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Stamp Issue Date
:
30/08/1989
Postage Stamp Dinomination
:
5.00
Postal Stamp Serial Number
:
1380
Postal Stamp Name
:
KEMAL ATAURK
Stamp Information
:
Mustafa Kemal Atarturk (1881-138) Maustafa Kemal Atarturk, the Founder and Frist President of the Republic of Turkey, was born in 181 in a modest family. After completing secondary education, he entered the Mylitary Lycee. After graduating from the Military Lycee, he went on to join the Insatnbul War School from where he graduated with honours. In 1905, he received his diploma as Captain from the Military Staff Academy. As a staff officer his work was soon apreciated. Between 1905 and 1918, he obtained with merit, superior grades in the military hierarchy. He showed exceptional qualities of organisation and control while at the head of the army. He represented Turkish Armed Forces at several military manoeuveres in Europe. In 1911 he fought aginst Italians in Tripoli and in 1914 he was Military Atache in Sofia. During the First World War he fought aginst the British and Russian forces. He started the Turkish War of National Liberation onMay 19, 1919. After the First World War when Turkey was invaded and Western Anatolia occupied, he started preparations for the warof National Independence from Samsun, a port of Black Sea Coast. He stated his army very clearly "... This country under all circumstances, will become modern, civilized and innovative...". After the attainment of indepedence in 1922, Ataturk's main activities consisted of focussing on reforms aimed at modernizing the nation. He abolished the Sultanate in 1922 and proclaimed the Republic in 1923. The Khalifat as well as all theocratical institutions were done away with in 1924. He introduced the principles of the new state. A variety of socio-political reforms were introduced. Adoption of international calender and time, adoption of new secular laws, adoption of Latin alphabet, law changing the situation of women i economic and social life (right to vote and be elected) are some of his main reforms. Ataturk's guide in life was science. His views on education "... required generations which were absolutely free in thought, conscience and education." The basic idea and spiritual and intellectual aspect of Ataturk's views were based on universal Peace. All his life he considered war as a crime. According to him, war was justified, however, as an instrument to define justice. It is in the light of his belief, that Ataturk formulated the most essential principle of the Republic of Turkey. "Peace at home, peace in the world". The National Liberation Movement in Turkey evolved strong support in India. The Indian support was not only moral - a fund raised with the collection of individual contributions was sent to Turkey, which was used to equip a full fledged regiment. jawaharlal Nehru often cited Ataturk as a shining example for India in its strugle for freedom. In a speech in 1928, Nehru said .. "We have seen what can be done in a brief span of years and even months by Kemal Pasha who is not afraid to break through ancient custom and prejudice. What has been done in the manner of Kemal Pasha, by fearlessly facing obstacles and removing them and not waiting till the crack of doom for slow reform....". text: Courtesy Turkish Embassy in India.
Philatelic Stamp Description
:
The stamp and First Day Cover depict the personality based on photographs supplied by the Turkish Ambassy in Inida. the cancellation has been designed by Mrs. Nenu Gupta.
Stamp Currency
:
R
Stamp Type
:
COMMEMORATIVE
Stamp Language
:
English
Stamp Overall Size
:
3.91 X 2.90 cms
Postal Stamp Print Size
:
3.55 X 2.5 cms.
Number of Stamps Per Sheet
:
35
Stamp Perforations
:
13 x 13
Postal Stamp Shape
:
Vertical
Postage Stamp Paper
:
Unwatermarked adhesive Gravure coated stamp paper
Indian Stamp Process
:
Photogravure
Number of stamps printed
:
5,00,000
Stamp Printed At
:
India Security Press
Indian Stamp's Color
: | https://indianpost.com/viewstamp.php/Alpha/K/KEMAL%20ATAURK |
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field
Description of the Related Art
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Fuel Cell System Overview
Fuel Cell System Sensors and Actuators
Fuel Cell System Structural Arrangement
Exemplary Method of Operation
The present invention relates to fuel cells, and particularly to monitoring and control systems for fuel cells.
Electrochemical fuel cells convert fuel and oxidant to electricity. Solid polymer electrochemical fuel cells generally employ a membrane electrode assembly ("MEA") which comprises an ion exchange membrane or solid polymer electrolyte disposed between two electrodes typically comprising a layer of porous, electrically conductive sheet material, such as carbon fiber paper or carbon cloth. The MEA contains a layer of catalyst, typically in the form of finely comminuted platinum, at each membrane/electrode interface to induce the desired electrochemical reaction. In operation the electrodes are electrically coupled to provide a circuit for conducting electrons between the electrodes through an external circuit. Typically, a number of MEAs are serially coupled electrically to form a fuel cell stack having a desired power output.
In typical fuel cells, the MEA is disposed between two electrically conductive fluid flow field plates or separator plates. Fluid flow field plates have at least one flow passage formed in at least one of the major planar surfaces thereof. The flow passages direct the fuel and oxidant to the respective electrodes, namely, the anode on the fuel side and the cathode on the oxidant side. The fluid flow field plates act as current collectors, provide support for the electrodes, provide access channels for the fuel and oxidant to the respective anode and cathode surfaces, and provide channels for the removal of reaction products, such as water, formed during operation of the cell.
Due to their zero- or low-emission nature, and ability to operate using renewable fuels, the use of fuel cells as primary and/or backup power supplies is likely to become increasingly prevalent. For example, a fuel cell stack can serve as an uninterruptible power supply for computer, medical, or refrigeration equipment in a home, office, or commercial environment. Other uses are of course possible. Operating and environmental factors relevant to efficient fuel cell system operation may include the concentration of hydrogen in the surrounding environment, the concentration of oxygen in the surrounding environment, fuel cell stack temperature, ambient air temperature, current flow through the fuel cell stack, voltage across the fuel cell stack, and voltage across the MEAs. These factors become increasingly relevant when the fuel cell operating environment is a human habitable space with a low air flow exchange rate and/or when the space is small, such as a utility room or closet.
06 - 243886
Japanese Patent Application No. discloses a fuel cell system comprising an atmospheric pressure sensor and a controller configured to keep the flow of oxygen to the fuel cell constant.
01 - 089155
Japanese Patent Application No discloses a fuel cell system comprising an oxygen concentration sensor located at an oxidant output line and a controller configured to stop the fuel cell when danger of explosion is too high.
Consequently, there is a need for improved control systems for fuel cell systems, particularly for fuel cell systems that operate in enclosed environments and/or habitable environments, and for methods of controlling such fuel cell systems.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an electrochemical power generation system that includes a fuel cell stack including at least one fuel cell, an oxidant inlet, an oxidant outlet, a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, a fuel delivery system for delivering fuel to the fuel inlet of the stack, an oxidant delivery system for delivering air from the ambient environment to the oxidant inlet of the stack, and an oxygen sensor for measuring the oxygen concentration of ambient air in the vicinity of the power generation system. A controller is coupled to the oxygen sensor and configured to cease operation of the power generation system when the oxygen concentration of the ambient air in the vicinity of the power generation system falls below an oxygen concentration threshold. The power generation system is particularly suitable for operation inside a habitable, confined space, such as a small room or a closet.
Ceasing operation of the power generation system, as used herein, means stopping power-producing operation of the fuel cell stack, and does not necessarily include ceasing operation of various components of the power generation system, such as the controller, sensors, etc., which may be powered by an alternative power source such as a battery after the stack stops producing power.
The electrochemical power generation system may also include a purge valve that is associated with the fuel outlet. The controller may be coupled to the purge valve and be configured to intermittently open the purge valve such that the hydrogen discharged from the fuel cell stack during operation of the power generation system does not cause the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system to exceed a high hydrogen concentration condition before the oxygen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system falls below the oxygen concentration threshold. In particular, the controller may be configured to intermittently open the purge valve such that the average continuous rate of hydrogen discharged from the fuel cell stack during operation of the power generation system does not exceed a critical hydrogen discharge rate that would cause the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system to exceed a high hydrogen concentration condition before the oxygen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system falls below the oxygen concentration threshold.
The electrochemical power generation system may further include a hydrogen concentration sensor that measures the hydrogen concentration in the ambient air in the vicinity of the power generation system. The controller may be coupled to the hydrogen concentration sensor and be configured to cease operation of the power generation system when the hydrogen concentration measured by the hydrogen concentration sensor exceeds a hydrogen concentration threshold. The controller may, for example, be configured to close the purge valve when the hydrogen concentration measured by the hydrogen concentration sensor exceeds the hydrogen concentration threshold. The hydrogen concentration threshold may be suitably set at 1%, and the oxygen concentration threshold set at 18%, for example. The high hydrogen concentration condition may be set to correspond to a lower flammability limit of hydrogen, which is typically approximately 4% of atmosphere.
The electrochemical power generation system may further include a temperature sensor, in which case the controller may be configured to cease operation of the power generation system in response to a temperature reading that exceeds a high temperature threshold.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of operating a fuel cell electrochemical power generation system that includes the steps of directing fuel to a fuel cell stack, directing air from the ambient environment to the fuel cell stack for use as oxidant, monitoring the oxygen concentration of the ambient air in the vicinity of the power generation system, and ceasing operation of the power generation system if the monitored oxygen concentration falls below an oxygen concentration threshold. This method is particularly suitable when the power generation system is operated inside a habitable, confined space, such as a small room or a closet.
This method may include the further step of intermittently discharging hydrogen from the fuel cell stack in a manner that does not cause the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system to exceed a high hydrogen concentration condition before the oxygen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system falls below the oxygen concentration threshold value. In particular, hydrogen may be intermittently discharged from the fuel cell stack such that the average rate of hydrogen continuously discharged does not exceed a critical hydrogen discharge rate that would cause the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system to exceed a high hydrogen concentration condition before the oxygen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system falls below the oxygen concentration threshold value.
The method may further include monitoring the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system, and ceasing operation of the power generation system if the hydrogen concentration exceeds a hydrogen concentration threshold. The hydrogen concentration threshold may be set at approximately 1%, and the oxygen concentration threshold set at approximately 18%, for example. The high hydrogen concentration condition may be set to correspond to a lower flammability limit of hydrogen, which is typically about 4% of atmosphere.
The method may further comprise monitoring the temperature of the power generation system, and stopping operation of the power generation system in response to a temperature reading exceeding a high temperature threshold.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-readable media that contains instructions to cause a controller to control operation of a fuel cell stack by monitoring the oxygen concentration in ambient air in the vicinity of the fuel cell stack during operation of the fuel cell stack, and by ceasing operation of the fuel cell stack if the concentration of oxygen of ambient air in the vicinity of the fuel cell stack is less than an oxygen concentration threshold. The computer-readable media may comprise a memory structure of a micro-controller.
The computer-readable media may also contain instructions for the controller to limit the average rate of hydrogen continuously discharged from the fuel cell stack to not exceed a critical hydrogen discharge rate that would cause the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system to exceed a high hydrogen concentration condition before the oxygen concentration in the vicinity of the power generation system falls below the oxygen concentration threshold setting. The oxygen concentration threshold may be suitably set at approximately 18%. The controller may be instructed to monitor the oxygen concentration periodically or continuously. The high hydrogen concentration condition may be set to correspond to a lower flammability limit of hydrogen, which is typically approximately 4% of atmosphere.
Figure 1
is an isometric, partially exploded, view of a fuel cell system including a fuel cell stack and controlling electronics including a fuel cell ambient environment monitoring and control system.
Figure 2
Figure 1
is a schematic diagram representing fuel flow through a cascaded fuel cell stack of the fuel cell system of .
Figure 3
Figure 1
is a schematic diagram of a portion of the fuel cell ambient environment monitoring and control system of .
Figure 4
Figure 3
is a schematic diagram of an additional portion of the fuel cell ambient environment monitoring and control system of , including a fuel cell microcontroller selectively coupled between the fuel cell stack and a battery.
Figure 5
Figure 1
is a top, right isometric view of a structural arrangement of various components of the fuel cell system of .
Figure 6
Figure 5
is a top, right isometric view of the structural arrangement of various components of the fuel cell system of with a cover removed.
Figure 7
Figure 5
is top, left isometric view of the structural arrangement of various components of the fuel cell system of .
Figure 8
Figure 5
is a top, right isometric exploded view of a pressure regulator portion of the fuel cell system of .
Figure 9
Figures 1-8
is a flow diagram of an illustrated embodiment of operation for the fuel cell system of .
Figure 10
Figures 1-8
is a flow diagram of an illustrated embodiment of a method of shutting down the operation of the fuel cell system of .
In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are not intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of the particular elements, have been selected solely for ease of recognition in the drawings.
In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well known structures associated with fuel cells, microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the descriptions of the embodiments of the invention.
Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as "comprises" and "comprising" are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is as "including but not limited to."
Figure 1
shows a portion of a fuel cell system 10, namely, a fuel cell stack 12 and an electronic fuel cell monitoring and control system 14. Fuel cell stack 12 includes a number of fuel cell assemblies 16 arranged between a pair of end plates 18a, 18b, one of the fuel cell assemblies 16 being partially removed from fuel cell stack 12 to better illustrate the structure of fuel cell assembly 16. Tie rods (not shown) extend between end plates 18a, 18b and cooperate with fastening nuts 17 to bias end plates 18a, 18b together by applying pressure to the various components to ensure good contact therebetween.
Each fuel cell assembly 16 includes a membrane electrode assembly 20 including two electrodes, the anode 22 and the cathode 24, separated by an ion exchange membrane 26. Electrodes 22, 24 can be formed from a porous, electrically conductive sheet material, such as carbon fiber paper or cloth, that is permeable to the reactants. Each of electrodes 22, 24 is coated on a surface adjacent the ion exchange membrane 26 with a catalyst 27, such as a thin layer of platinum, to render each electrode electrochemically active.
Figure 1
Fuel cell assembly 16 also includes a pair of separators or flow field plates 28 sandwiching membrane electrode assembly 20. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the flow field plates 28 includes one or more reactant channels 30 formed on a planar surface of flow field plate 28 adjacent an associated one of the electrodes 22, 24 for carrying fuel to anode 22 and oxidant to cathode 24, respectively. (Reactant channel 30 on only one of flow field plates 28 is visible in .) Reactant channels 30 that carry the oxidant also carry exhaust air and product water away from cathode 24. As will be described in more detail below, fuel stack 12 is designed to operate in a dead-ended fuel mode, thus substantially all of the hydrogen fuel supplied to it during operation is consumed, and little if any hydrogen is carried away from stack 12 in normal operation of system 10. However, embodiments of the present invention can also be applicable to fuel cell systems operating on dilute fuels which are not dead-ended.
In the illustrated embodiment, each flow field plate 28 preferably includes a plurality of cooling channels 32 formed on the planar surface of the flow field plate 28 opposite the planar surface having reactant channel 30. When the stack 12 is assembled, cooling channels 32 of each adjacent fuel cell assembly 16 cooperate so that closed cooling channels 32 are formed between each membrane electrode assembly 20. The cooling channels 32 transmit cooling air through fuel stack 12. The cooling channels are preferably straight and parallel to each other, and traverse each plate 28 so that cooling channel inlets and outlets are located at respective edges of plate 28.
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While the illustrated embodiment includes two flow field plates 28 in each fuel cell assembly 16, other embodiments can include a single bipolar flow field plate (not shown) between adjacent membrane electrode assemblies 20. In such embodiments, a channel on one side of the bipolar plate carries fuel to the anode of one adjacent membrane electrode assembly 20, while a channel on the other side of the plate carries oxidant to the cathode of another adjacent membrane electrode assembly 20. In such embodiments, additional flow field plates 28 having channels for carrying coolant (.., liquid or gas, such as cooling air) can be spaced throughout fuel cell stack 12, as needed to provide sufficient cooling of stack 12.
End plate 18a includes a fuel stream inlet port (not shown) for introducing a supply fuel stream into fuel cell stack 12. End plate 18b includes a fuel stream outlet port 35 for discharging an exhaust fuel stream from fuel cell stack 12 that comprises primarily water and non-reactive components and impurities, such as any introduced in the supply fuel stream or entering the fuel stream in stack 12. Fuel stream outlet port 35 is normally closed with a valve in dead-ended operation. Although fuel cell stack 12 is designed to consume substantially all of the hydrogen fuel supplied to it during operation, traces of unreacted hydrogen may also be discharged through the fuel stream outlet port 35 during a purge of fuel cell stack 12, effected by temporarily opening a valve at fuel stream outlet port 35. Each fuel cell assembly 16 has openings forme therein to cooperate with corresponding openings in adjacent assemblies 16 to form internal fuel supply and exhaust manifolds (not shown) that extend the length of stack 12. The fuel stream inlet port is fluidly connected to fluid outlet port 35 via respective reactant channels 30 that are in fluid communication with the fuel supply and exhaust manifolds, respectively.
End plate 18b includes an oxidant stream inlet port 37 for introducing supply air (oxidant stream) into fuel cell stack 12, and an oxidant stream outlet port 39 for discharging exhaust air from fuel cell stack 12. Each fuel cell assembly 16 has openings 31, 34, formed therein to cooperate with corresponding openings in adjacent fuel cell assemblies 16 to form oxidant supply and exhaust manifolds that extend the length of stack 12. Oxidant inlet port 37 is fluidly connected to oxidant outlet port 39 via respective reactant channels 30 that are in fluid communication with oxidant supply and exhaust manifolds, respectively.
Figures 1
2
In one embodiment, fuel cell stack 12 includes forty-seven fuel cell assemblies 16. ( and omit a number of the fuel cell assemblies 16 to enhance drawing clarity). Fuel cell stack 12 can include a greater or lesser number of fuel cell assemblies to provide more or less power, respectively.
Figure 2
As shown in , fuel is directed through fuel cell stack 12 in a cascaded flow pattern. A first set 11 composed of the first forty-three fuel cell assemblies 16 are arranged so that fuel flows within the set in a concurrent parallel direction (represented by arrows 13) that is generally opposite the direction of the flow of coolant through fuel cell stack 12. Fuel flow through a next set 15 of two fuel cell assemblies 16 is in series with respect to the flow of fuel in the first set 11, and in a concurrent parallel direction within the set 15 (in a direction represented by arrows 17) that is generally concurrent with the direction of the flow of coolant through fuel cell stack 12. Fuel flow through a final set 19 of two fuel cells assemblies 16 is in series with respect to the first and second sets 11, 15, and in a concurrent parallel direction within the set 19 (in a direction represented by arrow 21) generally opposite the flow of coolant through the fuel cell stack 12. The oxidant is supplied to each of the forty-seven fuel cells in parallel, in the same general direction as the flow of coolant through fuel cell stack 12.
The final set 19 of fuel cell assemblies 16 comprises the purge cell portion 36 of the fuel cell stack. The purge cell portion 36 accumulates non-reactive components which are periodically vented by opening a purge valve.
Each membrane electrode assembly 20 is designed to produce a nominal potential difference of about 0.6 V between anode 22 and cathode 24. Reactant streams (hydrogen and air) are supplied to electrodes 22, 24 on either side of ion exchange membrane 26 through reactant channels 30. Hydrogen is supplied to anode 22, where platinum catalyst 27 promotes its separation into protons and electrons, which pass as useful electricity through an external circuit (not shown). On the opposite side of membrane electrode assembly 20, air flows through reactant channels 30 to cathode 24 where oxygen in the air reacts with protons passing through the ion exchange membrane 26 to produce product water.
Figure 1
With continuing reference to , electronic fuel cell monitoring and control system 14 comprises various electrical and electronic components on a circuit board 38 and various sensors 44 and actuators 46 distributed throughout fuel cell system 10. Circuit board 38 carries a microprocessor or microcontroller 40 that is appropriately programmed or configured to carry out fuel cell system operation. Microcontroller 40 can take the form of an Atmel AVR RISC microcontroller available from Atmel Corporation of San Jose, California. The electronic monitoring and control system 14 also includes a persistent memory 42, such as an EEPROM portion of the microcontroller 40 or discrete nonvolatile controller-readable media.
Microcontroller 40 is coupled to receive input from sensors 44 and to provide output to actuators 46. The input and/or output can take the form of either digital and/or analog signals. A rechargeable battery 47 powers the electronic fuel cell monitoring and control system 14 until fuel cell stack 12 can provide sufficient power to electronic fuel cell monitoring and control system 14. Microcontroller 40 is selectively couplable between fuel cell stack 12 and battery 47 for switching power during fuel cell system operation and/or to recharge battery 47 during fuel cell operation.
Figure 3
Figure 1
shows various elements of fuel cell system 10 in further detail, and shows various other elements that were omitted from for clarity of illustration.
Figure 3
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With particular reference to , fuel cell system 10 provides fuel (.., hydrogen) to anode 22 by way of a fuel system 50. Fuel system 50 includes a source of fuel such as one or more fuel tanks 52, and a fuel regulating system 54 for controlling delivery of the fuel. Fuel tanks 52 can contain hydrogen, or some other fuel such as methanol. Alternatively, fuel tanks 52 can represent a process stream from which hydrogen can be derived by reforming, such as methane or natural gas (in which case a reformer is provided in fuel cell system 10).
Fuel tanks 52 each include a fuel tank valve 56 for controlling the flow of fuel from respective fuel tank 52. Fuel tank valves 56 may be automatically controlled by microcontroller 40, and/or manually controlled by a human operator. Fuel tanks 52 may be refillable, or may be disposable. Fuel tanks 52 may be integral to fuel system 50 and/or fuel cell system 10, or can take the form of discrete units. In this embodiment, fuel tanks 52 are hydride storage tanks. Fuel tanks 52 are positioned within the fuel cell system 10 such that they are heatable by exhaust cooling air warmed by heat generated by fuel cell stack 12. Such heating facilitates the release of hydrogen from the hydride storage media.
Fuel system 50 includes a hydrogen concentration sensor S5, hydrogen heater current sensor S6 and a hydrogen sensor check sensor S11. Hydrogen heater current sensor S6 can take the form of a current sensor that is coupled to monitor a hydrogen heater element that is an integral component of hydrogen concentration sensor S5. Hydrogen sensor check sensor S11 monitors voltage across a positive leg of a Wheatstone bridge in a hydrogen concentration sensor S5, discussed below, to determine whether hydrogen concentration sensor S5 is functioning.
Fuel tanks 52 are coupled to the fuel regulating system 54 through a filter 60 that ensures that particulate impurities do not enter fuel regulating system 54. Fuel regulating system 54 includes a pressure sensor 62 to monitor the pressure of fuel in fuel tanks 52, which indicates how much fuel remains in fuel tanks 52. A pressure relief valve 64 automatically operates to relieve excess pressure in fuel system 50. Pressure relief valve 64 can take the form of a spring and ball relief valve. A main gas valve solenoid CS5 opens and closes a main gas valve 66 in response to signals from the microcontroller 40 to provide fluid communication between the fuel tanks 52 and fuel regulating system 54. Additional controllers such as a hydride valve solenoid CS7 controls flow through the fuel tank valves 56. A hydrogen regulator 68 regulates the flow of hydrogen from fuel tanks 52. Fuel is delivered to the anodes 22 of the fuel cell assemblies 16 through a hydrogen inlet conduit 69 that is connected to fuel stream inlet port of stack 12.
Figure 2
Figure 3
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e
Sensors 44 of the electronic monitoring and control system 14 monitor a number of fuel cell system operating parameters to maintain fuel cell system operation within acceptable limits. For example, a stack voltage sensor S3 measures the gross voltage across fuel cell stack 12. A purge cell voltage sensor S4 monitors the voltage across purge cell portion 36 (the final set 19 of fuel cell assemblies 16 in cascaded design of ). A cell voltage checker S9 ensures that a voltage across each of the fuel cell assemblies 16 is within an acceptable limit. Each of the sensors S3, S4, S9 provide inputs to microcontroller 40, identified in by arrows pointing toward the blocks labeled "FCM" (.., fuel cell microcontroller 40).
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A fuel purge valve 70 is provided at fuel stream outlet port 35 of fuel cell stack 12 and is typically in a closed position when stack 12 is operating. Fuel is thus supplied to fuel cell stack 12 only as needed to sustain the desired rate of electrochemical reaction. Because of the cascaded flow design, any impurities (.., nitrogen) in the supply fuel stream tend to accumulate in purge cell portion 36 during operation. A build-up of impurities in purge cell portion 36 tends to reduce the performance of purge cell portion 36; should the purge cell voltage sensor S4 detect a performance drop below a threshold voltage level, microcontroller 40 may send a signal to a purge valve controller CS4 such as a solenoid to open the purge valve 36 and discharge the impurities and other matter that may have accumulated in purge cell portion 36 (collectively referred to as "purge discharge"). The venting of hydrogen by the purge valve 70 during a purge is preferably limited (.., to less than 1 liter/minute on a continuous basis) ("average hydrogen discharge rate") to prevent the ambient environment monitoring and control systems, discussed below, from triggering a failure or fault.
Fuel cell system 10 provides oxygen in an air stream to the cathode side of membrane electrode assemblies 20 by way of an oxygen delivery system 72. A source of oxygen or air 74 can take the form of an air tank or the ambient atmosphere. A filter 76 ensures that particulate impurities do not enter oxygen delivery system 72. An air compressor controller CS1 controls an air compressor 78 to provide the air to fuel cell stack 12 at a desired flow rate. A mass air flow sensor S8 measures the air flow rate into fuel cell stack 12, providing the value as an input to microcontroller 40. A humidity exchanger 80 adds water vapor to the air to keep the ion exchange membrane 26 moist. Humidity exchanger 80 also removes water vapor which is a byproduct of the electrochemical reaction. Excess liquid water is provided to an evaporator 58.
Fuel cell system 10 removes excess heat from fuel cell stack 12 and uses the excess heat to warm fuel tanks 52 by way of a cooling system 82. Cooling system 82 includes a fuel cell temperature sensor S1, for example a thermister that monitors the core temperature of the fuel cell stack 12. The temperature is provided as input to microcontroller 40. A stack current sensor S2, for example a Hall sensor, measures the gross current through the fuel cell stack 12, and provides the value of the current as an input to microcontroller 40. A cooling fan controller CS3 controls the operation of one or more cooling fans 84 for cooling fuel cell stack 12. After passing through the fuel cell stack 12, the warmed cooling air circulates around the fuel tanks 52. The warmed cooling air then passes through the evaporator 58. A power circuit relay controller CS6 connects, and disconnects, fuel cell stack 12 to, and from, an external electrical circuit in response to microcontroller 40. A power diode 59 provides one-way isolation of the fuel cell system 10 from the external load to provide protection to the fuel cell system 10 from the external load. A battery relay controller CS8 connects, and disconnects, fuel cell monitoring and control system 14 between fuel cell stack 12 and battery 47.
Figure 4
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 3
The fuel cell monitoring and control system 14 (illustrated in ) includes sensors for monitoring fuel cell system 10 surroundings and actuators for controlling fuel cell system 10 accordingly. For example, a hydrogen concentration sensor S5 (shown in ) for monitoring the hydrogen concentration level in the ambient atmosphere surrounding fuel cell stack 12. The hydrogen concentration sensor S5 can take the form of a heater element with a hydrogen sensitive thermister that may be temperature compensated. An oxygen concentration sensor S7 (illustrated in ) to monitor the oxygen concentration level in the ambient atmosphere surrounding fuel cell system 10. An ambient temperature sensor S10 (shown in ), for example a digital sensor, to monitor the ambient air temperature surrounding fuel cell system 10.
Figure 4
With reference to , microcontroller 40 receives the various sensor measurements such as ambient air temperature, fuel pressure, hydrogen concentration, oxygen concentration, fuel cell stack current, air mass flow, cell voltage check status, voltage across the fuel cell stack, and voltage across the purge cell portion of the fuel cell stack from various sensors described below. Microcontroller 40 provides the control signals to the various actuators, such as air compressor controller CS1, cooling fan controller CS3, purge valve controller CS4, main gas valve solenoid CS5, power circuit relay controller CS6, hydride tank valve solenoid CS7, and battery relay controller CS8.
Figures 5-8
illustrate the structural arrangement of the components in fuel cell system 10. For convenience, "top", "bottom", "above", "below" and similar descriptors are used merely as points of reference in the description, and while corresponding to the general orientation of the illustrated fuel cell system 10 during operation, are not to be construed to limit the orientation of the fuel cell system 10 during operation or otherwise.
Figures 5-7
Figures 5-7
Referring to , the air compressor 78 and cooling fan 84 are grouped together at one end ("air supply end") of the fuel cell stack 12. Fuel tanks 52 (not shown in ) are mountable to the fuel cell system 10 on top of, and along the length of, the fuel cell stack 12. The components of fuel regulating system 54 upstream of the fuel cell stack 12 are located generally at the end of stack 12 ("hydrogen supply end") opposite the air supply end.
Air compressor 78 is housed within an insulated housing 700 that is removably attached to the fuel cell stack 12 at the air supply end. The housing 700 has an air supply aperture 702 covered by the filter 76 that allows supply air into housing 700. The air compressor 78 is a positive displacement low pressure type compressor and is operable to transmit supply air to air supply conduit 81 at a flow rate controllable by the operator. An air supply conduit 81 passes through a conduit aperture 704 in compressor housing 700 and connects with an air supply inlet 706 of humidity exchanger 80. Mass flow sensor S8 is located on an inlet of air compressor 78 and preferably within compressor housing 700.
U.S. Patent No. 6,106,964
Figures 5-7
The humidity exchanger 80 may be of the type disclosed in , and is mounted to one side of fuel cell stack 12 near the air supply end. Air entering into humidity exchanger 80 via air supply conduit 81 is humidified and then exhausted from the humidity exchanger 80 and into the fuel cell stack 12 (via the supply air inlet port of the end plate 18b). Exhaust air from the fuel cell stack 12 exits via the exhaust air outlet port in end plate 18b and is directed into humidity exchanger 80, where water in the air exhaust stream is transferred to the air supply stream. The air exhaust stream then leaves the humidity exchanger 80 via the air exhaust outlet 712 and is transmitted via an air exhaust conduit (not shown) to evaporator 58 (not shown in ) mountable to a cover (not shown) above fuel cell stack 12.
Cooling fan 84 is housed within a fan housing 720 that is removably mounted to the air supply end of fuel cell stack 12 and below compressor housing 700. Fan housing 720 includes a duct 724 that directs cooling air from cooling fan 84 to the cooling channel openings at the bottom of fuel cell stack 12. Cooling air is directed upwards and through fuel cell stack 12 (via the cooling channels 32) and is discharged from the cooling channel openings at the top of fuel cell stack 12. During operation, heat extracted from fuel cell stack 12 by the cooling air is used to warm fuel tanks 52 that are mountable directly above and along the length of stack 12. Some of the warmed cooling air can be redirected into the air supply aperture 702 of compressor housing 700 for use as oxidant supply air.
Figure 7
Figures 5-7
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Referring particularly to , circuit board 38 carrying microcontroller 40, oxygen sensor S7 and ambient temperature sensor S 10 is mounted on the side of fuel cell stack 12 opposite humidity exchanger 80 by way of a mounting bracket 730. Positive and negative electrical power supply lines 732, 734 extend from each end of fuel cell stack 12 and are connectable to an external load. An electrically conductive bleed wire 736 from each of power supply lines 732, 734 connects to circuit board 38 at a stack power-in terminal 738 and transmits some of the electricity generated by fuel cell stack 12 to power the components on the circuit board 38, as well as sensors 44 and actuators 46 which are electrically connected to circuit board 38 at terminal 739. Similarly, battery 47 (not shown in ) is electrically connected to circuit board 38 at battery power in terminal 740. Battery 47 supplies power to the circuit board components, sensors 44 and actuators 46 when fuel cell stack output has not yet reached nominal levels (.., at start-up); once fuel cell stack 12 has reached nominal operating conditions, fuel cell stack 12 can also supply power to recharge the battery 47.
Figures 5-7
Figure 8
Figure 6
Referring generally to and particularly to , a bracket 741 is provided at the hydrogen supply end for the mounting of a fuel tank valve connector 53, hydrogen pressure sensor 62, pressure relief valve 64, main gas valve 66, and hydrogen pressure regulator 68 above the fuel cell stack 12 at the hydrogen supply end. A suitable pressure regulator may be a Type 912 pressure regulator available from Fisher Controls of Marshalltown, Iowa. A suitable pressure sensor may be a transducer supplied Texas Instruments of Dallas, Texas. A suitable pressure relief valve may be supplied by Schraeder-Bridgeport of Buffalo Grove, Illinois. The pressure relief valve 64 is provided for fuel tanks 52 and may be set to open at about 350 psi. A low pressure relief valve 742 is provided for the fuel cell stack 12. The bracket 741 also provides a mount for hydrogen concentration sensor S5, hydrogen heater current sensor S6 and hydrogen sensor check sensor S11, which are visible in in which the bracket 741 is transparently illustrated in hidden line. The fuel tanks 52 are connectable to the fuel tank connector 53. When the fuel tank and main gas valves 56, 66 are opened, hydrogen is supplied under a controlled pressure (monitored by pressure sensor 62 and adjustable by hydrogen pressure regulator 68) through the fuel supply conduit 69 to the fuel inlet port of end plate 18a. The purge valve 70 is located at the fuel outlet port at end plate 18b.
The fuel cell system 10 and fuel tanks 52 are coupled to a base (not shown) at mounting points 744 and housed within a fuel cell system cover (not shown). Cooling air exhausted from the top of the fuel cell stack 12 is thus directed by the cover either to the supply air inlet 702 or over fuel regulating system 54 to a cooling air discharge opening in the housing.
Figures 5
6
7
Figures 5
6
7
The fuel cell system 10 is designed so that components that are designed to discharge hydrogen or that present a risk of leaking hydrogen, are as much as practical, located in the cooling air path or have their discharge / leakage directed to the cooling air path. The cooling air path is defined by duct 724, cooling air channels of stack 12, and the portion of the system cover above stack 12; a cooling air stream passing through the cooling air path is shown by the arrows in , and . The components directly in the cooling air path include fuel tanks 52, and components of fuel regulating system 54 such as pressure relief valve 64, main gas valve 66, and hydrogen regulator 68. Components not directly in the cooling air path are fluidly connected to the cooling air path, and include purge valve 70 connected to duct 724 via purge conduit (not shown) and low pressure relief valve 742 connected to an outlet near fuel regulating system 54 via conduit 746. When cooling air fan 84 is operational, the cooling air stream carries leaked/discharged hydrogen through duct 724, past stack 12, and out of system 10 in the direction of the arrows shown in , , and . Hydrogen concentration sensor S5 is strategically placed as far downstream as possible in the cooling air stream to detect hydrogen carried in the cooling air stream.
Hydrogen concentration sensor S5 is also placed in the vicinity of the components of fuel regulating system 54 to improve detection of hydrogen leaks / discharges from fuel regulating system 54.
Fuel cell system 10 can employ a number of operating states that may determine which operations or tasks microcontroller 40 executes, and may determine the response of microcontroller 40 to various readings or measurements of the fuel cell system operating parameters. Microcontroller 40 executes software that can be programmed into and executed from an on-chip flash memory of microcontroller 40 or in other controller-readable memory. In particular, fuel cell system 10 can employ a standby state, starting state, running state, warning state, failure state, and stopping state.
In a standby state fuel cell stack 12 is not operating and the microcontroller 40 monitors a startline for a startup signal. For example, operator activation of a start button or switch (not shown) can generate the startup signal on the startup line.
In a starting state, microcontroller 40 initializes itself, places all actuators and control devices in their proper initial states, enables a serial interface, starts a watchdog timer, and performs a series of checks to ensure that all systems and components are operational. If the outcomes of the checks are satisfactory, microcontroller 40 causes the external load to be connected and enters a running state, otherwise the fuel cell system 10 enters a failure state without becoming operational.
In a running state, fuel and oxidant are supplied to the fully operational fuel cell stack 12. Microcontroller 40 monitors the performance of the fuel cell system 10 based on the measured operating parameters, and controls the various systems via the various actuators discussed above. If microcontroller 40 determines that one or more operating parameters are outside of a warning range, microcontroller 40 places fuel cell system 10 into a warning state. If microcontroller 40 determines that one or more operating parameters are outside of a failure range, microcontroller 40 places the fuel cell system into a failure state. Otherwise, fuel cell system 10 continues in a running state until a stop signal is received on the startup line. In response to the stop signal, microcontroller 40 advances fuel cell system 10 from a running state to a stopping state if fuel cell system 10 has been in a running state for at least one minute. If so, the microcontroller 40 begins an extended shutdown procedure lasting approximately 45 seconds, during which time the fuel cell system 12 is in a stopping state. If not, microcontroller 40 engages the normal shutdown procedure and fuel cell system 10 proceeds directly from a running state to a standby state.
In a warning state, microcontroller 40 can provide a warning notification of the out-of-warning-range condition to the operator, but otherwise fuel cell system 10 continues to operate. Additionally, microcontroller 40 can write a warning condition code corresponding to the out-of-warning-range condition to persistent memory 42.
In a failure state, microcontroller 40 immediately stops operation of fuel cell system 10 and writes a fault condition code to persistent memory 42. Fuel cell system 10 remains in a failure state until a stop signal is received on the startline. In response to the stop signal, microcontroller 40 completes the shut down of fuel cell system 10 and places fuel cell system 10 into a standby state.
In a stopping state, microcontroller 40 shuts down the various components of fuel cell system 10, stopping operation of fuel cell system 10. Once the various components have been shut down, microcontroller 40 places fuel cell system 10 into a standby state.
Figure 9
shows an exemplary method 100 of operation for fuel cell system 10 starting in step 102. In step 104, microcontroller 40 determines the oxygen concentration in the ambient atmosphere surrounding the fuel cell system 10. Microcontroller 40 relies on an oxygen concentration measurement from the oxygen concentration sensor S7. Microcontroller 40 may scale or correct the measurement using oxygen concentration sensor constants stored in the persistent memory 42 which are specific to the particular oxygen concentration sensor S7 in the fuel cell system 10. In step 106, microcontroller 40 compares the determined oxygen concentration level to an oxygen concentration threshold value. Microcontroller 40 can ascertain whether the reading from the oxygen concentration sensor S7 is within normal operating limits to detect malfunctions of oxygen concentration sensor S7. For example, in the described embodiment, analog signals from oxygen concentration sensor S7 may be considered valid if between 2.0V and 4.25V.
The oxygen concentration threshold value is set at approximately 18%, which corresponds to a lower limit for sustaining human health. Generally, operating fuel cell system 10 in larger, well-ventilated and well-stirred rooms should not deplete the oxygen level in the room below the oxygen concentration threshold. The risk of depleting the oxygen level below the oxygen concentration threshold increases with smaller room sizes and/or poorer ventilation.
In a typical smaller-sized residential room having relatively poor ventilation, continuous operation of fuel cell system 10 at a relatively low load setting may deplete the oxygen level in the room below the oxygen concentration threshold in a matter of hours. For example, for fuel cell system 10 having a rated net output of about 1kW (maximum voltage 50 VDC) consuming fuel at about 16 slpm at maximum rated power, consuming air at up to 90 slpm at maximum rated power, and operating continuously at a load setting of 10 amperes in a 8'X9'X8' room having a relatively poor ventilation rate of 0.25 Air Changes per Hour (ACH), the oxygen level in the room was depleted below 18% in less than ten hours.
Figure 9
To ensure that fuel cell system 10 does not operate when the oxygen level has fallen below the oxygen concentration threshold, microcontroller 40 regularly samples readings from oxygen sensor S7. The sampling may be performed continuously or periodically. Referring back to , if the determined oxygen concentration is below the oxygen concentration threshold, in step 108 microcontroller 40 is configured to pass control to step 110 to shut down operation of fuel cell system 10. The method 100 terminates in step 112. If the determined oxygen concentration is greater than the oxygen concentration threshold, in step 108 microcontroller 40 passes control to step 114.
As discussed above, microcontroller 40 is configured to open the purge valve 70 intermittently to discharge impurities and other non-reactive components that have accumulated in the fuel passages of fuel cell stack 12. The discharge may include trace amounts of unreacted hydrogen. To ensure that the hydrogen discharge from fuel cell stack 12 does not cause the hydrogen concentration in the room to build to a flammable concentration, microcontroller 40 is configured to shut down fuel cell system 10 operation in the event that the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of fuel cell system 10 exceeds a hydrogen concentration threshold.
i
e
The hydrogen concentration threshold is set at 1%, significantly below the lower flammability limit (LFL) for hydrogen (.., 4% of atmosphere). In step 114, microcontroller 40 determines the hydrogen concentration. Microcontroller 40 relies on a hydrogen concentration reading from the hydrogen concentration sensor S5. In step 116, microcontroller 40 compares the determined hydrogen concentration to a hydrogen concentration threshold. If the determined hydrogen concentration is greater than the hydrogen concentration threshold, in step 118 Microcontroller 40 passes control to step 110 to shut down the fuel cell system 10. If the determined hydrogen concentration is less than the hydrogen concentration threshold, in step 118 microcontroller 40 passes control to step 120.
i
e
Microcontroller 40 is configured to control the operation of purge valve 70 to limit the average rate of hydrogen discharged on a continuous basis for fuel cell system 10 to below a critical hydrogen discharge rate, .., the minimum rate that would cause the hydrogen concentration in the vicinity of fuel cell system 10 to exceed a high hydrogen condition before the oxygen concentration in the vicinity of fuel cell system 10 falls below the oxygen concentration threshold value. This ensures that the occurrence of a low oxygen condition (where the oxygen concentration of the room falls below the oxygen concentration threshold) will initiate a system shutdown before the occurrence of a high hydrogen concentration condition. In this embodiment, the high hydrogen concentration condition is configured to correspond to the LFL of hydrogen, namely, of about 4% of atmosphere.
i
e
By configuring microcontroller 40 in this manner, the fuel cell system 10 should cease operation before the LFL is reached even in the event of a hydrogen sensor S7 failure, provided that the average continuous hydrogen discharge rate from the system does not exceed the critical hydrogen discharge rate. In one scenario, .., for a room such as a closet having dimensions 0.91 x 1.02 x 2.44 meter (36 x 40 x 96 inches) with relatively low air exchange of 0.05 ACH, the critical hydrogen discharge rate is approximately 1 liter/minute (continuous). Thus, the oxygen concentration monitoring can serve as a backup for hydrogen concentration monitoring if the anticipated or expected dissipation of hydrogen from fuel cell system 10, for example from controlled purging and/or from anticipated leaks, is maintained at a level below the critical hydrogen discharge rate. Fuel cell system 10 can employ larger critical hydrogen discharge rates if it is certain that fuel cell system 10 will operate in larger rooms and/or in rooms with higher air exchange rates than set out for the scenario, above. Empirical testing can be performed to determine the appropriate critical hydrogen discharge rates for different rooms and different air exchange rates.
In step 120, microcontroller 40 determines the temperature of fuel cell stack 12. Microcontroller 40 relies on the temperature measurement from the fuel cell temperature sensor S1. In step 122, microcontroller 40 compares the determined temperature to a temperature failure threshold. If the determined temperature is greater than the temperature failure threshold, in step 124 microcontroller 40 passes control to step 110 to shut down operation of the fuel cell stack 12. If the determined temperature is not greater than the temperature failure threshold, the microcontroller 40 in step 124 returns control to step 104 to monitor operation of fuel cell system 10.
Alternatively, or additionally, microcontroller 40 determines the temperature of the ambient air proximate fuel cell stack 12. The microcontroller 40 relies on the temperature measurement from the ambient air temperature sensor S10. In alternative or additional step 122, microcontroller 40 compares the determined temperature to an ambient air temperature failure threshold. Microcontroller 40 passes control to step 110 entering a failure state to stop operation of fuel cell stack 12 if the ambient air temperature is below the ambient air temperature failure threshold, since water vapor in the reactant channels 30 may be frozen. In an alternative embodiment, microcontroller 40 can additionally, or alternatively determine if the temperature of the ambient air is too high for operation, passing control to step 110 to stop operation of fuel cell stack 12 if the temperature exceeds an upper ambient temperature failure threshold.
Figure 10
shows a failure state method 200 for stopping operation of the fuel cell system 10 in response to either a low oxygen concentration or a high hydrogen concentration in the ambient atmosphere, starting in step 202. In step 204, microcontroller 40 disconnects an external load from fuel cell system 10 by, for example, opening the circuit relay with the power circuit relay controller CS6, while continuing to supply power to the electronic fuel cell monitoring and control system 14. In step 206, microcontroller 40 closes main gas valves 66 and hydrogen regulator 68. Additionally, microcontroller 40 may close the hydrogen tank valves 56 where such values are automatically controlled by microcontroller 40. In step 208, microcontroller 40 sends an appropriate signal to the purge valve controller CS4 to close the purge valve 70, if the purge valve is open. While the purge valve is typically closed during operation, the purge valve may open for brief intervals, for example, to purge impurities from the fuel cell stack 12. The method 200 ensures that the purge valve is closed as part of the stopping procedure.
In step 210, microcontroller 40 disconnects the stack power which provides power from fuel cell stack 12 to operate fuel cell system 10 including fuel cell electronic fuel cell monitoring and control system 14. In the same step, the fuel cell electronic control system 14 switches to battery power. In step 212, microcontroller 40 provides signals to air compressor controller CS1 to turn off the air compressor 78. In step 214, microcontroller 40 provides a signal to the cooling fan controller CS3 to turn off the cooling fans 84.
In step 216, microcontroller 40 determines whether a fault has occurred in the fuel cell system 10. The faults can include an out of range operating parameter, such as excessive hydrogen concentration, low oxygen concentration, excessive stack current, low stack voltage, high stack temperature, low or high ambient temperature, or low battery voltage. Faults can also include microcontroller failures or errors, such as a faulty register. If a fault has occurred, microcontroller 40 passes control to step 218 in which the system variables are reset, and the shutdown method 200 terminates in step 220. If a fault has not occurred, control is passed to step 222, where microcontroller 40 writes a fault condition code to the persistent memory 42.
Storing the fault condition code in persistent memory 42 permits microcontroller 40 to recall the fault condition code on subsequent attempts to restart the fuel cell system 10. Certain fault condition codes may be classed as restartable faults, indicating to the microcontroller 40 that the microcontroller 40 may restart the fuel cell system 10 after a shut down. Other fault condition codes may be classed as non-restartable faults, indicating to microcontroller 40 that microcontroller 40 may not restart the fuel cell system 10 after a shut down. The classification of the fault condition codes may be based on severity of the fault, and/or the likelihood that a shut down will remedy the cause of the fault. The stored fault condition code may also be used in diagnosing the fuel cell system 10.
In step 224, microcontroller 40 determines whether the fault was a restartable fault. A restartable fault occurs when the fault is not expected to affect fuel cell system 10 when fuel cell system 10 is restarted. If a non-restartable fault has occurred, microcontroller 40 passes control to step 218 to set a non-restartable status flag in the persistent memory 42 and the microcontroller 40 terminates the method in step 220. If a restartable fault has not occurred, then microcontroller 40 passes control directly to step 220 to terminate operation.
The teachings provided herein of the invention can be applied to other fuel cell systems, not necessarily the solid polymer fuel cell system described above. | |
.
The Cassini Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI) will be one of 12 science instruments on the main (non-Probe) spacecraft and one of 6 instruments designed primarily to investigate the space environments around Saturn and around its satellites. The space environment consists of electromagnetic fields, plasmas (ionized gases), energetic charged particle (ions and electrons), neutral gases, and dust particulates. More general information about the space environment of Saturn and the science investigations designed to probe these environments can be found at the
Cassini MAPS: Magnetospere & Plasma Science Working Group
.
As described more fully below, the magnetospheric or space environment of a planet interacts in important and interesting ways with the other constituents of a planetary system. Interest in the study of planetary magnetospheres is broadly based. In particular, planetary magnetospheres constitute the few astrophysical plasma environments that are accessible to direct, in- situ measurement. Most astrophysical plasmas (e. g. pulsar environments, astrophysical jets, other x-ray emitting regions such as the crab nebula, stellar atmospheres, etc.) are accessible only to remote sensing, and the detailed physical processes that give rise to the global configurations and behaviors must be guessed. Planetary magnetospheres offer astrophysical plasma environments whereby the global configurations can be imaged with new technologies while at the same time the detailed physical processes can be measured directly in-situ. The study of planetary magnetospheres therefore has broad implications for the study of the behaviors of astrophysical plasmas throughout the Universe. A schematic of a
sample planetary magnetosphere
is provided here, including references to some of the terminology and regions of space referred to in the discussions given below.
An apparently fundamental characteristic of planetary magnetospheres is that they are prodigious accelerators of charged particles. Within the Earth's magnetosphere the most well-known consequences of this process are the beautiful optical displays of the polar regions called auroras (Northern and Southern lights) and the Van Allen radiation belts that surround the Earth, posing radiation hazards to both astronauts and sensitive equipment. Because of the acceleration properties of magnetospheres, the ions and electrons (charged particles) measured by the MIMI instrument are always significant, and sometimes dominant, components of the particle populations and plasmas that fill planetary magnetospheres. The characterization of the processes that generate aurorae and the radiation belts at Saturn are among the objectives of the MIMI instrument.
Saturn, its atmosphere, rings, moons, and plasma envelope (magnetosphere) are all closely coupled, and consequently interact through the exchange of matter and energy. Planetary magnetospheres are populated primarily by the exchange of matter with the planetary ionospherex, satellites, and rings. Energetic particles and plasmas modify the upper atmospheres (yielding ionization, heating, bulk motions or winds, and chemical modification), satellite surfaces (removing material via, e. g., sputtering and modifying the nature of the surface materials), and rings (again modifying the surfaces and participating in the transport of particulate matter via surface and deep penetration charging effects). Planetary magnetospheres inject fast neutral atoms, plasmas and energetic particles into the interplanetary medium. In turn, the interplanetary medium, via the supersonic solar wind pressures, magnetic fields, etc. help establish the magnetospheric configuration including the bowshock, magnetopause, magnetotail; and it apparently energizes such dynamical events as magnetospheric substorms (global magnetospheric reconfigurations that result from the conversion of electromagnetic energy into charged particle heating and acceleration). At Saturn, Titan presents a dense atmosphere within Saturn's magnetosphere where escape of atmospheric constituents contributes to a neutral gas cloud that is an important, if not dominant, source of plasma for the magnetosphere.
As described elsewhere, the
MIMI instrument
will measure the energetic charged particle and hot plasma environment of Saturn by means of remote imaging of the hot ions populations and with localized, in-situ measurements. In particular, MIMI will utilize the new technique of global magnetospheric imaging to help the MIMI team achieve its science goals (see
Energetic Neutral Atom Imaging
for sample images of Saturn's magnetosphere). The MIMI science goals are listed under
science objectives
. | http://cassini-mimi.jhuapl.edu/bground2.html |
Pamela DuMond. This book had me in an unshakable grip from page one, although I’ll be honest I didn’t try shaking it too much. This story has so many amazing aspects that draw readers in and takes them on quite the journey. With amazing characters that you fall in love with. Evie is one of my favorite characters I’ve gotten to read about and her story is not one you want to miss. There’s some twists and turns that had me turning the pages as fast as I could so I could see what was going to happen. It’s well written and paced nicely, never feeling rushed or lacking anything. It’s a well balanced story with characters you connect with and root for. I can’t wait to read more from this author. I’m giving this book a five star review and highly recommend it. | https://itsybitsybookbits.com/2019/01/player-21st-century-courtesan-book-1-by-pamela-dumond-review-by-katie-kearney/ |
The biggest current threat to global growth is a trade war. There are other risks, too. The U.S. Federal reserve is unwinding quantitative easing and raising rates, but is making the policy shifts very gradually, with careful market guidance. Governments are focused on whether they need to cut taxes, not raise them; so, no growth risks from fiscal policy. Consumer confidence is relatively high around the world, from mature industrial countries to young emerging-market nations. Equity market valuation might appear high to some, but stock market corrections do not cause recessions unless there is a financial panic – and systematic risks from financial institutions are much lower than when the last crisis occurred in 2008. After considering the other risks, we stand by our analysis that if the current synchronized global economic expansion is derailed, the most likely cause will be a trade war. YET, we are optimistic. So far, the actions taken earn only the terminology of “Skirmishes,” but if they escalate to “Battles” and then a “Trade War,” we will need to re-assess the risks. Here is our review of the issues and challenges.
The trade skirmishes began in earnest in March 2018 with the US imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum in the name of national security. The US temporarily exempted Mexico and Canada pending progress on the NAFTA negotiation, held open the possibility that other countries might be exempted, but did not exempt Europe. The European Union is expected to retaliate with highly focused tariffs, from jeans to bourbon to motorcycles, designed to hit some hot-button pain points involving name-brand companies. Later in March, the US leveled tariffs on China, aimed at intellectual property.
In progress in the spring of 2018 are the US-Canada-Mexico negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). While technical committees involved in the negotiations reportedly have made some progress on the small issues, the big issues that separate the US from Canada and Mexico revolving around domestic-content rules (think autos) and how to handle disputes (the US wants a system more to its liking), are far from being resolved. Indeed, while the US rhetoric about unfair trade practices is often aimed at China, the steel and aluminum tariffs can also be seen as bargaining chips in the NAFTA negotiations. Our take-away is that the US is only a very short step away from announcing its intention to withdraw from NAFTA. We note that announcing the intention to withdraw triggers a six-month waiting period. At the end of the six months is when the final decision to withdraw or not would be made.
One should not ignore the Brexit negotiations between the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) for the UK to exit the free trade zone, as they are not going well – actually they are not moving much at all. The UK has tended to negotiate as if they were equals with the EU. By analogy, though, if this were a card game, the EU holds four aces and the UK does not have a single pair – yet the UK continues to poker bluff for better terms, even though everyone’s cards are on the table for all to view. The strategy is not working because there are some fundamental inconsistencies at its heart. The first problem for UK Prime Minister Theresa May is that the Conservative Party is split with some ‘hard’ Brexit advocates and some ‘soft’ Brexit advocates. Another problem for the UK is Ireland. May has promised to treat Northern Ireland the same as England, Scotland and Wales. She has also promised the Democratic Unionist Party (DUB), whose 10 votes she needs to remain in power in Parliament, that she will keep an open border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is very hard to conceive of how one keeps an open border with Ireland without putting some border controls in place between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. And, how do you keep free trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland yet impose different rules on the rest of the UK versus the EU? It just does not add up.
Thus, the odds have risen that either the Conservative Party will revolt and select a new Prime Minister, or the DUB will withdraw its 10 votes and force a new election. If there is a new election, the Labour Party would have a reasonable chance to win; indeed, it might even be favored. What this means for trade between the UK and EU is that the UK is currently headed down a path in which it will miss the 2019 deadline for a deal to leave the EU, and the EU may just say good-bye and force a ‘hard’ Brexit, meaning more political repercussions in the UK and damage to UK trade with the EU.
There has been some action toward freer trade. In March, a group of 11 nations, without the US, signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, renaming it the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which cuts tariffs among the member nations. The signing of the CPTPP underscores the US withdrawal from a leadership role in multi-lateral global affairs and reaffirms the intent of many other countries to strengthen mutual trade ties. This has the potential to reshape long-term trading patterns in goods, services, and commodities in a way that would disadvantage US-based companies and producers.
The trade pact in Latin America is gaining new traction, in part as a reaction to US protectionism. Mercosur, effectively the “Common Market of the South,” is likely to move to lower tariffs with other countries and regions outside South America so as to better diversify their trade relationships. In Africa, 44 countries have signed a new free trade pact – although the two richest nations, Nigeria and South Africa, remain aloof.
In short, the sources of trade tensions are getting increasingly serious, yet there are signs of freer trade, too. On the negative side, the US is moving unilaterally to impose tariffs. The renegotiation of NAFTA is about to hit major roadblocks, and no Brexit deal is in sight, increasing the odds of a “hard” exit for the UK and the worst case for UK-EU trade. On the positive side of the ledger, Pacific Rim nations, the CPTPP-11, are moving to create a customs zone without the US Freer trade is coming to South America as Mercosur is re-energized. African nations are bonding together. The glass is half full, but there are many risks.
The Hedge Fund Journal’s premium content is only available to subscribers and those on our complimentary 7-day trial. Join today for the latest in-depth profiles and commentary covering the full spectrum of the hedge fund industry. | https://thehedgefundjournal.com/the-initiation-of-trade-wars-battles-skirmishes/ |
Bladder infection, pregnancy, sugar levels or kidney problems: there is a lot to read from our urine. But how do you know when something is wrong? General practitioner Edwin de Vaal (47) answers.
What exactly is urine?
"Urine is made by the kidneys. Before it enters your bladder, your kidneys extract the useful substances such as vitamins, minerals, sugars and hormones and bring them back into the blood. This way waste products, but also too many salts, remain, sugars or vitamins. They end up in the bladder and urinate. "
Do you have to worry if your urine smells different or has a different color?
"Your pee can sometimes have a different odor or color. That is usually due to nutrition. Think of beets, asparagus or certain herbs. Sometimes the urine is a bit cloudy. That also often comes from food."
"If you pee blood, you must go to the doctor immediately." Edwin de Vaal, doctor
"Occasionally there is a bladder infection, but cloudy urine without further complaints is not in itself a reason to consult your doctor. Even if you urinate blood. That is an alarm signal that you should go to the doctor immediately."
And if your pee is very dark?
"If your urine is very dark, cola-colored, you also have to go to the doctor immediately. This may indicate a closure of the bile ducts. Often this is accompanied by white stools and yellow eye white. But with urine that is slightly darker than usual, orange-colored "You don't have to go to the doctor. Usually you don't drink or sweat too much. The urine is very concentrated. That translates into that dark color."
Is that bad?
"If you systematically drink too little, that is not so healthy. Water is needed for all kinds of bodily functions, but the kidneys also benefit from sufficient fluid. If you have drunk little water, the kidneys have to work harder to get back the fluid that you lack. to get."
How much water should we drink?
"A minimum of 1.5 liters of moisture per day, even more when it's very hot. You can also include juices, tea and coffee."
There are also urine tests. What things can the doctor read from this?
"There are several disorders that can be detected in the urine. Bladder infection or pregnancy, for example. But also a too high sugar level or a problem with the kidneys themselves."
See also: What is a bladder infection and how you can sometimes remedy it yourself
"For example, if the filter in the kidneys does not work properly, there may be protein in the urine. The kidneys help keep the blood composition constant so that all chemical reactions in your body can go well. If something is wrong there, you sometimes see it again in the urine. "
What is the healthiest way to pee?
"Prefer not to hold your pee and do not press while urinating. Older men often have more difficulty with urinating. This is probably due to the interplay of all pelvic floor muscles: the muscles in the bladder and the prostate. But there is still no consensus on that "
"I advise men who are less able to urinate to find out what works best for urinating; standing or sitting. Sitting can sometimes help. But sometimes I also refer them to the pelvic floor physiotherapist or prescribe medication temporarily so that urinating can occur again becomes easier. "
Every week Edwin de Vaal (47), general practitioner in Nijmegen, answers a frequently asked or striking question from his practice at NU.nl.
Call
Do you have a question for doctor Edwin de Vaal? | https://www.tellerreport.com/life/2019-09-26---how-do-you-know-when-something-is-wrong-with-your-urine--.r1Wuml9wH.html |
SCDP is a USAID three-year project that will support the sustainability of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP). This will be done by ensuring stronger governance and improved public accountability in the education sector through systems building and institutional strengthening of Program Management and Implementation Unit (PMIU) and School Education Department (SED). The work extends to all 7 Districts of Sindh Sukkur; Khairpur; Kashmore; Jacobabad, Larkana Qambar Shahdadkot and Dadu and 5 Towns of Karachi : Lyari, ,Kemari, Orangi, Bin Qasim and Gadap. It has been awarded to Deloitte Yousuf Adil Chartered Accountants (Deloitte) by USAID and commenced in August 2015.
SCDP aims to:
- Improve efficiency and effectiveness of the (PMIU) to manage and implement SBEP in an effective and transparent manner;
- Strengthen the effectiveness and impact of SBEP through the implementation of the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan and further disseminate knowledge to guide the education sector's M&E programs and practices in Sindh;
- Facilitate the systematic generation of knowledge on education challenges and innovative interventions and strategies to inform decision-makers for the improvement of education policies and programs in general and SBEP in particular;
- Strengthen capacities, systems and policies of the School Education Department (SED) to improve the education services in conjunction with the education reforms in Sindh
Strategically the SCDP is focused on four concurrent work streams: | https://www.sbep.gos.pk/program-areas/program/8 |
The health and well-being of our program participants, volunteers, and staff is of the utmost importance to Rocky Mountain Adaptive (RMA). We have developed the following COVID-19 Protocols using Health and Safety recommendations provided by Alberta Health Services and other industry guidelines.
Recommendations and guidelines from AHS and other industries are continuously updating. Please ensure you have referenced our most current documents before attending any RMA activities.
Participants from Outside Alberta
Please keep up to date with Federal and Provincial guidelines when it comes to travelling to Alberta. Rocky Mountain Adaptive reserves the right to cancel lessons if non-essential travel is restricted or not recommended by the government.
Resort Specific Guidelines
Each resort in the Canadian Rockies has their own specific COVID-19 protocols. Some resorts are choosing to follow the Restrictions Exemption Program. RMA will follow all protocols implemented at the individual resorts. Learn more about resort COVID-19 Protocols by clicking the links below. | https://rockymountainadaptive.com/covid/ |
A hard surface cleaner includes a motorized scrub head, a fluid recovery device, a primary cleaning liquid component container, a cleaning agent container, a flow control device and a fluid flow path. The flow control device is configured to supply a flow of cleaning agent from the cleaning agent container at a flow rate of less than approximately 10 cubic centimeters per minute to a flow of primary cleaning liquid component from the primary cleaning liquid component container. The fluid flow path is configured to receive a flow of cleaning liquid, which comprises the cleaning agent and the primary cleaning liquid component. A method of dispensing a chemical for use in a mobile hard surface cleaner includes driving a flow of cleaning agent from a cleaning agent container at a flow rate of less than approximately 10 cubic centimeters per minute, supplying a flow of primary cleaning liquid component from a cleaning liquid component container supported by the hard floor surface cleaner, combining the flow of cleaning agent and the flow of primary cleaning liquid component to form a flow of cleaning liquid, and dispensing the flow of cleaning liquid to either a motorized scrub head or a surface under the hard floor surface cleaner. | |
Few facts of experience are as obvious and pervasive as the distinction between past and future. We remember one, but anticipate the other. If you run a movie backwards, it doesn’t look realistic. We say there is an arrow of time, which points from past to future.
One might expect that a fact as basic as the existence of time’s arrow would be embedded in the fundamental laws of physics. But the opposite is true. If you could take a movie of subatomic events, you’d find that the backward-in-time version looks perfectly reasonable. Or, put more precisely: The fundamental laws of physics—up to some tiny, esoteric exceptions, as we’ll soon discuss—will look to be obeyed, whether we follow the flow of time forward or backward. In the fundamental laws, time’s arrow is reversible.
Everyday experience violates T invariance, while the fundamental laws respect it. That blatant mismatch raises challenging questions. How does the actual world, whose fundamental laws respect T symmetry, manage to look so asymmetric? Is it possible that someday we’ll encounter beings with the opposite flow—beings who grow younger as we grow older? Might we, through some physical process, turn around our own body’s arrow of time?
Why should the fundamental laws have that bizarre and problem-posing property, T invariance?
Those dramatic developments around P (non)invariance stimulated physicists to question T invariance, a kindred assumption they had also once taken for granted. But the hypothesis of T invariance survived close scrutiny for several years. It was only in 1964 that a group led by James Cronin and Valentine Fitch discovered a peculiar, tiny effect in the decays of K mesons that violates T invariance.
The wisdom of Joni Mitchell’s insight—that “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”—was proven in the aftermath.
If, like small children, we keep asking, “Why?” we may get deeper answers for a while, but eventually we will hit bottom, when we arrive at a truth that we can’t explain in terms of anything simpler. At that point we must call a halt, in effect declaring victory: “That’s just the way it is.” But if we later find exceptions to our supposed truth, that answer will no longer do. We will have to keep going.
As long as T invariance appeared to be a universal truth, it wasn’t clear that our italicized question was a useful one. Why was the universe T invariant? It just was. But after Cronin and Fitch, the mystery of T invariance could not be avoided.
Many theoretical physicists struggled with the vexing challenge of understanding how T invariance could be extremely accurate, yet not quite exact. Here the work of Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa proved decisive. In 1973, they proposed that approximate T invariance is an accidental consequence of other, more-profound principles.
It turns out to be quite challenging to get all those ideas to cooperate. Together, they greatly constrain the possibilities for basic interactions.
Kobayashi and Maskawa, in a few brief paragraphs, did two things. First they showed that if physics were restricted to the particles then known (for experts: if there were just two families of quarks and leptons), then all the interactions allowed by the sacred principles also respect T invariance. If Cronin and Fitch had never made their discovery, that result would have been an unalloyed triumph. But they had, so Kobayashi and Maskawa went a crucial step further. They showed that if one introduces a very specific set of new particles (a third family), then those particles bring in new interactions that lead to a tiny violation of T invariance. It looked, on the face of it, to be just what the doctor ordered.
In subsequent years, their brilliant piece of theoretical detective work was fully vindicated. The new particles whose existence Kobayashi and Maskawa inferred have all been observed, and their interactions are just what Kobayashi and Maskawa proposed they should be.
Before ending this section, I’d like to add a philosophical coda. Are the sacred principles really sacred? Of course not. If experiments force scientists to modify those principles, they will do so. But at the moment, the sacred principles look awfully good. And evidently it’s been fruitful to take them very seriously indeed.
So far I’ve told a story of triumph. Our italicized question, one of the most striking puzzles about how the world works, has received an answer that is deep, beautiful and fruitful.
But there’s a worm in the rose.
A few years after Kobayashi and Maskawa’s work, Gerard ’t Hooft discovered a loophole in their explanation of T invariance. The sacred principles allow an additional kind of interaction. The possible new interaction is quite subtle, and ’t Hooft’s discovery was a big surprise to most theoretical physicists.
The new interaction, were it present with substantial strength, would violate T invariance in ways that are much more obvious than the effect that Cronin, Fitch and their colleagues discovered. Specifically, it would allow the spin of a neutron to generate an electric field, in addition to the magnetic field it is observed to cause. (The magnetic field of a spinning neutron is broadly analogous to that of our rotating Earth, though of course on an entirely different scale.) Experimenters have looked hard for such electric fields, but so far they’ve come up empty.
Nature does not choose to exploit ’t Hooft’s loophole. That is her prerogative, of course, but it raises our italicized question anew: Why does Nature enforce T invariance so accurately?
Several explanations have been put forward, but only one has stood the test of time. The central idea is due to Roberto Peccei and Helen Quinn. Their proposal, like that of Kobayashi and Maskawa, involves expanding the standard model in a fairly specific way. One introduces a neutralizing field, whose behavior is especially sensitive to ’t Hooft’s new interaction. Indeed if that new interaction is present, then the neutralizing field will adjust its own value, so as to cancel that interaction’s influence. (This adjustment process is broadly similar to how negatively charged electrons in a solid will congregate around a positively charged impurity and thereby screen its influence.) The neutralizing field thereby closes our loophole.
Peccei and Quinn overlooked an important, testable consequence of their idea. The particles produced by their neutralizing field—its quanta—are predicted to have remarkable properties. Since they didn’t take note of these particles, they also didn’t name them. That gave me an opportunity to fulfill a dream of my adolescence.
A few years before, a supermarket display of brightly colored boxes of a laundry detergent named Axion had caught my eye. It occurred to me that “axion” sounded like the name of a particle and really ought to be one. So when I noticed a new particle that “cleaned up” a problem with an “axial” current, I saw my chance. (I soon learned that Steven Weinberg had also noticed this particle, independently. He had been calling it the “Higglet.” He graciously, and I think wisely, agreed to abandon that name.) Thus began a saga whose conclusion remains to be written.
In the chronicles of the Particle Data Group you will find several pages, covering dozens of experiments, describing unsuccessful axion searches.
Yet there are grounds for optimism.
The theory of axions predicts, in a general way, that axions should be very light, very long-lived particles whose interactions with ordinary matter are very feeble. But to compare theory and experiment we need to be quantitative. And here we meet ambiguity, because existing theory does not fix the value of the axion’s mass. If we know the axion’s mass we can predict all its other properties. But the mass itself can vary over a wide range. (The same basic problem arose for the charmed quark, the Higgs particle, the top quark and several other others. Before each of those particles was discovered, theory predicted all of its properties except for the value of its mass.) It turns out that the strength of the axion’s interactions is proportional to its mass. So as the assumed value for axion mass decreases, the axion becomes more elusive.
In the early days physicists focused on models in which the axion is closely related to the Higgs particle. Those ideas suggested that the axion mass should be about 10 keV—that is, about one-fiftieth of an electron’s mass. Most of the experiments I alluded to earlier searched for axions of that character. By now we can be confident such axions don’t exist.
Attention turned, therefore, toward much smaller values of the axion mass (and in consequence feebler couplings), which are not excluded by experiment. Axions of this sort arise very naturally in models that unify the interactions of the standard model. They also arise in string theory.
Axions, we calculate, should have been abundantly produced during the earliest moments of the Big Bang. If axions exist at all, then an axion fluid will pervade the universe. The origin of the axion fluid is very roughly similar to the origin of the famous cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, but there are three major differences between those two entities. First: The microwave background has been observed, while the axion fluid is still hypothetical. Second: Because axions have mass, their fluid contributes significantly to the overall mass density of the universe. In fact, we calculate that they contribute roughly the amount of mass astronomers have identified as dark matter! Third: Because axions interact so feebly, they are much more difficult to observe than photons from the CMB.
The experimental search for axions continues on several fronts. Two of the most promising experiments are aimed at detecting the axion fluid. One of them, ADMX (Axion Dark Matter eXperiment) uses specially crafted, ultrasensitive antennas to convert background axions into electromagnetic pulses. The other, CASPEr (Cosmic Axion Spin Precession Experiment) looks for tiny wiggles in the motion of nuclear spins, which would be induced by the axion fluid. Between them, these difficult experiments promise to cover almost the entire range of possible axion masses.
Do axions exist? We still don’t know for sure. Their existence would bring the story of time’s reversible arrow to a dramatic, satisfying conclusion, and very possibly solve the riddle of the dark matter, to boot. The game is afoot.
Frank Wilczek is a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. | https://www.wired.com/2016/01/times-arrow-may-point-to-the-universes-missing-mass/ |
A workgroup initiated by CIHEF and ONIPPAM (FranceAgriMer since 2009) was set up in October 2007 to draft a sustainable development strategy for the lavender and lavandin essential oils sector with AFNOR providing methodological support.
The workgroup was made up of the stakeholders of the sector and the representatives of some of the interested parties. This strategy was to be the first step in the continuing progress objective set by the sector stakeholders who are committed to a citizen-based and responsible approach.
Sustainable development is an economic mode which aims at reconciling economic, technological, and social progress with environmental preservation, an essential heritage to be transmitted to future generations.
Here is the definition proposed in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in the Brundtland Report : « Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts: the concept of 'needs', in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future.»
Lavender and lavandin producers are anxious to share the views and objectives which will put them among the most exemplary sectors of XXIst century.
Producers, distillers and first marketers of essential oils are committed to:
This charter was signed on 10th April 2008 by the Minister of Agriculture and Fishery, Michel Barnier, during the Planète Durable Fair.
The Censo approach was created in order to meet the requirements of the first point of the Charter regarding the certification of the quality and the production mode of French essential oils. | http://www.censo-lavande.fr/en/a-natural-and-solidarity-commitment/a-natural-and-solidarity-commitment-102.html |
One sunny day, I travel around the forums and Facebook to spend my free time. I see a lot of questions of beginners asking about the differences from a blog and a website?
And, maybe you are one of the people who are also finding the answers: What is a blog? And, how is it different from a blog and a website?
If you still have hesitated to start creating a blog or website, the guides of this article will tell you the details.
With my long time experience in the blog and website development, your questions will be answered to support you to know more the fundamentals to step into the internet games, which is interesting but also get a lot of competitors.
What is a blog?
For common knowledge, a blog is considered a personal website. Some people can say it is a web-log that is an online diary. In any way, a blog is a form of a website.
But, when you come to some online sites, you can find the blogs’ contents are often updated with the latest posts at the top. So, the readers usually see the new things happen to them. That is one of the vital ways bloggers attract readers, so they need to work and write good content to upload more often or update the old posts to catch up with the correct information.
Although writing a blog is one of the interesting works, it is not easy to get success if the owers are lazy. It is because of the information that has just uploaded to the webs, it can become old after a few hours with the sharp changes of modern life. Thus, a good blog often renews and updates writing suitably.
The author of a blog is usually a person or small group with the same style of writing, living, and thinking. Most of the posts on its focus on sharing experiences, skills, and sometimes news.
Thus, if you want to share your hobby online, a blog is suitable for the beginning. And, with a blog, you can contact with your readers from the comments at the end of each post.
>>> You may want to read how to stop comment spam for your website.
The development of the blog platform
In the 1990s of the twenty century, some people created personal websites writing about their thoughts and ideas. With the limit of the technique, most of them had been developed with HTML and CSS, which is good for running but not flexible.
It can be considered as the first blog in the world created in 1993 with its domain of links.net; until now it has still a very old looking of design.
Although some platforms came to the internet, the first public blog could be reconsigned, which is www.livejournal.com which was created in 1999. This site is a place where plenty of people can publish their blogs. It has worked in that domain.
But, the term “weblog” was created in 1997; until 1999, to call it shorter, “blog” was used instead of “weblog”.
Then, the establishment of the blogger.com of Google in 2003 has known as the big step to the new way of blogging. Many features have started adding to the users, but they were limited for many features such as theme looking…
At the same year of 2003, another platform of WordPress.com was opened, though its first parts created in 2000. Then, the open-source platform of WordPress.org was published to the public to create a trend of creating a blog as well as a website.
And, the blogger.com of Google and WordPress platform has changed the ways of the development of blogs. Two fundamentals have good working nowadays; however, a lot of features have been changed to catch up with the needs of users and jumps of information technology (IT).
After all, the future of the blog may have more changes and development, because of the social networks like instagram.com, facebook.com. quora.com… that have increased strongly, making the habits of most people who use the internet as one part of their life.
Until now, over 35% of blogs and websites use the WordPress platform to create their 455,000,000 sites. And around 20% of this number run blogs and websites on their own web hosting or private servers, which is WordPress.org. And, I am one of them although I worked around with many other content management systems (CMS), and stop at WordPress.org platform.
Differences from a blog and website
The basic look is similar between a blog and a website. If you think and say both of them are the same, that is all right.
However, if we go deeper to analyze them, we can find out some differences as below.
For websites:
- The content is less changed,
- Supply the content to readers and customers more than to discuss,
- Created for organizing business or commerce purposes, promoting products or services,
- Create an official portfolio,
- Have own rules, conditions, and privacy,
- Maybe have a section for bogging, but not all of the websites.
For blogs:
- The content is often changed,
- Range the posts following date,
- Usually, used for reference,
- The posts are published to share own hobbies, thoughts, ideas, which can invite the readers to discuss,
- The blogs’ content often carries the features of news.
In general, almost websites aim to the target used for business. They are organized to sell products, services to clients. Therefore, their pages have contents with the ideas and intentions of the owners or organizations. On the other hand, supplying content is the king on blogs, and the content can be used for discussion.
The blog is better than the website?
As mentioned above, depending on the purposes of the owners, blogs can be useful in some circumstances, but websites can have strengths in some fields.
If you want to create a site for hobbies, and entertainment purposes, to write content for making money online in the future, the blog style is great.
If you want to sell a product such as shoes, clothes…, or to introduce yourself or companies, a website style should be set up.
And, If you want to lead the readers to increase customers for your business, starting a website with a blog section is a good idea.
Although when you want to create a blog or website, you need to pay attention to three important things.
- Select a good suitable platform to start your blog or business website. I like to choose WordPress, which is fast and easy to manage and develop. And, I have used WP for this blog, and other blogs and websites.
- Choose a nice domain name and good hosting to save your site. For many years of working in the internet sector, I often buy domains at Namecheap and hosting at Sectorlink. These are my favorite suppliers although others are also good, just my own opinions.
- Insert a nice theme for your blog interface, and choose suitable plugins to optimize the contents of sites to rank higher on Google. You can buy nice themes at themeforest.net or eleganttheme.com.
Now is your turn to start your spiritual products. And, tell me any questions when you want to know more. When will you start a site? | https://www.thomwebsite.com/what-is-blog/ |
Why do we write at universities?
By Liam Monaghan on May 21, 2019
Next time you sit down to tackle a writing assignment, imagine yourself as a member of a scholarly community. Every piece of writing has to have a writer, of course, but it also needs a reader, which students sometimes forget. Because we write to exchange ideas with someone else, you need to think about who you are writing to, why you are trying to communicate with them, and how you are going to get your ideas across. If you wanted to have a conversation with a monolingual French speaker, you’d have to learn to speak French. The same goes for academic specialists, whether their areas of expertise are sociology, physics, or business. To communicate with them effectively, you need to learn how to speak their language: that’s what it means to study in a discipline.
Besides attending lectures and labs, doing your readings, and meeting with your instructors, one of the best ways to accomplish this is by studying examples of the kind of writing you are trying to undertake. Let’s consider another analogy. If you’d never baked a chocolate cake before, would it make sense for you to try to bake one without first learning how somebody else did it? Of course not. You’d look for recipes, research the best ingredients, and maybe even ask for assistance. You should take the same approach to academic writing. If you’ve never read a literary essay before, you won’t be able to write a very good one. Without reading examples first, you wouldn’t know that most literary essays include integrated quotations from something called a “primary source,” or that, in the field of literary criticism specifically, it’s generally inadvisable to write in the passive voice—although in mathematics, it’s often desirable to write in the passive voice. As you can see, the expectations for how a research article should be written can vary across disciplines. It’s not surprising, then, that the expectations for completely different types of assignments—such as surveys and executive summaries—will also vary from subject to subject.
Before you start writing, it’s important to ask yourself, what kind of writing task is this? Next, you can ask, do I know how to do this type of writing? If the answer is “no,” then it’s time to do some research. Before you start, familiarize yourself with the distinguishing characteristics of the type of assignment you’ve been asked to do—what writing experts might call the “conventions of the genre.” That way, you’ll be able to impress your reader not only with all of the information you know, but also with your seemingly effortless ability to communicate that knowledge in the appropriate ways.
When academics publish a research article, they make strategic choices to structure and stylize their writing so that it can be understood and appreciated by other experts in their field. Now, it’s your turn to learn to do the same. Don’t be intimidated by the seemingly impossible task of learning “how to write perfectly.” Take it one assignment—and one type of writing task—at a time. Remember that your goal is to communicate your knowledge in a subject-specific way to a community of people who share your interests and speak your language. Before long, you won’t just be imaging yourself as a member of a scholarly community. You’ll really be one.
The Writing Pavilion is now open for the summer term from May 21-August 16, 2019. Book an appointment with one of our Writing Consultants, who will work with you to improve your writing, shape your writing process, and meet your goals. | https://learningcommons.ubc.ca/why-do-we-write-at-universities/ |
Medical malpractice occurs when a physician, hospital, dentist, or podiatrist in treating a patient departs from good and accepted medical practice, and that departure causes the patient to suffer injuries.
No attorney can tell whether you have a claim for medical malpractice without a thorough investigation of the facts. But all medical malpractice claims have certain legal requirements that potential clients should be aware of.
To prevail in a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff, the party bringing the case, has to prove two elements. First, one must prove that the treating physician or provider departed from good and accepted medical practice. Second, one must prove that this departure caused injuries.
Proof must be by a preponderance of the evidence, meaning the evidence on balance must weigh in your favor. This is an easier standard to meet than the “reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases.
Determining whether you have a case takes time to investigate. That’s why it’s critical to find out as soon as possible just how much time you have left to bring a lawsuit.
New York’s statutes of limitations impose time limits for bringing a lawsuit. If you miss the statute of limitations deadline, you cannot bring a claim even if the facts are on your side. The circumstances of each case must be closely examined to determine the applicable statute of limitations.
If the physician in question has continued to treat the condition that gives rise to the claim, then that time can be extended from the date of the last treatment.
If the claim is based on the discovery in the body of a foreign object, like a surgical sponge, then the time runs from when the object was or should have been discovered, whichever is earlier.
The statute of limitations may also be extended for other circumstances, such as when the injured party is a child. Also, where the treatment has caused death the statute of limitations is generally two years from the date of death.
If your case involves the state or a local government — for example, if the treatment was rendered at a public hospital — then you may face additional deadlines.
Where the State may be liable, you have only ninety days to do one of two things: either start a lawsuit by filing a Claim; or file a Notice of Intention to File A Claim, which allows you to start an action within two years from the treatment complained of.
Where a city or local government may be liable, you have ninety days to file a Notice of Claim. This does not start an action, but filing the Notice lets you start an action within one year and ninety days of the incident.
The first step in any medical malpractice investigation, even before bringing a lawsuit, is to review the relevant medical records. Complete and accurate copies must be obtained.
We then examine the records and if there appears to be malpractice which caused injury or death, we consult with an appropriate medical expert. After that consultation, if the medical expert agrees, we are able to represent you in connection with the case.
Once a case is begun, there is extensive pretrial discovery. This is where the parties exchange all relevant evidence. The parties will also have to appear for depositions, where they must answer questions under oath. These are usually done in a conference room rather than in court, but the transcripts of such depositions can be evidence at trial. Injured parties also usually have to appear for an examination by a physician hired by the defendants, who are entitled to confirm the injuries claimed.
Pursuing a medical malpractice action always requires retaining expert medical witnesses who can and will support the plaintiff’s claims at trial.
At the end of discovery — which can run a year or more — the parties will get a trial date. That will likely be months away, during which the parties might reach an agreement to settle the case.
While medical malpractice cases may settle before trial, it has been our experience that the best way to achieve a satisfactory settlement for a client is to be fully prepared and ready to proceed to trial. | http://dellicarpinilaw.com/medical-malpractice.shtml |
This time we describe how to store information in a database and why we selected etcd as the primary database.
The previous time we described how to generate MAC addresses, a key element of uncloud.
More Data
We now have a couple of running VMs, we want to remember which VMs are running and also add more information. Who owns a VM? And later also where is the VM running.
Database
We decided to use etcd as our primary database. The main reason for it is that we don't want to add a single point of failure into uncloud and we don't need guarantees provided by standard SQL.
An alternative we still consider is postgresql. While it is not inherently distributed (at all), it also supports storing JSON and has quite a sophisticated messaging system.
Refactoring: phasing in a database
So far we used a couple of python and shell scripts to create the base
of uncloud. Now that things become a bit more serious, we needed to
refactor our code. Shell and python scripts are cleaned up and
become python a proper python module, which we lovely call
uncloud.hack.
Python, ETCD and JSON
We decided to use python-etcd3 to access etcd from the python world, as it supports the API version 3.
For the data format we decided to use JSON, as it is easy to read.
Each VM is identified by a random UUID, so we don't need to store a counter for VMs.
Status
At this point uncloud can create VMs and the VMs are registered in etcd as the database. So while we don't have logic yet for (automatic) VM migration, the information about VMs is already stored in a distributed database.
So if one of our hosts vanishes, we can in theory already redeploy the existing VMs. | https://ungleich.ch/u/blog/how-to-build-an-openstack-alternative-step-4-adding-a-database/ |
We have multiple ways to acquire digital images from the real world: digital cameras, scanners, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging to name a few. In every case what we (humans) see are images. However, when transforming this to our digital devices what we record are numerical values for each of the points of the image.
For example in the above image you can see that the mirror of the car is nothing more than a matrix containing all the intensity values of the pixel points. How we get and store the pixels values may vary according to our needs, but in the end all images inside a computer world may be reduced to numerical matrices and other information describing the matrix itself. OpenCV is a computer vision library whose main focus is to process and manipulate this information. Therefore, the first thing you need to be familiar with is how OpenCV stores and handles images.
OpenCV has been around since 2001. In those days the library was built around a C interface and to store the image in the memory they used a C structure called IplImage. This is the one you'll see in most of the older tutorials and educational materials. The problem with this is that it brings to the table all the minuses of the C language. The biggest issue is the manual memory management. It builds on the assumption that the user is responsible for taking care of memory allocation and deallocation. While this is not a problem with smaller programs, once your code base grows it will be more of a struggle to handle all this rather than focusing on solving your development goal.
Luckily C++ came around and introduced the concept of classes making easier for the user through automatic memory management (more or less). The good news is that C++ is fully compatible with C so no compatibility issues can arise from making the change. Therefore, OpenCV 2.0 introduced a new C++ interface which offered a new way of doing things which means you do not need to fiddle with memory management, making your code concise (less to write, to achieve more). The main downside of the C++ interface is that many embedded development systems at the moment support only C. Therefore, unless you are targeting embedded platforms, there's no point to using the old methods (unless you're a masochist programmer and you're asking for trouble).
The first thing you need to know about Mat is that you no longer need to manually allocate its memory and release it as soon as you do not need it. While doing this is still a possibility, most of the OpenCV functions will allocate its output data automatically. As a nice bonus if you pass on an already existing Mat object, which has already allocated the required space for the matrix, this will be reused. In other words we use at all times only as much memory as we need to perform the task.
Mat is basically a class with two data parts: the matrix header (containing information such as the size of the matrix, the method used for storing, at which address is the matrix stored, and so on) and a pointer to the matrix containing the pixel values (taking any dimensionality depending on the method chosen for storing) . The matrix header size is constant, however the size of the matrix itself may vary from image to image and usually is larger by orders of magnitude.
OpenCV is an image processing library. It contains a large collection of image processing functions. To solve a computational challenge, most of the time you will end up using multiple functions of the library. Because of this, passing images to functions is a common practice. We should not forget that we are talking about image processing algorithms, which tend to be quite computational heavy. The last thing we want to do is further decrease the speed of your program by making unnecessary copies of potentially large images.
To tackle this issue OpenCV uses a reference counting system. The idea is that each Mat object has its own header, however the matrix may be shared between two instance of them by having their matrix pointers point to the same address. Moreover, the copy operators will only copy the headers and the pointer to the large matrix, not the data itself.
All the above objects, in the end, point to the same single data matrix. Their headers are different, however, and making a modification using any of them will affect all the other ones as well. In practice the different objects just provide different access method to the same underlying data. Nevertheless, their header parts are different. The real interesting part is that you can create headers which refer to only a subsection of the full data. For example, to create a region of interest (ROI) in an image you just create a new header with the new boundaries:
Now you may ask if the matrix itself may belong to multiple Mat objects who takes responsibility for cleaning it up when it's no longer needed. The short answer is: the last object that used it. This is handled by using a reference counting mechanism. Whenever somebody copies a header of a Mat object, a counter is increased for the matrix. Whenever a header is cleaned this counter is decreased. When the counter reaches zero the matrix too is freed. Sometimes you will want to copy the matrix itself too, so OpenCV provides the cv::Mat::clone() and cv::Mat::copyTo() functions.
Now modifying F or G will not affect the matrix pointed by the Mat header. What you need to remember from all this is that:
This is about how you store the pixel values. You can select the color space and the data type used. The color space refers to how we combine color components in order to code a given color. The simplest one is the gray scale where the colors at our disposal are black and white. The combination of these allows us to create many shades of gray.
For colorful ways we have a lot more methods to choose from. Each of them breaks it down to three or four basic components and we can use the combination of these to create the others. The most popular one is RGB, mainly because this is also how our eye builds up colors. Its base colors are red, green and blue. To code the transparency of a color sometimes a fourth element: alpha (A) is added.
There are, however, many other color systems each with their own advantages:
Each of the building components has their own valid domains. This leads to the data type used. How we store a component defines the control we have over its domain. The smallest data type possible is char, which means one byte or 8 bits. This may be unsigned (so can store values from 0 to 255) or signed (values from -127 to +127). Although in case of three components this already gives 16 million possible colors to represent (like in case of RGB) we may acquire an even finer control by using the float (4 byte = 32 bit) or double (8 byte = 64 bit) data types for each component. Nevertheless, remember that increasing the size of a component also increases the size of the whole picture in the memory.
In the Load, Modify, and Save an Image tutorial you have already learned how to write a matrix to an image file by using the cv::imwrite() function. However, for debugging purposes it's much more convenient to see the actual values. You can do this using the << operator of Mat. Be aware that this only works for two dimensional matrices.
Although Mat works really well as an image container, it is also a general matrix class. Therefore, it is possible to create and manipulate multidimensional matrices. You can create a Mat object in multiple ways:
cv::Mat::Mat Constructor
For two dimensional and multichannel images we first define their size: row and column count wise.
Then we need to specify the data type to use for storing the elements and the number of channels per matrix point. To do this we have multiple definitions constructed according to the following convention:
For instance, CV_8UC3 means we use unsigned char types that are 8 bit long and each pixel has three of these to form the three channels. This are predefined for up to four channel numbers. The cv::Scalar is four element short vector. Specify this and you can initialize all matrix points with a custom value. If you need more you can create the type with the upper macro, setting the channel number in parenthesis as you can see below.
Use C/C++ arrays and initialize via constructor
The upper example shows how to create a matrix with more than two dimensions. Specify its dimension, then pass a pointer containing the size for each dimension and the rest remains the same.
cv::Mat::create function:
You cannot initialize the matrix values with this construction. It will only reallocate its matrix data memory if the new size will not fit into the old one.
MATLAB style initializer: cv::Mat::zeros , cv::Mat::ones , cv::Mat::eye . Specify size and data type to use:
For small matrices you may use comma separated initializers or initializer lists (C++11 support is required in the last case):
Create a new header for an existing Mat object and cv::Mat::clone or cv::Mat::copyTo it.
In the above examples you could see the default formatting option. OpenCV, however, allows you to format your matrix output:
OpenCV offers support for output of other common OpenCV data structures too via the << operator:
Most of the samples here have been included in a small console application. You can download it from here or in the core section of the cpp samples.
You can also find a quick video demonstration of this on YouTube. | https://docs.opencv.org/3.4.3/d6/d6d/tutorial_mat_the_basic_image_container.html |
An international intellectual and cultural movement is growing to support the use of science and technology to further the progress of AI and the ethics surrounding its use. Without giving the future the full attention it deserves, how can you know what sort of future you want?
Humanity at large is on the brink of understanding that our future will be wildly different from the past. In the coming decades we may witness the human condition transform in fundamental ways. We can see the effects of accelerating technology on our desks, in our pockets and all around us, providing transformative solutions to problems that have plagued us at least since the dawn of recorded history.
Will we foresee the potentials and the perils of advanced artificial intelligence before it materialises in full maturity? Or will we be blind-sided by technological flux? Will we react with a knee jerk when what is needed is a kit of well-considered tools to carefully navigate change?
This edition of Issues canvasses opinions on the future of artificial intelligence (AI) and humanity. The essays within it paint pictures of the future that are coloured with opportunity, peril, risk, reward, and many shades in between.
Ben Goertzel (p.4) introduces us to the singularity, “a hypothetical future point in time when the rate of progress in science and technology becomes so fast that the human mind can’t possibly keep pace”. This phenomenon is unprecedented. To help understand this, Goertzel points to a conceptual difference between normal, narrow AI and artificial general intelligence (AGI). He refers to AGI as “a system that has a lot of focus on generalisation and the ability to extend intelligence beyond one particular domain”, and notes that humans do not have infinitely general intelligence.
Goertzel believes that the time is ripe to create AGI due to the convergence of a number of critical factors, such as advances in computer hardware performance, cognitive science and robotics. He predicts that “once a certain level of development is reached by any AGI research team, the rest of the world is going to wake up, [and] take notice,” prompting governments to fund large AGI projects.
Kevin Korb and Ann Nicholson (p.9) begin by highlighting the idea that AI might be unbound by the limits of intelligence that humans have, and an “intelligence explosion” is possible once a certain threshold is reached; as British mathematician I.J. Good has expressed, “the intelligence of man would be left far behind”.
Korb and Nicholson outline why AI may arise further into the future than what some optimists predict. There is much disagreement about when AI will achieve a high enough level of intelligence to achieve a singularity. Despite this Korb and Nicholson agree that there are potential dangers in creating intelligences similar to or greater than our own: “[The singularity’s] arrival could be hugely detrimental to humanity if the first AIs built are not ethical,” they write.
Hugo de Garis (p.13) poses a poignant question: “Should massively intelligent machines replace human beings as the dominant species in the next few decades?” He states that, in the near future, the artificial brain industry will be huge.
Naturally, questions will arise from having increasingly intelligent robots around: “Can the machines become smarter than humans? Is that a good thing?” From this concern de Garis predicts that a species dominance debate will arise with different ideologies clashing, resulting in an unavoidable war.
Steve Omohundro (p.24) explains why creating smart AI could pose a threat based on the drives an AI may develop to achieve its goals. He questions the common assumption that problematic robots could be unplugged: a smart AI will try to block any attempts to unplug it, “and if you persist in trying to stop it, it will develop a subgoal of trying to stop you permanently”. Furthermore, “if the robot can gain access to its source code, it will want to improve its own algorithms,” which will result in unpredictability.
Omohundro believes that the potential benefits of having a powerful AI that computes with value and meaning are enormous. So, to counteract unpredictability, we must build AIs with additional values beyond the goals they are designed for; that compute with meaning and take actions through rational deliberation. He suggests initially creating highly constrained AIs that act within very limited predetermined parameters. With the benefit of the intelligence of this constrained system, we can design the next generation of less constrained systems.
James Newton-Thomas (p.27) suggests that technological change will help us move further beyond our biological limitations. He says it increases our tool-making capacity and will enable us to further offload our intelligence into computing devices, which will help solve very difficult classes of problems.
Greg Adamson (p.31) discusses five barriers to socially beneficial technology: prohibition, intolerance, secrecy, greed and confusion. He suggests that these barriers are not top-of-mind for engineers, and he applauds those “advocates of the use of technology for social benefit rather than a source of non-productive profit”.
Natasha Vita-More (p.35) explains the transhuman, which “marks the beginning of our evolution from human as we merge with machines”. She says: “The transhuman is at a transitional stage of merging with technologies, resulting in a shedding a biological exclusivity”. This intermediary stage precedes a technological singularity, or at least a time at which we can achieve independence from the material body. Vita-More explains the history of transhuman thought, and its different strands.
Meredith Doig (p.37) says that even though transhumanism may seem far-fetched, it should be approached with an open mind: “As a rationalist, I am an advocate of the human capacity to reason, particularly in the service of improving the human condition. Transhumanism does this.” She observes that pursuing some of the goals of transhumanism may be like pursuing Utopia, which may irrevocably lead us away from what makes us human.
Randal Koene (p.41) introduces us to the idea that everything we experience and act upon – the very essence of who we are – can be reduced to patterns and processes in our minds: “So, when we say that we want to extend or expand life, what we really mean is that we want to extend or expand that processing in your mind”. Ultimately, the best survival mechanism, which also has the most headroom for diversity and richness of experience, is to extend and ultimately port the mind processes to more reliable and rich substrates.
In a second article, Vita-More (p.46) explores the singularity with a focus on life enhancement, allowing us to design our own experience and extend our life span significantly. “Unless human life can one day continue past its maximum biochemical process, humans can only augment, enhance, adopt and hybridise it,” she says.
What excites you about the future? What frightens you? We are at a unique stage in history as scientific and technological progress accelerates dramatically. I programmed on an Apple IIc when I was a kid in the 1980s, being the only one on my street with a computer. I did not believe that computers would one day be a part of most homes, and I did not think they would migrate to our pockets. I have seen astounding technological growth, and I now find it much easier to swallow the idea that technology will continue to accelerate. Strap yourselves in for a wild ride.
If you think through the possibilities of AI, you can better appreciate the consequences. The Internet is an enormous reference to ideologies, organisations and notable individuals, as well as special references to the singularity in art and fiction. Issues and other publications represent an exciting lexicon of knowledge about this very important set of topics.
Do you want to help build a better future? Don’t wait for permission; your energy is needed. I encourage you to continue to read and explore, form your own opinions and discover your personal potential to help in transforming the world of tomorrow. | http://www.issuesmagazine.com.au/article/issue-march-2012/guest-editorial.html |
On January 30th the 2015 Jury of Fellows from the American Institute of Architects provided public notice that Christ J Kamages, AIA, Principal of CJK DESIGN GROUP in San Rafael, was elected to the College of Fellows. This is a great honor and distinction in recognition of Christ’s over 33 years of multi-faceted Service, dedication, creativity and excellence in the field and profession of Architecture.
In his practice, Christ has been able to merge the many elements of a user-based systems approach and ancient, historic sacred spaces to address the modern realities of budgets, sustainability, adaptability and flexibility to create buildings that meet the myriad needs of faith communities.
As well as helming his practice, he has been active through the years in writing, lecturing and mentoring. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to educate, communicate and inspire the many groups involved with a project. This creative and holistic thinking and the practical application of that spirit and energy is what has drawn attention to and distinguished him among his peers.
Christ Kamages, with his National practice focused on Faith-Based communities and unique project development, is honored to be elevated to the College of Fellows.
Established in 1857, the American Institute of Architects is a professional association made up of Architects and a related field, which seeks to “promote the scientific and practical perfection of its members” and “elevate the standing of the profession.” Through the AIA, standards of ethics and business practice have been developed and members hold each other up to maintain the highest standards. Each year, the AIA selects Architects from its membership to be elevated to the status of Fellow. Fellowship is one of the highest honors the AIA can bestow upon a member. Elevation to Fellowship not only recognizes the achievements of the architect as an individual but also elevates before the public and the profession those architects who have made significant contributions to architecture and to society.
To become a Fellow one must first be nominated and then the nominee must put together an application including a portfolio of work. This Application should demonstrate how the applicant has served the Profession of Architecture and the Community at large through his or her work. Out of the thousands of applicants, 147 have been elevated this year. Out of a total AIA membership of over 85,000 there are just 3,200 members distinguished with this honor.
On Friday May 15, the 2015 Fellows will be honored at an investiture ceremony at the AIA Convention 2015 in Atlanta. The Ceremony will be held at the historic Ebeneezer Baptist Church. | http://www.cjkdesign.com/christ-kamages-elevated-to-aia-fellow/ |
JOB DESCRIPTION: Apple Inc. has multiple positions available for Tools and Automation Engineer in Cupertino, California. Design and develop automation testing pipeline from component level to end to end application level. Analyze automation test results for failures, identifying issue trends, and quantifying impact. Define, implement, and execute regression and stress automation tests focused on embedded software and device firmware level. Isolate and report defects effectively quantifying customer impact, and verify fixes through regression testing and other test methodologies. Work cross-functionally with other QA teams, Developers and Project Managers. Be a vocal proponent for quality internally and externally.
CONTACT:
To apply, mail your resume to: Apple Inc., ATTN: D.W., 1 Infinite Loop 104-1GM, Cupertino, CA 95014, with reference to Job ID: 3885503. Apple is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We also take affirmative action to offer employment and advancement opportunities to all applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. | https://www.bayjobs.com/engineering-jobs/new-listing-258287.html |
An exhibition by Kilkenny artist Paul Mosse opens in the Butler Gallery on Saturday afternoon.
“There are no specific references in the work, though it may unintentionally appear to refer to the observed world. It springs from interests in space, scale and the tactile world of the senses. Many pieces are produced at the same time, where they sometimes join or divide and may be worked on and off for years. The processes (additive and subtractive) usually direct how the final image looks and involve only low-tech craft and materials. The end result is textured and sculptural, and can be three-dimensional sculpture-proper, but usually it is resolved as “2½-D painting”.
Mosse uses a variety of mixed media to create his works. Materials can include a range of non-traditional materials (plastic pellets, polystyrene, sawdust, nails and screws) as well as paper, paint and wood. The accumulation and manipulation of these materials result in dynamic and beautiful surfaces on his paintings and sculptures.
Paul Mosse was born in County Kilkenny, where he lives and works today. He studied from 1966-1970 at The Chelsea School of Art in London. He has exhibited nationally and internationally and his work is represented in many private and public collections. He was elected to Áosdana in 2007.
The exhibition continues until March 4. | https://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/arts-culture-entertainment/60457/A--make-or-break-.html |
All college-bound students face enormous challenges when it comes to financing their education. Students who are fighting, or have survived, a serious disease face an additional emotional challenge as they plan for their college education. Many charitable organizations provide much needed financial support for students with severe medical conditions, helping them achieve their dreams of a higher education.
Grants for undergraduate students are a large part of the financial aid landscape. These programs may provide general grant funding for students pursuing any number of degrees, or they may be specific to undergraduates enrolled in science, mathematics or engineering courses. Grants for undergraduate students are available from Federal and state governments, colleges and universities, corporations and professional associations.
Grants for Native American students may be less prevalent than those for other minorities, but they are beginning to become more plentiful. State governments, advocacy groups and private endowments support a growing number of grants dedicated to helping Native-Americans pursue a college education. Many of these programs target members of specific Native-American tribes, and students will be required to present documentary evidence of their American Indian heritage. A large number of grants for Native-American students are career-specific, with an emphasis on healthcare, education, science and technology. | https://collegewayz.com/college-financial-aid-process-college-scholarships-basketball.html |
Most of your bone growth occurs before the age of 17, but your body breaks down old bone and replaces it with new bone throughout your lifetime. Because of this, it is important to regularly consume foods that contain the vitamins and minerals that are necessary to maintain the health of your bones.
Calcium and Phosphorus
It comes as no surprise that calcium makes the list of vitamins and minerals necessary for bone health. Calcium and phosphorus bind together to create a structure called hydroxyapatite, which your body uses to create new bones when old bone is broken down. Without adequate amounts of calcium and phosphorus, your body would not be able to make hydroxyapatite, and any newly formed bone would be weak and susceptible to breakage.
Dairy products, broccoli and canned salmon are rich sources of calcium. Dairy products also provide phosphorus, as do meat, poultry and fish.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D stimulates the absorption of both calcium and phosphorus in your digestive tract, according to “Nutrition and You” by Joan Salge Blake. Without vitamin D, your body would not be able to absorb calcium or phosphorus, regardless of the amount of those minerals you consumed.
You can meet your vitamin D needs by eating salmon, yogurt and fortified milk. Your skin also can synthesize vitamin D with exposure to the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is vital to the growth and development of all of the tissues in your body. Your bones need adequate amounts of vitamin C for repair and new growth.
The best sources of vitamin C are fruits and vegetables, such as mango, papaya, kiwifruit, pineapple, berries, watermelon, broccoli, peppers, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and cabbage.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K acts as a coenzyme, which is a substance that allows chemical reactions to take place. Specifically, vitamin K elicits a chemical change in osteocalcin, a bone protein, which enables osteocalcin to bind to calcium. This process helps in the creation of strong bones. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that vitamin K can reduce the risk of bone fractures in postmenopausal women who are at risk for osteoporosis.
Broccoli, spinach, asparagus and vegetable oils are rich sources of vitamin K.
References
- Nutrition and You; Joan Salge Blake
- MedlinePlus: Vitamin C
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin K
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: Bone Health
Writer Bio
Lindsay Boyers has a Bachelor of Science in nutrition from Framingham State College and a certificate in holistic nutrition from the American College of Healthcare Sciences. She is also a licensed aesthetician with advanced training in skincare and makeup. She plans to continue on with her education, complete a master's degree program in nutrition and, ultimately, become a registered dietitian. | https://woman.thenest.com/list-vitamins-minerals-necessary-bone-health-1100.html |
Extracts from this document...
Introduction
CORPORATE CULTURE, ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT, AND QUALITY ASSURACNE IN HIGHER EDUCATION Today, more than ever before, higher education is recognized as a means by which the human resources of nations are developed for cultural, economic, political and social development. For example, higher education produces the scientists who do basic research and generate new things. Higher education produces the scientists who do applied research and come out with new products and techniques. Higher education produces the scientists who adopt and adapt appropriate technologies from elsewhere. Higher education also produces the diplomats, the envoys and the ministers who represent nations at international fora. Business at such fora, definitely, are governed by certain laws, rules, regulations, conventions and etiquettes which are all acquired through higher education. Above all higher education produces the teachers and educational managers who contribute to quality human resource development at all levels of education. Apparently, it was in recognition of these realities that Ibukun (1997) pointed out that the relevance of higher education today is that it provides the right numbers of human resources that are so crucial in the development of nations. It is also in recognition of the role of higher education in national development that nations today spend large chunks of their budgets on that sector. Indeed Ajayi and Ekundayo (2007) ...read more.
Middle
Given the crucial importance of organizational commitment, the onus lies on the leadership of higher educational institutions to secure the commitment of all consequential actors to the goals and aspirations of the institution. Such actors include senior administrators, lecturers, heads of department, deans, directors, and students. The leadership must be able to influence all or most consequential actors to be committed to the institution's efforts to attain global standards. CORPORATE CULTURE Once again the question is how can commitment of such actors be nurtured and sustained? This is possible when there is a corporate culture, or generally accepted ways of doing things. Corporate culture is thus a set of values, beliefs and behaviour patterns that form the core identity of organizations, and which help in shaping the behaviour of members. Deal and Kennedy (1982) put it simply as a set of values that underlie how we do our things around here. One type of corporate culture that has gained popularity in the human resource management literature is consensual corporate culture. Because of its nature I prefer to call it cooperative corporate culture. In that type of culture loyalty to the organization, personal commitment to the values and goals of the organization, teamwork and socialization are important (Deshpande & Farley, 1999). They are what Achebe calls the palm oil with which they eat their lives in the organization. ...read more.
Conclusion
There should be no room for anyone to brood the idea that some actors are working while others are goofing. Nor should others see themselves as doing almost all the work. All must be perceived to be involved. Finally, shared leadership is the condition in which all or most actors perceive themselves to be leaders at their levels of operation. They must feel that each actor has a role as a leader in the local constituencies they operate. Each incumbent of a position must have initiative to offer the leadership that will contribute to the achievement of the goals set by the institution. Therefore, even though leadership is reposed in the Vice-Chancellor or President, in actual practice, leadership must be perceived to be diffuse and contextual (Opare, 2007). I present my theory in the model below: Fig. 1: Model explaining how the internal dynamics of a higher education institution can contribute to commitment and achievement of quality initiatives. The model simply says that: * The items listed on the left represent features of consensual corporate culture. When consequential actors in the HEI perceive that these conditions are prevailing in their institution, they tend to feel a sense of belonging; that sense of belonging will boost their job satisfaction, and the enhanced job satisfaction will make them committed to the ideals of the institution. In the final analysis commitment will make the actors adhere to the quality procedures put in place in the institution. ...read more.
This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our University Degree Human Resource Management section.
Found what you're looking for? | http://www.markedbyteachers.com/university-degree/business-and-administrative-studies/getting-all-such-individuals-and-groups-committed-to-a-vigorous-pursuit-of-the-quality-standards-aspired-for-is-a-herculean-task-for-leaders-of-higher-educational-institutions-what.html |
Integrated payment processing solutions provider Repay Holdings Corporation (RPAY) has acquired accounts payable automation solutions provider Kontrol Payables for $11 million, of which $8 million is to be paid at closing. Following the news release, shares of the company declined marginally to close at $24.66 in Tuesday’s trading session.
Kontrol has a diverse client base spanning industries including construction, food production, software, manufacturing, and education. Notably, the company is likely to process transactions of about $300 million in 2021.
CEO of Repay Holdings John Morris said, “With their AP automation capabilities and supplier network, Kontrol is the perfect partner to grow our AP automation business and enhance our comprehensive B2B offering. In an increasingly digital world, there continues to be ever-strengthening demand for technology-first B2B automation and payment solutions, as enterprise customers aim to reduce costs and streamline back-office processes. This acquisition will give us the opportunity to leverage REPAY’s B2B technology infrastructure, increase our virtual card volume, and better position us to address the $2.2 trillion total addressable market for our B2B AP automation business.” (See Repay Holdings stock chart on TipRanks)
Recently, BTIG analyst Mark Palmer reiterated a Buy on the stock with a price target of $31 (25.7% upside potential).
Consensus among analysts is a Strong Buy based on 6 Buys. The average Repay Holdings analyst price target of $27.67 implies upside potential of 12.2% from current levels. Shares of the company have declined 4.2% over the past year.
Related News: | https://www.tipranks.com/news/repay-holdings-acquires-kontrol-payables-for-11m/ |
What Is The Meaning Of Ceremonial
What is the meaning of Psalms 51: 5-10?
God directed me to this Psalm months ago and it's blessed me so very much. David wrote this Psalm after he'd gone to Bathsheba and killed her husband. He knew he was wrong, but I find it very telling that in the beginning of it he tells God that he'd sinned against Him and Him alone. V5 tells us that we are all born in sin. V6 says that God desires for us to know truth....Him. The inward parts he speaks of is the heart, of course. I believe the hidden part, though is our spirit....which is different from our heart (soul). V7 speaks of being purged with hyssop...which is a plant used in medicine and ceremonial cleansing. If the Lord cleanses you, you will be pure. V8 is asking the Lord to restore his joy...the bones He has broken, I believe is a reference to the child that Bathsheba bore who died. V9 is David asking for forgiveness. V10 is my fave in this Psalm. He's asking God to cleanse his heart of any sin and renew the zeal and love he had before.
Hebrews 13:9 What are eatables or ceremonial foods ? Are these false teachings ?
Hebrews 13:9 9 Do not be carried away with various and strange teachings; for it is fine for the heart to be given firmness by undeserved kindness, not by eatables, by which those who occupy themselves with them have not been benefited. NWT 9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of no value to those who eat them.NIV Can you explain what this scripture means ?
What is the ceremonial meaning of tobacco smoking in Native American culture?
Well, in the Caribbean, Tobacco (originally a Taino word), was cultivated for only the Behikes (spiritual medics) and Kasikes (Chiefs) .They would participate in ceremonies where both would first cleanse themselves by consuming laxatives and regurgitating (using a tautúa [purgative]). The latter phase is where both would consume Tabakú to communicate with spirits and the gods.That's basically what happened.
What does ceremonial head of state mean?
President Pranab Mukherjee is the ceremonial head of state (India).But that doesn't mean he'll confine himself to bland official homilies. In his memoir, The Turbulent Years, he writes about demolition of Babri Masjid as an act of 'absolute perfidy' and then PM, Rajiv Gandhi's 'error of judgement'.
What is the meaning of protocall?
Protocol the rules or conventions of correct behavior on official or ceremonial occasions
What is the purpose of a ceremonial marriage?
Are you searching to find marriage counseling near me? It makes perfect sense you'll need an experienced marriage or relationship therapist in USA nearby.
Why is the president also known as “the ceremonial head of India”?
Because he serves as ceremonial head only as executive powes are vested with the Prime minister and his council of ministers.The President of India just enjoys the pleasure of being the first citizen of the nation, distributing various awards all along the year, attending ceremonies as the chief guest and a few visits to other nations. Although, the president is empowered with so many powers through the constitution but the executive head is the PM.
What is the point of having a ceremonial President or Monarch?
Basically, ceremonial Head of State has the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warnBagehot, Walter (1867) The English Constitution, LondonOften "ceremonial" positions aren't really purely ceremonial. They serve couple functions:Head of State appoints and delegates running of the government, as well as to sack the appointeesFor an example, President of the Republic of Ireland serves as a Head of State, he appoints the Prime Minister who performs day to day business of the government as the Head of Government. Think of Head of State as chairman of the board (representing the shareholders) in a public company, and CEO as prime minister. As the person who builds his cabinet and appoints Head of Government, Head of State can also force a resign or sack his government.Head of State performs soft diplomacy with foreign powersMonarchs and ceremonial heads of states travels abroad on state function to increase good will (maybe not official state diplomacy, but still) for that country. I don't know about you, but I like Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe. European monarchs finally settled into role of graceful heads of states once they became part of constitutional monarchy, IMHO."Ceremonial" Head of State can serve as a last sane person against a chamber full of legislative demagoguesBritish Monarch for an example can At any time the Sovereign could dissolve parliament and call a general electionWikipedia - Dissolution of the Parliament of the United KingdomAnother example of a ceremonial monarch stopping a group of nut-jobs in a government could be seen in how Japanese Emperor Hirohito, in August of 1945, basically forced the Japanese government's hand in accepting the allied terms of surrender even with Kyūjō Incident when his life was threatened. It's still unknown if Emperor Hirohito bears responsibility for the Japanese war crimes during WWII, but he did end it and cooperated with US occupying power in allowing for peaceful transition.I hope this short article helped you understand some actual functions of ceremonial heads of state.Thanks for reading.*Edited as per Ian Marshall's correction. Thanks!
I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial?
Yes, it's true that I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial. I don't understand this. Is there a back story, or am I a moron?
What is the meaning of nosi or noshi? | https://prijom.com/posts/what-is-the-meaning-of-ceremonial.php |
This invention relates to a new composition for defoliation of plants having synergistic activity which contains as the active ingredients a mixture of 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadizol-5-yl)urea and 1- dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one or a mixture of 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol- 5-yl)urea, 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1- dimethylurea.
The composition consists essentially of two and/or three components that mutually affect each other when used together and display a biological activity which is greater than the sum of the activities used alone and shows an effect which can be described as synergistic. This synergistic activity introduces in the present case the increased formation of separating tissue in plants and thus leads to a controlled removal of the leaf stalk and leaves of the treated plants.
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadizol-5-yl)urea is already known as a plant defoliant (DE-OS No. 25 06 690).
1-Dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one is also known and have been described, inter alia, as agents for enhancing the penetration of pesticides and nutrients into plants. (EP 77 078 and EP 160 111). However, its use as a defoliant or as a synergist for defoliants is not known.
3-(3,4-Dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea is generally known, under the common name diuron, as a herbicide (USP 2 655 445).
Also mixtures with 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)urea for the defoliation of plants which show a synergistic activity, are already known (DE-OS No. 26 46 712 and DE-OS No. 32 22 622).
However, there still exists to an ever increasing extent a considerable requirement for further materials in this area with increased activity and with it the possibility of lower amounts of active material and especially an increasing demand for corresponding protection of the environment.
With the substances known up until now, clear progress has been made. However, it is not always satisfactory, especially when for acceptable activity at lower temperatures, higher rates of use are required, or for an acceptable activity also, the high rates of use are no longer allowed.
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a composition for defoliation of plants having synergistic activity which does not have the drawbacks of the known substances.
This object can be solved according to invention by a composition which is characterised by comprising a mixture of the components
(A) 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)urea and
(B) 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one
or
(A) 1-phenyl-3-(1,2,3-thiadiazol-5-yl)urea,
(B) 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one and
(C) 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea.
Surprisingly, the composition of the invention shows a defoliation activity that is often much greater than the sum of the activities of the single components when used alone, which is not predictable from the present state of knowledge.
The state of the art is considerably improved by the provision of the compositions of the invention.
This is demonstrated particularly in comparison with common defoliants, such as S,S,S-tributyl phosphorotrithioate or sodium chlorate, where addition of 1-dodecylazacycloheptan-2-one gives no increase in activity as is observed with the composition of the invention.
The composition of the invention is particularly valuable under climatic conditions where a single component alone does not produce clear defoliation.
The synergistic activity of the mixture of the invention is displayed when it contains to each part by weight of component A, 1 to 100 parts by weight of component B and 0 to 10 parts by weight of component C, but these limiting values can also be exceeded by larger or smaller amounts.
Optimal increase in activity is exhibited by the mixtures of the invention that contain for each part by weight of defoliant substance A, 1 to 50 parts by weight of component B and 0 to 5 parts by weight of component C. However, the proportion by weight depends on the sensitivity and resistivity of the plants, the time of use, the climatic conditions and the soil conditions.
The composition of the invention is suitable for the defoliation, and with it the facilitating of harvesting, of many plants, especially cotton.
The rates of use are as a rule in the range 1 to 10,000 grams of the mixture (components A, B and C) per hectare, especially 100 to 2000 grams of mixture per hectare.
The composition can be applied in customary fashion, for example with water as the carrier in spray mixture volumes of approximately 100 to 2000 l/ha. The composition can be applied using low- volume or ultra- low- volume techniques.
The composition of the invention can, if desired, be used in mixture with other active ingredients, for example defoliants, plant protection or pesticide materials depending on the desired object.
An increase in the activity and the speed of activity can also be obtained for example through use of additives which will increase the activity, such as for example, solvents, surfactants and oils. These can lead to a further reduction of the rates of use of the actual active ingredients.
The mixtures of the invention can suitably be used, for example, as powders, dusts, granules, solutions, emulsions or suspensions, with the addition of liquid and/or solid carriers and/or diluents and, optionally, binding, wetting, emulsifying and/or dispersing adjuvants.
Suitable liquid carriers are, for example aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as cyclohexanone, isophorone, dimethyl sulphoxide, dimethylformamide and other mineral-oil fractions and plant oils.
Suitable solid carriers include mineral earths, e.g. bentonite, silica gel, talcum, kaolin, attapulgite, limestone, silicic acid and plant products, e.g. flours.
As surface-active agents there can be used for example calcium lignosulphonate, polyoxyethylenealkylphenyl ether, naphthalenesulphonic acids and their salts, phenolsulphonic acids and their salts, formaldehyde condensates, fatty alcohol sulphates, as well as substituted benzenesulphonic acids and their salts.
The content of the mixture (components A, B and C) in the various preparations can vary within wide limits. For example, the compositions can contain about 5 to 95 percent by weight of components A, B and C, and about 95 to 5 percent by weight liquid or solid carriers, as well as, optionally up to 30 percent by weight of surfactant.
Formulations can be prepared, for example, from the following ingredients.
(a)
95 percent by weight components A and B or A, B and C
5 percent by weight of a surfactant based on the polyoxyethylene derivative of sorbitan acid
(b)
35 percent by weight components A and B
40 percent by weight colloidal silicic acid
10 percent by weight kaolin
10 percent by weight calcium lignosulphonate
2 percent by weight ammonium chloride
2 percent by weight of a surfactant based on polyoxyethylene derivatives
1 percent by weight of a surfactant based on dialkylnaphthalensulphonate
(c)
5 percent by weight components A and B
80 percent by weight bentonite
10 percent by weight calcium lignosulphonate
5 percent by weight of a surfactant based on fatty acid condensation products
(d)
72 percent by weight components A, B and C
28 percent by weight of a surfactant based on ethoxylated tert alkylamine
(e)
55 percent by weight components A, B and C
38 percent by weight colloidal silicic acid
5 percent by weight calcium lignosulphonate
2 percent by weight of a surfactant based on polyoxyethylene derivatives
With unfavourable conditions for the defoliation, glasshouse tests are the basis for the following examples which as a general rule are carried out on cotton plants with 4 to 8 true leaves. The composition is applied in the form of suspensions or emulsions at a rate of 200 liters of water per hectare.
The evaluation of the experiment is carried out by counting the number of discharged leaves after the application and by estimation of the percentage of the total number of leaves. For each experimental member there is always present in each single experiment the same number of plants and leaves. From experiment to experiment the number of leaves for each experimental member did not vary and lay between 20 and 32 leaves.
The following reports of the experiment contain data about the components A, B and C, rates of use, as well as the calculation of the percentage rate of defoliation. Next to the percentage rate of defoliation obtained is given, in brackets, the value that would be expected for additive activity as calculated by the method of S. R. Colby (S R Colby "Calculating Synergistic and Antagonistic Responses of Herbicide Combinations", Weeds 15/1 (1967) pages 20 to 22).
The calculation was carried out according to the following equation: ##EQU1## in wich X=percentage defoliation with substance A at p kg/ha
Y=percentage defoliation with substance B azt q kg/ha
Z=percentage defoliation with substance C at r kg/ha
E=the expected defoliation by additive activity of the substances A+B+ C at p+q+r kg/ha.
If the observed value is higher than that value E calculated according to Colby, the combination has synergistic activity.
EXAMPLE 1
Young cotton plants in the 5 to 6 leaf stage were treated with the active ingredients given below (repeated 4 times). The volume of water used was 200 l/ha.
After 2 weeks the percentage of discharged leaves was ascertained. The results are given in the following table.
______________________________________
Rate E
Components in Defoliation
(according
of invention g/ha (%) to Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-
A 20 10
thiadiazol-5-yl)- 40 24
urea 80 40
1-dodecylaza-
B 240 0
cycloheptan-2-one 500 0
1000 0
2000 0
A + B 40 + 500 90 (24)
______________________________________
EXAMPLE 2
Young cotton plants in the 5 to 6 leaf stage were treated as in Example 1 and evaluated after 20 days at 15° to 17° C.
______________________________________
Rate E
Components in Defoliation
(according
of invention g/ha (%) to Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-
A 20 0
thiadiazol-5-yl)- 40 0
urea 80 10
1-dodecylaza-
B 500 0
cycloheptan-2-one 1000 0
A + B 20 + 500 70 (0)
40 + 500 100 (0)
______________________________________
EXAMPLE 3
Young cotton plants in the 5 to 6 leaf stage were treated as in Example 2 and evaluated after 20 days at unfavorable temperatures (mainly between 15° and 20° C.).
______________________________________
Rate E
Components in Defoliation
(according
of invention g/ha (%) to Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-
A 50 10
thiadiazol-5-yl)- 100 14
urea
1-dodecylaza-
B 50 0
cycloheptan-2-one 100 0
A + B 50 + 50 38 (0)
______________________________________
EXAMPLE 4
Young cotton plants in the 5 to 6 leaf stage were treated as in Example 2 and evaluated after 13 days at unfavorable temperatures (mainly between 13° and 20° C.).
______________________________________
De-
Rate folia- E
Components in tion (according
of invention g/ha (%) to Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-
A 30 0
thiadiazol-5-yl)- 60 0
urea
1-dodecylaza-
B 500 0
cycloheptan-2-one 2000 0
A + B 30 + 500 85 (0)
A + B 60 + 500 100 (0)
Comparison
S,S,S--tributylphos-
D 350 65
phosphorothioate 700 78
B + D 500 + 350 62 (65)
500 + 700 76 (78)
Sodium chlorate
E 1000 5
B + E 500 + 1000
5 (5)
______________________________________
EXAMPLE 5
Young cotton plants in the 5 to 6 leaf stage were treated with the active ingredients given below (repeated 4 times). The volume of water used was 200 l/ha.
After 2 weeks at 15° to 17° C. the percentage of discharged leaves was ascertained. The results are given in the following table.
______________________________________
De- E (ac-
Rate folia- cord-
Components in tion ing to
of invention g/ha (%) Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-
A 25 0
thiadiazol-5-yl)- 50 10
urea 100 14
1-dodecylaza-
B 25 0
cycloheptan-2-one 50 0
100 0
3-(3,4-dichloro-
C 25 0
phenyl)-1,1-di- 50 0
methylurea 100 0
A + B + C 25 + 50 + 25
86 (0)
Comparison A + C 50 + 50 71 (10)
______________________________________
EXAMPLE 6
Young cotton plants in the 6 to 7 leaf stage were treated as in Example 5 and evaluated after 3 weeks at unfavorable temperatures (mainly between 14° and 20° C.).
______________________________________
De-
Rate folia- E
Components in tion (according
of invention g/ha (%) to Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,3-
A 9 0
thiadiazol-5-yl)- 20 0
urea 100 7
1-dodecylaza-
B 85 0
cycloheptan-2-one 500 0
3-(3,4-dichloro-
C 2 0
phenyl)-1,1-di- 20 0
methylurea 100 0
A + B + C 9 + 85 + 2
82 (0)
Comparison A + C 20 + 20 64 (0)
______________________________________
EXAMPLE 7
Young cotton plants in the 6 leaf stage were treated with the active ingredients given below (repeated 4 times). The volume of spray used was 200 l/ha. A few days after application of the active ingredients, and maintaining at unfavorable temperatures (mainly between 12° and 20. degree. C.), the percentage of discharged leaves was ascertained.
______________________________________
De- E (ac-
Rate folia- cord-
Components in tion ing to
of invention g/ha (%) Colby)
______________________________________
1-Phenyl-3-(1,2,
A 25 0
3-thiadiazol-5- 50 0
yl)-urea 100 10
1-dodecylaza-
B 50 0
cycloheptan-2- 100 0
one 500 0
3-(3,4-dichloro-
C 5 0
phenyl)-1,1-di- 10 0
methylurea 12.5 0
50 0
300 0
A + B + C 25 + 50 + 5 24 (0)
A + B + C 50 + 100 + 10
48 (0)
A + B + C 25 + 200 + 12.5
68 (0)
Comparison
A + C 50 + 50 19 (0)
______________________________________ | |
Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Reimbursement Market Recent Trends and Developments, by Type, by Product, Regional growth, Profit Margin, size, Revenue and Sales over the Forecast Period 2020-2040
Companies in the Healthcare Reimbursement market are striving to keep business operations fully functional amidst the recent COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. However, product uptake in end-use industries is suffering as companies in the Healthcare Reimbursement market are seeking free movement in the global market landscape. Get a hands-on over our recently published reports analyzing the impact of COVID-19 caused on various business activities.
A new market research study published by ResearchMoz.us suggests that the global Healthcare Reimbursement market is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of ~XX% over the forecast period (20XX-20XX). Further, the report takes into account the different factors that are likely to shape the future prospects of the Healthcare Reimbursement market by assessing the historical and current market trends.
The Healthcare Reimbursement market study is a valuable tool for market players and new market entrants who are vying to solidify their presence in the global Healthcare Reimbursement market. Further, the report ponders over the underlying trends and micro and macro-economic factors that are likely to impact the growth prospects of the Healthcare Reimbursement market during the assessment period.
Roadmap of the various growth opportunities in the global Healthcare Reimbursement market
Recent and ongoing research and development activities within the Healthcare Reimbursement market
Impact of the regulatory policies on the Healthcare Reimbursement market in different regions
Critical insights related to the scope of innovation in the Healthcare Reimbursement market
Regional assessment of the market in terms of market share, size, and growth
Regional Assessment
The regional assessment included in the report provides a deep understanding of the regional aspects of the Healthcare Reimbursement market. This section of the report provides a deep understanding of the various regulatory policies that are anticipated to influence the market scenario in each region.
The study objectives of this report are: To analyze global Healthcare Reimbursement status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. To present the Healthcare Reimbursement development in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Central & South America. To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies. To define, describe and forecast the market by type, market and key regions.
In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Healthcare Reimbursement are as follows: History Year: 2015-2019 Base Year: 2019 Estimated Year: 2020 Forecast Year 2020 to 2026 For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2019 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.
Which region is likely to witness the maximum growth over the forecast period?
What are the various factors that are likely to accelerate the demand for the Healthcare Reimbursement in the upcoming years?
What is the estimated value of the Healthcare Reimbursement market by 2029?
What are the growth prospects of the Healthcare Reimbursement market in region 1?
What are the potential risks and challenges that could hamper the growth of the Healthcare Reimbursement market?
What Sets ResearchMoz.Com Apart from the Rest?
ResearchMoz.Com, in a relatively short period of time, has garnered significant popularity as one of the leading market research companies in the Indian sub-continent. In addition, we utilize the latest market research tools to collect information from credible and trustworthy primary and secondary sources. Moreover, our customer service and business development team operate round the clock to address the queries and doubts put forward by our clients. | |
Grace Donnelly is a cytogeneticist. She studies how chromosomes behave during cell division, pollen formation, and at other times in the life cycle of the plant. Such cytogenetic studies can clarify the identity of the plant and its relation to other plants.
For Grace, RIWPS Native Plant Symposium: Growing Awareness triggered thoughts about how biological concepts have changed in recent times and how we might, as the symposium suggested, “consider native plants from a new perspective.”
She has offered to help plant devotees leap over the ideas of Lamarck and Darwin, and see how the ideas of Mendel, McClintock, and Watson and Crick lead into the genomics revolution. She will also show how the ethical problems of gene editing, discovered by Doudna, may be of major benefit to plant biologists.
This program is a combined effort of Rhode Island Wild Plant Society, Rhode Island Natural History Survey and Brown Herbarium. | https://riwps.org/event/wild-ideas-about-wild-plants/ |
This symposium was designed in conjunction with Steve Shevell to bring the latest advances presented at ARVO to the VSS audience. There will be four talks covering the following topics. I will moderate it and speak last on. “Advances in structural imaging of the human retina.” Before me the speakers and topics will be: D. Darcy (Advances in retinal anatomy); P. Martin (Advances in retinal physiology); and A. Roorda (Advances in optical imaging of the human retina). The speakers are all experienced researchers and lectures use to speaking to diverse audiences. Thus the level should be appropriate for all attendees at VSS from students to experts in vision or cognition.
The vertebrate retina is one of the most accessible parts of the central nervous system for clarifying the links between neural circuits and visual coding. Advanced imaging methods are already revealing fundamental features of retinal organization and function previously inaccessible to study. As a background for considering future directions I will review our current understanding of the cellular architecture of the primate retina. On the one hand, the retina is an elegantly simple structure at the periphery of the visual system where mosaics of receptor cells transmit signals to interneurons and ganglion cells whose axons project a representation of the visual world to the brain. However, the retina is also an amazingly complex neural machine that contains at least 80 anatomically and physiologically distinct cell populations. The interactions among most of these cell types are precisely arranged in a microlaminated sheet that provides the scaffold for ~ 20 separate visual pathways. In the primate, much attention has been focused in the so-called ‘midget pathway’, yet these cells, despite their numerosity, only account for two anatomically distinct visual pathways. By contrast, the great majority of visual pathways exists at relatively low density and subserves diverse functions ranging from color vision and motion detection to the pupil reflex and setting biological rhythms. Microdissecting the structure and function of each of these diverse low-density pathways remains a key challenge for retinal neurobiology.
Advances in understanding circuits serving colour vision.
The theory of trichromatic human colour vision was proposed over 200 years ago and the existence of three types of cone photoreceptors was confirmed in the 1980s. I will summarise current views of how the signals from cone photoreceptors are organised into “blue-yellow” and “red-green” pathways in the subcortical visual system. These pathways can be distinguished at the first synapse in the visual pathway, between cone photoreceptors and cone-contacting bipolar cells, and remain segregated in the subcortical afferent visual pathway. I will review evidence from molecular biology, anatomy, and physiology showing that the blue-yellow pathway likely forms a primordial colour vision system common to most diurnal mammals, whereas the red-green pathway is unique to primates and evolved together with high-acuity spatial vision.
Advances in optical imaging of the human retina.
Adaptive optics (AO) is a technique to correct for the aberrations in the eye’s optics, and offers non-invasive, optical access to the retina in living eyes on an unprecedented scale. The technology is very useful for ophthalmic imaging and is being used for basic and clinical imaging, but the scope of applications goes well beyond. By coupling scanning laser technology with adaptive optics, we are able to track and deliver light to the retina with the precision and accuracy of single cones and can simultaneously record either perceptual (human) or electrical responses (monkey). These measurements are helping to reveal basic properties of the human visual system.
Advances in structural imaging of the human retina.
With recent advances in the structural imaging, it is now possible to visualize individual retinal layers of the human retina in vivo. After a short summary of the technique of optical coherence tomography (OCT), its application to understanding the structure and function of the normal and diseased eye will be considered. First, measurements of the thickness of the normal human receptor, inner nuclear, and ganglion cell layers will be presented and the possibilities of using this technique to study normal human vision discussed. Next, data from patients with diseases that affect the receptors (e.g. retinitis pigmentosa) and retinal ganglion cells (e.g. glaucoma) will be presented and discussed in terms of tests of hypotheses about the relationship between behavior (i.e. visual loss) and structural (i.e. anatomical) changes in these layers. | https://www.visionsciences.org/2009-arvo-at-vss/ |
The information age is reshaping current socio-economic structures and processes. Despite being at the centre of the policy agenda, and in business circles, Industry 4.0 (14.0) has so far attracted proportionally less research and scholarly attention (Muscio & Ciffolilli, 2019). This volume examines the nature of clusters in the fourth industrial revolution (14.0). It focuses on the spatial perspective of digital business transformation and explores, in natural context, the co-relations between cluster and 14.0.
Industry 4.0 stands for the digital transformation of business models and enables the fusion of virtual and real worlds (Kagennaim, Wahlster & Helbig, 2013). It encompasses a set of inter-related and inter-disciplinary technologies and heralds a far-reaching integration of processes and systems, along with the emergence of the industrial internet, integrated industry or collaborative manufacturing. The Internet of Things, Internet of Sendees and Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart Factoiy are four pillars of 14.0. Clusters, on the other hand, are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies (Porter, 2000) and hybrid forms residing somewhere between hierarchies and markets (Maskell & Lorenzen, 2003), characterised by co- opetition. Higher competitiveness and innovative capabilities render these places attractive locations (Ketels, 2004; Mahnberg & Maskell. 1999). The tension between a cluster and digital transformation, or specifically 14.0, which can lead to mass manufacturing migration, reflects the clash between the nature of these two categories, i.e. stickiness and diffusion (Buciuni & Pisano, 2015).
This study boiTows from the conceptual categories of evolutionary economic geography and draws fr om the field of international business, especially when it refers to the global production networks (Hassink & Gong, 2017). Digitalisation, understood as the application of digital technologies and infrastructures in economies and society, has led to the emergence of a novel and distinctively different type of cluster, namely, the ‘entrepreneurial ecosystem’ (Autio, Nambisan, Thomas & Wright, 2018). This volume can be regarded as touching upon this issue as well, as it focuses, specifically, on the 14.0 clusters (as officially classified). It examines the cluster transformation in business digital transformation—the mutually reinforcing evolution (co-evolution) of clusters and 14.0.
Conceptual Framework and Research Design
The discussion presented in this volume is framed in industrial commons (IC) and related variety’ (RV) concepts and processes of stretching encompassing— hubbing and blending, which signify the expansion of scale and scope, respectively. It touches upon the issues of competitiveness and innovativeness, as they revolve around clusters (seen as a factor critical for competitiveness) and 14.0 (regarded as a disruptive innovation in production and business models). This text employs the case study method and presents two German 14.0 clusters, which can be seen as role models. Starting with the exploration of three major factors, namely: knowledge generation and dissemination, business relations and policy assistance—which make the cluster attractive for implementation of 14.0, this book develops a conceptual model of cluster transformation induced by the digital transformation.
The first pari of the research was conducted in it’s OWL cluster and is based mainly on the results of in-depth interviews held in February, 2018, in Paderbom and Lemgo, with seven cluster representatives—managers and scholars (anonymised as E1-E7). It yielded a conceptual framework, which integrates the provision of RV, IC by 14.0 cluster with stretching processes. It then frames the further exploration of Hamburg Aviation (HAv) cluster, which also employs a qualitative empirical research design. This study is of an exploratory nature, because research on 14.0 and clusters seems to lack a comprehensive and systematic investigation.
Germany is regarded as a leader and front-runner in adopting the fourth industrial revolution, so I have drawn two case studies from it, namely, two leading-edge clusters—it’s OWL and HAv, as they could provide evidence which might be regarded as best practice. The in-depth, semi-structured interviews allow me to unearth the intricacies of the cluster transformation in digital transformation, to shed light on the nuances of mutual relations, and finally, to illuminate the specific nature of cluster in 14.0 and the relationships between these two.
Both central categories—clusters and 14.0—are critical driving forces for competitiveness. So, a better understanding of these two, and the interdependencies between them, seems crucial for regional development and broader economic growth. The emerging pattern of the reverse 14.0 impact on the cluster attributes can be established and described. It might be argued that clusters in the 14.0 age would become more inter-regional and cross- sectoral, less geogr aphically anchored, and more diverse in terms of industrial activity. | https://ebrary.net/177880/business_finance/setting_stage |
The language school Shinwa Foreign Language Academy was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1990. Shinwa Foreign Language Academy is a short 5 minute walk from Takadanobaba Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shinjuku Ward of Tokyo.
The school address is: 2-14-30, Takadanobaba, 169-0075 - Tokyo, Japan (see on map)
School Size:
Facilities
Drink vending machine
Computer lab
Lounge
Student support desk
Copy machine
Printer for student use
Free water dispenser
Classroom equipment
TV in all classrooms
Air conditioning in all classrooms
Heating in all classrooms
Ample natural light in most classrooms
Number of classrooms:24
Prices include
- Organized activities
- Free certificate of course attendance
- Language level placement test at first day of classes
Average number of students
- Adult courses in summer: 60
Average age of students
- in summer: 26 years
- throughout the year: 22 years
- Read our recommendations for students over 30.
Japanese Language Courses for Seniors (50 years plus) in Japan
Average number of levels
- Adult courses in summer: 8
- Adult courses throughout the year: 8
Minimum age of students
- 18 years
Japanese teacher qualifications
- 100 % hold a university degree
- 100 % hold a recognised language teaching qualification
Languages spoken by school staff (cannot be guaranteed by school):
Days without class
If a bank holiday falls on a weekday there is no refund nor are classes recuperated. This is the case for the majority of language schools. | https://www.languagecourse.net/school-shinwa-foreign-language-academy-tokyo.php3 |
Players:
Summary: Max meets Theo, Max plays games, it was actually not that bad.
Date: April 20, 2010.
Some Sort of Irony
Rating: PG
Xavier's Mansion- Recreation Room
//What was once the Parlor has been turned into a Recreation Room for the students. A nice plush carpet meets the light blue walls giving it a homey feel. A pool table at one end, a foos ball table at the other, and entertainment center with video game systems, movies, and of course, cable TV. Big comfy chairs and couches surround a coffee table for comfortable loafing. Long glass windows with a pair of French doors line one side of the room bringing in plenty of light during the day. The main rule in here is to clean up after yourself. //
Sunday afternoon, and Max has finished his homework. Someone made sure of that, who knows though? Anyway, Max is having too much fun right now, playing Mass Effect 2 on the TV, since most of the others are out or doing something else, Max just likes to play video games. He's engrossed in the game it seems, sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth. The young mutant is currently dressed in a
Sunday afternoon, and Max has finished his homework. Someone made sure of that, who knows though? Anyway, Max is having too much fun right now, playing Mass Effect 2 on the TV, since most of the others are out or doing something else, Max just likes to play video games. He's engrossed in the game it seems, sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth. The young mutant is currently dressed in a Green Lantern tee shirt and cargo shorts, he's wearing his usual Green Lantern Corps ring on his right hand.
Theo has been asleep, or trying to be asleep, for most of the day. Ever since his incident with Mike, he hasn't been sleeping well. He has bags under his eyes, but other than that, he looks mostly alert. He finished his homework back on Thursday, he's just studious like that.
He wanders into the rec room, knowing likewise that most people are out and about today. He spots the game on the large TV, and quietly wanders over to the couch, and plops down unceremoniously into the corner seat. He drapes his arms over the arm and back of the sofa, and watches the game. "What's this?" he asks after allowing himself to be entertained by Max's gaming for a few moments.
Max, while he is hyper, is able to do multitask at times. "Mass Effect 2, gotta find out who's abducting colonists all over the galaxy." He says during his playing. The character on screen is performing quite well, multiple headshots are shown as Max is quite good at playing these games. "What's up?" He asks, continuing to concentrate on the TV. "Aww come on! Freaking cooldowns." Max pauses the game and puts the controller on his lap.
"Ah," Theo answers. "I never played that." He really hasn't played many games. "Not much for me, just been chillin' today," he says. "You're Max, right?" he asks, pretending that it's hard to remember the other boy, considering the rather dramatic situation they met under.
For Max at least, he would forget about meeting Theo before. "Yeah, Max Farlane." He says, reaching a hand to Theo. "I always chill." He says, and it's quite true, even the air around him is cold. "That's me, the living air conditioner."
The technopath laughs. "Yeah, I remember you were wearing shorts and a T-shirt that night when Magneto came to visit. "Does it really suck for you in the summer?" he asks. He pulls his legs up underneath him, still remaining in his casual draped position over the couch.
Max nods his head. "It's not that bad, but everyone asking for snow and ice gets me aggravated." He says before looking back to the TV. "Oh yeah, I remember that night." The cryokinetic chuckles worriedly a little. "That was…weird."
"It was, wasn't it?" he agrees with Max. "I thought he was some old creeper at first. I bet he's trying to start his own mutant school, though. He sure seemed to want us to come join him. Did you keep that thing he gave us?" he asks, leaning forward with some eager anticipation of Max's decision.
"That thing, oh. I did keep it. But I dunno what to do with it." Max answers, then looking back to Theo. "What did you do?" The chilly nuissance himself wasn't planning on using it himself, cause well, Xavier's is his home, and he's not sure of what Magneto would do with a school of his own.
"I still have mine, haven't had any reason to call him. He didn't strike me as the sort you'd just call to chew the fat with," he admits. "I don't really know what to do with mine either, but I think it could be good to hold onto it. The X-men don't like him much, but from what I hear, he's a friend to mutants. If all hell breaks loose, it could be good to have somewhere to fall back to, you know?" Theo's jury is still out on Magneto. He doesn't trust the Master of Magnetism, but he is too pragmatic to pass up something like that.
Max is too simple for that kind of thinking, but he understands most of it. "It's cause of the way he thinks. The X-Men believe in equality." Theo probably knows what Magneto thinks, so he doesn't get into that.
"Yeah," Theo agrees, not choosing to debate who might be right. Theo hasn't chosen who he agrees with yet, if either. "I don't think we should call him unless there's a serious emergency. Like, the government decides to come and attack the school kind of emergency." He brins his hands into his lap. "Man, it is cold around you," he says, starting to feel the effects.
"Sorry about that. I wish I could turn it off." Max offers up, not much of a condolence. "Yeah, I guess it'd be good to have him show up if something that bad happened." Max isn't for violence, well, real violence that is. But he does defend himself when needed.
"Yeah," Theo says, "Hopefully we'll never need it." He rubs his arms a little. He looks at the screen. "So this your pass time? You just like to kick it playin' games all day?" he asks. He doesn't know Max well, and he's a little shy on friends lately.
"Nah, not all the time. It used to be, but since I came to the school I haven't had much time to play except on Sundays. I read comics, and play sports too. I just save the games for Sunday, you know?" Max asks, not really known Theo that well, but he's always friendly as long as others are nice back, or even just neutral.
Theo and Max are sitting on in the Rec Room in front of the TV, Mass Effect 2 is on the screen, paused. They seem to be just chewing the fat.
"Yeah? What sports do you play?" Theo asks the chilly mutant. "I never could do any sports very well."
The sound of activity coming from the recreation room draws Chezlie to it like a moth to a light blub. She's quick to pass through the door, her hand sheepishly pulling up for a rather brief wave. "Hey Theo." She says, a nod and a smile falling to the other teen sitting on the couch she doesn't know. She's dressed fairly casually; black t-shirt, running shorts and barefeet. Looks as if she were about to gear down for bed. "What'cha up to?" she asks, angling her head to catch a glance at what's on the television.
"Oh, stuff like Hockey, and Baseball, but I kinda can't do Baseball anymore. Too hot." Max says before looking at Chezlie walking in, he has no clue who she is. "It's Mass Effect 2." He says, though the game has been paused for a while as Theo and Max have been talking. Max is currently wearing a Green Lantern T-shirt and cargo shorts, the air around him is chilled to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Makes sense," the technopath says as Max explains that baseball is too hot for him to play. Theo's gaze quickly shifts away from Max to Chezlie as he enter. A broad smile crosses his face. "Hey Chezlie," he says in a slightly more excited tone than he had been talking. He looks a little cold, wearing shorts and a plain black T-shirt himself. His feet have been tucked under him, and he stands up on the couch, stepping over the back of it and down to the floor.
"Chezlie, have you met Max?" he asks, stepping a little away from the cold mutant.
"Mass effect what?" The dark haired teen is quick to respond, her eyes darting back to the paused game. "Never heard of it." She leaves it at that, taking a couple steps further into the room. A slight chill runs up her spine and both arms are pulled up and interlaced close around her chest. She makes no comment on the cold, choosing to just ignore it for now. "Nope, I have not. Guess it would make sense to assume this is Max, right?" Her attention falls over to the one she doesn't know and says, "I'm Chezlie."
"Heya." Max says to Chezlie as he's introduced. "I'm Max Farlane." He's not sure how to approach Chezlie, still trying to get a bead on her. "Well, you probably figured out what I do." He says, reacting to how Chezlie did to the cold. It almost makes him smirk a little, only because people don't really expect that.
Theo continues to talk to Chezlie, though he does hear Max. "Sorry I haven't seen you in a few days, I've been kind of occupied," he tells her. He was in the holding cells for a day and a half, but he chooses not to bring that up. Theo, notably, looks like he hasn't been sleeping all that well, he has bags under his eyes. He doesn't behave like he is sleep deprived, though, so it must not be too bad.
"Max can make sure the air conditioning bill never gets too high," he adds with a grin as he sees Chezlie's reaction to Max.
Chezlie looks to Max and offers up a curt nod. "Yeah, I think it's pretty easy to figure out." She smiles and moves towards the now empty spot on the couch and plopping down, legs curled underneath her as both arms remained crossed. Her power is off course almost impossible to just figure out, unless seen in action. "Ah, no worries Theo. Haven't been too visible myself." She says without looking at the teen, her eyes now transfixed on the frozen state of the television. Theo's current lack of sleep look is not commented on.
Since Theo and Chezlie are engrossed in conversation, Max decides to play Mass Effect again. He's focused on the game, unless he is asked a question or talked to. The chilly teen is going down a corridor and fighting his way down the way to a boss it seems. He has noticed the bags under Theo's eyes, but he's never one to just ask someone in front of another person he doesn't know.
Theo hops back over the couch again as Max returns to his game, sitting down next to Chezlie and putting himself between the two to block some of the chilliness to her. "So what've you been up to?" he asks her as he watches Max navigates the hallway.
Chezlie shrugs her shoulders, "Eh, not too much I guess. Mostly school work." Yeah, pretty boring stuff in all honesty. "You?" She's still fixated on the video game, even more so now that it's actually being played. "So what's the point of this game?" She's quick to ask, not having much of an understanding of the entertainment genre at all.
Max looks quickly from the TV to Chezlie. "You're this guy Shepard, you saved the galaxy in the last game, this game, you die and they bring you back. You've gotta figure out who is trying to bring back the threat that is coming back from the first game. I'm about to face up against a crime boss who has information I need." Max fully knows what is happening in this game, he may have played it before? Nope. Not really.
Theo tucks his feet under himself to keep them warm, but puts his arm over the back of the couch at the same time. "So does he always tell you what you need to know?" he asks Max, "Or do you have to do something special to get him to tell you?"
The dark-haired boy then answers Chezlie, "Not too much," Theo says. "Been trying to keep my head out of the line of fire, lately," he says with a grin. "Some people around here can be pretty testy."
Chezlie's eyes pull into a squint as she bobs her head up and down. "Really?" She questions, though the words almost sound a little mocking instead of really questioning. "So what's going to happen in the third game? You going to die again, only to be resurrected to save the world from the threat that's bringing back the threat that originally brought back the threat?" She obviously doesn't get video games. She then turns to Theo, bottom lip held firmly between her teeth, nodding her head. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Haven't really run into many testy people myself." Her attention is again stolen by the action presented on screen.
Max has heard comments like that before, people who aren't really into the story. "So, the formula is used. But no one really knows what the third game is gonna have in it. Either way, it's fun to be along for the ride, rather than dissect it like 8th grade frogs." Max sneaks in a bit of snark into his answer like Chezlie had mockery in hers. But of course, he sounds just on this side of innocent.
Theo tries to inch a little closer to Chezlie for warmth. Well, partly for warmth. He doesn't move very far though, for worry of making her nervous. He'll wait to see if she returns the movement. "Maybe the world will blow up at the end of this game and surprise everybody," he says with a smile, and speaks to Chezlie again, yawning a little. "Well, maybe it's just a personality clash," he admits. "I dunno."
Eyes still fixed on the screen, Chezlie shrugs. "Eh, guess so. Never played the first, but I figured it could be a little fun giving you shit." She looks to Max smiling. She doesn't even notice Theo move closer to her, but it does happen to coincide with her suddenly standing up from the couch, arms stretched out to accompany a lengthy yawn. "Well, it's getting about that time. Catch you two later." As soon as she arrived through the door, Chezlie is back through it and into the hallway.
Max looks back to Chezlie and gives her a wink. He's slowly starting to realize the importance of sarcasm in the teenage community. "Aww dangit!" He says, looking to the TV, Shepard had died again. "Alright, I guess this means I should put the game down until next time." Max offers before shutting the system off. "Hey, wanna head into town with me, grab a coffee or something, I kinda just wanna get out of here, you know?" It's not a hit, he's already taken, this is just being friendly.
Theo buries his head in the couch as Chezlie leaves. "Ugh," he says, muffled by the couch cushion. "So close." He looks back to Max. "I wonder if she realizes I'm interested," he says idly. "Yeah, I think I could go for some Starbucks or something." He stands to his feet. He doesn't take Max's invitation for more than it is, it seems. | http://marvelrevolution.wikidot.com/some-sort-of-irony |
Abstract:
Because network protocol parsers have to meet strict performance targets, they are typically subjected to a wide range of optimizations, applied by programmer and compiler alike. These optimizations complicate the code, and by extension its verification. We present Leapfrog, a Coq-based framework for verifying the equivalence of parsers, including reference and optimized implementations of the same protocol. By combining symbolic representations, up-to techniques, and integration with off-the-shelf SMT solvers, Leapfrog is able to automatically verify many common parser optimizations, and scales up to do translation verification of a third-party parser compiler.
This is joint work with Ryan Doenges, John Sarracino, Nate Foster, and Greg Morrisett. | https://www.rug.nl/research/bernoulli/calendar/colloquia/computer-science-oriented/20220628-t-kappe?lang=en |
In this article we will:
- Briefly introduce Daylight Saving Time, aka Summer Time
- Discuss its impact on remote or geographically-distributed meetings
- Explain how time zones work when scheduling meetings in LFX Project Control Center (PCC)
Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time (DST), also known as Summer Time, is controversial but has been implemented in many countries to adjust “wall clock” time, twice a year, to maximize daylight during waking hours. Proponents suggest it reduces energy use, among other things. At the same time, opponents argue that the rules are not only complex but also have adverse effects on health, like disrupted sleep cycles and a reduced hour of sleep once a year.
At present, most localities in North America and Europe observe DST, while nearly all localities on other continents do not. To make matters more confusing, the localities that observe DST do not all start (or stop) at the same time, nor is DST observance consistent even within a country—for instance both the United States and Australia not only have states in different time zones, but they also have states which observe DST and states which don’t.
DST Countries Map
blue: uses DST (N hemisphere); orange: uses DST (S hemisphere); light gray: formally used DST; dark grey: never used DST
Author: TimeZonesBoy, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What does DST have to do with meetings?
For any sufficiently distributed organization, like the Linux Foundation, or the open source projects and communities we support, it will usually not be possible to hold a meeting at a consistent time-of-day, throughout the entire year, for all participants.
- We will demonstrate this by having two meetings with participants from Los Angeles (California, USA) and Phoenix (Arizona, USA), as well as London (UK), Tokyo, Japan, and Sydney (New South Wales, Australia).
- Yes, it’s unlikely you’d actually have a single recurring call to regularly accomodate everyone in these exact time zones! The effects shown still happen if you have just Los Angeles and Sydney, or just London and Tokyo, etc.
- In most personal calendaring tools, a scheduled recurring event is consistent with the timezone of the scheduler.
- Our first meeting example shows what would happen if it remains consistent to the local time of the Los Angeles participant.
- Our second meeting example shows what would happen if it remains consistent to the local time of the Phoenix, Arizona participant.
What happens if the meeting time is “pinned” to Los Angeles?
First, let’s look at Phoenix and Tokyo.
They don’t observe DST, so when Los Angeles stops observing DST and keeps the meeting on at the same time, it will shift to a new time for Phoenix and Tokyo until next spring, when it will change back.
What about London?
London stops observing DST a week before Los Angeles, so the meeting changes for them when London starts observing and Los Angeles isn’t, and then when Los Angeles cuts over, London reverts to the same “wall clock” time they had before (for the rest of the winter). This happens in reverse in spring, for 4 total meeting shifts in a year.
What is happening in Sydney?
First, Sydney cuts over a month earlier than Los Angeles. However, they aren’t stopping DST: they are starting DST. They are shifting their clocks the other way. And then, when Los Angeles starts observing DST and moves the meeting, it’s now two hours different for Sydney than it was a month prior! And, like London, it’s total of 4 shifts in a year.
What happens if the meeting time is “pinned” to Phoenix?
Like Phoenix, Tokyo also doesn’t observe DST, so its meeting never shifts. For the other time zones, they each see the meeting shift whenever their locality starts (or stops) observing DST—which would be two times a year, maximum, and never by more than 1 hour.
Therefore, assuming a geographically-diverse community, “pinning” the meeting to a non-DST-observing timezone results in less disruptive shifting overall: a maximum of 2 shifts per year instead of 4, and a maximum of 1 hour change instead of 2.
How does LFX Project Control Center handle this?
Today, LFX Project Control Center always uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to apply meeting recurrence patterns, though it allows the user to set the meeting time and date (for the next occurrence) based on their local time, and participants always see local times for meeting occurrences in Individual Dashboard and in their personal calendaring software.
UTC does not use DST, so meetings scheduled in Project Control Center act like our second example (Phoenix).
There are projects at the Linux Foundation which have explicitly adopted UTC scheduling as their standard, because of the negative effects of pinning a meeting to a DST-observing locality, and your project may want to consider this.
Support in Project Control Center to “pin” meetings to a specific timezone/locale (DST-observing or otherwise) is a feature request we are tracking, but it is not currently on the roadmap.
What can you do if we haven’t convinced you to adopt UTC scheduling?
In LFX Project Control Center, you can break your existing meeting into two recurring meetings at any point in time prior to your local DST transition. In the recurring rules for your existing meeting, select the “Custom” rule, and set the correct number of remaining meeting occurrences that will line up with when your locality starts or stops observing DST. Then, schedule a new recurring meeting for the subsequent meeting date, at your same local time.
Let’s use the example recurring Thursday meeting above: say you’re in Pacific Daylight Time (Los Angeles) currently, and your meeting is looking like the second example, but you want it to look like the first example. Assuming today is October 21st, then you know there are 2 more occurrences before the US DST observance ends (and the meeting currently appears to shift in your own personal calendar). You can edit the meeting in PCC, set a Custom recurring schedule, and tell it to end after two more occurrences. You can then schedule a new meeting for November 10th at 9 pm, recurring weekly. PCC knows that even though you are currently in DST (Pacific Daylight Time), you are scheduling this for 9 pm on the 10th, after the US stops observing DST (Pacific Standard Time). The meeting you schedule with a start time of the 10th won’t change when your clocks fall back. (Note, however, that the participants will now have a different personal join link starting on November 10th.)
We welcome your questions and feedback. Please reply below! | https://community.lfx.dev/t/how-to-manage-daylight-saving-time-when-scheduling-meetings-in-project-control-center/1301 |
A Consistent and Success Coaching Philosophy: Generated by Principles Established in Sports Psychology focuses on how to create a basketball team that depends on one another and is consistently successful from one year to the next.
Zachary Exume uses research, coaching principles, and experiences as a coach and a player to give specific instructions to coaches on how to set goals, create expectations, and establish pre- and post-game meals to increase the likelihood of optimal performance from individual athletes to the team as a whole.
Although the book focuses on a basketball team, coaches from different sports can use this information, with some adjustments, to build a consistent success team of their own. | http://authorwebservices-xl.net/US/762453/ |
In an effort to improve the security and tranquility of Americans, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) along with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are looking for tech-startups and scientific talent to be integrated into DHS’ Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP). DHS and its subsidiary groups seek to find commercially viable companies to invest in, many of which reside in the same territory of SVIP–Silicon Valley. The goal is to bridge the gap between American technological innovation and the security and effectiveness of government agencies, tasked with the protection of the country.
According to the DHS, Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) have great potential to greatly enhance the US government’s ability to deliver services to organizations and citizens. In fact, DHS states that these technologies will enhance “transparency and auditing of public service operations, greater visibility into multi-party business operations, and automation of paper-based process to improve the delivery of services to organizations and citizens.”
These technologies may aide multiple Executive Agencies, such as CBP, USCIS, and TSA in the execution of their respective objectives. Currently, these agencies must issue a variety of documents, all of which are currently paper-based and effectively “susceptible to loss, destruction, forgery, and counterfeiting.”
DHS published a guidance document, entitled, Preventing Forgery & Counterfeiting of Certificates and Licenses: Other Transaction Solicitation Call, to explain the application process to become part of SVIP. This guidance document provides a range of Hypothetical Scenarios which highlight specific areas of potential improvement via technological advancements. The most reoccurring characteristics of the scenarios lie in the ability of Blockchain and DLTs to secure and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government agencies. The following are examples of the various hypotheticals provided:
- TSA: Hypothetical Scenario I – TSA currently checks passengers through manual, human inspection by Officers at airports and intends to move towards automatic, electronic verification through the use of DLTs and Blockchain tech
- CBP: Hypothetical Scenario II – CBP, as well as other groups, is charged with the responsibility of securing supply chains, and enforcing intellectual property rights. The given technology evidently would improve authentication and validation of organizations and individuals alike, holistically aiding the agency in their overall objectives.
- Hypothetical Scenario III: Tribal Identity Documents for Travel – Because Tribal Jurisdictions within the US have the authority to issue documents that TSA and USCIS may accept for domestic flights, and other uses, the current system requires institutional improvements. The vast amounts of both the number of federally recognized tribes, as well as the types and variations in the documents these tribes may issue, digital integration of the issuance, authorization, and inspection of documents, would streamline, and strengthen the typically lengthy and relatively un-secure process.
- Hypothetical Scenario IV: Citizenship, Immigration and Employment Authorization – USCIS (attempts) to administer the US’ legal immigration system and is the agency tasked with the issuance of documentary evidence of citizenship, immigration, and employment authorization. Virtually the entire legal immigration requires an overhaul in order to enhance verification while expediting the infamous process. The application of the proposed technologies will help to integrate the multifaceted relationship amongst agencies while providing various agencies the ability to manage the lifecycle of given credentials (electronic documents) without concern of their validity.
- Hypothetical Scenario V: Cross-Border Oil Import Tracking – Oil pipelines work similarly to private railroads, in the sense that given oil products must apply to be admitted into a given pipeline to eventually enter the US. In this instance, in relation to oil trade between Canada and the US, the current process for admission, pricing and organization is done nearly entirely manually, which is extremely complex. The introduction of the discussed technologies will enhance the associated agencies’ and parties’ ability to accurately import and apply duties to oil under the tentative USMCA. Specifically, the technology will track the evidence of the oil flow, and attribute oil imports with the accurate composition and country of origin.
- Hypothetical Scenario VI: Origin of Raw Material Imports – Many industries rely on the transaction of raw materials, including timber, diamonds, and precious metals. Currently, CBP relies on the country of origin data from importer documentation, which makes the task of confirming the material’s country of origin extremely costly and subject to potential inaccuracy. Additionally, when products are sourced from numerous countries it may be difficult to prove the product is compliant with the origin requirement of a free trade agreement. Technology can be a solution to illicit importers attempting to illegally import items with a false country of origins to evade China tariffs or anti-dumping duties, resulting in a major loss of duty revenue to the US. Blockchain and DLT technologies will enhance agencies’ ability to track and confirm the accurate flow of raw materials, and other similar items, from point of origin all the way to the consumer. This will ensure that imported goods come from trusted individuals, rather than terror organizations or from forced labor.
With the growing concerns over data protection and data privacy, the issue of digital security has become significantly more important.
The US government’s commitment to technological advancements and intra-agency efficiency is highlighted by their initiation of programs, such as the SVIP. In the coming months and years, we expect to see more executive agencies follow the lead of DHS in establishing specific research and development projects that scout and recruit private entities to aid in the facilitation of a more effective and efficient public sector.
This program appears to signal an influential and relatively monumental direction for the government to explore. If SVIP renders valuable results, expect more exploratory committees into technological fields that may provide opportunities to private entities that help update and improve current areas governed and managed by the public sector. | https://customsandinternationaltradelaw.com/2019/06/19/government-agencies-seek-blockchain-solutions-strengthen-current-systems/ |
Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In order to deliver on that promise, we look to build and deliver diverse services, platforms, and products through the talent we attract and by seeking out companies that are well positioned in structurally important and growing markets. Acquisition of communities, networked assets, and innovative technology that are aligned with Microsoft’s strategic priorities are critical to our company’s momentum.
The Microsoft Acquisition and Venture Success (MAVS) practice provides multi-disciplinary integration advisory services for all acquisitions and divestitures at Microsoft as well as support strategic ventures. We focus on comprehensive due diligence, integration planning, post-close implementation, and deal performance governance with insight, clarity, and adaptable solutions that align people, product, go-to-market, and operational processes. We focus on mitigating risks, building robust integration plans, and driving connection that ensure we can realize the value of each acquisition or venture. This is a team of fast-paced and ambitious individuals who are energized by collaboration and delivering in a dynamic environment. We work with all levels within Microsoft and acquired companies, across all functional areas, and regions.
A core team within the practice is Integration Management (IM) which is responsible for building, evolving, and managing the acquisition success process. We are looking for an innovative, culture-driven, and collaborative leader with acquisition expertise ranging from integration strategy to operational execution to lead, manage and grow a strong cadre of Integration Managers, drive collaboration with all functions across the MAVS practice, and provide leadership on a diverse set of transactions.
Responsibilities
- Actively manage, leverage, and develop a team of senior integration professionals as we continue to scale support of Microsoft’s range of acquisition and strategic venture activity
- Leadership in deal workstreams that brings understanding, options, and definition of the overall due diligence and integration strategy that is needed to assess and deliver on strategic rationale, financial business case as well as cultural and ownership fit
- Partner with senior leadership, business partners to ensure integration and governance requirements connect with business and compliance objectives
- Create and lead large, diverse and inclusive, global, cross-functional virtual teams of internal partners, business leaders, and functional experts to execute deal plans and integration workstreams
- Facilitate timely communication and resolution of escalated integration issues, risks, and decisions across teams and stakeholders
- Active in MAVS community and evangelizes Microsoft’s integration expertise, internally and externally
- Create systems, processes and resource models ensuring team can respond to “speed of the deal”
- Share and learn from best practices, ensuring Microsoft remains an integration industry leader
Qualifications
- Minimum of 10 years of acquisition integration and/or M&A experience
- People management focus and ability to manage as well as develop diverse, sizable teams
- Passion for driving consistent and excellent application of the integration management practice throughout the entire acquisition or strategic venture process
- Proven ability to build strong relationships and partnerships with Corporate and Business Development, Engineering and Finance Leaders, and Functional teams
- Able to develop accountability and execution frameworks at a working team to executive level across multiple organizations
- Creates and invests in culture of collaboration, relationships, and talent development
- Ability to quickly and comfortably establish a breadth and depth of knowledge across Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Infrastructure, Operations, Real Estate, Security, and other extended teams
- Proven success in managing end-to-end integration of compliant M&A transactions in areas of planning, project management, negotiation, cross team engagement, and prioritization
- Strong communication and cross-cultural skills to be able to effectively interact with Microsoft executives and represent Microsoft to external company executive teams
- Must have ability to perform in an environment of ambiguity and make agile, thoughtful decisions within short timeframes
- Strategic thinker, strong planner, and operationally adept to drive excellence and continued transformation in acquisition and venture success
- BA/BS Degree required. MS, MA, MBA or like advanced degree preferred in Business or related field
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work. | https://us.work180.co/job/178613/senior-director-integration-management-micros |
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) stock looks like it is significantly undervalued at today’s price. On July 8, it closed at $60.14, but XOM stock has a very attractive valuation. For example, it sports a very healthy 5.76% dividend yield and trades for just 16 times this year’s forecast earnings.
My valuation of XOM stock, using its historical yield and price-to-earnings (P/E) metrics, is $75.19 per share. As of July 8, this represents a 25% potential upside for investors in the stock.
The outlook for the company is generally positive as well. Oil and gas prices have been on the rise in the past year, especially as world economic growth has been gaining steam. Moreover, analysts expect earnings per share (EPS) to reach $3.87 this year, according to Yahoo! Finance, up from negative 33 cents EPS last year. And for 2022 they forecast $4.62 per share. At $60.14 on July 8, this puts XOM stock on a forward P/E of just 13 times earnings.
So far this year, Exxon Mobil stock has had a pretty good run. It ended Dec. 31 at $41.22, giving it a 45.9% gain year-to-date. However, since the end of the first quarter (March 31) when it was at $55.83, it’s up just 7.7%. But now that the company is on a growth path again, XOM stock is likely to return to its average historical valuation levels.
Valuing Exxon Using Historical Dividend Yield
Seeking Alpha reports that the average dividend yield for XOM stock over the last five years has been 5.03%. We can use that to value the stock.
Exxon has been paying the same 87-cents-per-share dividend for the past nine quarters and is likely to continue to do so for while. This gives it an annual dividend of $3.48. Note that this year’s earnings will cover this payout if it reaches the $3.87 EPS target this year.
Now if we divide the $3.48 dividend payment by 5.03%, we derive a target price of $69.19 per share. That means that if the stock rises by 15% (i.e., $69.19/$60.14) its dividend yield will fall to 5.03% (i.e., $3.48/$69.14) from its present 5.76% dividend yield.
And there is every reason to believe this will happen as the company’s earnings grow this year and next. That makes the dividend payout much more secure.
Using Historical P/E to Value Exxon
We can use this same method to value XOM stock, but using its historical P/E multiples. For example, Morningstar.com reports that the average forward P/E ratio for XOM stock has been 21.25 times over the past five years. Since Exxon has a much lower P/E ratio right now, it’s possible the stock could rise to this average P/E multiple.
For example, using the estimate of $3.87 per share EPS estimate this year, the stock is worth $82.23 per share (i.e., $3.82 x 21.25). This represents a potential upside of 36% for the stock.
Now we have two potential value targets. Using historical dividend yield the price target is $69.19, and using historical P/E multiples it’s $82.23. Therefore the average price target is $75.71. This represents a potential upside of 25% for investors in Exxon Mobil.
What to Do With XOM Stock
Other analysts also believe that the stock is too cheap. For example, Tipranks.com indicates that 14 analysts have an average price target of $69.38, or 15% higher. In addition, Yahoo! Finance has an average target of $66.23, or 10% higher. Other surveys include Seeking Alpha, which has a $65.46 price target, and Marketbeat.com with a $59.24 consensus target.
In other words, most analysts have lower price targets for Exxon Mobile than my $75.71 price target. But that doesn’t faze me. For one, it is always possible that the company will raise its dividend, especially with the company’s much higher earnings forecast for 2022.
So it looks like XOM stock has very good upside potential, possibly as much as 25%, to $75.71, using its own historical averages.
On the date of publication, Mark R. Hake did not hold a position in any security mentioned in the article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
Mark Hake writes about personal finance on mrhake.medium.com and runs the Total Yield Value Guide which you can review here. | https://wayuptrading.com/2021/07/15/exxon-mobil-stock-could-be-worth-25-more/ |
Human rights abuses must be investigated
Despite an official denial by the armed forces, a wide range of unofficial sources in Bujumbura insist that the armed forces were responsible for the extrajudicial execution of these unarmed civilians. More information is still emerging on both the circumstances of the killings and the identities and numbers of the people killed or wounded.
'Respect for human rights must be regarded by all as a requisite for the implementation of a peace agreement and a cease-fire. All parties to the conflict must refrain from human rights abuses now and be held accountable for their actions,' the organisation said.
Reports from Bujumbura stated that the killings followed an attack on the capital which was attributed to a Hutu-armed opposition group, the Forces nationales de libération (FNL), National Liberation Forces. According to these reports, the FNL clashed with the Tutsi-dominated national army on the night of 28 September 2000 and attacked a military post in the Kamenge area in northern Bujumbura. The FNL then withdrew and the following morning soldiers of the Bataillon Para carried out reprisal killings in the Kamenge, Gasenyi, Gituro areas of Bujumbura, mainly inhabited by Hutu. The soldiers reportedly entered the area with the pretext of looking for members or supporters of the armed opposition. Most of those killed, including Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights and Children's rights, are reported to have been bayoneted to death, some in their homes, while others were killed as they fled.
The area was closed off by soldiers after the killings and Amnesty International is concerned that the number of dead could be much higher and that incriminating evidence may have been destroyed.
BACKGROUND
A peace agreement was signed on 28 August 2000 between the government, major political parties and some armed opposition groups. Two major armed opposition groups, including the FNL, have yet to sign. Violence escalated in Burundi immediately prior to the signing of the agreement and scores of human rights abuses have been committed by all parties since. | https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/human-rights-abuses-must-be-investigated |
Press Release / / 07.06.20
BREAKING:
July 6, 2020 – Today, Dominic Raab, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will announce the launch of the UK’s Global Human Rights sanctions regime. This regime will, for the first time, allow the UK to act independently in sanctioning individuals for alleged human rights abuses including asset freezes and travel bans.
Hilary Mossberg, Director of Illicit Finance Policy at The Sentry, said: “For years, abusers of human rights have been using the UK financial system to launder profits generated from these violations. Today, the UK has made clear that persons perpetrating and profiting from serious human rights violations will no longer be able to continue their dirty business as usual. We commend the work of the FCO and Foreign Secretary Raab and urge the UK government to include corruption as an additional criteria as today human rights abuses are so often fueled by profiteering and graft.”
Denisse Rudich, Senior Advisor for The Sentry to the UK, said: “The UK’s newly announced Global Human Rights sanctions regime is unique in the world in that it not only targets those who commit human rights abuses but also those who profit from them. We welcome the UK’s action to bring hard-hitting sanctions aimed at those most responsible for massive human rights suffering, laying the foundations for action against regimes whose ruling elite endorse and encourage such atrocities.”
For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact: Greg Hittelman, Director of Communications, +1 310 717 0606, [email protected]
ABOUT THE SENTRY
The Sentry is an investigative and policy team that follows the dirty money connected to African war criminals and transnational war profiteers and seeks to shut those benefiting from violence out of the international financial system. By disrupting the cost-benefit calculations of those who hijack governments for self-enrichment in East and Central Africa, the deadliest war zone globally since World War II, we seek to counter the main drivers of conflict and create new leverage for peace, human rights, and good governance. The Sentry is composed of financial investigators, international human rights lawyers, and regional experts, as well as former law enforcement agents, intelligence officers, policymakers, investigative journalists, and banking professionals. Co-founded by George Clooney and John Prendergast, The Sentry is a flagship initiative and strategic partner of the Clooney Foundation for Justice. | https://thesentry.org/2020/07/06/4185/breaking-uk-announces-global-human-rights-sanctions-program/ |
Another word for analytic. The idea of analytic statements is that the predicate in the subject predicate pair is contained within the subject. Founded on the belief that sentence diagramming absolutely works and that its effectiveness has been consistently proven over time, our company has created a software that increases students’ ability to comprehend increasingly complex language. Do analytic sentences play a unique role in language, or is it always possible to find non-analytic sentences which would do the same job as the analytic ones? analytics in a sentence and translation of analytics in Spanish dictionary with audio pronunciation by dictionarist.com analytic form in a sentence - Use "analytic form" in a sentence 1. analytic in a sentence - Use "analytic" in a sentence 1. Analytic and Synthetic Statements - Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online. The concept "Unmarried man" is contained within bachelor. In particular, Professor Dyson concludes that I believe that only research which "reduces complicated phenomena to their simpler component parts," what he calls analytic science, "is worthy of the name of science.". I think, first of all, the most important thing we can do is what I call the analytics and informatics. 22 examples: Several analytic philosophy e-journals have already been established. His research in spectroscopy and chemical separation laid the groundwork for generations of analytical chemist. The Value of All Values across Time, Place and Theories’ by John McMurtry, Philosophy and World Problems, Volume I-III, UNESCO in partnership with Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems: Oxford, 2004-11. An “analytic” sentence, such as “Ophthalmologists are doctors,” has historically been characterized as one whose truth depends upon the meanings of its constituent terms (and how they’re combined) alone, as opposed to a more usual “synthetic” sentence, such as “Ophthalmologists are rich,” whose truth depends also upon the facts about the world that the sentence … sentences, we discover that in ordinary communication they are not used to give trivial information; indeed, they are not used as identity sentences at all. Examples of analytic philosophy in a sentence, how to use it. See more. I cannot too strongly agree with my colleague, Professor M?nsterberg, when he says that the teacher's attitude toward the child, being concrete and ethical, isadd1positively opposed to the psychological observer's, … Translations of the phrase ANALYTICS FIRM from english to spanish and examples of the use of "ANALYTICS FIRM" in a sentence with their translations: ...social has acquired industry-leading social analytics firm , simply measured. What is Bad? 2: altitude semi-analytic expansion of ion densities is a key problem in parameterization of physical ionospheric models. An analytic language is commonly identified with an isolating language (q.v. Translations of the phrase ANALYTIC PROCESS from english to french and examples of the use of "ANALYTIC PROCESS" in a sentence with their translations: ...structure and logic into the analytic … Google analytics automatically tracks referrals from over search engines: 9. It means that those belong to analytic sentences are absolute true sentences.Take a look at the examples below. Synthetic statements, on the other hand, are based on our sensory data and experience. Find more ways to say analytic, along with related words, antonyms and example phrases at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. (1977) Analytic Sentences in the Semantic System. Learn the definition of the word "analytic" and how to use analytic in a sentence. 2. If the word exists in word_frequences and also if the sentence exists in sentence_scores then increase its count by 1 else insert it as a key in the sentence_scores and set its value to 1.
“Analytic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, … As you set up your Google analytics account you will be provided with a tracking code: 11. ), to express syntactic relations within sentences. It featured more pithy screeds than analytical articles, and even the longest essays rarely went on for more than three or four paragraphs. The truth-value of a synthetic statements cannot be … ), since the two classes of language tend to coincide. So, really there isn't much, if anything, beyond the idea of "true by definition". - This… The book's analytic framework is less successful, however. 2. ; Highlighting skills in your cover letter: Mention your analytical skills and give a specific example of a time when you demonstrated those … Even if sentences appear many paragraphs apart in a document, the lexical chain will flow through the document and help a machine detect over-arching topics and quantify the overall “feel”. Are all sentences which look like the standard examples of analytic sentences really analytic as they occur in actual situations? Adding relevant skills to your resume: Keywords are an essential component of a resume, as hiring managers use the words and phrases of a resume and cover letter to screen job applicants, often through recruitment management software. : The critical literature was reviewed and … Iterate over all the sentences, tokenize all the words in a sentence. They do not give meaningful information about the world. Analytic language, any language that uses specific grammatical words, or particles, rather than inflection (q.v. use "analytic" in a sentence Such a complete knowledge as this of the pupil, at once intuitive and analytic, is surely the knowledge at which every teacher ought to aim. Most people chose this as the best definition of analytic: The definition of analyti... See the dictionary meaning, pronunciation, and sentence examples. Vietnamese is an analytic language, meaning it conveys relationship between words primarily through "helper words" as opposed to inflection.The basic word order is subject-verb-object (SVO), but sentences may be restructured so as to be topic-prominent.Vietnamese is otherwise largely head-initial, has a noun classifier system, is pro-drop (and pro copula-drop), wh-in-situ, and … Analytic sentences tell us about logic and about language use. Open Web analytics-- provides a generic set of PHP and HTTP APIs that application developers can use to integrate web analytics into any application: 10. In: Przełęcki M., Wójcicki R. (eds) Twenty-Five Years of Logical Methodology in Poland. No. Nowaczyk A. Analytic a posteriori claims are generally considered something of a paradox.
So it’s very important to get this sub-function right. The analytic form of the Hilbert curve, however, is more complicated than Peano's. Analytic propositions are true by nature of the meaning of the words involved in the sentence-we require no further knowledge than a grasp of the language to … ), since the two classes of language tend to coincide. An analytic sentence is one that is necessarily true, as a result of the senses of the words in it (Hurford and Heasley, 1983:91). Sentence Analytics is a learning software company dedicated to improving literacy and grammar skills for K-12 students. The term analytics refers to the applied use of statistical techniques to gain understanding and value from structured and unstructured information in enterprise, line of business, departmental and third-party databases and repositories.. Unlike analytic statements, in the above examples the information in the predicates (arrogant, dishonest) are not contained already in the subjects (all men, the president). The sentence_scores dictionary has been created which will store the sentences as keys and their occurrence as values. sentence; 1: This paper put forward a semi-analytic semi-numeric method to analyze the cold bending of the hubcap. 1 Thus we may be led to the view that repetitive sentences in ordinary language are not analytic. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. Analytic definition, pertaining to or proceeding by analysis (opposed to synthetic). In addition, negating either of the above would not result in a contradiction. click for more sentences of analytic … Sentence with the word analytic. Synthese Library (Monographs on Epistemology, Logic, Methodology, Philosophy of Science, Sociology of Science and of Knowledge, and on the Mathematical Methods of Social and Behavioral Sciences), vol 87. I am by no means well-read enough in analytic philosophy to assess these posts in technical terms, although I do think I know enough … Most people chose this as the best definition of analytical: The definition of analyti... See the dictionary meaning, pronunciation, and sentence examples. Analytic sentence: A sentence with a self-contradictory negation. What Is The Difference Between “It’s” And “Its”? Source: ‘What is Good? Sentence with the word Analytics. First, let's recall that an analytic proposition's truth is entirely a function of its meaning -- "all widows were once married" is a simple example; certain claims about mathematical objects also fit here ("a pentagon has five sides.") analytic in a sentence and translation of analytic in Turkish dictionary with audio pronunciation by dictionarist.com Analytic language, any language that uses specific grammatical words, or particles, rather than inflection (q.v. An analytic language is commonly identified with an isolating language (q.v. Joseph Gerver found a sofa described by 18 curve sections each taking a smooth analytic form. Analytic statements are true via the nature of their meaning. : Glenny does his best to combat stereotyping and present a balanced, analytical account. Analytic example sentences, listen the pronunciation, easily copy & paste. ), to express syntactic relations within sentences. Use Bloomberg's portfolio analytics to size up European shares. Definition of analytic adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
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When: Offered regularly. See our schedule of Upcoming Events for details and to register.
Who: Open to any graduate student or postdoc thinking about designing a course.
When designing a course for the first time, the temptation is often to start with a list of topics to cover. While determining course content is no doubt important, how can we situate that content within a framework that promotes student learning? In the Seminar on Course Design, participants will think through the elements of student-centered course design. Upon completion of the seminar, participants will have begun to draft a set of aligned learning objectives, teaching methods, and assessments aimed at facilitating active learning among their students.
Armed with this framework, participants will then draft a syllabus to submit for peer feedback during the follow up Workshop on Course Design. This Workshop provides a venue for graduate students and postdocs to get feedback on a course under development. Participants create a draft syllabus and complete a “course alignment sheet” (distributed to those who register), and then come to the session ready to give and receive constructive feedback in cooperation with their peers, guided by CCT staff.
For more information about this program, please contact Joseph Lampert ([email protected]). | https://teaching.uchicago.edu/programs/seminars-and-workshops/seminar-on-course-design/ |
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Nathan’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
Another Paul Schrader chronicle of a man's deterioration, but this one is stronger in its sense of doom and claustrophobia, more inspired and elegant in its choice of premise, and finally more personally affecting than something like Affliction, Hardcore or even Taxi Driver. Part of its success hinges on the extent to which it’s able to force identification, through the good work of both Schrader and an unexpectedly masterful Ethan Hawke, with the pastor of a tourist-trap Dutch Reformed church in New England. We have no choice but to hang on as he copes with his anxieties, which already seem insurmountable enough before the building blocks of his worldview and the stories he tells himself to keep going begin to tumble. It's hard to imagine anything improving on the whole of the narrative, including its initially off-putting finale, as a metaphor for life in these times of duress and how to process same; the escalation ties you up in knots because it's so easy to imagine falling down in the same ways as Hawke's Rev. Toller. It's inevitable that this all calls to mind Diary of a Country Priest -- Toller is journaling and has stomach problems, even -- but it eventually serves as an antidote to that film's philosophy which I find so personally alienating. Conversely it doesn't land far from the conclusion of Bresson's Pickpocket, yet it feels livelier and more urgent thanks to its alignment with our own unprecedented moment; Schrader doesn't quite have the emotional energy to really effectively push the Ordet-like ending as well as it deserves (fantasy or not, it's an expression of grace and redemption that says vastly more, at least to me, than a cross) nor does he seem to hold the technical chops for the entirely unexpected Tarkovsky moment 2/3 in; but it's still exhilarating to watch someone go out on a limb like this, so fearlessly, and the earthlier portions of the narrative, right up to the harrowing tension of the sestercentennial ceremony, are as fine-tuned and icily maintained in their haunting minimalism as if it were all some lost grim fantasy of Clouzot's.
All hail the Academy Ratio comeback. Also: recommended double feature with Miguel Arteta's Beatriz at Dinner. | https://letterboxd.com/dustybooks/film/first-reformed/ |
The process Translation is generally carried out inside the Ribosomes, an organelle of the Cell. These Ribosomes are equipped with ribosomal RNA, structural RNAs and about 80 important Proteins.Question 10. Question. During transcription in eukaryotes, a type of RNA polymerase called RNA polymerase II moves along the template strand of the DNA in the 3'→5' direction. However, for any given gene, either strand of the double-stranded DNA may function as …Jul 29, 2019 · What is the importance of translation in biology? The process of translation can be seen as the decoding of instructions for making proteins, involving mRNA in transcription as well as tRNA. The genes in DNA encode protein molecules, which are the “workhorses” of the cell, carrying out all the functions necessary for life. Aug 23, 2021 · The reading frame for translation is set by the AUG start codon near the 5' end of the mRNA. The genetic code is universal. With a few exceptions, virtually all species use the same genetic code for protein synthesis, which is powerful evidence that all life on Earth shares a common origin. The Mechanism of Protein Synthesis Taxonomy, Nomenclature, and Classification: Key Terms in Biology and the Life Sciences Download PDF Copy By Dr. Nicola Williams, Ph.D. Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc. The word taxonomy is derived from the Greek tasso, meaning ‘arrange’. 30 Terminology Used in Plant Descriptions that the petals and sepals are attached at the top of the ovary, it is an inferior …In biology, translation is the process whereby messenger ribonucleic acid, or mRNA, synthesizes proteins – mRNA is converted to proteins. This is accomplished by the production of a chain of amino acids (a polypeptide chain) determined by the chemical information stored by a specific strand of mRNA.1. ... first year curriculum of our Institute includes many subjects such as ... Biology 9. Yesterday the students of our group took notes of the lecture in Biology. 10. My fellow student is interested in...Initiation Factors. There are three types of these –. IF-1 – It helps in the binding of IF-3. IF-2 – It combines GTP and tRNA with the 30S subunit. IF-3 – It connects to the 30S subunit and prevents prematurely adding the 50S subunit.3D animation of translation: RNA to protein. ... Biology & 3D Animation Library. Translation (Advanced). Your browser does not support the <video> tag.11.Translate into Russian: net income Ответы [a] импорт [б] доход [в]чистый доход [г] чистый экспорт. 12.Which document gives the information about financial situation in a company?Because the field of biological sciences is such a large and global market, language experts with a biology background are in high demand. Therefore some biology researchers become writers, editors, and translators for academic journals, trade publications, biotech companies, clinical research companies, and pharmaceutical companies. | https://thocli.bair-sprache-chiemgau.de/translation-biology-location.html |
Dedicating so much of ourselves to the news at a time when it is distrusted more than ever before is difficult.
As student journalists, we must learn not only how to run a news organization but also how to cope with constant accusations of “fake news” while doing our best to improve the industry.
“If it bleeds, it leads” — a phrase that suggests sensationalized stories about violence are more successful — is a philosophy many journalists used to live by. But journalists are human, and humans make mistakes.
We cannot and will not defend “the media” because we are not “the media,” but we can share our values with you — values that are very different from the journalists who subscribe to this phrase.
We are involved in the Graphic because we care. We care about understanding, informing and empowering our community. We care about making others care as much as we do.
As student journalists, we are committed to relentlessly pursuing the truth in the context of public service. We are in the unique position of covering the community we are a part of, often serving as the primary source of information. During adversities such as the Borderline shooting, the Woolsey Fire and the COVID-19 pandemic, we have intimately experienced the lasting implications of the news.
Our staff chose to explore the implications of this harmful phrase because as journalists we want to better understand the heart of the world, and as students, we want to better understand the heart of journalism — because it does have one.
This special edition not only provides an inside look into Pepperdine Graphic Media — who we are and what we stand for — but also elucidates the expectations, assumptions and stereotypes surrounding journalism. With this special edition, we aim to shed light on the role and responsibility of both the Graphic and the news industry at large because journalism does not need to be admired or appreciated to be needed.
In this issue, you will find stories that examine instances of news insensitivity and emphasize the importance of news literacy; you will find stories that explain the relationship between sports journalism and social media and stories that explore how the community views current news media.
On the surface, this topic may seem like a hopeless one, but as student journalists, we are nothing if not hopeful about the future.
We have to know the stories of the world to make the world better, and we wrote these stories to raise awareness, provide solutions and inspire conversations. We hope these stories challenge your perceptions of journalism and help you understand what journalists do and why. Because it is only when individuals understand journalism that they can begin to trust it. | https://makenahuey.com/2021/05/11/letter-from-the-editors-if-it-bleeds/ |
I did know how to divide by one-digit numbers, with a process that's apparently called short division. Since teachers were usually not cruel enough to assign things like 39483÷123, I fumbled my way through the rest of elementary and high school without really having to admit that I couldn't do one of the four basic arithmetic operations. Along the way, I started picking up computer programming, gradually shifting into my new identity, “the kid who's good at computers.” One thing I liked about computers is they would do division for you.
As I got better at programming, I stumbled on a way to cash in my talents for a kind of nerd clout. A teacher suggested I enter one of my programs in the local science fair, which some people took more seriously than I would have guessed. Not just your stereotypical baking-soda-and-vinegar volcanoes, there were students experimenting with stem cells and studying black holes. There were even science fair nationals, as I was surprised to learn when my project won me a trip there.
My project simulated the orbits of planets according to Newtonian gravity. Initially I was just happy to work on it for its own sake (and to procratinate my actual schoolwork), but nationals were super fun and I wanted to make sure I went back the next year. I figured that meant adding more kinds of physics, and making it more accurate. I didn't quite know enough math to improve its accuracy the good way, so I did it the bad way: arbitrary-precision arithmetic.
Loooonnnngggg division
In order to show off as much as possible, I implemented arbitrary-precision arithmetic myself, without those fancy libraries that do everything for you. Unfortunately, one of the things I had to implement was (you guessed it) division. At this point I had already finished all of high school math (which even included polynomial long division), and I still didn't really know how to divide two numbers. Sadly, my first attempt is lost to time, as I hadn't yet heard of revision control, but it looked something like this:
# My original implementation was in C++, but I'll use Python for exposition def slow_divide(num, denom): guess = 0 while (guess + 1) * denom <= num: guess += 1 return guess
This is an algorithm you might use if long division just doesn't take long enough for you. I knew it took “exponential time,” but I didn't really have a feeling for what that meant until I ran this code for the first time. My project sat there for hours without making any progress. I had to find a faster way.
The division algorithm
Like any reasonable programmer might do to find an algorithm for division, I typed “division algorithm” into Google. It led me straight to the Division Algorithm, which is famously not an algorithm. Rather, it's a common name for the mathematical theorem that the quotient and remainer are unique when dividing two integers. Specifically, given two integers (numerator) and (denominator), one can find the unique integers (quotient) and (remainder) such that and .
That's great and all, but it doesn't really tell you how to find them. I remember that at the time, this unfortunate name gave me a lot of trouble finding actual algorithms for division. Luckily Wikipedia has since renamed some articles so that division algorithm now refers to actual algorithms.
Short divison
As lost as I was implementing division in full generality, I did know how to divide by one-digit numbers well enough to implement that. Short division is pretty easy, enough that you can even do it in your head with some practice. On paper it looks like this:
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Say we want to compute :
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We work from left to right, starting with , remainder .
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Take the remainder from the last step and write it in front of the next digit. In this case not much changed, and we calculate , remainder .
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, remainder .
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And, finally,
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Indeed, we can check that .
Why does this work? Let's start with a single-digit numerator divided by a single digit denominator . The “division algorithm” tells us that there is a unique quotient and remainder such that . (In the example above, .)
Now let's extend it to a two-digit numerator . We can plug in the above expression for to get
Again, the division algorithm tells us we can find and such that . (In the above example, .) It follows that
We can continue this process to extract the digits of the quotient and remainder for longer and longer numerators:
etc.
In code, it could look something like this:
def short_divide(num, denom): # Initialize the quotient and remainder to zero quot = 0 rem = 0 # Loop over the digits of the numerator for digit in str(num): # Write the remainder in front of the next digit of the numerator chunk = 10 * rem + int(digit) # Perform a two-digit by one-digit division to find the next quotient # digit. If using the built-in division operator `//` feels like # cheating, imagine we used a look-up table or something instead. quot *= 10 quot += chunk // denom # Compute the remainder for the next iteration rem = chunk % denom return quot >>> short_divide(61320, 7) 8760
Long division
Now that we have an algorithm for dividing by one-digit numbers, what do we have to change to make it work for bigger denominators? Embarassingly enough, nothing:
>>> short_divide(61320, 73) 840 >>> 840 * 73 61320
None of the correctness of the math above relied on the denominator having only one digit. Long division is just short division with extra writing! All this time I'd thought I didn't know long division, I actually did, if I'd thought about it for a few minutes.
I will say that the division in
chunk // denom feels more like cheating now that our denominators are larger.
We can't really use a look-up table any more to evaluate it.
But we could use a different algorithm for it—say, the terrible, exponential, count-up-from-zero algorithm I started with:
def long_divide(num, denom): quot = 0 rem = 0 for digit in str(num): chunk = 10*rem + int(digit) temp = slow_divide(chunk, denom) quot *= 10 quot += temp rem = chunk - temp * denom return quot >>> long_divide(61320, 73) 840
slow_divide() is fine in this case: since we're only using it to compute a single digit, it won't ever have to loop more than 10 times.
Binary search
If we were serious numericists implementing division for a real arbitrary-precision arithmetic package, we'd be using a much larger base than 10, maybe or or something.
Suddenly
slow_divide() seems pretty slow again.
But as usual in computer science, we could speed up the linear scan using binary search:
def binsearch_divide(num, denom): low = 0 high = num while low < high: mid = (low + high) // 2 if (mid + 1) * denom <= num: low = mid + 1 else: high = mid return low
Actually, this is a perfectly fine general-purpose division algorithm (as long as I got the edge cases right):
>>> binsearch_divide(61320, 73) 840
It is slightly slower than long division since we have to do full-width multiplications, but on the other hand, it's easier to see why the approach is correct and efficient. I'm always hearing about plans to teach computer science concepts to kids in grade school, and I'm normally hesitant about such things, but maybe teaching “binary search division” alongside long division would be a good way to introduce students to algorithmic thinking. | https://tavianator.com/2022/long_division.html |
Mystery Rock Inscription in France Mystifies
A village in western France is offering a €2,000 (£1,726) prize for help in deciphering a 230-year-old mystery rock inscription found on a rock on a remote beach. Until now no-one has been able to make out the meaning of the 20 lines of writing, discovered a few years ago.
The metre-high slab is in a cove accessible only at low tide near the Brittany village of Plougastel.
Among the normal French letters some are reversed or upside-down. There are also some Scandinavian-style Ø letters.
Two years are visible – 1786 and 1787 – dating the inscription to a few years before the French Revolution. There is also the image of a ship with sails and rudder, and a sacred heart – a heart surmounted by a cross. But the writing has defied all attempts at interpretation by local academics. Some think it may be in old Breton or Basque, and that the person who wrote it may only have been semi-literate.
The letters may relate to the sounds of words as he or she heard them.
In one section the letters read: “ROC AR B … DRE AR GRIO SE EVELOH AR VIRIONES BAOAVEL”.
Another reads: “OBBIIE: BRISBVILAR … FROIK … AL”.
One theory is that the inscription is linked to the building of naval defences near this point. A fort and gun emplacements – whose remains can still be seen – were erected here in the 1780s to protect the Bay of Brest. Until 1783 France and England were at war.
“We’ve asked historians and archaeologists from around here, but no-one has been able to work out the story behind the rock,” says Dominique Cap, Mayor of Plougastel.
“So we thought maybe out there in the world there are people who’ve got the kind of expert knowledge that we need. Rather than stay in ignorance, we said let’s launch a competition.”
The public appeal for help is called “The Champollion Mystery at Plougastel-Daoulas” – honouring Jean-François Champollion, the linguist who deciphered the Rosetta Stone’s ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics in the 19th Century.
Linguistic and archaeological enthusiasts are asked to register at the mayor’s administration, then they will be sent photographs of the inscription. Hundreds of people have already expressed interest.
When entries close in November, a panel will choose the most plausible interpretation of the mystery. | http://theunexplainedmysteries.com/2019/05/13/mystery-rock-inscription-in-france-mystifies/ |
With a slow start to the 5th Vugar Gashimov Memorial, in Shamkir, Azerbaijan, the fans were becoming just a little impatient with the lack of action at the boards, especially as the first six rounds witnessed nearly 90% of the games ending in relatively tame draws. But the players – and especially Magnus Carlsen – have been saving the best for last, as the tournament now looks set to end with a bang.
But now in the true spirit of Gashimov, the last couple of rounds have seen a series of hugely entertaining and decisive games – none more so than today’s penultimate round, where you would have been hard-pressed finding a game that wasn’t gone to end with a victory. In the end, there was four bloodthirsty decisive games and only one tame draw. And leading the way was Carlsen.
Up to now, Carlsen has had problems trying to break down some very resilient opponents, content with putting the shutters up just to frustrate the world champion – but in the last two rounds, Carlsen managed to complicate matters in his favour, with entertaining wins against two normally difficult opponents: Tournament leader Veselin Topalov, and his bête noire, Anish Giri.
In round six, against tournament leader Topalov, the Bulgarian ex-world champion voluntarily walked into a tricky ending against Carlsen of queen against rook and minor piece – but he badly misplayed the ending that looked to be roughly equal, by allowing Carlsen’s queen to dominate and thus avoid any fortresses, as the Norwegian went on to win his first game, and with it take the sole lead in the tournament.
And pumped-up with that psychological confidence-booster, in the penultimate round, Carlsen was once again at his dynamic best to beat long-time rival Giri, who struggled for survival after going astray in a very difficult position. And with it, after 7 years and 20 classical games, Carlsen can now finally claim the bragging rights of a plus score against his longtime Dutch rival.
Now the fate of the tournament rests firmly in Carlsen’s own hands. With his +3 undefeated score, Carlsen has a half point lead and the big odds-on favorite for a third Gashimov Memorial title, especially with his final round opponent being his nearest rival Ding Liren, as the Chinese No.1 moved into outright second-place with a brace of back-to-back wins over tail-enders David Navara and Rauf Mamedov respectively.
Meanwhile in the American Midwest at the rivaling event of the US Championship being held at the Saint Louis Chess Club, Carlsen’s title challenger, Fabiano Caruana, isn’t having it all his own way as the world champion has in Shamkir – and we could be set for a surprise winner of the 2018 title, as GM Sam Shankland continues to rip up the field and holds on to the sole lead going into Saturday’s penultimate round.
Playing the tournament of his life, Shankland outplayed and easily beat GM Yaroslav Zherebukh for the only decisive win of round 9. Now the popular Bay-area grandmaster is tantalizingly within touching distance of a first US title, as he leads at the top by half a point over nearest rival Caruana, who somehow managed to survive with a draw from a lost position against Hikaru Nakamura, the four-time past champion.
Gashimov Memorial standings:
1. M. Carlsen (Norway) 5.5/8; 2. Ding Liren (China) 5; 3-8. V. Topalov (Bulgaria), S. Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), R. Wojtaszek (Poland), A. Giri (Netherlands), S. Karjakin (Russia) 4; 9. R. Mamedov (Azerbaijan) 3.5; 10. D. Navara (Czech Rep.) 2.
US Championship standings:
1. S. Shankland 6.5/9; 2. F. Caruana 6; 3. W. So 5.5; 4. A. Lenderman 5; 5. Z. Izoria 4.5; 6-10. Y. Zherebukh, R. Robson, H. Nakamura, J. Xiong, V. Akobian 4; 11. A. Liang 3.5; 12. A. Onischuk 3.
Photo: Magnus Carlsen is saving the best for last | © Shamkir Chess
GM Anish Giri – GM Magnus Carlsen
5th Gashimov Memorial, (8)
English Four Knights
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.0-0 Be7 8.a3 a5 9.d3 0-0 10.Be3 Be6 11.Rc1 Basically, this popular line of the English is just a Sicilian Dragon Reversed. 11…a4 Not only stopping queenside expansion with b4, but it also prevents the awkward Nc3-a4, eyeing up the critical c5-square, and threatens …Bb3. 12.Nd2 With b3 covered, the threat now is the knight-hop Nc3-e4-c5. 12…f5 13.Bxb6 Giri has won a pawn – but it’s dangerous, as it gives Carlsen easy and active piece-play, spearheaded by his bishop-pair. 13…cxb6 14.Nxa4 Bg5 15.Nc3 e4 Taking full advantage of the knight under attack on d2, Carlsen continues to open up the game further for his pieces. 16.Kh1?! An error – and a critical one. Up to here, we’ve been following Nepomniachtchi-Aronian, from the Geneva leg of the 2017 Fide Grand Prix, where Nepo played the bolder 16.Rb1!? and went on to win a very complicated game. I’m sure black has more than enough here for equality – but with this waste of time from Giri with 16.Kh1, Carlsen seizes the initiative now. 16…Qd7 17.Rb1 Rad8 Keeping the pressure on the d-file. Carlsen could easily regain his pawn here, but he rightly opts instead to keep the pressure on Giri by further building on his active play. 18.Nc4 Qf7! Stopping 19.Nxb6 which gets hit by 19…Bb3 20.Qe1 exd3 winning, as white can’t recapture on d3 as 21…Rfe8 will come with a big material gain. 19.b3 exd3 20.exd3 f4! Carlsen big threat is pushing on with …f3 winning the bishop! Giri can prevent this, but in doing so, Carlsen will succeed in directly opening up more lines to his opponent’s king. 21.Ne4 Be7 22.gxf4 This was the only way to prevent the push on with …f3, as 22.f3 allows 22…b5 23.Ncd2 fxg3 24.Nxg3 Rxd3 25.Qe2 Rfd8 leaving white struggling to stay in the game. So Giri is banking on his centralized knights now to stave off a disaster – and he almost pulls it off. 22…Qxf4 23.a4 Nb4 24.Qe2 Qh6 25.Rbd1 Nd5 26.Rg1 Kh8 Carlsen is being über-cautious here. He has a good position, so opts for the safety-first approach by tucking his king away from any checks – but he should have ruthlessly cut to the chase with 26…Rf4! and there’s nothing Giri can do about the multiple looming threats of …Rdf8 and …Rfh4 crashing through to the white king. 27.Bf1 Rf4 28.Ne5 Rdf8 29.f3 Rh4 30.d4 Nf4 Carlsen’s pieces look to be moving in for the kill – but Giri is just hanging on by his fingertips. 31.Qd2 Bxb3 [see diagram] 32.Rb1 Difficult to spot when the world champion has you under the cosh, but more resilient was 32.Rc1! where the threat of maximizing the potential of his pieces with Rc7 keeps white in the game. 32…Bxa4 33.Bb5?! Giri continues to drift in a very difficult position. Better was 33.Bc4! with a threat of Nf7+, forcing 33…Be8 34.Rgc1 and black has to be careful with his kingside attack, as white’s pieces are equally getting active and loitering with intent now. Yes, black is still better, but white should have more than enough here to stay competitive. 33…Bxb5 34.Rxb5 Qe6! Carlsen begins the task of centralizing his queen, first to defend against the threats from Giri’s knights, but also to look towards finding a way to get onto the menacing c6- (or d5-) h1 diagonal. 35.Qb2 Bd8 36.Ng5 Qe8 37.Rb3 Bxg5 It’s enough for Carlsen to go on to win, but the stinging haymaker would have been 37…Rf5! 38.Ne4 Rxh2+!! 39.Qxh2 Rh5 40.Rb2 Rxh2+ 41.Rxh2 Kg8 where – apart from the material advantage of the two extra pawns – the black queen and minor pieces will soon work in unison to attack the white king. 38.Rxg5 Ne6 39.Rg4 Rxg4 40.fxg4 Qd8 41.Rh3?? Giri blunders, but he’s in dire straits anyway. The lesser of the two evils for the Dutchman was 41.Rf3 Rxf3 42.Nxf3 but even here, the simple 42…Qd5 43.Kg2 Ng5 easily wins the king and pawn ending after a mass exchange on f3. 41…Qd5+ 42.Kg1 Qe4 43.Qb4 Rf6 0-1 Giri resigns, as after 44.Ra3 h5 black’s king has an escape from the back-rank threats, and the exposed white king cannot be protected without a further heavy loss of material. | https://firstmovechess.org/2018/04/saving-the-best-for-last/ |
Radiometric dating vs carbon dating a new dating site in usa
When scientists at the University of Regina, Saskatchewan were asked what the results would be if these roots were dated by Potassium Argon method.
With the exception of Carbon-14, radiometric dating is used to date either igneous or metamorphic rocks that contain radioactive elements such as uranium. Now when the uranium or thorium disintegrates, the alpha particles which are emitted are slowed down by the crystals in which the grains of the uranium- or thorium-bearing minerals are embedded.
And even though various radioactive elements have been used to "date" these rocks, for the most part, the methods are basically the same. This means that if you had some pure uranium-238 with no lead in it, 4.5 billion years later one half of it would have decayed into its stable daughter product (lead-206). Where these alpha particles finally stop, crystal deformation occurs (and) shows up as a discolouration or a darkening of the crystals.
They consist of measuring the amount of radioactive (mother) element and comparing it to the amount of stable (daughter) element. Uranium is radioactive, which means it is in the process of changing from an unstable element into a stable one. And after 9 billion years there would be 75% lead and 25% uranium, and so on. (an) episode of drastically accelerated decay has ... When the crystal is looked at under a microscope, these discolourations appear as dark ringshence the name "pleochroic halo".
Few people realize it but all radiometric dating methods require making at least three assumptions. Now the magnitude of the radius of a pleochroic halo in a particular mineral depends on the amount of energy that the alpha particle has ... depends on the half-life of the particular decay responsible for this alpha particle emission.
The second assumption is much more speculative since there is no way to verify whether or not some (or most) of the daughter element was already present when the rock solidified. However, in some cases, a few scientists are telling us that they have solved this problem.
For example, with the uranium/lead method scientists have attempted to estimate what the original ratio (of uranium-238 to lead-206) was when the Earth formed.This is because "common" lead contains both radiogenic (lead 206, 207 and 208) and non-radiogenic lead (204) but it does not contain any uranium.In fact, about 98% of common lead is "radiogenic" (containing lead 206, 207, 208) and only 2% non-radiogenic.College Board Standards for College Success: Science ES.3 Earth’s History: Relative and Absolute dating.Students understand that various dating methods — relative and absolute — have been used to determine the age of Earth. Between Earth Science and Other Disciplines: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Divergence (LS.1.1); Living Systems and the Physical Environment (LS.3.1); Nuclear Chemistry (C.1.6); Nuclear Interactions and the Conservation of Mass–Energy (P.2.3) Benchmarks: American Association for the Advancement of Science.To do this they have selected a certain meteorite, which contained various types of lead (including lead 204, 206, 207 and 208) but no uranium, and they have assumed that this ratio is equivalent to the earth's original lead ratio. | http://opt-shoes.ru/tags?/search/radiometric-dating-vs-carbon-dating10122.html |
The offices of Assemblymember Dr. Bill Quirk are always available should you need to reach Capitol staff regarding legislation or other state issues, or if you’re a constituent with a question or needing some support. Please feel free to contact us anytime.
Deborah Cox, Chief of Staff: [email protected]
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Tel: (916) 319-2020
Below is a list of my Capitol staff and their issue area and bill assignments for the year. We look forward to serving you!
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DISTRICT OFFICE
My District Office is available to assist you in working with state agencies, casework, certificates and/or resolutions, scheduling local meetings and events, and any matter of local or state concern. | https://a20.asmdc.org/offices |
Mistakes happen. At Square, we accept that human error is inevitable. We anticipate potential slip-ups and implement safety measures to mitigate—and oftentimes completely eliminate—any repercussions.
For example, Square's Luhn filter monitors logs and masks anything that looks like a credit card number. If a number like "4111 1111 1111 1111" were accidentally logged as part of an error message, our filter would replace it with "XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX" and page an on call engineer.
The Luhn filter looks for sequences of digits that pass the Luhn check, a simple checksum algorithm invented by Hans Peter Luhn in 1954. All valid credit card numbers pass the Luhn check, thereby enabling computer programs, like our log filter, to distinguish credit card numbers from random digit sequences.
The Luhn check works like this:
- Starting from the rightmost digit and working left, double every second digit.
- If a product has two digits, treat the digits independently.
- Sum each individual digit, including the non-doubled digits.
- Divide the result by 10.
- If the remainder is 0, the number passed the Luhn check.
For example, "5678" passes the Luhn check:
- Double every other digit: 10, 6, 14, 8
- Sum the individual digits: (1 + 0) + 6 + (1 + 4) + 8 = 20
- Divide the result by 10: 20 mod 10 = 0 Pass
"6789" does not:
- Double every other digit: 12, 7, 16, 9
- Sum the individual digits: (1 + 2) + 7 + (1 + 6) + 9 = 26
- Divide the result by 10: 26 mod 10 != 0 Fail
Now for the challenge...
Write a command line program that reads ASCII text from standard input, masks sequences of digits that look like credit card numbers, and writes the filtered text to standard output. For the purposes of this challenge, a credit card number:
- Consists of digits, spaces (
' ') and hyphens (
'-').
- Has between 14 and 16 digits, inclusive.
- Passes the Luhn check.
If a sequence of digits looks like a credit card number, replace each digit with an
'X'. Any characters, including digits, may flank a credit card number. Beware. Potential credit card numbers can overlap. A valid 16-digit number can even contain a valid 14 or 15-digit number. Your program must mask every digit.
I already wrote a test suite, so you can jump straight to the fun part: writing the algorithm. To participate:
- Fork the Luhny Bin GitHub repo.
- Modify
mask.shto call your program.
- Test your program by executing
run.sh.
- Once
run.shpasses, post a link to your solution in the comments on our blog.
Windows users should use Cygwin to run the tests. Please make it easy for others to check out and run your solution.
The first time you execute
run.sh, you'll see a test failure:
$ ./run.sh Running tests against mask.sh... .X Test #2 of 20 failed: Description: valid 14-digit # Input: 56613959932537\n Expected result: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX\n Actual result: 56613959932537\n
Modify
mask.sh and make the tests pass. Line feeds delineate the test cases. If you pass a number on the command line,
run.sh will repeat the test suite the specified number of times; this is useful for performance comparisons. The tests aren't set in stone—if you have an idea for improving the test suite, please submit a pull request.
This isn't a contest, but an innovative solution could score you interviews at Square. I'm primarily interested to see how different programming languages stack up with regard to readability and performance.
Once we have enough interesting submissions, I'll summarize the results in a followup blog post and open source our own Java-based implementation. In the mean time, if you enjoy working with talented people on challenging problems like this, email your résumé to [email protected].
Good luck! | https://freesoft.dev/program/3813547 |
Pierre Daniel is a young emerging artist, who was born in France, like other renowned artists such as Christelle Tea, Jelena Remetin, Mathieu Bonardet, Lola B.Deswarte, and Christophe Agou. Pierre Daniel was born in 1987.
Pierre Daniel's Gallery representation
Pierre Daniel is represented and exhibited by Galerie Alain Gutharc in Paris, France.
Historical Context of France
France has been a significant country in the development of modernism. Throughout the nineteenth century, France fostered the beginnings of what is today known as the avant-garde, including movements such as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Art Nouveau, led by internationally famed artists. In the first half of the 20th century, Paris was an essential intellectual and cultural centre, contributing vital movements such as Cubism, Fauvism, Dadaism and Surrealism, amongst others. These movements blossomed at the beginning of the century, in the period immediately preceding the Second World War. Major French artistic figures from the beginning of the century include Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque (Spanish national who settled in France) Francis Picabia, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, and Le Corbusier amongst a multitude of others.
Further Biographical Context for Pierre Daniel
Born in 1987, Pierre Daniel was primarily influenced by the 1990s growing up. In the United Kingdom, a group of artists known as the YBAs, or Young British Artists, dominated the artistic culture of the decade. They were a loosely affiliated and diverse group, united generally by their age and nationality. A number of the members had attended the Royal College of Art and Goldsmiths in London, and were favoured by Charles Saatchi, the ‘super collector’ of art at the time. The most famous member of the group is arguably Damien Hirst, and other members included Chris Ofili, Tracey Emin, Marc Quinn, Gavin Turk, Sarah Lucas and Sam Taylor-Johnson (née Sam Taylor-Wood). Through their use of shock tactics and sensationalism, the YBAs gained a divisive reputation image which was further fuelled by their use of throwaway materials, wild lifestyles and an attitude that was at the same time rebellious and entrepreneurial. The group dominated the British art scene in the 1990s and their group show ‘Sensation’ is now viewed as legendary. The art world was influenced by a number of trends throughout the 1990s, the divisive, hyper-realistic sculptures of Maurizio Cattelan and the sensitive, conceptual work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres characterised the atmosphere of the era. | https://www.artland.com/artists/pierre-daniel-700011 |
How we support research
Learn more about how the Alzheimer Society of B.C. invests in researchers, so that they can conduct and mobilize research to improve quality of life for people affected by dementia and investigate causes, effective treatments and a cure.
Investing in research
The Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP)
The ASRP is a collaborative initiative between the provincial Alzheimer Societies, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, partners and our valuable donors. Since it was founded in 1989, the program has awarded over $59 million to researchers, including $6.5 million to 76 research projects in B.C.
Learn more about the current ASRP recipients from B.C. here.
The Ralph Fisher and Alzheimer Society of B.C. Professorship in Alzheimer Disease Research
Established in 2007 through donations from the Ralph Fisher Foundation, Larkspur Foundation, the University of British Columbia and the Alzheimer Society of B.C., the professorship is a leadership position intended to advance research and clinical care and to promote the importance of research into Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
The current recipient is Dr. Robin Hsiung, Assistant Professor in the Division of Neurology in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and staff neurologist at the UBC Hospital Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders.
Funding from the professorship has enabled Dr. Hsiung to:
- Examine the factors that cause dementia
- Explore new techniques to help identify the different types of dementia
- Develop tests to detect biomarkers in blood and spinal fluid
- Provide leadership on clinical trials that investigate cutting-edge therapies for dementia at various stages
This position was previously held by Dr. Howard Feldman who has contributed to a number of world-class discoveries, organized productive collaborations and provided leadership to the field internationally at the highest levels.
Clinical fellowships in dementia
Fellowships are a valuable tool to help advance the clinical and scholarly skills of a physician who wishes to orient their career in the service of persons with neurocognitive disorders, including dementia. These fellowships provide local physicians with an opportunity to gain experience in the assessment and care of people living with dementia and ultimately help to increase the number of specialists available to diagnose and treat people living with dementia in B.C.
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. Fellow in Clinical Dementia - University of British Columbia
- In 2018, Dr. Clark Funnell became the first recipient of this funding for his work with UBC’s neurology team to identify novel biomarkers and generate innovative therapies for dementia.
- UBC is currently accepting applications for the succeeding fellow.
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. Clinical Fellowship in Cognitive Health - University of Victoria
- The University of Victoria is currently accepting applications for the first recipient of this funding.
Partnering with researchers
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. partners with organizations and individuals in the dementia research community to:
- Collaborate on research projects
- Assist in the knowledge translation of research findings
- Co-organize events
- Connect people affected by dementia with opportunities to
participate in research
- Promote researchers’ work
- Encourage and support dementia-friendly research
The Alzheimer Society of B.C. as a knowledge source
People affected by dementia and the general public look to the Society as the local go-to source for knowledge on dementia and current research, both biomedical and quality of life.
We take a leading role in:
- Knowledge translation and mobilization by participating in conferences
- Collaborating with researchers in an advisory capacity
- Conducting internal research to inform best practices
- Ensuring that sound evidence-based research informs all of our materials
To learn more about dementia research and how the Society supports research read our publication A Focus on Research. This annual handout contains updates on the newest dementia research, tips on how to become a savvy research consumer and stories from researchers and people who participate in research throughout B.C.
More useful links and resources
Learn about the UBC Hospital Clinic for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (UBCH CARD), a provincial resource dedicated to the assessment and care of individuals with or at risk for dementia, here. | https://alzheimer.ca/bc/en/research/how-we-support-research |
The limited edition Wolverine action figure is approximately 6-inches tall and extremely poseable. The figure is painted silver to commemorate the Wolverine comic book's 25th anniversary.
This figure is new in a very good package with few minor flaws. The blister tray is mostly clear, but these figures come in packages that frequently tint yellow due to age. | https://afact.com/products/toys-r-us-exclusive-marvel-legends-25th-silver-anniversary-wolverine-1 |
Go is somewhat like cricket in that it’s played enthusiastically elsewhere in the world but it hasn’t really caught on in America. Some devotees are trying to change that, and they are the main subjects of Will Lockhart and Cole D. Pruitt’s wonderful documentary THE SURROUNDING GAME, now streaming on Netflix.
Go is deceptively simple in principle, maddeningly complex in practice. It uses a 19-by-19 grid, and the rules can be meaningfully described in just one sentence: “You may place your stone (playing piece) on any point (intersection) on the board, but if I surround that stone, I may remove it.” When it becomes mathematically impossible to alter the outcome, the player controlling the most stones is the winner.
The game originated in China and has been played for at least 2500 years. In fact, it was considered one of the four essential arts of the Chinese scholar-gentleman: music, calligraphy, painting, and Go. There are millions of Go players, but almost all of them live in the far East, particularly in Japan, which formalized the version we use today. The highest skill level belongs to professionals, who learn to play as young children and devote their lives to the game. The main story arc of the movie is the attempt by top players to win a national tournament and become the first American Go professional.
These guys — and nearly all of them are guys — are obsessed with and humbled by the game. Take a look at a board midway through and you’ll sense that Go is many, many times more complex than chess (on its wimpy 8-by-8 surface). The possibilities with every move are orders of magnitude greater. Go is a series of little neighborhood skirmishes, but they’re happening all over the board, everywhere you look. If you’re not thinking ten, twenty moves ahead, a competent player will clobber you, and it’ll come as a surprise as you watch him pocket your stones.
Watching the Go players in the movie, I was struck by certain similarities to backgammon, an even older game. I’ve played enough backgammon now that I don’t think of numbers on the board any more, but shapes. That’s one level of sophistication, and the big Go players are using this same kind of cognition; a move just “looks right.” But people who play backgammon for money have to think another step ahead because the game relies on chance, the rolling of dice. (Bobby Fischer hated backgammon for this reason: he couldn’t control the outcome simply with sound play.) So they have internalized the mathematical likelihood of each possible die roll. They are playing the odds. The worst backgammon player in the world can beat the best one in a single game with lucky rolls, but over time, any actual money will migrate to the wallet of the pro.
Top Go players seem to be regarding visual patterns as well, but of course there’s no luck involved, and they’re thinking far ahead, as a chess player does. Toward the end of the film, a group visits the elderly master Go Seigen in Japan. The fragile expert visibly brightens when the board is set before him. He sees an early move and calls it “strong” — and there’s nothing anywhere near the stone. He points out other “strong” spots on a virtually empty board. Fueled by hard-won experience, his mind is already many moves down the line.
The American players are a rich mix of obsessives — one of them even moved to Korea to study the game full-time (“it’s the one thing I don’t suck at”). But I received a slightly different vibe from them than from their Japanese counterparts. To most of the Americans, Go is more like a sport: it’s about winning, rankings, battle. To the great Japanese players — who are also proud of public acknowledgment of their skill levels — part of their lifelong mission is to communicate the beauty of Go to the rest of us. It’s bigger than they are, and that heartfelt humility in turn elevates them even further.
Like this:
After seeing Liz Garbus’s terrific documentary BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD at Sundance this year, I became interested in chess, but not as a player, just an observer. Like most kids who learned the rules and not much else, I’d played a few games at novice level, yet I never caught the bug. A friend had a college roommate who could whip you from the next room by calling out his moves, never once looking at the board. He told me this was no big deal: some chess masters could play multiple games blindfolded, and to the truly gifted, winning almost if not every simultaneous sighted game against, say, 20 opponents was child’s play.
So I had master-class chess pegged as this bizarre feat of super-memorization, and in part it is: that’s why serious players pore over interesting historical games. The more they know about past matches, the harder it is to surprise or rattle them: ah yes, I’ve seen this position before. But that’s not the half of it, as I discovered in two superb books which describe the divide between punters and prodigies, and the best part is that you don’t have to know boo about chess to enjoy them both.
David Shenk’s THE IMMORTAL GAME was pubbed in 2006, but I just now got around to it. What a read: it’s the history of chess and its influence on generals, artists, scientists and culture, wrapped around one of the landmarks of chess history, the 1851 “Immortal Game” between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky. A tossed-off practice match held down the street from the first international chess championship, where these two masters would later be competing, it turned out to be one of the most beautiful, surprising and instructive games on record. Mr. Shenk takes us through the Immortal Game in “plain English” (chess notation can be tough to visualize until you get the hang of it). Here we see it played out patiently on a chessboard, move by move, as a sort of countermelody to his, er, masterful portrait of chess’s beneficial importance to humankind. This book makes even a schlub like me want to get out there and play.
The first game recognizable as chess – itself already evolved through centuries of adjustment – appears to have been bestowed us by Islam. Here are the familiar 32 opposing pieces, the 64 squares. But the Koran forbids “images,” found on representational pieces; they begin to appear in Western Europe. The author argues persuasively that, contrary to what many of us were taught, the spread of chess suggests the Islamic Renaissance made the European Renaissance possible; during the Crusades, far more cultural knowledge was passed westward. Europeans were at first impatient with the luxurious pace of the Muslim game, and even invented a curious variant dependent upon rolls of a die. But that introduces chance into a game whose glory depends upon its absence. Chess is no more a game of luck than is tennis. History is never far away: originally the piece next to the king was called the Minister, but with a succession of influential European queens, the Minister was first renamed, then molded into the most powerful piece on the board.
That history is all recounted through the “opening” section of the Anderssen/Kiesertizky masterpiece. During its “middlegame,” Mr. Shenk tells us where we are now. He explains that, in general, modern chess players are far superior to those who have gone before because they have the previous games to study, as well as the time-hardened effectiveness of different schools of play, which continue to be invented and revised. And their job will never be complete, because the game of chess, though circumscribed by those pieces and squares, is infinite in every practical sense. The total possible number of unique chess games has been estimated to be 10 to the 120th power, and get this: the total number of electrons in the universe is estimated to be only 10 to the 79th. This leads to the formidable task of designing a thinking machine that can challenge a chess master, as IBM researchers famously did against Garry Kasparov. The point, of course, is not to play chess, any more than IBM’s “Watson” was developed to play Jeopardy. The point is to employ these achievements in cognitive science on something really useful. For example, maybe one day a machine like Watson might assist a doctor – or even you, the patient – with a diagnosis; at the very least, it could quickly help sift the probable from the unlikely.
During the Anderssen/Kiesertizky “endgame,” Mr. Shenk takes us to the New York City school system, where a private program is helping teach chess to underprivileged students as early as second grade. They are obviously learning much more than just how to play an exquisite game. They are learning life lessons that only bloodless, sportsmanlike battle can teach, including the utter glory of a strategy perfectly devised and executed; in other words, they are discovering confidence in their own innate abilities.
I also dived right into the newly-pubbed ENDGAME by Frank Brady, a gripping – and, again, suitable for chess novices – biography of Bobby Fischer, the Brooklyn prodigy whom many consider the “Mozart of the chessboard,” the greatest player who ever lived. His accomplishments are all the more remarkable when you realize that Bobby pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, with no nurturing or financial help from the state. In his time, world-class players came mostly from the Soviet Union, a chess-mad nation that treated its board warriors like pampered athletes. The fact that Bobby could even rise to their level, let alone defeat them, is a testament both to his intellect and to his fierce dedication, recognizable in our day in the inscrutable “tournament face” of Tiger Woods at his peak.
Bobby was raised by his mother Regina. There is some controversy as to the identity of his biological father, but each of the two possible candidates, as well as Regina, were brilliant. He loved the Brooklyn Dodgers and summer camp – where, at age six or seven, he found an annotated chess book. He’d been playing chess on a cardboard grid with his mother and sister, both of whom were fairly disinterested in the game, and actually beating them. He already excelled at mazes and other spatial puzzles, and even enjoyed games like Parcheesi, except when the dice went against him: a sore loser, the young Bobby couldn’t abide the vicissitudes of chance. Then Regina bought him a real chess set, he learned the notation, and a lifelong obsession began. His nose was in a chess book, or staring at board positions, even in the bathtub. Soon, study of the game occupied almost all his waking hours: that and swimming, which he took to as necessary exercise. He wasn’t much interested in anything else.
Starved for stimulating opponents, Bobby found strong players and tutelage at chess clubs in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and at the outdoor tables in Washington Square Park. He was a natural, drinking in the game like a parched castaway. He learned more and more, memorized historical matches like a machine, and played bigger and bigger tournaments, his youth as much an amazement as his skill. At just 13, he defeated the noted master Donald Byrne in what has become known as “The Game of the Century.” (It’s included in the appendix, and the wonderful online addendum, of Mr. Shenk’s book.) In 1958, Bobby became the youngest international grand master in history. He was fifteen.
Mr. Brady is especially effective when he describes these, Bobby’s younger years. One of America’s leading chess journalists, he had known Bobby since the young man’s adolescence. His BOBBY FISCHER: PROFILE OF A PRODIGY, first published in the mid-Sixties, for a time answered the crucial questions: “Who is this kid? Where’d he come from?” His dramatic description of the Game of the Century seems to take you inside Bobby’s mind. But now Mr. Brady’s somber task is to chronicle not only this historic rise, but also a sickening fall. And now he uses not only family documents and correspondence from Bobby, but also FBI files, for the prodigy was about to become – to declare himself – an enemy of the state. The deterioration began almost immediately following his greatest triumph.
Those who didn’t live through it cannot imagine the excitement generated by Bobby’s 1972 World Chess Championship match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik. Not just chess enthusiasts, everybody. Network anchormen were saying, riots here, suffering there. But first, Bobby Fischer! (Big laughs in the …AGAINST THE WORLD screening at a montage of thrilled 1972 TV newscasters.) It was the first time since 1948 that a non-Soviet had qualified to compete for the title; it was the Cold War on 64 squares. Bobby’s behavior was becoming more and more erratic, but his paranoia was partly justified: indeed, almost certainly Russian players had long been tanking early-match international games against their higher-ranked countrymen so the superstars would be better refreshed when facing foreigners, the chess equivalent of the shameful Chinese/South Korean badminton “gamesmanship” in the 2012 Olympics. World-class chess requires prodigious physical stamina – the players train as if for a boxing match – and to Bobby this was no small offense. He had many more complaints about Russians, some way over the top, but on this one he may have been right.
After (spoiler alert!) Bobby won the world title, some synapse began to fire poorly, or at least began to do so in public. Mr. Brady’s narrative suggests that there was nowhere else for Bobby to go after scaling the summit of world chess. He never defended his title, deflecting every offer with a complaint or excuse. Was he afraid of defeat? He played a 20th anniversary match against Spassky in Yugoslavia, then under a U.S. embargo, and responded to the Treasury Department’s letter of warning by spitting on it at a press conference. He spent his last years as a fugitive, spouting anti-Semitic vitriol, cheering the 9/11 attacks, and trying to find a place to alight. Iceland, his host for the great championship, finally volunteered, and Mr. Brady’s descriptions of Bobby’s life there are oddly poignant: a meal here, a bookstore there, his portable chessboard always demonstrating something new about the game which had held hostage his humanity and continued to consume him. Mr. Brady drolly notes that when Bobby died in 2008, his age was the same as the number of squares on a chessboard: sixty-four.
Before you even open the book, you know Bobby was a genius. And you know he became something of a beast somehow. Mr. Brady’s signal achievement is to put you inside Bobby’s head, for weal or woe, and show you the recognizable human being behind each façade. It’s a wonderful look at a fascinating person, to which I’ll probably return – and that’s the best kind of book there is.
P.S. After thoroughly enjoying Mr. Brady’s work, I discovered in the endnotes that it was edited by Rick Horgan, a friend of mine from way back at Warner Books. Great job to you too, Rick!
| |
The primary purpose of the Accessibility Resources office at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College is to give students with disabilities the opportunity to achieve their academic goals.
To initiate these specialized services, students need to self-identify and have the proper documentation sent to the program coordinator of Accessibility Resources. The program coordinator also acts as a liaison with other college officers and departments including faculty, advising/scheduling, bookstore and any other referrals.
The most appropriate academic assistance in the classroom and/or at the college will be developed to the mutual satisfaction of the student, faculty and the director of Accessibility Resources.
All UC Clermont College students who require academic accommodations or other specialized services due to disabilities should refer to the following information or contact the program coordinator of Accessibility Resources to access these services.
The mission of the University of Cincinnati Clermont College Accessibility Resources office is threefold:
- It seeks to ensure that all students with disabilities can freely and actively participate in all facets of college life.
- Through this effort, it hopes to provide and coordinate support services to maximize students' educational potential and develop their independence to the fullest extent possible by providing and coordinating support services.
- Finally, this program strives to increase the level of awareness among the UC Clermont College community so that students with disabilities are able to perform at a level limited only by their abilities, not their disabilities.
To Qualify for Services
Accessibility Resources provides assistance, appropriate accommodations or other specialized services for students with all types of disabilities. We will provide “reasonable” accommodations as defined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
Below are some examples of disabilities that are eligible for services:
- Learning Disabilities
- Attention Deficit Disorder - ADD / ADHD
- Psychological - Depression, Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar, PTSD, OCD
- Medical/Chronic Illness - Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Crohn's, Migraines, Diabetes, Epilepsy, Sickle Cell
- Visual - Low Vision or Blind
- Hearing - Hearing Impaired or Deaf
- Physical - Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Spinal Cord Injury
- Autism Spectrum / Autism / Asperger’s
- Cognitive - Brain Injury, Concussion
If you believe that you may have a disability that is not listed above, please reach out to our office to discuss you individual circumstances.
Process
Students who have confirmed and are registered for classes should reach out to our office if interested in receiving accommodations or other specialized services while attending UC. Accommodations from an IEP or 504 Plan from high school will be reviewed and considered but do not automatically transfer to the college level.
Registration is a 3-step process:
1. Complete the Student Introductory Application.
2. Submit appropriate documentation using the guidelines described below, along with your Student Introductory Application.
3. AR will schedule an intake meeting with you. This will be scheduled after the documentation is reviewed. During this meeting we will discuss your needs, develop an appropriate plan, discuss the processes to access your accommodations, and additional support services available at UC Clermont.
Documentation
In order for our office to provide the most appropriate, most reasonable accommodations, documentation should follow the guidelines listed below. Once the documentation is provided, an intake interview will follow to discuss the impact of the disability within the academic environment.
Documentation such as Individual Education Program (IEP), Summary of Performance (SOP), Teacher Observations, full Psychological Evaluations, Psycho-Educational Evaluations (with test scores), physician's medical records, etc., may be submitted to our offices for review.
Documentation should be relevant and from a qualified professional or professionals that are licensed or credentialed with expertise in the diagnosed area of disability; i.e., a psychologist should not diagnose an orthopedic disability.
Guidelines
- A diagnosis of disability or impairment that limits a major life activity;
- A description of how the condition will impact the student within the academic environment;
- A listing of reasonable, appropriate accommodations that will lessen the impact of the disability within the academic setting.
NOTE: Our office reserves the right to ask for more documentation to clarify how the disability will impact the student within the academic setting. Documentation can be faxed, emailed, mailed or dropped off to our office:
Fax: 513-732-8972
Email: [email protected]
Meghann Littrell
Director, Accessibility Resources & Testing Services
Peters-Jones Building, Suite 105
UC Clermont College
4200 Clermont College Drive
Batavia, Ohio 45103
Accessibility Resources
Apply for Accessibility Resources
- Assistive Technology Resources
- UC Clermont Alternative Format Request form
- Grievance Procedure
- Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
- Semester Services Request Form - Students registered with the Accessibility Resources Office intending to utilize CAT services are responsible for completing the Semester Services Request Form prior to the start of a new semester.
- Accommodated Testing Procedures
- Accommodation Form Purpose and Explanation
- Class Attendance and Expectations
- Blackboard Test Availability Exceptions
- National Center on Disability and Access to Education - Document Cheatsheets
- ALLY Accessibility Indicators
- ALLY Accessible Content Basics
- ALLY Instructor Feedback
- Faculty Responsibilities for Accommodated Testing
- UC Accessibility Network
- IT@UC Knowledgebase for accessibility
- Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
- How can I give my students extra attempts or add extra time for tests and quizzes in Canvas?
- This link provides you with General Accessibility Design Guidelines in Canvas. There are examples/explanations on how to order headings, how to embed images, using descriptions rather than web links, proper use of color and more.
- UDOIT: The Universal Design Online Content Inspection Tool or UDOIT (pronounced, “You Do It”) enables faculty to identify accessibility issues in their Canvas course content. It will scan a course, generate a report, and provide resources on how to address common accessibility issues. The tool was created by the Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) at the University of Central Florida (UCF).
Canvas officially supports the following screen reader and browser combinations:
- Macintosh: VoiceOver (latest version for Safari)
- PC: JAWS (latest version for Firefox)
- PC: NVDA (latest version for Firefox)
- There is no screen reader support for Canvas in Chrome
Official browser support means that these browsers are actively tested against Canvas code. Canvas may be able to be used in any other browser or screen reader not listed, but official support is not provided. Learn more about supported Canvas browsers. | https://ucclermont.edu/students/accessibility-resources.html |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
This invention relates to floating docks generally, and is more specifically related to devices and methods for connecting floating docks to stabilizing piles.
Floating docks are designed to float in water as water levels rise and fall. Floating docks are useful in areas where tides are experienced, and in areas where water levels vary due to such factors as weather, flood control, or hydroelectric generation.
The horizontal position of a floating dock is typically held in place by piles that are driven into the earth. The dock is connected to the piles by pile guides, which permit vertical movement of the dock as water rises and falls, but prevent substantial horizontal movement of the dock.
Pile guides in common use have inadequate service lives. Most pile guides in common use are formed of metal. Metal pile guides are not sufficiently resistant to environmental factors such as weather and sunlight. Particularly in salt water applications, corrosion of metals, even galvanized metals leads to replacement of the pile guides.
The present invention is a pile guide having a planar flange. The planar flange is connected to a collar. The collar is constructed and arranged to receive a pile through an opening in the collar. The collar extends above and below the planar flange, and is formed of high density polyethylene.
FIG. 1A
2
4
6
10
12
14
8
shows a pile guide according to the invention mounted to a side of a dock. The pile guide comprises a planar flange . The planar flange has a collar positioned or formed therein. The collar has an opening that is constructed and arranged to receive a pile that is driven into the earth and below the water . The pile extends through the opening in the collar and sufficiently above the opening in the collar so that the pile is positioned within the collar at the highest anticipated water levels to which the dock is subjected.
FIG. 1B
FIG. 1C
14
16
18
The collar extends above a top surface of the planar flange and below the bottom surface of the planar flange as shown in and . The planar flange may be mounted to the dock by a leg or legs , that extend from a bottom surface of the planar flange at generally a right angle. The planar flange may be mounted to the dock by forming holes in the planar flange and mounting the planar flange to the leg into the dock with nuts and bolts .
20
22
In a preferred embodiment, one side of the planar flange extends a sufficient distance from the collar to provide selectivity in mounting the flange to the dock. For example, some docks may be a greater distance from the pile to which they are to be connected than are other docks. A flange having a longer side of the flange provides selectivity in mounting so that the pile guide is substantially universal for most docks in use regardless of the distance of the dock to the pile. Stated otherwise, a rear edge of the elongated, or longer, side of the planar flange extends not less than 5.0 centimeters from the nearest point of the rear edge to the collar. The longer side of the planar flange may be longer depending on the application. A pile guide having a larger diameter collar will typically have a longer side of greater length.
FIGS. 1A-1C
FIG. 1D
FIG. 1E
24
18
The pile guide as shown in may be mounted about the perimeter of floating dock, including the corners of the dock. To assist in alignment, when mounted on a corner of a dock having a right angle, the embodiment of the pile guide as shown in may be used. In this embodiment, a V-shaped member extends from a lower surface of the pile guide. In most applications, the V-shaped member will have a first leg and a second leg that join each other at substantially a right angle. The V-shaped member of the pile guide as shown extends generally vertically from the bottom of a pile guide as more particularly shown in . This embodiment of the pile guide may be mounted to the dock using fasteners such as nuts and bolts .
FIG. 2A
FIG. 2B
FIG. 2C
102
8
12
28
6
4
14
10
demonstrates a pile guide that is mounted internally, that is, within the perimeter of the dock . The dock in this application has a hole formed in it through which the pile extends. The pile guide is mounted over the hole or void in the dock, with the pile extending through the pile guide collar . The pile guide in this embodiment has a planar flange which surrounds the collar. The collar extends above and below the flange as shown in and . The pile guide may be mounted to the dock using nuts and bolts . The collar is constructed and arranged to receive the pile guide in the opening .
FIG. 2D
FIG. 2A
202
206
4
12
10
30
8
shows an additional embodiment of a pile guide mounted to a dock. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment in , excepting that the collar is of additional length for added strength and stability in applications where substantial force is applied due to the size of the dock and/or vessels, as well as weather and tides. The planar flange surrounds the collar, which is constructed and arranged to receive a pile through the opening in the collar. Gussets may be formed that connect the planar flange to the collar on a top surface of the flange to provide greater strength. This pile guide is also an internal pile guide, that is, it is used within the perimeter of the floating dock .
In every embodiment disclosed herein, the pile guide is formed of high density polyethylene (HDPE), which is material to the invention. High density polyethylene is extremely strong and can withstand substantial impact. Floating docks and pile guides used with them are subject to impact from boats and other objects. High density polyethylene is also abrasion resistant. Importantly, high density polyethylene exhibits a low coefficient friction; therefore, the collar of the device glides easily relative to the pile, whether the pile is constructed of wood, concrete or other materials. This feature is particularly important for applications wherein the associated floating dock is subject to frequent tidal changes approaching two (2) meters or more. Further, because high density polyethylene is abrasion resistant, the collar is not subject to substantial wear over time as the pile moves within the opening to the collar.
High density polyethylene can also be formed to be resistant to ultraviolet (UV) light such as sunlight. The addition of carbon black to high density polyethylene provides UV stability. Further, UV absorbers and light stabilizers (HALS) either alone or in combination with each other, and/or in combination with carbon black, may be added to the high density polyethylene to improve UV resistance and reduce UV deterioration.
4
6
206
The planar flange may be formed from a sheet of high density polyethylene. High density polyethylene may be cut or formed to the shapes shown in the drawing figures to form the planar flange. A hole or void may be cut or formed in the high density polyethylene. Extruded high density polyethylene pipe may be cut to form the collar , . The collar may be welded in the hole or void of the planar flange to form the pile guides shown in the drawings. In another embodiment, the pile guide embodiments are formed by molding or by 3D printing.
While the collar as shown in the drawings is cylindrical, it is not necessary that the collar have the circular cross section of a cylinder. The collar of the pile guide may be formed in other geometric shapes, such as rectangles or squares. The shape of the collar of the pile guide will typically depend upon the geometric shape of the cross section the pile on which it is mounted.
BRIEF DRAWING DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1A
is a perspective view of a pile guide mounted to a floating dock, with a collar holding a pile within an opening of the collar.
FIG. 1B
FIG. 1A
is a top perspective view of the pile guide of .
FIG. 1C
FIG. 1A
is a bottom perspective view of the pile guide of .
FIG. 1D
shows a pile guide with a V-shaped member extending from a bottom of the pile guide, with the pile guide mounted to a corner of a floating dock.
FIG. 1E
FIG. 1B
shows a bottom perspective view of the pile guide of .
FIG. 1F
FIG. 1B
shows a top perspective view of the pile guide of .
FIG. 2A
shows a perspective view of an internal pile guide mounted to a dock.
FIG. 2B
FIG. 2A
is a top perspective view of a pile guide of .
FIG. 2C
FIG. 2A
is a bottom perspective view of a pile guide of .
FIG. 2D
shows another embodiment of an internal pile guide mounted to a floating dock with a collar holding a pile within an opening of the collar.
FIG. 2E
FIG. 2D
is a top perspective view of the pile guide according to .
FIG. 2F
FIG. 2D
is a bottom perspective view of the pile guide according to . | |
Adriana Vermut leads the San Francisco office for SpaceVest, a tech transfer-focused venture fund. SpaceVest currently has $270 million under management and works closely with universities to bring innovative technologies into the commercial market.
What’s your favourite thing/least favourite thing about your job?
What I enjoy most about my job is the opportunity to evaluate new and diverse technologies and companies each day. In my position, I have an opportunity to see multiple approaches to resolving problems. Many times I see the approaches and solutions to these difficulties before they are introduced to the broader market. I sometimes wish I could work within the companies we evaluate and invest in. It would be exciting to be on the frontline with the entrepreneurs implementing strategies to commercialise the technologies being developed.
How is science business - i.e. the business of science - changing for women?
On the other hand, the transactional side of the business of science and technology, which I am closer to in my role at SpaceVest, is still primarily male dominated. Naturally, the investment side of the equation is still based on orthodox business patterns. However, the younger generation incorporates technology more seamlessly in its approach to intellectual challenges. And, in my opinion, technology levels the playing field and transcends gender barriers within business. Today, it is increasingly important to be excellent at what you do and perhaps less important to be part of a previously established business network.
What are the top three trends affecting women in the business of science?
- Accessibility to technology provides more opportunities for women to participate.
- Flexibility of schedules allows women to integrate a professional career with family oriented responsibilities.
- Today, industry is looking for diversity from both a cultural and a gender standpoint.
What advice would you give to young women looking to make a career in the business of science?
The business of science and technology has many entry points whether it is from the pure application of science or the commercialisation of technology. Women with degrees in science and technology are no longer limited to careers within laboratories. I encourage women with technological inclinations to leverage their rigorous training and discipline to seek non-traditional career paths. These women are sought after in start-up companies as well as in institutions focused on technology transfer and commercialisation. Based on my experience in working with early-stage technology companies, this is an ideal place to maximise and expand both business and technical skills. You have to be creative, flexible and highly motivated to thrive in such environments – but the experience is worth it.
What are the big ideas that affect your work at present?
The overarching idea that drives my work today is change. At SpaceVest, we get very excited about a company that is presenting a solution to improve the way things are done. I like to see old, unproductive methods and technologies give way to newer, more elegant solutions. SpaceVest is in the unique position to serve as an agent of change by funding growth and enabling entrepreneurs to realise innovative solutions to given problems.
Are there any differences in the ability of women to get ahead in different science-based industries?
A primary challenge for women in science-based industries is the need to feel comfortable working in a world traditionally led by men whether it is at the purest levels of science or on the business side. Through strong interpersonal skills and an ability to connect to people very quickly, I have been able to overcome this barrier. When SpaceVest invests in technology companies, we are really investing in the people managing these companies. It is crucial to connect with the entrepreneurs on a personal level and to be able to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses fairly quickly. I think women have a clear advantage on this front.
In the end, however, it is your individual skill set and not your gender that is going to make the difference and enable success. Sometimes it seems as though you have to be twice as good to get half the recognition, but the opportunities are definitely out there. | https://sciencebusiness.net/news/74269/Multiple-approaches-to-resolving-problems |
This is the essential guide that shows you how to get the most from your observations. For thousands of years observers have gazed up at the night sky and wondered at the celestial bodies that occupy the vastness of space. If you have ever wanted to learn more about such phenomena or just how to locate the major constellations and the planets this practical and accessible guide will provide all the information you need. | https://primarybooks.co.uk/products/new-astronomer |
Natural World: Notes
The inception of Natural World was in a cycle of songs I wrote in 2005 or so. It was an abstract version of a science fiction-love story-adventure journey, but too formless, shapeless, and opaque to truly be a tangible story. I envisioned Exit, written as part of that cycle, as a description of some sort of rift of space through which travel over great distances of space and time is possible, and an important plot point or catalyst. So I hung onto it. About five years later, while writing Triumph & Symphony, I wrote Safe as Houses. It felt like a puzzle piece to something, but I didn't know how or where. I just knew it belonged elsewhere. Fragments of lyrics and melodies and imagery would slowly start cropping up here and there, and the idea of the heroine, a still nascent and disembodied version of Celeste, was born. Shoebox was the first song written after the Animal video. Obviously tied to the video's imagery, it helped me understand there was something there for me to uncork I did not yet comprehend. Still physically exhausted and recovering from the making of the video, I found refuge in soundless prose and unexpectedly wrote a novel. The simultaneous formulation of the Natural World narrative made it so Celeste found her way into the book, and the process of writing the book precipitated the insights I needed to unlock Celeste's story and complete the cycle of songs. The Girl Who Said Too Much was one of the final songs I figured out around late 2013. Once this fell into place, I understood the journey.
There are several lenses through which I see the name Celeste. Firstly, the definitions of celestial are relevant.
pertaining to the sky or visible heaven, or to the universe beyond the earth’s atmosphere, as in celestial body.
positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space as observed in astronomy.
of or relating to celestial navigation (navigation by means of observations made of the apparent position of heavenly bodies)
pertaining to the spiritual or invisible heaven; heavenly; divine.
It encompasses references to space, nautical voyages, oceans, the natural world, and the human spirit, all in one word. All of my favorite things. Secondly, as Russians use patronyms for middle names (i.e. your father's first name + feminine suffix), I didn't really have a middle name. So as I child, I privately chose Celeste. It was more than just a middle name; it felt more like a color-saturated alter ego, and so it became. If Celeste's story is mine, I wouldn't know. I still somewhat feel like an outsider to it. But yet, her world and universe, the Natural World, was the geography I'd been trying to build and inhabit for many years. And really, what is more vast and labyrinthine than the realm of the heart. | https://annamadorsky.com/natural-world-notes |
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) has said it will sponsor over 100 students for its 51st annual conference.
The President/Chairman of Council, Mr. Wale Adediran said the conference which holds in Abuja this month will have over 3,000 participants deliberating on digital revolution.
The institute which is the apex regulatory body for the practice of human resource is poised to expose the younger ones considered the most technologically savvy generation to the profession.
It would provide a platform for the acquisition of knowledge and cross-fertilization of ideas, exchange of views on the disruption brought about by the digital revolution and how it affects the world of work.
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“The workplace is changing, the nature of work is changing. The professionals that create the environment for work to be done must therefore adapt their skills to ensure that they are able to drive the same objective in that new work place structure,” the President said.
National Treasurer of CIPM, Mrs. Adesogan Ekenma, said the CIPM would sponsor the students for the conference as part of exposing them to the activities of the institute and imbuing in them its core values as encapsulated in the SCRIPT acronym which represents Service, Creativity, Results, Integrity, Professionalism and Team Work.
Vice-President of the CIPM, Mrs. Titilayo Akisanya, said the conference would promote and encourage the development of the next generation of HR practitioners not only in Nigeria but in Africa. | https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/institute-to-sponsor-100-students-for-confab.html |
We talk to parents all the time who are worried about the wellbeing of their teenager. This fear stems from being unsure about how their child is coping with their stresses and responsibilities.
With much talk surrounding self-harm in recent years, parents seem to be searching for more answers surrounding this coping mechanism. They want to know how they can identify it, and what they can do to help a child who may be using this method as a release or escape.
In this article, we will discuss several myths associated with self-harm and let parents know how they can help their teenager should they find out that they are self-harming.
Myth 1: Self-harm is often a failed suicide attempt
Even with a number of reliable studies disproving this myth, people continue to think that those who self-harm are simply trying to end their own lives. While people who self-injure are likely to be at higher risk of suicide than those who do not, the two actions are entirely different. In fact, people who self-injure and also try to commit suicide will use entirely different means to end their life as they would to inflict violence on themselves.
Myth 2: People who self-harm are crazy
Many people think that those who self-harm are simply out of their minds. This is why so many people who self-inflict injury end up being hospitalized. This is an overreaction that should honestly be avoided if at all possible. For the most part, self-inflicted wounds are not life-threatening nor do they require medical attention. When a self-harmer is hospitalized, it can actually result in more damage being done as one of the main triggers for people who cope this way is a feeling of being out of control or overwhelmed.
Myth 3: People who self-harm are simply trying to get attention
Much of the time, people will make moral judgments about the behavior carried out by someone who self-harms. They will say they are seeking attention and that such actions should not be rewarded. This sort of attitude is not welcome when dealing with someone who uses self-harm as a coping mechanism. As humans, we are all seeking attention frequently. When someone is willing to harm their own body in order to gain attention, it is obvious that there is more going on than a person simply wanting to be in the spotlight. Additionally, those who self-harm often will do so in locations which can not be seen by others, negating the attention-seeking argument altogether.
Myth 4: Self-harm is a way to manipulate other people
While it is true that there are some people who use self-inflicted injuries to force others to behave in certain ways, this is extremely rare and something that specifically is carried out by people who are true sociopaths. For the most part, self-harm is something that is personal to the person who is carrying out the action.
Myth 5: If the wounds are serious, self-harm shouldn’t be taken seriously
The severity of the injuries should not be taken into account when trying to determine “how bad” a person’s self-harming methods are. Not only do people have different tolerances for pain, but they also have different methods of hurting themselves. The only way to know how someone is doing is to ask rather than just assume how they are doing by the severity of their wounds.
Myth 6: Only people who have a personality disorder will self-harm
While self-harm is a criterion for how Borderline Personality Disorder is diagnosed, it is not the only criteria. In fact, there are seven other equally important criteria that must be met for someone to be determined as a person with this personality disorder. Again, making generalizations about people who inflict harm on themselves will never help the issue or the person.
Is your teenager self harming?
If you fear your child is self-inflicting injuries, it’s important that you speak with him or her as soon as you possibly can. This sort of behavior can absolutely progress and get worse over time, which is why acknowledging it quickly is important. Additionally, we offer the best teen counseling for those who self-harm at Fire Mountain Programs. Contact us today to learn what we can do for your child moving forward! | https://firemountainprograms.com/six-myths-about-self-harm/ |
Previous studies have documented advancement in clutch initiation dates (CIDs) in response to climate change, most notably for temperate-breeding passerines. Despite accelerated climate change in the Arctic, few studies have examined nest phenology shifts in arctic breeding species. We investigated whether CIDs have advanced for the most abundant breeding shorebird and passerine species at a long-term monitoring site in arctic Alaska. We pooled data from three additional nearby sites to determine the explanatory power of snow melt and ecological variables (predator abundance, green-up) on changes in breeding phenology. As predicted, all species (semipalmated sandpiper, Calidris pusilla, pectoral sandpiper, Calidris melanotos, red-necked phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus, red phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius, Lapland longspur, Calcarius lapponicus) exhibited advanced CIDs ranging from 0.40 to 0.80 days/year over 9 years. Timing of snow melt was the most important variable in explaining clutch initiation advancement (“climate/snow hypothesis”) for four of the five species, while green-up was a much less important explanatory factor. We found no evidence that high predator abundances led to earlier laying dates (“predator/re-nest hypothesis”). Our results support previous arctic studies in that climate change in the cryosphere will have a strong impact on nesting phenology although factors explaining changes in nest phenology are not necessarily uniform across the entire Arctic. Our results suggest some arctic-breeding shorebird and passerine species are altering their breeding phenology to initiate nesting earlier enabling them to, at least temporarily, avoid the negative consequences of a trophic mismatch.
Click on title to download individual files attached to this item. | https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/548193bee4b0aa6d778520f2 |
TORONTO — A plant that can take about a decade to produce a flower that emits a putrid scent is set to bloom this week at the Toronto Zoo — years ahead of schedule.
The zoo says the corpse flower will bloom for just eight to thirty six hours sometime this week.
The facility’s curatorial gardener, Paul Gellatly, says the plant typically flowers every seven to 10 years, but the one at the zoo is just five years old.
The plant is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra and smells like rotting meat while blooming, which attracts carrion flies and beetles for pollination.
Gellatly says the flower is threatened in Indonesia and will become the first in the Toronto area to ever bloom.
The zoo will extend its hours to allow visitors to see the plant. | https://globalnews.ca/news/4438434/toronto-zoo-corpse-flower-bloom/ |
The ins and out of the controversial proposed changes to NICE and its HST assessments
On 14 October, NICE and NHS England published proposals for a substantial revision of the NHS's current obligation to make funding available for technologies recommended by NICE. Changes to the way in which highly specialised technologies (HST) for treating rare diseases are evaluated were also proposed.
In view of the far-reaching implications of the proposals for patients and for industry, it is important that life science companies give these proposals appropriate consideration before the consultation closes on 13 January 2017.
Two aspects of the consultation, in particular, merit detailed review by the industry:
- The proposed introduction of the affordability of a technology as a criterion to be assessed by NICE, and relied upon to delay implementation of NICE's recommendations in all cases where estimated annual budget impact exceeds £20 million. If implemented, this proposal would substantially erode the mandatory funding requirement, meaning short-term budget gains will apparently be permitted to override use of even highly cost-effective medicines
- The proposed application of NICE's cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) methodology to HSTs. This represents an apparent about-turn in NICE's approach to the consideration of such technologies; NICE has previously recognised that a standard methodology is not suitable for these 'ultra-orphan' technologies, and they have not, to date, been assessed by NICE using a QALY based evaluation. The change in direction proposed in the current consultation therefore requires explanation and justification in the context of what are generally high cost, complex products indicated for only very small numbers of vulnerable patients with serious medical conditions and few treatment options.
Affordability
NHS bodies are subject to a legal obligation to make funding available for all health technologies recommended by NICE in Technology Appraisal Guidance. That obligation becomes effective within three months of the date of publication of guidance, unless NICE specifies an alternative period. In particular, the period for implementation may be extended if one or more of certain factors listed in regulations are present. These factors include that the technology cannot be appropriately administered until appropriate health service resources are in place.
Under the new proposals, the requirement to make funding available would potentially be delayed beyond three months in every case where the estimated budget impact associated with use of a technology exceeded £20 million per annum in any of the first three financial years of its use. According to the consultation document, around 80 percent of new technologies recommended by NICE between June 2015 and June 2016 fell below this threshold. However it would capture highly cost-effective technologies, such as those that achieve 'cure', particularly if costs are concentrated in one year or the early part of therapy, but benefits extend over many years.
For every technology where the estimated budget impact exceeds the threshold, it is proposed that NICE would invite the company concerned to negotiate a commercial agreement with NHS England. The aim would be to reduce the price of the technology, so that the estimated budget impact fell below the threshold. If such an agreement were reached, the standard three-month period for implementation of NICE's recommendations would remain in place. If, however, the budget impact remained above £20 million, NHS England could ask NICE to extend the period for implementation "to allow a longer period of phased introduction".
What this means in practice would have to be determined on a case-by-case basis. However there is a real risk that short-term pressures on NHS budgets will be allowed to delay patient access to new medicines, with higher costs and increased expenditure in the medium to long term as a result, for example, of prolonged patient morbidity and disease progression. It is unclear from the consultation whether such matters have been taken into account in formulating the new procedure.
Furthermore, this proposal represents a substantial shift in the role of NICE, whose technology appraisals have not, up until now, included consideration of affordability. NICE's role in these assessments has been to assess clinical- and cost-effectiveness, whereas the affordability of particular technologies has been regarded as a political decision to be made by government (it may be relevant that, in contrast to technology appraisals, HST evaluations, introduced only in 2013, do include a requirement to consider budget impact).
NICE was reconstituted as a result of the Health and Social Care Act 2012, which provides that, when exercising its functions, the Institute must have regard to factors including "the broad balance between the benefits and costs of the provision of health services or of social care in England". This legal duty clearly requires NICE to consider clinical-effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. However, the view expressed in the current consultation is that it also requires assessment of affordability. The consultation also suggests that, when properly interpreted, the factors which currently permit implementation of NICE's recommendations to be delayed, specifically the reference to the requirement for "health service resources" to be in place, covers budgetary issues and matters of affordability. Such a construction is likely to be controversial, if it is in fact correct. Further, the interpretation claimed in the consultation appears to defeat, or at least substantially weaken, the effect of the funding obligation.
Specialised therapies
Another controversial issue in the consultation is that it envisages the introduction of a new methodology for NICE's evaluation of HSTs, on the basis that NHS England also carries out a specialised commissioning prioritisation process of such treatments, and it is "important that the two processes are properly linked".
The current HST methodology, introduced in 2013, does not involve a formal evaluation of cost-effectiveness. NICE has previously recognised that the cost per QALY methodology is not appropriate for HST products. It therefore conducts an evaluation of 'value for money' in the context of the overall specialised commissioning budget, in these cases. Similarly, NHS England's prioritisation process does not involve any assessment of the cost per QALY of products under consideration, but it carries out an assessment of patient benefits and cost per patient.
However, the consultation proposes the introduction of standard cost-effectiveness assessments in HST evaluations by NICE, based on a calculation of the cost per QALY associated with use of the product, and a £100,000 per QALY threshold value (five times greater than the lower end of NICE's standard threshold). HSTs that meet these requirements will, it is proposed, be subject to the standard funding requirement (subject to the budget impact assessment described above). Technologies with a QALY value above the threshold will not be subject to the funding requirement, but will be reviewed through the NHS England process for prioritising HSTs.
The consultation says that the proposed changes are "supplemental" to NICE's current guidance. However, they appear to be materially different from the existing approach. If implemented, the current processes would need to be changed to incorporate assessment of HST products. Furthermore, the consultation includes no explanation for NICE's apparent U-turn on the application of a cost per QALY assessment to HST products, or on the use of a £100,000 per QALY threshold. It seems unlikely that many HSTs will fall within this threshold, meaning treatments for rare diseases would, in practice, revert to consideration outside NICE, and the mandatory funding requirement would be lost. | http://www.pharmatimes.com/magazine/2016/december/a_new_way_in |
By Marta Guglielmetti, Executive Director, Global Solidarity Fund
Yesterday, May 27, the Global Solidarity Fund hosted the “Vaccines for All” high-level roundtable. The roundtable proved to be a truly remarkable event. Representatives from the Catholic Church, influential philanthropies, leading corporations, and International Organizations gathered to share lessons learnt and define areas of powerful collaboration for an equitable distribution of Vaccines.
It was a powerful example of GSF in action!
Cardinal Peter Turkson from the Vatican, Sr. Patricia Murray representing more than 700,000 sisters around the globe, Guillaume Grosso from GAVI, Joe Cerrell from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rebecca Marmot from Unilever, Charlotte Kirby from Salesforce and Thomas Ellmann from DHL, all called for a need to unify knowledge, expertise, networks, resources and creativity to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and create a more equitable world in the aftermath of this health crisis. Thank you again to our distinguished speakers and all of you who attended the event on the digital platform.
One message emerged clearly from yesterday’s discussion: high-level global partnerships are the key for success.
To secure an equitable and inclusive vaccine campaign, we need to create innovative alliances. When we work together, our voices advocating to governments and world leaders have more impact, new mechanisms for equitable implementation are more effective, bottlenecks in areas such as production, logistics, data sharing and counteracting vaccine hesitancy are overcome, and resources to secure an equitable distribution of vaccines leaving no one behind suddenly become available.
The irreplaceable role of faith-based organizations and the Catholic Church was spelled out clearly! With no exception or hesitation, Charlotte, Joe, Rebecca, Guillaume and Thomas stated the importance of faith-based action. Its role is essential for counteracting vaccine hesitancy. And it was not just about rhetoric. I encourage you to watch the conversation on the Global Solidarity Fund YouTube Channel to hear truly inspirational examples of how companies and International Organizations can effectively partner with faith-based organizations.
The timing of our roundtable was just right. On May 21, the G20 convened an extraordinary Global Health Summit, at which governments were able to agree upon the Rome Declaration. It sets forth 16 principles to increase vaccine access globally, as well as commitments to deliver in specified areas by the Rome G20 Summit at the end of October. The momentum created by the Declaration was carried forward at this week’s 74th World Health Assembly, with widespread commitment to rapid progress on making vaccines available to people of all countries. Both G20 leaders and the WHA participants highlighted again the vital role of public-private partnership and the necessity to engage local communities.
Yesterday’s roundtable provided some concrete, fact-based answers to the issues raised during the G20 Health Global Summit and WHA events. In the first panel, our speakers addressed the need to build trust in the vaccine.
All our speakers recognized the challenges posed by vaccine misinformation and hesitancy. The Catholic Church has a unique global network, and it has produced a toolkit that can be used to address the concerns of churchgoers. From the perspective of one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, Rebecca explained Unilever’s efforts to partner with governments and development actors, as well as educating and equipping the vast number of people it connects with through its supply chains. Joe drew on the Gates Foundation’s long experience in supporting vaccine scale-up – including in situations where faith issues provided significant barriers – to share lessons learned through successful collaboration.
In the second panel, our speakers discussed the issue of distributing the vaccine to people who are marginalized.
Gavi is a living example of global partnership. It plays a pivotal role through the Covax initiative, which seeks to provide at least 2 billion vaccines equitably by the end of 2021, and Guillaume provided an insight on the role of Gavi’s partners in this global collaboration. Representing one of these partners, Charlotte talked about Salesforce’s creation of the “Work.com for Vaccines” platform to help Covax to manage information and track global data, helping to ensure that vaccines reach all those who are in need. Thomas pointed out the contribution of DHL, which has delivered over 200 million vaccine doses internationally, developed over 10 new and dedicated services, and served over 120 countries, as a partner of the Covid-19 Private Sector Global Facility. Reminding us of the unique role of faith communities, Sister Patricia spotlighted the deep roots of more than 700,000 Catholic Sisters in communities of need and their part in tailoring vaccine outreach to address the special challenges of those on the margins.
Yesterday’s roundtable reflects the Global Solidarity Fund’s unique nature as a catalytic actor. We are facilitating dialogue and partnership to seek systemic changes to improve the life of the most marginalized. Consistently with the GSF vision, we will build from this dialogue and as follow-up, we will immediately activate concrete action addressing vaccine hesitancy through information and training, collaborating on advocacy around Covax and other efforts, and opportunities for businesses to work with their employees around vaccine uptake and promotion together with faith-based leaders and organizations globally and on the front lines.
We showed that there is great potential for wider partnerships on these issues and many more. I invite you to reach out to us with your ideas, visions, and even challenges. This is also an opportunity to learn more about GSF (here is our website). Stay tuned for our initiatives, including our next roundtable focused on innovative solutions for jobs for migrants and refugees, which will take place on July 15.
Thank you and we look forward to receiving your inputs and ideas! | https://www.globalsolidarityfund.org/the-vaccines-for-all-high-level-roundtable-seizing-the-moment-for-collaboration/ |
Journal of Financial Planning: February 2013
Jonathan Guyton, CFP®, is principal of Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc., a holistic financial planning and wealth management firm in Edina, Minnesota. He is a researcher, mentor, author, frequent national speaker on retirement planning and asset distribution strategies, and a former winner of the Journal of Financial Planning’s Call for Papers competition.
We’ve all been there with a retired client.
The “paycheck” from their retirement is being deposited regularly. The taxes it will generate are being withheld. This total annual income distribution meets our definition of one that seems quite safe and sustainable for the remaining retirement years. From a cash flow, distribution, and tax planning standpoint, everything is going according to plan.
Then it happens: Our client couple tells us they need to take out some extra money for a one-time expense that their regular income won’t quite cover. However, this isn’t the first time; in fact, it seems that there’s a different one-time request more years than not. How are we to assess this situation and respond?
For starters, it’s important to recognize what is occurring here contains both exterior and interior dimensions. These are integrated and significant. In addition, the healthiest response— for now as well as the longer term—requires us to consider this situation’s theoretical, operational, and client communication aspects. As is often the case, their intersection is likely to be something of a holistic sweet spot.
One-time Withdrawals Affect Long-term Sustainability
Starting with the exterior dimensions, these additional one-time withdrawals affect the long-term sustainability of the client’s retirement income because they are drawn from the same assets that are being asked to generate income month after month, year after year. A withdrawal is a withdrawal whether it goes for regular monthly income, income tax withholding, or a one-time want. And repeated additional withdrawals, even if they don’t occur every year, increase the withdrawal rate—perhaps to an unsafe level.
For example, consider the client who has taken one-time distributions of $5,000, $8,000, nothing, $10,000, and $7,000 over the past five years. Assuming that the client’s monthly pre-tax withdrawal in the next year would rise to $3,250, a planner would be wise to calculate the current withdrawal rate based on an annual distribution of $45,000 (the $3,250 for each of 12 months plus the average of the additional disbursements) rather than $39,000. The extra $6,000 could make what otherwise would have seemed a safe withdrawal rate considerably less so.
It could be tempting to assume that the pattern of the previous five years is not permanent, especially if the client couple is in their most active years of retirement. This pattern will stop eventually, right? Well, not only might it not (or at least not in time), it also could just as easily increase in magnitude considering nearly 60 percent of the additional distributions have occurred in the most recent two years.
Create an Improved “Choice Architecture”
So, while applying retirement distribution theory to the external dimensions of this situation is quite helpful in diagnosing its dangers, leaving the internal dynamic unexplored will likely leave any solution beyond our reach. Rationally, things couldn’t be clearer. Very few clients want to go down a path fraught with financial danger. That many do flirt with this possibility calls our attention to the internal dimensions, and to the opportunity to create an improved “choice architecture,” to borrow a phrase from Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.
Notice the unfortunate framing in this situation and the unhealthy impact it can have on the advisory relationship. The planner is in the untenable position of needing to predict the client’s future behavior (the amount of additional one-time distributions) to render advice on the impact of their current behavior (this year’s additional distribution). Furthermore, the client has already decided to make the extra expenditure before the planner even knows about it. And should the planner’s advice be that doing so would raise a real chance of adverse consequences, she must almost certainly present her view either from a scarcity perspective (“continuing to do this could cause you problems in the future”) or by choosing sides if one partner in the couple is opposed to the expenditure.
From the client’s perspective, it may seem that a heretofore unknown boundary existed that only became known once it had been crossed. This is because they have previously heard the planner’s message of “you can do almost anything within reason unless I say that you shouldn’t.” Of course this isn’t the planner’s message at all, but it may be perceived as such.
The problem here is that the planner has too much responsibility for the achievement of the goal (a sustainable lifetime income) and the client does not have enough. The planner can help this situation and the client by establishing some broad yet specific boundaries early on, and then empowering the client to make and be responsible for their choices—with as much or as little help from the planner as desired.
How so? By having the client establish a separate and distinct discretionary portfolio that stands apart from their separate and distinct core portfolio.
Discretionary vs. Core Portfolios
In describing them, it may be easier to begin with the core portfolio. These are the investment assets responsible for sustaining the client’s income and lifestyle for as long as they live. Ideally, ongoing distributions from the core portfolio are taken in accordance with the safe withdrawal policies or approach that the planner has recommended and the client has accepted as the means to achieving this purpose. There are no additional distributions (one-time or otherwise) from the core portfolio, for to make such distributions would create a chink in the armor of the client’s long-term financial security.
The assets in the discretionary portfolio (which some of our clients nickname their “slush fund”) are expressly designated for any and all additional expenditures (one-time or otherwise) that the client may wish to make and that are unable to be funded by their core, ongoing income.
Notice how this structure turns the client-adviser dynamic on its head. The discretionary portfolio gives the client a clear boundary to define the amount of extra expenditures they can afford, at least for the foreseeable future. More importantly, the client gets to determine which purposes are worthy of tapping these assets. When the client is a couple, this choice can spark significant conversation about what they truly value and which “wants” matter most. Clients report that these conversations are rich; in fact, one deemed this “the best advice you’ve ever given us.” Almost as a by-product, the planner is freed from the most untenable aspects of his or her role in this situation’s former framing. Moreover, the planner may discover things about her client that she’s never previously known by simply listening to the client’s stories about tapping (and not tapping) these assets.
Having the Conversation
When introducing this structure with a client, begin with conversation about the challenges that surround one-time special needs for money. The client’s periodic “how do we know if we’re still okay?” is answerable with much greater clarity if this structure is implemented. A bit of humor about “one-time wants that seem to occur every year” combined with lots of listening can go a long way to discovering how well this idea resonates. Given some space to reflect, most clients will respond with a high level of honesty and self-awareness.
When advising clients on the amount of their assets to place in a discretionary portfolio, their core income (from their core portfolio combined with Social Security, pension, and other sources) should be able to fund a retirement worth living rather than merely a bare-bones lifestyle; thus, the core portfolio must be sufficiently large. For example, if a client couple has said they would like to spend at least $10,000 annually on travel, then a full $10,000 should be included in their core spending to be funded from these sources. However, years of extraordinary travel plans beyond this level would be funded from the discretionary portfolio.
It is natural to believe that some clients cannot afford to designate even 2 percent to 5 percent of their assets in this way. Interestingly, our firm’s experience has been that clients who see value in this approach are more than willing to adjust their core spending plans to make it possible. And it doesn’t take much. Assuming a 5 percent withdrawal rate, designating $50,000 for a discretionary portfolio reduces core annual spending by $2,500, about $200 each month before taxes.
Operationally, it is vital that the assets in a discretionary portfolio be housed in account(s) that are unique from the core portfolio. Even better, report this as a separate “household” or “client” to show these assets as truly distinct from the core portfolio. Although designing a discretionary portfolio to hold exclusively after-tax assets is most appealing, do not let an inability to do so derail this planning. Furthermore, tax planning for the core income—with attention on its impact on the amount of Social Security inclusion, taxable income, and opportunity to do Roth IRA conversions—should take precedence. Even if discretionary assets need to be entirely pre-tax, so be it if this is the only way to create such a structure for the client. Lastly, it is likely that the investment strategy for a discretionary portfolio will have a somewhat lower equity allocation than for a core portfolio, because of the possibility of a fairly aggressive draw-down to fund the client’s plans and priorities.
For both client and planner, there are additional benefits beyond those that may initially meet the eye. Here are just three:
- Because retirees quite naturally like to consider additional spending in the early years of retirement, the core/discretionary framework swims with the tide of such desires—and with boundaries.
- Should a child of a client make an especially large funding request, the core/discretionary structure readily frames the decision for the parent(s); this is particularly powerful if saying yes would nearly deplete the discretionary assets or even require dipping into core assets.
- Most approaches for generating sustainable income seek a “safe” withdrawal rate that generates very high probabilities of success; in other words, there is a high probability that the amount associated with this withdrawal rate will ultimately prove too low. Even if a client exhausts their discretionary portfolio in as little as five to seven years, this could be enough time to determine whether or not core portfolio income could be recalibrated to a higher “safe” level to accommodate additional discretionary spending. Conversely, if after several years the planner became seriously concerned about the sustainability of the core portfolio income, it could be shored up by adding assets from the discretionary portfolio.
Sometimes, in the confluence of a client challenge and the theory and practice of holistic financial planning, we find a way to harness the very forces we’ve been tacking into as headwinds so we can instead run with them downwind. And that nearly always makes for good advice! | https://www.financialplanningassociation.org/article/journal/FEB13-when-ounce-discretionary-worth-pound-core |
Thank you for participating in the 81st Annual Fall Technology Conference. If you require either CTLE credits for certification or a certificate for participation verification, please complete the provided CTLE form through the process below. A maximum of 16.5 hours can be earned. Only registered and verified attendees for the conference will be eligible to apply.
- Download or save the below CTLE form for the Fall Conference. It is a PDF that can be filled out using Adobe Acrobat (Free Download) or printed and filled out by hand.
- Complete Section 1 on the first page with your identifying information.
- On page 2, check off the presentations that you attended. Add up the total number of minutes for the presentations attended and record it at the bottom of the page.
- Divide the number of minutes by 60 to determine the hours. Round them to the nearest ¼ hour. Record the number of hours at the bottom of the page and in the Number of Hours Awarded space in Section II on the first page.
- Save or scan your form as a PDF. Please do not send pictures of your form. If the form is not legible, we will ask you to resubmit it. Many school photocopiers can scan a document and convert it to a PDF.
- Email the PDF to [email protected]. We will return a signed copy to you and retain a copy for our required record keeping.
- The deadline for completing conference activities is November 6. The deadline for submitting your CTLE paperwork is November 13. Please only submit one form at the end of the conference. | https://fallconference.com/2020/10/29/2020-earn-professional-development-ctle-hours/ |
Using the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 3.6-m telescope the team discovered Gliese 581c and calculated it has 5 times the mass of the Earth, orbits a red dwarf and is already known to harbour a Neptune-mass planet. Gliese 581c’s Sun is smaller and colder than our Sun but since the planet has a much closer orbit than that of the earth (a full orbit or a year on Gliese 581c takes 13 days) it has a very reasonable temperature of between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius (32- 104 degrees Fahrenheit), and if it has water on its surface it would be found in a liquid state.
Gliese 581, is among the 100 closest stars to us, located only 20.5 light-years away in the constellation Libra ("the Scales"). It has a mass of only one third the mass of the Sun. Such red dwarfs are intrinsically at least 50 times fainter than the Sun and are the most common stars in our Galaxy: among the 100 closest stars to the Sun, 80 belong to this class.
TFOT reported several related discoveries in recent years. In 2006 NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope discovered 16 extrasolar planet candidates orbiting a variety of distant stars in the central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Later on that year NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope made the first measurements of the day and night temperatures of a planet outside our solar system. On December 2006, the COROT (COnvection ROtation and Planetary Transits) space-based telescope was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. COROT will observe more than 120,000 stars and try to detect planets with orbits of 50 days or less in other stellar systems as they pass in front of their parent stars, blocking some of the light. | https://thefutureofthings.com/5515-earth-like-planet-in-habitable-zone/ |
As discussed in Chapter 5, failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) is a tool used for addressing risk of failure. In the case of design FMECA (D-FMECA), it is extremely valuable in reviewing the design aspects of a product—from the s tandpoint of the ability to investigate possible issues for a product meeting its design requirements. Just as D-FMECA focuses on possible design failure modes at multiple levels of hardware or software structure, P-FMECA is a detailed study, focused on manufacturing and test processes and steps, required to build reliable products. The format used in this chapter is different from that discussed previously for D-FMECA, but the considerations are the same: Risks: how serious the potential event is, the chances that it will happen, and how users know about it.
P-FMECA includes a review of materials, parts, manufacturing processes, tools and equipment, inspection methods, human errors, and documentation. P-FMECA reviews the build, inspection effectiveness, and test aspects of the product for possible risks of process step failures at the multiple levels of processes, including the severity of problems after the product is in the customer's hands.
The P-FMECA process is broken down into subprocesses and lower-level steps. For each step, possible problems, their likelihood of occurring, and their ability to be detected ... | https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/design-for-reliability/9781118310038/9781118310038c06.xhtml |
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Edvige Bordone
Communications specialist
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Milan,
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I am a Communications Specialist with background in Global Health and 8 years of experience working in international organisations and NGOs. I am looking for a mid-level management position in communications or project management, ideally in the global health or public health sector. Refugees and migration are also issues close to my heart. Can relocate immediately.
Contact Edvige Bordone
Area of Expertise:
Communications, IT, Media, Knowledge Management, Editor
Health, Doctors, Nurses, HIV/AIDS
Monitoring, Evaluation, Policy, Research, Analysis
Professional Experience:
Currently seeking for a new opportunity, after a short career break.
2015/18
Communications Manager • Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET), UK
Managed 1 staff and 1 volunteer. Ensured that THET's communication outputs were of a high standard, respond to the needs of the target audience, reflect strategic priorities and values and were delivered within agreed budget and timelines. Managed the promotion of stories - proactively seeking to increase THET's profile across various platforms, and with key-influencers and stakeholders. Produced creative and compelling case-studies for the purposes of advocacy, policy, fundraising and communication of impact and progress made. Contributed to the development of THET's advocacy strategy. Delivered communication training sessions to six country directors to raise THET’s profile and optimise impact at international and national levels. Project manager for THET’s annual conferences. Digital lead. Project management and content generation for brand-new website.
2013/14
Communications Manager • Pour un Sourire d’Enfant, Cambodia
Managed 5 staffs. Re-branding strategy. External and internal communications strategy and plan. Produced news pieces and articles, publishing content based on editorial calendar, work plan and budget; reviewed and approved all content and publications. Developed internal communications tools (intranet website, staff blog, and noticeboards). Delivered communication training sessions for key-staff and provided communication support to CSR and Fundraising departments. Web content editor and architecture for new website. Digital manager. Events planning. Project Manager of the fundraising campaign ‘Be a Hero’ ($ 140,000 raised).
2011/13Communication Lead for South-East Asia • Passerelles numériques, Cambodia
Remotely supervised 2 staffs. Re-branding strategy. Communications strategy, plan, and budget. Effectively developed communication tools for general audiences, local and international partners, donors, media, and staff (annual reports, major donors reports, newsletters, briefings, leaflets, presentations, videos).
2010/11
Communication & Information Officer • UNDP, Madagascar
Developed the UN annual communication strategy and plan. Coordinating internal communications for 14 UN agencies in the country. Handled relations with media and institutional partners (government, NGOs…). Events planning. Official speeches for UN’s spokespersons. Organised regular training sessions for local journalists (ethics, facts checking).
2009/10
Public Relations Officer • MSF, Italy
Organisation of general public outreach events as well as thematic and networking events (national conferences, round-tables, photo exhibitions, lecture in the Senate of Italian Republic, readings). Proofreading and editing of several MSF’s reports.
2007
Press Officer (Intern) • MSF, Italy
Press officer for the interactive exhibition ‘A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City’ (media p
Education:
2015
MSc Health, Population and Society
London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
Merit
2009
Master’s Degree Cultures and Languages for Communication
Università degli studi di Milano, Italy
110 cum magna laude/110 (special distinction)
2005
Bachelor’s Degree Liberal Studies in Communications
Università degli studi di Milano, Italy
108/110
Available for:
Consulting assignments
Job opportunities
Being headhunted – make me an offer
Years of Experience:
5-10 years
Highest Qualification:
Masters
Languages:
English, French, Italian
Nationality:
Italy
LinkedIn Profile:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/edvigebordone/
Jobseekers: | http://www.genevajobs.org/myProfile.aspx?Can_Id=35443 |
December 31 is the last date to file your income tax return (ITR) for financial year 2019-20 — or assessment year 2020-21 — without any penalty charges. This year, the Income Tax Department on multiple occasions extended the due date for income tax assessees to file their income tax returns (ITRs), in order to ease the tax-filing process due to the coronavirus crisis. Simply put, income tax assessees now have a couple of days to file their ITR for the income earned between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020. Normally, the due date for filing ITRs for all assessees whose accounts are not required to be audited is July 31.
In view of constraints being faced by taxpayers due to COVID-19,CBDT further extends due dates for various compliances for FY 2019-20:— Income Tax India (@IncomeTaxIndia) October 24, 2020
The due dt of furnishing Income Tax Returns(ITRs)for taxpayers whose accounts require to be audited has been extended to 31st, January,2021 (1/5) pic.twitter.com/cWWbXu80K9
Here are few important things to keep in mind while planning your taxes:
Filing the income tax return after the due date will attract penalties from the income tax department, depending on the degree of delay.
Income tax is levied on taxpayers on the basis of a slab system. According to the income tax department, there are three categories of individual taxpayers — individuals (below the age of 60 years) which includes residents as well as non-residents, senior citizens (60 years and above but below 80 years of age) and super senior citizens (above 80 years of age).
(Also Read: 10 Common Mistakes To Avoid While Planning Your Income Tax Outgo)
In the general category, individuals with annual income up to ₹ 2.5 lakh are not liable to pay income tax.
(Also Read: How To Link Aadhaar With PAN Through Income Tax E-Filing Portal)
Senior citizens (aged 60 years or above but less than 80 years) whose income are up to ₹ 3 lakh are exempted from paying tax. For super senior citizens, aged 80 years and above, income up to ₹ 5 lakh is exempt from tax.
(Also Read: Your Guide To Popular Income Tax Benefits)
The taxman has stipulated a penalty amount ranging from ₹ 5,000 to ₹ 10,000 for filing of income tax return for assessment year 2018-19 after the due date.
(Also Read: Income Tax Planning: What Form 26AS Is And Why It Is Important To Check It)
The amount of money charged as penalty or fine for a belated ITR increases will be based on the degree of delay, said Income tax department.
(Also Read: All You Need To Know About Income Tax Benefits For Senior And Very Senior Citizens)
The Income Tax Department has also mandated the public to verify the income tax return after submitting it. | https://www.ndtv.com/business/income-tax-return-last-date-dec-31-last-three-days-left-for-filing-itr-for-financial-year-2019-20-2344736 |
The Friends… Supporting those with Long Term Health Care Needs (also known simply as “The Friends”) is a non-profit, charitable organization providing supportive services at a community level to disabled individuals and frail, elderly seniors.
Aims and Objectives
The aims and objectives of The Friends are to provide support services that promote a wellness environment in which persons requiring Long Term Care services can find friendship, purpose, respect, privacy assistance with personal care as needed.
Our History
Since 1983 the agency has grown from a small, Parry Sound centric service provider serving 30 people and employing 20 staff to one that provides services to 900 clients across the Districts of Parry Sound and Muskoka and employs over 100 staff. The growth in both programs and budgets demonstrates the confidence funders have in the agency’s ability to manage its business, deliver quality services within targets set for it.
For over 35 years the organization has been providing accessible housing and attendant care to disabled individuals. The Friends Forest Hill Accessible Housing Apartment complex was developed in 1986 as a result of community need and support. Land for the project was donated by the Rotary club and the organization raised funds for the building project. This 31 unit barrier free, fully accessible housing project is the only one of its kind between Barrie and Sudbury. By 2000, a recreation/lounge area for Adult Day Away programs, totally funded through donations/fundraising efforts, was built.
In 1995, at the request of the Board of Directors for Access Muskoka, The Friends took over the delivery of attendant care for individuals in 8 units at Oakwood Heights in Bracebridge.
The agency has also since amalgamated with Muskoka’s Caregiver’s Voice, a support service for those caring for individuals with disabilities or chronic conditions as well as with Port Loring Meals on Wheels/Volunteer Transportation services. This has expanded the territory we serve to just south of Sudbury/North Bay down to Honey Harbour and everywhere in between an area roughly three times the size of P.E.I.
The Friends agency has grown to become a regional provider of programs and services across the Districts of East-West Parry Sound and Muskoka. | https://www.thefriends.on.ca/about-us/ |
BP: Demand for oil could peak by late 2030s
The world's thirst for oil may finally be quenched.Global demand for crude is likely to "plateau" during the l...
Posted: Feb. 20, 2018 4:22 PM
Updated: Feb. 20, 2018 5:05 PM
The world's thirst for oil may finally be quenched.
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Global demand for crude is likely to "plateau" during the late 2030s, mostly because of the rise of electric cars and trucks, BP predicted Tuesday in its annual outlook.
BP thinks 320 million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2040, compared with about 2 million in 2016. The company thinks electrics will hit a tipping point and really take off after 2035.
The prediction is more evidence of a dramatic shift in appetite for oil. And talk of peak oil demand - from one of the world's largest oil producers, no less - shows how the thinking in the energy market has been upended.
A decade ago, people were worried about the opposite problem - a peak in how much oil could be pumped out of the ground. Those fears briefly sent prices skyrocketing as high as $147 a barrel.
Those swings show how difficult it is to predict the future in the rapidly changing energy industry. BP acknowledged its outlook considered a "range of scenarios." Its central case, the "evolving transition" scenario, assumes that government policies, technology and societal preference evolve in a similar manner to the recent past.
BP's forecast for "plateauing" oil demand by 2040 differs from OPEC's view of the future. In November, the oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia predicted that the global appetite for crude would keep growing through 2040.
But even OPEC conceded that oil demand would "decelerate steadily" due to slower economic growth, higher oil prices, energy efficiency and "strong competition from other energy sources."
Another oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, has predicted peak oil demand could come within 15 years.
"The key takeaway is no one has any idea. It's impossible to pin down when we're going to reach peak oil demand," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at ClipperData.
A major factor will be the transformation of the auto industry, oil's No. 1 customer.
Electric vehicle sales, led by the likes of Tesla and the Chevrolet Bolt, have soared in recent years. But electrics still make up just 0.2% of the total number of passenger vehicles, according to the International Energy Agency.
Still, automakers like Ford, Volkswagen and Honda have announced ambitious electric vehicle sales goals. That push has been aided by a crackdown in Europe on the internal combustion engine. Norway, France, Germany and the U.K. have all announced efforts to phase out vehicles powered solely by fossil fuels.
BP has become much more bullish on electric cars over the past year. The oil company now expects 190 million electric vehicles will be on the road by 2035, compared with about 2 million today. Last year's BP annual outlook called for a much more modest 100 million electric vehicles in 2035.
By 2040, BP expects oil to contribute to 85% of total transportation fuel demand, compared with 94% today. BP anticipates alternative fuels will "penetrate the transport system" and traditional vehicles will become vastly more efficient, meaning they will guzzle much less gasoline.
BP acknowledged that future electric vehicle popularity is "hard to predict with any certainty" because it depends on factors like government policy, technology and social preferences.
Unlike their American counterparts, big European oil companies are increasingly putting their money where their mouths are by betting on electric cars.
Last year, Shell purchased NewMotion, one of Europe's largest electric vehicle charging providers. The acquisition is a "form of diversification," Shell's vice president of new fuels told CNNMoney at the time.
More recently, BP placed a $5 million wager on FreeWire, a maker of mobile rapid charging systems for electric vehicles. BP even said it would roll out FreeWire's charger units at certain gas stations in Europe during 2018.
BP's prediction for peak oil demand suggests other oil companies may need to hedge their bets in the future as well. | |
Dyson Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement 2017
Dyson is a technology company with offices worldwide, including the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and the Phillippines. We are committed to conducting ethical and environmentally responsible business.
Dyson and its suppliers work to an ethical and environmental code of conduct which sets out Dyson's requirements in relation to labour practices, health and safety, responsible sourcing and environmental standards. Dyson is clear that forced labour in any form is unacceptable.
Dyson has a dedicated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team that works with suppliers through a combination of assessments using ethical database Sedex, supplier training and audits. Dyson uses information from Sedex risk assessments to help prioritise suppliers for audit. In addition to audits, Dyson operates a third party hotline for workers to make contact and raise any issues relating to working conditions.
Audits are conducted by Dyson auditors or by independent CSR auditors. In order to fully understand the working environment in a supplier facility, the auditors interview a cross-section of the workforce without management present.
Signed by:
Jim Rowan, CEO
This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes Dyson's slavery and human trafficking statement. | https://www.dyson.pt/content/dyson/pt/en/inside-dyson/corporate-social-responsibility/modern-slavery-statement |
Introduction
============
Mathematical skills are becoming increasingly critical for achieving academic and professional success. Dyscalculia is a developmental learning deficit estimated to have a prevalence of about 5--6% (Butterworth, [@B15]; Cohen Kadosh and Walsh, [@B17]; Rubinsten and Henik, [@B54]). Developmental dyscalculia (DD) can be defined as "a disorder of numerical competence and arithmetic skill which is manifest in children of normal intelligence who do not have acquired neurological injuries" (Temple, [@B62]). The prevalence of mathematical difficulties arising from non-specific attentional, working memory and reading disabilities has an even higher prevalence rate, estimated to range from 5% to 20% of young children depending on the precise criteria used (Berch and Mazzocco, [@B13]). Although their prevalence rates are at least as high as dyslexia and reading disabilities, dyscalculia and related mathematical disabilities have received much less attention from developmental neuroscientists.
Normative functional neuroimaging studies have implicated the intra-parietal sulcus (IPS) within the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) as a region specifically involved in the representation and manipulation of numerical quantity (Dehaene et al., [@B19]). With experience and learning, the IPS builds an increasingly amodal, language-independent semantic representation of numerical quantity (Bruandet et al., [@B14]; Ansari, [@B4]; Rosenberg-Lee et al., [@B51]). In addition to the IPS, depending on the nature and complexity of specific tasks, mathematical information processing also critically involves activation and deactivation in a more distributed network of regions within the dorsal visual stream encompassing the superior parietal lobule (SPL), the angular and supramarginal gyri in the PPC and the ventral visual stream encompassing the lingual and fusiform gyri in the inferior temporal cortex (Menon et al., [@B40]; Rickard et al., [@B49]; Zago et al., [@B70]; Delazer et al., [@B20]; Grabner et al., [@B24]; Wu et al., [@B69]). Functional neuroimaging studies examining the neural basis of dyscalculia have yielded mixed results in these regions. Price et al. ([@B47]) reported hypoactivation of the IPS in dyscalculic children during number comparison tasks, while Simos et al. ([@B59]) demonstrated increased neurophysiological activity in inferior and superior parietal regions in the right hemisphere in children with mathematical difficulties compared to controls. One potential reason for these discrepancies is that the profile of functional deficits in mathematical task processing varies with the level of task difficulty and type of operation performed. Thus, for example, Kesler et al. ([@B35]) found that, compared with controls, children with Turner syndrome recruited additional neural resources in frontal and parietal regions during an easier, two-operand math task, whereas during a more difficult three-operand task, they showed significantly less activation in frontal, parietal and subcortical regions than controls. Moreover, mathematical abilities in children involve multiple cognitive processes, most notably visuo-spatial processing and working memory (Adams and Hitch, [@B2]; Swanson and Beebe-Frankenberger, [@B61]), and the relative contribution of these processes changes with instruction and development (Meyer et al., [@B41]). Little is currently known about functional abnormalities underlying the neural basis of these component processes in children with DD. Recent conceptual models of dyscalculia raise the possibility that heterogeneous deficits in DD can arise from common abnormalities (Rubinsten and Henik, [@B54]).
One approach to the systematic investigation of DD in children is to examine whether there are neuroanatomical and structural differences in the brains of these children when compared to well-matched TD controls. White matter (WM) and gray matter (GM) integrity are crucial for nearly all higher cognitive operations (Johansen-Berg and Behrens, [@B32]). However, only one study to date has used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to examine GM and WM integrity in DD. Rotzer et al. ([@B52]) reported decreased GM volume in the right IPS, anterior cingulate cortex, left inferior frontal gyrus, and bilateral middle frontal gyri in 9-year-old children, compared to IQ matched controls. They also reported WM volume reductions in the left frontal cortex and right parahippocampal gyrus in children with DD. It is, however, not clear whether the two groups were matched on reading and working memory abilities. Furthermore, morphometric studies leave unclear whether WM microstructural and tract deficits underlie DD. In TD children, van Eimeren et al. ([@B64]) reported that FA in the left superior corona radiata and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus were correlated with mathematical abilities in TD children. The precise anatomical location, however, remains unknown because the analysis was constrained to large WM regions. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that the laterality and location of the deficits differs considerably from those reported by Rotzer et al. ([@B52]). Related studies in children with neurodevelopmental and neurogenetic disorders have suggested that mathematical difficulties may be related to GM abnormalities in the IPS and surrounding WM within the PPC. Isaacs et al. ([@B29]) reported reduced left parietal GM in children with low birth weight. Molko et al. ([@B42]) observed abnormal sulcal depth in bilateral IPS in adults with Turner syndrome (Bruandet et al., [@B14]). Barnea-Goraly et al. ([@B6]) found that fractional anisotropy (FA) of WM tracts in left parietal WM matter adjacent to the IPS was significantly correlated with arithmetic ability in 7- to 19-year-old children and adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion (velocardiofacial) syndrome. However, mathematical difficulties in these neurodevelopmental disorders are typically accompanied by profound visuo-spatial and reading disabilities, thereby limiting their generalizability to pure DD.
Over the past several years diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and VBM measures have been used to identify consistent white matter integrity and gray matter density deficits in children with reading disability (Ben-Shachar et al., [@B12]; Schlaggar and McCandliss, [@B57]; Kronbichler et al., [@B37]; Richards et al., [@B48]; Steinbrink et al., [@B60]). Parallel efforts in the domain of dyscalculia have been slow to develop, and the precise anatomical locations and identity of WM tracts that are impaired in children with DD is currently unknown.
The recruitment and assessment of a homogenous group of children with DD, as well as a well-matched TD control group, presents particular challenges. Except for the study by Rotzer et al. ([@B52]), previous brain imaging studies of DD have been limited by relatively small sample sizes, wide age ranges, poor neuropsychological evaluation and assessments, and, most problematically, the presence of other comorbid cognitive disabilities. Here we report findings from a well-characterized cohort, comprising 23 children with DD and 24 TD children matched for IQ, age, gender, reading ability and working memory. We examined macro-structural and micro-structural integrity using measurements of GM and WM volume, and fractional anisotropy (FA) in DD. We also examined the relation between micro-structural deficits and key individual subscales of the Wechsler Individual Aptitude Test, 2nd edition (WIAT-II) (Wechsler, [@B68]). We used DTI tractography in order to delineate abnormal WM pathways and to link WM and GM abnormalities. Finally, we conducted a novel classification analysis to examine whether network-level connectivity differs between children with DD and TD children. Based on prior neuroimaging studies in children and adults, we hypothesized that children with DD would should deficits in dorsal PPC and inferior temporal cortex GM and WM.
Materials and Methods {#s1}
=====================
Participants
------------
Forty-seven 7--9 year old children (25 females) in the 2nd and 3rd grades were selected from an ongoing longitudinal MRI study of brain structural and functional changes underlying the development of mathematical ability. A group of DD children (*N* = 23) was selected based on their scores on a standardized measure of mathematics ability, derived from two subscales of the WIAT-II. Children with either a Numerical Operations Score or Math Composite Score at or below 95 were considered DD. A group of gender-, IQ-, reading-ability- and working-memory matched children who did not qualify as DD formed a control group (*N* = 24). The participants were recruited from the San Francisco Bay Area using advertisements in school and local newspapers, community and electronic bulletin boards, community organizations, and other public locations. Written informed consent was obtained from the children as well as their legal guardians. All protocols were approved by the human participants Institutional Review Board at the Stanford University School of Medicine. All participants were volunteers and were treated in accordance with the APA "Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct."
Standardized neuropsychological assessments
-------------------------------------------
The Child Behavior Check List (CBCL) was administered to all participants to exclude children with behaviors that are highly linked to later psychopathology (Achenbach, [@B1]). Participants were administered a demographic questionnaire, the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI; Weschler, [@B67]), Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition (WIAT-II; Wechsler, [@B68]), and Working Memory Test Battery For Children (WMTBC; Pickering and Gathercole, [@B46]). WASI provided a standardized measure of full-scale IQ, while WIAT-II yielded measures of reading ability (Word Reading & Reading Comprehension Scores), and math ability (Numerical Operations, Math Reasoning Scores and derived from them Math Composite Score). A shortened version of WMTBC was also administered to obtain several measures of working memory (Digit Recall, Block Recall, Counting Recall and Backward Digit Recall subscales). For each participant, a composite working memory score was calculated by averaging standardized scores across the obtained WMTBC measures. Neuropsychological tests were administered by trained research assistants, and individual scores were validated using multiple raters.
MRI data acquisition
--------------------
High-resolution structural images were acquired with T1-weighted spoiled grass gradient recalled (SPGR) inversion recovery 3D MRI sequence. The following parameters were used: TI = 300 ms, TR = 8.4 ms; TE = 1.8 ms; flip angle = 15°; 22 cm field of view; 132 slices in coronal plane; 256 × 192 matrix; 2 NEX, acquired resolution = 1.5 × 0.9 × 1.1 mm.
The DTI data was collected using a diffusion-weighted single-shot spin-echo, echo planar imaging sequence (TE = 70.8 ms; TR = 8.6 s; field of view = 220 mm; matrix size = 128 × 128; bandwidth = ± 110 kHz; partial k-space acquisition; 4NEX). We acquired 63 axial, 2-mm thick slices (no skip) for *b* = 0 and *b* = ∼850 s/mm^2^ (the latter by applying gradients along 23 noncollinear diffusion directions). Structural MRI and DTI images were acquired in the same scan session.
Voxel-based morphometry analysis
--------------------------------
Voxel-wise differences in brain anatomy were assessed using the optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method described by Good et al. ([@B23]). The analysis was performed using the VBM5 toolbox developed by Christian Gaser (University of Jena, Germany)[1](#fn1){ref-type="fn"} for Statistical Parametric Mapping Software (SPM5, Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, London, UK).
Prior to analyses, the structural images were resliced with trilinear interpolation to isotropic 1 × 1 × 1 voxels and aligned to conventional AC-PC space, using manually identified landmarks, including the anterior commissure (AC), the posterior commissure (PC) and the mid-sagittal plane.
As a part of the VBM5 pipeline, the images were spatially normalized to the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) common stereotactic space. Spatial transformation was nonlinear with warping regularization = 1; warp frequency cutoff = 25.
Spatially normalized images were then segmented into GM, WM, and cerebro-spinal fluid compartments, using a modified mixture model cluster analysis technique (Good et al., [@B23]) with the following parameters: bias regularization = 0.0001, bias FWHM cutoff = 70 mm, sampling distance = 3, HMRF weighting = 0.3. As recommended by Gaser for children or elderly populations, we used no tissue priors for segmentation. Voxel values were modulated by the Jacobian determinants derived from the spatial normalization: areas that were expanded during warping were proportionally reduced in intensity. We used modulation for nonlinear effects only (while the warping itself included both an affine and a nonlinear component). When using modulated images for performing subsequent group comparisons, the inference is made on measures of volume rather than tissue concentration (density). The use of modulation for nonlinear but not affine effects ensures that the further statistical comparisons are made on relative (that is, while controlling for overall brain size) rather than absolute measures of volume.
The segmented modulated images for WM and GM were smoothed with an isotropic Gaussian kernel (10 mm full width at half maximum). The size of the kernel for smoothing was chosen as recommended by Gaser for modulated images, since modulation introduces additional smoothing. Between-group comparisons for GM and WM volumes were performed in SPM5 using two-sample *t*-tests on smoothed images. A voxelwise significance threshold of *p* \< 0.001 (uncorrected) was used in order to facilitate comparisons with previous studies (Isaacs et al., [@B29]; Rotzer et al., [@B52]). Additionally, in order to integrate VBM and DTI data, we thresholded statistical comparison maps adjusting for search volume with height threshold of *p* \< 0.01, a nonstationary cluster extent (Hayasaka et al., [@B27]) threshold of *p* \< 0.05 corrected for multiple comparisons with family-wise error (FWE) correction, and correction for non-isotropic smoothness, as implemented in VBM5 toolbox.
Regions of interest for the analyses of white matter microstructure
-------------------------------------------------------------------
We used the more liberally thresholded maps (*p* \< 0.01, and a cluster extent threshold of *p* \< 0.05 corrected for multiple comparisons) to define GM and WM regions of interest (ROIs), as noted above. Statistical maps corresponding to group differences (TD \> DD) images were thresholded, binarized and used in further analyses. They are referred to as "WM ROI" and "GM ROI" for white and grey matter comparisons, correspondingly. Specifically, the voxels where the TD group had significantly greater relative volume measurements were included in the WM ROI mask.
To examine structures that contribute to group differences in WM integrity, the WM ROI was parcellated using the white matter tractography atlas provided by Laboratory of Brain Anatomical MRI, John Hopkins University, hereafter referred to as the JHU atlas (Hua et al., [@B28]).
Fractional anisotropy analysis
------------------------------
The aim of this analysis was to examine group differences in WM integrity using complementary and independent measures derived from DTI. DTI data were processed using FMRIB Software Library (Beckmann and Smith, [@B10]). A diffusion tensor model was fitted on brain data after removing eddy current distortion effects and extracting brain voxels. For every voxel, FA was computed from voxel-wise tensor measures. Each subject\'s FA data were then warped into a common space using nonlinear registration with FSL Nonlinear Registration Tool to FMRIB58_FA standard space image available as a part of FSL tools. To examine FA in the regions where reduced WM intensity was observed in the DD children, the mean and standard deviation of the FA values across the voxels within the WM ROI was computed for each participant. The mean FA values were scaled by corresponding standard deviations in each individual, yielding standardized within-WM-ROI FA summary measures. These FA measures were compared between the groups using a two-sample *t*-test.
Probabilistic tractography analysis
-----------------------------------
The aim of this analysis was to examine regional group differences in projection densities from the WM ROI. The primary question was whether the observed volumetric differences in GM and WM, identified by VBM analyses, can be linked via axonal pathways. Reduced projection densities in pathways linking the GM and the WM ROIs would provide evidence that the observed WM and GM structural differences between the groups reflect impairments of the same network. Probabilistic tractography was performed for each participant with FSL tools, using BEDPOST estimates of diffusion parameters, yielding connectivity distribution seeded from the WM ROI. Probtrackx algorithm draws samples from the probability distributions of fiber directions at each voxel, generating trajectories of fibers and computing the observed frequency of those that originate from the seed voxel (Behrens et al., [@B11]). The resulting image describes, for each voxel in the full brain volume, the likelihood of a connection with any voxel within the seed mask, based on 5000 samples. The obtained WM ROI connectivity maps were compared across participants using a two-sample *t*-test as implemented in SPM, inference limited to the GM ROI in order to test our original hypothesis on relationship between the regions of reduced volume in GM and WM. The resulting maps were thresholded at height threshold of *p* \< 0.05 and non-stationary cluster extent threshold of *p* \< 0.05 with family-wise error (FWE) correction for multiple comparisons and correction for non-isotropic smoothness.
Deterministic tractography
--------------------------
The aim of this analysis was to identify WM tracts traversing the WM ROI that showed deficits in children with DD. Fifty-eight candidate GM targets (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}) were selected from 116 regions defined in Anatomical Automated Labeling (AAL) atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al., [@B63]). The ROIs were selected based on AAL regions that overlapped with voxels that showed VBM GM deficits in the DD group; thus, all 58 ROIs chosen were in the posterior part of the brain encompassing dorsal and ventral visual stream areas in the posterior parietal cortex, the inferior temporal cortex, and the occipital cortex, as well as the medial temporal lobe and the cerebellum. Importantly, we excluded regions such as the superior and middle temporal gyri which are typically not activated during mathematical tasks (Rivera et al., [@B50]; Wu et al., [@B69]). One reason for choosing such large AAL-based ROIs is to recover as many tracts linking distal brain regions as possible. DTI data were preprocessed, and tractography performed, using VISTALAB Software (Stanford University)[2](#fn2){ref-type="fn"}. Eddy current distortion effects were removed by determining a constrained non-rigid image registration using normalized mutual information (Bammer et al., [@B5]). The six elements of the diffusion tensor were determined by multivariate regression (Basser, [@B7]; Basser and Pierpaoli, [@B9]). The eigenvalue decomposition of the diffusion tensor was computed. For each subject, the T2-weighted (*b* = 0) images were coregistered to the corresponding T1-weighted 3D anatomical images. A rigid-body transform from the native T1-weighted image space to the conventional AC-PC aligned space was computed using several manually identified landmarks, including the anterior commissure (AC), the posterior commissure (PC) and the mid-sagittal plane. The DTI data were then resampled to this AC-PC aligned space with 2 mm isotropic voxels using a spline-based tensor interpolation algorithm (Pajevic et al., [@B45]), taking care to rotate the tensors to preserve their orientation with respect to the anatomy (Alexander et al., [@B3]).
######
**Regions of interest for the network analysis**.
AAL ID AAL Label Voxels in AAL mask Average number of projections per voxel
-------- ------------------- -------------------- -----------------------------------------
78 Thalamus_R 8399 0.0084
50 Occipital_Sup_R 11149 0.0076
60 Parietal_Sup_R 17554 0.0076
68 Precuneus_R 26083 0.0065
96 Cerebelum_3\_R 1600 0.0062
52 Occipital_Mid_R 16512 0.0058
46 Cuneus_R 11323 0.0056
38 Hippocampus_R 7606 0.0051
49 Occipital_Sup_L 10791 0.0036
54 Occipital_Inf_R 7929 0.0029
45 Cuneus_L 12133 0.0028
67 Precuneus_L 28358 0.0028
44 Calcarine_R 14885 0.0027
90 Temporal_Inf_R 28468 0.0021
94 Cerebelum_Crus2_R 17038 0.0021
40 ParaHippocampal_R 9028 0.0021
59 Parietal_Sup_L 16519 0.0018
48 Lingual_R 18450 0.0020
92 Cerebelum_Crus1_R 21017 0.0015
98 Cerebelum_4\_5_R 6763 0.0011
77 Thalamus_L 8700 0.0013
37 Hippocampus_L 7469 0.0010
108 Cerebelum_10_R 1280 0.0010
110 Vermis_3 1822 0.0010
91 Cerebelum_Crus1_L 20667 0.0009
56 Fusiform_R 20227 0.0009
111 Vermis_4\_5 5324 0.0009
106 Cerebelum_9\_R 6462 0.0009
102 Cerebelum_7b_R 4230 0.0009
66 Angular_R 14009 0.0009
112 Vermis_6 2956 0.0008
100 Cerebelum_6\_R 14362 0.0007
93 Cerebelum_Crus2_L 15216 0.0007
51 Occipital_Mid_L 25989 0.0007
43 Calcarine_L 18157 0.0007
113 Vermis_7 1564 0.0007
64 SupraMarginal_R 15770 0.0006
104 Cerebelum_8\_R 18345 0.0006
97 Cerebelum_4\_5_L 9034 0.0005
95 Cerebelum_3\_L 1072 0.0004
99 Cerebelum_6\_L 13672 0.0003
101 Cerebelum_7b_L 4639 0.0003
47 Lingual_L 16932 0.0003
107 Cerebelum_10_L 1169 0.0003
39 ParaHippocampal_L 7891 0.0002
62 Parietal_Inf_R 10763 0.0002
103 Cerebelum_8\_L 15090 0.0002
109 Vermis_1\_2 404 0.0002
114 Vermis_8 1940 0.0002
53 Occipital_Inf_L 7536 0.0002
116 Vermis_10 874 0.0002
65 Angular_L 9313 0.0001
105 Cerebelum_9\_L 6924 0.0001
89 Temporal_Inf_L 25647 0.0001
61 Parietal_Inf_L 19447 0.0001
55 Fusiform_L 18333 0.0001
115 Vermis_9 1367 0.0000
63 SupraMarginal_L 9907 0.0000
*The fifty-eight posterior cortical and subcortical regions of interest used in the network analysis. ROIs were based on the AAL atlas (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al., [@B63]) and rank ordered by the average normalized number of projections from WM regions that showed deficits in children with DD to each ROI*.
Whole-brain fiber tracking was performed on AC-PC aligned tensor maps. The seeds for tractography were selected from a uniform 3D grid with 1 mm step, spanning the whole brain white matter mask (only voxels that had FA \> 0.25 were chosen as seeds). Multiple fiber tracts were estimated by using a deterministic streamlines tracking algorithm (Conturo et al., [@B18]; Mori et al., [@B43]; Basser et al., [@B8]) with a fourth-order Runge--Kutta path integration method and 1-mm fixed-step size. A continuous tensor field was estimated by using trilinear interpolation of the tensor elements. Path tracing proceeded until the FA fell \< 0.15 or until the angle between the current and previous path segments was \>30°. Starting from the initial seed point, fibers were traced in both directions along the principal diffusion axis.
From the resulting whole-brain tracts we extracted the pathways traveling through the WM ROI. Since the tractography was performed in individual AC-PC aligned space, the WM ROI was nonlinearly warped into each individual space using SPM spatial normalization routines. Fiber pathways that did not travel through the WM ROI (minimum distance of 0.89 mm from any point of a fiber to any point within the ROI), as well as fiber tracks whose endpoints were not within the predefined 58 AAL atlas grey matter regions, were omitted from the further analysis. In the areas with high FA, the dense seeding schema often produces a significant number of duplicate pathways that are highly similar in their trajectory. Due to non-uniform spatial FA distribution, fiber pathway count has limited use as a quantitative metric comparable across brain regions and individuals. We removed redundant fibers, frequent in high FA regions, using an algorithm based on three metrics: the length of a pathway (minimum = 10.0 mm), the linear anisotropy along a pathway (minimum = 0.10), and the pairwise distance between pathways (minimum average point-to-curve distance = 2 mm, computed across portions of the pathways where these portions are at least 1 mm apart from each other). For the details on the culling algorithm, please see Zhang et al. ([@B73]). We argue that this procedure provides a "resampling" of fiber space, approximately representing this space in terms of fascicles with a given unit diameter of 2 mm, subject to finite volume constraint. Pathway count in this regularized space becomes roughly proportional to the cross-sectional area of a fiber group and it can be used as a measure of structural connectivity.
Network analysis
----------------
Based on the deterministic tractography described above, we conducted exploratory classification analysis to examine whether network-level connectivity differs in children with DD and TD children. Culled pathways (2 mm-diameter "fascicles") in each individual were first classified to 58 AAL labels according to their projection target, each pathway contributing two targets. The two projection targets for each pathway were determined by the AAL labels of pathway origin and termination points. We then performed a classification analysis with a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm using sparse logistic regression with L1 and L2 norm regularization (Ryali et al., 2009). The number of pathways connecting each pair of ROIs was used as feature vectors and pairs of ROIs which contained no pathways in any participant were excluded. The pathway counts were transformed to *z*-scores to control for differences in sizes of the ROIs. A grid search was performed to find the optimal L1 and L2 norm regularization parameters to maximize 10-fold cross-validation accuracy across 50 iterations.
Results
=======
Behavioral profile
------------------
Table [2](#T2){ref-type="table"} shows demographic and neuropsychological profiles of the DD and the TD groups. The two groups differed significantly on mathematical abilities as assessed by the WIAT-II, but not on IQ, age, reading ability, or working memory.
######
**Demographic and neuropsychological characteristics of participants**.
Characteristics DD (*N* = 23) TD (*N* = 24)
-------------------------- ---------------- ---------------
**DEMOGRAPHIC**
Age 8.8 (0.7) 8.9 (0.7)
Sex (F/M) 13/10 12/12
Grade 2.4 (0.5) 2.6 (0.5)
**WASI**
Full scale IQ 111 (11.8) 111.8 (11.3)
**WMTBC**
Working memory composite 98.27 (11.63) 101.31 (7.96)
**WIAT II**
Word reading 107.2 (15) 111.9 (9.7)
Reading comprehension 106.8 (11) 107.5 (8.5)
Numerical operations 88.8 (6.2)\*\* 112.3 (9.3)
Math reasoning 103.3 (13.7)\* 111 (11.4)
Math composite 94.9 (8.9)\*\* 113 (10)
*Mean and standard deviation are shown for each measure. Significant differences between the DD and TD groups and indicated with single (\*, p \< 0.05) and double (\*\*, p \< 0.01) asterisks. WASI = Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; WMTBC = Working Memory Test Battery for Children; WIAT-II = Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition*.
Grey matter volume
------------------
Compared to TD children, children with DD showed decreased GM volume in several posterior brain regions (Figure [1](#F1){ref-type="fig"}, Table [3](#T3){ref-type="table"}). Within the ventral visual stream, differences were found bilaterally in the cuneus/precuneus, lateral occipital cortex, lingual gyrus, and the fusiform gyrus. Within the dorsal visual stream, children with DD showed GM deficits bilaterally in the superior parietal lobule (SPL) and right posterior IPS. They also showed deficits in the medial temporal lobe, within the right entorhinal cortex and, bilaterally, within the parahippocampal gyrus, and the hippocampus. Peak differences were observed in the right fusiform gyrus (*t* = 4.03; MNI coordinates: 24, −80, 0), right anterior temporal cortex (*t* = 4.01; 46, −2, −32), right posterior IPS (*t* = 3.93; 24, −74, 24), the precuneus (*t* = 3.86; 12, −50, 36), left fusiform gyrus (*t* = 3.83; −18, −82, −4), left parahippocampal gyrus (*t* = 2.83; −32, −38, −18), right parahippocampal gyrus (*t* = 2.92; 26, −40, −12) and the left superior parietal lobule (*t* = 2.7; −16, −70, 46). Prominent GM differences were also found bilaterally in the vermis and cerebellar regions 8, 9, 10. Compared to TD children, children with DD did not show increased GM volume in any brain region.
{#F1}
######
**MNI coordinates of brain areas that showed significant gray matter deficits in children with DD**.
Brain area *t*-score Peak MNI coordinate
------------------------------------ ----------- --------------------- ----- -----
Right fusiform gyrus\*\* 4.03 24 −80 0
Right anterior temporal cortex\*\* 4.01 46 −2 −32
Right posterior IPS\*\* 3.93 24 −74 24
Right precuneus\*\* 3.86 12 −50 36
Left fusiform gyrus\*\* 3.83 −18 −82 −4
Right cerebellum\*\* 3.23 22 −71 −44
Left parahippocampal gyrus\* 2.83 −32 −38 −18
Right parahippocampal gyrus\* 2.92 26 −40 −12
Left superior parietal lobule\* 2.7 −16 −70 46
*\*Both at p \< 0.001 (uncorrected) and height threshold p \< 0.01, extent threshold p \< 0.05 FWE corrected*.
*\*\*Height threshold p \< 0.001 (uncorrected)*.
White matter volume
-------------------
Children with DD showed reduced WM in the posterior brain, primarily within WM regions adjacent to the right temporal-parietal cortex (Figure [2](#F2){ref-type="fig"}, Table [4](#T4){ref-type="table"}). Roughly two-thirds of the voxels within this WM region overlapped with WM tracts included in the JHU white matter tract atlas (Figure [3](#F3){ref-type="fig"}). Prominent right hemisphere WM tracts included the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (*t* = 4.16; 30, −26, −4), the forceps major of the splenium of the corpus collossum (*t* = 3.76; 6, −36, 14), the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (*t* = 4.16; 30, −28, 4), the corticospinal tract (*t* = 3.56; 20, 36, 46), the superior longitudinal fasciculus (*t* = 3.90; 22, 36, 42), and the anterior thalamic radiation (*t* = 3.54; 22, −32, 32), as shown in Figure [4](#F4){ref-type="fig"}. In the left hemisphere, deficits were observed in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (*t* = 3.40; −36, −30, 44), forceps major (*t* = 3.39; −16, −46, 8), and the anterior thalamic radiation (*t* = 3.42; −18, −40, 2). No clusters showed greater WM volume in DD compared to TD children.
{#F2}
{#F3}
{#F4}
######
**MNI coordinates of brain areas that showed significant\* white matter deficits in children with DD**.
WM tract *t*-score Peak MNI coordinate
-------------------------------------------- ----------- --------------------- ----- ----
Right inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus 4.16 30 −26 −4
Right inferior longitudinal fasciculus 4.16 30 −28 4
Right superior longitudinal fasciculus 3.90 22 36 42
Right forceps major 3.76 6 −36 14
Right corticospinal tract 3.56 20 36 46
Right anterior thalamic radiation 3.54 22 −32 32
Left anterior thalamic radiation 3.42 −18 −40 2
Left superior longitudinal fasciculus 3.40 −36 −30 44
Left forceps major 3.39 −16 −46 8
*\*Significance reached at both p \< 0.001 (uncorr), as well as at height threshold p \< 0.01, extent threshold p \< 0.05 FWE corrected*.
Fractional anisotropy
---------------------
Analysis of the region contained within the WM ROI revealed significantly reduced FA in the DD group (*p* = 0.009, *df* = 45), as shown in Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}A. FA in this region was significantly correlated with Numerical Operations (*r* = 0.35, *p* = 0.007), as shown in Figure [5](#F5){ref-type="fig"}B, but not the Mathematical Reasoning (*r* = 0.002, *p* = 0.50) or the Word Reading (*r* = 0.03, *p* = 0.42) subscores of the WIAT-II. FA did not correlate significantly with IQ (*r* = −0.18, *p* = 0.23) or the composite working memory score (*r* = −0.16, *p* = 0.28).
{#F5}
Probabilisitic tractography
---------------------------
We used probabilistic tractography to examine structural connections linking specific seed and target regions. Seed regions consisted of voxels that showed lower WM volume in children with DD, and target regions consisted of voxels that showed lower GM in the DD group. This analysis revealed a cluster of voxels in the right inferior temporal gyrus with significantly lower projection density in the DD group, compared to TD children (Figure [6](#F6){ref-type="fig"}). The peak difference was in the right fusiform gyrus (38, −42, −18). No voxels showed greater projection density in children with DD.
{#F6}
Network analysis
----------------
We used deterministic tractography to examine cortical connectivity of the WM region that showed significant differences between TD and DD children. Whole brain tractography from, on average, 92420 seed voxels (those with FA \> 0.25, of 172180 brain voxels) resulted in 43000 to 86000 fiber tracts per participants, of which 9000 to 14000 pathways were found to pass through the VBM-defined WM ROI. Fiber density regularization, performed by removing redundant fibers (see [Materials and Methods](#s1){ref-type="sec"}), resulted in 1500 to 2300 fibers of diameter 2 mm per participant. More than 50% of these fibers originated and terminated within cortical regions in the dorsal and ventral visual stream areas identified using the AAL atlas (Table [1](#T1){ref-type="table"}). SVM-based classification analysis revealed that connectivity patterns in children with DD could be distinguished from those in TD children with a cross-validation accuracy of 70%, which is considerably higher than the 50% chance level. See [Supplementary Material](#sm1){ref-type="supplementary-material"} for visualization of brain connectivity patterns by group.
Discussion
==========
The study of developmental dyscalculia is complicated by heterogeneity with respect to severity, specificity, and extent of mathematical difficulties. Mathematical performance can be influenced by nonspecific deficits such as slow speed of processing, poor working memory, inattention, and deficits in long-term storage of arithmetic facts (Temple, [@B62]). Additionally, mathematical difficulties can often be accompanied by low IQ and other cognitive deficits (von Aster and Shalev, [@B66]). Our study overcomes these issues by using a carefully selected sample of children who scored within the normal range on standardized measures of IQ, reading, and working memory, but had a specific deficit in standardized measures of mathematical ability. Our multimodal structural imaging approach revealed prominent deficits in both GM and WM integrity in this well-characterized sample of young children with DD. In addition to identifying the anatomical location of GM and WM abnormalities underlying DD in young children, our data also points to WM microstructural and connectivity deficits underlying DD.
Grey matter deficits in children with DD
----------------------------------------
Children with DD showed prominent GM deficits in both dorsal and ventral visual streams as well as the anterior temporal cortex. Unlike Rotzer et al. ([@B52]) we found no evidence for deficits in the anterior cingulate cortex, the inferior frontal gyrus and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, perhaps because of our use of more stringent criteria for matching the groups on IQ, working memory and reading.
The dorsal visual stream regions that showed GM deficits included most prominently the posterior aspects of the IPS and the SPL. Similar to Rotzer et al. ([@B52]), we found that children with DD showed deficits in the right IPS, but we also observed differences in the adjoining SPL as well as the left IPS and left SPL. The IPS is a core parietal lobe region implicated in the development of number sense and magnitude judgment (Ansari, [@B4]). Functional imaging studies have also shown that the IPS region plays a crucial role in arithmetic calculations, independent of other processing demands such as working memory (Gruber et al., [@B26]; Zago and Tzourio-Mazoyer, [@B72]; Delazer et al., [@B20]; Rivera et al., [@B50]; Wu et al., [@B69]).
Children with DD also showed significant deficits in the ventral visual stream, within the medial aspects of the inferior temporal gyrus. Deficits were most prominent in the fusiform gyrus and lingual gyrus, extending anteriorly into the parahippocampal gyrus and the hippocampus. These latter regions form part of a hierarchically organized processing stream for encoding complex visual stimuli (Menon et al., [@B40]). Reduced GM in the fusiform gyrus (Molko et al., [@B42]) and functional deficits (Kesler et al., [@B35]) have previously been reported in Turner syndrome, although it should be noted that DD is not the only cognitive deficit that exists in this syndrome. Less prominent deficits were also observed in the lateral occipital complex, a region that subserves processing of complex visual objects (Grill-Spector et al., [@B25]). Convergent with our findings, an fMRI study of DD in third graders found deficits in the right parahippocampal gyrus during calculation (Kucian et al., [@B38]). Critically, prominent deficits were also observed in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, two regions critical for memory and learning. Previous studies on mathematical cognition in adults have not detected activation in the hippocampus even during tasks that involve learning (Ischebeck et al., [@B31], [@B30]), presumably because of greater reliance on long-term neocortical memory representations. Consistent with this view, emerging evidence suggests that the hippocampus plays a greater role in facilitating learning and retrieval in children, compared to adults (Rivera et al., [@B50]). Our findings provide the first evidence suggesting that medial temporal lobe deficits may contribute to DD in young children.
While previous studies have emphasized the IPS as the neural substrate most closely associated with DD (Price et al., [@B47]), more recent reports have emphasized deficits in a more distributed network (Rubinsten and Henik, [@B54]). Functional neuroimaging studies have consistently reported involvement of both dorsal and ventral visual streams in basic number sense (Ansari, [@B4]) as well as simple and complex mental arithmetic tasks in children and adults (Zago et al., [@B71]). Although initially believed to be distinct and non-overlapping streams, there is growing evidence from both numerical and non-numerical domains that these two streams interact during complex visuo-spatial processing (Konen and Kastner, [@B36]). Reduced GM volume in both ventral and dorsal visuo-spatial streams may underlie difficulties in mapping visual numerical symbols to their semantic representations in children with DD (Rosenberg-Lee et al., [@B51]). Finally, the novel finding of our study is the identification of right anterior temporal cortex abnormalities in DD. This result is intriguing because the known role of the anterior temporal cortex in semantic processing (Visser et al., [@B65]). Functional imaging studies of number processing have generally implicated the IPS in semantic processing of numbers. Beyond this, the role of the IPS in semantic cognition of mathematical information more broadly has been less clear. Our findings suggest that the anterior temporal cortex may be an additional locus within a network of deficits that impair the ability of children with DD to develop semantic memory representations important for rapid fact retrieval.
White matter morphometric and microstructure deficits in children with DD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
VBM analysis revealed reduced WM volume in the right temporal-parietal region and the splenium of the corpus callosum. The WM region isolated in our study is significantly different from the subgenual aspects of the medial prefrontal cortex and the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus regions reported by Rotzer et al. ([@B52]). A close reading of their data, however, suggests that WM differences were primarily localized to the hippocampal region, rather than the paraphippocamapal gyrus. Apart from differences in anatomical location, another key difference is that the WM differences detected in our study overlap with long association fibers in the temporal-parietal cortex, rather than along short-range U-shaped tracts that connect neighboring sulci.
Reduced WM volume can arise from either decreased myelination, which results in slower signal transfer speeds, or smaller number of axons which results in lower signal transfer capacity, causing impaired connectivity among the GM regions connected by the fiber tracts that travel through regions with lower WM volume (Dougherty et al., [@B21]). To address this question, we used DTI data to examine microstructural differences within the WM cluster identified by the VBM analysis. Children with DD showed significantly reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) in this right hemisphere WM cluster. Moreover, in the combined DD and TD sample, FA was significantly correlated with the Numerical Operations but not the Mathematical Reasoning subscore of the WIAT-II, suggesting that WM deficits are primarily related to fact retrieval and computation, rather than verbal problem solving skills in young children with DD (Meyer et al., [@B41]). This is consistent with the view that the ability to rapidly retrieve and perform exact calculations is a core deficit of children with DD (Jordan et al., [@B33]; Fuchs et al., [@B22]). Additional analyses confirmed that WM volume and FA in this region were not related to reading scores or working memory, pointing to the specificity of our findings with respect to DD. In spite of differences in FA, mean diffusivity was, however, not significantly different, suggesting that abnormalities in orientation, number and connectivity of axonal pathways rather than overall myelination may be the major source of WM deficits in children with DD (Dougherty et al., [@B21]).
The prominent right hemisphere deficits observed in our study may reflect the importance of visuo-spatial processes during the initial stages of mathematical skill acquisition. Behavioral studies have reported that children with mathematical disabilities manifest problems in non-verbal tasks involving visuo-perceptual organization (Rourke, [@B53]). Consistent with this view, a recent fMRI study reported weaker activation in the right parahippocampal gyrus in children with DD, compared to TD children, during an approximate calculation task (Kucian et al., [@B38]). Deficits in basic number processing skills are thought to be the core abnormality in DD (Landerl et al., [@B39]; Butterworth, [@B15]; Jordan et al., [@B34]). Although the differential contribution of the left and right PPC to basic number processing and calculation is still not well understood, the emerging literature is beginning to point to a critical role for the right IPS in number processing. Using fMRI-guided TMS in healthy adults, Cohen Kadosh et al. ([@B16]) found that automatic magnitude processing was impaired only during disruption of right-IPS activation clusters. Furthermore, an identical paradigm with dyscalculic participants reproduced a pattern similar to that obtained with nondyscalculic volunteers during right-IPS disruption. Consistent with these results, children with DD appear not to modulate right IPS during non-symbolic (Price et al., [@B47]) and symbolic number comparison tasks (Mussolin et al., [@B44]). Taken together, these findings suggest that automatic magnitude processing abnormalities within the right hemisphere temporal-parietal WM may adversely impact visuo-spatial operations crucial for numerical and mathematical cognition.
Network analysis: linking WM and GM deficits
--------------------------------------------
We used both deterministic and probabilistic tractography to examine WM pathways that are potentially abnormal in children with DD. Atlas-based tract mapping provided new and detailed information about the major tracts that run through the WM cluster where children with DD showed deficits. Based on the JHU atlas, we identified the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, the forceps major of the splenium of the corpus collossum, the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, the corticospinal tract, the superior longitudinal fasciculus, and the anterior thalamic radiation as key fiber tracts that run through this region. Deterministic tractography of DTI data confirmed that children in our age group had prominent tracts in this region. Three major projection fibers are noteworthy here based on the known functional neuronatomy of mathematical cognition (Dehaene et al., [@B19]; Wu et al., [@B69]) -- the superior longitudinal fasciculus emanating from the parietal lobe, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus emanating from the occipital-parietal region and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus emanating from the occipital-temporal region (Schmahmann et al., [@B58]). Together, these axonal pathways help to link the lingual, fusiform and the parahippocampal gyrus regions in the ventral visual stream with the IPS and superior parietal lobule in the dorsal visual stream. Finally, the caudal most part of the splenium of the corpus collosum which links the left and right inferior temporal gyri (Schmahmann et al., [@B58]) also showed significant deficits. This result parallels our finding of both left and right GM deficits in the fusiform gyrus.
In order to relate white and grey matter abnormalities, we next compared WM tract projections from the WM to GM ROIs that showed deficits in children with DD. Differences in tract projections could not be addressed with deterministic tractography, because fiber density regularization essentially eliminates projection density information. Probabilistic tractography with seeds in the temporal-parietal WM ROI and targets in the GM ROI revealed that children with DD had significantly lower density of projections to the right fusiform gyrus in the inferior temporal cortex. This finding, together with concurrent analysis of fiber tracts emanating from the WM ROI, helps to link WM and GM deficits and point to tracts connecting the fusiform gyrus with temporal-parietal WM, most likely via the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, as a major locus of neuroanatomical abnormalities in DD. An intriguing question here is whether there are significant differences in axonal pathways linking the fusiform gyrus with the IPS, given the critical role of the latter in numerical information processing (Cohen Kadosh et al., [@B16]). While probabilistic tractography is well suited for tracking medium-range fibers, its main limitation is that it produces accumulating errors when computing long-range fiber pathways, and it is currently difficult to apply distance-corrected measures of connectivity to examine potential abnormalities with connections to the posterior parietal cortex. Further studies with high-resolution diffusion spectrum imaging (Schmahmann et al., [@B58]) are necessary to test the hypothesis that fibers linking the inferior temporal cortex with the posterior parietal cortex are a specific source of vulnerability in DD.
Finally, we examined whether connectivity within more extended posterior cortical and related subcortical networks is impaired in children with DD. We used a coarse-grained anatomical parcellation (Tzourio-Mazoyer et al., [@B63]) and deterministic tractography to examine network-level abnormalities in WM tracts arising from the WM ROI that showed deficits in children with DD. We found strong overlap between target sites of the WM pathways and regions with reduced GM volume in the DD group. This finding provides additional evidence for links between WM and GM deficits in children with DD. Classification analysis further revealed that connectivity of fibers emanating from the WM ROI is significantly different in children with DD. The precise nature of additional potential deficits in inter-hemispheric connectivity, as well as deficits in connectivity along additional nodes of the dorsal-ventral visual pathways, and the manner in which each contributes to specific behavioral deficits in children with DD remains to be investigated (Rusconi et al., [@B55]).
Previous studies of developmental disabilities have in general focused on identification of specific brain regions that may contribute to overall deficits. In most of these studies, brain regions are treated independently, and network connectivity is typically not examined. Our data suggests that analysis of deficits in network connectivity arising from macrostructural WM deficits may prove useful in explaining individual differences in number sense and calculation previously attributed to localized differences in cortical structure and function.
Conclusion
----------
The neurobiological deficits detected in our DD group are particularly noteworthy, given that the children are closely matched to the control group in terms of age, IQ, reading ability, and working memory capacity. Our results provide strong evidence that pure DD is characterized by robust GM and WM deficits in key brain areas that have previously between implicated in mathematical cognition. Integrated analyses of brain structure using a combination of VBM and DTI provide converging evidence for deficits in the ventral and dorsal visual stream. Critically, our findings point to right hemisphere temporal-parietal WM, its microstructure and pathways associated with it, including most notably, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus, as key anatomical correlates of DD. Our network analysis further suggests the possibility of multiple dysfunctional circuits arising from a core WM deficit, and lead to testable hypothesis that DD may, at its core, be a disconnection syndrome. We propose that, just as findings from structural neuroimaging studies of dyslexia have paved the way for targeted intervention, the current findings may eventually aid the development of remediation programs designed to enhance mathematical skills in young children with DD.
Supplementary Material {#sm1}
======================
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at <http://www.frontiersin.org/humanneuroscience/paper/10.3389/neuro.09/051.2009/>
Conflict of Interest Statement
==============================
The authors declare that the research was conducted is the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that should be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
We thank Bob Dougherty, Song Zhang, Stephen Correia, Srikanth Ryali and Kaustubh Supekar for assistance with data analysis and helpful discussions. This research was funded by Stanford Bio-X postdoctoral fellowship to Elena Rykhlevskaia, a fellowship from the Children\'s Health Research Program at the Lucille Packard Children\'s Hospital to Lucina Q. Uddin, and by the National Institutes of Health (HD047520, HD059205) and the National Science Foundation (BCS/DRL 0449927) to Vinod Menon.
^1^<http://dbm.neuro.uni-jena.de/vbm>
^2^<http://white.stanford.edu>
Abbreviations
=============
DD, developmental dyscalculia; DTI, diffusion tensor imaging; FA, fractional anisotropy; GM, gray matter; IPS, intra-parietal sulcus; PPC, posterior parietal cortex; ROI, region of interest; SPL, superior parietal lobule; TD, typically developing; VBM, voxel-based morphometry; WM, white matter.
[^1]: Edited by: Silvia A. Bunge, University of California Berkeley, USA
[^2]: Reviewed by: Roland Grabner, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland; Susan M. Rivera, University of California, USA
| |
After nearly 40 years, designer Eileen Fisher is handing over the reins to Patagonia’s chief product officer, Lisa Williams.
The executive will start in early September and bring experience scaling an ethical apparel brand, the company said. Fisher will continue to play a central role in product design and brand development and will remain as the company’s board chair.
The appointment ends a near-year-long search for a new chief executive at the company, which Fisher founded in 1984. Williams will be charged with developing the brand’s strategy and operations following the pandemic. The brand generated revenue of $241 million in 2021, down from $393 million pre-pandemic in 2019, though profits have increased over that period, the company said.
While Fisher is the majority shareholder, the rest of the business has been employee-owned since 2006.
In the US, the company is not only known as a sustainability pioneer, but also for its unwavering minimalist style — a subtle, untrendy look not readily available elsewhere in the mass market. In culture, Eileen Fisher has been referenced everywhere from the HBO series Girls to online memes.
Learn more:
Will Fashion Ever Be Good for the World? Its Future May Depend on It.
Aligning profit and purpose, and fulfilling responsibilities to the planet and communities of people beyond shareholders may matter more than ever to long-term success. | https://www.influencerstyle.co/business/eileen-fisher-names-patagonia-executive-to-succeed-founder-as-ceo/ |
Results of the oral exam are now available online (PDF)!
Information Retrieval refers to methods and technologies for search, analysis, and automatic organization of data collections: text documents, multimedia contents, structured and semi-structured knowledge representations. It has quickly become one of the most important areas in Computer and Information Sciences because of its direct applications in e-commerce, e-CRM, corporate knowledge bases and data repositories, Web analytics, and Web information systems. Recent technological and research trends, such as Linked Open Data and Web Science, are closely related to Information Retrieval and offer new perspectives for data/knowledge organisation and search. The course will introduce mathematical models and algorithms widely used by Web search engines, intranets, and modern digital libratries. In doing so, we will consider state of the art techniques from linear algebra, statistics, graph mining and machine learning. The course will also provide a brief overview of other areas in Web mining, such as Web content mining and Web structure mining.
Deeper understanding of state of the art search/retrieval systems and algorithms, their limitations and recent research/development challenges; ability to design and to improve Information Retrieval systems.
Individual oral exam (30 min) at the end of the course.
Course topics include technical basics (linear algebra, stochastics, graph algorithms, text processing), an overview of common IR methods and models (vector space models, link analysis and authority ranking, multimedia retrieval, organization and ranking of search results) as well as advanced IR topics, such as top-k retrieval, focused crawling, multi-modal analysis of Social Web, and distributed IR. | http://west.uni-koblenz.de/en/studium/lehrveranstaltungen/SS10/wr10 |
We try to provide our kids with a perfect childhood.
Often, we remember things that went wrong in our own lives as children, and we work hard to make sure the cycle is not repeated. But in truth, hardly anyone’s childhood could be considered perfect—despite our best intentions for our kids or our parents’ best intentions for us. Even in loving families with financial resources and other advantages, the challenges of life are simply unavoidable.
But when the negative things that happen to a child are truly traumatic, the lasting effect on that person’s life can be devastating. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control have connected childhood trauma to problematic decision-making and health problems later in life.
Those poor decisions and negative health consequences can have dramatic effects. By some estimates, a person’s life expectancy could be reduced by two full decades—20 years—if they experience trauma in their youth. One reason for this is the correlation between substance use disorders and adverse childhood experiences.
Identifying Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
The initial Adverse Childhood Experience Study used a sample of 17,500 adults and focused on 10 types of traumatic experiences that children might undergo. Those 10 kinds of trauma can be listed in a few categories:
- Abuse: physical, sexual, or emotional; or witnessing domestic violence
- Neglect: physical or emotional
- Parental issues: mental illness, substance use, incarceration, or separation/divorce
Since that original study, the list of adverse childhood experiences has been expanded to include:
- Racism, being an immigrant, or having a parent deported
- Witnessing the abuse of a sibling or violence outside the home
- Repeatedly moving, homelessness, living in an unsafe area or war zone, or being placed in foster care
- Experiencing bullying or attending a school with a zero-tolerance discipline policy
- Interaction with the criminal justice system
What Are the Impacts of ACEs?
The original ACEs study suggested that the prevalence of trauma in a person’s childhood was directly associated with a variety of negative outcomes in later life. According to the research, 67 percent of adults had experienced at least one of the traumas on the original ACE list of ten. Twelve percent of adults had undergone at least four of the ACEs. Given that the list of ACEs has been substantially expanded, it is likely that both of those percentages have gone up dramatically.
People with an ACE score of four are:
- Up to four times more likely to use drugs or alcohol and to start using them at a younger age
- Four times more likely to experience depression
- Seven times more likely to become an alcoholic
- Twelve times more likely to consider or attempt killing themselves
A person with an ACE score of five is:
- Three times more likely to misuse prescription pain meds
- Up to 10 times more likely to use or become addicted to illegal drugs
These issues can be traced to actual changes in the makeup of the brain that are caused by ACEs. Those changes include:
- Damage to the reward and pleasure centers of the brain (which can increase the likelihood of developing a substance use disorder)
- Inhibited function of the prefrontal cortex, which is important to impulse control
- Continuous activation of the amygdala—the area of the brain responsible for fear—which results in continuous release of stress hormones at an unsafe level
Prevent When We Can, Build Resilience When We Must
Ideally, we could all come together to eliminate the various causes of adverse childhood experiences. To that end, the Centers for Disease Control has created ACEs training for parents and professionals who work with families. The hope is that these trainings can increase adults’ understanding of trauma and its impact on children, thereby reducing its prevalence.
But it would be naïve to suggest that all traumatic moments can be prevented. And so it is important to help children and adults build personal resiliency as a coping mechanism. People who are resilient are generally optimists, cognitively flexible, employ active coping skills, build a strong social network, take care to maintain their physical wellbeing, and possess a strong moral compass.
Those may sound like traits one either has or doesn’t have, but the truth is resiliency can be developed over time. Some possible routes to greater personal resiliency include mindfulness and meditation, talk therapy, yoga, music or art therapy, and more.
For some, substance use can become what Dr. Daniel Sumrok has called “ritualized compulsive comfort seeking” as a response to adverse childhood experiences. Significantly, the same habits of body and mind that build resiliency can also help an individual overcome a substance use disorder and avoid relapse. ACEs and addiction may be linked, but it might be a comfort to know that approaches to addressing both problems are also linked.
Let The Aviary Recovery Center Be Your Ace in the Hole
Maybe adverse childhood experiences are responsible—at least in part—for your substance use disorder (or that of a loved one). The Aviary Recovery Center is well versed in approaches and treatments that can lessen the impact of the ACEs in your past and help you chart a new course toward the future. We are eager to help you build up your personal resiliency as a support structure for building a better life. We’re ready to help you discard your ACEs to improve the hand you are playing.
(888) 998-8655. We’re here to help. | https://aviaryrecoverycenter.com/playing-hand-dealt-when-aces-are-in-your-past/ |
The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. It accelerates and smashes protons and other atomic nuclei to study the fundamental properties of matter.
Normally scientists look at the particles produced during these collisions to learn about the laws of nature. But scientists can also learn about subatomic matter by peering into the collisions themselves and asking: What exactly is doing the colliding?
When the answer to that question involves rarely seen, massive particles, it gives scientists a unique way to study the Higgs boson.
Protons are not solid spheres, but composite particles containing even tinier components called quarks and gluons. “As far as we know the quarks and gluons are point-like particles with no internal structure,” says Aram Apyan, a research associate at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.
According to Apyan, two quarks cannot actually hit each other; they don’t have volume or surfaces. So what really happens when these point-like particles collide?
“When we talk about two quarks colliding, what we really mean is that they are very close to each other spatially and exchanging particles,” says Richard Ruiz, a theorist at Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium. “Namely, they exchange force-carrying bosons.”
All elementary matter particles (like quarks and electrons) communicate with each other through bosons. For instance, quarks know to bind together by throwing bosons called gluons back and forth, which carry the message, “Stick together!”
Almost every collision inside the LHC starts with an exchange of bosons (the only exceptions are when matter particles meet antimatter particles).
The lion’s share of LHC collisions happen when two passing energetic gluons meet, fuse and then transform into all sorts of particles through the wonders of quantum mechanics.
Gluons carry the strong force, which pulls quarks together into particles like protons and neutrons. Gluon-gluon collisions are so powerful that the protons they are a part of are ripped apart and the original quarks in those protons are consumed.
In extremely rare instances, colliding quarks can also interact through a different force: the weak force, which is carried by the massive W and Z bosons. The weak force arbitrates all nuclear decay and fusion, such as when the protons in the center of the sun are squished and squeezed into helium nuclei.
The weak force passes the message, “Time to change!’’and inspires quarks to take on a new identity–for instance, change from a down quark to an up quark or vice versa.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, the W and Z bosons that carry the weak force are extremely heavy–roughly 80 times more massive than the protons the LHC smashes together. For two minuscule quarks to produce two enormous W or Z bosons simultaneously, they need access to a big pot of excess energy.
That’s where the LHC comes in; by accelerating protons to nearly the speed of light, it produces the most energetic collisions ever seen in a particle accelerator. “The LHC is special,” Ruiz says. “The LHC is the first collider in which we have evidence of W and Z boson scattering; the weak force bosons themselves are colliding.”
Even inside the LHC, weak force boson-boson collisions are extremely rare. This is because the range of the weak force extends to only about 0.1% of the diameter of a proton. (Compare this to the range of the strong force, which is equivalent to the proton’s diameter.)
“This range is quite small,” Apyan says. “Two quarks have to be extremely close and radiate a W or Z boson simultaneously for there to be a chance of the bosons colliding.”
Apyan studies collisions in which two colliding quarks simultaneously release a W or Z boson, which then scatter off one another before transforming into more stable particles. Unlike other processes, the W and Z boson collisions maintain their quarks, which then fly off into the detector as the proton falls apart. “This process has a nice signature,” Apyan says. “The remnants of the original quarks end up in our detector, and we see them as jets of particles very close to the beampipe.”
The probability of this happening during an LHC collision is about one in a trillion. Luckily, the LHC generates about 600 million proton-proton collisions every second. At this rate, scientists are able to see this extremely rare event about once every other minute when the LHC is running.
These heavy boson-boson collisions inside the LHC provide physicists with a unique view of the subatomic world, Ruiz says.
Creating and scattering bosons allows physicists to see how their mathematical models hold up under stringent experimental tests. This can allow them to search for physics beyond the Standard Model.
The scattering of W and Z bosons is a particularly pertinent test for the strength of the Higgs field. "The coupling strength between the Higgs boson and W and Z bosons is proportional to the masses of the W and Z bosons, and this raises many interesting questions," Apyan says.
Even small tweaks to the Higgs field could have major implications for the properties of Z and W bosons and how they ricochet off each other. By studying how these particles collide inside the LHC, scientists are able to open yet another window into the properties of the Higgs. | https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/the-large-boson-boson-collider?page=1 |
This is a very famous holy lake for the Hindus and the Buddhists. Thousands of Hindu pilgrims visit the lake every year during the full- moon festival in August. According to the Hindu mythology, when the God churned the primordial ocean to produce elixir of eternal life, the poison was also produced simultaneously. To save the universe from this poison, Lord Shiva drank it scaring his throat blue in the process. To cool down his burning throat, Lord Shiva struck his trident into the rock creating three springs which ultimately resulted in the formation of beautiful lakes.
Finally, Lord Shiva drank the water of the lakes and got rid of the pain. This trek provides excellent views of snow-capped mountains, picturesque valley and glimpse of exotic 108 holy lakes with diverse ethnic culture. The three week tour covers Langtang, Gosaikunda and Helambu valley trek.
Trip Highlights
Trekking Region : Langtang Region
Trip Name : Gosaikunda Lake Trek
Total Duration : 11 Days
Best Season : Autumn (Sep-Nov) and Spring (Mar-May)
Starting from : Kathmandu
Ending at: Kathmandu
Mode of trek : Teahouse
Highest access of the trek : 4600m (Lauribinayak Pass)
Himalayan Views : Langtang, Langtang Lirung, Gosainkunda, etc
NOTE: The above information is a guide and standard template of what we provide. The trip can be customized at your request to accommodate your specific requirements. | http://couleurstreksandexpedition.com/index.php/langtang-region-trekking/gosaikunda-lake |
Pi Day 2022
Pi Day events in the Department of Mathematics at Kennesaw State University (KSU). The number Pi (π) is a mathematical constant and is always celebrated on March 14th. Happy Pi Day!
Monday, March 14, 2022 → Pi Day Pieluck
Join us for a pie potluck in celebration of Pi Day!
Please bring a pie or chip in for pizza.
TIME: 1:30-2:30pm
LOCATION: D-249 Mathematics building, Marietta campus
RSVP (required) by 3/10
Monday, March 14, 2022 → Pi Day Talk
- SPEAKER: Dr. Andy Wilson, Kennesaw State University
- TITLE: "A talk approximately about pi"
- TIME: 3:00-4:00pm
- LOCATION: D-250 Mathematics building, Marietta campus and streaming online in Microsoft Teams
- ABSTRACT: How can we estimate the value of pi? Much effort has been spent on this problem throughout the history of mathematics. I will focus on one particular approximation that can be traced back to Madhava, a 14th century Indian astronomer, and this approximation's surprising connections to combinatorics and chemistry. Very little background will be assumed and I hope to make this talk approachable to anyone who wants to celebrate Pi Day! | https://csm.kennesaw.edu/mathematics/events/pi-day/index.php |
What to Know About Social Security’s 2023 COLA
Last week, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced its 2023 cost of living adjustment, or COLA, would be 8.7%, the highest adjustment since 1981. The increase, which is based on the Consumer Price Index, affects around 70 million Americans, providing more than a $140 monthly increase for the average Social Security recipient. Regular Social Security beneficiaries can expect to see the change in their January 2023 check, with the timing dependent upon the recipient’s birthdate.
Tax Implications
Coupled with a slight decrease in 2023 Medicare premiums, this may seem like great news to help you cope with inflation. For some retirees, however, it won’t be quite enough to offset higher expenses, forcing some to withdraw more from their retirement accounts. The increase could also push some retirees into a higher tax bracket. That’s because the taxation of Social Security benefits isn’t indexed to inflation – it stays the same. Consequently, as your benefits adjust higher for inflation, you may cross into a higher tax bracket.
To understand how the COLA could affect your taxes, it’s important to understand how the IRS taxes Social Security benefits. If your total income, including wages, interests, dividends, retirement account distributions and pensions, is more than $25,000 for an individual or $32,000 for a married couple filing jointly, you’ll need to pay federal taxes. According to the SSA:
- If you file an individual return and your combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits. Above $34,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.
- If you and your spouse file a joint return and your combined income is between $32,000 and $44,000, you may owe income tax on up to 50% of your benefits. Above $44,000, up to 85% of your benefits may be taxable.
Married couples filing separate tax returns will probably also pay taxes on their benefits.
How can you avoid paying more tax as a result of the COLA? While every situation is different, one option is to minimize, if possible, the amount you withdraw from your traditional IRA or 401(k). (You should still take any required minimum distributions, or RMDs, as required.) Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s are taxed as ordinary income according to your marginal tax bracket.
Other options? This isn’t an all-inclusive list, but you could consider withdrawing money from a brokerage account, for which you would pay capital gains tax on investments held longer than a year. The capital gains tax rate is lower than the income tax rate. You could also consider taking withdrawals from your Roth IRA or Roth 401(k), or even your Health Savings Account (HSA), none of which is subject to federal income tax under certain conditions. For example, you must use your HSA money for qualified health expenses, and Roth IRAs have a “five-year rule” that says earnings withdrawals are not tax-free unless it’s been at least five years since you first contributed to your Roth IRA.
Getting the withdrawal “formula” exactly right can be difficult, so be sure to consult your financial advisor and/or tax professional before you begin making withdrawals, and keep a long-term perspective in mind.
If you aren’t collecting Social Security benefits yet but are tempted by the prospect of a higher COLA in 2023, you may want to talk to your advisor about claiming strategies. You may find that it still makes the most sense to wait until you are at your full retirement age (FRA), or to delay taking benefits until age 70. That’s because for every year you delay beyond your FRA, your benefit increases by 8%.
Although the COLA may help you stretch your budget during inflationary times, it pays to take a holistic view of your goals, retirement income needs, and tax situation. Our Savant advisors and tax specialists can help you decide what steps to take to maximize your COLA. | https://savantwealth.com/savant-views-news/article/social-security-2023-cola/ |
Q:
Most elegant way to generate prime numbers
What is the most elegant way to implement this function:
ArrayList generatePrimes(int n)
This function generates the first n primes (edit: where n>1), so generatePrimes(5) will return an ArrayList with {2, 3, 5, 7, 11}. (I'm doing this in C#, but I'm happy with a Java implementation - or any other similar language for that matter (so not Haskell)).
I do know how to write this function, but when I did it last night it didn't end up as nice as I was hoping. Here is what I came up with:
ArrayList generatePrimes(int toGenerate)
{
ArrayList primes = new ArrayList();
primes.Add(2);
primes.Add(3);
while (primes.Count < toGenerate)
{
int nextPrime = (int)(primes[primes.Count - 1]) + 2;
while (true)
{
bool isPrime = true;
foreach (int n in primes)
{
if (nextPrime % n == 0)
{
isPrime = false;
break;
}
}
if (isPrime)
{
break;
}
else
{
nextPrime += 2;
}
}
primes.Add(nextPrime);
}
return primes;
}
I'm not too concerned about speed, although I don't want it to be obviously inefficient. I don't mind which method is used (naive or sieve or anything else), but I do want it to be fairly short and obvious how it works.
Edit: Thanks to all who have responded, although many didn't answer my actual question. To reiterate, I wanted a nice clean piece of code that generated a list of prime numbers. I already know how to do it a bunch of different ways, but I'm prone to writing code that isn't as clear as it could be. In this thread a few good options have been proposed:
A nicer version of what I originally had (Peter Smit, jmservera and Rekreativc)
A very clean implementation of the sieve of Eratosthenes (starblue)
Use Java's BigIntegers and nextProbablePrime for very simple code, although I can't imagine it being particularly efficient (dfa)
Use LINQ to lazily generate the list of primes (Maghis)
Put lots of primes in a text file and read them in when necessary (darin)
Edit 2: I've implemented in C# a couple of the methods given here, and another method not mentioned here. They all find the first n primes effectively (and I have a decent method of finding the limit to provide to the sieves).
A:
Use the estimate
pi(n) = n / log(n)
for the number of primes up to n to find a limit, and then use a sieve. The estimate underestimates the number of primes up to n somewhat, so the sieve will be slightly larger than necessary, which is ok.
This is my standard Java sieve, computes the first million primes in about a second on a normal laptop:
public static BitSet computePrimes(int limit)
{
final BitSet primes = new BitSet();
primes.set(0, false);
primes.set(1, false);
primes.set(2, limit, true);
for (int i = 0; i * i < limit; i++)
{
if (primes.get(i))
{
for (int j = i * i; j < limit; j += i)
{
primes.clear(j);
}
}
}
return primes;
}
A:
Many thanks to all who gave helpful answers. Here are my implementations of a few different methods of finding the first n primes in C#. The first two methods are pretty much what was posted here. (The posters names are next to the title.) I plan on doing the sieve of Atkin sometime, although I suspect it won't be quite as simple as the methods here currently. If anybody can see any way of improving any of these methods I'd love to know :-)
Standard Method (Peter Smit, jmservera, Rekreativc)
The first prime number is 2. Add this to a list of primes. The next prime is the next number that is not evenly divisible by any number on this list.
public static List<int> GeneratePrimesNaive(int n)
{
List<int> primes = new List<int>();
primes.Add(2);
int nextPrime = 3;
while (primes.Count < n)
{
int sqrt = (int)Math.Sqrt(nextPrime);
bool isPrime = true;
for (int i = 0; (int)primes[i] <= sqrt; i++)
{
if (nextPrime % primes[i] == 0)
{
isPrime = false;
break;
}
}
if (isPrime)
{
primes.Add(nextPrime);
}
nextPrime += 2;
}
return primes;
}
This has been optimised by only testing for divisibility up to the square root of the number being tested; and by only testing odd numbers. This can be further optimised by testing only numbers of the form 6k+[1, 5], or 30k+[1, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29] or so on.
Sieve of Eratosthenes (starblue)
This finds all the primes to k. To make a list of the first n primes, we first need to approximate value of the nth prime. The following method, as described here, does this.
public static int ApproximateNthPrime(int nn)
{
double n = (double)nn;
double p;
if (nn >= 7022)
{
p = n * Math.Log(n) + n * (Math.Log(Math.Log(n)) - 0.9385);
}
else if (nn >= 6)
{
p = n * Math.Log(n) + n * Math.Log(Math.Log(n));
}
else if (nn > 0)
{
p = new int[] { 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 }[nn - 1];
}
else
{
p = 0;
}
return (int)p;
}
// Find all primes up to and including the limit
public static BitArray SieveOfEratosthenes(int limit)
{
BitArray bits = new BitArray(limit + 1, true);
bits[0] = false;
bits[1] = false;
for (int i = 0; i * i <= limit; i++)
{
if (bits[i])
{
for (int j = i * i; j <= limit; j += i)
{
bits[j] = false;
}
}
}
return bits;
}
public static List<int> GeneratePrimesSieveOfEratosthenes(int n)
{
int limit = ApproximateNthPrime(n);
BitArray bits = SieveOfEratosthenes(limit);
List<int> primes = new List<int>();
for (int i = 0, found = 0; i < limit && found < n; i++)
{
if (bits[i])
{
primes.Add(i);
found++;
}
}
return primes;
}
Sieve of Sundaram
I only discovered this sieve recently, but it can be implemented quite simply. My implementation isn't as fast as the sieve of Eratosthenes, but it is significantly faster than the naive method.
public static BitArray SieveOfSundaram(int limit)
{
limit /= 2;
BitArray bits = new BitArray(limit + 1, true);
for (int i = 1; 3 * i + 1 < limit; i++)
{
for (int j = 1; i + j + 2 * i * j <= limit; j++)
{
bits[i + j + 2 * i * j] = false;
}
}
return bits;
}
public static List<int> GeneratePrimesSieveOfSundaram(int n)
{
int limit = ApproximateNthPrime(n);
BitArray bits = SieveOfSundaram(limit);
List<int> primes = new List<int>();
primes.Add(2);
for (int i = 1, found = 1; 2 * i + 1 <= limit && found < n; i++)
{
if (bits[i])
{
primes.Add(2 * i + 1);
found++;
}
}
return primes;
}
A:
Ressurecting an old question, but I stumbled over it while playing with LINQ.
This Code Requires .NET4.0 or .NET3.5 With Parallel Extensions
public List<int> GeneratePrimes(int n) {
var r = from i in Enumerable.Range(2, n - 1).AsParallel()
where Enumerable.Range(1, (int)Math.Sqrt(i)).All(j => j == 1 || i % j != 0)
select i;
return r.ToList();
}
| |
This is a very special cottage in a unique position with access to it by a rowing boat, which we provide, from Newton Ferrers. It is ideal for water based holidays and relaxing weekends, which start when you row across this beautiful river.
It comes with a mooring so if you have your own boat, bring it along for a holiday too.
This cottage featured in the Sunday Times top 100 holiday destinations in 2010 and is now recommended in Alistair Sawday's Special Escapes. Old Coastguard Cottages are secluded on the Wembury side of the River Yealm, overlooking the pretty creekside sailing and yachting villages of Newton and Noss which boast 3 good dining pubs a short row/walk away. There is plenty to see and do. The South West Coastal Path is 100 yards from the doorstep with breathtaking views from the cliffs and opportunity to discover hidden beaches and secret coves along the way. Wembury beach has superb rock pools at low tide and good surf at high tide. Its own quay and mooring provide access to numerous boating/fishing activities or just messing about on the water. During the autumn and winter snuggle up with a book in the cosy ambience and warmth of the woodburners.
The view from the terrace down the creek.
The cottage has three bedrooms, and sleeps 6. There is a main bedroom with a kingsize bed, with views over the estuary, another front bedroom has twin beds with views over the estuary and the third bedroom is smaller, and has windows facing the back, although smaller it is very comfortable and although it does not have views of the river it is quiet and airy.
The terrace at the front of the house has superb views down the creek towards Noss and Newton and also right and left up the river towards Dartmoor. Breakfast on the terrace in the morning sun is very special.
Crabbing off the quay
It is important to note that although both the sitting room and dining room are very well equipped there is no TV reception at the cottage.
There is a flat screen DVD player with plenty of DVD's, books, games and puzzles in the sitting room. There is a CD player and telephone in the dining room.
There is some mobile phone coverage. Wifi has now been installed at No 2 Old Coastguards and it is unlimited so films can be downloaded. It is the sort of place where you can really relax, switch off from the 21st Century and get back to the basics of old fashioned family holidays, walking, messing about on the river, talking, looking in rock pools, crabbing and in the evenings sipping wine on the terrace, or watching a DVD in front of the log burner or playing Monopoly.
Sunset, 5 minutes walk from the cottage.
We only rent the cottage to non-smokers. We don't allow pets. Children under 7 by agreement - please contact us.
A nearby beach along the cliffs from No 2 Old Coastguards. Just row across the river. Tie the boat onto our exclusive outhaul, turn right and walk along the cliffs to find these lovely and secluded coves.
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Management methods of reducing radionuclide contamination of animal food products in semi-natural ecosystems.
Countermeasures involving changes in management practices which are suitable for use in semi-natural ecosystems are described. Most of the relevant information relates to radio-caesium, but the applicability for some other radionuclides has also been evaluated. Improved live-monitoring techniques for radiocaesium, developed since the Chernobyl accident, allow the identification of animals whose contamination levels exceed the intervention limits, so that countermeasures can be effectively chosen and targeted. Generally the most effective approach for domesticated and semi-domesticated animals is either to remove contaminated animals from the affected area or to provide uncontaminated feed. Uncontaminated feed is given continuously for dairy animals or in the final fattening stages for meat-producing animals. The introduction of other effective changes in management practices, such as changing hunting seasons for game, or slaughtering at a time of year when the animals have been grazing on less contaminated herbage, depends on a good understanding of the behaviour of radionuclides in these ecosystems. In practice, the most effective countermeasures which can used to reduce radionuclide contamination of animals in semi-natural ecosystems will be obtained by a combination of both management changes and the use of chemical binders to prevent gut absorption.
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The late 1980s and the 1990s would have been a lot less interesting at the cinema without Winona Ryder. Surfacing onscreen while still in her teens, with a shy presence that came with a strong magnetic undertow, she didn’t have the air of a conventional movie star. Yet her very uniqueness drew attention and won hearts, while her seemingly boundless capacity for empathy placed her in direct communion with young viewers. Several of her movies caught the zeitgeist; she proved equally adept at period tales and up-to-the-minute youthquakes, excelling whether with bruising dramatic intensity or voluble comedic chops. Participating in top studio projects, she earned back-to-back Academy Award nominations and began to use her clout to support projects directed by women and featuring female-driven ensembles. Ryder was a standard-bearer for individuality and self-authenticity; if she is to be forever tagged with a Generation X label, then it is only fair to acknowledge that the generations of actors since owe her a debt. On the occasion of this month’s release of Ryder’s new comedy Destination Wedding—and building on the success of Stranger Things—the Quad revisits the roots of her brilliant career. How very. | https://quadcinema.com/program/utterly-winona/ |
RREUSE welcomes the Commission’s intention to tackle misleading claims and greenwashing practices through the introduction of minimum criteria for the substantiation of green claims. However, the initiative still presents remaining issues.
Right to repair needs fixing: proposed legislation misses the mark on delivering affordable repairs for all
The proposal is a cautious step forward towards promoting repair and refurbishment, but still falls short of introducing a true right to repair for EU citizens. A “right to repair” legislation was initially announced in the 2021 State of the Union address as part of the European Green Deal, with the aim of extending the lifespan of products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste, while also creating green and local employment opportunities.
RREUSE Reacts to the Critical Raw Materials Act
RREUSE welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on Critical Raw Materials that was first announced by President Von der Leyen in her 2022 State of the European Union address, but reaching the aims of the Regulation will not be possible without a concrete commitment to reduce material demand by prolonging the useful life of products through re-use and repair activities.
4th International RREUSE Conference: A deep dive into the trends and opportunities of digitalisation for social enterprises active in the circular economy.
Close cooperation on harnessing digital trends across the social enterprise community was at the heart of discussions at RREUSE’s 4th International Conference on the digital era of social enterprises active in the circular economy. November 16th and 17th 2022 found over 100 enthusiastic participants in Vienna for the highly anticipated event.
The RREUSE Network welcomes two new members!
RREUSE’s latest General Assembly took place on the 16th of November 2022, and included the warm welcome of two new Associate Members to the network!
RREUSE Member Impact 2021
This infographic highlights the positive social and circular impact generated by our wider membership base in 2021, consisting of 31 member organisations spread across 29 countries.
RREUSE joins the Social Good Accelerator network
RREUSE is pleased to announce its membership to the Social Good Accelerator (SOGA). SOGA is a network bringing together different organisations across Europe aiming to ensure „more social good in tech, more tech in social good“.
Green Friday’s 6th edition challenges overconsumption!
This year, the Green Friday Collective and MAIF approached Harris Interactive to carry out a study on shopping behaviour during Black Friday and Green Friday.
Unique Site for the Re-use of Solar Panels Launched in Gironde by ENVIE and Soren
A new site for the treatment of used solar panels has been established and inaugurated in Saint-Loubès, a town close to Bordeaux, on September 27th. This new centre is the first of its kind in Europe and is expected to highlight innovative re-use, refurbishing, and recycling activities that have not been applied before in Europe.
EU Officials Visit two Re-use Centres in Belgium
On September 30 2022, RREUSE organised a site visit to two major Belgian sorting facilities owned by the social enterprises “Les Petits Riens” and “De Kringwinkel”.
RREUSE and partners launch new innovation project on circular & sustainable textiles
Launched today, the new Horizon Europe project CISUTAC will support the transition to a circular and sustainable textile sector. As part of a consortium of 27 partners working on the project, RREUSE will be leading the work on circular business models with a focus on reuse and repair. | https://rreuse.org/category/news/?et_blog |
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The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.
By Craig P. Orgeron
March 14, 2022
Constituents expect interactions with government agencies to reflect the access, personalization and ease of use delivered by modern, forward-thinking digital companies. However, technology sprawl, limited human capital and security breaches, often prevent governments from fully taking advantage of technology innovations like cloud computing, to deliver online services in a timely and cost-effective manner. Research by Granicus reveals both public sector leaders and citizens acknowledge the impact of COVID-19 in altering expectations of governments in the delivery of services, with 54 percent of U.S. citizens expecting services to be offered online and 30 percent anticipating processes to become simpler.
Since the advent of e-government services, the evolution of digital technology—specifically big data, analytics, mobility, social media, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI)—has afforded governments the innovative tools to profoundly reform public services. Assumptions of what constitutes good government have been altered by the near-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a chaotic period of heightened expectations for the delivery of modern, leading-edge online government services. Often, the strains of the pandemic on demand for digital services outweighed the inherent resiliency of government online systems and solutions. And, while the COVID-19 pandemic served as an accelerant for governments to rapidly invest in short-term technology solutions to ensure the continuity of government in a largely remote environment, the demand and expectation among citizens to improve digital services has only increased during the pandemic.
Even with advancements in computing and the transformative incubator of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for impactful e-government solution design remains a top-of-mind issue for government CIOs. Recent survey data from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) found 94 percent of CIOs report an increase in demand for digital services. With a growing acceptance of the scale, agility, speed and cost effectiveness of cloud computing, the next e-government solution design era will be defined by intelligent and resilient solution platforms at the top of the cloud stack. The three main service models of cloud computing—Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS)—will give rise to a potential fourth layer, one imbued with cloud-based, self-governing and intelligent solutions. In the cloud era, there is an opportunity for governments, in partnerships with private sector partners, to build and deploy resilient, full-service and intelligent solution platforms to deliver citizen-centric, agile and innovative government services—a Government as a Service (GaaS) layer dedicated to public sector. Digitally transformed governments can adapt to the evolving technological landscape and are able to invest in mobility, cloud computing and big data technologies as part of their development of digital experience platforms (DXP). In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, greater digitization and preference for an omnichannel approach has emerged as a key service differentiator.
The capability of DXPs to collect, analyze and unify citizen data obtained from multiple touchpoints aids in the creation of a centralized view of the constituent experience, a need that emerged and was quickly solidified during the course of the pandemic. A key differentiator for platforms at the top of the cloud stack is the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning, into a solution that drives the digital experience platforms across multiple applications. To move forward and keep pace with citizen expectations, the citizen experience should equal a digital experience, underpinned by two key components: well-architected and curated data, and pervasive and precise identity management. To future-proof e-government, intelligent and self-regulating systems should exhibit five digitally essential attributes, and be: 1) Contactless – Demand for digital and no-touch services has grown, and governments are responding with online portals, contactless transit systems and chatbots; 2) Intelligent – Technology enhancements in virtual and augmented reality and AI will allow citizens to live smarter, safer and more productive lives; 3) Automated – Automated solutions can help streamline processes, lighten overhead and provide for better data and tracking of operations; 4) Persistent – Data, and the potential to glean insights from numerous sources, has the power to transform the future of citizen services; and 5) Secure – Organizations with strong security cultures are often more innovative. Security should be viewed as an enabler to innovation, not a blocker.
Increasingly, the concept of “good government” is becoming synonymous with a connected and digital government. COVID-19 has driven a fundamental shift in good government assumptions; overnight, many government organizations have had to shift their e-government strategies. In fact, in a Logic Monitor survey, 87 percent of global IT decision-makers agree the pandemic will cause organizations to accelerate their migration to the cloud, anticipating a decline in on-premises workloads by 2025, and increasing government’s resiliency in the face of adversity. Recently released data from the Internet Association suggests a unique opportunity for public sector agencies to reconceptualize how they connect with citizens, with most states lacking in key components of a modern digital government experience. While some governments are deprioritizing or delaying nonessential technology implementations, there is a singular opportunity to modernize their digital footprint by fully leveraging cloud computing to boost citizen satisfaction in online solutions, enhance levels of both institutional engagement and trust and future-proof government performance.
Author: Dr. Orgeron has extensive information technology experience in both the private sector and the federal and state level of the public sector. Currently, Dr. Orgeron serves as an Executive Government Advisor with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Prior to joining AWS, he served as the CIO for the State of Mississippi, and President of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO). | https://patimes.org/digital-essentials-for-good-government/ |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
FIELD
BACKGROUND
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiment 1
Embodiment 2
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-218107, filed Sep. 18, 2009; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a method for manufacturing a template and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
Imprinting methods (nano-imprinting methods) have been proposed as lithographic technology for semiconductor devices (for example, see Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2008-270686). Templates used in the imprinting methods are commonly produced by electron beam lithography. Therefore, much time and a lot of costs are required commonly. Hence, a proposal has been made for producing plural child templates from a mother template by using imprinting technology.
However, a great number of same templates are produced and are difficult to manage and identify the templates individually.
In general, according to one embodiment, there is provided a method for manufacturing a template for imprinting, the method comprising preparing a first template having a device pattern and a plurality of identification patterns, and forming a second template by transferring the device pattern and at lest desired one of the identification patterns to a template substrate.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
FIG. 7
FIG. 8
FIG. 9
FIG. 10
, , , , , and are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating a method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment. , , , and are plan views schematically illustrating the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 1
FIG. 7
10
100
200
10
200
100
At first, as illustrated in , a mother template (first template) is prepared. A device pattern area and plural identification pattern areas are provided in the mother template . As illustrated in , the identification pattern areas are formed outside the device pattern area .
100
In the device pattern area , a pattern for forming a device pattern of a semiconductor device (semiconductor integrated circuit device) is formed. The device pattern comprises patterns for forming elements such as transistors, and patterns of wirings.
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Patterns for forming identification patterns are formed in the identification pattern areas . The identification patterns are used to identify plural child templates manufactured in a later step. The plural child templates may be assigned with a combination of respectively different identification patterns, and the plural child templates can be thereby identified. For example, numerals, alphabets, bar codes, and figures can be used for the identification patterns.
FIG. 2
FIG. 8
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Next, as illustrated in , an imprinting agent (imprinting resist) is supplied to a surface of the mother template by an inkjet method. Specifically, the imprinting agent is selectively supplied to the device pattern area and at least one desired identification pattern area . In this example, as illustrated in , the imprinting agent is selectively supplied to identification pattern areas corresponding to patterns “1”, “2”, “4”, “7”, “8”, “A” and “E”.
FIG. 3
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Next, as illustrated in , the mother template is brought into contact with a template substrate for forming child templates (for example, a glass substrate made of quartz) . Further, the imprinting agent is cured, interposed between the mother template and the template substrate . In this manner, the patterns (device pattern and identification patterns) formed in the mother template are transferred to the imprinting agent , thereby to form imprinting agent patterns.
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The method for curing the imprinting agent may employ photocuring (ultraviolet irradiation) or heat curing. A photocuring imprinting agent may be urethane-based resin, epoxy-based resin, or acryl-based resin. For exaample, HDDA (1,6-hexanediol-diacrylate) or HEBDM (bis(hydroxyethyl)bisphenol-A dimethacrylate) may be used. A heat curing imprinting agent may be phenol resin, epoxy resin, silicone, or polyimide. Alternatively, heat reversible resin such as polymethyl polymethacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate (PC), or acryl may be used.
FIG. 4
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Next, as illustrated in , the mother template is separated from the template substrate . At this time, the cured imprinting agent pattern is formed on the template substrate . That is, as illustrated in , an imprinting agent pattern for forming a device pattern is formed in the device pattern area , and imprinting agent patterns for forming desired identification patterns are formed in the identification pattern areas .
FIG. 5
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Next, as illustrated in , the template substrate is etched, using the imprinting agent patterns as masks. For example, the etching may employ dry etching. In this manner, the template substrate is etched to a predetermined depth.
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
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Next, as illustrated in , the imprinting agent patterns are removed. A child template (second template) as illustrated in and is thereby formed.
FIG. 1
FIG. 2
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
FIG. 5
FIG. 6
The foregoing steps illustrated in , , , , , and are performed while changing the combination of the identification patterns. Accordingly, plural child templates which can be identified from each other can be manufactured. That is, plural child templates which have respectively different combinations of identification patterns can be manufactured.
As has been described above, according to the present embodiment, plural identification patterns are formed in advance in a mother template. When a child template is manufactured, a combination of desired identification patterns is selected, and the desired identification patterns are transferred to the child template. In this manner, plural child templates which have respectively different combinations of identification patterns can be manufactured. As a result, plural child templates can be steadily identified, and can be managed correctly. Further, plural child templates which can be identified from each other can be manufactured from one type of mother template. Therefore, manufacturing costs and time hardly increase. Further, since a device pattern and identification patterns can be simultaneously transferred, child templates can be efficiently manufactured without greatly increasing a number of manufacturing steps.
In the above embodiment, a combination of desired identification patterns is obtained by selectively supplying an imprinting agent to the desired identification pattern areas. Alternatively, however, a combination of desired identification patterns may be obtained by selective light irradiation or selective heating to selectively cure the imprinting agent. For example, other identification pattern areas than desired identification pattern areas may be masked so as not to be irradiated with light.
FIG. 11
FIG. 12
FIG. 13
FIG. 14
FIG. 15
FIG. 16
FIG. 17
FIG. 18
FIG. 19
, , , , , and are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment. , , and are plan views schematically illustrating the method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment. The same matters as have been described in the first embodiment will be omitted from descriptions given below.
FIG. 11
FIG. 17
FIG. 12
FIG. 18
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At first, as illustrated in and , a mother template (first template) is prepared. Further, an identification pattern template (second template) as illustrated in and is prepared. A device pattern area is provided in the mother template . Plural identification pattern areas are provided in the identification pattern template .
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In device pattern area , a pattern for forming a device pattern of a semiconductor device (semiconductor integrated circuit device) is formed. Patterns for forming identification patterns are formed in the identification pattern areas . Basic features of the device pattern and identification patterns are the same as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, descriptions thereof will be omitted herefrom.
FIG. 13
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Next, as illustrated in , an imprinting agent (imprinting resist) is supplied to a surface of the mother template by an inkjet method. Specifically, the imprinting agent is selectively supplied to the device pattern area . Subsequently, the mother template is brought into contact with a template substrate (for example, a glass substrate made of quartz) for forming child templates. Further, the imprinting agent is cured, interposed between the mother template and the template substrate . In this manner, the pattern (device pattern) formed in the mother template is transferred to the imprinting agent , thereby to form an imprinting agent pattern. Further, the mother template is separated from the template substrate . At this time, the cured imprinting agent pattern remains on the template substrate .
FIG. 14
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Next, as illustrated in , another imprinting agent (imprinting resist) is supplied to a surface of the identification pattern template by an inkjet method. Specifically, the imprinting agent is selectively supplied to at least one desired identification pattern area . Subsequently, the identification pattern template and the template substrate are brought into contact with each other. Further, the imprinting agent is cured, interposed between the identification pattern template and the template substrate . In this manner, the pattern (desired identification pattern) formed in the identification pattern template is transferred to the imprinting agent , thereby to form an imprinting agent pattern.
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FIG. 14
The device pattern area and the identification pattern areas are arranged in a positional relationship in which the device pattern and identification pattern transferred to the template substrate do not interfere with each other. Specifically, both the device pattern and the identification pattern are formed in projected portions of templates. Therefore, when the imprinting agent pattern is formed in the step of , the imprinting agent pattern which has already been formed is out of contact with the identification pattern template .
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FIG. 15
Further, the identification pattern template is separated from the template substrate . At this time, the cured imprinting agent pattern remains on the template substrate . In this manner, as illustrated in , a structure is obtained in which the imprinting agent patterns and are formed on the template substrate . That is, the imprinting agent pattern for forming a device pattern is formed in the device pattern area , and the imprinting agent pattern for forming a desired identification pattern is formed in an identification pattern area .
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FIG. 16
FIG. 19
Next, the template substrate is etched, using the imprinting agent patterns and as masks. In this manner, the template substrate is etched to a predetermined depth. Further, the imprinting agent patterns are removed. In this manner, a child template (third template) as illustrated in and is formed.
FIG. 11
FIG. 12
FIG. 13
FIG. 14
FIG. 15
FIG. 16
The foregoing steps in , , , , , and are performed while changing the combination of identification patterns. Accordingly, plural child templates which can be identified from each other can be manufactured.
As has been described above, according to the present embodiment, plural child templates which have respectively different combinations of identification patterns can be manufactured, as in the first embodiment. As a result, plural child templates can be steadily identified, and can be managed correctly. Further, plural child templates which can be identified from each other can be manufactured from one type of mother template and one type of identification pattern template. Therefore, manufacturing costs and time hardly increase.
In the above embodiment, a combination of desired identification patterns is obtained by selectively supplying an imprinting agent to the desired identification pattern areas. Alternatively, however, a combination of desired identification patterns may be obtained by selective light irradiation or selective heating to selectively cure the imprinting agent. For example, other identification pattern areas than desired identification pattern areas may be masked so as not to be irradiated with light.
FIG. 20
The first and second embodiments have been described above. A semiconductor device can be manufactured by using a child template obtained by any of the methods according to the first and second embodiments. is a flowchart schematically representing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device.
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At first, a child template is manufactured according to the first or second embodiment (S). Next, imprinting is performed by using the child template. That is, patterns in the child template are transferred to an imprinting agent (imprinting resist), and a resist pattern is formed on a semiconductor wafer (S). Further, a desired pattern is formed by etching conductive films or insulating films on the semiconductor wafer, with the resist pattern used as a mask (S).
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 2
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 3
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 5
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 6
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 7
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 8
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 9
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 10
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 11
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 12
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 13
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 14
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 15
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 16
is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a part of a method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 17
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 18
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 19
is a plan view schematically illustrating a part of the method for manufacturing a template according to the second embodiment; and
FIG. 20
is a flowchart schematically representing a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the embodiments. | |
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/EP2017/068247 filed Jul. 19, 2017, which designated the United States, and claims the benefit under 35 USC § 119(a)-(d) of German Application No. 10 2016 115 323.0 filed Aug. 18, 2016, the entireties of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a cultivator for an agricultural soil processing machine, comprising a base part which has a cutting element on a cutter support, wherein the base part has at least one screw receiving area for securing to a support, in particular a tine of the agricultural soil processing machine.
The present invention further relates to a tool system for an agricultural soil processing machine comprising a cultivator and a support, in particular a tine of the agricultural soil processing machine, wherein the cultivator comprises a base part which has a cutting element arranged on a cutter support, and wherein the base part comprises at least one screw receiving area and the support has at least one mounting bore for fastening the cultivator to the support.
Such a cultivator and such a tool system are disclosed in DE 10 2013 102 420 A1. A share tip shown therein and an adjoining guide element are connected by means of screw connections to a tine of an agricultural soil processing machine. The share tip has a base part with a cutter support facing in the working direction, cutting elements in the form of hard metal elements being fastened thereto. Hard material elements adjacent to the cutting elements cover a part of the surface of the base part facing in the working direction. The base part is penetrated by a screw receiving area. The tine has a bore corresponding thereto. A screw may be inserted through the screw receiving area and the bore and secured on the rear face by a nut. In this manner the share tip is connected to the tine. The screw head of the screw faces in the working direction of the cultivator. In order to reduce the wear of the screw head, the screw head is arranged so as to be countersunk in the base part. A deflector is arranged in the working direction upstream of the screw receiving area, the deflector conducting removed soil material past the screw receiving area. However, it is not possible to prevent earth from penetrating as far as the screw head into the screw receiving area. This leads to wear of the screw head. Moreover, the access to the screw head is blocked by the earth. In order to release the screw, this earth initially has to be removed before a suitable tool is able to be inserted into the tool receiver of the screw head provided therefor. Stones may also become jammed in the screw receiving area above the screw head, which makes access to the screw more difficult. The disclosed base part has a receiver facing the guide element, a plug-in attachment of the guide element being inserted therein. The plug-in attachment is also penetrated by a screw receiving area, a screw being guided through the screw receiving area for connecting the guide element to the tine. The receiver covers the plug-in attachment and thus the screw receiving area in the working direction of the combined tool. As a result, the screw is protected from wear.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a cultivator which permits a releasable connection to a support which is wear-resistant and easily accessible. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a corresponding tool system.
The object of the present invention is achieved by the screw receiving area being designed as a blind hole with an inner thread and being recessed into a support surface of the cultivator which is aligned opposite the tool advancing direction (V) of the cultivator or by the screw receiving area being designed as a through-bore with an inner thread and being covered by at least one wear protection element in the tool advancing direction (V). The screw receiving area is, therefore, only accessible counter to the tool advancing direction (V). In the tool advancing direction (V), the screw receiving area is closed. Earth which has been removed, therefore, does not slide directly past the screw receiving area and the screw guided therein. As a result, the wear of the screw, by which the cultivator is fastened to the support, may be significantly reduced. The screw head is advantageously not positioned in a recess of the screw receiving area and thus is not able to be covered by removed earth. A tool receiver of the screw head, therefore, is able to be reached at any time by a suitable tool and the screw connection released. Preferably, the cultivator bears with its support surface against a mounting surface of the support facing in the tool advancing direction. Corresponding to the at least one screw receiving area, therefore, at least one mounting bore is incorporated in the support as a through-bore. The screw, therefore, may be guided in the tool advancing direction through the mounting bore of the support and screwed into the screw receiving area of the cultivator. As a result, a screw connection which is able to be subjected to high levels of mechanical stress is achieved between the support and the cultivator. The screw head is arranged downstream of the cultivator and the support in the tool advancing direction, so as to be protected from earth sliding past.
The design of the screw receiving area being continuously covered in the tool advancing direction by at least one wear protection element may be produced in a simple and cost-effective manner. By means of the wear protection element with its high level of wear resistance, the screw receiving area is continuously closed during the life expectancy of the cultivator.
Moreover, the screw receiving area which is designed as a blind hole may be advantageously provided in regions of the cultivator which are not covered by wear protection elements in the tool advancing direction, wherein the continuously closed front face of the cultivator is maintained. If wear protection elements are arranged in the region of the screw receiving area, by the screw receiving areas being designed as blind holes it is advantageously ensured that no solder, adhesive or any other fastening material by a material connection, such as is used for fastening wear protection elements to the base part of the cultivator, enters the screw receiving area and wears the inner thread provided therein.
In both embodiments, the cultivator forms a closed surface in the tool advancing direction, the removed earth being able to slide easily past the closed surface. Deflectors or the like, in order to conduct the earth past specific regions of the cultivator, are not required.
In order to obtain a particularly resistant front face of the cultivator, it may be provided that the front face of the cultivator, which is aligned in the tool advancing direction (V), is at least partially covered by wear protection elements, that at least one of the wear protection elements extends as far as the cutting element and that the wear protection elements are arranged as far as the region of at least one screw receiving area. Advantageously, the wear protection elements are arranged in regions which are subjected to high levels of mechanical stress. As one of the wear protection elements extends as far as the cutting element, the region of the cultivator immediately after the cutting element, which is subjected to high levels of abrasion, is protected from wear. If the wear protection elements are guided as far as the region of the at least one screw receiving area which is designed as a blind hole, for example, it is possible to prevent the base part from being worn in this region and as a result the screw receiving area, which was initially closed in the tool advancing direction, from being exposed. Advantageously, the entire region of the cutting element as far as the at least one screw receiving area is covered by wear protection elements, whereby a continuous protection of the regions of the cultivator which are subjected to particularly high levels of mechanical stress may be achieved.
In order to avoid stress peaks in the region of the at least one screw receiving area, it may be provided that the screw receiving area, which is designed as a blind hole, is rounded at its internal end or that the transitions between the internal surfaces of the screw receiving area, which is designed as a blind hole, are rounded. Due to the cutting element cutting into the soil and the cultivator in its front region projecting over the support arranged on the rear face, the surface of the cultivator facing in the tool advancing direction is at least partially under tensile stress. At the internal end of the screw receiving area the remaining material thickness of the base part is at its smallest, so that here the greatest mechanical stresses occur. By means of the rounded surfaces the risk of fracture of the cultivator may be reduced in this region.
During use, the cultivator is subjected to high forces and vibrations. In order to prevent the screw connection with the support from being released and the cultivator from becoming mislaid, it may be provided that the thread of the screw receiving area is configured in order to form a self-locking screw connection with a screw.
In order to avoid deformation or a fracture of the base part during use of the cultivator, and in order to permit a screw receiving area with a sufficient depth and thus a secure screw connection between the support and the cultivator, it may be provided that the thickness of the base part in the region of the at least one screw receiving area, measured in the direction of the longitudinal extent of the at least one screw receiving area, is between 5 mm and 120 mm, preferably between 9 mm and 35 mm.
During use of the cultivator, the main forces act on the cutting element counter to the tool advancing direction. The support element terminates upstream of the cutter support of the base part, the cutting element being fastened thereto. The base part in this region, therefore, is no longer supported from the rear by the support. This leads to high tensile stresses on the front face of the cultivator, as already set forth. By a suitable positioning of the at least one screw connection, a deflection of the base part and thus the formation of stresses which are too high in the region of the surface of the cultivator may be avoided. Advantageously, to this end it may be provided that the spacing of the at least one screw receiving area upstream in the tool advancing direction (V) relative to a cutter of the cutting element ranges between 10 mm and 350 mm. With larger spacings between the screw receiving area and the cutting element, due to the occurrence of vibrations during operation, a lateral support of the ploughshare body on the plow beam should be implemented (retaining webs/raised supports).
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it may be provided that two screw receiving areas are provided in the base part and that the spacing between the screw receiving areas ranges between 20 mm and 500 mm. By the mounting of the cultivator on the support via two screw connections, a connection of the components which is able to be subjected to high mechanical stresses may be achieved. By the selected spacing between the two screw receiving areas, the deflection of the cultivator during use may be kept very low.
A cultivator according to the present invention may be designed such that the screw receiving area which is designed as a through-bore, or the region below which the screw receiving area which is designed as a blind hole terminates, is entirely covered toward the front face of the cultivator by an individual wear protection element, where the dimensions of the wear protection element covering the screw receiving area, measured in the plane of the front face of the base part, are selected such that the wear protection element at least in its fastening region protrudes over the edge of the screw receiving area projected into the plane of the front face, in particular such that the wear protection element protrudes over the periphery of the edge of the screw receiving area projected into the plane of the front face, by at least 1 mm. Advantageously, therefore, a gap, as is present between two wear protection elements, is not arranged above the region of the screw receiving areas. As a result, stress peaks which may occur between two wear protection elements may be avoided in the region of the at least one screw receiving area. By a projection of the wear protection element by 2 mm over the edge, or the edge of the screw receiving area projecting over the front face, even with a screw receiving area designed as a through-bore a sufficiently large support surface is formed on the periphery, the wear protection element with the base part of the cultivator being able to be soldered, adhesively bonded or otherwise connected thereto by a material connection.
The object of the present invention relating to the tool system is achieved by the screw receiving area being designed as a blind hole with an inner thread and being recessed into a support surface of the cultivator aligned opposite the tool advancing direction of the cultivator, or by the screw receiving area being designed as a through-bore with an inner thread and being covered in the tool advancing direction by at least one wear protection element and by the cultivator being retained by at least one screw on the support, the screw being guided from the side of the support located opposite the tool advancing direction (V) through the at least one mounting bore and being screwed into the screw receiving area. The screw and the screw receiving area are thus only accessible from the rear face of the tool system relative to the tool advancing direction. Thus, in particular, the screw and the screw head are arranged so as to be protected from earth sliding past. The front face of the cultivator facing in the tool advancing direction may be designed to be continuous. Application points for increased wear are thus avoided. By the protected arrangement of the screw, premature wear thereof may be avoided. As a result, a longer service life of the tool system is achieved. At the same time, damage to a tool receiver on the screw head of the screw by the earth sliding past may be avoided. The screw connection may, therefore, be easily released even after a long period of use.
If it is provided that when the tool system is mounted the at least one screw terminates at a distance from an internal end of the screw receiving area which is designed as a blind hole, or at a distance from the wear protection element which covers the screw receiving area which is designed as a through-bore, the cultivator may be securely fastened with its support surface onto the support by the screw connection, even with greater thickness tolerances of the components. The cultivator thus bears securely against the support on the rear face and is able to transmit forces acting on its front face to the support.
Advantageously, the tool system comprises a previously described cultivator.
FIG. 1
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shows in a lateral view, shown partially in section, a tool system with a cultivator and a support . The cultivator preferably has a forged base part . Toward the soil to be plowed, the base part terminates in a cutter support . A cutting element is fastened to the cutter support . The cutting element is produced from a hard material, preferably a hard metal. The cutting element is secured by a fastening portion . to a surface of the base part facing in a tool advancing direction V of the cultivator , preferably soldered, adhesively bonded or welded or otherwise connected thereto by a material connection. Bent back from the fastening portion . and aligned counter to the tool advancing direction V of the tool system , an attachment piece . is formed on the fastening portion . of the cutting element . Toward the cutter support , the fastening portion . and the adjacent attachment piece . form surfaces which are located at an angle to one another and which comprise the front edge of the cutter support . Toward the soil, the cutting element terminates in a cutter . which is designed in the present case to be rounded. Preferably, the attachment part . is also connected, in particular soldered, to the cutter support .
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Adjacent to the fastening portion . of the cutting element a front face . of the cultivator is formed by wear protection elements . To this end, wear protection elements are connected to the surface of the base part aligned in the tool advancing direction V, in particular soldered, adhesively bonded or otherwise connected thereto by a material connection. In the present case, the wear protection elements are designed to be cuboidal. Thus they form a step-free surface facing in the tool advancing direction V. Earth may be guided past the surface without great resistance when the cultivator is pulled through the soil .
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Opposite the front face . of the cultivator the base part is defined by a support surface .. The cultivator with the support surface . bears against a mounting surface of the support . The support on the rear face supports the portion of the base body remote from the soil . Only the front region of the base part with the cutter support protrudes beyond the support . On the front face, the wear protection elements are guided as far as the region of the base part which is supported on the rear face by the support .
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The support is connected, not shown, to a soil processing machine. A mounting region is provided on an end region of the support facing the soil , the mounting region forming the mounting surface in the tool advancing direction V. Preferably, the support is of rectangular configuration, wherein the side lengths of the rectangle in the mounting region facing in the tool advancing direction V, are reduced in a stepwise manner. In this case oblique portions are provided between the steps. In the mounting region mounting bores , are guided through the support . The mounting bores , in this case extend from a rear face of the support , relative to the tool advancing direction V, to the mounting surface thereof. Preferably, the mounting bores , are aligned parallel to the surface normal of the mounting surface . In the exemplary embodiment shown, the mounting bores , are guided on the rear face, starting from the regions of the steps through the mounting region . The steps in this case extend at least approximately parallel to the mounting surface . In the present case, two mounting bores , are provided. However, embodiments with one mounting bore , or with more than two mounting bores , are also conceivable. Between the mounting bores , , the support is penetrated by a transverse bore . This bore serves as a potential fastening for plowshares, not shown, on the support .
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Corresponding to the mounting bores , , a first and a second screw receiving area , are incorporated in the base part of the cultivator . The screw receiving areas are aligned, starting from the support surface ., toward the front face . of the cultivator . The first and the second screw receiving areas , are designed as blind holes and thus are not passed through as far as the front face .. The first and second screw receiving areas have in each case an inner thread. Preferably an inner thread M is provided. Two screws , for the cultivator are guided through the mounting bores , and screwed into the first and second screw receiving areas , . The screw heads of the screws , bear against the rear face of the support . The cultivator is connected by the screws , to the support .
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The first screw receiving area is spaced apart by a first spacing . from the cutter . of the cutting element , as is shown by a double arrow. A second spacing which is also marked by a double arrow . separates the first screw receiving area from the second screw receiving area . A thickness . of the base part in the region of the first and the second screw receiving areas , is also identified by a double arrow.
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The design of the first and second screw receiving areas , as blind holes, formed in the base part in the tool advancing direction V, permits a continuously closed front face . of the cultivator . No screw holes which are incorporated in the base part from the front face ., with screws or deflectors arranged therein, are required, the earth being specifically deflected thereby past the screw holes. As a result, a lower resistance is provided to the earth sliding past. At the same time the front face . provides only a few application points relative to the earth, whereby the wear of the cultivator may be significantly reduced. The screw heads of the screws , are arranged on the rear face of the support relative to the tool advancing direction V. The screw heads are, therefore, protected both by the cultivator and by the support relative to the earth flowing past. The wear of the screws , and, in particular, the screw heads is thus able to be kept sufficiently low. It is also conceivable, but no longer required, to arrange the screw heads in recesses of the mounting bores , . Therefore, earth is not able to be deposited in the recessed holes above the screw heads. The screw heads with the tool receivers attached thereto are, therefore, easily accessible even after lengthy use of the tool system . Due to the low wear, tool receivers formed on the screw heads also remain ready for use. Thus a simple replacement of the cultivator is possible.
FIG. 1
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In the arrangement according to , the front region of the base part in the tool advancing direction V is covered by wear protection elements . The wear protection elements are preferably produced from a hard material, in particular a hard metal. However, other hard materials such as for example ceramics, other sintered materials or diamond-based materials may also be used. An additional hard material coating of the wear protection elements , for example, using polycrystalline diamond, is also conceivable. By means of the wear protection elements , the front region of the base part which is particularly subject to mechanical stress is covered and protected from wear. In this case, the wear protection elements are guided into the region of the base part which is supported by the support on the rear face. As a result, it is possible to prevent the front region of the base part , which is not supported by the support , from becoming thinner due to wear and as a result fracturing during plowing.
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A lever is formed by the region of the cultivator located in the direction of the soil above the support . Forces acting in this region lead to a torque transmitted to the cultivator . This may have the result that the screw connections are subjected to tensile load. The screw connections, therefore, are designed such that they are also able to absorb high tensile forces. For example, screws , of the size M may be used which are able to be sufficiently load-bearing in order to absorb the tensile forces present. The thickness . of the base part is designed in the region of the screw receiving areas , such that the screws , are able to be sufficiently deeply screwed in. Therefore, the thickness should be at least 5 mm preferably 9 mm. In the present case, a base part with a thickness . of 28 mm is provided. Thus it is ensured that sufficient material of the base part remains in the extension of the screw receiving areas , in order to keep the screw receiving areas , closed, even in the case of continuing wear of the front face . in this region. Moreover, the material thickness which is thus ensured prevents a fracture of the base part due to tensile stresses which may be formed by the aforementioned formation of a lever in the region of the surface of the base part facing in the tool advancing direction V. Advantageously, the terminal ends of the first and second screw receiving areas , are rounded. Stress peaks due to the tensile forces and forces introduced into the internal surfaces of the screw receiving areas , may be thus avoided or at least reduced.
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By the use of two screw connections, the cultivator may be prevented from rotating about an axis formed by the screw connection without additional measures. Moreover, deflections of the base part may be substantially avoided. As a result, the risk of fracture for the cultivator may be reduced. In order to be able to absorb the acting forces in a reliable manner, preferably the second spacing . is provided between the first and the second screw receiving areas , so as to range between 20 mm and 500 mm. In order to keep the deflection of the front region of the cultivator at a low level, preferably the spacing between the first screw receiving area and the cutter is provided to range between 20 mm and 300 mm.
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
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shows the tool system in a view corresponding to with a greater region of the base part of the cultivator covered by means of the wear protection elements . The same components are denoted in this case as set forth relative to .
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FIG. 1
The first and the second screw receiving areas , are also designed here as blind holes. Proceeding from the fastening portion . of the cutting element , the surface of the base part facing in the tool advancing direction V is covered by wear protection elements , as already described in their function and in their construction relative to , as far as the region of the first screw receiving area . As a result, a high degree of wear of the base part () in the region of the first screw receiving area which is still subjected to high mechanical stress, may be avoided. Thus it is possible to prevent the first screw receiving area from being opened as a result of wear toward the front face . of the cultivator . In addition, it is possible to prevent the remaining material thickness at the end of the first screw receiving area from being sufficiently reduced that it ultimately develops into a potential fracture when subjected to stress.
FIG. 3
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
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shows the tool system shown in , in a view from the front. The front face . of the cultivator is closed continuously, i.e. configured without bores. As a result, wear of the bores or screw parts arranged therein may be avoided. The wear protection elements produced from hard material cover the front surface of the base part as far as the region of the first screw receiving area shown in . Thus the entire region of the base part facing the soil is protected from wear in the tool advancing direction V. The cultivator protrudes laterally over the support . Removed earth is thus guided past the support . It is conceivable to protect the support additionally from wear in the region adjoining the cultivator by a guide element which is connected to the support and not shown.
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Two cutting elements arranged adjacent to one another are provided in the direction of the soil . By the segmentation of the cutting elements , smaller and thus more fracture-resistant cutting elements are obtained. Cracks are not able to be transmitted from one segment to another. Also the front face . of the cultivator is formed by a plurality of wear protection elements . The use of a plurality of wear protection elements arranged in series also has the advantage of a reduced risk of fracture and a prevention of crack propagation between the elements.
FIG. 4
FIG. 2
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shows the tool system in a view according to with an alternative embodiment of the third and fourth screw receiving areas , arranged in the base part . The same components are denoted and designed in the same manner as set forth above.
FIGS. 1 and 2
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In contrast to the embodiments shown in , the third and fourth screw receiving areas , are designed as through-bores through the base part . In the tool advancing direction V the third and fourth screw receiving areas , are covered by wear protection elements . The wear protection elements , in this case starting from the cutting element as far as the region of the fourth screw receiving area furthest away from the cutting element , are arranged on the surface of the base part facing in the tool advancing direction V of the tool system . The front face . of the cultivator is, therefore, substantially protected from wear.
FIG. 5
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
FIGS. 1 and 2
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shows a detail of the tool system shown in in the region of the fourth screw receiving area . By means of the wear protection elements the fourth screw receiving area is closed in the tool advancing direction V. As a result, earth is prevented from penetrating into the fourth screw receiving area . Wear of the first screw or the fourth screw receiving area , shown in , may be prevented thereby. Advantageously the fourth screw receiving area and also the third screw receiving area shown in , are covered in each case by a single wear protection element . The respective wear protection element in this case is dimensioned such that it protrudes over the periphery of the edge of the third and fourth screw receiving areas . By this arrangement, the wear protection element is connected over the periphery of the first and second screw receiving areas to the surface of the base part facing in the tool advancing direction V, in particular soldered. As a result, it may be ensured that no foreign material enters the third or fourth screw receiving areas , . Advantageously no transitions are arranged between two wear protection elements in the region of the third and fourth screw receiving areas , . Stress peaks are thus able to be avoided in the region of the base part which is already weakened by the screw receiving areas , . For this reason it is advantageous, even with the first and second screw receiving areas , designed as blind holes as shown in , to arrange and to dimension the wear protection elements such that in each case only one wear protection element covers the projection of the first and second screw receiving areas , in the direction of its longitudinal extent on the surface of the base part facing in the tool advancing direction V. Advantageously, the respective wear protection element in each case protrudes at least by 1 mm over the edge and/or the projection of the edge of the associated screw receiving area , , , . As a result, a sufficiently large contact surface is formed for the arrangement of the soldering.
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By the arrangements shown, a closed front face . of the cultivator , which is at least partially formed by wear protection elements , may be achieved. This provides no application points relative to the earth sliding past, whereby the wear of the cultivator is reduced. It is conceivable to form channels or the like in the front face . of the cultivator which is not formed, in particular, by wear protection elements , into the surface of the base part . Earth may be deposited into the channels. Earth which is guided past thus slides past the deposited earth and does not come into contact with the surface of the base part . As a result, the wear of the front face . of the cultivator may be reduced in the regions not covered by wear protection elements . The screws , are guided, starting from the rear face through the support toward the cultivator . The earth removed by the cultivator is guided by the cultivator and the support past the screws , and, in particular, the screw heads thereof. The wear of the screws , and the screw heads with the tool receivers formed thereon is thus very low. Thus even after a lengthy period of operation, a suitable tool may be securely positioned on the screws , and said screws may be opened.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is described in more detail hereinafter with reference to an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1
shows in a lateral view, shown partially in section, a tool system with a cultivator and a support;
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
shows a tool system in a view corresponding to with a widened region, covered by wear protection elements, of a base part of the cultivator;
FIG. 3
FIG. 2
shows the tool system shown in in a view from the front;
FIG. 4
FIG. 2
shows a tool system in a view corresponding to with an alternative embodiment of screw receiving areas arranged in the base part; and
FIG. 5
FIG. 4
shows a detail of the tool system shown in in the region of a fourth screw receiving area. | |
I became a weaver as an undergraduate in Indiana University’s Fine Arts department. Over the years, I pursued my artistic expression while honing my craftsmanship to an expert level. While in Chicago, I did production weaving for VanVechten Textiles, making fabrics for Henredon and other furniture makers. I also enjoyed teaching Digital Textiles as an Associate Professor at the Illinois Institute of Art’s Fashion Design program.
Moving back to Indianapolis let me focus solely on weaving and it has been a full-time effort for 6+ years. During this time, I focused on handwoven wearables made from eco-friendly and sustainable alpaca, bamboo & silk yarns. My swatches and samples are the source materials for abstract collages that address environmental or social issues metaphorically. I also hand make paper from my remnant warp yarns and incorporate it in my pieces. There is a synergy between the precise patterns in my wovens and the randomness of the paper that appeals to my design aesthetic.
Artist statement:
My artistic expression contains 3 key elements: pattern, color and texture. I became a weaver because it requires all of these. I hand-weave all my fabrics from sustainable and environmental-friendly alpaca, bamboo & silk yarns. Then I upcycle my swatches & samples, repurposing them to create my artwork.
Architecture and Gustav Klimt are major sources of inspiration for my patterns and designs. I have always appreciated architecture’s precision, angularity and the beauty of functional form. As a child, I would draw patterns while others drew their pets or family. As I grew, my eye recognized patterns in everything from nature to buildings to menswear. I was always admiring the precise beauty inherent to them.
Color provides emotional impact to everything in our world. The interplay between colors intrigues me and is critical in my fabric design process. Integrating color into the patterns I design strengthens and complements them rather than overwhelming. Crisply defined patterns are the foundation of my work.
Texture adds a dimensional component to our lives and is my third element. As the name implies, Textiles are tactile and to me, the hand of a fabric is critical. When selecting yarns, weight and feel are key considerations.
Weaving is a slow Zen-like process, allowing my ideas to expand as the fabric is growing. I use my fabrics as others use paints & inks, making them the source material for my artistic statements. My collages are abstract reflections on societal issues like climate change, pollution, racism, social injustice and inequality. Disrupting the natural order of the fabric by cutting into it to create something new is simultaneously exhilarating and scary. When finished, I achieve a kaleidoscope of intersecting designs and patterns. Like a pointillist painter, my pieces delight from afar yet reveal new intricacies upon closer inspection. | https://www.hcaa-in.org/artists/constance-collins |
Vlasov solvers that operate on a phase-space grid are highly accurate but also numerically demanding. Coarse velocity space resolutions, which are unproblematic in particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, can lead to numerical heating or oscillations in standard continuum Vlasov methods. We present a new dual Vlasov solver which is based on an established positivity preserving advection scheme for the update of the distribution function and an energy conserving partial differential equation solver for the kinetic update of mean velocity and temperature. The solvers work together via moment fitting during which the maximum entropy part of the distribution function is replaced by the solution from the partial differential equation solver. This numerical scheme makes continuum Vlasov methods competitive with PIC methods concerning computational cost and enables us to model large scale reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere with a fully kinetic continuum method. The simulation results agree well with measurements by the MMS spacecraft.
- Publication:
-
arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- September 2021
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2109.06743
- Bibcode:
- 2021arXiv210906743A
- Keywords:
-
- Physics - Plasma Physics;
- Physics - Computational Physics;
- Physics - Space Physics
- E-Print: | https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021arXiv210906743A/abstract |
Abstract: Industry 4.0 is also referred to as the fourth industrial revolution and is the vision of a smart factory built with CPS. The ecosystem of the manufacturing industry is expected to be activated through autonomous and intelligent systems such as self-organization, self-monitoring and self-healing. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is beginning with an attempt to combine the myriad elements of the industrial system with Internet communication technology to form a future smart factory. The related technologies derived from these attempts are creating new value. However, the existing Internet has no effective way to solve the problem of cyber security and data information protection against new technology of future industry. In a future industrial environment where a large number of IoT devices will be supplied and used, if the security problem is not resolved, it is hard to come to a true industrial revolution. Therefore, in this paper, we propose block chain based fog system architecture for Industiral IoT. In this paper, we propose a new block chain based fog system architecture for industial IoT. In order to guarantee fast performance, And the performance is evaluated and analyzed by applying a proper fog system-based permission block chain.
|Jang Su Hwan, Jongpil Jeong and Jo Guejong|
|492|| Exploration of Data from Smart Bands in the Cloud and on the Edge - the Impact on the Data Storage Space [abstract]
|
Abstract: Smart bands are wearable devices that are frequently used in monitoring people's activity, fitness, and health state. They can be also used in early detection of possibly dangerous health-related problems. The increasing number of wearable devices frequently transmitting data to scalable monitoring centers located in the Cloud may raise the Big Data challenge and cause network congestion. In this paper, we focus on the storage space consumed while monitoring people with smart IoT devices and performing classification of their health state and detecting possibly dangerous situations with the use of machine learning models in the Cloud and on the Edge. We also test two different repositories for storing sensor data in the Cloud monitoring center - a relational Azure SQL Database and the Cosmos DB document store.
|Mateusz Gołosz and Dariusz Mrozek|
|209|| Security of Low Level IoT Protocols [abstract]
|
Abstract: Application of formal methods in security is demonstrated. Formalism for description of security properties of low level IoT protocols is proposed. It is based on timed process algebra and on security concept called infinite step opacity. We prove some of its basic properties as well as we show its relation to other security notions. Finally, complexity issues of verification and security enforcement are discussed.
|Damas Gruska and M.Carmen Ruiz|
|569|| FogFlow - computation organization for heterogeneous Fog computing environments [abstract]
|
Abstract: With the arising amounts of devices and data that Internet of Things systems are processing nowadays, solutions for computational applications are in a high demand. Many concepts targeting at more efficient data processing are arising and among them edge and fog computing are the ones gaining significant interest since they reduce cloud load. In consequence Internet of Things systems are becoming more and more diverse in terms of architecture. In this paper we present FogFlow - model and execution environment allowing for organization of data-flow applications to be run on the heterogeneous environments. We propose unified interface for data-flow creation, graph model and we evaluate our concept in the use case of production line model that mimic real-world factory scenario. | https://www.iccs-meeting.org/iccs2019/wp-content/schedule/pages/IOTSS1.html |
Organic farming is the new field of activity of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (MAI-B). It falls within its programme of promotion and support to the development of agriculture in Mediterranean countries.
The MAI-B is one of the four institutes of CIHEAM, an intergovernmental organization founded in 1962 on the initiative of the OECD and the Council of Europe. Its member countries are: Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and Yugoslavia.
From its Headquarters in Paris, the Secretary General coordinates the activity of the four specialized institutes located in Bari (Italy), Montpellier (France), Chania (Greece), Zaragoza (Spain).
Thanks to its activities and to the results so far achieved, the MAI-B represents, for the international scientific community, the crossroad of applied research for the sustainable use of water in agriculture and for the protection of Mediterranean fruit crops from virus and virus-like diseases. The MAI-B coordinates research networks through the participation of universities and scientific institutions based in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and collaborates with the UNDP and FAO.
Furthermore, the MAI-B is the reference point for international boards and Mediterranean countries for programmes of cooperation for the development of the whole Mediterranean basin since it promotes the post-graduate training of senior staff and coordinates projects of interest to the whole area.
The MAI-B intends to play the same role in the field of organic agriculture. This decision is justified by three basic motivations:
In this perspective, the MAI-B acts through four basic tools: training, research and experimentation, cooperation to development and information.
The organization of high level training courses addressed to technical and scientific officers from Mediterranean countries is aimed at the transfer of knowledge on legislative aspects and production and market techniques for adequate implementation of organic farming. Projects have already been started or are underway for:
The MAI-B action is aimed at promoting and implementing research programmes with the contribution of international scientists and experts. This activity will be carried out through the:
The setting up of an international research and experimentation network with the participation of public and private institutions has already been started. Within the Biopuglia Project some experimentation lines have been developed on specific technical, agronomic and market aspects. Also, some research lines have been developed on composting and the use of suppressive natural substances. Finally, a network of experimental farms has been established in order to evaluate and compare, together with the organic producers, the results obtained from the theoretical research works with those from the field.
The analysis of the requirements and the specific needs of the different countries of the Mediterranean has led to the definition of cooperation programmes designed on the basis of the characteristics of the land and aimed at the setting-up of collaboration networks that will orient the entrepreneurial choices of economic operators and the political choices of governments.
Cooperation for the development of organic farming has already taken the first steps through the:
The dissemination of results of the activity and experimentation research is aimed at stimulating and favouring the circulation and diffusion of scientific knowledge on organic farming, through the:
In this respect, the collaboration with IFOAM, International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movements, was initiated and the MAI-B was chosen to be the Headquarters of AgriBioMediterraneo Secretariat for the IFOAM Regional Group.
The Secretariat will have the opportunity to resort to the MAI-B facilities, organizational experience and international relations for the more efficient coordination of Mediterranean boards and for the better harmonization of actions and objectives. | https://www.fao.org/3/x6089e/x6089e32.htm |
December 26th: Kwanzaa Festival – Traditions and Principles
The First Day of the Seven Day African-American Festival, Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa is an African-American and pan-African seven-day cultural holiday that celebrates family and community. This day is followed by Christmas Day. Kwanzaa begins on 26th December and lasts till 1st January every year. It is a festival that brings families together to celebrate, have feasts, gift each other, etc.
Traditions of Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa was created by Dr Maulana Karenga in 1966. This holiday was modelled after the harvest festivals of Africa. The term is derived from a Swahili phrase ‘Matunda ya Kwanzaa’ which means ‘first fruits’. A tradition of lighting the candles on Kinara, a candle holder, is followed by families. On each of the seven nights of the fest, families gather and light one of the candles. Post this, one of the seven principles of Nguzo Saba are discussed by the family members among themselves. These are the principles of African Culture.
The Seven Principles
- Unity: Umoja – To strive to keep the family, community, country, etc. united and together.
- Self-Determination: Kujichagulia – To speak, define,and create ourselves.
- Collective Work and Responsibility: Ujima – To build and maintain the community or nation together.
- Cooperative Economics: Ujamaa – To establish own stores and improve the economy.
- Purpose: Nia – To make the collective objective for building and developing the community.
- Creativity: Kuumba – Make the community a beautiful place by contributing as much as we can towards beautifying it.
- Faith: Imani – To have faith in the people around us and our struggle towards victory. | https://trendybash.com/2020/12/26/december-26th-kwanzaa/ |
What is an index in a paper?
An index is a list of all the names, subjects and ideas in a piece of written work, designed to help readers quickly find where they are discussed in the text. Usually found at the end of the text, an index doesn’t just list the content (that’s what a table of contents is for), it analyses it.
Where is the index in a book?
Also known as back-of-the-book-index, indexing is found at the end of the book and mostly sorted in alphabetical order. The main role of the index in a book is to identify the concept of the paper and guide the reader to information by gathering scattered relationships or references and to locate keywords and concepts.
Why is an index in a book?
The purpose of the index is to give the reader an informative, balanced portrait of what is in the book and a concise, useful guide to all pertinent facts in the book. These facts, in the form of an alphabetically ordered list of main entries and subentries, will include both proper names and subjects.
Is the index in the front or back?
Located in the back of the book, an index helps a reader locate key terms, concepts, and ideas that were referenced in the contents of your book. Each term or concept has a corresponding page number. When the reader wants to access that information, they simply refer to that page of your book.
How do I index a book in Word?
How to Create and Update an Index in Word
- Select the text you want to include in the index.
- Click the References tab.
- Click the Mark Entry in the Index group.
- Adjust the index entry’s settings and choose an index entry option:
- Click the Mark or Mark All button.
- Repeat the process for your other index entries.
What should be in a book index?
Helpful hints
- Put yourself in the role of reader.
- Identify the most likely search terms.
- Provide a consistent level of indexing throughout.
- Index all important themes and concepts including those not directly mentioned in Contents or heading structure.
What is an index in a nonfiction book?
An index is essentially a roadmap to the book, listing names, places, and things in alphabetical order and giving the page numbers associated with each topic. For nonfiction books, packed with valuable information, a well-made index can help quickly direct the reader to the information they’re trying to find. | https://www.sweatlodgeradio.com/what-is-an-index-in-a-paper/ |
Within this work Lumerical FDTD is applied to simulate how plane polarized light interacts with a single spherical silver nanoparticle. It allows for the determination of the light retention capability of the particle based upon counting how much light is scattered away from the particle after a long period as compared to how much enters the simulation region. This quantity, the nanoparticle albedo, is a key parameter in relating the scattering enhanced out-coupling efficiency. The two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations are described for scattering layers with spherical nanoparticles in various external media for non-dispersive and have external indices from 1.0 to 2.0. FDTD takes into account this dispersive nature of the refractive index, which analytical solutions do not. A comparison between these two results will indicate that they agree within expected errors. The scattering and absorption cross-sections (CScat and CAbs), scattering and absorption efficiencies (QScat and QAbs), and albedo are calculated from this data. The albedo values are then output to the isotropic scattering model and an expected out-coupling factor is determined. | https://aipublications.com/ijcmp/detail/characterization-of-the-scattering-properties-of-a-spherical-silver-nanoparticle-via-the-finite-difference-time-domain-method/ |
Factor V Leiden (FAK-tur five LIDE-n) is a mutation of one of the clotting factors in the blood. This mutation can increase your chance of developing abnormal blood clots, most commonly in your legs or lungs.
Most people with factor V Leiden never develop abnormal clots. But in people who do, these abnormal clots can lead to long-term health problems or become life-threatening.
Both men and women can have factor V Leiden. Women who carry the factor V Leiden mutation may have an increased tendency to develop blood clots during pregnancy or when taking the hormone estrogen.
If you have factor V Leiden and have developed blood clots, anticoagulant medications can lessen your risk of developing additional blood clots and help you avoid potentially serious complications.
The factor V Leiden mutation does not itself cause any symptoms. Since factor V Leiden is a risk for developing blood clots in the leg or lungs, the first indication that you have the disorder may be the development of an abnormal blood clot.
Some clots do no damage and disappear on their own. Others can be life-threatening. Symptoms of a blood clot depend on what part of your body is affected.
This is known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which most commonly occurs in the legs. A DVT may not cause any symptoms. If signs and symptoms do occur, they can include:
Known as a pulmonary embolism, this occurs when a portion of a DVT breaks free and travels through the right side of your heart to your lung, where it blocks blood flow. This can be a life-threatening situation. Signs and symptoms may include:
Seek medical attention immediately if you have signs or symptoms of either a DVT or a pulmonary embolism.
If you have factor V Leiden, you inherited either one copy or, rarely, two copies of the defective gene. Inheriting one copy slightly increases your risk of developing blood clots. Inheriting two copies — one from each parent — significantly increases your risk of developing blood clots.
A family history of factor V Leiden increases your risk of inheriting the disorder. The disorder is most common in people who are white and of European descent.
People who have inherited factor V Leiden from only one parent have a 5 percent chance of developing an abnormal blood clot by age 65. Factors that increase this risk include:
Factor V Leiden can cause blood clots in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) and lungs (pulmonary embolism). These blood clots can be life-threatening.
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. | https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/factor-v-leiden/symptoms-causes/syc-20372423?p=1 |
By Patrick Thomas Henry
Traveling to the Gowanus district of Brooklyn in the midst of a torrential downpour is like setting foot in the rain-lashed environs of a gothic novel. An “atmospheric tumult,” to pilfer Emily Brontë’s description of the weather at Wuthering Heights, battered the F train and jostled rain-soaked passengers together as it squealed along its tracks toward Brooklyn. Outside the 4th Avenue-9th Street Station, the crowd dispersed, and I headed northward, in the direction of the Old American Can Factory at 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street for the “Spirit of Literary Independence” celebration.
I entered the Old American Can Factory and mounted the stairs to the building’s upper levels. I glanced down the high-ceilinged corridors when I reached each landing. These hallways were gated with flung-open, vault-style doors. The night’s event was in the Issue Project Room on the third storey. Since 2003, the Issue Project Room has sought to build a creative hub for Brooklyn, with an emphasis on experimental art forms.
The “Spirit of Literary Independence” event worked toward that mission, through inviting independent publishers to present several of their authors. The night’s format—a reception and short breaks between readers—encouraged attendees to mingle and chat with the evening’s participants, creating a more intimate atmosphere than the usual question-and-answer format of such events. The co-sponsors were Akashic Books, Archipelago Books, the journals Habitus and One Story, and Ugly Duckling Presse.
Author Irena Reyn reads from a work in progress
The readings illustrated what independent and small publishers offer readers and the literary community, including evocative and beautifully conjured short story collections. In addition, the readings served as reminders that small presses can offer us considered and deft translations of foreign literatures, such as Ross Benjamin’s translation of Joseph Roth’s Job (Archipelago Books). Independently published journals also offer authors an opportunity to present works in progress. Rachel Cantor (One Story author) and Irina Reyn (Habitus author) both shared such work and referred to the valuable relationships they've developed with their editors and readers.
Small presses have the leeway to engage with darker, more violent, more graphic content that may concern the big houses. Lonely Christopher’s short story “Milk,” from his collection The Mechanics of Homosexual Intercourse (Akashic Books), evinced this through a detailed—and gory—scene where shooting a horse parallels the family’s tensions. These publishers also offer opportunities for works that, though self-contained, are not book-length projects; John Surowiecki’s narrative poetry, which draws from his personal experiences and sensitive considerations of those affected by the Vietnam War, appears as the chapbook Mr. Z., Mrs. Z., J.Z., S.Z. (Ugly Duckling Presse).
Of course, mainstream publishers continue to print hundreds of powerful books a year, but small presses can explore literary terrain that may be foreign—or seem unmarketable—to larger companies. And today’s small press titles can become literary classics in future decades. This isn’t just waxing poetic about the value of small presses: Literary milestones historically have their foundations in these humble origins. T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, for instance, was initially published in the journal The Criterion, and the poem’s initial appearance in book form was as a print run of 450 copies, produced by Leonard and Virginia Woolf’s Hogarth Press.
When I left the Old American Can Factory, I felt waterproofed in the evening’s layers: energetic readings, warm company, and the comfort of a few Brooklyn Lagers. The balmy rain, which still fell in chilling reels, seemed a bit less gothic, a bit less discouraging, after an evening spent amid the vibrant spirit of literary independence.
Writers not writing for a living often find enjoyment and small payouts from Web sites seeking material to raise their sites higher in the search engine rankings. Although this is a legitimate practice, the writing being published on the Web can often be less than professional. This lack of professionalism distorts the line between qualified and amateur writers. Writing standards are often not the highest priority as Web sites seek to drive traffic to gain advertising exposure. It seems as if readers are not as concerned about the writing quality, as long as they find a relevant account on a particular topic. | http://writezilla.net/stories/30126-the-spirit-of-literary-independence-at-the-old-american-can-factory-nov-22-2011 |
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