dot blot analysis and denaturing gradient el electrophoresis, as discussed in detail further below.
Predisposition to cancers, such as breast cancer, and the other cancers identified herein, can be ascertained by testing any tissue of a human for mutations of the A-T gene. For example, a person who has inherited a germline A-T mutation would be prone to develop cancers. This can be determined by testing DNA from any tissue of the person""s body. Most simply, blood can be drawn and DNA extracted from the cells of the blood. In addition, prenatal diagnosis can be accomplished by testing fetal cells, placental cells or amniotic cells for mutations of the A-T gene. Alteration of a wild-type A-T allele, whether, for example, by point mutation or deletion, can be detected by any of the means discussed herein.
There are several methods that can be used to detect DNA sequence variation. Direct DNA sequencing, either manual sequencing or automated fluorescent sequencing can detect sequence variation. For a gene as large as A-T, manual sequencing is very labor-intensive, but under optimal conditions, mutations in the coding sequence of a gene are rarely missed. Another approach is the single-stranded conformation polymorphism assay (SSCA) (Orita et al., 1989). This method does not detect all sequence changes, especially if the DNA fragment size is greater than 200 bp, but can be optimized to detect most DNA sequence variation. The reduced detection sensitivity is a disadvantage, but the increased throughput possible with SSCA makes it an attractive, viable alternative to direct sequencing for mutation detection on a research basis. The fragments which have shifted mobility on SSCA gels are then sequenced to determine the exact nature of the DNA sequence variation. Other approaches based on the detection of mismatches between the two complementary DNA strands include clamped denaturing gel electrophoresis (CDGE) (Sheffield et al., 1991), heteroduplex analysis (HA) (White et al., 1992) and chemical mismatch cleavage (CMC) (Grompe et al., 1989). A review of currently available methods of detecting DNA sequence variation can be found in a recent review by Grompe (1993). Once a mutation is known, an allele specific detection approach such as allele specific oligonucleotide (ASO) hybridization can be utilized to rapidly screen large numbers of other samples for that same mutation. Such a technique can utilize probes which are labeled with gold nanoparticles to yield a visual color result (Elghanian et al., 1997).
In order to detect the alteration of the wild-type A-T gene in a tissue, it is helpful to isolate the tissue free from surrounding normal tissues. Means for enriching tissue preparation for tumor cells are known in the art. For example, the tissue may be isolated from paraffin or cryostat sections. Cancer cells may also be separated from normal cells by flow cytometry. These techniques, as well as other techniques for separating tumor cells from normal cells, are well known in the art. If the tumor tissue is highly contaminated with normal cells, detection of mutations is more difficult.
Detection of point mutations may be accomplished by molecular cloning of the A-T allele(s) and sequencing the allele(s) using techniques well known in the art. Alternatively, the gene sequences can be amplified directly from a genomic DNA preparation from the tumor tissue, using known techniques. The DNA sequence of the amplified sequences can then be determined.
There are six well known methods for a more complete, yet still indirect, test for confirming the presence of a susceptibility allele: 1) single stranded conformation analysis (SSCA) (Orita et al., 1989); 2) denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) (Wartell et al., 1990; Sheffield et al., 1989); 3) RNase protection assays (Finkelstein et al., 1990; Kinszler et al., 1991); 4) allele-specific oligonucleotides (ASOs) (Conner et al., 1983); 5) the use of proteins which recognize nucleotide mismatches, such as the E. coli mutS protein (Modrich, 1991); and 6) allele-specific PCR (Rano and Kidd, 1989). For allele-specific PCR, primers are used which hybridize at their 3xe2x80x2 ends to a particular A-T mutation. If the particular A-T mutation is not present, an amplification product is not observed. Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ARMS) can also be used, as disclosed in European Patent Application Publication No. 0332435 and in Newton et al., 1989. Insertions and deletions of genes can also be detected by cloning, sequencing and amplification. In addition, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) probes for the gene or surrounding marker genes can be used to score alteration of an allele or an insertion in a polymorphic fragment. Such a method is particularly useful for screening relatives of an affected individual for the presence of the A-T mutation found in that individual. Other techniques for detecting insertions and deletions as known in the art can be used.
In the first three methods (SSCA, DGGE and RNase protection assay), a new electrophoretic band appears. SSCA detects a band which migrates differentially because the sequence change causes a difference in single-strand, intramolecular base pairing. RNase protection involves cleavage of the mutant polynucleotide into two or more smaller fragments. DGGE detects differences in migration rates of mutant sequences compared to wild-type sequences, using a denaturing gradient gel. In an allele-specific oligonucleotide assay, an oligonucleotide is designed which detects a specific sequence, and the assay is performed by detecting the presence or absence of a hybridization signal. In the mutS assay, the protein binds only to sequences that contain a nucleotide mismatch in a heteroduplex between mutant and wild-type sequences.
Mismatches, according to the present invention, are hybridized nucleic acid duplexes in which the two strands are not 100% complementary. Lack of total homology may be due to deletions, insertions, inversions or substitutions. Mismatch detection can be used to detect point mutations in the gene or in its mRNA product. While these techniques are less sensitive than sequencing, they are simpler to perform on a large number of tumor samples. An example of a mismatch cleavage technique is the RNase protection method. In the practice of the present invention, the method involves the use of a labeled riboprobe which is complementary to the human wild-type A-T gene coding sequence. The riboprobe and either mRNA or DNA isolated from the tumor tissue are annealed (hybridized) together and subsequently digested with the enzyme RNase A which is able to detect some mismatches in a duplex RNA structure. If a mismatch is detected by RNase A, it cleaves at the site of the mismatch. Thus, when the annealed RNA preparation is separated on an electrophoretic gel matrix, if a mismatch has been detected and cleaved by RNase A, an RNA product will be seen which is smaller than the full length duplex RNA for the riboprobe and the mRNA or DNA. The riboprobe need not be the full length of the A-T mRNA or gene but can be a segment of either. If the riboprobe comprises only a segment of the A-T mRNA or gene, it will be desirable to use a number of these probes to screen the whole mRNA sequence for mismatches.
In similar fashion, DNA probes can be used to detect mismatches, through enzymatic or chemical cleavage. See, e.g., Cotton et al., 1988; Shenk et al., 1975; Novack et al., 1986. Alternatively, mismatches can be detected by shifts in the electrophoretic mobility of mismatched duplexes relative to matched duplexes. See, e.g., Cariello, 1988. With either riboprobes or DNA probes, the cellular mRNA or DNA which might contain a mutation can be amplified using PCR (see below) before hybridization.
The newly developed technique of nucleic acid analysis via microchip technology is also applicable to the present invention. In this technique, literally thousands of distinct oligonucleotide probes are built up in an array on a silicon chip. Nucleic acid to be analyzed is fluorescently labeled and hybridized to the probes on the chip. It is also possible to study nucleic acid-protein interactions using these nucleic acid microchips. Using this technique one can determine the presence of mutations or even sequence the nucleic acid being analyzed or one can measure expression levels of a gene of interest. The method is one of parallel processing of many, even thousands, of probes at once and can tremendously increase the rate of analysis. Several papers have been published which use this technique. Some of these are Hacia et al., 1996; Shoemaker et al., 1996; Chee et al., 1996; Lockhart et al., 1996; DeRisi et al., 1996; Lipshutz et al., 1995. This method has already been used to screen people for mutations in the breast cancer gene BRCA1 (Hacia et al., 1996). This new technology has been reviewed in a news article in Chemical and Engineering News (Borman, 1996) and been the subject of an editorial (Nature Genetics, 1996). Also see Fodor (1997).
DNA sequences of the A-T gene which have been amplified by use of PCR may also be screened using allele-specific probes. These probes are nucleic acid oligomers, each of which contains a region of the A-T gene sequence harboring a known mutation. For example, one oligomer may be about 30 nucleotides in length, corresponding to a portion of the A-T gene sequence. By use of a battery of such allele-specific probes, PCR amplification products can be screened to identify the presence of a previously identified mutation in the A-T gene. Hybridization of allele-specific probes with amplified A-T sequences can be performed, for example, on a nylon filter. Hybridization to a particular probe under stringent hybridization conditions indicates the presence of the same mutation in the tumor tissue as in the allele-specific probe.
Alteration of A-T mRNA expression can be detected by any techniques known in the art. These include Northern blot analysis, PCR amplification and RNase protection. Diminished mRNA expression indicates an alteration of the wild-type A-T gene. Alteration of wild-type A-T genes can also be detected by screening for alteration of wild-type A-T protein. For example, monoclonal antibodies immunoreactive with A-T can be used to screen a tissue. Lack of cognate antigen would indicate an A-T mutation. Antibodies specific for products of mutant alleles could also be used to detect mutant A-T gene product. Such immunological assays can be done in any convenient formats known in the art. These include Western blots, immunohistochemical assays and ELISA assays. Any means for detecting an altered A-T protein can be used to detect alteration of wild-type A-T genes. Functional assays, such as protein binding determinations, can be used. In addition, assays can be used which detect A-T biochemical function. Finding a mutant A-T gene product indicates alteration of a wild-type A-T gene.
Mutant A-T genes or gene products can also be detected in other human body samples, such as serum, stool, urine and sputum. The same techniques discussed above for detection of mutant A-T genes or gene products in tissues can be applied to other body samples. Cancer cells are sloughed off from tumors and appear in such body samples. In addition, the A-T gene product itself may be secreted into the extracellular space and found in these body samples even in the absence of cancer cells. By screening such body samples, a simple early diagnosis can be achieved for many types of cancers. In addition, the progress of chemotherapy or radiotherapy can be monitored more easily by testing such body samples for mutant A-T genes or gene products.
The methods of diagnosis of the present invention are applicable to any tumor in which A-T has a role in tumorigenesis. The diagnostic method of the present invention is useful for clinicians, so they can decide upon an appropriate course of treatment.
Primer pairs are useful for determination of the nucleotide sequence of a particular A-T allele using PCR. The pairs of single-stranded DNA primers can be annealed to sequences within or surrounding the A-T gene on chromosome 11q22-23 in order to prime amplifying DNA synthesis of the A-T gene itself. A complete set of these primers allows synthesis of all of the nucleotides of the A-T gene coding sequences, i.e., the exons. The set of primers preferably allows synthesis of both intron and exon sequences. Allele-specific primers can also be used. Such primers anneal only to particular A-T mutant alleles, and thus will only amplify a product in the presence of the mutant allele as a template.
In order to facilitate subsequent cloning of amplified sequences, primers may have restriction enzyme site sequences appended to their 5xe2x80x2 ends. Thus, all nucleotides of the primers are derived from A-T sequences or sequences adjacent to A-T, except for the few nucleotides necessary to form a restriction enzyme site. Such enzymes and sites are well known in the art. The primers themselves can be synthesized using techniques which are well known in the art. Generally, the primers can be made using oligonucleotide synthesizing machines which are commercially available. Given the sequence of the A-T open reading frame as set forth in Genbank accession number U33841 (Savitsky et al. 1995a; Savitsky et al., 1995b; Platzer et al., 1997), design of particular primers is well within the skill of the art.
The nucleic acid probes provided by the present invention are useful for a number of purposes. The probes can be used to detect PCR amplification products. They may also be used to detect mismatches with the A-T gene or mRNA using other techniques.
However, mutations which interfere with the function of the A-T protein are involved in the pathogenesis of cancer. Thus, the presence of an altered (or a mutant) A-T gene which produces a protein having a loss of function, or altered function, directly correlates to an increased risk of cancer. In order to detect a A-T gene mutation, a biological sample is prepared and analyzed for a difference between the sequence of the A-T allele being analyzed and the sequence of the wild-type A-T allele. Mutant A-T alleles can be initially identified by any of the techniques described above. The mutant alleles are then sequenced to identify the specific mutation of the particular mutant allele. Alternatively, mutant A-T alleles can be initially identified by identifying mutant (altered) A-T proteins, using conventional techniques. The mutant alleles are then sequenced to identify the specific mutation for each allele. The mutations, especially those which lead to an altered function of the A-T protein, are then used for the diagnostic and prognostic methods of the present invention.
Definitions
The present invention employs the following definitions:
xe2x80x9cAmplification of Polynucleotidesxe2x80x9d utilizes methods such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), ligation amplification (or ligase chain reaction, LCR) and amplification methods based on the use of Q-beta replicase. These methods are well known and widely practiced in the art. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195 and 4,683,202 and Innis et al., 1990 (for PCR); and Wu et al., 1989a (for LCR). Reagents and hardware for conducting PCR are commercially available. Primers useful to amplify sequences from the A-T region are preferably complementary to, and hybridize specifically to sequences in the A-T region or in regions that flank a target region therein. A-T sequences generated by amplification may be sequenced directly. Alternatively, but less desirably, the amplified sequence(s) may be cloned prior to sequence analysis. A method for the direct cloning and sequence analysis of enzymatically amplified genomic segments has been described by Scharf, 1986.
xe2x80x9cAnalyte polynucleotidexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9canalyte strandxe2x80x9d refer to a single- or double-stranded polynucleotide which is suspected of containing a target sequence, and which may be present in a variety of types of samples, including biological samples.
xe2x80x9cAntibodies.xe2x80x9d The present invention also provides polyclonal and/or monoclonal antibodies and fragments thereof, and immunologic binding equivalents thereof, which are capable of specifically binding to the A-T polypeptides and fragments thereof or to polynucleotide sequences from the A-T region, particularly from the A-T locus or a portion thereof. The term xe2x80x9cantibodyxe2x80x9d is used both to refer to a homogeneous molecular entity, or a mixture such as a serum product made up of a plurality of different molecular entities. Polypeptides may be prepared synthetically in a peptide synthesizer and coupled to a carrier molecule (e.g., keyhole limpet hemocyanin) and injected over several months into rabbits. Rabbit sera is tested for immunoreactivity to the A-T polypeptide or fragment. Monoclonal antibodies may be made by injecting mice with the protein polypeptides, fusion proteins or fragments thereof Monoclonal antibodies will be screened by ELISA and tested for specific immunoreactivity with A-T polypeptide or fragments thereof See, Harlow and Lane, 1988. These antibodies will be useful in assays as well as pharmaceuticals.
Once a sufficient quantity of desired polypeptide has been obtained, it may be used for various purposes. A typical use is the production of antibodies specific for binding. These antibodies may be either polyclonal or monoclonal, and may be produced by in vitro or in vivo techniques well known in the art. For production of polyclonal antibodies, an appropriate target immune system, typically mouse or rabbit, is selected. Substantially purified antigen is presented to the immune system in a fashion determined by methods appropriate for the animal and by other parameters well known to immunologists. Typical sites for injection are in footpads, intramuscularly, intraperitoneally, or intradermally. Of course, other species may be substituted for mouse or rabbit. Polyclonal antibodies are then purified using techniques known in the art, adjusted for the desired specificity.
An immunological response is usually assayed with an immunoassay. Normally, such immunoassays involve some purification of a source of antigen, for example, that produced by the same cells and in the same fashion as the antigen. A variety of immunoassay methods are well known in the art. See, e.g., Harlow and Lane, 1988, or Goding, 1986.
Monoclonal antibodies with affinities of 10xe2x88x928 Mxe2x88x921 or preferably 10xe2x88x929 to 10xe2x88x9210 Mxe2x88x921 or stronger will typically be made by standard procedures as described, e.g., in Harlow and Lane, 1988 or Goding, 1986. Briefly, appropriate animals will be selected and the desired immunization protocol followed. After the appropriate period of time, the spleens of such animals are excised and individual spleen cells fused, typically, to immortalized myeloma cells under appropriate selection conditions. Thereafter, the cells are clonally separated and the supernatants of each clone tested for their production of an appropriate antibody specific for the desired region of the antigen.
Other suitable techniques involve in vitro exposure of lymphocytes to the antigenic polypeptides, or alternatively, to selection of libraries of antibodies in phage or similar vectors. See Huse et al., 1989. The polypeptides and antibodies of the present invention may be used with or without modification. Frequently, polypeptides and antibodies will be labeled by joining, either covalently or non-covalently, a substance which provides for a detectable signal. A wide variety of labels and conjugation techniques are known and are reported extensively in both the scientific and patent literature. Suitable labels include radionuclides, enzymes, substrates, cofactors, inhibitors, fluorescent agents, chemiluminescent agents, magnetic particles and the like. Patents teaching the use of such labels include U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,817,837; 3,850,752; 3,939,350; 3,996,345; 4,277,437; 4,275,149 and 4,366,241. Also, recombinant immunoglobulins may be produced (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,567).
xe2x80x9cA-T allelexe2x80x9d refers to normal alleles of the A-T locus as well as alleles carrying variations that predispose individuals to develop cancer of many sites including, for example, breast, ovarian, cancer. Such predisposing alleles are also called xe2x80x9cA-T susceptibility allelesxe2x80x9d.
xe2x80x9cA-T locus,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cA-T gene,xe2x80x9d xe2x80x9cA-T Nucleic Acidsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cA-T Polynucleotidexe2x80x9d each refer to polynucleotides, all of which are in the A-T region, that are likely to be expressed in normal tissue, certain alleles of which predispose an individual to develop breast, ovarian, cancers. Mutations at the A-T locus may be involved in the initiation and/or progression of other types of tumors. The locus is indicated in part by mutations that predispose individuals to develop cancer. These mutations fall within the A-T region. The A-T locus is intended to include coding sequences, intervening sequences and regulatory elements controlling transcription and/or translation. The A-T locus is intended to include all allelic variations of the DNA sequence.
A xe2x80x9cbiological samplexe2x80x9d refers to a sample of tissue or fluid suspected of containing an analyte polynucleotide or polypeptide from an individual including, but not limited to, e.g., plasma, serum, spinal fluid, lymph fluid, the external sections of the skin, respiratory, intestinal, and genitourinary tracts, tears, saliva, blood cells, tumors, organs, tissue and samples of in vitro cell culture constituents.
As used herein, the terms xe2x80x9cdiagnosingxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cprognosing,xe2x80x9d as used in the context of neoplasia, are used to indicate 1) the classification of lesions as neoplasia, 2) the determination of the severity of the neoplasia, or 3) the monitoring of the disease progression, prior to, during and after treatment.
xe2x80x9cProbesxe2x80x9d. Polynucleotide sequence variants associated with A-T alleles which predispose to certain cancers or are associated with most cancers are detected by hybridization with a polynucleotide probe which forms a stable hybrid with that of the target sequence, under stringent to moderately stringent hybridization and wash conditions. If it is expected that the probes will be perfectly complementary to the target sequence, stringent conditions will be used. Hybridization stringency may be lessened if some mismatching is expected, for example, if variants are expected with the result that the probe will not be completely complementary. Conditions are chosen which rule out nonspecific/adventitious bindings, that is, which minimize noise. Since such indications identify neutral DNA polymorphisms as well as mutations, these indications need further analysis to demonstrate detection of an A-T susceptibility allele.
Probes for A-T alleles may be derived from the sequences of the A-T region or its cDNAs. The probes may be of any suitable length, which span all or a portion of the A-T region, and which allow specific hybridization to the A-T region. If the target sequence contains a sequence identical to that of the probe, the probes may be short, e.g., in the range of about 8-30 base pairs, since the hybrid will be relatively stable under even stringent conditions. If some degree of mismatch is expected with the probe, i.e., if it is suspected that the probe will hybridize to a variant region, a longer probe may be employed which hybridizes to the target sequence with the requisite specificity.
The probes will include an isolated polynucleotide attached to a label or reporter molecule and may be used to isolate other polynucleotide sequences, having sequence similarity by standard methods. For techniques for preparing and labeling probes see, e.g., Sambrook et al., 1989 or Ausubel et al., 1992. Other similar polynucleotides may be selected by using homologous polynucleotides. Alternatively, polynucleotides encoding these or similar polypeptides may be synthesized or selected by use of the redundancy in the genetic code. Various codon substitutions may be introduced, e.g., by silent changes (thereby producing various restriction sites) or to optimize expression for a particular system. Mutations may be introduced to modify the properties of the polypeptide, perhaps to change ligand-binding affinities, interchain affinities, or the polypeptide degradation or turnover rate.
Probes comprising synthetic oligonucleotides or other polynucleotides of the present invention may be derived from naturally occurring or recombinant single- or double-stranded polynucleotides, or be chemically synthesized. Probes may also be labeled by nick translation, Klenow fill-in reaction, or other methods known in the art.
Portions of the polynucleotide sequence having at least about eight nucleotides, usually at least about 15 nucleotides, and fewer than about 6 kb, usually fewer than about 1.0 kb, from a polynucleotide sequence encoding A-T are preferred as probes. The probes may also be used to determine whether mRNA encoding A-T is present in a cell or tissue.
xe2x80x9cTarget regionxe2x80x9d refers to a region of the nucleic acid which is amplified and/or detected. The term xe2x80x9ctarget sequencexe2x80x9d refers to a sequence with which a probe or primer will form a stable hybrid under desired conditions.
The practice of the present invention employs, unless otherwise indicated, conventional techniques of chemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, recombinant DNA, genetics, and immunology. See, e.g., Maniatis et al., 1982; Sambrook et al., 1989; Ausubel et al., 1992; Glover, 1985; Anand, 1992; Guthrie and Fink, 1991.
Methods of Use: Nucleic Acid Diagnosis and Diagnostic Kits
In order to detect the presence of a A-T allele predisposing an individual to cancer, a biological sample such as blood is prepared and analyzed for the presence or absence of susceptibility alleles of A-T. In order to detect the presence of neoplasia, the progression toward malignancy of a precursor lesion, or as a prognostic indicator, a biological sample of the lesion is prepared and analyzed for the presence or absence of mutant alleles of A-T. Results of these tests and interpretive information are returned to the health care provider for communication to the tested individual. Such diagnoses may be performed by diagnostic laboratories, or, alternatively, diagnostic kits are manufactured and sold to health care providers or to private individuals for self-diagnosis.
Initially, the screening method involves amplification of the relevant A-T sequences. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the screening method involves a non-PCR based strategy. Such screening methods include two-step label amplification methodologies that are well known in the art. Both PCR and non-PCR based screening strategies can detect target sequences with a high level of sensitivity.
The most popular method used today is target amplification. Here, the target nucleic acid sequence is amplified with polymerases. One particularly preferred method using polymerase-driven amplification is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The polymerase chain reaction and other polymerase-driven amplification assays can achieve over a million-fold increase in copy number through the use of polymerase-driven amplification cycles. Once amplified, the resulting nucleic acid can be sequenced or used as a substrate for DNA probes.
When the probes are used to detect the presence of the target sequences (for example, in screening for cancer susceptibility), the biological sample to be analyzed, such as blood or serum, may be treated, if desired, to extract the nucleic acids. The sample nucleic acid may be prepared in various ways to facilitate detection of the target sequence; e.g. denaturation, restriction digestion, electrophoresis or dot blotting. The targeted region of the analyte nucleic acid usually must be at least partially single-stranded to form hybrids with the targeting sequence of the probe. If the sequence is naturally single-stranded, denaturation will not be required. However, if the sequence is double-stranded, the sequence will probably need to be denatured. Denaturation can be carried out by various techniques known in the art.
Analyte nucleic acid and probe are incubated under conditions which promote stable hybrid formation of the target sequence in the probe with the putative targeted sequence in the analyte. The region of the probes which is used to bind to the analyte can be made completely complementary to the targeted region of human chromosome 11q. Therefore, high stringency conditions are desirable in order to prevent false positives. However, conditions of high stringency are used only if the probes are complementary to regions of the chromosome which are unique in the genome. The stringency of hybridization is determined by a number of factors during hybridization and during the washing procedure, including temperature, ionic strength, base composition, probe length, and concentration of formamide. These factors are outlined in, for example, Maniatis et al., 1982 and Sambrook et al., 1989. Under certain circumstances, the formation of higher order hybrids, such as triplexes, quadraplexes, etc., may be desired to provide the means of detecting target sequences.
Detection, if any, of the resulting hybrid is usually accomplished by the use of labeled probes. Alternatively, the probe may be unlabeled, but may be detectable by specific binding with a ligand which is labeled, either directly or indirectly. Suitable labels, and methods for labeling probes and ligands are known in the art, and include, for example, radioactive labels which may be incorporated by known methods (e.g., nick translation, random priming or kinasing), biotin, fluorescent groups, chemiluminescent groups (e.g., dioxetanes, particularly triggered dioxetanes), enzymes, antibodies and the like. Variations of this basic scheme are known in the art, and include those variations that facilitate separation of the hybrids to be detected from extraneous materials and/or that amplify the signal from the labeled moiety. A number of these variations are reviewed in, e.g., Matthews and Kricka, 1988; Landegren et al., 1988; Mittlin, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,105, and in EPO Publication No. 225,807.
As noted above, non-PCR based screening assays are also contemplated in this invention. This procedure hybridizes a nucleic acid probe (or an analog such as a methyl phosphonate backbone replacing the normal phosphodiester), to the low level DNA target. This probe may have an enzyme covalently linked to the probe, such that the covalent linkage does not interfere with the specificity of the hybridization. This enzyme-probe-conjugate-target nucleic acid complex can then be isolated away from the free probe enzyme conjugate and a substrate is added for enzyme detection. Enzymatic activity is observed as a change in color development or luminescent output resulting in a 103-106 increase in sensitivity. For an example relating to the preparation of oligodeoxynucleotide-alkaline phosphatase conjugates and their use as hybridization probes see Jablonski et al., 1986.
Two-step label amplification methodologies are known in the art. These assays work on the principle that a small ligand (such as digoxigenin, biotin, or the like) is attached to a nucleic acid probe capable of specifically binding A-T. Allele specific probes are also contemplated within the scope of this invention.
In one example, the small ligand attached to the nucleic acid probe is specifically recognized by an antibody-enzyme conjugate. In one embodiment of this example, digoxigenin is attached to the nucleic acid probe. Hybridization is detected by an antibody-alkaline phosphatase conjugate which turns over a chemiluminescent substrate. For methods for labeling nucleic acid probes according to this embodiment see Martin et al., 1990. In a second example, the small ligand is recognized by a second ligand-enzyme conjugate that is capable of specifically complexing to the first ligand. A well known embodiment of this example is the biotin-avidin type of interactions. For methods for labeling nucleic acid probes and their use in biotin-avidin based assays see Rigby et al., 1977 and Nguyen et al., 1992.
It is also contemplated within the scope of this invention that the nucleic acid probe assays of this invention will employ a cocktail of nucleic acid probes capable of detecting A-T. Thus, in one example to detect the presence of A-T in a cell sample, more than one probe complementary to A-T is employed and in particular the number of different probes is alternatively 2, 3, or 5 different nucleic acid probe sequences. In another example, to detect the presence of mutations in the A-T gene sequence in a patient, more than one probe complementary to A-T is employed where the cocktail includes probes capable of binding to the allele-specific mutations identified in populations of patients with alterations in A-T. In this embodiment, any number of probes can be used, and will preferably include probes corresponding to the major gene mutations identified as predisposing an individual to breast cancer.
Methods of Use: Peptide Diagnosis and Diagnostic Kits
The neoplastic condition of lesions can also be detected on the basis of the alteration of wild-type A-T polypeptide. Such alterations can be determined by sequence analysis in accordance with conventional techniques. More preferably, antibodies (polyclonal or monoclonal) are used to detect differences in, or the absence of A-T peptides. The antibodies may be prepared as discussed above under the heading xe2x80x9cAntibodiesxe2x80x9d. Other techniques for raising and purifying antibodies are well known in the art and any such techniques may be chosen to achieve the preparations claimed in this invention. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, antibodies will immunoprecipitate A-T proteins from solution as well as react with A-T protein on Western or immunoblots of polyacrylamide gels. In another preferred embodiment, antibodies will detect A-T proteins in paraffin or frozen tissue sections, using immunocytochemical techniques.
Preferred embodiments relating to methods for detecting A-T or its mutations include enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), radioimmunoassays (RIA), immunoradiometric assays (IRMA) and immunoenzymatic assays (IEMA), including sandwich assays using monoclonal and/or polyclonal antibodies. Exemplary sandwich assays are described by David et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,376,110 and 4,486,530, hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention is described by reference to the following Examples, which are offered by way of illustration and are not intended to limit the invention in any manner. Standard techniques well known in the art or the techniques specifically described below were utilized.
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About This Course
Nothing engages, nurtures, and motivates employees more than a well conducted performance feedback discussion. Research has shown that employees who receive timely, proper, and structured performance feedback are more likely to stay engaged, motivated, and focused at work. The ability to conduct a good performance feedback discussion is a critical skill that all managers must develop. In this workshop, we move ahead from feedback to the process of feedforward.
Skill Drill 1: Cognitive Biases (15 minutes)
The objective of this session is to develop awareness about biases and recognize the impact they have on performance management. In particular, participants will explore the following biases: Availability heuristics, Halo effect, Recency effect, and the Confirmation bias. Participants will discover the performance history worksheet that can be used to mitigate the impact of biases.
Skill Drill 2: Master the feedforward conversations using STAR/AR (1.5 hours)
Traditional feedback techniques focused on finding gaps and correcting behaviors do not work. What managers need to focus on is a participative approach in identifying alternate strategies and focusing on what can be done in the future under similar situations.
In this experiential and gamified session, participants will explore the STAR/AR model of providing feedback and use it to structure feedback conversations with their team members. In this session, participants will:
- Use the structured STAR/AR framework to drive a feedback discussion
- Understand the difference between the directive and coaching styles and when to use which style
- Explore the STAR/AR framework for giving feedback in a structured manner
- Practice using the STAR/AR framework for giving ongoing feedback
We will deal with the following additional areas during this session:
- Performance driven conversation
- Handling difficult conversations
- Handling emotional employees
Skill Drill 3: Reflection and Summary(15 minutes)
A guided session to share learning and insights from the workshop. Participants complete their learning journal and action plan.
Post Workshop Support : | https://www.skills.cafe/courses/the-art-of-giving-feedback/ |
Donald Trump’s golf course company has been ordered to pay almost £250,000 in legal expenses to the Scottish Government following a court battle over a wind farm.
The US president mounted a lengthy challenge against plans for an 11-turbine scheme off the Aberdeenshire coast, claiming it would spoil the view from his Balmedie golf course.
Now, almost four years after his case was dismissed at the UK Supreme Court, Trump International Golf Club Scotland Ltd has been told to pay £225,000 in legal fees to Scottish ministers.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We can confirm that settlement has now been reached – and this has removed the need for the expenses to be determined by the auditor of the Court of Session. | https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/scotland/1888610/trump-international-ordered-to-pay-scottish-goverment-225000-over-north-sea-wind-farm-battle/ |
CPA firms have historically faced challenges related to a shortage of experienced talent. While a number of factors contribute, the key issue has been the obstacle of achieving work-life balance in this field.
The Challenge is Inclusion
The accounting field is currently 63% female, with more women in leadership positions than ever before. While an exciting statistic, the reality is that many women still struggle to advance through the conventional corporate model due to goals outside of their career. As women, we invest in our careers and ourselves, with the knowledge that at some point the desire to start a family may force us to consider walking away from what we’ve built and to make hard decisions about re-prioritizing our time, energy and impact.
Many women struggle to negotiate a balance between career and family commitments that affords them the ability to thrive in all parts of their lives, not just merely manage both. As a result, many leave the public accounting, or at minimum step away from their career for a period of time to raise their family. So if the profession is now made up of more than 50% women, it is easy to deduce where the experienced talent is going.
This doesn’t just apply to moms either. There are plenty of dads out there in need of flexible work arrangements, too. Family structures can differ greatly among employees, but this isn’t the only reason to offer something as easy to provide as flexibility.
Regardless of gender and family responsibility, there are generational factors that influence the need and desire for flexibility. Millennials look to find forward-thinking employers who embrace the technology they know is available to them. And on the opposite end of the career journey, we find the baby boomers, who might simply be looking to scale back their busy season as they transition toward retirement.
It’s Time for Change
Today’s world celebrates diversity and individuality in so many progressive ways, yet even the more innovative firms often try to develop a one size fits all approach to flexible work policies, if they are open to offering flex arrangements at all.
So while we’ve made leaps and bounds over the past 50 years with respect to equality in the workplace, we may have lost sight of something more important – equity. It’s about retaining qualified talent by offering flexibility around a person’s individual needs and not someone else’s. | https://www.viaggiopartners.com/our-why/ |
Berezin’s idea is that, as civilizations evolve and grow, they tend to become more advanced technologically. At first, they are the ones leading the way, with the most sophisticated technology. But eventually, other civilizations catch up and overtake them. This phenomenon is called technological convergence.
Berezin’s Theorem
In a recent paper, Berezin proposed a new theory that says we are “first in, last out.” The idea is that as civilizations expand and become more complex, they tend to collapse first. Berezin’s theorem suggests that this is because as civilizations get bigger and more complex, they create more problems than they solve. In fact, Berezin argues that the collapse of civilizations is inevitable.
What Berezin’s Theorem Says About the Human Race
Alexander Berezin is a theoretical physicist at Russia’s National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET). Berezin came up with an answer that says we are “first in, last out.” According to Berezin’s theorem, the human race will eventually disappear because it will be the first species to go extinct.
What Berezin’s Theorem Means for Future Generations
When it comes to the future of our species, Alexander Berezin has a pretty clear idea about what’s going on. His theorem, which he published in 2016, says that we are “first in, last out.”
This means that as populations around the world continue to grow and interact with each other more and more, we are increasingly at risk of becoming extinct. Berezin’s theorem is based on a mathematical model that predicts how populations will interact with one another. It’s not a prediction that we can easily change or predict the outcome of, but it is an important reminder of how our actions today will have an impact on the future of our species.
Berezin’s theorem also has implications for our understanding of evolution. It suggests that evolution occurs in bursts – similar to the way populations interact with one another – and that as a species, we are likely to become extinct within a relatively short period of time.
We need to be careful about how we use resources and how we interact with other species if we want to make sure that our descendants will be able to survive for long into the future.
Conclusion
Berezin’s work is based on the “Great Filter” theory, which posits that after the Big Bang and during the early universe, there was a period of exponential expansion and thermodynamic equilibrium in which only intelligent life could survive. According to Berezin, by the time we reach the end of our cosmic journey—due to our own actions—only humans will be left. This may sound alarming, but Berezin says it’s actually an opportunity: If we manage our resources wisely and steer clear of self-imposed extinction, perhaps we can leave behind a better world for future generations. | https://mamalay.xyz/last-year-alexander-berezin-a-theoretical-physicist-at-russias-national-research-university-of-electronic-technology-miet-came-up-with-an-answer-that-says-we-are-first-in-last-out/ |
Essential Elements In credits management – Where To Go
When doubtful, use white for the background color, and black for the text color Using Your Company? s Logo Colours If your company already has a emblem designed by knowledgeable ? This is the best place to begin for choosing your website? You may choose to use the precise colors present in your brand, and even add some complimentary colors. But, it’s important to not stray too far from your brand?
For example, a choice of blues and purples, or reds and oranges would make a good analogous mixture. One colour must be picked because the dominant color whereas the others are used as accents. | https://portalentrepreneur.com/tag/convenient |
Prairie Power: Student Activism, Counterculture, Backlash
Protests in the past and present: CU Professor of History Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda autographs a copy of her new book “Prairie Power: Student Activism, Counterculture, and Backlash in Oklahoma, 1962-1972” for Instructor of English and Foreign Languages Leah Chaffins. Cameron hosted a signing to celebrate the recently published work at 2 p.m., March 6, in the CETES Conference Center.
Sarae Ticeahkie A&E Editor
From 2-3:30 p.m., March 6, in the CETES Conference Center, Cameron celebrated “Academic Festival X: American Identities in the 21st Century” with a book talk and signing by Professor of History Dr. Sarah Eppler Janda.
Janda discussed her new book “Prairie Power: Student Activism, Counterculture, and Backlash in Oklahoma, 1962-1972.”
The publication’s ideas about activism correlate to the festival subtheme “Social Justice and the American Dream.”
The event included a discussion, an open question and answer session, a signing and an opportunity for visitors to purchase the book.
Recently published by the University of Oklahoma Press, “Prairie Power” focuses on 1960s era student activism and “dropping out” on Oklahoma college campuses.
Janda said not many people paid attention to student activism in Oklahoma, so she wanted to detail specific Oklahoman experiences.
“I thought it was important to highlight the fact that there’s a lot of variation among the activists,” she said.
“They’re not all the same − activists from OSU differed significantly from some of the activists at the University of Oklahoma.”
She said the book explores student activism culture on a national level and how different government entities responded to protests and resistance.
“I also thought it was important to point out the surveillance culture that was emerging,” she said.
“Prairie Power” also examines hippies in Oklahoma and nationally and how previous movements, including the back-to-land movement and the search for authenticity, inspired the free-thinkers.
The University of Oklahoma’s Chapter of Students for Democratic Society and the Anti-war Movement fit into the hippy mentality of the midwest and southwest; a blend of free-speech advocacy, countercultural expression and anarchist tendencies set them apart from most east coast student activists.
Drawn to Oklahoma history, Janda felt that other historians had not thoroughly written about the subject.
“I wrote the book to fill a gap in the historical record by examining activists and hippies in Oklahoma and putting them in the context of larger national trends in the period,” she said.
Janda said the book took several years to write, but with help from colleagues and a semester off from teaching, she completed the project.
Apart from her recent book release, Janda has written two other books about historical Okahoman experiences.
Published in 2007, “Beloved Women: The Political Lives of Ladonna Harris and Wilma Mankiller” takes a look at the lives of two Native American women from Oklahoma who thought of themselves as feminists with strong Indian identities.
Published in 2010, “Pride of the Wichitas: A History of Cameron University,” focuses on Cameron’s 100-year history from its inception as the Cameron State School of Agriculture in 1908 through the university’s yearlong Centennial Celebration in 2008. | |
Should universities stick to their traditional role of teaching and scientific discoveries or should they actively participate in the development process? DELGADO, Mariana (2008) raises this question and then answers as “A socially committed university should put knowledge and research to the disposition of development, coexistence, peacebuilding and reconciliation, and its ethos should impulse it to become an active actor in such processes”.
Professor Henry Etzkowitz coined the term of Entrepreneurial University for such institutions. These universities added the third mission of research application and knowledge exploitation for economic and social impact. There are numerous examples and success stories of university impact on the town, region, country and at the global scale too (Etzkowitz, H,1998).
Oregon State University developed a regional economy of Ashland by initiating Oregon State Festivals (Etzkowitz, H, 2013). I have summarized this article and titled it as “Can a university develop the economy of the town? Yes, if it is entrepreneurial” published on LinkedIn.
My South Asia
I live in South Asia (Lahore, Pakistan) and daily consume news like bomb blasts, Kashmir conflict, water war, foreign invasion, suicidal attacks, protests by separatists, surgical strikes, and frequent killings. It is hard for a human to stay normal and healthy under the bombardment of such news. Pakistan and India recently changed the flavor of news from hate to love by opening Kartarpur for the Sikh community. There is a need to have a permanent journey towards conflict resolution and peace in South Asia for regional prosperity, poverty alleviation and the well-being of people.
Chief Coordinator, IRP
Secretary-General
South Asia Triple Helix Association
Pakistan
*email address protected*
Can the universities of South Asia drive the peace process and facilitate conflict resolution? Yes, if they are entrepreneurial.
The University for Peace – The Case of Columbia
Columbia has been known for armed conflict and crisis for long time. Life was impossible to live due to rising conflicts by various armed sects and forces. The Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano (UJTL University) was not assigned nor instructed to play any role in the war-like situation. However, an entrepreneurial zeal emerged in UJTL and a volunteer act to facilitate peace making was started by the university leadership. This is called the third mission of the university after teaching and research in the entrepreneurial university framework. UJTL assigned the International Relation Faculty to develop liaison with the Studies Institute for Development and Peace – INDEPAZ, to plan some activities and interventions to reduce conflict among fighting groups. They started various academic activities like seminars, lectures, awareness sessions, negotiation meetings of the conflicting groups and exchange of ideas and alternative thoughts. The UJTL being an independent and neutral platform brought fresh ideas to the conflicts and proposed alternatives to the deep rooted disputes.
UJTL was able to reduce conflicts by a significant level and initiated a peace making process in Columbia (DELGADO, Mariana, 2008). Academia in South Asia can play the similar role to reduce intensity of long-standing conflicts.
The Centre for Peace in South Asia in the Entrepreneurial University
The University of South Asia may take a lead and set up a “Centre for Peace in South Asia”. This entrepreneurial role of the university will lead the engagement of peer academia for conflict resolutions. The academic debate will bring fresh ideas for peace, innovative thinking for conflict resolution and a scholarly flavor for the heated debate. This academic process will continue making new proposals and evaluating existing measures until disputes get settled and resolved. The university is known as an independent place for intellectual debate beyond the patrician lines and hard-knitted policies. The professors and research students also possess the ability to bring out of the box ideas on the table.
- Joint Studies by South Asia Universities
The joint studies by authors of conflicting countries to be launched by this Centre for Peace in South Asia. These studies will be jointly published and present the depth and breadth of conflicts. The studies may present opposing ideas by different authors in a single book so readers of the conflicting countries understand each other perspectives. The authors will present solutions according to their independent thinking and analysis of the situation, and will help the policymakers to have more in-depth analysis of the situations and variety of solutions presented by academic scholars.
There is a need for research grants and funding on regional peace and conflicts for dedicated and independent studies.
- Alternative Perspectives of South Asia Conflicts
The conflicts mostly reside in the narrowed perspectives of conflicting parties. The parties stick to their historical and deep-rooted interests without putting in much effort to explore alternatives. The academics having strength in research and analysis can bring new alternatives on the table for negotiation. These new alternatives can be further studied and consulted with stakeholders, and the analysis of alternatives can help policymakers to have more options for discussion.
Academics can propose many low hanging fruits of peace to be considered and prioritized. The hard areas are always difficult to negotiate and resolve.
- Exchange of South Asia Graduates
There are disputes in South Asia inherited by the second generation and likely to be passed to the third generation too. This can be limited by involving the younger generation in healthy debates about conflicts and peace. An academic forum is the best for such engagement. The universities may plan the exchange of postgraduate students to interact with counterparts of other countries and jointly discuss conflicting issues. They will find a scholarly forum of dialogue to understand each other’s perspective and bring innovative thinking and fresh ideas on the table. These future leaders may then develop the ability to resolve conflicts and make peace when taking charge of national affairs.
- Academic Conference on South Asia Conflicts and Peace
The Centre for Peace in South Asia may launch an annual conference on peace and conflicts in South Asia. Academics from all over the world need to be invited to present their thoughts and research on how to resolve conflict and make progress for peace. This conference will be an independent forum of connectivity, exchange of ideas, understanding of opposite views and promoting mutual understanding, and an opportunity for multiple stakeholders from thinkers to policymakers and executives to have an informal interaction and learn from each other.
- Scholarly Networks in South Asia
The scholarly networks of academic professors and experts connect the professionals of the same subject with each other. The Centre for Peace in South Asia needs to develop networks and forums of experts in peace studies and conflict resolutions. The regular interaction through these forums and networks will help better understanding of conflicts and bring forward a variety of options to resolve them. The regional networks inspire positivity and promote good news in the media, society, and public domain that help to resolve conflicts.
- Summary – An Academic Window for Peace and Conflict
The Centre for Peace in South Asia can be a history-making endeavor to be taken by the entrepreneurial university of the region. This will become an academic window open for discussion even in times of serious crisis and conflict. This window for peace will be scholar-to-scholar contact that can grow as an instrument of conflict resolution in South Asia.
Peaceful South Asia can make the twentieth century as “The Century of Asia”.
References
DELGADO, Mariana. (2008) “The role of universities in peacebuilding processes in contexts of armed conflict: the experience of the Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano in Colombia”. Proceedings of the 4th International Barcelona Conference on Higher Education, Vol 5. The role of higher education in peace building and reconciliation processes. Barcelona: GUNI. Available at www.guni-rmies.net.
Etzkowitz, H. (1998) The norms of entrepreneurial science: cognitive effects of the new university-industry linkages. Research policy, 27(8), 823-833.
Etzkowitz, H. (2013) Can a teaching university be an entrepreneurial university? Civic entrepreneurship and the formation of a cultural cluster in Ashland, Oregon. | https://www.triplehelixassociation.org/helice/volume-8-2019/helice-issue-4/the-entrepreneurial-role-of-universities-for-peace-and-conflict-in-south-asia |
Like many people, you’re probably wondering if it’s the turbines that make people sick. Here are some details to help you understand this better.
Is it the sound and vibration, or something else?
Residents living near new sources of environmental noise report noticing new symptoms which over time they come to associate with the operation of the noise emitting machinery. Keeping a personal health journal will help determine whether the symptoms are related to exposure or not.
However it may not always be the actual noise and vibration which is directly causing some of these new symptoms. Sometimes there are other possible concurrent causes of some of these new symptoms, or they may be unrelated to the nearby new industrial activities.
In the case of CSG operations, there have been reports of air and water contamination, in addition to noise and vibration from the fracking activities and from the field compressors, especially at night.
If you live near a CSG plant or field compressor, you may find Dr Geralyn McCarron’s survey of resident at the Tara gas field useful.
In the case of coal mining and gas fired power stations, some neighbouring residents report altered and impaired air quality, in addition to the noise and vibration.
If you live near a mining development, you may find Sharyn Munro’s book, “Rich Land Wasteland”, published in 2012 by PanMacMillan Press a useful resource. Chapter 5 called “Clearing out the Country” deals specifically with environmental noise and vibration issues and you can read more about the book in our Resources section. Dr Steve Robinson’s submission to the NSW Parliamentary inquiry may also be useful.
If you live near a gas fired power station you may find Greg Clarke’s blog useful.
In the case of wind turbines, in some locations residents have noticed batteries on phones, cars, tractors, and cameras discharging very quickly, flourescent light bulbs lighting up spontaneously and electricity meters spinning much more quickly despite homes being abandoned and little electricity being used. These observations by the residents suggest changes to the electromagnetic fields (EMF) are occurring, indicating that new sound and vibration frequencies are not the only change to their environment.
Residents have also noticed quite marked rapid fluctuations in air pressure when outside, especially within 1 – 2km of operating wind turbines, sufficient to knock them off their feet or bring some men to their knees when out working in their paddock, and have been reported by farmers to perceptibly rock stationary cars. The perception of these air pressure fluctuations is reported by these farmers to vary with the blades passing the towers.
Acoustician Dr Bob Thorne has hypothesised that these reported events may be caused by peaks and troughs which vary according to the wind direction and interaction of wind turbine wakes. Pilots have noted wind turbine wake turbulence many kilometres away from the operating wind turbines themselves, creating aviation hazards some kilometres away.
NSW Fire Service recently announced the usage of alarms using low frequency sound energy, which cause cars to shake and drivers to perceive that effect, even when the drivers cannot see or hear the fire engines, in order to alert nearby drivers to the presence of fire engines. This alert system for nearby drivers uses accepted acoustic knowledge that such very low frequency sound energy can still be perceived, even when it cannot be heard.
Other useful resources with resident’s own descriptions of their symptoms and experiences include the raw data section of Dr Nina Pierpont’s study, also contained in her book, available from the Wind Turbine Syndrome website.
The Resources section of this website contains personal submissions by Australian residents to Senate inquiries detailing their experiences.
Stop These Things – Victim Impact Statements in the Experience section.
Visit the What Can I Do page to learn more about your options. You’ll also find useful information in Sources of Help. | https://waubrafoundation.org.au/information/residents/turbines/ |
Cognitive processes in pain
We are generally interested in the relationship between cognition and pain.
One core programme seeks to identify the aspects of attention that are most affected by pain, as well as the conditions under which such disruption is most likely to occur. We know that pain is attention-grabbing and that it is difficult to draw attention away from pain. We have explored pain-related interruption under highly-controlled settings, and are now focusing on the way in which these effects translate into real-world settings. Based on this work, we are interested in establishing new analgesic endpoints.
The second area of interest focuses on the way pain results in cognitive biases, especially in attention and memory. Here, we are keen to learn more about the way information processing biases may contribute to the perception and experience of pain. Our work has focused on threat-related attentional biases found in both acute and chronic pain states. We also have a focus on spatial attentional biases in individuals with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Social factors in pain, including sex and gender differences
Another area of our work considers the wider social and interpersonal context of pain, with a particular focus on sex and gender. We want to better understand why men and women seem to vary in their experience and response to pain. We are looking at the psychosocial factors that may help to explain this variation, including emotional, cognitive and behavioural factors.
We know that pain does not happen in isolation, and so a key programme focuses on the interpersonal factors that may be involved in men and women’s pain. This includes looking at the way in which people communicate pain to one another through verbal and nonverbal behaviours. We are also interested in the wider gender context in which pain occurs, including the influence role gender-based beliefs and expectations may have on men and women’s pain.
Child and family
We are interested in children and adolescents with chronic pain and their family structures. A core programme is exploring the transition from acute to chronic pain, explaining why some young people are more at risk of developing chronic pain after injury than others. We are also interested in family structures within which people experience pain and seek pain relief. We have a long track record in developing measurement technology to assess pain-related distress and disability, and we are interested in novel treatment development and service delivery. We are currently leading a Lancet Special Commission on Child and Adolescent Pain.
Digital development (ehealth and mhealth)
Modern communication, sensor and machine learning technologies provide opportunities to re-vision and re-develop traditional approaches to health and medical interventions in pain management. We have programmes of work in virtual reality solutions for chronic and acute pain, in the use of artificial intelligence for pain diagnostics, and on small data solutions for personalised pain solutions.
Evidence-based pain
We are doing significant work in evidence-based pain management. Professor Eccleston is Coordinating Editor of the Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Cochrane Review Group and Chair of the Special Interest Group of IASP on Systematic Review. We maintain a portfolio of evidence synthesis research on all treatments for acute and chronic pain. | https://www.bath.ac.uk/corporate-information/centre-for-pain-research-cpr-research-themes/ |
Rachel completed her 250-hour certified training at Iam Yoga, an established studio based in Toronto. With a background in ballet, she places her focus on graceful, functional movement and refinement of both transitions and poses.
Rachel aspires to challenge, empower, and uplift students in and out of class. As a firm believer that yoga can compliment every lifestyle and fitness level, Rachel aims to help students explore what more they are capable of.
What should students expect from your class? A passionate and powerful guidance through practice that will encourage students to become curious and investigative about the value behind transitions and poses. Expect offerings of hands-on adjustments that lead to proper alignment and feel-good sensations. | https://yyoga.ca/teachers/rachel-lee |
How many people should I interview? Deciding on sample size.
You’re putting together a survey and know who you want to interview and what you want to ask but how do you decide on the number of people you want to interview? There is no easy answer, the most appropriate sample size for any survey depends on the resources available and the project objectives.
Firstly, generally the larger the sample size, the better. The more people you interview the bigger the proportion of the target population you speak to and the more accurate your final data will tend to be. However, a large sample size does not guarantee an accurate or unbiased sample (see our blog on achieving representative samples). Other factors, such as the structure of your sample also impact on the precision of your data.
But budgets and timescales usually restrict the size of our sample. For most, but not all, methods of data collection the more interviews required the higher the cost and the more time we need to get the interviews. Our proposed sample size must be within budget and achievable within the project time-frame.
In some cases online interviewing has reduced the marginal cost of additional interviews to zero, making budget less of a consideration. For example, if we have an email database for all customers of an organisation we can theoretically invite all of them to complete our survey and obtain as many interviews as possible. We may, though, feel it is better not to blanket email the whole customer database as we may want to send out further surveys in future and don’t want to over-research individual customers.
• How accurate do the survey results need to be? The larger the sample size the smaller the degree of confidence around the results. Tools like this sample size calculator allow you to work out the sample size you need from your desired confidence level, confidence interval and size of your target population (Explanations of confidence level and interval are given on the page alongside the calculator).
• Which sub-groups within the sample will you need to look at in isolation? For example, if you are collecting a sample of all adults but want to be able to look at results for individual age groups alone (e.g. 16-24, 25-34 etc.) then you will need enough interviews within each age group to be confident that the results are reasonably accurate. The more varied your target population the more sub-groups you will probably need to be able to analyse and the bigger the total sample size you will need. As a guide I aim to get 100 interviews with each sub-group of interest. Budgets sometimes mean that this isn’t possible and the sample size is compromised but you should have at least 50 interviews within each key sub-group to be able to report on them with any confidence at all.
• Sometimes we may want to perform analyses that require a minimum sample size. For example multivariate analyses used for segmentation need a total sample size that is large enough to be split into groups that can be analysed separately.
• The actual size of your target audience can also limit the number of interviews you can achieve. For instance if you want to interview people who have spent more than £500,000 on a car then the number of people who actually meet this criteria is relatively small. This will limit the number of interviews you can reasonably expect to achieve. However, 100 interviews with a target population that numbers 1,000 will yield more accurate results than a sample size of 100 with a target population of 1,000,000 as you will be interviewing a much higher proportion of people that meet your criteria for selection. | https://austinresearch.co.uk/how-many-people-should-i-interview-considerations-when-deciding-on-sample-size/ |
The following water outages or boil water notices are currently in effect.
7.8.13 Water Off/Precautionary Boil Water Notice For DeSoto Square Villas
Manatee County Utilities Department has issued a Precautionary Boil Water notice for our customers between 301 Blvd. W to 30th Ave. W. from 9th St W to 3rd St. W. (Desoto Square Villas).
Valve replacement is scheduled for Tuesday, July, 09, 2013. The water will be shut off from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Customers are advised that once service is restored, all water used for drinking or cooking should be boiled as a precaution. A rolling boil of one minute is sufficient. As an alternative, bottled water may be used.
This precautionary notice will remain in effect until a bacteriological survey has shown the water to be safe, normally 24-48 hours*. A Rescission Notice will be issued when lifted. If residents have any questions they may call 941-792-8811 ext: 5268 between 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or (941)747-HELP, (941)747-4357 after 5:00 p.m. or on weekends.
*Regulations require that two consecutive samples be collected for bacteriological quality following the water being shut off. In order to restore full service as soon as possible, the Department of Health allows rescission of the precautionary boil water notice if the first sample is bacteriologically acceptable and the second sample meets certain general water quality standards. However, if the second sample is bacteriologically questionable or unacceptable, then this precautionary boil water notice will be reissued until two consecutive bacteriologically acceptable samples are demonstrated.
Hydrant Flushing on Island
During this time customers may experience intermittent low pressure and water may be evident in the streets as we progress through the island.
Please note that this is temporary and necessary to address low chlorine residuals in the system. Hydrant flowing will be minimized as much as possible and efforts will be made to limit any inconvenience. Additional flushing may be required intermittently over the next couple of months.
If you have any questions please contact Water Distribution at 792-8811 (Ext: 5268) between 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The USF Water Institute is committed to ensuring that our websites conform with Accessibility Support guidelines for people who need to use assistive technologies.
We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and applying the relevant accessibility standards.
View our Accessibility Statement for more information. | https://manatee.wateratlas.usf.edu/news/details/13768/ |
In the minor tradition of lament for a fellow poet which springs from the influential yet neglected Lament for Bion, the theme of literary immortality is closely bound up with the self-conscious, and self-reflexively foregrounded, practice of poetic imitation. Beginning with the Lament for Bion itself, we trace an intricate pattern of allusion to Bion’s Lament for Adonis and Theocritus’ fifteenth idyll, which infuses the grief-laden poem with an underlying optimism by evoking the resurrection of Adonis, celebrated annually in the Adonia festival, and implying that Bion will enjoy a similar immortality. The Lament presents its own imitative poetics as the channel of this ongoing life. Later poets working in this tradition not only imitate the Lament for Bion and follow the conventions it sets, but also understand the significance of its intertextual methods, and use similar means to the same end. This is shown through close readings of three examples: Statius’ Silvae 2.7 (celebrating the birthday of the dead Lucan); Spenser’s ‘Astrophel’ (on the death of Sir Philip Sidney); and Shelley’s ‘Adonais’ (on the death of John Keats). The subtextual presence of the Adonia in ‘Astrophel’ forges a link to the Garden of Adonis in The Faerie Queene, perhaps reflecting that episode’s relation to Mary Sidney’s mourning for her brother. In ‘Adonais’, meanwhile, Adonis’ resurrection is a fundamental subtext throughout, functioning as a symbol of nature’s seasonal renewal and of poetic immortality conferred through imitation, and necessitating reconsideration of Shelley’s supposed ‘Platonic turn’ at the end of the poem.
The chapter examines the teen film, one of the most significant genres dominating the global film industry since the 1990s. After a brief overview of the socio-economic background of the genre’s recent popularity, the chapter focuses on the common features of the group, from character types, typical settings, the role of the soundtrack and the characteristically decontextualised use of textual fragments, through a tendency to present heterosexual romance as ideal, to the genre’s reflection on authority figures, both in the school environment and within the family. Beside the best-known examples of the genre, which all employ the romantic comedy’s narrative structure, the chapter discusses one tragic teen drama and two independent queer productions as well, highlighting their darker social messages, which set them apart from the more light-hearted iterations of the formula. The chapter also argues against the common criticism that teen films are dumbed-down versions of literary masterpieces, pointing out the ways in which these adaptations are consciously shaped to cater for the interests of their target audience.
This chapter analyses Milton’s ‘Samson Agonistes’ as a conversation with Shakespeare’s Roman plays, tracing a pattern of allusion to the Shakespearean suicides Antony, Cleopatra and Brutus to deepen our understanding of Samson’s final act. This writerly conversation is a political one: the chapter builds on the argument of Milton and the Politics of Public Speech, comprehending the seventeenth-century public sphere in Arendtian terms, as a revival of the Greek polis or Roman republic, centred on public speech as political action. For Milton, poetry is a form of oratory, and drama, the art-form of democratic Athens, both represents and embodies public speech. Pointing out that groups disenfranchised in the classical state became metaphors for political disempowerment in early modern polemic (whether terms of abuse to delegitimise opponents or protesting political oppression), the chapter uncovers a strong republican undertow in ideas of effeminacy in Shakespeare and Milton, and brings a newly political perspective to their treatments of gender and sexuality. Yet Samson’s defining act, while fulfilling the republican ideal of selfless public service, and recalling the Senecan view of suicide as the ultimate assertion of individual liberty, goes beyond the masculinist terms of classical republicanism. For Milton draws on Shakespeare’s figuration of Antony’s and Cleopatra’s joint suicide as a ‘transcendent marriage’ to depict the regenerate Samson as androgyne in his union with God. The chapter at once reveals the availability to early modern readers of distinctively republican subcurrents in Shakespeare and illuminates the ways Milton justifies Samson’s suicide in a Christian framework.
The conclusion looks back on the six main chapters of the volume and reflects on their findings, pointing out a number of features in the cinematic products that can only be explained by a genre-based analysis. The chapter also confirms the broad applicability of the method exemplified here for the interpretation of other literary adaptations, and it opens up the discussion to consider the endemic presence of generic categories in contemporary popular visual culture and elsewhere. It also comments on the constantly changing forms of the Shakespeare phenomenon and the potential roles of Shakespeare in cultural production and consumption today.
For educated poets and readers in the Renaissance, classical literature was as familiar and accessible as the work of their compatriots and contemporaries – often more so. Their creative response to it was not a matter of dry scholarship or inert imitation, but rather of engagement in an ancient and lively conversation which was still unfolding, both in the modern languages and in new Latin verse. This volume seeks to recapture that sense of intimacy and immediacy, as scholars from both sides of the modern disciplinary divide come together to eavesdrop on the conversations conducted through allusion and intertextual play in works from Petrarch to Milton and beyond, and offer their perspectives on the intermingling of ancient and modern strains in the reception of the classical past and its poetry. The essays include illuminating discussions of Ariosto, Du Bellay, Spenser, Marlowe, the anonymous drama Caesars Revenge, Shakespeare and Marvell, and look forward to the grand retrospect of Shelley’s ‘Adonais’. Together, they help us to understand how poets across the ages have thought about their relation to their predecessors, and about their own contributions to what Shelley would call ‘that great poem, which all poets… have built up since the beginning of the world’.
The volume offers a new method of interpreting screen adaptations of Shakespearean drama, focusing on the significance of cinematic genres in the analysis of films adapted from literary sources. The book’s central argument is rooted in the recognition that film genres may provide the most important context informing a film’s production, critical and popular reception. The novelty of the volume is in its use of a genre-based interpretation as an organising principle for a systematic interpretation of Shakespeare film adaptations. The book also highlights Shakespearean elements in several lesser-known films, hoping to generate new critical attention towards them. The volume is organised into six chapters, discussing films that form broad generic groups. Part I comprises three genres from the classical Hollywood era (western, melodrama and gangster noir), while Part II deals with three contemporary blockbuster genres (teen film, undead horror and the biopic). The analyses underline elements that the films have inherited from Shakespeare, while emphasising how the adapting genre leaves a more important mark on the final product than the textual source. The volume’s interdisciplinary approach means that its findings are rooted in both Shakespeare and media studies, underlining the crucial role genres play in the production and reception of literature as well as in contemporary popular visual culture.
The chapter discusses the common debates concerning the film noir as a genre, and, based on the clearly recognisable core elements of the group, argues for the practical applicability of the label, placing it within the context of the thriller and the gangster genre, both of which show considerable overlaps with noir. After the examination of two classic examples of 1940s film noir, both displaying a central interest in male psychology, anxiety and crime, the second half of the chapter looks at post-war gangster films, one from the 1950s, another from 1990, a significant moment in the revival of the gangster genre. The visuality of these films continues to bear clear traces of the noir, but the increased role of violence, together with the protagonists’ changed moral stance, mark them as different from the earlier products. The final example comes from the twenty-first century, an indie neo-noir production, which employs the generic elements of the police drama as well as the gangster film. The range of films examined in the chapter offer convincing proof both for the continued influence of the gangster and noir formulas, and for their ability to adapt to the given socio-historical context.
Poets take flight for an immortality of fame in the heavens, whether experienced in fancy by their own living selves, posthumously in the praises of other writers, or by proxy in the fictional flights of characters in their works. Ovid’s flight of fame in the epilogue to the Metamorphoses is a summation of previous poetic tradition, including Horace’s aspirations to undying fame, imagined in Odes 2.20 as flight in the form of a swan, and Ennius’ posthumous flight on the lips of men. Aspirations to flight are experienced as risky. In Odes 4.2 Horace warns against attempting Pindaric flights. Mythological high-fliers who come crashing down, Daedalus and Phaethon, are figures for poets’ anxieties about the chances of immortalizing themselves in flights of sublimity. The classical sources inform Spenser’s celebration of the deceased Sir Philip Sidney in ‘The Ruines of Time’, combining classical and Christian themes of ascent. The chapter closes with readings of Astolfo’s journey to the moon in cantos 34 and 35 of Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, and Milton’s reworking of Ariosto’s Valley of Lost Things on the moon in the Paradise of Fools in Paradise Lost 3, a place of failed Satanic ascents in counterpoint with the poet Milton’s own aspirations to poetic and spiritual flight. Comparative attention is also given to a visual depiction of the apotheosis of poetry, Ingres’ ‘Apotheosis of Homer’.
This chapter offers access to the kinds of conversation with antiquity made possible by instances of parallel Latin and vernacular composition in certain early modern poets. A substantial subset of Marvell’s poetry is in Latin; and of particular interest are instances in which the poet writes Latin and English versions of the same poem. Ros and Hortus now ask to be considered alongside ‘On a Drop of Dew’ and ‘The Garden’ as parallel and cross-referential compositions in which Marvell plays with, and thematises, his dual literary competence in English and in Latin. These are special cases; but the idea of ‘diptych’ composition offers a distinctive way of getting a purchase on literary bilingualism at large. In Marvell’s time, the matter is rendered most fully tangible in Milton’s double book of Poems English and Latin. However, the chapter’s midsection takes the idea of the cross-linguistic diptych in a different and hypothetical direction: what if one were to imagine a Latin ‘twin’ for every vernacular poem in the classical tradition, even in the 99% of cases in which no such twin exists? Such a thought-experiment finds traction in the case of the famously Latinate English of Paradise Lost; with an added twist in that translators were not lacking who took it upon themselves to do what Milton did not do, and to render the epic’s Latinate and Virgilian verse into post-virgilian Latin. The final pages briefly extend the conversation to the poetry of Ronsard and Du Bellay a century earlier in France.
The chapter presents the book’s main thesis, arguing for a genre-based interpretation of film adaptations of literary works and pointing out the advantages of such a method over the traditional fidelity-based approach. It reflects briefly on the historical development of genre studies, and on the absence of genre as a central element from both mainstream and more recent adaptation criticism, particularly Shakespeare on screen studies. Since 2010, Shakespeare adaptation research has turned increasingly towards new media and the destabilisation of several fundamental concepts, including film, adaptation, even Shakespeare, or the changes associated with the digitally networked participation characterising contemporary cultural production and consumption. The concept of the rhizome and its use in rhizomatic adaptation criticism is also considered; the applicability of the concept for the genre-based research exemplified by the volume is pointed out. The chapter, however, confirms its belief in the broad applicability of generic categories and encourages the use of this method of adaptation analysis for screen products based on non-Shakespearean literary sources as well. The final section of the chapter describes the criteria of selecting the films included in the volume and offers a brief overview of the book’s structure. | https://www.manchesterhive.com/browse?pageSize=10&sort=datedescending&t=manchester-shakespeare |
A primary objective of Natural Area System is to conserve the State’s biodiversity by designating sites rich in rare species and rare or exemplary ecological communities, and then promoting ecological management to maintain these biodiverse habitats. The Natural Heritage Program tracks the status of over 800 plant species, 356 of which are listed as Endangered in the state. The Endangered and Nongame Species Program is responsible for monitoring and managing New Jersey’s rare fauna. However, many State Natural Areas were designed around the distribution of ecological communities, some of which are considered rare in New Jersey by the Natural Heritage Program, such as the dwarf pine plains, riverside savannas, and Atlantic white cedar swamps of the Pinelands, the ridgetop barrens, limestone sinkhole ponds/fens and glacial bogs of northern New Jersey, or the maritime forest and barrier island ecosystems of the coast (Breden 1985, Breden et al. 2001).
Management activities in State Natural Areas may include conducting inventories and monitoring the status of rare species and ecological communities, and studying the natural and historic processes that sustain ecosystems. Further actions may then be required to maintain or restore these species, habitats and ecosystems. These can include ecologically-based prescribed burning, ecological forestry and restoration of early successional habitats.
The Department of Environmental Protection is required pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:5A-1.8 to prepare and approve management plans for each Natural Area in the System. These plans describe the natural features of the area and prescribe management practices and public uses to ensure preservation in accordance with the management objective of the natural area. At present, 20 plans have been completed and approved for the 44 designated Natural Areas. Click here to view or download the approved management plans.
A current focus for Natural Area Program staff is management of the state endangered broom crowberry (Corema conradii) and its globally rare dwarf pine plains, also known as pygmy plains habitat, in the East Plains and West Plains natural areas in the central New Jersey Pinelands. The East and West Plains natural areas are administered by the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area, Division of Fish and Wildlife, and Bass River State Forest, Division of Parks and Forestry, respectively. Areas supporting broom crowberry have been managed with ecological forestry and fire management to carefully reduce excess fuel loads and restore the historically common, open-canopy forms of pine plains habitat without damage to these remnant populations.
The Natural Areas Program has surveyed and monitored globally-rare pine barren riverside savannas and populations of the state endangered bog asphodel (Narthecium americanum), a yellow-flowered lily restricted worldwide to only a portion of the New Jersey Pinelands. In the Oswego River Natural Area, Wharton State Forest, the Office of Natural Lands Management, in cooperation with Raritan Valley Community College, plans to restore populations of bog asphodel and associated rare plant species by managing their critical habitat in riverside savannas by suppressing succession by young Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) which is displacing these open habitats.
The Swartswood Natural Area, Swartswood State Park, was designated to the Natural Areas System to protect upland and wetland rare plant species and rare ecological communities, including calcareous forest and sinkhole ponds. The Office of Natural Lands Management, in cooperation with Swartswood State Park, will implement invasive species control in upland calcareous forest and four calcareous sinkhole pond wetlands to protect populations of the State Endangered Appalachian Mountain boltonia (Boltonia montana) and 11 other rare plant species in the Swartswood Natural Area, and to monitor the results over a five-year period. Appalachian Mountain boltonia is imperiled globally and is an obligate wetland plant species that occurs only in New Jersey and Virginia. In NJ it is restricted to calcareous sinkhole ponds in the Kittatinny Valley. Only two of the NJ populations occur on state land and the best population in the world of this species occurs at Duck Pond in the Swartswood Natural Area.
Since 2000, the Office of Natural Lands Management, using funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has performed annual surveys for seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus), a federally and state endangered plant. The habitat for seabeach amaranth is preserved in New Jersey’s coastal State Parks and Natural Areas. These include Island Beach Northern and Southern natural areas, North Brigantine Natural Area, Corson’s Inlet State Park, and Cape May Point Natural Area. Preserving habitat in these areas is vital, not only for the survival of this species in NJ but for conserving upper beach habitat, which harbors a myriad of species, including rare and endangered plants and animals. Upper beach habitats are compromised in over 80 percent of the New Jersey coastline due to beach raking and ORV use. The Division of Parks and Forestry implements a beach management approach where recreational vehicle use in sections of the beach is discouraged. This allows for continued recreation while still conserving habitat for rare and endangered plants, such as seabeach amaranth.
Seabeach amaranth is an annual plant, meaning that each plant will set seed and die at the end of the growing season. Because each plant survives for only one growing season and in such a harsh and dynamic environment, it is considered a “fugitive” species, having created ways to adapt, thrive, and reproduce successfully. A single large plant can produce over a thousand tiny seeds. The hard seeds are encased in a waxy coating, allowing them to last decades in the wild before germinating.
In NJ, statewide populations of seabeach amaranth are concentrated in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The Natural Areas at Island Beach State Park significantly contribute to this species’ survival in Ocean County, where populations peeked in 2019, with 1,438 plants occurring within the two Natural Areas. Atlantic and Cape May Counties historically and presently support low populations of seabeach amaranth. Habitat protection in North Brigantine Natural Area, Corson’s Inlet State Park, and Cape May Point Natural Area is important to the success of this species in southern NJ due to the lack of other protected areas and small population sizes. Often, the only locations seabeach amaranth will appear in any year in Atlantic and Cape May counties is solely within these protected Natural Areas. | https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/natural/naturalareas/management.html |
Stephen Hawking warned the world about the dangers of arming artificial intelligence. Now it’s up to us to ban killer robots.
Hunt: Where's Canada's voice on banning so-called 'killer robots'?
The world recently heard the sad news that one of the greatest minds of his generation, Dr. Stephen Hawking, had passed away. A brilliant physicist and cosmologist, Hawking revolutionized our understanding of the universe and brought insights from science to the masses through his bestselling books.
As well, in recent years Hawking often expressed serious concern that advances in artificial intelligence (AI) “could be a real danger in the not-too-distant future.” In 2015, he was one of more than 3,000 AI experts, roboticists and scientists who signed an open letter demanding a new treaty to ban fully autonomous weapons – also known as lethal autonomous weapons systems or “killer robots.”
Hawking’s concerns are shared by many Canadian scientists, such as Yoshua Bengio, Canada Research Chair in Statistical Learning Algorithms at the University of Montréal, who has observed that “leading in AI also means acting responsibly about it.”
In that spirit, Canadian AI experts wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last November urging him to throw Canada’s support behind “the international call to ban lethal autonomous weapons that remove meaningful human control in the deployment of lethal force.”
They warned that, if developed, such weapons would “sit on the wrong side of a clear moral line” and “permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend.” According to the letter, “the deadly consequence of this is that machines — not people — will determine who lives and dies.”
Given the direct message contained in the letter and its luminary signatories, one would expect a swift response from our prime minister. Yet the authors are still waiting for a reply, almost six months on. One of the authors of the letter, Dr. Ian Kerr recently stated that he was “extremely disappointed to report absolutely zero response so far.”
The lack of response is out of step with the rhetoric coming from the government on the need to bolster Canadian leadership in AI research.
Canadian civil society and the private sector are far ahead of the government when it comes to confronting and addressing the challenges posed by removing human control from the critical functions of selecting and engaging targets. In 2014, Clearpath Robotics became the first robotics company in the world to throw its weight behind the call to ban killer robots and pledge not to produce such weapons systems.
The Ottawa-based Nobel Women’s Initiative co-founded the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots and has secured support for the call to ban killer robots from more than two dozen Nobel Peace Laureates. My own organization, Mines Action Canada, is working to increase public awareness of this challenge and of the need for stronger political action.
The technology involved in AI and autonomous weapons may seem complicated, but the issue that everyone needs to take a firm stand is simple: Life-and-death decisions should never be delegated to a machine. There must always be meaningful human control over weapons systems and individual attacks. Ensuring that happens requires we draw the line to prohibit fully autonomous weapons.
In April, governments including Canada will convene at the UN in Geneva for their fifth meeting on lethal autonomous weapons systems since 2014. This is an important opportunity to get things moving. Canada should heed the warnings from Hawking and his Canadian colleagues and use the meeting to commit to negotiate a legally binding ban treaty without delay. Canada knows from its past experience banning landmines that it is possible to negotiate and adopt new international law swiftly, within less than two years, IF bold political leadership is provided.
Last year, Hawking said, “I am an optimist” in that “I believe that we can create AI for the good of the world.” However, he affirmed the need to “be aware of the dangers, identify them, employ the best possible practice and management, and prepare for its consequences well in advance.”
I am an optimist too. We can avoid a global arms race and make sure AI benefits humankind as a whole. But then we must act, and draw the line. The time to ban killer robots is now and it is up to us to do it.
Erin Hunt is Program Coordinator, Mines Action Canada. | https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/hunt-wheres-canadas-voice-on-banning-so-called-killer-robots |
UBC researchers develop new interventions for those who have suffered a stroke
Strokes are a leading cause of death in Canada, affecting hundreds of thousands of people a year. The treatments that help reduce the effects of a stroke are time-sensitive and understanding the signs and symptoms can help save lives.
Stroke Month, which takes place every June, is a campaign to spread the word about what communities and individuals can do to stay healthy and identify potential strokes.
At the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus, a team of researchers is investigating strokes and stroke outcomes to help healthcare providers better understand the cognitive function of their patients.
We spoke with Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Maya Libben, whose research areas include cognitive neuroscience and clinical neuropsychology, to learn more about the new Psychopathology Lifespan and Neuropsychology (PLAN) Lab at UBC Okanagan, and how her team of researchers is advancing rehabilitation plans for those who have suffered a stroke.
Q: Tell us about the PLAN Lab. What are your research areas, and what do you and the team focus on?
ML: The PLAN Lab is a new research space at the UBC Okanagan campus funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. One of our primary areas of research is the investigation of stroke and stroke outcomes. A stroke is a cerebrovascular accident that occurs when there is a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain, due to either a lack of blood flow or a haemorrhage.
We’re interested in the cognitive effects of stroke, which often include impairments in memory, planning, language, perception, attention and problem solving and as well, the emotional consequences which can include depression and anxiety. Our research combines state-of-the-art technology with traditional neuropsychological measures to evaluate and develop new methods of assessing the cognitive consequences of stroke, investigate the cognitive factors that predict recovery and good functional outcome following a stroke, and develop cognitive rehabilitation interventions to improve functional outcome following a stroke.
Q: Describe the partnership with the Kelowna General Hospital. How does this relationship forward your research?
ML: Our relationship with the Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) is essential to our research. Me and Dr. Harry Miller are the lead investigators for the PLAN Lab’s research on stroke, and our close partnership with KGH allows us to work with stroke patients while they are receiving acute clinical care, perform testing at the hospital, and access valuable neuropsychological assessment data and measures.
Student members of the PLAN Lab have the opportunity to gain clinical exposure within a medical environment. Both undergraduate and graduate students are offered training in the assessment of cognitive and emotional function among stroke patients, and are able to develop new research projects to investigate the cognitive consequences of stroke.
Q: Let’s talk about the lab facilities. Equipment ranges from behavioural testing computers, eye-tracking devices, and an eletroencephalography system, offering hands-on training for students. How important are these applications to your research and what kind of data can you collect?
ML: The integration of state-of-the-art methodological techniques is what makes the research in the PLAN Lab different from traditional neuropsychological investigations of stroke. For example, we are currently doing some very exciting research using eye-tracking to investigate hemispatial neglect, which is a condition that typically occurs after a right hemisphere stroke. Someone who suffers from hemispatial neglect often fails to perceive the left side of their body and sensory space. This means that they might only eat off of the right side of their plate, apply make-up to the right side of their face, not attend to the left side of space and only dress the right side of their body. This is clearly a debilitating condition that severely impacts the individual’s quality of life and is a significant barrier to return to independent living, but to date, there is still much we don’t know about hemispatial neglect.
Jennifer Upshaw is a clinical psychology graduate student in the PLAN Lab who is currently using eye-tracking to evaluate how we assess and classify hemispatial neglect, as well as to develop new ways of predicting functional outcome among people who suffer from this condition. Jennifer showed that techniques such as eye-tracking provide us with a significantly more sensitive measure of attentional deficit in hemispatial neglect, and allow us to better classify and predict functional outcome among individuals who suffer from this condition.
Q: How does the research conducted at the PLAN Lab benefit patients who have suffered from strokes? How does your research help these individuals?
ML: Research in the PLAN Lab benefits patients by improving our ability to accurately assess cognitive and emotional deficits following a stroke. Through our research, we are better able to guide rehabilitation efforts and ultimately develop new interventions for those who have suffered a stroke.
Damian Leitner, another graduate student in the PLAN Lab, has done amazing research on the use of neuropsychological assessment batteries to predict how well stroke patients will recover and what their functional limitations might be. In other words, his research facilitates our ability to look at a patient’s neuropsychological test results and predict what kinds of challenges that patient may face when they are discharged back home. This information will allow us to make better rehabilitation plans for the patient.
In another line of research, we hope to use the technological equipment we have available at the PLAN Lab to not only improve assessment techniques, but also to develop new clinical interventions for stroke patients. There is a lot of promise in the use of eye-tracking to re-train attention deficits seen among patients with hemispatial neglect. Ultimately, we hope to develop new user-friendly cognitive tasks for stroke patients that will significantly speed the recovery process and improve their overall quality of life.
Q: In terms of stroke awareness, what are the top warning signs? How can we better educate the community?
ML: The cardinal feature of stroke is a sudden onset of one or more neurological problems. The individual might notice that half of their body becomes weak. Symptoms might include the sudden inability to walk, drooping on one side of the face, or a sudden change in the ability to speak. Either the individual can't say the words properly or they have difficulty retrieving the word they want to say. Lastly, there might be a change in vision where the individual will lose vision in one eye or half of their vision disappears suddenly.
Health care practitioners often use the acronym F.A.S.T when talking about stroke warning signs. This stands for: Face drooping – Arm weakness – Speech difficulty – Time to call 911. This highlights the importance of seeking immediate medical care when there might be evidence of a stroke.
The key factor in minimizing the amount of damage to brain tissue, as well as the long-term effects of stroke, is immediate medical attention. | https://news.ok.ubc.ca/ikbarberschool/2016/06/03/fast-action-key-to-preventing-strokes/ |
Notable for the visually shallow ambiguous space it creates, Cubism—the 20th century avant-garde art movement in painting and sculpture, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque&mdashadopts an approach in which objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form. Instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context.
For me it is ironic that two-dimensional art in many ways fast forwarded architectural thinking. I think it was painting - that of Pablo Picasso overwhelmingly so - that influenced modern architecture to start challenging the boundaries and possibilities of three-dimensional space. Cubism was always destined to be a 2-dimensional art form but the brave and deconstructive thinking behind it has transcended the arts and in its own way has massively influenced the architecture around us. In the words of the great man himself:
"Art is a lie that makes us realize truth."
Pablo Picasso (25 October 1881 - 8 April 1973)
In the week of Pablo Picasso's 130th birthday celebrations, with many related art exhibitions taking place in the art world, I felt compelled to commemorate the great impact this vigorous artist had on architecture too.
What Picasso's body of work did for all art forms was unprecedented, indisputably eye-opening and is still a valid catalyst of creative thinking a century later. What, even indirectly, his - and of course Braque's - cubist work did for architecture was enlightening and created the decisive impetus for architecture to become rational, abstract and much more profoundly embrace space, society and even time.
The fact that historically, there has only been a single movement of contemporary architecture officially related to cubism - Czech Cubism, does not imply the impact of cubism upon architecture was limited. Although brutalist and futurist architecture are usually cited as being the architecture movements most directly derivative of cubism, I think it is much more accurate to claim that the better part of contemporary architecture is in fact still informed by the legacy of cubism.
Today's selection of buildings are not solely of Cubist genesis; instead it is a visual and conceptual attempt at discovering - in contemporary architecture - Picasso's influence in any of its numerous manifestations.
Story continues after the break.
The above selection reveals a number of very different interpretations of the principles highlighted by Picasso's work into architectural language: Czech Cubism reveals the first steps in reconciling the new revolutionary findings of art with architectural and local tradition; Le Corbusier's and Gehry's work displays a kinship with cubism that is as much theoretical as it is visual. Last but not least, there are impressive examples (like the so-called Cubism-Inspired Guitar building of the School of Art and Art History by Steven Holl) of direct visual transformation of cubism's two-dimensional imagery into very real three-dimensional architecture.
'Architecture and Cubism' edited by Eve Blau and Nancy J. Troy provides further insight into the numerous connotations of cubism in architecture:
"Most often the connections between cubist painting and modern architecture were construed analogically, by reference to shared formal qualities such as fragmentation, spatial ambiguity, transparency, and multiplicity; or to techniques used in other media such as film, poetry, and photomontage. Cubist space itself remained two-dimensional; with the exception of Le Cobusiers work, it was never translated into the three dimensions of architecture. Cubism's significance for architecture also remained two-dimensional--a method of representing modern spatial experience through the ordering impulses of art."
So there we go: Cubism and its enormous and often intangible influence on architecture! The immense effect Picasso's work has produced on architecture is hard to pinpoint, hard to describe and hard to do justice... It reminds me of Ray Bradbury's 'Tomorrow's Child' a short story out of 'I Sing the Body Electric': due to a technological error of 'new-age birth technology' a family's child is born in another dimension and consequently its parents see it as a blue pyramid. When scientists find a way to transfer the parents to the child's dimension, only then can they appreciate the beauty of their son for the first time. The story ends with the scientists observing the happy family: a grey rectangle father, a white cube mother and the blue pyramid child. Picasso, the great scientist. | https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pablo-picasso-in-architec_b_1015532 |
DAMASCUS, PA. - Farm Arts Collective, a new community organization founded by actor and farmer Tannis Kowalchuk, owner of Willow Wisp Farm, was established to bring together "community members in creative and educational practices in the areas of farming, art, food and ecology," says Kowalchuk in an announcement about her new project. The organization will host programs, workshops, performances and events covering topics from organic farming to fundraising, theater to cooking, seed-saving to business administration.
"A compelling number of activities are planned to engage the community in each of the four interrelated areas of farming, art, food and ecology," Kowalchuk says. These include:
• Monthly Farm Days focusing on skill sharing.
• Performances, starting with a site-specific "Shakespeare on the Farm" and "Stone Soup and Other Songs," a traveling family friendly introduction to cooking. These are produced by the Farm Arts Collective Ensemble, performers and behind the scenes team members, which is open to area residents. Training sessions are held at The Narrowsburg Union, 5:30-7:30 p.m. beginning Jan. 17.
• Seasonal meals, cooking, fermenting and preserving technique workshops.
• Ecology workshops.
Find out more at farmartscollective.org, 570-798-9530 or email [email protected].
Classic Choral Society accepting new members
BLOOMING GROVE - New voices are welcome at rehearsals for Classic Choral Society, held Mondays, Jan. 14-April 29 at Blooming Grove United Church of Christ, 2 Old Dominion Rd.
There are no auditions for this choir, under the artistic direction of Janiece Kohler. Each singer is responsible for dues, music and concert dress.
The organization, now in its 60th year, will hold performances on May 5 and 12 at venues to be announced, featuring works by Jansson, Trotta, Cochran. | https://www.recordonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2019/01/10/arts-briefs/6333227007/ |
Genetics May Underlie Impaired Skilled Movements
The lost function of two genes prevents infant laboratory mice from developing motor skills as they mature into adults, a new study from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the City University of New York School of Medicine reports. Researchers also suggest in the study that people with certain motor development disabilities be tested to see if they have altered forms of the same genes.
The study demonstrates that neural circuits between the brain’s motor cortex region and the spinal cord did not properly reorganize in maturing mice. The circuits are part of the cortical spinal network, which coordinates the activation of muscles in limbs.
Researchers bred the mice to lack molecular signaling from the Bax/Bak genetic pathway. Investigators demonstrated in a variety of experiments how Bax/Bak’s downstream molecular targets are vital to developing appropriately sophisticated connections between the motor cortex, spinal circuits and opposing extensor/flexor muscle groups in the animals.
Bax/Bak Pathway
Lead author Yutaka Yoshida, PhD, of the Division of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children’s, said:
“If mutations in the Bax/Bak pathway are found in human patients with developmental motor disabilities, these findings could be very translational to possible medical application. Our goal is for future studies to determine whether disruptions in Bax/Bak pathway are implicated in some people with skilled motor disabilities and whether it also regulates reorganization of other circuits in the mammalian central nervous system.”
The researchers stress that because the study was conducted with mice, additional research is required before it can be confirmed whether the data apply directly to human health.
Young postnatal mammals, including human babies, can perform only basic unskilled motor tasks. Citing a number of previous studies on this point, the authors of the paper write one reason for this is that infantile neural circuitry is wired to activate antagonistic (or opposing) muscles at the same time.
As humans and mammals age beyond infancy, and try repeatedly to perform skilled movements, neural circuit connections between the motor cortex of the brain and spinal cord reorganize. Connections to the spine and to opposing muscle groups become more sophisticated.
This enables antagonistic muscle pairs to be activated reciprocally when certain tasks call for it.
Developmental Coordination Disorder
An estimated six percent of children worldwide suffer from developmental motor disabilities that affect skilled motor control, according to Yoshida. A significant number of these individuals maintain an immature pattern of co-activating opposite muscle pairs into adulthood, which impedes skilled movements and manual dexterity.
One lifelong disorder is dyspraxia, also called developmental coordination disorder (DCD). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, developmental dyspraxia is characterized by an impaired ability to plan and carry out sensory and motor tasks.
People with the disorder may appear “out of sync” with their environment and symptoms can vary, including: poor balance and coordination, clumsiness, vision problems, perception difficulties, emotional and behavioral problems, difficulty with reading, writing, and speaking, poor social skills, poor posture, and poor short-term memory.
Although people with the disorder can be of average or above average intelligence, they may move their limbs immaturely.
Trans-synaptic Testing
To explore connections between corticospinal neurons in the mouse brain’s motor cortex and muscles – and to identify genetic pathways involved in their development – scientists in the study used trans-synaptic viral and electrophysiological assays. This allowed them to observe and trace how these connections develop in maturing mice.
Yoshida and colleagues point to earlier studies showing that the initial formation of prenatal motor circuits are determined genetically by the effects of transcription factors (which turn genes on and off in a cell’s control center, the nucleus). This control in turn triggers molecular processes that influence the development of never fibers, which transmit impulses.
Knowledge is limited about how initial motor circuits are reorganized after birth to become more sophisticated in adulthood. Even less is known about why this organization fails to occur as mammals mature, according to the researchers.
But trans-synaptic tracing in the current study highlighted how the presence of Bax/Bak signaling resulted in sophisticated circuity as mice matured. It also triggered the development of circuits that allowed opposing muscle groups to activate reciprocally.
The absence of Bax/Bak signaling resulted in continued formation of inappropriate circuitry that did not allow reciprocal activation of these muscles.
In skilled motor tests involving adult Bax/Bak mutant mice, the animals exhibited abnormal co-activation of opposing extensor and flexor muscle pairs. Although they demonstrated normal reaching and retrieval behaviors when given mouse chow, the mice had deficits in skilled grasping.
Mice lacking the Bax/Bak pathway signaling also had difficulty with walking tests on a balance bar and metal grid as measured by the number of foot slips.
Gu, Zirong et al. | https://reliawire.com/genetics-skilled-movements/ |
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abstract: |
The Long Wavelength Array (LWA) will be a new multi-purpose radio telescope operating in the frequency range 10-88 MHz. Scientific programs include pulsars, supernova remnants, general transient searches, radio recombination lines, solar and Jupiter bursts, investigations into the “dark ages” using redshifted hydrogen, and ionospheric phenomena. Upon completion, LWA will consist of 53 phased array “stations” distributed accross a region over 400 km in diameter. Each station consists of 256 pairs of dipole-type antennas whose signals are formed into beams, with outputs transported to a central location for high-resolution aperture synthesis imaging. The resulting image sensitivity is estimated to be a few mJy (5$\sigma$, 8 MHz, 2 polarizations, 1 h, zenith) from 20-80 MHz; with angular resolution of a few arcseconds. Additional information is online at http://lwa.unm.edu. Partners in the LWA project include LANL, JPL, NRL, UNM, NMT, and Virginia Tech.
The full LWA will be a powerful instrument for the study of particle acceleration mechanisms in AGN. Even with the recently completed first station of the LWA, called “LWA1”, we can begin spectral studies of AGN radio lobes. These can be combined with Fermi observations. Furthermore we have an ongoing project to observe Crab Giant Pulses in concert with Fermi. In addition to these pointed studies, the LWA1 images the sky down to declination $-$30 degrees daily. This is quite complimentary to Fermi’s daily images of the sky.
author:
- 'G.B. Taylor on behalf of the LWA Collaboration'
title: 'Imaging at Both Ends of the Spectrum: the Long Wavelength Array and Fermi'
---
Introduction
============
LWA1 originated as the first “station” (beamforming array) of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA). The LWA concept was conceived by Perley & Erickson [@perley] and expanded by Kassim & Erickson [@kas98] and Kassim [@kas05]. It gained momentum with sub-arcminute imaging with the VLA at 74 MHz [@kas93][@Kassim+07] and the project began in April 2007, sponsored primarily by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), with the ultimate goal of building an aperture synthesis radio telescope consisting of 53 identical stations distributed over the U.S. Southwest [@elling09].
The LWA1 Radio Observatory is shown in Fig. \[fig:lwa\_design\]. It is located on NRAO land within the central square mile of the EVLA, which offers numerous advantages. The project to design and build LWA1 was led by UNM, who also developed analog receivers and the shelter and site infrastructure systems. The system architecture was developed by VT, who also developed LWA1’s monitor & control and data recording systems. Key elements of LWA1’s design were guided by experience gained from a prototype stub system project known as LWDA, developed by NRL and the University of Texas at Austin [@york07]; and by VT’s Eight-meter wavelength Transient Array (ETA; [@Deshpande09]). NRL developed LWA1’s active antennas, and JPL developed LWA1’s digital processing subsystem.
Institutions represented in the LWA (as determined by attendance at the May 12, 2011 LWA1 User Meeting) include U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Arizona State University (ASU), Harvard University, Kansas University (KU), Long Island University, National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), New Mexico Tech (NMT), University of New Mexico (UNM), UTB, and Virginia Tech (VT). New institutions and individuals are invited to join the LWA and if interested should contact Namir Kassim (NRL) or Greg Taylor (UNM). The LWA1 has recently been established as a University Radio Observatory by NSF and as such will entertain regular calls for proposals from the astronomical community. The first of these widely open calls for the proposals is out with a [**deadline of June 22, 2012**]{}. Table 1 summarizes the capabilities of LWA1. For more details see the LWA web pages at [http://lwa.unm.edu]{} including the LWA Memo series.
{width="5.9in"}
[ll]{} Specification & As Built Description\
\
Beams: & 4, independently-steerable, each dual-polarization\
Tunings: & 2 independent center frequencies per beam\
Freq Range: & 24–87 MHz ($>$4:1 sky-noise dominated); 10–88 MHz usable\
Instantaneous bandwidth: & $\le$16 MHz $\times$ 4 beams $\times$ 2 tunings\
Minimum channel width: & $\sim$0 (No channelization before recording)\
Beam FWHM: & \[8,2\]$^{\circ}$ at \[20,80\] MHz for zenith-pointing\
Beam SEFD: & $\sim$3 kJy (approximately frequency-independent) zenith-pointing\
Beam Sensitivity: & $\sim5$ Jy (5$\sigma$, 1 s, 16 MHz) for zenith-pointing\
All-Dipoles Modes: & TBN: 67 kHz bandwidth continuously from every dipole\
& TBW: Full band (78 MHz) every dipole for 61 ms, once every $\sim$5 min.\
\
Current Status
==============
At the time of writing, we are in the commissioning phase. We anticipate to reach IOC (“initial operational capability”) – essentially the beginning of routine operation as an observatory – by April 2012. We now summarize some early results obtained during commissioning. In Fig. \[fig:TBW\] we show a spectrogram obtained from the Transient Buffer Wideband (TBW) data taken over 24 hours for a 20-dipole zenith-pointing beam. The integration time of the individual captures is 61 ms, and one capture was obtained every minute. The frequency resolution is $\sim$10 kHz and diurnal variation of galactic noise is clearly evident. Strong RFI from the FM bands shows up as vertical lines at 88 MHz and above. Below 30 MHz there are a variety of strong communications signals. While there is abundant RFI visible in the spectrum, it is very narrowband, obscures only a tiny fraction of our band, and does not interfere with our ability to be sky-noise limited. More details about the RFI envirornment can be found in Obenberger & Dowell [@obenberger11].
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We have recently begun imaging the sky with LWA1. In Fig. \[fig:all\_sky\] we show four views of the sky taken with the TBN mode on May 16 using 210 stands (21945 baselines). In these Stokes I images one can see the Galactic plane, Cas A, and Tau A, and at the lowest frequency Jupiter is quite prominent. The LWA1 routinely images the sky in near real-time using the Transient Buffer Narrowband (TBN) cabability of the station and a modest cluster located at the LWA1 (see Hartman et al. 2012, in preparation, for more details). These images are shown live on “LWA-TV” which is available from the LWA web pages. Movies for each day are also available made from the individual 5 second cqptures.
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Connections to Fermi
====================
Pulsars
-------
Pulsars are fascinating objects with spin periods and magnetic fields strengths ranging over 4 and 5 orders of magnitude respectively. Though it is well accepted that pulsars are rotating neutron stars, the pulsar emission mechanism and the geometry of the emitting region are still poorly understood [@Eilek05]. LWA1 will be an excellent telescope for the study of pulsars including single pulse studies, and studies of the interstellar medium (ISM). In fact, it is in the LWA1 frequency band range where strong evolution in pulsar radio emission can be observed, e.g, a turn over in the flux density spectrum, significant pulse broadening, and complex changes in the pulse profile morphologies [@mal94]. And, although pulsars were discovered at low frequency (81 MHz), there is a remarkable lack of good observational data in the LWA1 frequency range. LWA1 observations should be able to detect dozens of pulsars (e.g., Fig. \[fig:B1919+21\] and see [@Jacoby]) in less than 1000 seconds.
LWA1 will be able to perform spectral studies of pulsars over a wide frequency range and with high spectral resolution. This will allow investigators to look for drifting subpulses. Strong notches have been seen to appear in the profiles of pulsars at low frequencies [@tim], but little progress has been made in understanding their origin. Some pulsars may reach 100% linear polarization at low frequencies (B1929+10; [@man73]). In addition to being intrinsically of interest (providing clues about the pulsar magnetospheric structure), such strongly polarized beacons can assist in probing coronal mass ejections and determining the orientation of their magnetic fields, which strongly affects their impact on Earth.
LWA1’s large collecting area will be particularly useful for “single pulse” science, including studies of Crab Giant Pulses (CGPs) and Anomalously Intense Pulses (AIPs). The Crab Pulsar intermittently produces single pulses having intensity greater than those of the normal periodic emission by orders of magnitude. Despite extensive observations and study, the mechanism behind CGPs remains mysterious. Observations of the Crab pulsar across the electromagnetic spectrum can distinguish between various models for GP emission such as enhanced pair cascades, radio coherence, and changes in beaming direction. We plan to coordinate low frequency observations of GPs with observations of GPs by Fermi. To date the study of the CGP emission at low radio frequencies is only very sparsely explored. Reported modern observations of CGPs in this frequency regime are limited to just a few in recent years including UTR-2 at 23 MHz [@popov], MWA at 200 MHz [@bhat], and LOFAR LBA [@stap11]. LWA1 will be able to provide hundreds of hours per year of sensitive observations of CGPs which will revolutionize our knowledge of the time- and frequency-domain characteristics of these enigmatic events. Combined with observations in other wavelength regimes (e.g., simultaneous L-band observations already planned in a current observing project) significant advances in understanding are expected.
We should be able to measure scattering for practically every good CGP detection (S/N $\sim$20 or better), and it is known that both the dispersion and scattering of the Crab emission can vary dramatically on short or long time scales. By observing over an extremely broad bandwidth, we may be able to better quantify the scatter broadening and thereby assess the level and importance of anisotropy. Furthermore, the broad bandwidth of the observations will be helpful in shedding light on the issue of the frequency scaling of the scattering (believed to be $\sim$3.6 compared to the canonical value of $\sim$4.4 for the general ISM), which is thought to be related to the nature of turbulence in the nebula.
Anomalous high intensity single pulses from known pulsars have been reported previously using the UTR-2 (Ulyanov 2006) and LOFAR [@stap11]. These anomalously intense pulses (AIPs) have many features similar to the giant pulse phenomenon, including emission in a narrow longitude interval and power-law distribution of the pulse energy. One distinctive feature of these AIPs, however, is that they are generated by subpulses or some more short lived structures within subpulses. The emission is seen to be quite narrow band, typically 1 MHz in bandwidth. The nature of such pulses is not yet understood. The LWA1 with its excellent sensitivity and large available bandwidth provides an opportunity to study these pulses.
Pulsars make up a significant component of the source population visible by both Fermi and the LWA1. The LWA1 is an excellent instrument for the study of pulsars as it offers good sensitivity, broad bandwidth, wide field-of-view for rapid survey speed, and precise timing capabilities. The LWA1 also records raw voltages, which allows for very flexible post-processing of the data (coherent dedispersion, fine time and frequency resolution, etc.). See Fig. \[fig:B1919+21\] for the first light detection of pulsar 1919+21.
An immediate connection between LWA1 and Fermi is in the study of pulsars. In particular Fermi has recently discovered over 36 pulsars in the gamma-ray band. Only a few of these have been found to pulse in the radio at centimeter wavelengths. Low frequency searches are of considerable interest as pulsars are generally very steep spectrum and the beaming fraction is thought to be lower at low frequencies. A survey of gamma-ray pulsars will be carried out with the LWA1 in the near future.
Blazars
-------
At high galactic latitudes 80% (106 of 132) of the $\gamma$-ray bright sources detected in the LAT Bright Source List (BSL) derived from the first 3 months of Fermi observations [@abd09] are associated with known Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). In the second LAT AGN catalog (2LAC; [@ack11]) there are 1017 $\gamma$-ray sources associated with AGN. The vast majority of the Fermi $\gamma$-ray sources are blazars, with strong, compact radio emission. These blazars exhibit flat radio spectra, rapid variability, compact cores with one-sided parsec-scale jets, and superluminal motion in the jets [@mar06]. Extensive studies of blazars are reported in these proceedings.
Due to the low angular resolution of LWA1, only a few blazars are bright enough to rise above the confusion noise. Fortunately, blazars are in general highly variable so it is possible to detect flaring sources with the LWA at low frequency. The all-sky images from the Prototype All Sky Imager (PASI) on LWA1 (see §3.3) can be compared to the daily all-sky images from Fermi. Strong flaring blazars can be detected in the all-sky images, and beams can be used to confirm detections. Measurements at low frequencies can help to constrain the particle acceleration mechanisms is the jets.
Transients
----------
Astrophysical transient sources of radio emission signal the explosive release of energy from compact sources (see Lazio 2010, Cordes & McLaughlin 2003 for reviews). Known types of radio transients include cosmic ray airshowers, solar flares (§2.5), Jovian flares and flares from extrasolar hot jupiters (§2.2), giant flares from magnetars (Cameron 2005), rotating radio transients (McLaughlin 2006), giant pulses from the Crab pulsar, and supernovae. The study of these sudden releases of energy allow us to recognize these rare objects, and yield insights to the nature of the sources including energetics, rotation rates, magnetic field strengths, and particle acceleration mechanisms. Furthermore, some radio transients remain unidentified such as the galactic center radio transient GCRT J1745$-$3009 (Hyman 2005), and require further study.
PASI is a software correlator and imager for LWA1 that analyzes continuous samples from all dipoles with a 75 kHz passband placeable anywhere within 10–88 MHz. PASI images nearly the whole sky ($\approx$$1.5\pi$ sr) every five seconds, continuously and in near realtime, with full Stokes parameters and typical sensitivities of $\sim$5 Jy at frequencies above 40 MHz and $\sim$20 Jy at 20 MHz. Candidate detections can be followed up within seconds by beamformed observations for improved sensitivity and localization. These capabilities provide an unprecedented opportunity to search the synoptic low-frequency sky. PASI saves visibility data for $\sim$20 days, allowing it to “look back in time” in response to transient alerts. The images generated by PASI will be archived indefinitely. The images of the sky from PASI are available “live” at the URL: [http://www.phys.unm.edu/ lwa/lwatv.html]{}.
Construction of the LWA has been supported by the Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-07-C-0147. Support for operations and continuing development of the LWA1 is provided by the National Science Foundation under grant AST-1139974 of the University Radio Observatory program.
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| |
In the Washington Watch column in the June 2009 issue of BioScience, Julie Palakovich Carr, reports on the need for monitoring the impacts of climate change on ecosystems.
An excerpt from the article follows, but the complete article (along with prior Washington Watch columns) may be viewed for free at http://www.aibs.org/washington-watch/.
Coral bleaching, earlier leaf budding, pika range shifts-these are only a few of the documented effects of climate change on species and ecosystems. Congress is trying to pass legislation responding to climate change, yet some scientists are wondering whether policymakers understand the importance of including ecosystem monitoring in the policy response to climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many biologists have voiced support for an ecosystem observation system to monitor climate-related changes in species’ distribution and abundance, ecosystem disturbance, phenology, nutrient cycling, and other ecological data. Such environmental observations, the IPCC says, are “vital to allow for adjustments in management strategies.” The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), the inter-agency organization responsible for federal climate research, has identified a need to expand existing monitoring networks and to develop new capabilities for ecosystem observations. A 2009 review of the CCSP by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reported that the establishment of a climate observation system to monitor physical, biological, and social systems was a top priority for the program. Progress has been slow despite the continuing need for data.
To continue reading this article, please visit http://www.aibs.org/washington-watch/washingtonwatch2009_06.html. | https://www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports/2009/06/22/new-in-bioscien-86.html |
Rodeph Shalom’s highly successful MENTOR (Mitzvah, Encourage, Nurture, Tutor, Outreach and Reassure) Program is entering its fifth year. A cadre of loyal volunteers go into city schools weekly and meet with the same children throughout the school year. We usually work in the school library in the mornings, spending 45 minutes each with two children, back to back. Some of our volunteers have worked with the same student for several years now.
Our MENTORS come from a variety of backgrounds and professions. They all share a desire to make a difference in a child’s life. Our efforts have made a substantial and positive impact on the children we work with. Higher test scores and positive feedback from teachers and parents attest to this. Kearney Elementary eliminated all outside volunteer groups, with the exception of our MENTOR Program. Ours is the only program they feel was effective in raising reading levels.
We have all had enlightening moments with our students, highlighting our awareness of just how significant our presence in the schools has become. One of my students confided in me about her worries about her mother’s health. I was able to speak with the school counselor who intervened in a positive way. Another volunteer bought her fourth grader a book on animals, since she knew it was an interest of his. It was the first book he had ever owned. One of our volunteers planned to “retire” from the program this past year, until he received a phone call from his student . The student wanted to make sure his MENTOR was returning to the program. Naturally, he went back! | https://rodephshalom.org/social-action/caring-community/mentor |
Plantar fasciitis is the term commonly used to refer to heel and arch pain traced to an inflammation on the bottom of the foot. More specifically, plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of the connective tissue, called plantar fascia, that stretches from the base of the toes, across the arch of the foot, to the point at which it inserts into the heel bone. Overpronation is the most common cause of plantar fasciitis. As the foot rolls inward excessively when walking, it flattens the foot, lengthens the arch, and puts added tension on the plantar fascia. Over time, this causes inflammation.
Also known as heel spur syndrome, the condition is often successfully treated with conservative measures, such as the use of anti-inflammatory medications, ice packs, stretching exercises, orthotic devices, and physical therapy.
Symptoms
Common symptoms of plantar fasciitis:
- Sharp or dull pain felt at the bottom of the foot directly on or near the heel
- Pain that is most severe in the morning, especially when first standing
- Pain that worsens after prolonged weight-bearing
- Pain that is relieved with rest
- Heel swelling and/or stiffness
Causes
When a person has plantar fasciitis, the connective tissue that forms the arch of the foot becomes inflamed. As the stress placed on the inflamed plantar fascia continues, micro tears develop, which may cause the development of a bony growth called a heel spur.
Factors that may increase your risk for developing plantar fasciitis:
- Excessive training, especially long-distance walking or running
- Rapid weight gain
- Prolonged standing
- Recent change in activity
- Tight calf muscles or a tight Achilles tendon
- Improper footwear
- Flat feet
- Very high foot arches
Diagnosis
Proper diagnosis of plantar fasciitis requires a medical history and physical exam. During the medical history, your doctor will ask you where your pain is located, and whether it’s worse in the morning and/or with prolonged standing.
Your doctor will look for plantar fascia tenderness. While holding your foot, he will bend your toes toward your shin and then press along your plantar fascia from your heel to forefoot.
Blood and imaging tests are not used to diagnose plantar fasciitis, but they may be helpful for ruling out other potential heel pain diagnoses.
Treatment
The treatment of plantar fasciitis begins with these simple, self-care steps:
Rest
Resting your foot is perhaps the most important step you can take to ease your plantar fasciitis-related pain. Avoid irritating activities, like those that place unnecessary strain on your foot (e.g., running, jumping, dancing, or walking barefoot).
Apply Ice
Applying a cold compress or ice pack to the back of your foot for 15-minute sessions, several times a day, can ease pain and swelling. Wrap the ice pack in a thin towel, so it’s not in direct contact with your skin.
Note: Please consult your physician before taking any medications. In persistent cases, Extracorporeal Shock Wave Treatment (ESWT) may be used to treat the heel pain. | https://www.laurelfootandanklecenter.com/plantar-fasciitis-2/ |
How to provide an appropriate learning environment that leads to a more accurate assessment of children’s knowledge, behaviors, and skills.
Collaboration: An accurate assessment of a child with ASD involves collaborating with the child’s family and all relevant service providers, including childcare providers. Refer to Appendix F of the DRDP (2015) Assessment Manual for further guidance on collaboration.
Universal Design: The measures of the DRDP (2015) were developed by applying the principle of Universal Design so that all children can demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a variety of ways. For more information, refer to the Introduction of the DRDP (2015) Assessment Manual.
Mastery Criteria: It is important to adhere to the DRDP (2015) criteria for demonstration of mastery when scoring the DRDP. Sometimes a child with ASD will demonstrate a skill but in limited settings or inconsistently over time, which does not meet the criterion of mastery for rating measures of the DRDP (2015).
Autism Spectrum Disorder is characterized by social communication difficulties and repetitive patterns of behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). These difficulties are especially likely to influence development in the areas of self-regulation, social emotional skills, language and literacy, and may influence the development of skills in other domains. To observe a child’s skills accurately using the DRDP (2015), the assessor should be familiar with the child’s social communication skills and needs, as well as patterns of behaviors and interests in order to inform rating the measures of the instrument across all domains. The assessor should also review information from the IEP and the child’s records. Additionally, families and service providers who know the child well are important sources of information as the child with ASD may demonstrate skills in one context (e.g., at home with his brother) and not in another.
A child may display hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness) or hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness) to a variety of sensory stimuli in the environment. For example, a child may not respond when someone calls his or her name but may cover his or her ears when music is playing at a volume level that is fine for others to hear. Some children with ASD may have difficulty sitting quietly in a chair without wiggling or vocalizing. If a child has sensory-related difficulties, collaboration with an occupational therapist may be required to determine specific interventions and sensory supports (such as, adaptive cushions, earphones, or other materials and activities that stimulate or reduce sensory input). These interventions and supports will influence state of arousal, increase regulation of feelings or behaviors, and improve attention to learning activities.
An important characteristic of ASD is the wide range, or spectrum, of abilities. Children may have advanced skills in one developmental area and demonstrate delays in other areas. Children with ASD not only have varying patterns of skill levels across domains, but patterns may not follow the typical developmental sequence. If a child displays a skill at a later developmental level, it cannot be assumed that he has also mastered earlier skills. Children with ASD may have splinter skills, or skills that appear above age level in a particular developmental area when compared to their other skills for their age. For example, a child may be able to read an entire book by memory and name all the letters in the alphabet in print but may not recognize his or her name when seen out of the usual context. See Rating the measures of the DRDP (2015) on page 9 at the end of this document for further guidance.
Some children with ASD are diagnosed with additional disabilities. assessors and other service providers must become knowledgeable about the impact of any additional disabilities on the child’s development and skills. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Christensen et al., 2016) report that 32 percent of children with ASD also have an intellectual disability. Estimates indicate that 6 -7 percent of children with visual impairments or hearing loss also have ASD (Kancherla, Van Naarden Braun, & Yeargin-Allsopp, 2013). Additionally, 44 percent of children with ASD have average to above average intellectual ability, and some are classified as gifted.
relationships with others (i.e., adjusting to different social situations, interest in peers, and making friends).
The absence of joint attention is one of the early signs of ASD. This means that the child may not switch attention between an object and an adult in order to share interest or excitement about a toy, other item, or event. Children with ASD may not respond to comments made by others, especially if they require social interaction. Adults may make comments about the environment, objects, or play that are directed to the child, but the child may not respond. Some children with ASD use gaze aversion and avoid looking at another person in the eyes or face. It is important to note that even if the child is not looking at the other person, he or she may be paying attention to what is being said.
Young children with ASD are most likely to demonstrate social communication skills during familiar routines and activities. A child may be more likely to respond to directions while involved in activities that are both preferred and familiar. For example, Rudi loves to play with blocks. This activity supports Rudi’s attending behaviors and his ability to follow simple directions. He will follow directions with the blocks by placing them in a variety of positions, taking them in and out of containers, and handing a block to a peer upon request. In this situation, an assessor should consider Rudi’s preference for blocks when observing skills such as carrying out a one-step request.
Children with ASD may demonstrate a range of communication and language abilities, from an absence of oral language to the use of more sophisticated oral language and hyperlexic reading skills (advanced reading ability). However, even if a child with ASD has advanced speech and language skills and speaks in sentences to communicate, the child may not make comments to others because he or she is less interested in communicating for social reasons. For example, the child may take the hand of an adult and lead the adult to a preferred object or item without looking at the adult’s face.
This range of abilities can be seen not only in how children with ASD communicate but also in how they respond to others. Children with ASD may learn to respond to questions as part of an instructional activity (e.g., correctly identifying the actions depicted in pictures) but may not respond to the same questions when asked in a different context.
Speech may be used in an idiosyncratic manner. Echolalia, the immediate or delayed repetition of another’s spoken words, may be used by children with ASD and may be the only way some children use speech. For example, when asked, “Do you want a book or music?” the child may respond, “book or music” (immediate echolalia) or the child may repeat a phrase, slogan, or jingle of a commercial heard days ago (delayed echolalia) without comprehension of the content. Immediate and delayed echolalia may serve different communication functions for some individuals with ASD including a way to take a turn in the conversation, answer a question, or make a request (Prizant, 1983).
Difficulty using pronouns correctly is also common. When making a request, the child with ASD may say his name instead of using “I” to refer to himself. For example, Daniel may say, “Daniel wants to go outside”.
Social interactions and communication with others may be the most challenging situations for young children with ASD. Some children seek out adults in order to make requests, but ignore or avoid peers. Others appear to want to interact with peers but may not know what to say or do to initiate an interaction and may simply stand close to peers as more of an onlooker. Others enjoy interacting with peers but may want to only play games that they suggest or use objects or toys that they prefer.
Although patterns may vary, children with ASD tend to discriminate between adults based on those who provide more structure and consistency and those who do not. Children with ASD prefer structure and are more responsive to people who interact in a consistent manner and follow through with contingent statements. A child with ASD benefits from predictability, so if the adult says “we are finishing after two turns,” or “we will go outside when your shoes are on” and then follows through with these contingent statements, the child will know what to expect.
Children with ASD may exhibit restricted, ritualistic, or repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. Some children may display repetitive motor movements (hand flapping or rocking) or may use objects in a different way than intended, such as lining up cars or spinning their wheels instead of moving them along a track. They may get upset with changes to a familiar routine such as when asked to transition between activities or when the classroom schedule is changed. Others may have highly restricted interests and may play with the same toy for long periods of time, or may eat only a few specific foods on a very limited diet. Some children may produce meaningless repetition of others’ phrases (echolalia) or unusual speech patterns. Some children engage in repeated touching and smelling of objects or visually fixate on objects with lights or movement. Children may use a toy or object in a repetitive way such as pushing the same button on a sound toy, watching the same section of a video, or lining up blocks in a row but not building a structure.
Children with ASD may attend to others and to activities in unique ways. For example, during a small group activity Lucy is in constant movement, wiggling her fingers and swinging her legs. In this situation, her teacher may assume that these body movements indicate that Lucy is not paying attention when in fact, it is the movements that help her to attend to the lesson. On the other hand, children may appear to be attending to an object or activities but may be focused on a less relevant feature of the item or context (e.g., staring at the buttons on a shirt instead of listening to what is being said).
Children with ASD may come from homes where more than one language is spoken. The education team needs to know what language(s) are spoken in the child’s home, what language the child uses and understands, and how to communicate with the family in the home language. It is important to gauge the influence of multiple languages on the child’s acquisition and use of language in order to plan assessment and instruction that support development of both the child’s home language and English. The educational team must develop a plan for communicating with family members in those situations where the home language of the child’s family is other than spoken English. Communication with parents of young children with ASD is crucial and may require the services of a qualified interpreter.
Different types of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems are often used to support spoken communication, or to teach the concept of communicating in social situations. Augmentative communication is used by individuals to supplement difficult to understand or limited speech. Alternative communication is used by individuals who do not have spoken language and need another means of communication. These communication strategies are described in more detail below. However, the same types of communication systems (e.g., pictures, manual signs, speech generating devices or the Picture Exchange Communication System or PECS) are used for either alternative or augmentative communication. Research indicates that the use of augmentative systems (e.g., the Picture Exchange Communication System or manual signs) does not delay speech development and serves as an effective means of communication while a child is learning to talk (Lederer & Battaglia, 2015; Schreibman & Stahmer, 2014). A functional communication system enables the child to express needs and wants in an effective way and minimizes the occurrence of challenging behaviors.
Visual Communication. Manual signs, pictures, or photographs may be used for receptive and expressive communication. Visual comunication can be used to make a request such as for a food item or to repeat a favorite activity. Because a young child’s use of the motor skills to produce a manual sign often precedes speech development, even typically developing children may use signs to make requests such as for “more” of a preferred item. Teaching the use of signs for key words when targeting the skills of requesting is standard practice in educational programs working with young children with ASD and their families. These visuals may be easier for children with ASD to understand than spoken information, and they may also be used when the child is responding to others.
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). This system was designed to teach the concept of communication exchange. When a child puts a picture or drawing of a desired item in the hand of an adult or peer, the child receives the item. The picture that communicates the request is immediately exchanged for the item. There are six phases that build on one another from making a request to making comments (The Six Phases of PECS, n.d.) Assessors should know what phase of PECS a child is currently using to accurately assess the child’s skills using the DRDP (2015).
Technology-aided Instruction and Intervention. These include voice output communication aids such as speech-generating devices (SGDs) or an app on a tablet to help young children communicate. The child must be able to use the system and understand the speech output. The child has to be taught to use the device for communication rather than just playing with it as a toy that makes sounds. If a child uses a SGD, it must be available and used consistently across all environments including early education settings and at home.
Appropriate social communication must occur in all aspects of the child’s daily routine. Adults need to ensure that the child understands what is occurring in the environment. Strategies to help a child communicate and interact socially should be in place when assessing a child with ASD on all measures of the DRDP (2015) and are of particular importance for the social emotional development and language and literacy measures. Adults should encourage the use of appropriate and supportive interactions.
Consistent routines for daily activities provide predictability. Use of video modeling, and picture schedules and sequences are evidence-based practices (Wong et al., 2015). Video modeling involves having the child, a peer, or an adult demonstrate the appropriate target skill in a video clip that is shown to the child followed by an opportunity to practice the skill. Video models are very effective for some children with ASD. In addition, visual and auditory warnings (e.g., a timer) help children anticipate when activities are ending or when an unusual event will occur. These are very helpful for preparing children for changes in the routine.
A visual schedule provides a concrete reminder of the routine. Provide easy-to-see photos, drawings, or objects that represent daily activities. Refer to them during transition times and for all daily routines. For example, involve children in removing the picture of a completed activity so it is easy to see what activity is next. The child should have access to the visual schedule particularly during transition times. Involve the child in identifying what activity has been completed and what will happen next.
Adults who interact with the child should support the child’s use of a communication system (e.g., the Picture Exchange System, manual signs for key words, and speech generating devices) in order to optimally support social communication. The system selected should be one that the child understands and that is concrete enough to be meaningful. Everyone in the child’s home, school, and community should also be taught how to interact and communicate with the child. It is essential that children with ASD have access to, and use of, their communication systems across settings and with different people.
Children with ASD need support to interact with peers. Simply placing a child close to other children does not ensure that social communication or interactions will take place. Use high preference objects and activities to encourage taking turns and playing with peers such as needing to request a turn when using an App on a tablet.
Children with ASD benefit from multiple learning opportunities to recognize the meaning of different facial expressions and gestures. Provide many opportunities for communicating with others throughout the day so that these skills can be practiced until the child demonstrates them across situations and with different people. Providing a verbal description of what a child is observing further reinforces attention to facial expressions and gestures. For example, pointing to a new three-year-old classmate who is crying because his mother dropped him off in class, an adult might say, "Leon is crying, he is sad because he misses his mom."
Children with ASD may have limited individual preferences and interests and repetitive behaviors that restrict their learning opportunities. Assessors should plan observations during the child’s preferred activities to obtain accurate information about his or her skills.
It is important to identify a child’s range of preferred items and activities through conversations with caregivers, observations of the child, or by conducting a preference or reinforcement assessment A preference or reinforcement assessment is a strategy that can be used by adults to determine the items, activities, and events that are reinforcing for a child (Da Fonte, et al 2016; Peine, n.d.). Using identified preferences to engage the child’s attention in activities helps to keep the child motivated to participate. For example, if a child loves cars, use this interest to scaffold his or her participation in story time (book about cars) or development of number sense (how many cars?) or shapes (round wheels compared to square windows.) Assessors are likely to observe the most advanced skills of a child with ASD during activities that embed items of interest and that are highly motivating.
Assessors should support the child’s engagement and observe the child across all settings and activities, including those that are less preferred and/or unfamiliar, by using positive reinforcement and providing choices. Use information identified in the preference or reinforcement assessment, or knowledge about an individual child to implement consequences that reinforce the child’s participation in less preferred and unfamiliar activities. For example, the use of first/then visual boards, which show the child pictures of what he or she needs to do (first) and the desired activity that will follow (then), can support a child’s participation in a less preferred activity when he or she understands that a preferred activity will occur next.
Many children with ASD benefit from environmental arrangements that enhance their attention and participation. Some children have difficulty attending to the most salient aspects of materials or the environment so observing the child in an environment where distractions are minimized is likely to result in a more accurate assessment. For example, during transition from circle to snack, the teacher dismisses children by naming colors of their clothing. When the teacher says “If you are wearing blue, go wash your hands,” Olivia knows that her shirt is blue but does not respond to the teacher’s directions because she is distracted by counting the alphabet posters on the wall behind the teacher. Below are suggested strategies that can be used to reduce visual distractions and increase attention.
Make sure the child is not looking directly into a light source or distracted by glare or reflection of light from other surfaces.
Obtain the child’s attention by positioning him or her so that the child can easily attend to the specific activity or interaction and not be distracted by adjacent people, materials, or activities.
If recommended by an occupational therapist, make sure that the child has the proper cushion, seat, or other devices that support his or her ability to self-regulate behavior.
Provide visual support: Use visuals that enhance the child’s understanding, communication, and participation skills. The National Professional Development Center on ASD has identified visual supports as an evidence-based practice for use with individuals with ASD. Visual supports are defined as: “any visual display that supports the learner engaging in a desired behavior or skills independent of prompts. Examples of visual supports include pictures, written words, objects within the environment, arrangement of the environment or visual boundaries, schedules, maps, labels, organization systems, and timelines” (Wong et al., 2015, p.1960).
A teacher might mark physical boundaries (e.g., stop sign on door), identify activity areas or learning centers with relevant materials, or provide choices (e.g., pictures of activity areas or songs). Pictures illustrating classroom rules also help children understand classroom expectations.
Minimize visual distractions: This may include decreasing classroom decorations, being aware of the number of times people walk across the child’s visual field, or minimizing other potentially distracting visual stimuli (e.g., lights on toys or computer screens) in the environment that are not part of the child’s activity. It may be helpful to reduce visual distractions by using a screen to block areas of the classroom from the child, covering shelves of toys with plain fabric, using cut out cardboard to isolate the visual target in a picture or on a page, or removing extraneous materials from a table where the child is seated. For an older preschooler, a cardboard carrel on a table may help focus the child’s attention on target material in a table activity.
A developmental level is mastered if a child demonstrates the knowledge, skills and behaviors defined at that level consistently over time and in different situations or settings (DRDP, 2015). A level can be rated as mastered even when earlier levels on the measure have not been observed.
Some children may demonstrate skills in a specific routine but not generalize the skill to similar routines or different settings. For example, a child may have just learned to count five objects using one-to-one correspondence during center time but is not able to do this with objects during snack. A child may identify letters or sing the words to a song when interacting with one staff member but not another, or select a car from a group of toys when it is large and blue but not when it is small and red. Assessors should consider what skill is being observed and provide multiple opportunities across people, materials, and activities for the child to demonstrate the skill in order to determine the child’s level of mastery.
As noted previously, some children with ASD avoid eye contract or looking at a person’s face (gaze aversion). It is important to note that even if the child is not looking at the speaker, he or she may still be paying attention to what is being said. When assessing skills other than those related to social interaction, a child’s lack of eye contact should not preclude a rating of mastery. However, when assessing the area of social interaction, lack of eye contact would preclude a rating of mastery.
A child may demonstrate a specific skill at a much higher level (i.e., splinter skills) than other skill areas. Note when this occurs so that this strength may be used to motivate learning and participation in instructional activities. If the child demonstrates mastery at a particular level, even if he or she does not show mastery at an earlier level on that developmental sequence, then the child should be rated at the most advanced developmental level where mastery is demonstrated.
To accurately determine a child’s level of development, make sure that the child has access to the use of preferred objects and activities during an observation. As discussed previously, building on a child’s interests and preferences is likely to motivate the child, increase engagement and participation in activities, and help to identify his or her level of mastery.
Assessors should be aware of any verbal, visual, or physical cues that may elicit a child’s correct response. Prompted behaviors do not reflect a child’s true level of performance and should not be used to determine mastery. Opportunities should be provided for the child to independently demonstrate the behavior or skill. A child with ASD may become dependent on prompts or cues and may not respond without them in place. If a child has received frequent cues (e.g. picture, pointing, or physical guidance), the child may wait for an adult to provide this assistance before initiating or completing a task. If cues are not faded (gradually decreased) the child is likely to wait for a hint and may become prompt dependent. Some children become so prompt dependent that they will wait to see the slightest movement of a finger from the fading of a prompt, or a slight eye movement toward the correct answer before they respond. During observations for particular skills, it will be important that the child has an opportunity to independently demonstrate these skills.
Except when directly assessing social communication and interaction skills, assess skills in a way that does not rely on the social communication of the child with ASD in order to rate the skill as mastered. For example, if Leon does not respond to questions about the number of cookies he has, what the printed sign says, or which photograph is a picture of himself, it does not mean that he does not have number, letter or self-identity concepts. It may be that the child is reluctant to communicate with others. Instead assess these skills during naturally occurring activities by telling the child to select a specific number of cookies to eat, to use a car to stop or go when a sign is displayed, or to sort a group of photographs into two piles, one for himself and the second for others in order to provide opportunities to demonstrate the same skills without the aspect of social communication.
Autism spectrum disorder can affect a child’s ability to successfully interact and engage in the environment and consequently can affect the results of the DRDP (2015) assessment. This document has provided suggestions to make assessment with the DRDP (2015) as accurate as possible. The assessor should obtain information about the child prior to observation by communicating with the family and current teachers and service providers. The assessor must be knowledgeable about the child’s social communication skills and patterns of behavior and interests so that opportunities to observe the child in situations that optimize performance can be arranged. In addition, the assessor or someone working with the assessor must be familiar with the child’s AAC system so that the child’s communication will be understood and he or she will understand others. It is most important that the assessor structure the environment in a way that facilitates the child’s participation, communication, and engagement for accurate observation.
Dr. Hall was the former program coordinator for the early childhood special education (ECSE) credential program at SDSU and developed the M.A. Degree/Autism specialization program completed by many graduates of the ECSE credential program. She is the sole author of a widely used textbook on autism spectrum disorders that is currently in the third edition. Her research focuses on determining the factors that sustain the implementation of evidence-based practices by educators and paraprofessionals, and on understanding and increasing the social competence of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Chen coordinated the early childhood special education program, taught courses, and supervised interns and student teachers at California State University, Northridge. Her print and multimedia publications focus on recommended and evidence-based early intervention practices, caregiver-child interactions, early communication with children who have sensory and additional disabilities, tactile strategies with children who have visual and additional disabilities, assessing young children who are deaf-blind, dual language learning in children with disabilities, and collaborating with families of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Wong, C., Odom, S.L., Hume, K.A., Cox, C.W., Fettig, A., Kurcharczyk, S. Schultz, T.R. (2015). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder: A comprehensive review. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45,1951-1966.
Federally-funded clearinghouse of resources on evidence-based practices including a link to the complete 2014 report describing each practice, the references used to determine the evidence, a tables describing the skills targeted by each practice and the ages of research participants. In addition, the website has a link to professional development modules (AFIRM) for each practice.
An online resource for families, service providers, administrators, programs and organizations. Reports of the National Standards Project, Phase 1 (2009) and Phase 2 (2015) provide comprehensive research syntheses evaluating the effectiveness of interventions for individuals with ASD.
The National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence & Practice (NCAEP) ncaep.fpg.unc.edu Reviews research studies published between 2012-2017 to identify the effectiveness of a range of practices (behavioral, educational, clinical and developmental) and service models implemented with individuals (birth-21 years) with ASD. | https://www.draccess.org/UsingDRDP2015ChildrenASD.html |
Fritz, J. M., Magel, J. S., McFadden, M., Asche, C., Thackeray, A., Meier, W., & Brennan, G. (2015). JAMA, 314(14), 1459-1467.
This study included 220 participants with acute low back pain (LBP) meeting criteria previously defined as a clinically predicted to benefit from spinal manipulation, including: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score ≥ 20, current symptom duration < 16 days, and no symptoms distal to knees within 72 hours. All participants received patient education following baseline assessment including review of provided materials, benefits of physical activity for LBP, and positive prognosis outcomes for LBP. The physical therapy care group was seen for four visits across three weeks, including assessment during initial visit, while the usual care (control) group received no interventions after initial patient education. Physical therapy intervention included high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust (HVLA) manipulation to the lumbar spine during the first two visits. The first visit also included spinal ROM exercises; the second visit (2-3 days after initial visit) included ROM exercise review and addition of primary lumbar stabilization exercises. The third and fourth visits (each at one-week intervals after visit 2) included review of all previous exercises and progression as appropriate.
The primary outcome measure, ODI at 3-month follow-up, was statistically significant between the PT group and the usual care group, with the PT group improving -3.2 points more than the usual care group (lower ODI score indicates less disability); however, this difference does not meet clinically significant criteria for the ODI (6-point difference). Secondary outcomes were also statistically significantly improved for the PT group at 4-week and 3-month follow-up, including pain rating and patient-reported success. However, at 1-year follow-up, there were no significant differences in outcomes between those receiving early intervention with physical therapy and those receiving only the educational component (usual care).
The authors note that the 4-session physical therapy intervention utilized in this protocol is practical for clinical use and is shorter than the typical episode of care of 7 sessions. However, with no differences at 1-year follow-up and with data asserting that patients with acute LBP should be allowed to spontaneously heal, further research may be needed to assert that claim. Also, there is evidence that those patients not referred to PT or whose PT referral is delayed 2-4 weeks after original assessment may be at greater risk for invasive procedures, opioid prescription, or early use of imaging techniques, which increases healthcare utilization and cost and decreases quality of care as these methods are in conflict with current clinical guidelines.
In conclusion, this study shows that early PT intervention leads to statistically significant improvement in functional outcomes compared to usual care, but not clinically significant change, and differences between groups are not carried over to 1-year follow-up.
I found this article very interesting, because I have a bias toward physical therapy and am still naïve enough in my career to believe that physical therapy is always beneficial. However, there are patients who are not appropriate for skilled physical therapy, and PT doesn’t “fix” everyone. That being said, I was still a bit discouraged that at 1-year follow-up, patients in early PT and those in usual care (control) did not show statistically significant differences in outcome measures. Regardless, I don’t think Dr. Fritz would advocate that no patients with low back pain would benefit from early PT intervention after reading some of the research related to low back pain treatment that she and her colleagues have produced.
I think one of the contributing factors to lack of significant change after one year was that in this protocol, patients were given a book to read with “messages consistent with LBP guidelines” and then the book was reviewed with a member of the research team. The study did not indicate how many patients reported reading the book, and after the initial session of book review and education on positive outcomes with low back pain and the importance of physical activity, there was no other education provided. The patients were not provided with information on lifting mechanics, ergonomics, or proper sitting posture during the study. The authors noted that their educational approach was “likely beyond what typically occurs,” (Fritz et al., 2015) but Gellhorn, Chan, Martin, & Friedly (2012) assert that physical therapists are likely to provide education throughout an episode of care on a range of topics related to low back pain and patients’ questions.
Another adherence issue could be to the home exercise program. Within two visits in the first week, patients were given ROM exercises (number of total exercises not specified) and instructed to complete 10 repetitions x 3-4 sets “throughout the day,” (Fritz et al., 2015). Compliance to session attendance is noted in the study, but HEP compliance is not, though that would likely have been data reported by the patient and therefore may not have been accurate. There is another case to be made here for patient education in that these patients may have stopped being active and/or performing these exercises targeted to low back pain treatment after the end of their 4-visit episode of care. The authors also note that they progressed patients’ interventions but did not note the progression used for lumbar stabilization exercises.
In this study, there were also not statistically significant differences in healthcare utilization outcomes at 1-year follow-up. The authors collected data for emergency room/urgent care visits, advanced imaging, spine specialist visit, spine injection, and spine surgery. There is argument that without early PT intervention, patients are at higher risk for more invasive or even guideline-contraindicated treatments, such as injection, surgery, opioid prescription, etc. (Fritz et al., 2015; Fritz, Childs, Wainner, & Flynn, 2012). Fritz et al. (2015) suggested that at 1-year follow-up, there was no difference in these outcomes between groups; however, Childs et al. (2015) demonstrated that at 2-year follow-up, patients who received early PT accumulated a 60% less cost of care for their low back pain than those with physical therapy referrals that were later in their episode of care. This cost was not compared to those who did not receive PT (Childs et al., 2015). There are also assertions that later referral to PT may be preferred because low back pain should be given the chance to spontaneously heal (Fritz et al., 2015; Gellhorn et al., 2012) and PT referral should be delayed 7 weeks to allow this process, if it occurs at all. However, PT literature asserts that back pain can be recurrent, that an acute episode can reappear and then can recur repeatedly and cause more problems throughout the lifespan, implying that physical therapy is needed to reduce the likelihood of these recurrences (Gellhorn et al., 2012).
In my experiences during clinical rotations, patients dealing with low back pain have many other factors contributing to their pain and lack of function. Patients hear the word “disc” or “back problem” or “spine” and tend to automatically catastrophize and assume that they are going to need surgery. Providing education to these patients to calm their fears and teach them about outcomes in low back pain can be an incredibly valuable tool, and was used by Fritz et al. (2015) in this study. Patients with low back pain are each unique in their need for interventions and intensity of care. While I greatly appreciate Dr. Fritz’s and her colleagues’ contributions to physical therapy and the wealth of knowledge and research they have shared with us, I also have to read this research through the scope of a future clinician. Physical therapy treatment has to be individualized, and it isn’t in research studies; the standard protocol applied to all participants, while adherent to clinical practice guidelines in this study, may not be the absolute best option – some may have needed more exercise interventions, some may have needed more manual, or any other combination of interventions provided.
In my practice, what I want to take away from this research is to continue to advocate for my patients and to be an expert in my practice. I need to be able to recommend skilled services as appropriate and to make my case with knowledge, clinical experience, and scientific evidence. The science shows us that recurrent back pain is a problem, and that not every patient has an acute issue that can show vast improvement in 4 visits. Science also shows us how to best move the discs and the joints and the nerves that could all be contributing to a patient’s pain. We also have research on the benefits of early PT intervention and that it has been shown to improve outcomes decrease subsequent cost and healthcare utilization (Childs et al., 2015; Fritz et al., 2012; Fritz et al., 2015). As healthcare legislation continues to change and evolve and CMS moves into outcomes-based payment, it will become even more important to advocate for skilled therapy services based on the benefits PT can provide to patients long-term; also, as direct access continues to become more widespread and potentially implemented by CMS and private insurance companies, PT can become an important primary care provider and early intervention method for patients with low back pain.
Fritz, J. M., Childs, J. D., Wainner, R. S., & Flynn, T. W. (2012). Primary care referral of patients with low back pain to physical therapy: Impact on future health care utilization and costs. Spine, 37(25), 2114-2121.
Fritz, J. M., Magel, J. S., McFadden, M., Asche, C., Thackeray, A., Meier, W., & Brennan, G. (2015). Early physical therapy vs usual care in patients with recent-onset low back pain: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA, 314(14), 1459-1467. | https://iaom-us.com/early-physical-therapy-vs-usual-care-in-patients-with-recent-onset-low-back-pain-a-randomized-clinical-trial/ |
problem on site and where possible take call to resolution within agreed SLAs.
RESPONSIBILITIES
* Responsible for escalating issues according to the escalation process and ensuring the right
people are aware of any issues that need attention.
* Log & update all calls on both call management system and in some cases certain
third party systems. It is the Technical Support Analysts responsibility to ensure
that the call management systems are up to date with all necessary relevant information.
* Provide software support using Remote Control/Access systems, following basic processes and
diagnostics to establish the exact problem on site and implement fixes. This includes providing
Technical support for both engineers and third-party engineers on site and escalating to
2nd Line when necessary.
* Represent the company in a professional manner when discussing issues with the customer and in some cases third party companies ensuring you leave them confident in your ability to provide the
support required.
* Notify specific management and the Customer management team via email using the
agreed escalation procedure for all high level issues, with regular updates when requested (or
necessary) as per procedure.
* Ensure all system alerts are dealt with in a proactive manner and will be expected to provide
support to the Operations Team & Service Desk Administrator when necessary.
* Assist with the Implementation of new software, hardware releases and adhoc rollouts as part of
a team, eDevelop test plans and scripts from business/technical requirements and specifications.
* Perform exploratory testing on early-stage code.
* Perform a wide range of test activities such as functional/non-functional, regression and
performance testing.
* Advise the team about overall risks and trends.
* Facilitate communication between the technical & business stakeholders.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS
* Oral and written communication skills
* NVQ1/GCSEs and above (or equivalent) in key competencies
* Excellent Customer Service Skills * Problem analysis/problem solving
* Good Timekeeping
* Adaptability
* Attention to detail
* Working in a very pressurized environment
* Understanding of SLAs and KPIs
* Computer Literate
* Quick learner Ability to identify and document defects
* Ability to carry out test planning and procedures
* Experience working on Scrum teams in sprints
* Ability to interact and communicate effectively with a wide audience of technical, non-technical
and stakeholders, on all levels
* Understanding of how to construct and document test cases.
* Knowledge of automated test scripts and interpreting results
* Clear and concise documentation skills
DESIRABLE KNOWLEDGE (not essential)
* Windows Operating System ranging from 2000 - Windows 7
* Network infrastructure
* Borland & SQL
* Visual Basics and C#
* Microsoft office
* Petrol forecourt systems
* Card Payment Processes
* Remote Connections
HOURS | 6am - 11pm Monday to Sunday covered by 12 hour shifts, | https://jobs.volt.eu.com/jobs/1st-line-technical-support-analyst |
Within our department, we conduct research across a variety of fields and have identified six main areas of focus: Cyber Security, Smart Technology, Human-Computer Interaction, Machine Intelligence, Engineering of Social Informatics, and Computing and Education. Each of these fields involves collaboration between academic members of our team and our postgraduate researchers.
Cyber Security
Our research helps people design, manage, and use technology in such a way that security helps rather than hinders people’s everyday lives. Our research is centred around Cyber Physical System Security, Cyber Security Education, Digital Forensics & Incident Response, Intelligence & Security Informatics, Security & Privacy by Design and Social Cybersecurity. Find out more.
Engineering and Social Informatics
We view software as an integral part of a larger ecosystem that, besides technology, incorporates business and social aspects. We focus on the interrelation and mutual dependency between software and its dynamic organisational and social context. We study various kinds of social requirements and the engineering challenges to build a system able to accommodate them and adapt, intelligently when possible, to their changes and dynamics.
Human Computer Interaction
We collaborate with researchers and professionals from multiple disciplines including Psychology, Design and Marketing to evolve this focus area. We have expertise in applying user experience techniques and HCI design processes to interactive systems and its demonstration through experimentations. To maximise impact and the practical nature of our research, we also collaborate with industry nationally and internationally. Find out more.
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
We aim to understand and develop theoretical foundations of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DS&AI) and the bridging between them with major focus on scalable and continual machine learning, computational intelligence, statistical modelling, computer vision, and knowledge engineering. Our interest covers also applied DS&AI to develop (collaborative) decision support systems in a number of areas such as process industry, smart environments, smart energy, remote sensing, assistive technologies, and healthcare.
Smart Technology
Our primary aim is the investigation and development of smart systems and technologies providing seamless integration of information from various sources for, among others, innovative technology-driven services, extraction and intelligent analysis of information from large commercial and scientific databases, reduction of operational costs of industrial processes, analysis of complex systems or improvement of quality of life.
Future and Complex Networks
We conduct fundamental and applied research in the broad area of networks – from natural and physical networks (e.g. social networks, transportation systems, utility grids, brain structure) to digital infrastructures (e.g. the internet, computer networks, etc). The research focus areas of FlexNet include network science, information-centric networking (ICN), the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, crowdsourced systems and other emerging network paradigms. | https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/our-faculties/faculty-science-technology/our-departments/department-computing-informatics/department-computing-informatics-research |
Miles Franklin was an Australian writer and feminist, best known for her novel My Brilliant Career, self-published in 1901, and All That Swagger, which was not published until 1936.
She was born on Tuesday October 14th 1879, in Talbingo, New South Wales, Australia.
Miles' attention is directed to helping and caring for those she loves. Miles Franklin is exceedingly domestic. She loves her home and family and works hard to make both comfortable and secure. Franklin's love for family and friends is a major source of her happiness and sometimes unhappiness.
Her desire to help others is so strong that Miles Franklin often finds herself sacrificing her own personal needs for someone else's. Miles can overdo it, becoming too deeply involved in other people's lives. She risks interfering in personal matters and or smothering those she loves in too much affection. This can be especially weakening to children, who never experience their own personal strength if an adult is too protective.
Miles Franklin is extremely loyal and rarely lets anyone down. She needs to feel appreciation for her giving and caring. She wants to know that she is needed.
Miles is generous and very forgiving. She is somehow able to overlook the worst mistakes in another and find enough good in that person to continue the relationship. She is patient, warm, and sympathetic, sometimes to the point of sentimentality.
Miles Franklin has a natural ability as a counselor and healer. She is an excellent listener, compassionate and understanding. Franklin is able to both sympathize and empathize with a person's dilemma. Her challenge as a counselor is to be adequately educated so that she can do more than provide a sympathetic ear or shoulder.
She possesses a great deal of artistic talent, though she may not have a lot of confidence in her ability. Art gives Miles Franklin a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction. Miles is especially sensitive to her environment and has a knack for creating an artistic, healing, and harmonious atmosphere in her home or work space.
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Download the complete Economics project topic and material (chapter 1-5) titled IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA here on PROJECTS.ng. See below for the abstract, table of contents, list of figures, list of tables, list of appendices, list of abbreviations and chapter one. Click the DOWNLOAD NOW button to get the complete project work instantly.
PROJECT TOPIC AND MATERIAL ON IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA
The Project File Details
- Name: IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH IN NIGERIA
- Type: PDF and MS Word (DOC)
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ABSTRACT
This study empirically analyzed the impact of international trade on economic growth in Nigeria. The objective of this study was to examine specifically the role and contribution of exports, imports, foreign direct investment and foreign exchange on economic growth in Nigeria. In executing this study, data were collected from secondary sources while Ordinary Least Square (OLS) techniques were used in the analysis. The study observed that international trade have not contributed a lot to economic growth in Nigeria but other indicators exert enough pressure on the strength of the economy. The study recommends that for governmental encouragement in the development of strong linkage between exchange rate and interest rate in order to facilitate the increasing trend of foreign trade in third world developing into Nigeria.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title i
Certification Page ii
Approval Page iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
Abstract viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
- Background to the study 1
- Statement of the Problem 3
- Research Questions 4
- Objective of the Study 4
- Research Hypotheses 5
- Significance of the Study 5
- Scope and limitations of the Study 6
- Organization of the Study 6
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Theoretical Literature Review 7
2.1.1 Conceptual Literature Review 7
2.1.2 Review of Basic Theories 9
2.2 Empirical Literature Review 27
2.3 Summary of Literature Reviewed 35
2.4 Justification for the Study 36
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 Theoretical Framework 37
3.2 Model Specification 38
3.3 Estimation Technique 39
3.3.1. Stationarity test (unit root test) 40
3.3.2. Johnson Co-integration Test 40
3.4 Evaluation of Estimates 41
3.4.1 Economic Criteria 41
3.4.2 Statistical Criteria 42
3.4.3 Econometric Criteria 42
3.5 Test of Research Hypotheses 43
3.6 Nature and Sources of Data 44
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULT PRESENTATION, ANALYSES AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Result Presentation 45
4.1.1 Summary of Unit Root Tests (Stationarity Tests) 45
4.1.2 Summary of Johansen Co-integration Test 46
4.1.3 Error Correction Mechanism Result 48
4.2 Interpretation of Result 49
4.2.1 Economic Criteria 49
4.2.2 Statistical Criteria 50
4.2.3 Econometric Criteria 3
4.3 Evaluation of Research Hypothesis 49
4.4 Discussion of Findings 51
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 53
5.2 Conclusion 54
5.3 Recommendations 54
5.4 Agenda for Further Studies 55
References 56
Appendix 65
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
International trade is the exchange of capital, goods and services across the international borders or territories. In most countries such trade represents a significant share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore, international trade has been an area of interest to policy makers as well as economists. It enables nations to sell their domestically produced good to other countries of the world (Adewuyi, 2002). International trade has been regarded as an engine of growth, which leads to steady improvement in human status by expanding the range of people’s standard and preferences (Adewuyi, 2002). Since no country has grown without trade, international trade plays a vital role in restructuring economic and social attributes of countries around the world, particularly, the less developed countries. Furthermore, over the years, development economists have long recognized the role of trade in the growth process of national economies as trade provides both foreign exchange earnings and market stimulus, for accelerated economic growth.
The economic growth of Nigeria to large extent depends on her trade with other nations. Nigeria as a developing country has been grappling with realities of developmental process not only politically and socially but also economically. In 1960s, agriculture was the main stay of the economy and the greatest foreign exchange earner, and Nigerian government was able to execute investment projects through domestic savings, earnings from exports of agricultural products and foreign aids (Ezike, 2011). But since the advent of oil as a major source of foreign exchange earning in Nigeria since 1974, the picture has been almost that of general stagnation in agricultural exports. This led to loss of Nigeria’s position as an important producer and exporter of palm oil produce, groundnut, cocoa and rubber (CBN annual report, 2006). Between the year 1960 and 1980, agriculturaland agro-allied exports constituted an average of sixty percent of total export in Nigeria, which is now accounted for, by petroleum oil export, (CBN annual report 2004).
The importance of international trade in the Nigerian economy has grown rapidly in recent time, especially since 2002 to 2016. Economic openness measured as the ratio of export and imports to GDP has risen from just above 3 percent in 1991 to over 11 percent in 2008 due to the unrest in Nigeria’s oil producing Niger Delta region which resulted in significant disruption in oil production and shortfalls in oil export from Nigeria. Promotion of economic growth is one of the major objectives of international trade, but in recent times, this has not been the case because the Nigerian economy is still experiencing some elements of economic instability such as price instability, high level of unemployment and adverse balance of payments. Furthermore, the benefits of international trade had not been noticed in the economic growth of Nigeria because some of the goods imported into the country were those that cause damages to local industries by rendering their products inferior or and being neglected, thereby reducing the growth rate of output of s oh industries which later spread to the aggregate economy. Also the poor performance of international trade has been ostensibly blamed on factors such as different languages, difficulty in transportation, risk in transit, lack of information about foreign businessmen etc. Despite the above mentioned problems the study seeks to find answers to the following questions: Does international trade stimulates economic growth in Nigeria? Do trade policies have impact on international trade in Nigeria?
Therefore, this study seeks to examine the impact of international trade on economic growth in Nigeria. In other words, how activities in international trade transmit to economic growth in Nigeria.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Nigeria has suffered a long-term deterioration in terms of trade and subsequent persistent balance of payment deficit despite concerted efforts in export promotion strategies. In fact, contrary to the expectation, the growth rates have instead declined from as high as 3.6% annual growth rate of 1984-2004, just before the policy change to unimaginable negative growth. In fact according to the World Development Indicators data base by the World Bank Group of August, 2008, Nigeria economic growth rate has dwindled over the years to the extent of experiencing a negative GDP annual growth of negative 0.2% in 2000 despite the fact that exports of goods and services accounted for 26.2% of the total GDP in the same period. It is plausible to state or observe further that Nigeria GDP has persistently dragged behind exports and imports. In fact, it is evident that the fate of GDP has somehow ‘depended’ upon exports and imports trends such that when both variables are declining, the GDP tends to decline and vice versa.
The research problem of the study is that; Despite the Export Led Growth (ELG) strategy in which the government has deliberately pushed for exports and opened its domestic market for foreign competition, Nigeria has continued to have trouble in realizing an economic growth rate of at least 10 percent. The study therefore seeks to examine the reason why that is so; as a development problem. This study shows that Nigeria participation in International trade through her Export Led Growth strategy has increased the probability of achieving rapid economic growth. The general research question to be answered at the end of the study is; does trade really lead to economic growth in a country? Few studies have been done on Nigeria performance in International trade but an important link on its actual impact on the economic growth has not been explicitly focused. It appears however4that a general assumption has been takenthat those countries that participate in international trade especially through export promotion have automatically recorded higher economic growth
- Research Questions
- To examine the role of exports on economic growth?
- To examine the impact of imports on economic growth?
- To determine the impact of foreign exchange to the growth of Nigerian economy?
- To determine the impact of foreign direct investment to the growth of Nigerian economy?
- Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of international on economic growth in Nigeria.
The specific objectives are;
- What is the nature of relationship between exports and GDP in Nigeria?
- What is the nature of relationship between imports and GDP in Nigeria?
- What is the nature of relationship between foreign exchange and GDP in Nigeria?
- To what extent do foreign direct investment contribute to the variance in GDP in Nigeria?
- Research Hypotheses
This study will empirically test the following hypotheses;
Hypothesis One
H0: There is no significant relationship between exports and GDP in Nigeria.
Hi: There is significant relationship between exports and GDP in Nigeria.
Hypothesis Two
Ho: There is no significant relationship between imports and GDP in Nigeria
Hi: There is significant relationship between imports and GDP in Nigeria.
Hypothesis Three
Ho: There is no significant relationship between foreign exchange and GDP in Nigeria
H1: There is significant relationship between foreign exchange and GDP in Nigeria.
Hypothesis Four
Ho: Foreign direct investment do not contribute to the variance in GDP in Nigeria
Hi: Foreign direct investment contribute to the variance in GDP in Nigeria
- Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study concentrated on how impact of international trade on economic growth in Nigeria. Annual time series data will be employed by this study to conduct the investigation. The researcher encountered the following constraint in the course of this work, data constraint or unavailability of data on some variables, finance to facilitate the study and so on.
- Significance of the Study
This study was conducted in order to ascertain the level to which economic growth has been propagated by growing international trade on economic growth in the Nigerian. This research work, apart from achieving its main objectives, will contribute immensely in aiding the government, policy makers, economic planners, researchers and the academia in general.
- Government: This study will provide an insight and understanding to the government on how to be prudent in spending public funds to boost the international trade in order to bring about economic growth and development.
- It help in providing an insight and knowledge to the general public, policy makers.
- Academia: The findings of this study will contribute to current scenario of international trade in Nigeria and level of its contribution to the GDP.
- In view of this, this study is necessary so as to go deeper in unveiling and laying bare some other international trade economic growth in the country which available studies have not really brought to light.
- The result of this study would be of use to policy makers both in the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy. It would also be of use to other developing countries especially those at the same level of development as Nigeria and in particular, those economies that rely on international trade. Also, it would help policy makers to identify the relationship between international trade and economic growth and hence find ways of realizing the full benefits of international trade to the Nigerian ‘economy.
- Organization of Study
The effort to investigate the impact of international trade on economic growth in Nigeria is structured into five chapters. Chapter one gives an introduction of the topic. Chapter two gives a review of relevant literature, while the analytical framework and methodology used in analyzing the data is presented in chapter three. Chapter four discusses the empirical results. And chapter five closes out the study with the summary of major findings, conclusion and policy recommendations.
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The Advantage of Comparative Research
Comparative research is a reliable way of getting your bearings on any type of project.
No matter how new a problem may be to us, we are never the first person to tackle it. There are always examples to learn from. That said, the way we learn from others’ examples can make the difference between uncritical emulation and a solution that fits the unique problem and context we’re facing.
Here I’ll describe what comparative research is, why it’s worth your time, and give an example of how it helped us on a recent project.
Some Fundamentals of Comparative Research
Comparative research is a way to broaden our thinking about product functionality. It answers questions like, “How have others dealt with this kind of content complexity? What is a good way to conduct this kind of interaction? How are different use cases accounted for?” This type of research is particularly useful when trying to identify best practices that haven’t yet solidified into conventions–ones that aren’t likely to be documented anywhere but in products themselves.
When doing comparative research, we’re essentially critiquing others’ product design, reverse-engineering decisions that have been made when navigating tradeoffs and complexities similar to our own. It’s an investigative process that allows us to build on the wisdom (and errors) of designs that have come before us. We figure out what works and what doesn’t, and why, and borrow accordingly.
Relevant patterns often become the basis for a common design language shared between teams and clients, which is particularly significant early on in projects when trying to manage the ambiguity that characterizes early phases of product work. The example below will make this clearer.
An Example: Researching Email Editors
When designing and developing a new email editor for iContact, we confronted a number of design challenges that we hadn’t faced before, or at least not at the same scale and density required by the project. Let it be said that designing visual manipulation products is hard. One of the challenges is determining straightforward interface patterns for content selection and manipulation. What happens if a user hovers over this, and clicks this, or drags this? What if they want to resize this and then duplicate it and move it? We had notions for how features could be addressed, but knew we had to do our homework.
We began by looking at how visual email and website editors dealt with content manipulation. We studied our the design tools we use day-in and day-out. We held a magnifying glass up to Gmail (not really). In almost every instance, a primary editing canvas is flanked by one or more content manipulation panels. Manipulation of canvas content was handled differently in each tool, yet the variations were often subtle. We picked apart these subtleties. For example, Constant Contact’s editor allows users to edit and style text directly in the canvas, while Mailchimp’s editor displays a text field in a utility to the side of the canvas. Each approach has benefits and drawbacks: direct manipulation is to be preferred, yet that can complicate the interface with WYSIWYG styling controls. The pattern in this case was to allow direct manipulation where possible and show styling controls without cluttering the content being edited.
A more complicated problem to address was how to structure email content so that users would be able to easily determine how content is nested and how to create, arrange, and otherwise edit it. To do this, we compared the interface patterns and descriptive language used across a range of tools, and abstracted what we felt was the most straightforward structure that met the requirements of the product. What resulted was a taxonomy of layouts, rows, columns, and blocks, and rules for how they relate. In hindsight, this arrangement seems simple enough, yet it was a challenging process, laying the foundation for the features and variations we knew would have to be accounted for. We argued about and scrapped an additional layer or two that, while they may have added nuance, would have sacrificed usability.
These basic terms – layout, row, column, block – became catchwords on the project, providing necessary distinctions that allowed us to move quickly. When a designer talked with a developer about row manipulation, both knew exactly what was being discussed and how the other components would be affected. When we eventually dealt with theme manipulation, we could talk about how theme attributes would cascade down to each element of the layout. These terms were reflected in the information architecture, visual design, front-end code, and the backend systems that translate the edited code into email-compliant HTML.
This language was essential to the project, and resulted from comparative research we conducted in the first weeks of our work. Instead of replicating the structure of the first product we came across, we weighed the pros and cons of various implementations to suss out an appropriate approach that balanced usability and feature-richness. What could’ve been seen as a questionably-productive phase of the project – from our own or our client’s perspective – proved to be crucial, especially given a tight timeline that didn’t afford us a chance to stumble around in the dark.
Further Considerations
Comparative research can inform projects at early stages, providing fodder and direction for initial design concepts, and in the midst of design iterations when refining content, interaction, and general architectural patterns. Some things to consider:
Comparative analyses can save time. Unless you have the time and budget to learn by trial and error or your own user research, learn from others’ experience. See what the most successful products are doing and try to figure out how they do it.
Focus on primary, complex workflows. Don’t conduct a comparative analysis on form design unless you’re designing a new EMR (which you should, if given the chance). Rely on established conventions where you can in order to devote time and attention to bigger, riskier aspects.
Gather examples widely. Study the work of obvious competitors, but also look outside of the immediate industry. Be inventive and broad-ranging as you collect examples in order to avoid provincial biases and assumptions that may be inherent to industry products. When documenting instances, consider using animated gifs to show interactivity to teammates and clients.
Consider user testing your competitors’ products. For the email product redesign, we started weekly user testing before we had a functioning prototype. Because we knew we’d be dealing with direct manipulation of content and features like drag-and-drop, which can be difficult to replicate in rough prototypes, we decided to use our competitor’s products in moderated usability tests. This gave us a sense for where people succeed – and where they get tripped up – when using industry-leading software.
Practice the habit of criticism. Design criticism ought to be something we do constantly and casually, reflecting on the products we interact with daily. Although we may treat it as a formal activity on projects, the perspective we bring (or don’t bring) to projects is formed by all that we do beforehand. Don’t forget to ask why. Not that you would. You’re a designer, after all.
Note: This article is a reflection on work done mostly by the astute and esteemed Curt Arledge. | https://www.viget.com/articles/the-advantage-of-comparative-research/ |
Summary:
Medication alone and psychotherapy (cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy) alone can relieve depressive symptoms.A combination of medication and psychotherapy has been associated with significantly higher rates of improvement in more severe, chronic, & complex presentations of depression.Antidepressant medications work well to treat depression.Antidepressants usually take some time (2 to 4 weeks) before they impact the symptoms.Appetite, sleep and concentration typically improve before mood begins to lift. Antidepressants are an effective modality of treatment. They may present risks to some individuals,especially children, teens, and young adults.Antidepressants are not usually prescribed in children and are not the first line of treatment in adolescents.Antidepressants may cause some people to have negative reactions when they first start taking the medication.It is important for individuals taking antidepressants to be monitored closely, especially when they first start taking them.It should be kept in mind that for most people the risks of untreated depression far outweigh those of antidepressant medications when they are used under a doctor’s careful supervision.
Author:
Haraton Davidian
Biographie:
Prof. Haraton Davidian,Prof. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema and Dr. Hamideh Jahangiri prepare a book of Depression:Treatment and Management involve the assistance and cooperation of many people,to whom we are especially grateful.Outstanding senior scientists selected to review the first draft of this book include Yale Medical School & Harvard Medical School.
Author:
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
Biographie:
Author:
Hamideh Jahangiri
Biographie:
Number of Pages:
640
Book language:
English
Published On:
2019-01-16
ISBN:
978-3-659-87340-9
Publishing House:
LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
Keywords:
Prof. Haraton Davidian, Prof. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Haraton Davidian, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Depression Treatment and Management, Depression Treatment and Management Vol.2, depression treatment, Depression Management
Product category: | https://shop.the-lazy-bookshop.com/products/978-3-659-87340-9 |
The present invention relates to a method and an analyser for analysing a minute foreign substance present on the surface of a planar sample such, as e.g., a silicon wafer for semiconductor element or an insulating transparent substrate for liquid crystal display element, as well as a process for semiconductor elements and liquid crystal display elements by use thereof. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and an apparatus, and semiconductor and liquid crystal display elements by use thereof, in which a minute foreign substance is detected by a particle test unit whose coordinate system is predefined, and by linking the identified position of the minute foreign substance with the coordination system of an analytical unit, it is possible to easily analyse, test and evaluate the identified minute foreign substance.
Analysers referred to here mean, for example, analysers for investigating the colour tone, stereoscopic image, elemental analysis, chemical structure, crystalline structure and the like by irradiating energy such as light, x-ray, electromagnetic wave, and various corpuscular beams including electron, neutral chemical species (atom, molecule and such others), ion and phonon to the surface of a sample and detecting a secondary corpuscular beam absorbed or radiated due to the interaction with the sample, or treating the surface of a sample, and include units which perform functions such functions as analysis, test, estimation and treatment, represented by, for example, Metallographical Microscope, Laser Microscope, Probe Microscope, Inter-Atomic Force Microscope (hereinafter, referred to as AFM), Scanning Tunnel Microscope (hereinafter, referred to as STM), Magnetic Force Microscope (hereinafter, referred to as MFM), Scanning Electron Microscope (hereinafter, referred to as SEM), Electron Probe Micro-Analyzer (hereinafter, referred to as EPMA), x-ray Photoelectron Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as XPS), Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as UPS), secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as SIMS), Time of Flight-SIMS (hereinafter, referred to as TOF-SIMS), Scanning Auger Electron Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as SAM), Auger Electron Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as AES), Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as RHEED), High Energy Electron Diffraction Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as HEED), Low Energy Electron Diffraction Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as LEED), Electron Energy-Loss Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as EELS), Focused Ion Beam Instrument (hereinafter, referred to as FIB), Particle Induced X-ray Emission (hereinafter, referred to as PIXE), Microscopic Fourier Transfer Infrared Spectrometer (hereinafter, referred to as Microscopic FT-IR) and Microscopic Raman, as well as observation units, analytical units, test units and estimation units.
The yield in the production of very highly integrated LSI, represented by 4M bit-and 16M bit-DRAM is said to depend almost primarily on defects originating in wafer-adhered foreign substances.
That is because, with finer pattern width, foreign substances of minute size adhered to a wafer in the production process of the previous step, which were not previously a problem, becomes the source of pollution. Generally, the size of such minute foreign substances which cause problems is said to be of the order of several tenths of the minimum wiring width of very highly integrated LSI to be manufactured, and accordingly minute foreign substances of 0.1 µm level are the object of examination in 16M bit-DRAM (minimum wiring width 0.5 µm). Such minute foreign substances form contaminants and cause disconnection or short of a circuit pattern, leading to the occurrence of faults and a decrease in quality and reliability. Thus, it is a key point to the promotion of yield to determine and control the actual condition of adhesion and the like of minute foreign substances by accurate measurement and analysis.
As means for this operation, there have conventionally been employed particle test devices capable of detecting the location of a minute foreign substance on the surface of a planar sample, such as silicon wafer. The conventional particle test devices include IS-2000 and LS-6000 available from Hitachi Denshi Engineering Ltd.; Surfscan 6200 available from Tencor, USA; WIS-9000 available from Estek, USA or the like. Meanwhile, on the measuring principle employed for these particle test devices and device configuration for implementation thereof, detailed description is provided, for example, in a publication entitled "Analysis/Estimation Technique for High-Performance Semiconductor Process", pp.111-129, edited by Handotai Kiban Kenkyukai (Semiconductor Substrate Research Group), Realize Ltd.
Figure 8 shows a display screen of CRT displaying the results measured by using a particle test device LS-6000 for minute foreign substances (0.1 µm or larger) present on an actual 6-inch silicon wafer. That is, this display screen indicates only the approximate position, the number of foreign substances for each size and the distribution of grain sizes. The circle shown in Figure 8 represents the outer periphery of a 6-inch silicon wafer and points present in the circle correspond to the respective locations of minute foreign substances. Incidentally, a particle or a foreign substance described here means any different portion such as a concave, convex, adhered particle or defect, which generates a scattering (irregular reflection) of light.
As seen also from Figure 8, however, the information obtained from a conventional particle test device relates only to the size and location of a minute foreign substance present on the surface of such a sample as silicon wafer, and consequently does not permit one to identify an actual state of the relevant minute foreign substance, such as what it 15.
As one example, Figure 4 shows the basic configuration of a conventional metallographical microscope with an actuator. One example of conventional metallographical microscope with a positioning function employed for the detection of a minute foreign substance is the IC testing microscopic instrument MODER: IM-120 available from Nidec Co.Ltd. In Figure 4, a sample of silicon wafer 2 is placed on an x-y actuator 1 having a coordinate system roughly linked with that of a particle testing device. The foreign substance 7 detected by the particle testing device is so arranged as to be conveyed to the visual field of a metallographical microscope 3 or the vicinity thereof on the basis of the positional information about the foreign substance obtained from the particle testing device. Hereinafter, the testing procedure and tested results for testing a foreign substance 7 present on the surface of a planar silicon wafer by using a conventional metallographical microscope equipped with actuator will be described.
First, with a plurality of slightly stained mirrorsurface ground silicon wafers 2 (CZ plane orientation: 100) 6-inch diameter silicon wafer, available from Mitsubishi Material Silicon), is put on a particle test device (Surfscan 6200, available from Tencor Ltd., USA). The approximate size and the approximate location of a foreign substance present on the silicon wafer 2 are observed. At random positions on the silicon wafer 2, there were about 800 foreign substances in 0.1-0.2 µm level of diameter, about 130 foreign substances in 0.2-0.3 µm level of diameter, about 30 foreign substances in 0.3-0.4 µm level of diameter, about 13 foreign substances in 0.4-0.5 µm level of diameter, and about 15 foreign substances in 0.5 µm or more level of diameter. The coordinate system in the Surfscan 6200 is so defined that the x- and y-axes (or y- and x-axes) are the direction parallel with the orientation flat of the wafer and the perpendicular direction in the surface of a wafer, respectively. Three points or more on the outermost periphery of the wafer, except for the orientation flat, are measured and the centre position (0, 0) of the wafer is determined by calculating the measured coordinates and using the formula of a circle or ellipse.
Next, a conventional metallographical microscopic is employed, in which the x- and y-axes (or y- and x-axes) are the direction parallel to the orientation flat and the direction perpendicular thereto in the surface of a wafer, respectively. Three points or more on the outermost periphery are measured, except for the orientation flat, and, applying the formula of a circle or ellipse to the measured coordinates, the centre position of the wafer is determined in the form of (0,0). After setting a silicon wafer 2 on an x-y actuator 1, an attempt was made to observe foreign substances of various sizes with a metallogical microscope 3 by operating an x-y actuator on the basis of the positional information about the foreign substance obtained from the particle test device (estimated and observed with the magnification of an eyepiece fixed to 10 magnifications and that of an objective lens varied to 5, 20 and 50 magnifications).
As a result, foreign substances of 0.4-0.5 µm diameter could barely be detected as dark points in the case of using an objective lens of 5 magnification in the metallographical microscope and those of smaller level diameter could hardly be detected. More specifically, all those of 0.4 µm or larger diameter could be detected. On the other hand, in the case of using an objective lens of 50 magnification, a foreign substance of 0.2-0.3 µm level diameter could rarely be detected as a dark point, but hardly any foreign substance of smaller level diameter could be detected. Thus, to examine the cause, the deviated amounts of coordination in this case were surveyed using a plurality of check-patterned wafers, which revealed that there were deviated amounts of about (± 250 µm, ± 250 µm) relative to the original position or the centre position of the wafer and any point definable in the wafer in the representation of x-y coordinates.
Meanwhile, the visual field for an objective lens 5 of magnifications in the device was about 1500 µm φ, whereas that for an objective lens of 50 magnification was only about 150 µm φ.
That is, the reason why many foreign substances of 0.2- 0.3 µm level diameter could not be detected using an objective lens of 50 magnification was found to be that the deviation relatively exceeded the extent of visual field of a microscope due to a change in magnification from 5 to 50, and a foreign substance of 0.2-0.3 µm level diameter in question was not therefore included within the visual field of an existing device.
For this reason, it becomes necessary to identify the actual conditions of individual foreign substances through a direct observation or composition analysis by using an appropriate analysis device such as SEM. However, because of being defined in the device coordinates system of a particle test device, locations of individual foreign substances on a wafer do not always coincide with device coordinates of other analysis devices than the particle test device such as SEM. In addition, in setting such a sample as a wafer on other analysis devices than the particle test device such as SEM, a coordinate deviation error accompanying a new setting cannot be prevented from occurring. Thus, it is necessary in identifying the actual condition of minute foreign substances to link the device coordinate system of a particle test device with that of a different analysis device such as SEM from the particle test device with high accuracy.
Accordingly, device coordinate systems were investigated for individual particle test devices and different analysis devices such as SEM from the particle test devices. As a result, it was found that the x-y coordinate system is adopted in almost all devices. In determining the coordinate axes and the origin position of each device for a wafer as sample to be measured, there is employed (1) a method for defining a line tangential to the orientation flat of the wafer as the x-axis (or y-axis), a straight line perpendicular thereto in the plane of the wafer as the y-axis (or x-axis) and the interceptions of the y-axis with the outermost periphery of the wafer and with the x-axis respectively as (0, y) and as (0, 0) (cf. Figure 9 (a)); or (2) a method for defining a line tangential to the orientation flat of the wafer as the x-axis (or y-axis), a straight line perpendicular thereto in the plane of the wafer as the y-axis (or x-axis) and the centre coordinate of the wafer as (0, 0) by measuring three sample points or more of the outermost periphery and applying the formula of a circle or ellipse to the measured coordinates (cf. Figure (9) b).
i
In these methods, however, the defined coordinate systems themselves are diverse because the function employed in the definition of coordinate system differs with individual devices or because the number of sample points differs with individual devices. Furthermore, on account of stage error intrinsic in an x-y stage, dependent on the stage accuracy of each device (an actual x-y stage comes to have a somewhat distorted coordinate system relative to the ideal x-y stage as shown in Figure 3 and this results in a differential e) or an indefinite individual error based on the peculiarity of each device, a deviation occurs without fail in the coordinate axes and origin position of a device coordinate system for a conventional simple "coordinate linking method by inputting the positional information about minute defects or foreign substances detected by a particle test device to the coordinate system of a different analysis device such as SEM from the particle test device". In other words, it is required in examining a minute substance to elevate the magnitude, but the visual field of a test region or analysis region becomes narrower with increasing magnitude.
Thus, at the analyzable magnitude for minute foreign substances of an analysis device, it becomes impossible to set a minute defect or substance within the visual field of the device at that time. That is, it is required in examining a minute substance to elevate the magnitude, but the visual field of a test region or analysis region becomes narrower with increasing magnitude.
2
Then, deviations of coordinates occurring for the above reason were examined for various devices by using a plurality of check-patterned wafers. It was found that, even between very accurate devices (particle test device IS-2000 available from Hitachi Denshi Engineering K.K. and length measuring SEM S-7000 available from Hitachi Ltd.), there were deviated amounts of about (± 100 µm, ± 100 µm) relative to the origin position or the centre position of the wafer and any point definable in the wafer in the representation of x-y coordinates. Accordingly, in analysing and estimating a minute foreign substance situated at any position on a wafer detected by a particle test device by using a different analytical device from the particle test device, observation or analysis and estimation of the minute foreign substance must be carried out by certain methods such as magnifying the relevant portion after executing observations in an area 200 µm x 200 µm (= 40,000 µm, visual field of the SEM at a 500 magnitude) covering the extent of above ± 100 µm, ± 100 µm centred at a position on which a foreign substance detected by the particle test device is presumed to be present and ensuring the position of the minute foreign substance. Thus, a fairly long period of time is required.
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2
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To illustrate what size relation this area has to a minute foreign substance, an attempt was made to examine the presumably detectable size of a minute foreign substance by calculating the detectable extent (area) one pixel of the CCD camera occupies on the assumption that a CCD camera of 1,000,000 pixels regarded at present as a relatively high-resolution CCD camera was employed for observation. The detectable area that one pixel occupies under the above conditions was calculated to be 0.04 µm (40,000 µm 1,000,000 = 0.2 µm x 0.2 µm). On the other hand, since it is difficult to discern an object of smaller size than one pixel, the detectable limit of minute foreign substances proves to be 0.04 µm (0.2 µm x 0.2 µm). That is, it is found difficult to directly detect a foreign substance having a projected area of smaller than 0.04 µm (about 0.2 µm in diameter) by using a CCD camera of 1,000,000 pixels, and extremely difficult to identify the position of the minute foreign substance. Further, it is nearly impossible to identify the position of a minute foreign substance, 0.2 µm or smaller in diameter.
From this, it is deduced to be generally difficult to identify the position of a minute foreign substance, 0.2 µm or smaller in diameter, conventionally detected by a particle test device and to directly observe or estimate the minute foreign substance by linking the minute foreign substance with the device coordinate system of a different analytical device such as SEM from the particle test device based on the device coordinate system of the particle test device.
For solving such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a minute foreign matter analysis method and device wherein the observation, analysis and estimation of minute foreign matter is permitted by employing a means for linking the device coordinate system of a particle test device with that of an analytical device, such as an SEM, different from the particle device with far higher accuracy.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a process for a semiconductor element or liquid crystal display element wherein the yield and reliability of a semiconductor element or liquid crystal display element are promoted by testing and analysing a minute foreign substance in the step of manufacturing a semiconductor element or liquid crystal display element through the above analytical method.
The minute foreign substance analysis method according to one aspect of the invention comprises the steps of: determining the position of a minute foreign substance on the surface of a sample in a particle test unit; transferring said sample onto a coordinate stage of an analysis unit; inputting the position determined by said particle test unit for the minute foreign substance to the coordinate stage of the analysis unit; and analysing the contents of the relevant minute foreign substance wherein at least one of the unit coordinate to be employed in said particle test unit and the unit coordinate to be employed in said analysis unit is previously measured using a standard wafer with a relatively positioned dot arrow provided on the surface to determine an error of the above unit coordinate system and the unit coordinate system of the above particle test unit and that of the above analytical unit are linked with each other by correcting the error relative to the above unit coordinate systems.
In correcting the unit coordinate by using the above standard wafer, it is preferable for minimising the error to employ the same standard wafer both for the particle test unit and for the analytical unit.
The minute foreign matter analysis method according to another aspect of the invention is a method comprising the steps of: determining the position of a minute matter on the surface of a sample in a particle test unit; transferring said sample onto a coordinate stage of an analytical unit; inputting the position determined by said particle test unit to the coordinate stage of the analysis unit; and analysing the contents of the relevant minute foreign substance; wherein the relative positional relation between the dots on the unit coordinate system is determined by detecting the positions of dots on a standard wafer in said particle test unit, the relative positional relation between the dots on the unit coordinate system is determined by detecting the positions of dots on said standard wafer in said analytical unit, and the unit coordinate systems of said both units are linked with each other by comparing the respective relative positional relations of said both units.
In the above standard wafer, if the respective dots of said dot array having a relative positional relation are provided randomly and the positional relation between the respective dots is accurately determined, the formation of dots is easy.
In the above standard wafer, if the respective dots of said dot array having a relative positional relation are determined by a function defined digitally, the correction of the unit coordinate can be treated using the digitally defined function and thus is easy.
If the respective dots of the above dot array are provided at least for every certain angle on a circle or for every certain interval on a rectangular-coordinate axis, the correction of the unit coordinate can be treated more easily.
In the above dot array, a set of dots preferably comprises dots having different diameters and accordingly it becomes possible to distinguish whether a set of dots is a variation due to pollution or an original set as intended even if a standard wafer is polluted by foreign substances of any sizes, because the diameters and arrangement of individual dots in an array of dots used for the standard wafer are known. In addition, since a set of dots is formed, information as a measure on a scale can be given to an array of dots.
The above sample may be a semiconductor element in an intermediate step of production or a semiconductor wafer during the forming of said element.
The above sample may be a liquid crystal display element in an intermediate step of production or an insulating transparent substrate during the forming of said element.
The minute foreign substance analytical unit according to another aspect of the present invention is an analytical unit for placing a sample on a stage after the position of a minute foreign substance in the sample is detected by a particle test unit and analysing the minute foreign substance, additionally comprising: means for finding a variation tendency of the total error, forming the whole error of said analytical unit by using the relative positional relation of dots on a standard wafer; and means for executing a coordinate correction by subtracting the total error from the unit coordinate based on the variation tendency of said total error.
The above means for finding a variation tendency may comprise means for measuring the position of each dot and determining an error from its true value and means for computing the total error of said unit from said errors of measured positions on the basis of a function defined digitally in possession of each dot of said standard wafer.
The particle test unit according to further aspect of the present invention is a particle test unit for detecting a minute foreign substance on a sample, additionally comprising: means for finding a variation tendency of the total error forming the whole error of said particle test unit by using the relative positional relation of dots on a standard wafer; and means for executing a coordinate correction by subtracting the total error from the unit coordinate based on the variation tendency of said total error.
The above analytical units in the above each analytical method or the above analytical units may be at least one type selected from a group comprising; scanning electron microscope, metallographical microscope, scanning laser microscope, IR microspectroscope for analysing the chemical structure, Raman microspectroscope, photoluminescence unit for fluorescent spectroscopy, electron beam probe microanalyzer for surface trace element analysis, Auger electron spectrometer, electron energy-loss spectrometer, secondary ion mass spectroscope, time of flight mass spectrometer, particle induced x-ray spectrometer, reflection high energy electron diffraction spectrometer for crystal analysis, focused ion analyzer for surface treatment, x-ray photoelectron spectrometer for chemical structure analysis, UV photoelectron spectrometer, scanning probe microscope, interatomic force microscope, scanning tunnel microscope and magnetic force microscope.
The process for a semiconductor element according to another aspect of the present invention is a process for a semiconductor element comprising steps including at least the cleansing step, the film forming step, the exposure step, the etching step, the ion injection step the diffusion step and the heat treatment step, wherein at least one step of said all steps is accompanied by test steps and at least one of said test steps is for the purpose of analysing a minute foreign substance in accordance with the method as set forth in claim 1 or by using the unit as set forth in another claim.
The process for a liquid crystal display element according to a further aspect of the present invention is a process for a liquid crystal display element comprising the steps of: pasting a TFT substrate with at least a thin-film transistor and a pixel electrode provided on an insulating transparent substrate and an opposed substrate with at least an opposed electrode provided on an insulating transparent substrate at their peripheries together while keeping a fixed gap; and injecting liquid crystal material into said gap; wherein at least one step of the cleansing step, the film forming step, the exposure step, the etching step, and the ion injection step, constituting the production step of said TFT substrate or said opposed substrate is accompanied by test steps and at least one of said test steps is for the purpose of analysing a minute foreign substance in accordance with the method described in claim 1 or by using the unit as set forth in another claim.
According to the minute foreign substance analytical method as set forth in claim 1, since the unit coordinate(s) of a particle test unit and/or analytical units is (are) corrected by using a standard wafer with a relatively positioned dot array provided on the surface, the total error equal to the sum of the stage error potentially possessed by the unit coordinate(s) and indefinite individual errors originating in peculiarities of the respective units can be effectively corrected. Thus, the position of a minute foreign substance present on a sample can be accurately identified on the basis of a relative positional relation of individual dots (hereinafter, referred to as scale) in a standard wafer and the place of the minute foreign substance detected by a particle test unit can be immediately set up in the visual field of an analytical unit even if the respective coordinate systems have potential errors between different units, so that analysis can be easily carried out.
According to the analytical method as set forth in claim 2, since the relative positional relation between the dots of a standard wafer and the unit coordinates is determined in each of a particle test unit and an analytical unit, and the unit coordinate systems of both units are linked with each other by comparing the respective relative positional relations for both units, it is unnecessary to correct the unit coordinate separately in each unit, the unit coordinate systems are linked with each other between both units and the place of the minute foreign substance detected by a particle test unit can be immediately set up in the visual field of an analytical unit, so that analysis can be easily carried out.
According to the analytical method as set forth in claim 3, since correction of both units is made by using one and the same standard wafer, the unit coordinate systems can be conformed to the same standard between both units and can be completely linked with each other.
According to one analytical method as set forth in claim 4, since the dot array of a standard wafer is provided at random, production of a standard wafer is easy, whereas the relative positional relation between the respective dots is accurately determined, so that correction of each unit coordinate and linage between both unit coordinates can be easily carried out.
According to another analytical method as set forth in claim 4, since the dot array of a standard wafer is determined by a digitally defined function, the total error of each unit can be determined by computation, so that correction of each unit coordinate and linage between both unit coordinates can be easily carried out.
According to another analytical method as set forth in claim 4, since the respective dots of a dot array are provided for every certain angle on a circle or for every certain interval on a rectangular-coordinate axis, each coordinate in the direction of rotation and the directions of the x- and y-axes can be more easily corrected. Incidentally, if the relative positional relation between individual dots is known, any discrete mathematical definition will do.
According to the analytical method as set forth in claim 5, since the respective dots of a dot array employed for the scale of a standard wafer comprise a set of dots having different diameters, it is possible to distinguish whether a set of dots is a result of noise due to pollution or an original set of dots as intended on the standard wafer, even if a standard wafer should be polluted by foreign substances of any sizes, by making sure of the diameters and arrangement of individual dots in an array of dots used for the standard wafer and accordingly it is facilitated to read a coordinate, so that a strict correction can be carried out using a standard wafer. In addition, since a set of dots is formed, information as a measure on a scale can be given to an array of dots.
According to the analytical method as set forth in claim 6, since minute foreign substances of a semiconductor wafer in an intermediate step of production can be analysed, the cause of faults in the production step of a semiconductor element can be analysed.
According to the analytical method as set forth in claim 7, since minute foreign substances of the insulating transparent substrate during the formation of a liquid crystal display element can be analysed, the cause of faults in the production step of a liquid crystal display element can be analysed.
According to the method or device as set forth in claim 11, surface shape, element, chemical structure, crystalline structure, etc., of minute foreign substances can be analysed, and also, surface treatment can be performed by selecting analytical unit.
According to the particle test unit and the analytical unit as set forth in claims 8 and 10, since means is provided for correcting the total error potentially contained in the unit coordinate system based on the scale of the standard wafer, it is possible to decrease the affect of the total error potentially contained in the particle test unit and/or the analytical unit, the position of minute foreign substances containing error detected by the particle test unit is linked accurately to the unit coordinate system of the analytical unit, and the minute foreign substance can be easily set within the field of view of the analytical unit.
According to the analytical unit as set forth in claim 9, the means for finding a variation tendency comprises means for determining an error of each dot and means for computing the total error, the total error of each unit can be simply determined.
According to the process for semiconductor elements as set forth in claim 12, since the status of a minute foreign substance on the surface of a wafer can be examined at any time during the production step by a sampling test or a total test, the circumstances of occurrence or the cause of occurrence of a minute foreign substance in the production step can be known and be fed back to the production step. As a result, demerits due to minute foreign substances can be minimised even in VLSI where wiring is on the order of submicron, thereby promoting the yield and the reliability as well.
According to the process for liquid crystal elements as set forth in claims 13, since the status of a minute foreign substance can be determined during the forming step of thin-film transistors, signal wiring or the like, accidents such as break down of a wire even in a liquid crystal element of fine wiring accompanied by a more highly miniaturization can be prevented, so that the yield and the reliability of liquid crystal elements can be promoted.
Figure 1 is a flowchart for correcting the unit coordinate of each unit by using a standard wafer in an analytical method and analytical units according to the present invention.
Figure 2 shows one embodiment of a scale pattern provided on the surface of a standard wafer.
Figure 3 explains one example of stage error present in a unit coordinate.
Figure 4 shows an arrangement of using a metallographical microscope as an analytical unit in one embodiment of analytical method or analytical unit according to the present invention.
Figure 5 shows an arrangement of using a length measuring SEM as an analytical unit in one embodiment of analytical method or analytical unit according to the present invention.
Figure 6 shows an arrangement of using an EPMA provided with the positioning function as an analytical unit in one embodiment of analytical method or analytical unit according to the present invention.
Figure 7 shows an arrangement of using a RHEED as an analytical unit in one embodiment of analytical method or analytical unit according to the present invention.
Figure 8 shows one example of measured results of foreign substances on a silicon wafer in a particle test unit.
Figure 9 shows one definition example of unit coordinate employed for a conventional test unit and analytical unit.
For a better understanding of the invention embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-
Hereinafter, a method and a device for analysing a minute foreign substance as well as a process by use thereof for semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements will be described.
As described above, even if the unit coordinate of the particle unit is united with that of the analytical unit by linkage of coordinate systems of both units in order to link the minute foreign substance detected by a particle test unit based on the unit coordinate and identify the minute foreign substance by using an analytical unit, the relevant minute foreign substance cannot be easily aligned within the visual field of the analytic unit. To eliminate the cause of this error and accomplish the alignment of a minute foreign substance easily and accurately between both units, the present inventors repeated an intensive study and finally found that the total error containing a stage error intrinsic in the stage of each unit and an indefinite individual error due to the peculiarity of each unit is potentially present in each unit. This total error differs not only between a particle test unit and an analytical unit but is present between different analytical units as errors peculiar to individual units. Thus, they found that the positional coordinates cannot be perfectly linked without linking the coordinate systems themselves in the units with the reference coordinate system not only by linking the coordinate system of the sample with that of each unit and made it possible to reduce the errors of coordinates between the units either by removing the total error of each unit by using a standard wafer as the measure having an absolute scale or by comparing the relative positional relations of the respective units relative to a standard wafer, and to readily align a minute foreign substance for all units.
As seen from one embodiment shown in Figure 2, a standard wafer has dots drawn either at intervals of one per deg. on a circle with the origin located approximately at the centre of the wafer, or at intervals of one per mm on an axis approximately in parallel with or at a right angle to the orientation flat passing through the origin.
Incidentally, the standard wafer is not restricted to the patterns described here but may be any pattern for indicating the positional relation. However, an array of dots provided on the basis of a functional scale using the discrete mathematics, for example, at intervals of fixed angles on one and the same circle or at intervals of fixed distance respectively along perpendicular directions for the centre is desired because the relative positional relation of the respective arrays of positions detected by a particle test unit and analytical units also has a form near to the above function on account of its capability of determining the relative positional relation of individual dots by using a coordinate system and accordingly errors can be easily found and thus the angle of rotation or the distance in the x- and y-axes can be accurately corrected.
In the example shown in Figure 2, since dots are provided according to classified diameters of 1 µm, 3 µm and 5 µm, alignment can be made with dots of a larger diameter for a rough correction, whereas a minute correction can be made with dots of a smaller diameter for the fine correction of coordinates.
In addition, by forming an array of dots with a set of dots having different diameters, it is possible to distinguish whether a set of dots is a result of noise due to pollution or an original set of dots as intended on the standard wafer, even if a standard wafer should be polluted by foreign substances of any sizes, by making sure of the diameters and arrangement of individual dots in an array of dots used for the standard wafer and accordingly it is facilitated to read a coordinate, so that a strict correction can be carried out using a standard wafer. In addition, since a set of dots is set up, information as a measure on a scale can be given to an array of dots.
in
(1) Setting a standard wafer on the stage of each unit, the position P of each dot (cf Figure 2) drawn on the wafer is measured respectively (cf. S1 of Figure 1). Where a method for setting a wafer is the same as a conventional one and for example, it is allowable either to match the orientation flat portion to the direction of the x-axis and take the centre as the origin or to orient the wafer in any direction.
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(2) The relative positional relation on the unit coordinate system of individual dots measured on the coordinate system of each unit coincides with that of an array of dots in the standard wafer. The position P of each dot measured in an individual unit has a value containing the total error composed of the stage errors and individual errors of the individual units. Thus, the total error composed of the stage errors and individual errors is found as a difference between the measured position P and the true position P of a dot (position obtained by overlapping on P through aids of equations of translation and rotation in contrast to the position defined by an equation of a circle or an equation of a straight line based on the discrete mathematics on the standard wafer) (cf S2).
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(3) Next, the variational tendency of the total error over the whole stage is determined by using the total error on the coordinate of the respective unit in which each dot is measured. Since the total error over the whole stage is considered to vary continuously, the absolute value of the total error at specified positions x, y on the coordinate system of a unit is determined approximately by the position deduced by interpolation from a plurality of points, for example, three points on the wafer (cf S3). Thus, if the total errors obtained are organised according to the order of positions P of individual dots on each unit coordinate system, a variation in total error over the whole stage can be determined. Figure 3 shows an example of the stage error in a unit, in which (a) exemplifies errors of the x- and y-axes and (b) exemplifies errors accumulated in the x-and y-axes.
(4) Then, correction of a coordinate was accomplished by mathematically subtracting the lately determined total error e composed of the stage error and the individual error from the unit coordinate of each unit (cf. S4), the coordinate linkage can be carried out with high accuracy even if the unit coordinate system employed in a particle test unit and that employed in a different analytical unit from the particle test unit differ from each other.
Hereinafter, a method for estimating the total error composed of the stage error and individual errors and a correction method will be described referring to Figure 1.
This series of computing means were performed with a Computer.
Figure 4 is an explanatory drawing showing the fundamental arrangement of a metallographical microscope equipped with the actuator as an example of metallographical microscope provided with the function of coordinate linkage to be used in one embodiment of minute foreign substance observation method according to the present invention. The unit arrangement is the same as the fundamental arrangement of a conventional metallographical microscope equipped with the actuator, but the above-mentioned means for setting a common coordinate system is provided in a metallographical microscope according to the present invention.
e
First, for Surfscan 6200, a particle test unit available from Tencor Ltd., and a metallographical microscope equipped with the actuator, the total error on the unit coordinate of each unit were determined using one and the same standard wafer in accordance with the procedure shown in Embodiment 1. As a result, it was found that there was a deviation of about (± 150 µm, ± 150 µm) relative to any point on the x-y unit coordinate system for Surfscan 6200 and a deviation of about (± 100 µm +100 µm) for a metallographical microscope equipped with the actuator.
Next, correction of the respective coordinates and linkage of the unit coordinate were accomplished by mathematically subtracting the lately determined total error e for each point on the unit coordinates of individual units.
Then, using the same standard wafer, the degree of deviation in individual units was estimated again which revealed that it was improved to (± 40 µm, ± 40 µm) for the particle test unit and to (± 15 µm, ± 15 µm) for the metallographical microscope.
Next, the deviation was measured using a plurality of other standard wafers than the one employed above, which revealed that it can be confined within about (± 80 µm, ± 80 µm) and (± 50 µm, ± 50 µm), respectively, so that the effect of improvement was found to become somewhat worse.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.3 µm level present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. As a result, the minute foreign substance can be confirmed within the extent of a visual field even at a 400 magnification (the magnification of an eyepiece and that of an objective are fixed to 20 and to 20, respectively) of the metallographical microscope and the microscopic observation of minute foreign substances of 0.3 µm level, though impossible formerly, became surely possible (they were observed as dark points).
With this embodiment, said means for correcting the unit coordinate provided at a conventional scanning laser microscope seen, for example, in RCM 8000 commercially available from Nicon K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2. Accordingly, other constituents are quite the same as those shown in Figure 4 and the coordinate linking method is also quite the same as with Embodiment 2.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.2 µm level present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. As a result of observing each minute foreign substance by using UV rays for measurement, the surface observation of a foreign substance 7 could be fulfilled for minute foreign substances of 0.2 µm or larger diameter level and a dark point could be found for minute foreign substances 7 of less than 0.2 µm.
This embodiment, characterised in that the surface observation can be performed for a nondestructive test in the atmosphere, is effective especially for foreign substance analysis in the film forming step and the subsequent steps when applied to the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements.
With this embodiment, a conventional microscopic FTIR seen, for example, in microscopic IR unit IR-MAU 110 loaded JIR-5500 commercially available from Nippon Denshi K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2 and aforesaid means for correcting a unit coordinate is provided similarly (a metallographical microscope is loaded on this unit). Accordingly, other constituents are quite the same as those shown in Figure 4, the coordinate linking method is also quite the same as with Embodiment 2 and setting of minute foreign substances having a diameter down to 0.2 µm could be fulfilled.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.2 µm or higher levels present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. As a result, since the wave length of infrared rays was long for a minute foreign substance on the order of 0.2 µm, no IR spectrum was obtained. However, when IR rays were applied to a gradually larger size of foreign substances the IR spectrum peculiar to organic substances was obtained for several foreign substances of 3 µm or larger levels and the generating cause of the foreign substances was found to depend on the failure of removal of a resist. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, this analysis is effectively applied especially to the resist coating step or the subsequent steps.
With this embodiment, a conventional microscopic Raman seen, for example, in NR-1800 commercially available from Nippon Bunko K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2 and aforesaid means for correcting a unit coordinate is provided similarly (a metallographical microscope is loaded on this unit). Accordingly, other constituents are quite the same as those shown in Figure 4, the coordinate linking method is also quite the same as with Embodiment 2 and setting of minute foreign substances having a diameter down to 0.2 µm could be fulfilled.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.2 µm or higher levels present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. As a result, no Raman spectrum was obtained from a minute foreign substance on the order of 0.2 µm, but the Raman spectrum peculiar to organic substances was obtained from several foreign substances of 1 µm or larger levels and the generating cause of the foreign substances was found to relate to film forming, etching and heat treatment. This analysis is effectively applied especially to the use in the steps related to film forming, etching and heat treatment among the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements.
With this embodiment, a conventional PL seen, for example, in 25C commercially available from Nippon Bunko K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2 and aforesaid means for correcting a unit coordinate is provided similarly (a metallographical microscope is loaded on this unit). Accordingly, other constituents are quite the same as those shown in Figure 4, the coordinate linking method is also quite the same as with Embodiment 2 and setting of minute foreign substances having a diameter down to 0.2 µm could be fulfilled.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.2 µm or higher levels present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. As a result, no luminescence spectrum was obtained from a minute foreign substance on the order of 0.2 µm, but the fluorescence spectrum peculiar to organic substances was obtained from several foreign substances of 2 µm or larger levels and the generating cause of 2 µm or larger levels and the generating cause of the foreign substances was found to relate to film forming, etching and heat treatment. This analysis is effectively applied especially to the use in the steps related to film forming, etching and heat treatment among the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements.
With this embodiment, a conventional luminescence spectrometer seen, for example, in F-2000 commercially available from Hitachi Ltd. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2 and aforesaid means for correcting a unit coordinate is provided similarly (a metallographical microscope is loaded on this unit). Accordingly, other constituents are quite the same as those shown in Figure 4, the coordinate linking method is also quite the same as with Embodiment 2 and setting of minute foreign substances having a diameter down to 0.2 µm could be fulfilled.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.2 µm or higher levels present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. As a result, no luminescence spectrum was obtained from a minute foreign substance on the order of 0.2 µm, but the luminescence spectrum peculiar to organic substances was obtained from several foreign substances of 2 µm or larger levels and the generating cause of the foreign substances was found to relate to film forming, etching and heat treatment. This analysis is effectively applied especially to the use in the steps related to film forming, etching and heat treatment among the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements.
Figure 5 is an explanatory drawing of the fundamental arrangement of another embodiment of minute foreign substance analytical method according to the present invention. The difference of this embodiment from Embodiment 2 lies in that a conventional length measuring SEM seen, for example, in S-7000 commercially available from Hitachi Ltd. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2 employed in Figure 4 and aforesaid means for correcting a unit coordinate is provided similarly (the x-y stage to be employed differs from that of Embodiment 2).
e
With this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, the analytical unit comprises an electron gun unit 43 provided with an electron gun for applying scanning electron beam 50 to a silicon wafer 2 and with an electron lens, and a secondary electron detector 44 for converting secondary electrons generated from a silicon wafer 2 into an electric signal. A signal obtained from the secondary electron detector 44 is sent to an amplifier/control unit 45 for the amplification of electric signals and the control and displayed by a CRT 46 for outputting a secondary electron image. A chamber 41 is provided for keeping these constituents in vacuum, is evacuated through an exhaust hole 42 into vacuum and kept at vacuum. Using this length measuring SEM in accordance with quite the same procedure, the test of a minute foreign substance 7 present on a silicon wafer 2 can be performed. That is, in accordance with the procedure described in Embodiment 1, the total error on the unit coordinate system of a length measuring SEM was determined using one and the same standard wafer and subtracted mathematically from the unit coordinate, and the coordinate correction was performed for the result.
Next, as with Embodiment 2, a deviation generated by the coordinate linkage was examined by using a plurality of standard wafers, which revealed that it can be confined within about (± 50 µm, ±50 µm) for the origin position or the centre position and for any point definable in the wafer in the representation of x-y coordinate. A considerable effect of improvement was found to be obtained.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.1 µm level present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. According to this embodiment, a minute foreign substance 7 could be found within the visual field (2000 magnitude) of the SEM and a distinct SEM image could be obtained. There were minute foreign substances of various shapes, such as a concave shape and convex shape, and their shapes could be determined. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis in this embodiment is effectively applied effectively to all steps of film forming, etching, cleansing, exposure, ion injection, diffusion and heat treatment.
Figure 6 is an explanatory drawing of the fundamental arrangement of yet another embodiment of minute foreign substance analytical method according to the present invention. This embodiment is formed by further adding an X-ray detector 47, an amplifier/control unit 48 for the amplification/control of electric signals brought about from the X-ray detector 47, and a CRT 49 for displaying an X-ray output to the SEM-used analytical unit according to Embodiment 8 An EPMA is formed in this way but the arrangement of other components is the same as that of Embodiment 8. The coordinate linkage method including the provision of means for correcting a unit coordinate is also quite the same as with Embodiment 8. In according with quite the same procedure as with Embodiment 8, the test of a minute foreign substance 7 present on the surface of the same silicon wafer 2 was performed. As a result, the element analysis could be accomplished for convex minute foreign substances 7 and the minute foreign substances were found to be compounds of W, Cu, Fe, C, S, O, Cl and the like. However, for a minute foreign substance 7 of 0.3 µm or smaller, a considerable length of detection time was necessary to execute a detailed element analysis.
In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis in this embodiment is effectively applied especially to all steps of film forming, etching, cleansing, exposure, ion injection, diffusion and heat treatment.
With this embodiment, an AES is employed as an analytical unit in place of the EPMA of Embodiment 9, the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 6, and means for correcting a unit coordinate and the operation method thereof are the same as with Embodiment 8. As the AES, for example, PHI-670 available from Barkin Elmer Ltd. can be employed. As with the all above embodiments, minute foreign substances 7 present on the surface of a silicon wafer 2 were analysed using this unit. As a result, the element analysis could be accomplished for convex minute foreign substances 7. From the composition analysis of minute foreign substances, compounds of W, Cu, Fe, C, S, O and Cl could be distinguished and the generating source of dust could be identified to take measures against the generation of dust. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis by this embodiment is effectively applied especially to all steps of film forming, etching, cleansing, exposure, ion injection, diffusion and heat treatment.
With this embodiment, an EELS is employed as an analytical unit in place of the EPMA of Embodiment 9, the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 6, and means for correcting a unit coordinate and the operation method thereof are the same as with Embodiment 8. As the EELS, for example, PHI-660 available from Barkin Elmer Ltd. can be employed. As with the all above embodiments, minute foreign substances 7 present on the surface of a silicon wafer 2 were analysed using this unit. As a result, the element analysis could be accomplished for convex minute foreign substances 7, chemical bonding states of minute foreign substances 7 were elucidated and the generating source of dust could be identified to take measures against the generation of dust. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis by this embodiment is effectively applied especially to the steps of film forming, etching and exposure.
Figure 7 is an explanatory drawing of the fundamental arrangement of RHEED in still another embodiment of minute foreign substance analytical method according to the present invention. This embodiment differs from Embodiment 8 in that the electron gun unit 43 is provided in the same angle as the slant angle of a secondary electron detector 44 to the surface of a silicon wafer 2 at such a position that electron beams 50 fall close to the surface of a silicon wafer 2 and a CCD camera 57 is attached for obtaining a diffraction spot generated by electron beam 50 diffracted on the surface of the silicon wafer 2, and is common otherwise.
As a result of testing a minute foreign substance 7 present on the surface of the silicon wafer 2 by using this embodiment as with the all above embodiments, diffraction spots could be obtained for several minute foreign substances 7, they were found to be crystalline materials and such crystalline materials as, e.g., whisker could be prevented. If used especially after the film forming and heat treatment in the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis by this embodiment is effective for preventing the anomalous growth of crystals and for selecting the preventing conditions.
With this embodiment, an SIMS is employed as an analytical unit in place of the EPMA of Embodiment 9, that is, an ion gun unit comprising an ion gun and a condenser lens is employed in place of the electron gun unit 43 of Embodiment 8, scanning ion beams are irradiated onto the surface of a silicon wafer 2 in place of electron beams emitted from the electron gun 50, and a mass spectrometer unit comprising a double focus mass spectrometer, a quadruple mass spectrometer or the like is employed to separate and detect a secondary ion generated on the surface of the silicon wafer 2. The arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 6, and means for correcting a unit coordinate and the coordinate linking method is quite the same as with Embodiment 9.
As SIMS, for example, IMS-SF available from CAMECA may be employed.
As a result of testing a minute foreign substance 7 present on the surface of the silicon wafer 2 by using this embodiment as with the all above embodiments, the composition analysis could be accomplished for convex minute foreign substances 7, the source of minute foreign substances was disclosed and the deterioration of electric characteristics due to the diffusion of metals from foreign substances was found to affect a decrease in yield. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, this analysis is effectively applied especially to steps of film forming, etching, cleansing and heat treatment.
With this embodiment, a TOF-SIMS is employed in place of the SIMS of Embodiment 13, a mass spectrometer unit comprising a time of flight-SIMS is employed in place of a mass spectrometer unit comprising a double focus mass spectrometer, a quadruple mass spectrometer or the like, the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 4, and means for correcting a unit coordinate and the coordinate linking method is quite the same as with Embodiment 9.
According to this embodiment, the chemical structure of foreign substances can be analysed by analysing fragments of individual foreign substances. Unlike Embodiment 13, this embodiment has an effect on analysing materials of high molecular weight present on the utmost surface of a foreign substance. Thus, this embodiment is effective especially for the analysis of foreign substances containing organic matter and the like.
With this embodiment, a PIXE is employed in place of the SIMS of Embodiment 13, and further an X-ray detector, an amplifier/control unit for amplifying/controlling an electric signal produced from the X-ray detector and a CRT for outputting an X-ray image are added to the arrangement of Embodiment 13 to constitute a PIXE apparatus.
According to this embodiment, the composition analysis of individual foreign substances can be carried out, this embodiment 15 suitable especially for highly sensitive and highly accurate element analysis and therefore effective especially for analysing a foreign substance of 0.1 µm or smaller sizes.
With this embodiment, a FIB is employed as an analytical unit in place of the X-ray detector of Embodiment 8, that is, an ion gun unit comprising an ion gun and a condenser lens is employed in place of the electron gun unit 43 of Embodiment 8, and the FIB capable of treatment for removing impurities is made up by irradiating scanning ion beam to the surface of a wafer 2 in place of electron beams emitted from the electron gun 50. The arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 5, and the coordinate linking means and method are quite the same as with Embodiment 8.
According to this embodiment, it is possible not only to observe a minute foreign substance but also to remove an unnecessary foreign substance and there is the effect of immediate repair. Thus, this embodiment is effective especially for a yield promotion by a repair of failure originating in foreign substances.
With this embodiment, an XPS using soft X-ray such as AlKα or MgKα is employed in place of the electron gun unit 43 of Embodiment 9, the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 6, and a coordinate linking method and the like are the same as with Embodiment 9.
According to this embodiment, the chemical bonding could be analysed for convex minute foreign substances 7. Especially because of using soft X-ray beams, this embodiment has an effect of a slight damage on samples and therefore is effective especially for the nondestructive analysis in the tens of angstroms depth from the uppermost surface of a foreign substance.
With this embodiment, an UFS using UV beams obtained by making UV rays generated from a high-tension mercury lamp into the shape of beam is employed in place of the electron gun unit 43 of Embodiment 9, the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 6, and coordinate linking means and method and the like are the same as with Embodiment 9.
According to this embodiment, the chemical bonding could be analysed for convex minute foreign substances 7. Especially because of using UV beams, this embodiment has an effect of a slight damage on samples and therefore is effective especially for the nondestructive composition analysis in the tens of angstroms depth from the upper surface of a foreign substance.
With this embodiment, for example, a probe microscope SPA 350 (the AFM probe is used as a probe) available from Seiko Denshi Kogyo K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2, so that the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 4, and coordinate linking means and method are the same as with Embodiment 2. This embodiment is featured by enabling the surface observation in the atmosphere.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.1 µm level present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. According to this embodiment, a minute foreign substance 7 could be easily found within the scan range (80 µm) of the AFM and a distinct AFM image could be obtained. There were minute foreign substances of various shapes, such as a concave shape and convex shape, and their shapes could be determined. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis in this embodiment is effectively applied especially to all steps of film forming, etching, cleansing, exposure, ion injection, diffusion and heat treatment.
With this embodiment, for example, a probe microscope SPA 350 (the STM probe is used as a probe) available from Seiko Denshi Kogyo K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2, so that the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 4, and coordinate linking means and method are the same as with Embodiment 2. This embodiment is featured by enabling the surface observation in the atmosphere.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.1 µm level present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. According to this embodiment, a minute foreign substance 7 could be easily found within the scan range (80 µm) of the STM and a distinct STM image could be obtained. There were minute foreign substances of various shapes, such as a concave shape and convex shape, and their shapes could be determined. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, analysis in this embodiment is effectively applied especially to all steps of film forming, etching, cleansing, exposure, ion injection, diffusion and heat treatment.
With this embodiment, for example, a probe microscope SPA 350 (the MFM probe is used as a probe) available from Seiko Denshi Kogyo K.K. is employed as an analytical unit in place of the metallographical microscope 3 of Embodiment 2, so that the arrangement of other components is quite the same as that shown in Figure 4, and coordinate linking means and method are the same as with Embodiment 2. This embodiment is featured by enabling the surface observation in the atmosphere.
Such being the case, an attempt was made to observe a minute foreign substance of 0.1 µm level present on a wafer used for production of a semiconductor element. According to this embodiment, a minute foreign substance 7 could be easily found within the scan range (80 µm) of the MFM, a distinct MFM image could be obtained and the generating cause of foreign substances was disclosed. In the production process of semiconductor elements or liquid crystal display elements, this analysis is effectively applied especially to steps of film forming, etching, cleansing and heat treatment.
Using a particle test unit, Surfscan 6200 available from Tencor Ltd. and a length measuring SEM, S-7000 available from Hitachi Ltd., deviations generated were examined with a plurality of standard wafers after the linkage of unit coordinate systems made between the units, which revealed that they can be confirmed within about (± 150 µm, ± 150 µm) for the origin position or the centre position and for any point definable in the wafer in the representation of x-y coordinate.
According to the minute foreign substance analytical method of the present invention, since the unit coordinate in at least either one of a particle test unit and an analytical unit is corrected by using a standard wafer or the unit coordinates between both units are linked via a standard wafer, the total error equal to the sum of the stage error potentially present in a unit coordinate and indefinite individual errors originating in peculiarities of the respective units can be eliminated and a deviation generated when linking the unit coordinate of a conventional particle unit and that of an analytical unit can be radically reduced. Consequently, the position detected by the particle test unit for a minute foreign substance can be readily and surely set within the visual field of the analytical unit by individually operating the unit coordinates of both units.
Thus, even a minute foreign substance that has so far been difficult to detect in a sample of wide area, can be detected at a high magnitude and a minute foreign substance can be set in the visual field of the analytical unit. Furthermore, since the surface observation, composition observation and the like can be selectively carried out only for the range within which the minute foreign substance is present, the measuring time can be greatly shortened and the quality estimation of a sample can be accomplished.
In addition, according to the analytical unit of the present invention, since means for correcting the total error potentially present in a unit coordinate is provided on the basis of the scale of a standard wafer, the influence of the total error(s) of the particle test unit and/or the analytical unit can be reduced and the minute foreign substance detected by the particle test unit with its unit coordinate can be in a short time and surely set within the visual field of the analytical unit by using the unit coordinate of the analytical unit.
Furthermore, since the aforesaid means for correcting the coordinate of a sample on the basis of a standard wafer is provided in each of various analytical units mentioned above, the minute foreign substance detected by the particle test unit can be easily set within the visual field of each analytical unit and the analytical unit corresponding to the object can be utilised as an analytical unit, so that the surface shape, element analysis, chemical structure, crystalline structure and like of the minute foreign substance can be analysed and moreover the surface treatment can be also performed.
Furthermore, by applying the analytical method and analytical unit of the present invention to the production process of semiconductor elements or the production process of liquid crystal display elements, the presence of foreign substances can be prevented from affecting a fine pattern, so that a semiconductor element or a liquid crystal display element improved in yield and reliability can be obtained.
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Even in today’s world, people in our society are not aware of what exactly is trauma, or examples of trauma and are unable to comprehend the severity of traumatic impact. Also, most people are unable to recognize or distinguish which kind of events are traumatic.
Everyone in their lifetime is bound to experience traumatic events which may vary in intensity. Trauma is the lasting impact that any traumatic experience or event, either physical abuse or mental abuse has on our nervous system. The affected person feels overwhelmed, helpless, and trapped in such situations because they are out of control.
Trauma can lead to PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder). Its duration depends on the type of traumatic experience. In this article, we will be discussing 10 well-known examples of trauma, symptoms that trauma may cause, and types of trauma.
10 Well-Known Examples of Trauma
1. Childhood Trauma
Childhood trauma, if not treated on time, has a great chance to impact adult life. It can be traumatic due to incidences like sexual abuse, child neglect due to workaholic parents, absence of biological parents, disturbed household, domestic violence, parents who’re emotionally or physically abusive to each other, parents with convict history or who’re still doing jail time, and bullying of any form.
These childhood traumatic events may lead to symptoms like short-term or long-term cases of PTSD, adversely affecting the adult life. It leads to a lack of self-confidence, social isolation, and trust issues later on in life.
2. Trauma due to Natural Disasters
Trauma due to natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and more, is among other examples of trauma that can leave a lasting impact on someone’s mind. Victims of floods may develop a fear of water, earthquake victims may become claustrophobic, and victims of wildfire may be afraid to do any work related to fire.
Loss of loved ones, family possessions, shelters multiplies the intensity of grieve. These life-threatening traumatic events added with the above-mentioned losses multiply the traumatic impact which often stays for a long period.
3. Trauma due to Medical Complications
Complicated medical procedures or even simple ones like fear of the dentist can turn into a traumatic experience for some people. Mothers mostly after child-birth get diagnosed with post-natal depression or the person with chronic disease also fell emotional toll because of the long medical procedure.
4. Trauma due to Domestic Violence
We all know physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in any relationship leaves lasting scars on a person’s physical & mental health. The victim lost his/her self-confidence. They feel uncomfortable being touched or in some severe cases don’t want to be touched at all. They have difficulty building a sexual relationship. This traumatic event discourages most victims from forging any kind of intimate relationship.
5. Trauma due to Vehicle Accidents
A person who has been in vehicle mishaps is most likely to avoid self-driving in the future or sometimes forgo riding altogether for some duration. In case of life loss, people close to the deceased person may develop phobia related to riding or driving any transport.
These other examples of trauma may leave a lasting effect but can be treated with the help of a professional therapist.
6. Trauma due to Violent Incidences in the Community
Incidences like race hate crimes, gun violence, terrorist attacks, etc not only affect victims but also people living in that community.
These violent events may create mistrust amongst the community residents, criticism towards a particular group of religion, etc.
7. Trauma due to Witnessing Violent Incidences
People who are not victims of any kind of trauma but who witnessed others may also develop traumatic symptoms. Those kinds of people are mostly are sensitive and the traumatic impact doesn’t last long.
Those incidences can be physical assaults, robberies, terrorist attacks, gun violence, etc.
8. Trauma due to Sudden Death of Loved One
In the events connected to the death of a loved one, people are not prepared for the sudden loss. The reason for life loss can be death by sudden vehicle accidents, suicide, road rage, gun violence, etc.
These examples of trauma leave life long impact on loved ones. Total numbness, overwhelmed emotions are some of the extreme symptoms victims may experience.
9. Trauma due to Sexual Assault
Physical abuses like child sexual abuse, marital rape, other cases of rape, workplace sexual molestation have a huge psychological impact on victims’ mental health. As a result, they become socially awkward, don’t trust easily, avoid establishing sexual relationships, their work progress goes downhill, and their emotions may run high or low.
These examples of trauma mostly leave a lasting effect but can be treated with the help of professional therapists and proper medication.
10. Trauma due to War
Military veterans always face some sort of difficulty after returning from war and sometimes it evolves into long-term or short-term PTSD. They struggle to cope with everyday routine. All the violence they face during wars, leave a very profound impact on these veterans’ life.
Signs & Symptoms of Trauma
- Depression
- Nightmares
- Stress
- Nightmares
- Shame or Guilt
- Problem establishing sexual relationships
- Social isolation
- Crying spell
- Total numbness
- Mood Swings
- Aggressive behavior
- Flashbacks
- Trust issues
- Low self-esteem
- Obesity
- Sleeping irregularities
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Physical symptoms like excess weight gain, excess weight loss, etc
- Difficulty concentrating on day to day activities
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Self-harm
- Excess intake of alcohol or drug use
- Hyper-vigilant
- Anxiety
Types of Trauma
1. Acute Trauma
Under acute trauma, the person went through only one traumatic event in his/her lifetime. Examples of trauma under it can be anyone we mentioned above but it may or may not lead to PTSD, depending upon the severity of the event. Symptoms of the traumatic event can be anyone from mentioned above or it can be entirely different.
2. Chronic Trauma
With chronic trauma, individuals experience more than one type of trauma in their lifetime. It can be one trauma that is ongoing for a prolonged period or it can be multiple trauma.
3. Complex Trauma
Victims experience more than one type of trauma under complex trauma too but they’re interpersonal and are ongoing over a long period. It means the person who is traumatizing is one of your family members. As a result, the victim loses all kinds of security & trust, who else is he/she going to trust when his/her caregiver is hurting them.
Examples of trauma that come under this can be sexual abuse by closed ones or physical and emotional abuse by closed ones.
Symptoms of this trauma can be anything from trust issues, avoiding building an intimate relationship, depression, anxiety, etc.
4. Vicarious Trauma
Trauma victims aren’t the only ones who get affected by trauma but trauma workers also get affected during the recounting of the experiences by victims. It can be anyone from psychotherapists, social workers to humanitarian workers.
The trauma workers can develop symptoms similar to their clients but in lesser intensity. These symptoms can be sadness, mood swings, irritative nature, etc.
Treatments for Trauma
There are some professionally advised & proven therapies that are helpful in the treating above-mentioned various examples of trauma.
1. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
Since traumatic experience creates certain memories that are very depressing and patient is unable to process them during the occurrence of traumatic events. Until these emotional memories are appropriately processed, a person can’t function at their best and EMDR is all about resolving those unprocessed traumatic experiences.
EMDR psychotherapy consists of 8 phases & focus on 3 stages of trauma for complete processing of information to resolve traumatic memories:
- 1st focus is on the memory of when trauma has occurred and dealing with it.
- 2nd focus is on dealing with the present distress that unprocessed trauma is causing in the person’s day-to-day life.
- The final focus is on developing positive coping strategies to smooth the person’s future life.
Professional therapists use bilateral stimulation such as eye movements, auditory tactile, visual-tactile while asking a patient to go through his/her past traumatic event in his/her mind. This technique allows the subconscious mind to go in somewhat of a hypnotic state that helps relax the conscious mind enough so the patient can go deeper into their subconscious mind and safely bring up the repressed traumatic memories.
It’s been believed that patients become suggestible to dealing with things that are in her/his subconscious mind because in that zone conscious mind is less guarded hence becoming able to bring up unprocessed parts of traumatic memory.
EMDR therapy has evidence of providing a very positive response than any other therapy towards letting go of past distress and enabling patients to lead a fulfilling life.
2. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is problem-focused therapy and helps take actions to resolve them. This therapy, led by professionals, is a great help in the less severe forms of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and other mental health disorders.
We all know our thinking and behavior affect our life, actions we take, how we see ourselves. Through CBT, therapists help patients deal with those negative thoughts or behavior by replacing them with positive ones in a particular period.
3. Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy, like CBT, doesn’t only focus on the mind but it’s also body-centric. Professionals use meditation, dance, breathing exercises, along with talk therapy to resolve physical or mental traumas.
Conclusion
So, trauma is a normal reaction to abnormal events which are out of our control. With the proper professional help and support of our friends and family, we can learn to cope with it better and lead a much happier life. Also, we need to make everyone aware of other various examples of trauma so that they can talk amongst each other and learn to cope with them better. | https://icyhealth.com/10-well-known-examples-of-trauma/ |
Hawaiian Pidgin English, also known as Hawaiian Creole English or simply Pidgin, is a creole language based on English that is widely used by residents of Hawai‘i. Although standard Hawaiian English is one of the official languages of the State of Hawai‘i, Pidgin is sometimes used in everyday conversation, but is rarely used in radio and television.
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History
Pidgin English originated as a form of communication used between native and non-native English speakers in Hawai'i. It supplanted the pidgin Hawaiian used on the plantations and elsewhere in Hawai'i. It has been influenced by many languages, including Portuguese, Hawaiian, and Cantonese, one of the Chinese languages. As people of other nationalities were brought in to work in the plantations, such as Japanese, Filipinos, and Koreans, Pidgin English acquired words from these languages. Japanese loanwords in Hawaii lists some of those words originally from Japanese. It has also been influenced to a lesser degree by Spanish spoken by Mexican and Puerto Rican settlers in Hawaii.
Even today, Pidgin English retains some influences from these languages. For example, the word stay in Pidgin has the same meaning as the Portuguese verb estar, meaning "to be" when referring to a temporary state or location. (Sakoda & Siegel, 2003, p. 1-13)
In the 19th century and 20th century, Pidgin started to be used outside the plantation between ethnic groups. Public school children learned Pidgin from their classmates, and eventually it became the primary language of most people in Hawai‘i, replacing the original languages. For this reason, linguists generally consider Hawaiian Pidgin to be a creole language.
Perceptions
Today, most people born or raised in Hawai‘i can speak and understand Pidgin to some extent. At the same time, many people who know Pidgin can code-switch between standard American English and Pidgin depending on the situation. Knowledge of Pidgin is considered by many to be an important part of being considered "local," regardless of racial and socioeconomic background. For example, the Hawaii-born CEO of one of the largest banks in the state said of the Mainland-born CEO of a competing bank, "Anytime he wants to debate in pidgin on 'local,' I'm available." (http://starbulletin.com/2003/04/18/news/story2.html)
However, Pidgin is considered by some to be "substandard," or as a "corrupted" form of English, or even as broken English. As a result, it is widely believed that use of proper standard English is a key to career and educational success, and that use of Pidgin is a sign of lower socioeconomic status. Its role in the schools of Hawai‘i has been a subject of controversy, as critics of Pidgin blame its widespread use for poor results in standardized national tests in reading and writing. In 1987, the state Board of Education implemented a policy allowing only standard English in the schools; this sparked an intense debate. There have been similar debates since then.
Highlights of grammar and pronunciation
Pidgin has distinct pronunciation differences from standard American English (SAE). Some key differences include the following:
- Pidgin's general rhythm is syllable-timed, meaning syllables take up roughly the same amount of time with roughly the same amount of stress. Standard American English is stress-timed, meaning that only stressed syllables are evenly timed.
- The sound th is replaced by d or t depending on whether or not it is voiced. For instance, that (voiced th) becomes dat, and think (unvoiced th) becomes tink.
- The sound l at the end of a word is often pronounced o or ol. For instance, mental is often pronounced mento; people is pronounced peepo.
- Linguistically, Pidgin is non-rhotic. That is, r after a vowel is often omitted, similar to the New England dialect. For instance, car is often pronounced cah, and letter is pronounced letta.
- Falling intonation is used at the end of questions. This feature appears to be from Hawaiian, and is shared with some other languages, including Fijian.
It also has distinct grammatical forms not found in SAE:
- Generally, forms of English "to be" are omitted when referring to inherent qualities of an object or person. Inverted sentence order can also be used for emphasis.
- Da baby cute. (or) Cute, da baby.
- The baby is cute.
- When the verb "to be" refers to a temporary state or location, the word stay is used.
- Da book stay on top da table.
- The book is on the table.
- Da water stay cold.
- The water is cold.
- To express past tense, Pidgin uses wen (went) in front of the verb.
- Jesus wen cry. (DJB, John 11:35)
- Jesus cried.
- To express future tense, Pidgin uses goin (going) in front of the verb.
- God goin do plenny good kine stuff fo him. (DJB, Mark 11:9)
- God is going to do a lot of good things for him.
- To express past tense negative, Pidgin uses neva (never). Neva can also mean "never" as in normal English usage; context sometimes, but not always, makes the meaning clear.
- He neva like dat.
- He didn't want that. (or) He never wanted that.
- Use of fo (for) in place of the infinitive "to".
- I tryin fo tink.
- I'm trying to think.
For more information on grammar, also see Sakoda & Siegel (References, below) and the Pidgin Coup paper (External links, below).
Literature and performing arts
In recent years, writers from Hawai‘i have written poems, short stories, and other works in Pidgin. This list included well-known Hawaii authors such as Lois-Ann Yamanaka and Lee Tonouchi. A Pidgin translation of the New Testament (called Da Jesus Book) has also been created.
Several theater companies in Hawaii produce plays written and performed in Pidgin. The most notable of these companies is Kumu Kahua Theater.
Miscellaneous
Pidgin has its own sign language, called Hawaiian Pidgin Sign Language. Most users of Hawaiian Pidgin Sign Language are between the ages of 70 and 90. Ethnologue lists it as "nearly extinct," as most deaf people in Hawai‘i use American Sign Language with some local signs. (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=HPS)
External links
- Position Paper on Pidgin by the "Pidgin Coup" (http://www.hawaii.edu/sls/pidgin.html)
- Da Hawai‘i Pidgin Bible (http://www.pidginbible.org) (see Da Jesus Book below)
- Da Kine Dictionary (http://www.dakinedictionary.com), a project to create a Pidgin dictionary
References
- Da Jesus Book (2000). Orlando: Wycliffe Bible Translators. ISBN 0-938978-21-7.
- Sakoda, Kent & Jeff Siegel (2003). Pidgin Grammar: An Introduction to the Creole Language of Hawai‘i. Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 1-57306-169-7.
- Simonson, Douglas et al. (1981). Pidgin to da Max. Honolulu: Bess Press. ISBN 093584841X.
- Tonouchi, Lee (2001). Da Word. Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press. ISBN 0910043612. | http://my.yahoo.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Hawaiian_Pidgin |
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: Phil.o.sofir: : ***What is this 7500mph/equator/and center of earths gravity? A speed is a speed, do you mean in realation to fuel consumption per mile travelled or something? Anyway, you are basing your argument it seems on some kind of principle which applies to earth and gravity which has no relationship to the passage of time as it is theorized, and as especially as related to the entire universe. I do understand that atomic clocks are the best known, better yet would be clocks based upon the movement and relationships between electrons which they are currently working on now as well as for units of wieght. : All this said, how does your atomic clock experiment prove that time is tangable and not simply a very good and convienient tool for mans system of measurements?
: Greg: : It seems you need to aquaint yourself with Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. Nowadays one second is defined as 9,192,631,770 vibrations of the microwave radiation emitted by caesium-133 atoms during a specified atomic rearrangement. An atomic clock counts this number of vibrations in each and every second of its operation. According to Your view of Time, three such syncronized clocks should remain syncronized no matter what their physical relationship to one another is. But according to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, the measure of Time is dependant upon one's proximity to an object of mass(a source of gravity) or it is dependant upon one's acceleration in relation to the speed of light. In the experiment, the eastbound clock lost 59 nanoseconds(billionths of a second), compared to the clock on the ground. The westbound clock gained 273 nanoseconds. The predicted discrepancy, using Einstein's Theory, was 40 nanoseconds and 275 nanoseconds. The experiment confirmed two distinct effects on time. The first is that Time flows faster at high altitude where gravity is slightly weaker. This affected both clocks in the planes in much the same way, in comparison to the clock on the ground. The difference in the clocks on the planes resulted from the second, more subtle effect on time that resulted from their relative speed according to whether they were flying with the direction of earth's rotation or against it.
: The predictions, using Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, were within the approved of margin of error, proving that Time, as a dimension in and of itself, is an objective reality. In your subjective perception of Time, how might you suggest that atoms could come to disagree about the passage of Time? Understand that you are disputing an understanding of Albert Einstein approved of by the entire scientific community and verified by experiment when you do so.
***Hi Greg, no, i do not mean to say that the clocks should stay in sync, i expect them to change in how fast they change. What i am arguing is that the effects of speed/direction and distance prove that time is dependent upon other factors thus is not an entity, but is a percieved effect of an ever changing present. If these changes occur when tested in the environment of earth, what about in space? We can alter the rate of change within the present, nothing more. I guess i should review the special theory, it is important, it has been shown that the effects Al prdicted, but what exactly this change is must be reconsidered. This experiment is based upon wieghts of atomic particals, thier rate of change is affected by gravity and direction in relation to the earth. So you are basically saying that when a rocket shoots skyward it creates more gravitational pull thus movement/change occurs more slowly, and if sppeding strait down toward earth it lessens gravitational attraction and allows freer movement/change, all this is the effect of the strength of gravity on particals of matter and has nothing to do with time since it does not exist. Our concept of time is only how we percieve the effects of gravity/force/acceleration/deceleration upon matter. These perceptions are grounded in our view of arrangements of matter such as life or stars or planetary systems which have beginings and ends, but in relation to the universe are only a biased perception of the changing present. My argument is one in which says there would be no perception of time if there were no matter, also, say if we could achieve absolute zero, this would freeze movement, thus stopping change, but the present would go on, but the present would continue, only without change, thus in the view of belivers in time, it would have simply frozen time, but there would be no way to measure,it. Another example is if one can imagine a point in the universe which is so distant from any matter that there is no way to observe change, thus time which is based upon rates of change would not exist or at least be unrecognizable. I guess this would be seen by believers in time to be an illusion much in the same way that the non-presence of a tangable god is seen as an illusion to those who believe in it. So what does all this matter? I do not know, but this does not mean that this new view (The magarowicz theory) has no value, it simply has not been applied to all those scientific equations in which time plays a significant variable/factor, and needs to be researched by those with the skills to do such things, ideas of value do not have to be found or concieved by those with the skills to prove or apply them. Of course this is grandoise of me to think i could think up something revolutionary, but anything is possible as long as it is within the confines of the limited infinite possbilities. But i do agree that the clocks would change at differing rates...
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Chromatography is a set of related laboratory techniques for the separation of mixtures of soluble substances.
Details can be found here.
All forms of chromatography work by exploiting different interactions between the substances to be separated and the two components of the chromatography setup.
The stationary phase – this does not move and the liquids pass through it. (In ordinary paper chromatography, the paper is the stationary phase.)
The mobile phasee – this is the fluid that moves through the stationary phase (like the water through filter paper)
The different components of the mixture travel at different speeds, because they interact differently with the stationary phase, causing them to separate.
The types of chromatography that are commonly encountered in schools are: | https://www.sserc.org.uk/subject-areas/chemistry/chemistry-skills/chromatography-2/ |
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Preface
This series is aimed at providing tools for an electrical engineer to gain confidence in the performance and reliability of their design. The focus is on applying statistical analysis to empirical results (i.e. measurements, data sets).
Introduction
This article will show step by step how to determine if one variable is dependent on a second variable. This method is useful when you are counting data and presenting it in table form.
ConceptsChi-Squared Distribution: It is a sum of the squares of a number of standard distributions. For more information see the Wikipedia article.
Contingency Test: We evaluate the Chi-Square for a table of counting data. The null hypothesis is always defined that the two variables are independent. The null hypothesis is then rejected if the p-value of the following Chi-squared test is less than a given level of significance.
Importing Your Data Set
I will use the R software package for statistical analysis. It is cross platform, free and open source. There are several Excel plugins which are good and if you have/can use SAS by all means use it.
We will test whether or not field failures are related to the use of two different designs. Since our data set is small we will enter our data manually:
> B=matrix(c(20,30,80,70),nrow=2,ncol=2)
> B
[,1] [,2]
[1,] 20 80
[2,] 30 70
Where "circuit A" had 20 failures in the field and "circuit B" had 30. 100 samples of each were taken.
Test Setup
H0: That field failures are independent of the circuit used. In other words there is no correlation between the circuit used and failures in the field.
Calculate Chi-Square
Calculate the Chi-Square for our data and then compare to a level of significance at 0.05:
> chisq.test(B)
Pearson's Chi-squared test with Yates' continuity correction
data: B
X-squared = 2.16, df = 1, p-value = 0.1416
As you can see the p-value is 0.1416. This is larger than our level of significance of 0.05 therefore we can conclude that our hypothesis is true: there is no correlation between failures and the circuit used in the field.
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Who are the students in our classroom? What makes each one of them unique? What are their goals and dreams? Who do they wish to be? How do we create community in our classroom and provide a safe space for all of our students?
In this exploration of self-portraiture and geometry, participants will discover the many shapes that make a face. Using mirrors, participants will explore symmetry and distance and practice drawing their features by incorporating the shapes they find. After learning about facial mapping and proportion, participants will create their own 2D self-portraits using wax and watercolor. By the end of the workshop, participants will walk away with the knowledge of how to use color, line, and composition to capture facial emotion and personality. This visual art PD connects with the LA mathematics common core standards for geometry in grades K-4.
This workshop is part of a Creating Community Series, focusing on how we can use visual art to foster meaningful relationships within our learning community. Rooted in a strong foundation of multicultural education and culturally responsive lessons, we will explore our student’s multiple identities, identify challenges they may face, perspectives they hold and begin to better understand our students as learners. We will explore many different materials and mediums: collage, sculpture, drawing, photography, painting and simple skills and techniques to bring these lessons to life in your classroom! | https://www.kidsmart.org/profdev/face-in-shapes/ |
Economic and social conditions in france during the eighteenth century henri sée transformed all political and social institutions then, too, a profound economic revolu-tion, in the nineteenth century, affecting france as well as all other countries, has altered had an effect upon the economic development itself it helped, though to. The french revolution broke out in 1789, and its effects reverberated throughout much of europe for many decades world war i began in 1914 its inception resulted from many trends in european society, culture, and diplomacy during the late 19th century. The result was a flurry of new ideas in political science, economics, psychology, and social reform enlightenment ideas on politics were rooted in john locke's two treatises on government (1694. The old regime jennifer bapties (q1) the “old regime” is a term applied to the european social, economic, and political development, before the french revolution the term had stood for absolute, monarchs, large bureaucracies, and armies led.
Culturally, the french revolution provided the world with its first meaningful experience with political ideology the word, and the concept it expressed, were revolutionary in origin indeed, it was napoleon, a man who had no truck with idle thought, who called the intellectual system-makers of the. Chapter 2 an historical overview of nursing marilyn klainberg purpose • to familiarize the reader with the impact of historical events on nursing • to present social factors that have influenced the development of nursing • to explore political and economic factors influencing nursing today. Key idea: enlightenment, revolution, and nationalism: the enlightenment called into question traditional beliefs and inspired widespread political, economic, and social change this intellectual movement was used to challenge political authorities in europe and.
In the protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism, max weber famously argued that religion has played a major role in the development of the european economies protestants, weber argued, were more inclined to business pursuits and achieved greater economic successes. The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the spring of nations, people's spring, springtime of the peoples, or the year of revolution, were a series of political. The term industrial revolution was first formulated by british historian arnold toynbee (1884), who considered this period of industrial and technological change more historically significant than political events such as the french revolution.
The economic, political, and social impact of the atlantic slave trade on africa casting doubt on the role africa played in the development of european export products before the nineteenth century 8 8 imperialism, and colonization on its economic, social, and political development economic. Political change during the industrial the introduction of liberalism in the 18th century meant a new age in british politics, which continued through the industrial revolution gladstone (liberal) and disraeli (conservative) were two of the most influential political leaders of the late industrial revolution. French political culture is greatly influence by economic, social, and geographical characteristics of france important characteristics of the french population have shaped the political culture.
The french revolution of 1848 at the close of the french revolutionary and napoleonic wars (1789-1815) the bourbon dynasty was restored in france in the person of a brother of the king who had been sent to the guillotine during the revolution. The european union is a unique economic and political union between 28 eu countries that together cover much of the continent the predecessor of the eu. Iran has a strong foundation for rapid growth and development, with the world’s second largest petroleum reserves, a young, well-educated population and a well-developed industrial and commercial infrastructure but revolution, war, mismanagement and factional feuds over economic policy have.
Each of these had specific economic, social, and political developments that were unique to the regions the new england colonies the new england colonies of new hampshire , massachusetts , rhode island , and connecticut were known for being rich in forests and fur trapping. In general, therefore, a revolution refers to something that begins a process of fundamental change to a political, social or economic system the revolution that had the most profound effect on the political development of europe and the modern world is the french revolution, which began in 1789. Hist101 american history to 1877 (3 semester hours) this course is a survey of united states history from the earliest european settlements in north america through the end of reconstruction and emphasizes our nation's political, economic, and social development, the evolution of its institutions, and the causes and consequences of its principal wars.
2018. | http://xqtermpaperflbu.designheroes.us/an-overview-of-the-european-social-economic-and-political-development-before-the-french-revolution.html |
Do most people recognize film and photography as an objective form of evidence? The idea that photographs and movies "do not lie" has a long history, with many legal cases (and many more fictional cases) resting on photographic evidence. Some argue that films and photographs can indeed lie -- they can be doctored, staged, or faked in many ways. However, this very practice confirms the dominant belief that photographs are evidence. Why would someone try to alter a photograph except to capitalize on its credibility? In a legal context, however, photographs and motion pictures count as legal evidence only when accompanied by detailed testimony as to the nature and context of the photograph.
Photographic evidence, therefore, must be both scrutinized and interpreted by experts. Clearly the same is true for films as historical evidence. The interpreter must know or at least speculate how films were produced in order to ask what they can tell us, and must understand not only what films show but how they show it. Given the levels of interpretation, can we claim motion pictures as a unique form of evidence?
Most theorists agree that photography has a unique relation to what it represents because the photographic image has a direct causal relation to the subject it represents. The light reflected from the objects or people photographed causes the image to be captured on light sensitive film. A photographic image not only resembles its subject, but indicates its existence, which is why journalists try to obtain (or to fake) photographs of things whose existence is in doubt, whether flying saucers, American prisoners still held in Vietnam, or Bigfoot.
But the photographic process is not simple. An object must first pass through the sophisticated apparatus of the camera before it is imprinted on the film. This journey includes a lens, an aperture, and a shutter that, in combination with the film, all have certain qualities that influence the nature of the image. Second, the camera has been placed by a human agent. A photographer carefully arranges the framing and other aspects of the images (focus, f-stop, speed of film, and time of exposure). In the case of mechanical set-ups, like surveillance or satellite cameras, a human-devised program operates the camera automatically.
Of course, all historical evidence should be subject to skepticism. Historical documents, eyewitnesses accounts, and archeological objects all claim a direct connection to events or situations that historians evaluate and interpret. Film, however, offers a unique ability to reflect and resemble historical figures and events. A motion picture of Teddy Roosevelt does not simply claim to be related to the president and big game hunter, but to show what he looked like and how he moved. This is perhaps film's greatest attraction and seduction: by capturing images in time, it seems not simply to represent things but to make them present. Because of this ability to, in the words of one theorist, "mummify time," some early audiences saw cinema as a defense against death. | http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/film/reality.html |
By Abubakar Elisha Harding
The Youth Alliance for Democracy and Accountability Sierra Leone (YaDA-SL), a registered Non-Governmental youth led Civil Society Organization working towards the promotion of democracy, accountability, human rights, good governance and peace in order to bring long term change and sustainable development in the county is poised to stimulate discussions among current and former political leaders, representatives, civil society activists and academics on the consolidation of democracy in the country.
It could be recalled that in 2007 the UN General Assembly established the International Day of Democracy (IDD) through a resolution with an objective to encourage Governments to strengthen and consolidate democracy. The day is celebrated on the 15thSeptember every year as an opportunity to review the state of democracy in the world.
In celebrating this year’s International Day of Democracy 2022 in the country, the Youth Alliance for Democracy and Accountability Sierra Leone is poised to host its 1st National High-Level Youth Driven Dialogue Conference on the “Consolidation of Democracy 2022”.
The Two day Conference ,which is scheduled to take place on the 14th & 15th September, 2022, is geared towards supporting the Government of Sierra Leone to strengthen institutions and processes that are more responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens, including the poor, as well as to promote sustainable development.
Commenting on the conference, the National Coordinator of Youth Alliance for Democracy and Accountability, Alfie Barrie pointed out that the conference will serve as an important opportunity for past and current leaders, institutions and civil society activists to collectively renew their commitments and efforts to build democratic constitutional rule and importantly to counter democratic backsliding in the country.
“The upcoming event will include current and former political leaders, representatives, civil society activists and academics, who will be engaged in discussions on how to support and have respect for constitutional rule across the country and how to strengthen political discourse in favor of strengthening democracy in the country,” he underscored.
Alfie Barrie, however, said that the high level dialogue on the consolidation of democracy will stimulate debate on different topics among politicians, diplomats, representatives of civil society organizations and the media especially on how to strengthen democracy in the country.
The National Coordinator added that beneficiaries of the conference will include: Democracy Experts, Politicians and Practitioners, Diplomats, Current and Former Political Leaders, Civil Society Activists, Religious Leaders, Women Leaders, Disabled Groups, the Media, Academics, University Students etc. and they will be drawn from the 16 districts of the country.
He maintained that since the launch of the online delegate registration, the Conference Committee, as of Saturday 16th July, 2022, has received 390 applications from national delegates and 5 from international delegates which brings it to a total of 395 applications received so far.
He revealed that members of the public who intend to attend the conference should access the delegate’s registration form using the attached link https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSfvEOPhZe5…/viewform…
“We are looking forward to partner with likeminded organizations in order to make this conference a success, and any organization that wants to partner or sponsor the event should not hesitate to contact us on +23276482358 or email: [email protected]”, he concluded. | https://thecalabashnewspaper.com/yada-sl-to-stimulate-discussions-on-consolidation-of-democracy/ |
The possibilities for artificial intelligence (AI) are growing at an unprecedented rate. AI has many areas of social utility: from machine translation and medical diagnostics to electronic trading and education. Less investigated are the areas and types of the malicious use of artificial intelligence (MUAI), which should be given further attention. It is impossible to exclude global, disastrous, rapid and latent consequences of MUAI. MUAI implies the possibility of using multiple weaknesses of individual and human civilization as a whole. For instance, AI could integrate with a nuclear or biological attack, and even improve its effectiveness. However, AI could similarly be used as a most efficient defence instrument. The international experience in monitoring online content and predictive analytics indicates the possibility of creating an AI system, based on the information disseminated in the digital environment, that could not only indicate threats to information and psychological security in a timely manner but also offer scenarios of counteraction (including counteracting offensive weapons’ systems).
Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
- Dynamic social and political systems and the malicious use of AI
- AI in civil and military conflicts
- AI enhancing terrorist threats and counter-terrorist response
- Role and practice of the malicious use of AI in contemporary geopolitical confrontation
- Predictive analytics and prognostic weapons
- Risk scenarios of the malicious use of AI
- Spoofing, data extraction, and poisoning of training data to exploit vulnerabilities under the malicious use of AI
- Artificial Intelligence Online Reputation Management (ORM)
- AI in Lethal Autonomous Systems (LAWs):
- Deepfakes and their possible influence on political warfare
- Amplification and political agenda setting
- Emotional AI in political warfare
- Damage reputation through bot activities
- Challenges of the malicious use of AI
- Ways and means to neutralize targeted information and psychological destabilization of democratic institutions using AI.
AI Ethics, from Design to Certification
Mini Track Chair: Prof A G Hessami, Vega Systems-UK
ECIAIR 2021 Mini Track on AI Ethics, from Design to Certification
With the rapid advancement and application of Autonomous Decision Making and Algorithmic Learning Systems often referred to as AI, the consideration of societal values impacted by such artefacts should be underpinned by guidelines, standards and independent certification to engender trust by all stakeholders. This track covers all aspects of exploration, consultation, articulation of ethical requirements, risk based design, deployment, monitoring and decommissioning for a whole life cycle ethical assurance of AI systems.
Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
- Value Based/Sensitive Design
- Consideration of Ethics in Autonomous Decision Making
- Facets of Technology Ethics
- Independent Verification of Conformity to Ethics
- Emerging AI Ethics Guidelines, Standards and Certification Criteria
Human Centred Futures
Mini Track Chair: Prof Karen Cham, University of Brighton, UK
ECIAIR 2021 Mini Track on Human Centred Futures
“Human Centred Futures” is a proposed open call track for full academic and /or position papers, case studies and/or demos with regards all forms of human factors in the social application of robotics and AI for Industry 4.0
This would be including but not limited to, human/machine teaming, novel AI, neural networks, cognitive systems, psychology, ergonomics, human performance measures, sentiment analysis, behavioural analytics, conversion metrics and mitigating bias in VUCA scenarios enabled or accelerated by 5G, 6G and future networks. Verticals include:
- digital health, care and wellbeing
- agri-metrics and geo-data economies
- serious games, virtualised and simulated training
- next gen retail, arts and entertainment
- re-manufacturing and circular economies
- enterprise and behavioural change applications etc
Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
- untethered / remote XR applications
- intelligent DX and psychometrics
- EV & HITL systems
- IoT & IoP in smart homes, smart cities, smart planet
- quantified self Internet of Value (IoV) and Internet of Mind (IoM)
“We need to talk about AI regulation”
Mini Track Chair: Marija Cubric, University of Hertfordshire, UK
ECIAIR 2021 Mini Track on “We need to talk about AI regulation”
The great Stephen Hawking once said the emergence of AI could be the "worst event in the history of our civilization” and he urged AI developers to "employ best practice" to control its development. While the general artificial super intelligence is still a distant prospect, even in the context of the narrow AI, where most of the current AI development is based, AI has a potential to harm humans either physically, as is the example of autonomous weapons, or psychologically by influencing, controlling and manipulating human agency through fake news, and more generally, at the societal level, by for example, introducing bias in decision processes.
If we accept the premise that AI has elements with destructive potential for the human race, then we should start thinking about regulatory framework for its development and deployment. Some work in this area is starting to emerge from various directions, such as the EU proposal for legal framework for AI, “Spiegelhalter’s tests for trustworthy algorithms, Suresh and Guttag’s framework for understanding unintended consequences of machine learning and a few other conceptual frameworks offering AI ethics guidelines. Still, many remain unconvinced that regulated AI is the way forward, and worry that regulation may stifle the innovation, and create uneven playing field based on the ownership of regulations.
For this mini-track we invite papers which provide diverse perspectives on AI regulations based on research and lessons-learned from practice.
Suggested topics include but are not limited to: | https://www.academic-conferences.org/conferences/eciair/eciair-call-for-papers/eciair-mini-tracks/ |
Over two days, you will hear from federal and provincial ministers, learn from 30 industry experts, gather new insights and network with your industry peers.
The engaging program offers keynote addresses and sessions including: Shifting Landscapes, Perspectives from Outside Alberta, Engaging Conversations, Program Showcase, Municipal Leadership, Catalyzing Ideas and Transformative Thinking.
The Alberta Energy Efficiency Summit uses the latest in virtual event technology to provide exceptional opportunities to interact with industry colleagues with direct messages or video chats, participate in the virtual exhibition, and hear lively presentations and discussions.
Register now and we’ll see you May 18-19. Information at www.energyefficiencysummit.ca
Share This: | https://energynow.ca/2021/05/the-alberta-energy-efficiency-alliances-annual-alberta-energy-efficiency-summit-takes-place-may-18-19-2021/ |
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